Three Imaginary Girls - Festivals

Recommended show + free tickets: American Film Week at NWFF

imaginary victoria — Thu, 09 Feb 2012 20:56:12 +0000

There's a great selection of films going on at the Northwest Film Forum next week (well, there's always good stuff at the NWFF, if you want to get technical about it) that we wanted to make sure you were hip to. It's called American Film Week, and it's running in the spirit of a mini- / non-festival: a series of "bold American films, offering you just one choice a night." Brilliant!

We're particularly excited about Fever Year, a documentary about the grueling of Andrew Bird's 165-date tour, and Bombay Beach, a "rich and emotional portrait of the lives of some of California's absolute poorest" with a musical score by Zach Condon {best known for directing many a Beirut video} -- but the whole week is worth a visit, so much so that we're giving away a pair of passes to the entire run of screenings.

Totally legit: Sasquatch! 2012 lineup announced

imaginary victoria — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 20:38:58 +0000

In the throes of a killer party at the Neptune last night, we were thrilled beyond belief to find out the details on another most excellent year for the Sasquatch! music festival, taking place out at the Gorge on Memorial Day weekend {May 25-28}. Sasquatch! is by far one of our favorite fests every year, and 2012 is going to be no exception.

We're particularly excited about partying down with the likes of Jack White, Beck, Tenacious D, Beirut, Girl Talk {hell yes!}, The Head and the Heart, Tune-Yards, Wild Flag, Blind Pilot, Mark Lanegan Band, The Cave Singers, Grouplove, Ted Leo, Deer Tick, Alabama Shakes, We Are Augustines, Shearwater {!!!!!}, Charles Bradley, Pickwick, Hey Marseilles, Sallie Ford, Dyme Def, Fresh Espresso, and Katie Kate -- but by no means does that even scratch the surface of the seemingly-zillion fantastic bands included on this year's lineup. As usual, there's a thoughtful mash of notable locals and squee-worthy headliners, so much so that slapping down the ticket price to spend the long weekend with twenty-plus thousand of your closest friends is an absolute no-brainer.

These are a few of our favorite things: best festival photos and moments of 2011 {pt. II}

imaginary victoria — Thu, 29 Dec 2011 18:38:50 +0000

{This is part two of our one-two punch showcasing the best in festival moments and photos from 2011. Start from the beginning here, where you can see picks #10 - #6!}

Favorite photo #5: Wye Oak :: Standing in the pit at Sasquatch! at the small stage is always a treat -- you're right up next to the performers, and unless someone's career has exploded between the time they got booked and the time the festival rolls around, there's not too many people mobbing the area surrounding the stage. Such was the case for Wye Oak, and while they were already a good, established band then with a solid crowd turnout, we were able to get up-close-and-personal for their set to capture this mid-song moment. If you haven't seen one of their many appearances -- Sasquatch! 2011, the shows with the National at the Neptune last month, or from the "HOLY SHIT" file: that time they played with Shearwater at the Triple Door in 2010 -- get out to see them on mid-sized stages while you can. {more photos from Wye Oak's set at Sasquatch!} {Wye Oak official}

Favorite moment #5: Del :: So, technically, this happened *during* Austin City Limits and not *at* Austin City Limits proper, but we couldn't compile a best-of without mentioning Del.

One morning, while loading up on espresso and bagels while uploading photos pre-fest on a hundred-degree day in Austin, we met Del. And as it turns out, Del is just an artist in a corner at a cafe, akin to those writing furiously in a notebook -- only he doesn't blog it, "show" it, exist anywhere on the internet, or have openings in art galleries. This is just what he does, and after getting permission to take his photo and chatting with him for a bit, we learned that this inky artpile is Del's form of art-therapy journal-y processing. While it wasn't a We Are Augustines set or a moment in front of the stage with Elbow, it was nonetheless a highlight of our ACL trip and well-worth preserving here in our 2011 storyline!

