Three Imaginary Girls - Damien Jurado

Stuck in a holiday rut? Need some jingle in your bells? Just press play!

imaginary victoria — Thu, 22 Dec 2011 19:57:11 +0000

Nothing says "home for the holidays" like those end-of-year spreadsheets at the day job, right? Really though, if you're stuck at a desk for the duration of the week, it really does help to have a little extra jingle in your cube. So, on the heels of Liz's post yesterday, here's a handful of internet-corners that will help to get the jolly in your ho-ho-ho!

An absolute classic, and easy to run in the background while you work, A Charlie Brown Christmas is about as key to the holidays as whatever time of year it was when they used to run The Wizard of Oz on television, commercial-free, and all the kids would watch it in the rec room while the adults smoked cigarettes and drank in the kitchen upstairs and played Pinochole. It's nostalgia-inducing, sweetly familiar, and won't cause one bit of offense to the old dude in accounting across the hall if you happen to turn it up a little bit at your favorite parts!

And in case you missed it earlier this month, Damien Jurado put out a totally killer version of ACBC's signature song, "Christmastime is Here", that you can read all about {and get a download link for} over at the Secretly Canadian site.

Cue super-adorbs kid's choir in the making-of video above. <3!

Recommended SIFF: Damien Jurado and the Russian Avant-Garde {6/8}

Imaginary Amie — Tue, 07 Jun 2011 22:06:40 +0000

Dearest Imaginaries - I can't tell you how excited I am that the SIFF event I have been waiting for is FINALLY almost here! Our beloved Damien Jurado is taking the stage at The Triple Door on Wednesday night (6/8) for a special peformance: he'll be providing a live musical soundtrack to Russian filmmaker Dimitri Kirsanof's avant-garde shorts!

The Damien Jurado and the Russian Avant-Garde show starts at 7pm and is all-ages. So to recap, you get to listen to Damien peform while watching gorgeous vintage short films made from the 20s-50s. At $15 a ticket, this qualifies as a total steal.

Recommended show: The Art of Saint Bartlett at Ghost Gallery {6/3}

imaginary victoria — Thu, 02 Jun 2011 23:09:37 +0000

When an album exists independently as a great piece of art -- in this case, we're referring to Damien Jurado's 2010 release, Saint Bartlett -- it really doesn't need anything 'extra' to make it better than it already is. Some bands need promotion, some records need catchy packaging, but a true work of art stands alone on it's own merit -- and such is the case with SB. As fans and fellow artists, as a community at large we've recognized this, achieving a state of admiration and inspiration for what Damien saw fit to put forth. We've emulated in the most well-intentioned ways. Pieces of his songs have become tiny ornaments as they've folded themselves into our minds and respective processes. We revisit these songs for better and for worse, in moments of lifting up and moments of letting down. These pieces tie into the threads that pull us out of bed in the middle of the night, or hold us back in the morning for a few moments more on the greyest of days. And vice-versa.

Damien Jurado + Viva Voce + Loch Lomond = SWOON.

heather hydra — Mon, 28 Feb 2011 17:59:53 +0000

{Photo courtesy of Sarah Jurado, all-around gorgeous human.}

A few thoughts on why you should find yourself at the Crocodile this Saturday, March 5th:

1. Damien Jurado is a king amongst men. He is a beautiful person who makes music so personal, it's hard not to shed copious tears upon hearing the opening notes of a song, or when he opens his mouth to sing. Saint Bartlett is his newest release, and has been called everything from "an achievement" (Pitchfork) to a "welcome fork in the road" (PopMatters) in terms of sound, which may have a lot to do with his collaboration with Richard Swift for this album.

He'll be headlining the evening, the frosting on top of a delicious indie rock cake of awesome.

{Photo courtesy of Laura Musselman, expert kitten wrangler.}

2. There is a rumor floating around that Viva Voce will be playing the show on Saturday as a two-piece. Not that the Viva Voce extended family is a bad thing, because it's quite the opposite -- however, there is something soul-affirming and lift-you-to-the-risers exciting about the core duo performing. There's less people to watch, more time to spend on marveling at how G-D amazing Anita Robinson is as a guitar player. The shredding she unleashes is unstoppable. And there is nothing like watching Kevin Robinson play drums, keyboards and guitar at the same time, without missing a beat. Do not, I repeat, DO NOT miss their set.

Damien Jurado & John Vanderslice to play house show in Tacoma

imaginary victoria — Mon, 31 Jan 2011 06:28:57 +0000

We're sad to report that by the time you read this post, this show will probably be sold out.

