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Reading press releases at work has it's downfall. If you read something really awesome, it's hard to not react too much or look too excited. Case in point when I found out about Maintenant, the premier release by (the mostly Canadian) Gigi - a "supergroup" of sorts, with songs written in the classic 60's Brill Building/Phil Spector style by Vancouver's Nick Krgvich (P:ano, No Kids) and vocals by Mirah, Zac Pennington of Parenthetical Girls, Rose Melberg, Karl Blau, and more. I am a huge sucker for 60's pop. Start that reverb soaked thump-thump-thump-clap beat with some crooning lovelorn vocals, and chances are, I'll be won over. These two early release songs are no exception. "No My Heart Will Go On" features a chorus of ladies, and "Strolling Past the Old Graveyard" features an extra melancholic Karl Blau at the helm. File this under release I'm ready to pee my pants over in 2010.

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Mirah is like yoga, Italy, and pizza... it's rare to hear an ill word said about any of them. She hardly needs me to list her finest attributes to convince you to go see her tonight at The Vera Project -- except to say that you wont be disappointed. And, who knows who you'll run into at the show? She really attracts the nice folks.

If that's not your style, you can join me at Conor Byrne's (in Ballard) to see the return of the Dexter Street Jug Band. They are back together after a few month's hiatus to celebrate their record release!

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Very few singers have a voice that approaches Mirah Yom Tov Zietlyn’s. She has a gorgeous, delicate voice that is intimate.

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Mirah albums are always hot topics at the imaginary roundtables (and calling dibs on covering her shows or reviewing her releases). There's something in her sweet folksie Oly-ness that grabs hold of each of us.

She's coming to town and performing an all ages show at the Vera Project on Thursday, April 2 and Three Imaginary Girls has a pair of tickets to giveaway.

Enter to win the tickets by emailing tig @ three imaginary girls . com (with a subject line of MirahTix) by noon on Sunday, March 29th.

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On Thursday night, Mirah and Spectratone International will once again be performing Share this Space, this time it is at the Henry Art Gallery here in Seattle.

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"Hey, whatever happened to the sweet young chick
Who fell for the babe with a strap on prick?"

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OK, the rain has let up a bit but I'm still not anxious to leave the apartment yet. Here's my 10 favorite local albums from 2007, complete with YouTube-y goodness - as best I could find it.

(I'm sure there'll be some continuity issues with the scores I've assigned - I wrote the reviews for four of the albums below. This is how I am ranking them at the end of the year.)

10. Fleeting Frequencies, Patience Please, Happy Happy Birthday to Me (song: "Bint"):

9.  ...The Art of Becoming One's Own Shadow, Lillydale, Mt. Fuji (song: unknown, at least to me, but it was the only one I could find):

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Featuring new releases from Okkervil River, Mirah, Billie Holiday, Public Enemy, and more!

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at The Gorge

Between an incompetent sound guy and inconsiderate festival goers, a perfect opportunity to catch a great local fixture in an amazing outdoor setting turned into an almost unbearable event.

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at The Vera Project

The music was more like a familiar Danny Elfman score from a Tim Burton film.

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