Favorite photo(s)-and-moment #4: Sharon van Etten

Favorite moment-and-photo(s) #4: Aloe Blacc

What an amazing, amazing pair of sets these two put on at Sasquatch! this year. Sharon van Etten's sparse, gut-wrenching performance rang out all the way into the darkest corners of our hearts where the best reverb lies, and Aloe Blacc held up to every expectation we had going into the set. The fact that they both looked good doing what they both obviously love {and are so, so well-suited} to do just made capturing it in photo-form all that much easier. {more Sasquatch! 2011 photos} {more about Aloe Blacc} {SVE official}

These are a few of our favorite things: best festival photos and moments of 2011 {pt. I}

imaginary victoria — Wed, 28 Dec 2011 18:24:08 +0000

2011 was {is still!} a great year, not only for releases but also for live shows, festivals, and those grit-of-the-stage-under-your-fingertips kinds of moments that we have all come to love and live by: nights like The Head and the Heart blowing the roof off of Porterhouse in West Seattle, a few sweet Lovesick Empire sets, John Darnielle's solo show at UW, and some incredibly intimate events like David Bazan's performance at Barsuk Records and some killer in-studios at KEXP. And with that said, here's the start of {one of} our 2011 countdown, featuring our top moments and photos of the 2011 festival circuit:

Favorite photo #10: Andrew McKeag :: Whether he's taking a big stage with his regular band {The Presidents of the United States of America}, holding court as a Honky, or anything in-between, this man simply does his thing with an understated level of skill that most musicians can only hope to attain (and manages to look pretty damn good doing it, too). Pictured above as part of the Kasey Anderson and the Honkies set at this year's installment of Bumbershoot, Andrew made us pretty happy to have gotten to the 'fest in time for the early bands that day with this dead-on look into the lens. {more KA&tH shots from the 'shoot} {POTUSA official} {KA&tH}

Favorite moment #10: WATERS :: Maybe it was just that moment -- being New York City for a few days and suddenly realizing that the city has basically charmed your pants right off, and being totally okay with it -- in conjunction with some incredible live sets day after day after day, but we really, really did very much dig the WATERS set that went on as part of KEXP's broadcast from the Ace Hotel for this year's CMJ. It was all those things you hope for from an indie rock band: big guitars, a cohesive sound, and an overwhelming sense of want-more! once the music stops playing, all wrapped up in a surprise as we hadn't seen or heard them enough previously to know what to expect -- get a taste of their glorious noise over at Stereogum, where a post this year offered a free download that's still up for the taking. {more photos of WATERS at CMJ 2011} {WATERS}

On the road: we love New York! (and CMJ!) (and KEXP!)

imaginary victoria — Tue, 25 Oct 2011 19:50:00 +0000

Lucky, lucky us! In the midst of an incredibly well-timed trip to the east coast, we found ourselves front and center for a slice of CMJ at the Ace Hotel in New York City last week. Our fine friends over at KEXP had lined up a great few days of performances, with in-studios from bands like Widowspeak (above), Givers, WATERS, Dum Dum Girls, We Are Augustines, Zola Jesus, and so many more. The daytime performances were undoubtedly the best of the fest, and we're so happy and grateful we got to help out and contribute some time, love, and photography skills to some of the best seventy-two hours Rocktober has ever seen:

John in the Morning and Zola Jesus, day one:

Imaginary Amie's City Arts Fest Picks {10/20-10/22}

Imaginary Amie — Mon, 17 Oct 2011 21:01:23 +0000

Are y'all getting excited about this year's City Arts Fest yet? There's so much goodness packed into only three days! Since Victoria did such an incredible job picking stuff you can't miss, I thought I'd join the fun with a list of my must-sees:

Thursday 10/20

MUST SEE
Hedwig and the Angry Inch Movie Sing Along
SIFF Cinema
8pm | $12
buy tix

How do I even being to express my love for this movie? I can't. It's too much. If you've never seen it, you HAVE to. Like, right now. And if you have, how can you pass up a chance to sing "The Origin of Love" and "Sugar Daddy"? I mean, seriously. you guys. seriously. I only wish I had an official foam Hedwig hat/wig/thing to wear to this.

