{Photo: Hot Avocados Photography from the Three Imaginary Girls Sparkly Flickr Photo Pool}

Being Friday night, there are so many stellar options of what to do! Thee Oh Sees at the Funhouse, The Pharmacy at the Comet, or Hey Marseilles all-ages style at Vera are all wonderful paths to take... but when the Young Fresh Fellows are in town (this time at the Tractor with Girl Trouble), I'd be remiss to recommend anything but a full night of their songs which, as our own Chris Estey poignantly wrote, connect the dots between "The Sonics and The Wailers to The Posies and Death Cab with that sweaty, fun, beer-soaked, Puget Sound-smelling, back-yard stomping garage band life."

Want to know all the options at your fingertips? Here's what we've got on the Friday imaginary calendar:

more...

It would be enough for an artist to release a great album from his own group while helping out a huge, still vital band like REM create new, meaningful music since the mid-90s. But Seattle-in-Portland-exile (well, that's how I see it) indie rock originator Scott McCaughey simultaneously released a mighty fine Minus 5 full length just as his reunited OG band the Young Fresh Fellows put one out too. And it turns out that if I Think This Is was released by itself in any year, it would have been considered a come-back coup for the caustic troubadour. On top of that, McCaughey, Steve Wynn (Dream Syndicate), Linda Pitman, and REM's Peter Buck (!) have just released The Baseball Project, a spritely whole album dedicated to their baseball fandom. That's sort of like McCaughey's version of Sandinista! separated into three different releases with three different bands and no Mikey Dread or kid's choruses. Wow. (Key tracks on The Baseball Project: "Ted Fucking Williams," "Sometimes I Dream Of Willie Mays," and "The Death of Big Ed Delahanty.")

more...

at The Tractor

I've written up this review several times, abandoned a half-dozen drafts, and have decided that it's best to just give it to you straight:

The Tripwires and the Young Fresh Fellows rocked our fucking faces off on Friday night.

There, I said it. And pardon my choice of adjective, but there's really no other way to explain how good this show was. The bands were unbelievably tight, the choice of venue was perfect (The Tractor, obvs) and the sound was absolutely stellar. I mean, I actively sought out and purchased a poster. A poster. Do you remember the last time you did that? I do. It was when the Wrens and Okkervil River played two nights at Neumo's for the KEXP Yule Benefit a few years back. (Talk about getting your face rocked off!) And that's the kind of night this was, only on a smaller scale -- a well-matched bill, perfectly executed, with the three of us ambling down the sidewalk afterward, all reeling and sweaty and shouting over our ringing ears.

more...

This is definitely kid-friendly music, led by standout tracks like "Nellie The Elephant," performed by Sgt. Major, and "Picnic," performed by the Young Fresh Fellows.

more...