Somewhere in the depths of Tacoma this Wednesday night, a few dozen die-hards will be crowding the space of a stranger's living room to hear the sweet sounds of two imaginary favorites: none other than the esteemed Damien Jurado and John Vanderslice will be gracing us with their respective presence, in one room, at the same show. (We know. Seriously.) With the recent work these two gentlemen have seen fit to bestow upon the masses -- Jurado's St. Bartlett making a slew of top ten lists of 2010, and Vanderslice's White Wilderness (out earlier this month) starting the 2011 off right -- we can only surmise that this will be one hell of an evening.

Tonight's recommended show: Damien Jurado at Columbia City Theater

imaginary victoria — Fri, 07 Jan 2011 18:12:02 +0000

Our friends over at Sound on the Sound are presenting their first show of 2011, and it's sure a doozy: none other than one of our imaginary favorites, Damien Jurado, will be headlining on a bill that includes Widower and Tony Kevin Jr. tonight at Columbia City Theater.

In case you haven't seen all the exclamation points flying around the site over the last few months, let us refresh your memories: we simply just Can't. Get. Enough of Damien Jurado's 2010 release here in the imaginary offices. Saint Bartlett is nothing short of an indie triumph, with a start-to-finish one-take sound that begs to be heard on vinyl. It's at once simple and adventurous, and as many a critic have stated, a gorgeous and well-charted departure from anything he's done over the last few years -- while managing to maintain his signature sound down in the underpinnings, much to our delight.

Here's a little taste, in the event that Saint Bartlett hasn't made it's way into your colection yet:

If that's not enough to get you out to Columbia City in the drizzle tonight, I don't know what is. Tickets are going fast, and we strongly recommend that you pick one (or four) up in advance over at Brown Paper Tickets before you head to the show. We'll see there!

{21+ / $14 / 9p}

Imaginary Victoria's best of 2010, part two: shows (and other indoor sports)

imaginary victoria — Thu, 06 Jan 2011 16:46:03 +0000

It's safe to say here at Three Imaginary Girls that we go to a lot of shows. Sometimes, two (or three) in one night, if there's more than one must-see happening going on about town. And so it's no surprise that in 2010 alone, just on my own, I managed to go to shoot at least two shows a week on average, attended another two dozen-ish (or so) sans camera, plus several festivals, house parties and a handful of KEXP in-studios. We're talking everything from nights at the Sunset and Neumos to four days in Portland for MFNW, out locally for long weekends at Bumbershoot and Sasquatch, and down to SXSW and back again.

On any given night there are plenty of shows taking place, in rooms across Seattle and across the country, where boys and girls and instruments and fans all convene inside four walls to make, appreciate, and experience live music -- but not all of them are Shows. When I reference shows in this post, I'm talking about the nights that we collectively See A Show, the nights that remind me us why we live in Seattle in the first place. Seeing A Show has the ability to alter the fabric of our respective existence, to leave us forever changed -- full of those everything-I've-ever-done-led-to-this-exact-right-now kinds of moments.

With a history timeline at the ready via flickr sets and hastily scrawled notes from stage right, I give you some of my greatest moments of 2010 as an appendix to the ever-popular top albums of the year lists that have been popping up all over our radars.

First place:
Neil Young (solo) at the Paramount

This might be construed as an easy out for a list-topper, but it was by far the most stupidly amazing few hours I spent in a venue all year. Not only was I among the lucky few that got to hang and shoot from the soundboard, but I also had the privilege of being allowed to watch the set after shooting (sans camera gear) from the third-level mezzanine. It may as well have been a live reel of Young in his prime, for how good he sounded -- without a doubt one of the top ten shows of my life, probably in the history of Ever.

Imaginary Victoria's best of 2010, part one: seventeen new releases that knocked the stripes right off my kneesocks.

imaginary victoria — Fri, 31 Dec 2010 23:36:00 +0000

I know, I know. Writing best of 2010 lists is so three-weeks-ago. But with such a good year in music having just passed, it would be remiss of me to not to let the imaginary-sphere know about a few of my favorite close-of-the-oughts things. I've never been a big subscriber to "this is better than that" -- it's not easy to put so much different stuff on one plane and deem some of them better, some of them worse -- so instead of file and rank, I've compiled a few chunks of albums, shows, and random happenings that made it to 'awesome' status for me over the last twelve months, with commentary, in no strict order.

