Three Imaginary Girls - The Turn Ons

Like a little Kinks with your Belle & Sebastian? See you at the Comet on Sunday!

imaginary liz — Tue, 10 Jun 2008 17:27:48 +0000

Times are so exciting! We have the Matt and Kim show this Saturday, and then Sunday, Three Imaginary Girls is proud to sponsor a fine show of local bands and a fine indie-pop band coming all the way from Los Angeles at the Comet Tavern!

Download the new Turn Ons record - for free!

ChrisB — Mon, 07 Apr 2008 01:20:56 +0000

I definitely recommend downloading it. So far I'm really loving "Crystalize" right now.

Parallels

Erik Gonzalez — Tue, 13 Jun 2006 07:00:00 +0000

7.3

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B000F0UUQE/wwwthreeimagi-20

turnons06jun.jpg

One of my favorite shows on TV for the longest time was VH1's I Love the 80's. Sadly, I could waste an entire ten-hour stretch reminiscing over a decade that I really only distinctly remember about six years. But then, isn't it just like an indie rock fan, to appreciate nostalgia for things you didn't experience the first time around? Listening to Parallels, the new disc by Seattle's The Turn-Ons, one can't help but thing back to the heady days of the Jesus & Mary Chain, My Bloody Valentine, Echo & the Bunnymen, Joy Division, and all the mid- to late 80's Britrock that filled my world (albeit not in the 80s. Ah well.) The Turn-Ons do their best to bring more of today's youths to the record shops to buy the back catalog of those seminal bands, and maybe pick up some of the other revivalists like Black Rebel Motorcycle Club, the Stratford 4, and Interpol.

One of my favorite sounds in music is that echoey guitar and drums with whispery, barely intelligible vocals from the shoegazer scene (I suppose it was all originated by the Velvet Underground), and the Turn-Ons have it in spades. "A Thousand Years" sounds like a castoff from the early Stone Roses as Travis DeVries sings, "It all means nothing at all," as the guitars howls through the wall of sound. The rolling drums that open "Strange as Snow" give the song an eerily stellastarr* feel as the song slowly builds the musical crescendo with wailing guitars and DeVries distant vocals (with a little political commentary mixed in: "This is not my country and/this is not my president"). When you consider another drum-driven song like "The Northerners," you appreciate the taut drum work of Will Hallauer in particular.

"Most of Us" is a very tight dream-pop song that again seems to cut from the Stone Roses tree, but with a little more distinct personality than "A Thousand Years." The same might be said for "Adhesives," another catchy song that rattles guitars and drums across the musical landscape. Some of their slower numbers such as "Eastern Hollows" and "The Low End" feel like they feed from the same source as last year's excellent Clientele album, creating dreamy musical landscapes that you can feel lost in. "Robert Altman" alternates from a hushed, whispered vocals to a thumping drum and a cascade of guitars, suggestive of the Catherine Wheel as DeVries sings about this love the films of 1972 (oddly, the only Altman film to come out in 1972 is Images, a relatively unremembered film with Suzanne York and Rene Auberjonois — maybe they're bigger film buffs than they let on). The album closes with one of its most satisfying songs, the ghostly, drifting "Behind the Stars," rich with strings and falsetto vocals.

The Turn-Ons deserve all the good press they've garnered from their previous albums. They do an excellent job of borrowing from their obvious influences, but they take their sound into new directions that not only remind the listener of those bands they liked so much in their youth, but also allow the Turn-Ons to exist as something beyond a tribute band. (However, I do think there is a shocking lack of 1980's and 90's post-punk tribute bands. Where are the Jesus Chain Gangs or the My Sweaty Arbor Days I ask you?). Parallels is a strong collection of songs that form an otherworldly sonic experience, and should hopefully widen the Turn-Ons audience to all the kids out there wishing they were back in the 1980's again (even if they were born in, what, 1987?).

Parallels is a strong collection of songs...and should hopefully widen the Turn-Ons audience to all the kids out there wishing they were back in the 80's again (even if they were born in, what, 1987?).

