The opening bell at this year's Sasquatch! music festival was no slouch, and we've got the photos to prove it!

Mixed in with the obvious wins -- sunshine, scenery, and good friends -- we spent a little over three days on what we're quite sure was the best trip so far of 2011. Days one and two brought the local flavor in a big way, opening up Saturday morning with Seattle Rock Orchestra's Radiohead cover set on the Bigfoot stage, a one-two punch of pow from the Globes on the Yeti stage, and an early afternoon set from the Head and the Heart on the main stage. We broke out of our melancholy-tinged swoonfest for one of the best sets of the festival, Aloe Blacc -- who connected with the throngs of fans at the Bigfoot stage beautifully with his smooth brand of funky old-school soul and some bad-ass dance moves.

Just before the sun started to fade, we caught regional local Dan Mangan back over at the Yeti stage -- hailing from Vancouver, BC -- who brought his thoughtful, alt.indie.ponder-pop songwriting to an incredibly enthusiastic crowd. We're up to our elbows in his last release, Nice Nice Very Nice, as we speak type -- check out the pictures below!

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The text placeholder during this photo upload read as follows: fill in here RE super mega-ballertasticness show. While a departure from proper journalistic prowess, that verbage is so close to on-the-money that we're just going to have to leave it.

Saturday night at the Crocodile was indeed a super mega-ballertasticness kind of night. Between the bump-bump of the house music between sets, Mal de Mer's melancholy-but-upbeat indie pop, the beats of the Globes, and the general mindbendingness of Telekinesis -- we literally couldn't have asked for anything more. We bopped until our feet were sore, and we've even got the photos to prove it:

Mal de Mer

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We'll get right to the point: if you haven't heard by now, there's a sweet lineup at Neumos tonight, and you'd best get yourself and some friends over to Capitol Hill to catch it.

Gracing the stage of one of our fave venues will be none other than Say Hi, starring the much-celebrated Eric Elbogen as he parties in the pants of his newest release, Um, Uh Oh. He'll be sharing the bill with the Globes and Cataldo, who will be opening up the night for all the early-comers.

Straight outta Barsuk:

The record is also Elbogen’s best to date. It’s weary and blue-noted, revealing, personal and pained and there’s expressiveness in his performance absent from previous releases. In fact, it’s difficult to fathom that the same songwriter that once wrote the sugary frivolity of the early Say Hi material could have written such a mature collection of songs. If you’ve been a fan in the past, you’re going to feel that Um, Uh Oh is a large step in the  evolution of the band. If you haven’t, this is the record that’s going to change your mind.

As per usual at Neumos, it's a lineup full of bands you'll want to see from start to finish, so don't be late. We'll see you there!

{Tonight's show opens doors at 8p / all ages / $12. Photo by the mega talented Jenny Jiminez.}

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Whether you're debating what to do tonight, out of town on March 5th, not going to SXSW, or just need to get your indie.stringed.goodness fix -- you're in luck. Hey Marseilles will be headlining an all-ages show tonight at the Vera Project. Come on down and get your swoon on with Seattle's favorite seven-piece!

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at Showbox at the Market

"Watching The Globes at the Showbox. Holy crow and OMG."

 

Chris Walla's Twitter post during The Globes' set was just a sign of things to come. Not only was the Death Cab for Cutie guitarist in attendance to show support for three of his favorite (local) bands, but he later joined Telekinesis on stage as their second guitarist. In a way, it was a bittersweet set as frontman Michael Benjamin Lerner announced that it was David and Jonie Broecker's last show with the band.

Coming off their electric Bumbershoot performance back in September, The Lonely Forest took the stage just before 11 PM to a nearly sold out crowd, some of which had been waiting in line outside since 5. It was amazing to see such a huge turnout, especially on Black Friday where everyone was either still in a food coma or exhausted from a full day of shopping. This was the first time that any of the bands had played at The Showbox and it certainly will not be their last. I'll let the pictures speak for themselves.

 

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at The Crocodile

"The Crocodile is alive again," I thought, as opening act The Globes pounded out rhythms like a heartbeat: BAH-BOOM, BAH-BOOM, BAH-BOOM. As drummer Marcus Ourada led the percussion into the first song of the night, the revived rock club on the corner of Second and Blanchard came to life once more with the sounds of great local music.

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Aside from the trial run last week, this will be the first entirely local show to take place at The Crocodile - and it's a good one, with four solid bands filling out the bill.

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