That said, this best-of is meant to be enjoyed. Maybe your life was altered at the same show mine was, or maybe the same album had you trapped in the car for an hour listening tracks on repeat. Whichever is the case, remember one thing above all else: as John Roderick so eloquently stated earlier this week, "If you are too busy to discover new albums for yourself, the last thing you need is a list of more albums to buy. You should take a hot bath instead."

Agreed.

That said, let's start with the releases. I was seriously impressed with the amount of great EPs and LPs that came out this year, and this is coming from someone who's held fast to the belief that there hasn't been a 'great' year for new music since about 2005 or so. (Obviously, with a few onesie exceptions here and there.) Maybe it has to do with where I'm at and what I'm capable of absorbing at any given point, but seriously -- I'm able to look back at what made it into my itunes from January until now, and can state with confidence that some honest-to-goodness talented shit rose to the surface above the onslaught of mediocre that is now deemed 'indie' and/or 'indie rock' these days. (PS: in most cases, there's very little new music that can truly be deemed 'indie rock.' I'm just saying. When the next Wrens album comes out, we'll talk.)

Tied for First Place:
* Lovesick Empire / The Grind EP - I simply can not get enough of this EP. It's a sound that invokes a proper nod to grunge (which is seemingly inherent, rather than purposeful), laden with powerful big-guitar ache and smart lyrics to match. Catch them in the third-of-five spot at Neumos next Friday, January 7th before you head out to Columbia City (see below). {listen / free download}{tickets}
* Damien Jurado / Saint Bartlett - This ambitously-recorded album is a bold departure from Jurado's previous work, with a layered, throwback, one-take sound that begs to be heard on vinyl. Wielding the CD in my car on the way home from the West Seattle Easy Street pre-release show, I found myself pulled over on John Street, listening to "Beacon Hill" about twenty times in a row -- if you didn't pick this up yet, you can grab a copy at his upcoming show on Friday, January 7th at Columbia City Theater. {buy album}{tickets}
* The Head and the Heart / (s/t) - Unless you've lived under a rock since about April or so, you know why this band made my best-ofs. There's hardly enough adjective left that hasn't already been used since this band hit my radar over the summer, and they've gone from the stages of Conor Byrne and Sonic Boom to opening sets for Dave and Tim's most recent run of shows -- and with good cause. If you're lucky enough to have picked up tickets to the January 15th show at Neumos later this month (we're including the link in case any get released between now and then), I'll see you there! {buy album}{tickets}

Let's talk about our favorite Pacific Northwest releases of 2010 {now and on KUOW}

imaginary liz — Tue, 21 Dec 2010 15:35:36 +0000

{Head and the Heart photo by Victoria VanBruinnisse from the Imaginary Flickr Photo Pool}

I love this time of year. Besides the {sometimes forced} joyous disposition of folks and my annual fancy birthday breakfast {on December 24 for those keeping track}, we all get to ruminate on the best albums and songs of the year for hours on end.

20 words each on 11 of the Best Releases of 2010

Chris Estey — Wed, 08 Dec 2010 17:17:48 +0000

{Shabazz Palaces photo from the Three Imaginary Girls Flickr Pool by Jason Tang}

Through sheer quirk of fate and possibly my own fatally quirky tastes, the top spots for my four favorite records of the year were given to two separate EPs by two different bands. I'm going to start my Top 20 of 2011 list with a cheat; combining two albums for placement at #1 and #2. Just to obnoxiously make you utterly vigilant of it: the first two spots are taken up by two separate releases, but they're EPs that if combined with each other, tie with/become one release.

Oh, and I'm keeping all hype to 20 words to mirror the Top 20 list. And then I cheat again by having the first two releases described in 40 words, a combination of two 20 word reviews. (No, I haven't been studying Kabbalah with the Wu-Tang Clan.) Also: Mostly in order, but ask me again tomorrow. (The Damien Jurado could be anywhere on this list, for example.) And regional preference takes precedence (call that "fanzine love").