Top 50 Northwest Releases of 2004: the Imaginary Readers' Poll Results

three imaginary girls — Mon, 03 Jan 2005 08:00:00 +0000

{50-41} * {40-31} * {30-21} * {20-11} * {10-1}

#10 IQU — Sun Q
(Sonic Boom Recordings)

{official website} * {buy it}

#9 The Turn Ons — East
(Childstar)

{official website} * {buy it} * {tig review}

#8 Luke Temple — Luke Temple
(Mill Pond Records)

{official website} * {buy it} * {tig review}

#7 Ms. Led — These Things We Say
(Fish the Cat)

{official website} * {buy it} * {tig review}

#6 Helio Sequence — Love and Distance
(Sub Pop)

{official website} * {buy it} * {tig review}

#5 Smoosh — She Like Electric
(Pattern 25)

{official website} * {buy it} * {tig interview}

#4 Modest Mouse — Good News for People Who Love Bad News
(Epic)

{official website} * {buy it} * {tig review}

#3 Dolour — Old New Friends
(Made in Mexico)

{official website} * {buy it} * {tig review}

#2 Visqueen — Sunset on Dateland
(Blue Disguise)

{official website} * {buy it} * {tig review}

#1 United State of Electronica — U.S.E.
(Mannheim Worldwide)

{official website} * {buy it} * {tig review}

The top 10 Northwest releases of 2004, as voted on by our imaginary readers (that means YOU!).

East

The Mad Professor — Thu, 03 Jun 2004 07:00:00 +0000

8.2

http://www.child-star.com/store/

east.jpg

A long time ago, as a little kid, I had this printing kit I liked. In actuality it was a collection of really small rubber stamps, each with a single letter or number etc. on — and you'd press them into a hand stamp one at a time, until you'd made a message like "Preston North End FC rule OK", or "I love Francesca" and then stamp it all over your school note book. Of course if you wanted to make a longer message, it would invariably take forever to assemble, and you'd always run out of this or that letter before you were done and have to try and figure out how to finish the message off quickly without using the letter 't' or 'o'. Spool forwards a few decades to the internet age, and it's probably a good thing html isn't coded the same way — otherwise I'd be sure to run out of my little bold-encoding and rubber stamps for all the bands the latest The Turn-Ons album has reminded me of over many an enjoyable listen.

So, that utterly irrelevant historical anecdote aside...

While Seattle's The Turn-Ons debut album drew comparisons to great British rock pioneers of the 60s and 70s, David Bowie and Marc Bolan (of T-Rex), their second, East, has similarly spooled forwards a few decades to draw upon the early sound of the Britpop genre of the late 80s and early 90s. Listening to each track conjures up a nostalgic feeling for many a great Britpop band, including early Verve, Pulp and Blur, as well as the likes of Ride, Chapterhouse, Supergrass, The Stone Roses, Lush and even My Bloody Valentine.

The Turn-Ons' three guitarists generate a hypnotic, layered sound, heavy on reverb, that washes over dreamy vocal lines as East opens with "Skyscrapers" and "New Jesus," reminiscent of Chapterhouse. While the ethereal vocals are never more apparent than on the acoustic "Won't come home", the best stuff here is in the middle of the album where East really hits its stride with the more melodic and rock-influenced "Feels alright", one of a couple of tracks that again harkens back to the Bolan era. Next up my personal favorite, the wonderful "PS I love you", which sounds like a glorious cover of that never released Ride song (with Kevin Shields (MBV) a guest on guitar), right down to its minimalist lyrical content (a Ride trademark). This is followed by "Neighborhood killer", the most obvious tip-of-the-hat to Marc Bolan and "This is the end", which similarly sounds like a long-lost Damon Albarn song (Blur). Eventually the lazy "Sunday afternoon" brings down the tempo with a soothing melody that reminds me of Pink Floyd's "Wot's...uh the deal" from "Obscured by Clouds" (which should have subsequently been renamed "Obscured by Dark Side of the Moon"). Finally, East closes out with "Sideways", which not only returns to the layered guitar reverb of the opening track "Skyscrapers", but with a stylish twist also reuses some of the lyrics from it.

Ultimately, being reminiscent of so much without ever sounding like trying be like anyone in particular, The Turn-Ons show that they have managed to assimilate their various influences into a style very much their own. I really like this album and I suspect any fan of the Britpop heyday would welcome a fresh take on the era.

Time to stamp "The Turn-Ons Rock" all over my notebook...

The Turn-Ons show that they have managed to assimilate their various influences into a style very much their own. I really like this album and I suspect any fan of the Britpop heyday would welcome a fresh take on the era.