RUNNER UP
Crystal Castles
w/Crypts, Nightmare Fortress
Showbox SoDo
7pm | $27.50 adv, $32 doors
buy tix

These guys won my heart with their cover of Platinum Blonde's "Not in Love" featuring Robert Smith. I proceeded to buy their CD immediately and fall for their crazy retro electonic-y pop tunes. I kind of bet they're adorbs on stage too.

Reminder: you + Long Winters = best Thursday night of 2011! {10/20}

imaginary victoria — Mon, 17 Oct 2011 16:15:36 +0000

City Arts Fest is looming, and with it, a Long Winters show at the Showbox this Thursday -- we'll get into that in a minute, but first we've got to take a minute to squee! about what a weekend we had!

We were fortunate enough to attend a house show this Saturday where none other than John Roderick himself came by to play a few hours of music. Talking about needing to pinch our 2003 selves! After a super homestyle vibey potluck dinner, John took the 'stage' in front of the fireplace and graced us with song. Our ears were privy to classics -- in no particular order -- like Car Parts, Cinnamon, Scent of Lime, Unsalted Butter, Medicine Cabinet Pirate, Mimi, Shapes, The Commander Thinks Aloud (and way more that we forgot to write down in our squee-like state), and some killer covers like The King of Carrot Flowers {Neutral Milk Hotel} and Solitary Man {Neil Diamond} among others. So much gorgeous song, coupled with some wonderfully intimate banter, quite literally made for a perfect night. Our friends from Dorsia Films were on hand to capture much of the evening on the A/V front, so hopefully we'll get to relive all that magic someday soon.

While we wait for the official set list, here's a few photos we managed to capture in our uber-elated state:

City Arts Fest 2011: really, how can you not?

imaginary victoria — Mon, 10 Oct 2011 15:42:31 +0000

Bands. Art. Comedy. Community. These are just a few of the things you can expect from the upcoming City Arts Festival, taking place at various venues throughout the city from Thursday, October 20th through Saturday, October 22nd. They've done a damn fine job of showcasing a ton of local artists as well as featuring some national acts, both sure to pack their respective houses -- and thus, it's through a sea of tears that we give you some of our picks for what you should do to make the best of those seventy-two hours.

City Arts isn't bringing us to tears, of course, unless you count tears of JOY at reading the full lineup! But we are a little sad to report that part of our imaginary team will be in New York for CMJ this year {for those of you keeping score at home, yep: it's the same week / weekend}.

THURSDAY

The Don't-Miss: The Long Winters / Campfire OK / Cobirds Unite / Cataldo
Where: Showbox at the Market
{tickets}

The Long Fucking Winters. At the Showbox. Seriously!! The rumors are true -- we're presenting this show, it's going to kick ass, the night will be full of surprises, and the lineup is killer. Cataldo will be warming up the night, fresh off the release of their latest album Prison Boxing, Cobirds Unite will send the masses swooning, Campfire OK will undoubtedly win the house over... and all of this before John Roderick and Company take the stage. Any night when he and Rachel Flotard are in the same house, whether they perform together or not, is sure to go down as one for the books.

The Runner-Upper: Seateeth
Where: Theatre Off Jackson
{tickets}

Recommended mini-festival: Fall Free For All in Tacoma {October 8-9}

imaginary victoria — Thu, 06 Oct 2011 15:55:36 +0000

Mark your calendars, friends in Tacoma {and friends in Seattle who are up for a ride!} because the Fall Free For All is coming your way this weekend, and you're not going to want to miss it.

First off? Yep, it's actually free. Free-free, no-strings-attached free, ain't-gonna-cost-you-a-thing FREE. Second, the weekend includes performances from bands like Pearly Gate Music, Drew Grow and the Pastor's Wives, Kelli Schaefer, Laura Gibson, the Local Strangers -- along with plays, movie screenings, and tons of theater exhibitions and family-friendly events. And third? You hardly have to lift a finger to sign up to go: just head on over here to sign up for your free wristband.

