Another landslide of gorgeous photos from our imaginary weekend at Musicfest Northwest!

The Builders and the Butchers

The Decemberists

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{This is part three in a series of recaps about Musicfest Northwest 2010 -- make sure you check out Thursday's and Friday's coverage too!}

The Builders and the Butchers:

Saturday at MFNW was chock full o' rad, with bands around every corner and all kinds of PDX-style awesomeness abounding. The day started off with an excellent lineup at funeral home-turned-venue the Woods, courtesy of KEXP: The Mynabirds, The Builders and the Butchers, Typhoon, and several other bands took the stage from 1pm on for our listening and viewing pleasure. The station crew did a massive amount of taping and shooting, so keep an eye out for words, video, and stills over at their website -- the BatB set was beyond epic and set up living-room style, almost microphone-free on a rug in the middle of the crowd -- and we're quite sure the fine folks of KEXP captured the performance with excellent result.

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Technically, you can get your Musicfest Northwest (MFNW) on starting tonight -- there will be a few gigs going on around town down in Portland to warm up the masses -- but our imaginary coverage will officially begin tomorrow and we can't hardly wait!  There's quite a few acts and sorta-showcases that we're espcially stoked to see... so without further ado, here are some of our picks for the best-of-the-fest shows for the next four days.

Please note: the approximate start times are listed for the first band only and are subject to change -- always check your internets before heading out!

Sallie Ford and the Sound Outside
Thursday, 10p @ Berbati's Pan

Having seen and heard a lot about these darlings since their 2009 blip on our Seattle radar, it's going to be quite a treat to catch them at a hometown show. Full of good ol' fashioned big-bodied electric sound and a pair of lungs that just won't quit, Sallie Ford and the Sound Outside are as swoon-tastic as it gets!

David Bazan + band / Joshua Morrison
Thursday, 9p @ the Doug Fir

Does this even need an explanation? Hot on the heels of two stellar performances at Bumbershoot, David Bazan (along with the current installment of his band) have fine tuned their sound to some true indie rock perfection. Achy and anthematic to the core, we're super-stoked to catch them at a venue like the 'Fir. Add in local favorite-home-safe Joshua Morrison, and you've got a night on your hands to remember.

The Thermals
Thursday, 10:30p @ the Crystal Ballroom

The Thermals killed Bumbershoot, the new album rules, and we'll be there with bells on. 'nuff said.

Okkervil River / Bobby Bare, Jr.
Friday, 10p @ the Crystal Ballroom

One of those lineups that makes you grateful that the bookers are playing close attention: a headlining set with OKR and a warmup by local favorite Bobby Bare, Jr. sounds like the next best thing since sliced bread. The boys of Okkervil have been hard at work, following up their last album with some amazing work next to the great Roky Erickson, and judging by the sound of the twitterverse, on to the next recording of something beautiful.

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While everyone is prefunking Bumbershoot, we'd like to take a moment to officially get the prefunk to the prefunk for Music Fest Northwest going. Starting today.

If you've never been, MFNW is like a crazier, spread-out-ier Bumbershoot -- spanning four days and venues all over town -- or a tinier, cleaner SXSW. Minus the industry hoo-ha and power-showcases and seminars. Beginning on Wednesday, September 8th, our sweet sister-city will be hosting a veritable slew of amazing bands all over town. Acts like Okkervil River, Menomena, the Decemberists, the Cave Singers, Sallie Ford and the Sound Outside, the Thermals, Dave Bazan, Bobby Bare, Jr., the Walkmen, the National, and the Tallest Man On Earth -- among many, many others -- will be bringing an extended weekend of bliss to Portland for our listening and viewing pleasure.

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(Three Imaginary Girls is hosting a crafting and listening party featuring this album on Sunday, August 8, 2010 from 1 to 3 pm at Neptune Coffee in Greenwood, which has some of the very best coffee in Seattle. You can also hear "Five Little Rooms" from this album on the August 2010 edition of the Imaginary Mixtape podcast.)

Danny Seim, Justin Harris, and Brent Knopf are collectively known as Menomena, a Portland, OR group enjoyed by many for its mindful artistry in their opaque yet luminously layered songs, excellent live performances, and superb packaging. Mines is their first album after a three and a half years hiatus, after astonishing the national press and fans with the Pitchfork-awarded "Best New Music" title for the 8.5-awarded Friend and Foe.