1. Shabazz Palaces, Shabazz Palaces & Of Light EPs
Cracked, uncanny hip-hop collages of unsettling mind-movies, Clockers meets Company Flow. "Juxtapositions of the digital and analog, hard drum-machine beats set against softer bongos or the resonant sweetness of an mbira." -- Jon Caramanica, The New York Times

Imaginary Mixtape {September, 2010} - Everything's going as planned, we even got us a van, there's nothing stopping us now

three imaginary girls — Thu, 02 Sep 2010 05:14:42 +0000

{Visqueen photo: Ben Haley / Bunnygrunt photo: JoshBomb}

September marks the biggest festival season in the Pacific Northwest. In a move to test our endurance, the biggest of the mammoth festivals take place within days of each other: Bumbershoot from September 4-6 in Seattle and Music Fest NW from September 8-12 in Portland. But, besides those mega-shows, we've got plenty of our favorite Seattle bands taking to the stage. In this edition of the Imaginary Mixtape we'll share tracks from noteworthy bands with shows in the coming weeks, feature some exclusive live recordings from the Athens Popefest, and a sneak preview of brand new songs by The Thermals and Superchunk.

You can listen to a stream or download the MP3 version of the podcast on the imaginary bandcamp page. Bandcamp prohibits tracks longer than 25 minutes {I think it's some regulation against jam bands?}, so the podcast is split into three sections. Click below to listen via the bandcamp stream.

PART 1: Preview of some September Seattle shows, Bumbershoot and Music Fest NW

PART 2: A listen to more Seattle bands with September shows and a preview of our Imaginary Crafty Listening Party albums for September

PART 3: Live tracks recorded at the 2010 Athens Popfest and some lovely Seattle indie-pop

If you are the type that likes to listen to podcasts in itunes (and who doesn't), download the .m4a file here {it's one single file with fancy chapter markers!} and then open it in your itunes {big thanks to Jigsaw Records for hosting the file!}.

Tracklisting: Imaginary Mixtape - September 2010:

First Thursday Music: Visqueen, Damien Jurado & more at Tether Gallery {8/5}

Imaginary Amie — Thu, 05 Aug 2010 16:36:07 +0000

If it hadn't been for my Twitter friend @JohnstonMike, I wouldn't have known about this awesome free bundle-o-music at Tether Gallery tonight for its First Thursday exhibition, featuring "Thunderbitch: Women Designers in Northwest Rock".

The art is all about females who created looks for musicians, including fliers, posters and album covers, and ranges from 1966 to the present including a piece by Neko Case (!!!), and one of my favorite photographers, Alice Wheeler.

The music is all about variety, starting off with peformances by artist and songstress Barbara Ireland & Stone Freakin' Gossard (!!!!) at 6pm, followed by the amazing Visqueen at 7pm, and then at 8pm: a show with Damien Jurado in the gallery itself.

I had aleady planned on hitting First Thursday this eve with a friend, buy hey - I thought I was just going to see some art! Now I'm even more excited. How 'bout you?

(Pictured: L7 Poster by Ellen Forney)

Come drink (for the kids, of course!) at Solo this Friday

imaginary victoria — Tue, 13 Jul 2010 16:18:02 +0000

Yes, you're reading that correctly. And yes, we're just as excited as you are!

We're cordially inviting you (yes, you -- with the shirt! Hi!) to join us this Friday, July 16th at Solo Bar in Lower Queen Anne. The generous folks at Solo have pushed their happy hour aside so that we can host a night of music for A Drink For The Kids, starting at 6pm. There will be DJ sets from some of your favorite imaginary hosts, including the one and only Damien Jurado (!) who will be guest-headlining for us at 8pm. Expect lots of vinyl, lots of drink specials, and a rad hang!

In case you're not familiar, here's how A Drink For The Kids works: A designated sponsor (in this case, it's Pyramid Brewing Company ) will be supplying a few types of ale for you to enjoy, and the bar will have a designated liquor special too. You buy one of these specials, and the proceeds go directly to the Vera Project. And while you're getting your drink on, we'll be spinning some killer tunes. The end.

Yes, really. We know. It's pretty genius.

Heavy rotation, part one: three new local albums you can't live without

imaginary victoria — Tue, 29 Jun 2010 05:38:44 +0000

It's definitely a time -- in the imaginary world at least -- when one of those 'holy crap, there's so much good music right now!' cycles is in full swing. So, between all the sounds and all the sunshine, we thought we'd take a moment to fill you in on some of our new all-time favorites before we get caught in the tidalwave of awesome and it all becomes a blur.

Ready? Steady, go:

The Head and The Heart - While this heavy rotation list is by all means in no particular order, this local band's new self-titled, self-released album is easily a favorite among new favorites. A perfect blend of total hope and full-force emotional cutting, The Head and The Heart's sweet, poignant lyrics pour out of the speakers in a sea of crafty, unexpected time signature changes with harmonies that just about stop the proverbial car. Singing about the everyday things we all ache over, they give snapshots of sadness and paint landscapes of far-off daydreams, in an indie.alt.americana /slash/ Avett Brothers multi-genre encompassing appeal, all of which translates tenfold in their live performance.