Recommended Viewing: Local Sightings Film Festival at NWFF {9/30-10/6}

Imaginary Amie — Fri, 30 Sep 2011 15:23:52 +0000

I really do feel so lucky every day to live in a city where film is so important. You guys, it's time for another film festival!!! Starting tomorrow, the Northwest Film Forum is hosting the 14th Annual Local Sightings Film Festival, which showcases awesome indie films made in the Northwest.

The opening night film {Friday, 9/30 @7pm} is called The Oregonian, and it looks like a bloody horror film with Lynchian overtones from the trailer. It also stars Lindsay Pulsipher from True Blood (Jason's crazed half-cougar stalker), who I think is kind of amazing. Anyway, they had me at "70s shock horror cinema" and "screens with Vampire Hummingbirds: Pain the Nectar" (hawhaw).

Watch the trailer after the jump...

Great short films hit the Eastside (and 200 other cities)

Imaginary Rich — Thu, 29 Sep 2011 15:35:08 +0000

{The Manhattan Short Film Festival screens at the Kirkland Performance Center on 10/1 at 5 and 8 pm}

Many of you out there know I have a fondness for short films. Partly because I think that creativity loves constraints. The best shorts enthusiastically demonstrate that truism. There's also the law of large numbers aspect to the equation; when you sample more film, the odds of you really liking something goes up. Or at least that's been my experience. These rationales plus my borderline addiction to film in general seemed like great reasons to sample the ware of the Manhattan Short Film Festival...and I was not disappointed.

This two-hour set of ten films is a true international festival. In the sense that over one week 10 finalists, whittled down from 598 entries, play in over 200 cities across the globe. Audience members in all locations vote for a single winner. Though having seen the whole program, I'd have to say the true winners are gonna be the attendees. Cheesy perhaps, but oh so true. Best I can tell, your last chance to catch these films in the Seattle area is on October 1st - so plan your weekend accordingly.

Austin City Limits 2011: three days of sun, sweat, and total bliss! {pt. II}

imaginary victoria — Thu, 22 Sep 2011 16:57:32 +0000

{This is part two of our photo-coverage from the 2011 Austin City Limits festival -- check out part one here!}

The second half of this year's trip to Zilker Park was even better than the first, as ACL's chock-ful-o' bands and radness vibe kept on strong. Strains of Wanda Jackson and Cee Lo filtered through the late-day dusk as we crowded under the Vista Equity stage tent to catch a few songs (and a glimpse) of Gillian Welch. And was it ever worth fighting the crowd -- that sparse, stripped-away version of "Ohio" was absolutely one of the high points of our Saturday!

The night blew us away with huge sets from TV on the Radio, My Morning Jacket, and Stevie Wonder -- and in what felt like moments later we were back in the morning for more. Yellow Ostrich, Mariachi El Bronx, Dale Earnhardt Jr. Jr., The Head and the Heart, the Walkmen, Broken Social Scene, and Joseph Arthur filled our sweltering Sunday with amazement -- but the two best sets of the day {and the weekend, IOHO} went to Elbow and We Are Augustines. Hands-down, no contest.

Here's a few shots from between the raindrops!

Gillian Welch with Dave Rawlings, slaying a packed ~~house~~ tent:

Austin City Limits 2011: three days of sun, sweat, and total bliss! {pt. I}

imaginary victoria — Wed, 21 Sep 2011 17:25:09 +0000

Austin City Limits is usually a shoe-in to win, and this year's festival was no exception. Beat down with brilliance, both in the form of relentless sunshine and amazing bands playing their hearts out everywhere we looked, we took to the grassy knolls of Zilker Park doused in 50 SPF and spent the first day and a half of our show-goings with the likes of Brandi Carlile, Delta Spirit, Ray Lamontagne, the Cave Singers, Kurt Vile, Cold War Kids, Foster the People, Charles Bradley, Bright Eyes, Mavis Staples, Telekinesis, Aloe Blacc, Phosphorescent, Iron & Wine, the Moondoggies, and Fitz and the Tantrums. Every single stage was thoughtfully billed, easing in our late-mornings with incredible starts, and building seamlessly through their lineups during the day to absolute crescendos of performance from the headliners at night.