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Lost at the festival, where could they be?
At any ole place where the wi-fi is free.

It's true, our favorite part of the summer is the avalanche of festival possibilities. There's little better in the world than dozens of your new favorite bands playing one after the other on a sunny day in an exotic locale. This edition of the Imaginary Mixtape we share tracks from some of the cutest bands playing the Athens Popfest {August 10-14 in Athens, GA} and take a consoling look back at the amazing Indietracks festival line up {takes place each year at the end of July in the UK - fingers crossed next year we can make the trip?}. But, we start off the podcast looking at some awesome August events in Seattle. Get ready to mark up your calendars!

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 for those that like to listen via the bandcamp stream.

PART 1: Preview of some Seattle shows and events in August

PART 2: Athens Popfest preview

PART 3: Looking back at the UK festival, Indietracks

 

If you are the type that likes to listen to podcasts in itunes, download the .m4a file here {one single file with fancy chapters even!} and then open it in your itunes {Thanks to Jigsaw Records for hosting it!}.

Tracklisting: Imaginary Mixtape - August 2010:

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{Menomena photo by Ben Moon. The Darren Hanlon photo is by someone equally as talented, but unknown to me}

It's time to get out your basket of needles and thread and join us for some quality crafty times! This month we'll be gather at Neptune Coffee (in Greenwood) on Sunday, August 8 from 1pm-3pm and hear brand new albums by Menomena (7/27 release on Barsuk) and Darren Hanlon (9/21 release on Yep Roc).  We'll have a raffle with Menomena and Darren Hanlon -themed prizes, a Neptune beverage special, and a stitching tutorial!

Stitch n B!tch class:
Bring your own craft or join in our first imaginary craft tutorial led by Shrie of Lo and Behold (see flickr / website for crafty portfolio). Shrie is going to show those of us interested how to embroider. If you want to join in, we'll have imaginary-themed stitching kits available so you don't even have to guess what supplies you'll need to get started (but make sure to bring your own scissors - those things are expensive!). Shrie will bring everything we need to learn to stitch and leave the Imaginary Crafty Listening Party with a finished and beautifully stitched craft.

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at The Crocodile

In all honesty, I'd only heard about Ramona Falls the day prior to the show, but since I'm such a big ol' honkin' Menomena fan, I requested the assignment. That being said up front, I didn't have a real handle on the set list during the show. Therefore what follows will simply be an assessment of the show overall (which rocked).

Brent Knopf took the stage solo, playing the most beautiful black Ovation guitar. I want it. The first song was simple and quite pretty (I'm pretty sure it was "Diamond Shovel"), albeit a tiny bit loud in the vocals. Brent was joined onstage by the rest of Ramona Falls for the duration of the set. Gotta say, the drummer was really the breakout member of the band, joking with the audience, "Ok we're going to lay down some ground rules...Rule #1: Rock the fuck out...Rule #2: Have a good time!"

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This weekend is bursting with awesomeness big enough to boot camp our butts into high gear for Bumbershoot (is it really less than a couple weeks away?). I'm working on my show recommendations for Saturday and Sunday (coming soon - and they might surprise you), but let's first make sure you know the dealio for the big ole Friday.

This Friday night (August 28) the Crocodile has put together a show blending our favorite old / new and SEA / PDX into a rocker of a night: Ramona Falls, BOAT, and Y La Bamba.

Ramona Falls is the first solo venture by Brent Knopf, 1/3 of Portland's critically-acclaimed and indie-kid-favorite Menomena.  If you haven't heard Intuit, the recently released debut record by Ramona Falls, yet - fret not! You can hear a full stream of it now on the Barsuk Records website (how kind of you Barsuk!).

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The great Dave Allen of Gang of Four, Danny Seim (Menomena) and John Askew (Tracker) have a new project: Faux Hoax, crazily pronounced "Folks".

The Portland trio are creating a canvas of lyrics and music onto which all sorts of collaborators will make their stamp as well, birthing an experimental-style approach that challenges the conventional idea of a band. A rotating cast of members will basically perform or accompany songs written by the core trio.

Who could resist a lil listen to the song "Hippies Will Rule", of their first (and maybe only?) release on Polyvinyl Records this May, Your Friends Will Carry You Home.

Listen to "Foxworthy" and judge for yourself.

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