Most, The Turn Ons, and the Orphan Project

shebang — Thu, 03 Jun 2004 07:00:00 +0000

28 May 2004

most.jpg

When I went to the Vera Project to start my Memorial Day weekend, I had no idea of the musical adventures to come. igDana has dubbed it my night of "the cute, the bad, and the swirly." And with that, I give you: Most, Orphan Project, and the Turn Ons.

Most is what you get when you blend two cute siblings and a solid drummer into an unpredictable, zany-pop smoothie. Frontwoman Sasha (guitars, vocals) is a spunky hipster who thoroughly amused us with her folk-meets-electric sound and jumpily earnest voice. She unplugged her guitar by accident a few times but no one cared (she's that cute, I swear) and anyhow, "that's what rock and roll is all about," she told us. That made me clap my hands and grin broadly, as did her adorable bass player brother, Dmitry.

Sasha's tiny twee guitar melodies and her lilting talking/singing rang through their tightly-wrapped live sound, as well as on their two self-releases: Systems (EP) and Invisible Giant (LP). I heart both, but I strongly recommend you go to one of their shows too, for the Most full effect.

{ed note: okay, I added that last pun. I couldn't resist, as I hope TIG is the first reviewer to make that quip. Thank you for your indulgence in my bad sense of humor. ~ igDana}

My personal favorite part: when Sasha demanded we dance or at least, "bob your head violently" to one of their songs. So we did. And I think we had way too much fun.

On the other hand, Seattle's Orphan Project was... how can I say this? Terrible. Freakishly punkish, they tried to be all hardcore, but it just sounded awful and ridiculously pretentious. It was sick. Then they threw water on the audience for some reason. I'm not sure why. In my notes I just wrote, "really annoying banging no tune sort of rock" and "their jokes are not funny". That's all I've got.

Later, the stage was shroud in complete darkness... slowly, this ultra-cool light machine-thing started up, with these streams of smoky light filtered through, bending around the band-members of the Turn-ons. A background screen flashed hypnotic images. My jaw dropped and I realized this so-called concert had turned into enormous eye candy.

The Turn-ons remind me of looking through a kaleidoscope. Everything felt a little fuzzy and the sounds seemed entirely bendable. I remember needing to put my notebook on the floor because I couldn't write anything. I couldn't even tap my feet. I stood really still and gaped because the atmosphere was so scintillating.

Travis DeVries (vocals, guitars) got off the stage and wandered around. That left me a bit confused because I didn't know whether I ought to gaze admiringly at the rest of the band on stage or follow his movements. I ended up doing both. His voice was raw yet powerful through the hazy melodies and dulcet, steady beats. They played some stellar pieces off their latest release, East including personal favorites "PS I Love You" and "New Jesus."

Most is what you get when you blend two cute siblings and a solid drummer into an unpredictable, zany-pop smoothie.

Ambulance LTD: Don't aim high, but don't aim low

lee. — Sun, 16 May 2004 07:00:00 +0000

16 May 2004

ambulanceltd.jpg

I just love to go to a show and find that the bands on the bill compliment each other. The recent Ambulance LTD show at the Chop was a perfect example of line-up synchronicity.

The evening kicked off with a set of dreamily constructed music from Hypatia Lake. Beginning with ambient sounding keys and then layering piano, fuzzy guitars with shoegaze-y synthesizers, Lance Watkins tenderly sang the lyric, "do it my way or take the highway." Hypatia Lake's set was one part emotive rock concerto — as they have mastered the art of song transition — and one part spacey art noise. They can take the crowd from an airy melody into a thick, heavy rhythm without stumbling, and each song lingeringly transforms into the next. Even the stage set was accented with coursing streams of carnival-like lights, heightening the moody atmosphere. By what I think was the third song, a crowd was huddled, their heads gently nodding up and down to the music. Hypatia Lake opened the night with a bewitchingly continuous melánge of sound.

Next up were Seattle's the Turn Ons. Their set began tempered, measured and moody, then worked into a heavy and blazing frenzy at its end. Beginning with the delicate and lovely "The Low End," Travis DeVries' falsetto boyish, almost fragile voice, worked the crowd like sonic kisses on the ears. Meanwhile, guitarists Erik Blood and Corey Gutch played off each other's dense and distorted instrumentation for a rich, dreamy soundscape.

