We spent some time swooning in the front row this past Saturday, as DeVotchKa hit those croon-tastic chords they're famous for from the stage of the Paramount. The part-Russian-funeral, part-carnival sound filled the room nicely, and we were even able to get a peek at Chris Nelson's photography exhibit {opening tomorrow} as we were on our way out.

You can see the whole set over in our ever-sparkly imaginary flickr pool -- where you can also contribute photos from shows and events you've been to recently.

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This is why we fight... okay, not really.

Until recently, I had only heard snippets of the new Decemberists album, The King Is Dead. A preliminary chat with the internet tells me that (a) this album is waaaay better than Hazards of Love, (b) REM's Peter Buck makes a guest appearance on a track, and (c) the entire record has a REM "feel" to it. That said, I've listened to a few songs off of the album and can say that it feels like a throwback to Colin Meloy's Tarkio days, which pleases me greatly.

Simply put: I love this band. I first saw them in 2004 at the Crocodile Cafe with the Long Winters in a double header, two-night extravaganza. They played "The Tain" in its entirety (possibly a bit longer than the original) and it was so, so amazing. Cut to 2010, and the Decemberists are performing at the Paramount Theate -- a great example of local band done good, deserving of all their hard-earned success.

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That's right! The indie.synthpop quartet known as Vampire Weekend will be playing this Thursday and Friday at the Paramount Theater, as a double-makeup date for their last-minute cancellation out at Marymoor a few weeks ago. The good news? It's closer and more weatherproof than the park. The better news? Seattle's very own The Head and the Heart will be taking the opening spots both nights! We're not sure it gets much better than that.

Want a crack at a pair of tickets to Thursday's show? Just send an email to tig@threeimaginarygirls.com and tell us why we should send you! Be sure to include the subject line ICareAboutAnOxfordComma, and act fast -- we'll be choosing a winner tomorrow (yikes!) and need your entry before 3pm on Tuesday, the 21st.

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at The Paramount

Since their breakup in 1999, it has been the dearest daydream of Pavement fans everywhere that someday they would reunite, bringing peace to the Middle East, and dogs and cats together to live in harmony. 2007 brought rumors of an appearance at Coachella, and then nothing. The 20th anniversary of the band and of Matador Records came and went in silence. Finally, reports from Brooklyn Vegan in September of 2009 announcing three benefit performance dates (in September of 2010) (which sold out in two minutes) allowed fans a glimmer of hope.

When non-festival dates were released, many wondered what exactly a reunion show for a band like Pavement would entail. There had been no recently released material, with the exception of the Quarantine the Past: Best Of album, and the band made it clear to expect neither subsequent tours nor future material. In the April Spin article “Inside Pavement’s Reunion,” lead singer Stephen Malkmus appeared to understand the desire for this particular tour and encapsulated the sentiment of his fan base perfectly: "Music is about nostalgia. From the minute you hear a song for the second time, you're reliving it.” There is no better summation for what was happening to fans seeing Pavement at the Paramount this past Sunday night.

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If you're anything like the rest of the free world, you haven't seen much of Pavement since sometime in the late nineties. Recording, releasing, and playing live music for the better part of a decade, Pavement firmly established themselves in the lo-fi pool of the 'alternative' world in 1989 -- that's just shy of pre-indie, kids -- and fizzled out after their final show almost exactly ten years later. Both fringe- and cult-level fans alike have been clamoring for live performances and speculating on reunion tours ever since, and for those of us lucky enough to have come across / stood in line for / offered our next-born for tickets, the time has finally come!

After a decade-long hiatus, Pavement finally hit the road again this year for a European tour and stateside festival circuit (including Sasquatch, Coachella, and Pitchfork Fest), toting along a best-of comp that was released back in March. They're playing twenty-eight dates in September, and we're lucky enough to have show number two this month taking place at our very own Paramount Theater on Sunday, September 5th. We'll be there with bells on, and we'd love for you to join us! Here's how you can win a pair of tickets to the show:

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Why, it's Stephin Merritt week in Seattle! Hopefully you caught the excellent Strange Powers at SIFF Cinema eariler this week, but if not, you're not completely out of SM luck (though it was a great movie for Magnetic Fields fans!). He and Gothic Archies contributor/Lemony Snicket writer Daniel Handler have scored the 1916 silent movie 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea and will be performing it on Wednesday, June 9th at the Paramount.

Like many of you, I could watch Stephin Merritt do anything and still be pleased. I've been positively fascinated with his opera and musical theater output, and I can't wait to see what he's done with this score. I have no idea what the music will be like, but I'm positive it will contain wonderful SM wit, and probably some wonderful Merritt/Handler chemistry (if you don't know what I'm talking about, go pick up your copy of 69 Love Songs and read the interview in the booklet). Plus, I hear there's a song called "I Don't Want to Wear Pants". This will probably be one of the best music fan SIFF events. Don't miss it!

at The Paramount

 

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More than just a supergroup fantasy endeavor, Dead Weather has captured the soul of more than one imaginary.  We recently overpowered all the haters at a seemingly low key afternoon tea affair chanting something along the lines of "I don't want to shake hands. Treat me like your mother!"

Seriously, it was pretty intense... and pretty rad.

Want to chant that along with us at the upcoming August 20th Dead Weather show at the Paramount on the cheap?

Between 10a and 10p today (Thursday, August 13) only (!), you can buy a balcony ticket spot to see Dead Weather for only $10 (+ da fees) with the below password / link:

Password: MONQUI
Link:
http://purchase.tickets.com/buy/TicketPurchase?pid=6518481

"Look me in the eye now, Treat me like your mother!"

As ChrisB announced a couple weeks ago, the Pixies are coming to Seattle and will be celebrating the 20th anniversary of the album Doolittle by playing it in its entirety.

We now have a date... more than that, Seattle gets two nights of Pixies and Doolittle-ness! We should feel pretty honored because the Pixies are only going to stop in nine cities on this brief, but monumentous tour.

Mark your calendar in pen for the nights of November 12 and 13, 2009 as that's when Black Francis, Kim Deal, Joey Santiago and David Lovering will take the stage of the Paramount Theatre (it's even an all ages show!).

Here's one song from the album I'm definitely looking forward to:

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Have you heard about Monsters of Folk yet? If not, it's probably because you're not lucky enough to get PR emails. Our imaginary inboxes have been full-to-overflowing with news of the project, a collaborative effort of three indie-heavyweights: Conor Oberst of Bright Eyes, Jimmy James of My Morning Jacket, and singer-songwriter M. Ward.

We batted the idea of who should blog the project up, without much success. We at TIG all hold our grudges, and Monsters of Folk seems to have hit on a few of them. First imaginary ChrisB chimed in. "The beard quotient seems a little low (50%) for a band called Monsters of Folk," he noted. And he has a point.

Imaginary Liz added, "Conor might be my imaginary boyfriend, but I'm not a fan when his friend Jim James takes over the vocal duties."

I sit on her side of the My Morning Jacket fence as well; however, I make an exception for this project. In fact, I had the pleasure of seeing them perform Liz back in... oh, what year was that? Let's just say 2004. The three had some special chemistry and a whole lotta talent up there together.

So it became my duty and pleasure to share all the exciting Monsters of Folk news. New record! New tourdates! Free song download! Here are the deets.

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