In between soaking up sun, getting our fill and desperately looking for shade, and dodging errant shower-storms with the camera, we even managed to grab a few photos to prove it all went down. Here's a mere fraction of what we were able to take in -- keep an eye on the site for part II of our photo-review, coming up shortly!

Seattle's own Brandi Carlile, tearing up the giant AMD stage before Ray Lamontagne on day one:

Gettin' MIFFF'd this weekend: My picks for possible Splatter

Imaginary Amie — Thu, 15 Sep 2011 23:39:13 +0000

Since I'm mainly interested in splatter and gore (lots and lots of it), I thought I'd make my picks for the Maelstrom International Fantastic Film Festival based on what I think will be the bloodiest. So, here we go:

Midnight Son (opening night, Friday 9/16 @ 8pm): This vampire-esque tale is about a dude who has to drink blood to live, but is apparently having trouble containing his urge to murder everyone in the most violent way possible. Splatter potential: HIGH. The short playing with this (Juan Con Miedo) looks like a typical "don't trust the kid" cautionary tale. Being a fan of creepy children, I'm down for that too.

Abstentia (9/18 @ 6pm) looks creepy and wrong in all kinds of ways! Missing husbands, hallunications, secrets, etc. Watch the trailer, you'll see what I mean. Splatter potential: Minimal, but there'll probably be lots of jumpy scares….which can sometimes be just as good.

Here we go, Austin! Here we go! clap! clap!

imaginary victoria — Thu, 15 Sep 2011 15:53:00 +0000

Yup. There sure are a lot of exclamation points up in that headline, and with good cause: we're heading off for Austin City Limits this weekend, to catch some bands and some tan in the near-hundred-degree sun. Between pre-trip laundering, hydrating, charging our camera batteries and getting all that three-ounce-or-less business handled for the flight, we thought we'd take a minute to let you know about some of the acts we're particularly excited about this year -- especially since there seems to be a particularly strong PNW presence to be reckoned with every single day of the 'fest.

The start of the fest on Friday is kind of like easing in to that hot, soapy, not-too-dirty-yet festival bath. Hometown heroine Brandi Carlile will be getting things going early in the day, and we're hoping her sweet sounds will put us in the right kind of mood to slide over into Ray LaMontagne's late afternoon set -- they're both playing at the AMD stage starting around 2p. As the day darkens, we hope to get a little more gritty with the Cave Singers, and while Cold War Kids and Bright Eyes blow their sets out back-to-back {on the Honda and AMD stages respectively, for those of you following along in your custom-made schedules at home}, we might have to weasel our way forward to get a bigger-than-Bumbershoot-sized helping of Charles Bradley as he closes out the Vista Equity stage just before forever-legend Mavis Staples. As to whether we end day one with Kanye West or Coldplay -- my vote's on Kanye. But seeing as the fest is all sold out except for a few Sunday passes, we might not be able to make it close enough for a photo report. Fingers crossed!

Pending crowd surges (and weather permitting), we hope to also make time to get a little Delta Spirit, Smith Westerns, Kurt Vile, and Santigold into our schedules too!

MIFFF - SO many films to choose from this weekend!

Imaginary Rich — Wed, 14 Sep 2011 19:11:09 +0000

Starting this Friday there will be a ton of genre films appearing at SIFF Cinema as part of the Maelstromg International Fantastic Film Festival (Imaginary Amie has already briefed everyone of the general coolness involved). I've checked out a number of films, and am hear to vouch for the offerings as well...with notes on a few things I've already seen.

One thing I haven't seen yet is the opening night film - hope to see tons of folks checking it out with me Friday night. I'm a sucker for a vampire romp, and Friday night's feature Midnight Sun didn't make it into the stack of screeners the organizers were kind enough to share for review. I especially don't want to miss it. given Summit Entertainment's propensity for suing everyone in sight. Since that's the same name given to Stephenie Meyer's unfinished retelling of Twilight from Edward's point of view (no....seriously... please stop laughing .... I'm not making this up - and it's not as bad as it sounds) I figure it's only a matter of time before someone tries to shut 'em down..