I especially dug the very stoic presence of Sharon Oshima. After their show, Erik told me he's afraid of her. (He's pretty sure she could kick his ass, if she wanted to.) Regardless of her ass-kicking prowess, she provided an anchor in both instrumentation and presence. Drummer Will Hallauer looked quite peaceful despite the raucous noises he was making on his kit. Closing the set with the sexy and raging "PS I Love You," The Turn Ons put on an amazing show.

And of course, New York hot-band-of-the-summer Ambulance LTD headlined the show. I was excited to see them live after reviewing their debut record upon it's release in March. It's a fine CD to add to your summer music catalog for many reasons, but mostly because of its diversity. Not one song sounds like another, and they blend a myriad of influences: 70s pop rock, jazz, and early 90s indie rock. So, I don't want to hear any complaining about everything sounds the same these days, because Ambulance LTD is a fine example of what's good and original. And they're super cute to boot. Speaking of which...

The band took the stage without much fanfare: no fancy lights, no signs, no smoke machines. Not surprising, considering lead singer and chief songwriter Marcus Congleton's hometown is the no nonsense Eugene, Oregon. It also made sense that he was wearing a paper thin Grateful Dead t-shirt with a huge hole in the shoulder. Who knew a hole-y Grateful Dead shirt could look so hot, while Marcus shuffled around the stage doing his little dance behind his acoustic guitar...?

Beginning with the atmospheric "Stay Where You Are," the band looked a little road weary. Despite this, the set was brilliantly engaging. Some highlights: for the mildly country "Anecdote," Marcus strapped on his banjo that for a moment reminded me of Robyn Hitchcock. They closed the set with instrumental "Yoga Sex Union," a song that builds into a frenzied, almost anthemic finish. The band returned for a clever encore of "Stay Tuned."

As I said, the blending of atmosphere, layered guitars, and good lookin' fellas made for a fine triple bill. And who doesn't walk away from a night like that with a smile?

Ambulance LTD played a show with local bands the Turn Ons and Hypatia Lake.

Three Imaginary Girls to Host "Silly Love Songs" Karaoke Bash on Friday the 13th!

three imaginary girls — Tue, 27 Jan 2004 08:00:00 +0000

"w/the Turn Ons, Dolour, In Praise of Folly, An American Starlet, Love Hotel, the Catch, Black Nite Crash, Radio Nationals, Ms. Led, Water Kill the Sun, Electric Kisses, the Lashes, the Long Winters, and more!"

Seattle, WA, January 27, 2004—Three Imaginary Girls, "Seattle's sparkly indie-pop press", will be hosting a rockstar-laden "Silly Love Songs" Karaoke Bash on Friday, February 13, 2004 at the Crocodile Café, featuring love song karaoke performances by some of our favorite local indie-musicians.

And those with a record contract aren’t the only ones invited to profess their love {or lack thereof} on the Croc's stage. All attendees are invited to participate. Whether love-lorn or beloved, attendees are in for more treats than a bag of Necco candy hearts!

For example, the happily married Sean Nelson {of The Long Winters and Harvey Danger} has promised to karaoke, "...two nakedly prostrated lover-to-beloved love songs, which will nonetheless be dirge-like because of the bittersweet nature of all love, which is sacrifice."

And poor single Ben Lashes of The Lashes: he claims his search for Ms. Right has been met with obstacles and restraining orders. But that hasn't stopped him. He has promised to karaoke a Cure song because, "...girls love the Cure." He’s hopeful he will find a girlfriend at the party when star-stuck Cure-fan females recognize that he and Robert Smith share a haircut.

Need more reason to attend? Shane Tutmarc of Dolour intends to perform a love dirge. "I sing for the broken-hearted!" he proclaimed.

Imaginary girl Dana explains, "We're encouraging love duets, dedications, and dirges, because really — how often does the day before Valentine's Day fall on Friday the 13th? We couldn't pass up that opportunity."

"Who knows, it could turn into an indie-rock night of speed dating AND replace those expensive Valentine’s Day dinners that so many couples fall prey to," said imaginary girl Liz.

"We hope someone gets engaged onstage that night," said imaginary girl Char. "That would rock."

Three Imaginary Girls are no strangers to the Seattle rock scene. During the past 18 months, the girls have reviewed hundreds of shows in Seattle and beyond. They also book local music showcases, and have hosted various rockstar karaoke events, such as their first anniversary suicide karaoke celebration, a Labor Day buttrock karaoke party, and an indie-rock holiday party that raised hundreds of dollars for local charity, TreehouseForKids.org.