Favorite tracks: "Ghosts," "Lost in my Mind," and "Sounds Like Hallelujah."

Don't miss Damien Jurado tonight at Sonic Boom (Ballard)

imaginary victoria — Tue, 25 May 2010 14:54:52 +0000

Last Friday, Damien Jurado played to a packed house at Easy Street Records in West Seattle, as part of KEXP's Hood-to-Hood challenge winner's day. Not only did the performance round out a day of tremendous live acts and a blast of a broadcast, but it also gave us a sneak peek at the new album (out today), Saint Bartlett. The songs are tremendous, the performance blew the roof off of Easy Street, and the record completely translates into a dozen or so tracks of pure greatness.

If you missed all of this, however, fret not: you (and seventy-five of your closest friends) can go pack the Ballard Sonic Boom tonight for a encore performance at 6:30p. Tonight's set also marks the official release of Saint Bartlett, being new release Tuesday and all, and we'd highly recommend picking it up (on vinyl, if you have the means) while it's there to get your hands on.

Easy enough, right? Let's recap:

Saint Bartlett

Chris Estey — Mon, 24 May 2010 06:33:07 +0000

9.3

http://www.amazon.com/Saint-Bartlett-Damien-Jurado/dp/B003E1QDLC/?tag=wwwthreeimagi-20

stbartlett.jpg

"I wish I that I could float up from the ground / I will never know what that's like," are the first lines on Damien Jurado's latest record, Saint Bartlett, but it takes repeated listening to hear what he's saying. Not because his voice is muffled, as he and production collaborator Richard Swift have created a gliding, string-swollen tune that is very memorable and Jurado's sing-song voice floats in it like a crystal clear cross-current. It's when an initially annoying, distracting vocal repeats much of what he sings that the meaning of the song goes from someone imagining flying in reverse; it's about someone crashing. "Some day these hospital stays get the best of me / Trying to fix my mind / Trying to work it out, still trying to fix my mind."

Saint Bartlett opening track "Cloudy Shoes" does a rare thing in pop music, creating a dragoon of hooks while getting under the skin; pushing the listener away just as the story pulls them in. It's one of Jurado's boldest mid-tempo pop songs, and the fact that he and Swift would allow the cracked inner life of its character to possibly hinder its potential for popularity by displaying it as a forthright effect is unsettling.

Nothing else on Saint Bartlett is as filmic, but more than half of it is still lyrically evocative, vocally disingenuous and vulnerable at the same time, and chillingly crafted to the casting of each track. Another statement of hiding or escape set to a geographical title of place, the next song "Arkansas" is a gently croony, early 60s big pop song with a Phil Spector back-beat. Like the well-disguised direness of the protagonist of "Cloudy Shoes," it s someone watching their life "fade out, this is where the credits roll / Oh man." Those final two words seem flippant, just a dangling commentary after the main action. But they're hard and heavy with the results of losing control. Of being too tired to pick up all the pieces Jurado's character counts as they fall. It's the contrast with the pleasures that came before that make it so painful: "Taller than trees and brighter than starrlight / I never threw magic unless I was with you."

"Rachel & Cali" is much closer musically to what Jurado's done before, but it's still evolved from the salient Seattle mumblecore Sub Pop veteran Jurado helped invent in the 90s in its use of bubbling bass and jittery guitar jangle and keyboard drops of cold rain. An almost Elmore Leonard-style exchange of terse dialogue between two young people who are tied together, but one of them is doing most of the work in the relationship. Cali fears people, she says, just from what she might do. Rachel is constantly put in the position of protecting Cali, giving her an escape route, keeping her warm with a blanket. Like Squeeze's "Up The Junction" there's no chorus, just a story that can lead no where else but abandonment of one of the players, and things end abruptly.