Without further adieu, here are a few of the selections I've screened and some notes on them. One spoiler alert up front - you don't want to miss the closing night film The Selling: a supernatural comedy/mystery which will appeal to a broad audience.

September Film Festival Goodness: MIFFF comes to SIFF Cinema {9/16-9/18}

Imaginary Amie — Tue, 13 Sep 2011 16:54:53 +0000

Oh hey. September kind of snuck up on me there....but then I remembered I need to get all excited about it, because it means that the Maelstrom International Fantastic Film Festival (MIFFF) is back! And also, it's only one more month until my favorite holiday of all time, Halloween. MIFFF is the perfect place to prep yourself for All Hallow's Eve, because it focuses on Indie Fantasy, Horror, and Sci-Fi films. Yay!

Anyway, since it starts this weekend {Friday 9/16 through Sunday 9/18}, Imaginary Rich and I are planning to get some picks up to help you navigate the schedule - or - you could just buy a full series pass for only $40, and hit all of 'em (this weekend is supposed to be rainy, right?). Watch for posts tomorrow and Thursday, and get ready to MIFFF it up. I'm personally hoping for lots and lots of splatter this time around...

Maelstrom International Fantastic Film Festival
September 16-18, 2011
SIFF Cinema at McCaw Hall
$10 per screening (shorts & features)
$40 full series pass
Buy tickets online

There's still time to get to Portland for MusicFest Northwest this weekend!

imaginary victoria — Fri, 09 Sep 2011 16:42:48 +0000

There's still time-a-plenty to get your Friday donewith and head on down to Portland for this year's installment of what's quickly becoming our favorite regional city-wide music festival, MusicFest Northwest. For four sweet nights (well, five technically, if you count the goings-on around town that started Wednesday) some of the best local and national-worthy acts sweep in and take over our hip sister city. There's a little something for everyone, and we can state from direct experience that you will have a hell of a weekend should you make the venture down south! The price is reasonable (although we can't recommend the line-skipping VIP wristband privileges enough), the city is bikeable, driveable and parkable, and there's plenty to do in your late-late off-hours around town to keep things... well, let's just say 'entertaining.'

Sleep in, fill your sunny days with KEXP in-studios at the Doug Fir {full lineup available here}, and get your nightlife on at our recommended {** = MEGA recommended} shows below -- scheduling conflicts included:

Photoessay: Bumberweekend 2011!

imaginary victoria — Thu, 08 Sep 2011 20:09:30 +0000

Another beautiful Labor Day weekend has passed, and with it came three days spent at our annual Seattle Center-ed music and arts festival, Bumbershoot. While we didn't catch every single act on our dance cards, we managed to get ourselves in front of the stages of a lot of long-standing and new-style favorites: bands like Lemolo, Sallie Ford and the Sound Outside, and Pickwick, just to name a few. Between the bands, sunshine, the yummy eats, and KEXP's gorgeous semi-secret music lounge -- it was a weekend to be reckoned with!

Here's a few bright spots from the weekend...

Kasey Anderson & the Honkies:

Bumbershoot Preview: Words & Ideas

Imaginary Amie — Tue, 30 Aug 2011 15:02:05 +0000

As always, us Imaginaries like to remind you that there's a lot more happening at Bumbershoot than just music! If you can pry yourself away from the rock for a few hours, explore some of the Words & Music programs. If I could put together a dream line-up of where to be, it would look like this:

SATURDAY, Sept 3:

Words & Ideas Stage
1:45-2:45pm
The 3 Most Beautiful People to Ever Win Stranger Genius Awards (and One Ugly One) - I'm sure the other 3 people are going to be awesome, but the reason I'd be sitting in this audience is to see filmmaker Lynn Shelton talk about her work, the award, etc. etc. etc. And clearly, she's not the ugly one.

Leo K Theatre
3:30pm-4:30pm
Christopher Rice, author and son of the infamous vampire goddess Anne Rice, talks about what's it like to be the son of Lestat's creator, and how it affected his family life and inspired his own novels (which I honestly haven't read, but I *am* kind of an Anne Rice nerd, and am FASCINATED to find out what he's gonna say about her!).