EVENT DETAILS
WHAT: "Silly Love Songs" Friday the 13th Karaoke Bash!
WHERE: Crocodile Café, 2200 2nd Ave.
WHEN: Friday, February 13, 2004. Doors open 8p. Open Karaoke immediately thereafter.
COST: $7. Advance tickets available online through Ticketweb!

karaokebash.jpg

Three Imaginary Girls, "Seattle's sparkly indie-pop press", will be hosting a rockstar-laden "Silly Love Songs" Karaoke Bash on Friday, February 13, 2004 at the Crocodile Café, featuring love song karaoke performances by some of our favorite local indie-musicians.

Interpol

imaginary dana — Tue, 18 Feb 2003 08:00:00 +0000

13 Feb 2003

interpol.jpg

Interpol came back into town to promote their first album, Turn on the Bright Lights and once again gave Seattle the "It" event of the season. When they were here last September, the show was sold out and the place was filled to the Graceland gills with the potently stylish. The majority of the attendees left fully armed to refute all those who discounted them with claims of dirivity and band-of-the-moment status.

Yea, I was there. I had a fine time. And yes, as it was a momentarily historical event, I really should have reviewed it. I did have a couple insightful thoughts regarding their translation from album to stage. The packed smoky surroundings, the hype leading up to that show, the sweaty encore, the crappy choice of Heather Duby squished in between the stellar Long Winters openers and our Interpol headliners, and.... well, you get the idea.

But alas, I was, er, um... ...I was in the throws of ultra-dreamy infatuation, resulting in me being a bit wrapped up in the coyly-holding-hands stage of courting. Interpol did serve as an excellent background soundtrack as we were pinned up against the back of the room, sitting atop the middle booth being goofy and lost in the moment. Understandable or not, such a distraction left me less-than-inspired to review Interpol the first time around.

Ahem... apology officially submitted. It shall not happen again...

This time, it was going to be different. Weeks leading up to the show, igLiz and I had big ideas about our review. The Interpol show should not go un-threeimaginarygirls.com documented.

Right, we were armed with pen and paper... and then... the next thing you know...

...We realized — we needed a night off. That's right. Sometimes even the imaginary need a vacation. An executive decision was made to just shut up and enjoy the show. We were not going to write about Interpol.

And it wasn't because we weren't excited or because it was all-ages and we were squished into the stage-left bar area...

Nope. We just wanted to settle in for a full evening of music, for music's sake. No taking notes or writing about it for our next issue. No way.

Decision made, I bunked into our squished stage-left bar area of the all-ages show, surrounded by friends-of-imaginary-girls Renata {who also attended the September Interpol "It" event} and Jason with a slightly-interrupted view of the stage. We listened to Seattle's local hottie openers the Turn-ons.

They were sexy and stellar as usual.

I sadly missed the Turn-ons, but with just cause, as I needed to attend my friend Drew's 30th birthday celebration. I can't imagine they were any less than sexy and stellar {just like Drew}.

But, I did catch a bit of Calla's set. I remember they served as interesting background music and had some noteworthy guitar guy dance moves... and I think I would have enjoyed it had I been able to take my drink down front.

Agreed, but a girl has to have her priorities on this night before Valentines day.

Priorities notwithstanding, Calla did their job well. I'd heard a song or two on KEXP, but their set piqued my interest so much that now I want to go procure their album. But because we aren't going to review the show, such reasons for their shot up on the cd-wishlist shall go undocumented.

That's right! With our marginally clear view and proximity to the finer points of the Showbox, we opted to stay up top in the cramped drinkers' lounge with the cool kids and enjoy their conversation whilst standing behind the pole. Without notepads, without pens. In fact, we were hoping to black out so we wouldn't be able to remember a thing, thus removing the temptation to review the Interpol show at all.

Right. Though I kind of wish we were reviewing it, so that we could talk about the Interpol roadie who looked like he was the official understudy of the band. All dyed black hair and New-York-Wave'd out and such...

...And how the Imaginary Posse expanded that understudy theory to the whole band. Renata, who was right up front for their last Seattle show, swore that they did not look like that last time they were in town. Although I personally noticed a resemblance, I did think that it was obvious that lead-singer Paul has been working out. Those buff arms looked new.

If I were reviewing the show, I might mention that seeing Interpol live was like listening to Interpol on CD, just really, really loud — that is, Interpol sounded perfect.

Well, of course. They've been playing the same songs for the past year and a half.