The intervention comes in the very next track, in possibly the best song on Saint Bartlett, "Throwing Your Voice," which connects back to the disassociation of the singer in "Cloudy Shoes." The title even seems to reference the use of that song's disturbing vocal effect. "Michael" is being protected, by people willing to "throw his voice" for him. Human beings are meat puppets in his tornado lifestyle, in which manipulation is the only useful human value. People still love him, in spite of "blood on your hands, leaving your mark." It could be this is someone singing this to the character in the first song, who perceives himself as a victim, or even a hero, because he foolishly believes it's all about "changing if you want to." The worst hypocrite would be someone decimating personal responsibility by scapegoating someone else for their own moral failure, which is always a case of "throwing voices." The worst thing about the accusation of this song is that it doesn't sound viciously dismissive like "Tear Your Playhouse Down" by Graham Parker or "Positively 4th Street" by Dylan, but that it is understanding and bored shitless by Michael's games. We're just not that into you, Michael, no matter how much you insist on being the center of the universe. You lost the plot, no matter how many battles you crave to win or blood you wish to spill. Jurado's voice makes him sound simply pathetic, a cop who never knew what the law is for, a priest who never felt the spirit, someone in it only for the power and having no love at all.

The rest of these songs are mostly spaces of retreat and exasperation, romantic relationships and families torn and tossed about by the bad weather of living. Thus freedom becomes a curse for most of the inhabitants of "Kansas City," "Wallingford," "Kalama," "Beacon Hill," and the other stark highlight of Saint Bartlett, "Harborview." The latter is as haunting as a classic antediluvian-sounding Fairport Convention dirge, reminiscent of something Sandy Denny would have sang aeons ago. If you've ever spent the usual five hour wait in the ER with a rasping cough or oozing wound to end up not seeing the doctor at the Harborview ("speak for me would you, I have nothing to say"), this doesn't even have to be another chronicle of the descent into mental immobility. "Send Judas before them / With thorns in your side."

Repeated listening to Saint Bartlett reveals just how deft Jurado has become as a songwriter, now able to pull off the vocal and musical of drama of "The Falling Snow," one of his loveliest chamber threnodies, Swift making sure the strings come in perfectly as someone always falling starts to ascend. Realizing how note-perfect all these tone poems of anxiety are just makes the fucked up vocal trick on the opening track all the more audacious. Saint Bartlett may return to the same kind of places Jurado's characters have been spinning their wheels in for years, but the dark points of illustration defining them from the dim, hazy surroundings they struggle against have never been more precisely rendered. "I lost my voice, you lost your mind," Jurado sings in "Beacon Hill," and this polarity would be only friction if the smoke made by the soul-burning on Saint Bartlett wasn't so lovely. But it's very, very lovely.

{Damien Jurado plays at The Triple Door on Saturday, May 29 with Kay Kay and His Weathered Underground, $14, 8pm, all ages.}

Damien Jurado "Saint Bartlett Band" tour kicks off at Triple Door 5/29

Chris Estey — Tue, 13 Apr 2010 18:20:18 +0000

Secretly American record label Secretly Canadian has announced the long list of upcoming tour dates for Damien Jurado's next Big Adventure; the keen-eyed troubadour has assembled a batch of cheap wine-swilling hobos playing spoons and rattling tin cans to join him hopping trains and playing midnight bonfires all over this post-Bush Depression-stricken land. So save them some Mulligan's when they pull into the train-yard nearest you, boys! And watch out for the railroad goons!

Oh wait, I was thinking about Pee Wee Herman. This latest super-tour starts at the Triple Door at the very end of May, on the 29th, and from there it's all over North America, winding up back in Portland on July 3. And singer-songwriter Damien Jurado does have a new band though, called the Saint Bartlett Band, which is totally weird, because (you won't believe this) his new album is named Saint Bartlett. Coincidence? Maybe. (Damien has a new kitten named Pear. I'll let your own mind find its way home now.) Actually, what's weirder is that the Saint Bartlett Band is actually eight fellow Seattle musicians from Kay Kay and his Weathered Underground. That's a lot of members to borrow from one band! And that's a lot of players Damien will have joining him for this very multi-dated tour! (Dates below.)

Photo Essay: Damien Jurado w/ Laura Gibson

Steve Louie — Mon, 11 May 2009 15:12:52 +0000

8 May 2009

jurado_050509.jpg

No frills set up for Damien. He walks on stage 10 minutes before his scheduled set time, takes his jacket off, opens a can of Coke, plugs his guitar in and starts playing.

I've equated Damien's music as musical elixir in the autumn/winter months. I don't know what it is but themes of despair, longing and brokenness just sets the right mood in the background for those dark, wet foresty Pacific Northwest days.

So here I am now in the spring and spirits are much higher, the outside air fresh and warmer.

Opening the evening is Laura Gibson. Just soft and quiet. You might get distracted at the back of the bar if you're not watching her play intently at the front. What makes her set unique are band members Sean Ogilvie and Micah Rabwin who add depth and character to Laura's sensitive guitar picking style with assorted instruments that include the glockenspiel, lapsteel, melodica, percussion, the saw and the ever important stage banter.

