at Showbox Sodo

For an up-and-coming young band, the Soft Pack definitely has serious potential. They're punchy and tight and draw from a lot of atypical influences. During the set, I heard strains of Reverend Horton Heat, Buzzcocks, Yo La Tengo, Suicidal Tendencies and The Pixies. They managed to pull off a fairly extensive set for an opening band, presenting eleven songs in all (I counted 12 but the set list says otherwise!).

The Soft Pack took the Sodo stage right on time Saturday night and burst promptly into characteristic garage-y, speedy surf sounds. I barely had time to absorb their first song before it was over, but they quickly burst right into the short and punchy "C'mon." I will admit that initially I thought they were singing "Octomom" but realized my mistake later. Ha.

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When artists quickly reach success, like becoming the number one band in the UK with a debut album (White Lies), there's a need to take a step back from the buzz and ask yourself how much of their success is based on industry hype versus talent. It's a chicken and egg sort of scenario really - are they popular because they are successful, or vice versa? I pondered this as I noticed the highly acclaimed NME Tour selling out shows from New York to Chicago, and wasn't exactly sure what to expect on Tuesday night when they reached Seattle.

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