They only messed up once, and you know, I think that was my favorite part. It reminded me that they are indeed human, fallible.

You know, I bet if they'd known how successful this CD would be, and therefore how long they would tour in support of it, they might have paid more attention to this lyric that has always irked me (a blemish on their otherwise darkly fluid content):

"Her stories are boring and stuff.
She's always calling my bluff."

"...and stuff?" Are you telling me that that line was a keeper? Don't get me wrong, I really like the album, but....

Liz — you're reviewing!! Stop that right this minute!!!

Oh right. We said we weren't going to do that. Can I just mention the keyboardist? A fairly recent addition {he wasn't with them the last time they were in town}, he was too perfectly dressed the part. He had that unmistakable Ben Lashes look. Maybe all the cool kids have that look...

Right. All the cool kids look like Ben, and all the cool imaginary girls don't review Interpol shows. Phew. I'm so glad we're cool...

If you can fix me up {imaginary} girl you'll go a long way...

Bumbershoot 2002: The Imaginary Highlights

three imaginary girls — Thu, 12 Sep 2002 07:00:00 +0000

3 Sep 2002

bumbershoot2002.gif

You remember when we did 14 shows in 14 nights? Hold on to your bonnet kids, at this year's Bumbershoot music festival — we witnessed 17 shows in four days. Following you will find a recap of the stuff we scribbled down in our trusty notebooks while running from venue to venue:

Greatest Rockstar Moments:

Death Cab for Cutie:
Of course they were incredibly sweet and melodic in every way, but the most T.I.G. moment occurred before they even took the stage in an incident that can only be called: Separated at Birth? (aka "Death Cab for Snooty")

Yes. We had a Death Cab Doppleganger moment. If you want to read the entire story, you're gonna need to read our Death Cab for Cutie full report.

Minus Five:
A bit of a mind blowing 12.30 p.m. for the T.I.G.s: Pete Buck (Seattle's favorite REM guy), Scott McCaughey (the consummate Ringleader), John Wesley Harding (the local with the funny accent), Ken Stringfellow (who this day went for a Green/Black chez Muppet doo) and company all on one stage, opening for Wilco and it was only 12.30 p.m.

And, the wackiest rockstar moment of all was when we realized that it was none other than one of the showman himself, five feet in front of us as we made our way we made our way down the ramp into Memorial Stadium: John Wesley Harding! Sigh. As we furiously took notes as to Who was doing What on stage, JWH and the Fastbacks' Kurt Bloch left their audience space in front of us to join the Minus Five boys on stage. And Ken's hair was more Fraggle Rock than the Muppets, I thought. How could someone so cute make himself look so bizarre? Weird.

And I just adore the Minus Five, with their sixties-influenced sugar-sweet melodic-pop.

The Drop:
Our first Drop experience after reading and hearing all about them via news, radio and strangers also included a preshow banter (and a ride into the depths of EMP, no less!) with tHe Drop guys. Our collective opinion in a nutshell? Gosh, they were LOUD. Was it the sound guy at EMP or the band itself that decided to be so LOUD? It was like some freaky Star Trek episodes, where species are unintelligible to one another until they determine the correct means of listening; once I inserted earplugs, the band went from painfully ear-ringing shrieks to nice tight melodies with dreamily muddled vocals — and with a cello, no less. To read something more in-depth and intelligible, see the official Michael X Imaginary Boy review.

Bestest Banter:

Gene:
It had been 7 years since I had last seen Gene perform when they were supporting their first album, Olympian. Their precise mix of 80% Morrissey and 20% Earl Grey Tea earned them a coveted spot on my "Must See or Die" 2002 Bumbershoot list. My dream of "Real life Britpop at Bumbershoot" was finally realized. As they whipped into their first song of the set, I was reminded of lead singer Martin's chiseled Divaness. To my delight, his banter had increased and was much more engaging. The topper? When he needed to adjust his keyboard's mic stand but was unable to, he requested that. "Someone with stronger wrists than I come up here to tighen this."

Wilco:
Even though I had never seen them perform live before, I went into this show knowing that I was going to leave loving them. I did... and it wasn't just because they sounded incredible, but because they did nothing but charm at every opportunity. The banter was swift and subtle and when Jeff Tweedy says something like, "I'm not feeling so fresh" when referring to the fact that they just woke up after a late gig the night before, you couldn't help but want to buy them all a beer.