After starting out with a few heavy subject openers, Damien clarifies that the songs he sings are stories, it's not about him and that's he ok - much to the relief of the crowd. He promised that he would throw in a few uplifting songs here and there so it's not all sad and gloom for the night. His promise came through mid-way with the up tempo song "Letters and Drawings" but after that the rest of the set was signature good ol' Jurado folk-rock bleakness.

That bleakness culminated in one of his last songs about murder where he shouted out the excruciating line:

“The papers say I’m a killer. Well they were right. They were right. You call off your guns, I’ll call off my dogs.”

To end the night on a light note, for his encore, Damien sang his son's favourite song "Trampoline". He joked that the song would be on the next kids album that he does and it will go by the name of "My Parents Aren’t Married and He’s Not My Dad.". It was a musically upbeat number although a little silly as he said but he just couldn't get away with the morbid meaning of the song as it's about a kid who falls off a trampoline and the other kids don't care:

"Ten kids on the trampoline
Jumping in the day of spring
One falls off and breaks his neck
The others go ahead and sing:

"We didn't like him anyway
Caused trouble everyday
And besides he's a pain
And he always hogged the trampoline"

But not to despair. In the last few verses there is something the kid (or we) can take away:

"Jump up, jump down
Jump higher than you have before
Jump up, jump down
Jump higher than you have before

When I'm on the trampoline i can see everything
I can touch the sky
I can even feed the birds
As they are flying by"

No frills set up for Damien. He walks on stage 10 minutes before his scheduled set time, takes his jacket off, opens a can of Coke, plugs his guitar in and starts playing. I've equated Damien's music as musical elixir in the autumn/winter months. I don't know what it is but themes of despair, longing and brokenness just sets the right mood in the background for those dark, wet foresty Pacific Northwest days. So here I am now in the spring and spirits are much higher, the outside air fresh and warmer.

Best of 2008: Top Northwest Releases of 2008 Readers' Poll Winners

three imaginary girls — Mon, 05 Jan 2009 21:08:31 +0000

Upset. The word of the our 2008 Best Northwest Releases of 2008 Readers' Poll is upset.

With the Fleet Foxes winning readers and critical polls alike, who would've thought they wouldn't get top honors in our humble little Northwest poll? But they didn't -- they placed a distant second to New Faces, another debut record from some very talented, very young Northwest fellas.

We had other surprises as well, with unsigned newcomers such as Hey Marseilles, the Kindness Kind, and Kaylee Cole cracking the top ten, beating out Northwest heavyweights such as Death Cab for Cutie. We did not expect that. And we love it when you surprise us, dear readers.

We imaginaries like to champion the up-and-comers from the Northwest, and our results indicate that you do as well. We think you all also have fabulous taste, as always. Thanks to everyone who participated in our poll. We couldn't be more proud or thrilled to present the top 50 winners on your behalf...

Winners of the TIG Top Northwest Releases of 2008 Readers' Poll:

50. Michael Vermillion - Last Night on Earth {info}
49. Jared Mees and the Grown Children - Caffeine, Alchohol, Sunshine, Money {album review}
48. Destruction Island - Destruction Island Preaches the New Wilderness
47. Boy Eats Drums Machine - Booomboxxx
46. The Apple War - Alarm Bell City {live show review}
45. The Hungry Pines - Golden You {info}
44. Hypatia Lake - Angels & Demons Space & Time {info}
43. All Girl Summer Fun Band - Looking Into It {live show review}
42. The Dandy Warhols - ...Earth to the Dandy Warhols... {info}
41. By Sunlight - By Sunlight
40. Blue Scholars - Butter and Guns {info}
39. Parenthetical Girls - Entanglements {album review}
38. Your Heart Breaks - Love is a Long Dark Road
37. Isobel Campbell & Mark Lanegan - Sunday at Devil Dirt {info}
36. H is for Hellgate - Come for the peaks stay for the valleys {info}
35. Andrea Wittgens - In The Skyline {info}
34. Common Market - Black Patch War {album review}
33. Colin Meloy - Colin Meloy Sings Live! {album review}
32. Chris Walla - Field Manual {album review}
31. Head Like a Kite - There Is Loud Laughter Everywhere {album review}
30. Lake - Oh, the Places You'll Go
29. BOAT - Topps {info}
28. 31 Knots - Worried Well {info}
27. Gutter Twins - Saturnalia {album review}
26. Moondoggies - Don't Be A Stranger {info}
25. Mark Pickerel & His Praying Hands - Cody's Dream {album review}
24. Tea for Julie - The Sense in Tying Knots {album review}
23. Central Services - Central Services Presents... The Board of Education! {info}
22. These Arms Are Snakes - Tail Swallower & Dove {info}
21. Speaker Speaker - Call It Off {info}
20. Sera Cahoone - Only As the Day Is Long {album review}
19. Dutchess and the Duke - She's the Dutchess, He's the Duke {live show review}
18. The Saturday Knights - Mingle {album review}
17. Throw Me The Statue - Moonbeams {album review}
16. Helms Alee - Night Terror {live show review}
15. Natalie Portman's Shaved Head - Glistening Pleasure {live show review}
14. Death Cab for Cute - Narrow Stairs {album review}
13. Voyager One - Afterhours in the Afterlife {album review}
12. Shane Tutmarc and the Traveling Mercies - Hey Lazarus {album review}
11. Black Nite Crash - Array {info}
10. Damien Jurado - Caught In The Trees {album review}
9. Blitzen Trapper - Furr {album review}
8. Grand Archives - Grand Archives {album review}
7. Hey Marseilles - To Travels and Trunks {live show review}
6. Helio Sequence - Keep Your Eyes Ahead {album review}
5. Man Plus - Hungarian Suicide Songbook {album review}
4. The Kindness Kind - The Kindness Kind {info}
3. Kaylee Cole - We're Still Here Missing You {live show review}
2. Fleet Foxes - Fleet Foxes {album review}
1. New Faces - Two Years {album review}

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Upset. The word of the our 2008 Best Northwest Releases of 2008 Readers' Poll is upset.

Best of 2008: Top Northwest Releases of 2008 TIG Editorial Picks

three imaginary girls — Mon, 05 Jan 2009 20:10:11 +0000

TIG staffers are a lot like you -- coming up with our list of faves for the year is a fun and gripping process. After comparing/contrasting/debating our individual favorites, we figured the sum of our imaginary parts would make for an interesting list.

While ChrisB and Keenan, among other things, brought in the power-pop elements, Chris Estey stood by the smartie subtle elements of this year's Northwest offerings. Imaginary liz, as usual, loved the lo-fi and indie-pop songs, while imaginary dana spent much of the year obessed with Throw the the Statue and of course, the Fleet Foxes. And nearly all of us agreed that the Saturday Knights album was a force to be reckoned with. Here's our our staff votes tallied up...

Top Northwest Releases of 2008, TIG Editorial Picks:

25. The Nextdoor Neighbors - Magic Vs The Machine {live show review}
24. The Dead Science - Villanaire {album review}
23. H is for Hellgate - Come for the peaks stay for the valleys {info}
22. Kay Kay and His Weathered Underdround - Kay Kay and His Weathered Underdround {live show review}
21. BOAT - Topps EP {live show review}
20. LoveLand - The Beautiful Truth {info}
19. Damien Jurado - Caught In The Trees {album review}
18. Common Market - Black Patch War {album review}
17. Chris Walla - Field Manual {album review}
16. Hey Marseilles - To Travels and Trunks {live show review}
15. Jared Mees and the Grown Children - Caffeine, Alchohol, Sunshine, Money {album review}
14. Grand Archives - Grand Archives {album review}
13. Man Plus - Hungarian Suicide Songbook {album review}
12. Wallpaper - On The Chewing Gum Ground
11. (TIE) Young Sportsmen - If You Want It {album review}
11. (TIE) Doll Test - Mosque Alarm Clock
10. The Pica Beats - Beating Back the Claws of the Cold {info}
9. Team Gina - Products of the 80s {album review}
8. The Kindness Kind - The Kindness Kind {info}
7. The Pharmacy - Choose Ur Own Adventure {info}
6. Throw Me The Statue - Moonbeams {album review}
5. Dutchess and the Duke - She's the Dutchess, He's the Duke {live show review}
4. The Old Haunts - Poisonous Times {live show review}
3. All Girl Summer Fun Band - Looking Into It {live show review}
2. Fleet Foxes - Fleet Foxes {album review}
1. The Saturday Knights - Mingle {album review}

Peruse some of individual staffer favs:

Amelia Gydé
ChrisB
Chris Estey
Erik Gonzalez
keenan dowers
Kyle Johnson {his photos} {other's photos}
imaginary dana
imaginary liz
Shrie

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