The Shins:
We don't know what is better, their banter, their reaction to the crowd, or, oh yea, the music. Music highlights included "Know Your Onion," as well as hearing them playing a few songs from the Flake Music days.

But when they requested that we do THE WAVE — and we all DID IT — now *that* was something special. The wave, at a Shins show. They seemed even more astonished than we were. Then Marty Crandall commented on the Sunday performance by thanking us for choosing "Rock over Jesus" and then following it up with, "God is awesome dude, seriously."

Charmed, we're sure!

Best Cover Songs:

Dave Edmunds:
As he espoused, Mozart was the 1st rock-star (you know, sex, drugs and symphonies) and Dave has always wondered what he would have created on the guitar. Our Mr. Edmonds gave us such a taste of what a virtuoso would have sounded like by nailing Mozart 4th Symphony in G minor with heart stopping precision. Oh yea, he also covered "Here Comes the Sun" (and introduced it with "Here is a beautiful song written by a beautiful man"). He deserved two standing ovations even without these elegant touches to the set list, but with them, he has earned many a new fan.

Helio Sequence:
I had such huge plans to tell you all about the Helio Sequence. But unfortunately, I spent THE ENTIRE show in line at EMP, waiting to get in. The helpful EMP staffer told us, "You could go over and watch the show on our outdoor big screen today." The dude behind me in line retorted, "That's exactly why I came out today, to watch TV." Hilarious. EMP drives me nuts. But I did manage to hear the band perform their gorgeously lush version of that really cool Beatles song... you know the one...

Peter Parker:
Peter Parker played Damian Jurado's "Paxil." That was really cool. Matthew Parker shrieking "I'M ON FIRE!!!!" with huge images of flames flaring behind him was really quite cool. I think I have developed a musical crush on this band, now that I have seen them four times. Fire!!!!!

PS ~ Peter Parker should totally have won in the "Best Banter" category too, both for telling a superfan who screamed for a song, "No, we're still not going to play 'Elliot.' Thanks for asking, but no." And also for singing this lyric on a Friday afternoon: "Bubble bubble, toil and trouble. Make mine a double." Yes yes YES!

Bumbershockers!:

Dave Davies Disappointment:
Like 74% of the western world, I LOVE the Kinks. When I saw Ray Davies (you know, the other Kinks guy) at the King Cat last year, I was breathless the entire time. His elegance and eloquence made his Kinks based act more of a tribute to history than a hanging on to the last tattered straw left in his creatively-drained body. In true Davies brothers' style, Dave Davies is the antithesis of his brother's performance. Dave has not aged gracefully (note mullet and purple silky shit) and neither has his on-stage shtick (please don't repeatedly order the audience to clap along with the song when we obviously don't have the enthusiasm to do so). I was able to make it through 6 songs - and decided that staying any longer could only taint my love of the Kinks' Village Green Preservation Society. His publicist really should have checked with me before putting him on the next bus out of town as I think only thing that would have made up for this lackluster afternoon performance is if he would have performed a song with the Shins later that night. How wonderful would that have been!

Derailers:
To what did our wandering eyes appear? A comfy table with enough seating for all in the posse in the beer garden within earshot of the Derailers' rockability lovity set! Our parched mouths and weary feet were thankful for the hour of bliss that was listening to good live music whilst drinking a relatively palatable beverage (read as, Miller Lite).

Lead Singer Craziness:

Modest Mouse (crazy):
That Isaac Brock. Everyone knows he's crazy.

The Turn-Ons (crazy sexy) :
The first time I saw the Turn-Ons, I proclaimed them to be one of my favorite local bands - because they are so NOT a local band. Their part Charlatans UK, part Dandy Warhols, part New York Dolls and all kinds of sexiness made me an instant convert. This time was a bit different as the mammoth EMP Sky Church seemed to take away a bit from the engaging, playful vibe that usually oozes from their every melodic note. Not to say I was disappointed, just that our Turn-Ons are growing up and I've got to learn to deal with it because they are fine, upstanding citizens of the Seattle local music scene and should be worshipped as such.

The Gossip (aka Beth Ditto, crazy sexy cool):
What more can I say about Beth Ditto that igDana didn't cover in her Capitol Hill Block Party review? I can't say anything more. Other than, I concur. She's amazing, her stage presence is amazing, and I covet her charisma and confidence. Yow!

Some of our favorite memories from Bumbershoot 2002... Ahhh, memories!