Gosling pretty much says it all. Tennis Pro is playing on Wednesday, February 8 at Chop Suey with two Japanese bands with perfect rock-and-roll names: Troll 8 (also the owner of Chop Suey's band) and Gnosis  - plus, The Terrordactyls, who also hail from Seattle, and post pictures of sad pizza. Oh, and they also sound pretty neat, so they should complement Tennis Pro's awesomeness just fine.

So I'll see you guys up front near the stage, right? 

Chop Suey Presents 
TENNIS PRO
The Terrordactyls
Troll 8
Gnosis
plus guests 
Friday, Feb. 8 | Doors at 8pm | $7 

{photo courtesy of Tennis Pro's Facebook page} 

Dear lovers of The Posies and Jon Auer's brilliant solo tunes - I have the perfect holiday gift idea for you! On Wednesday, December 21, Mr. Auer will be singing and playing an acoustic show at Volterra in their cozy, private Drawing Room. This intimate concert only has 60 tickets available, and there are two levels of Auer-esque bliss: 

$30 gets you a seat
$100 gets you reserved seating, + a meet-and-greet with Jon before the show, with light appetizers & wine courtesy of Volterra! A portion of these VIP tickets will benefit SIFF too - AWESOME.

(I know which pair of tickets I'd like to recieve!!) 

It's no secret that I'm a huge Posies fan - and I've sung my heart out to many a Jon solo show over the years, because THIS GUY IS THE BOMB. Plus, DJ Marco Collins is going to spin some tunes for guests before Jon takes the stage!!! And Volterra is one of my favorite places to eat and drink at. I can't think of a better way to ring in the holidays, can you? 

Holiday Acoustic Show with Jon Auer
Volterra Drawing Room
DJ Set by Marco Collins
Wednesday, 12/21 @7:30pm
GA: $30, VIP: $100 | Tix available at brownpapertickets.com
All ages | Cash bar w/ID

{A Cautionary Tale will be in stores 3/8/2011}

First off, I have to confess that I picked up this CD simply because of its AMAZING cover, which is styled like an uber creepy Little Golden Book with illustrations by artist Travis Lampe (I've already picked out 10 things I need from his site). The disc itself even looks like a little 45! *squee*

Secondly - omg, you guys. I don't think I've fallen in love with an album at first listen like this since Rilo Kiley's The Execution of All Things. The Pauses have put together a simply stunning debut. From the synthy keyboard notes of "Beyond Bianca" to the sway-worthy heartbreak beats of "Pull the Pin", I adore every single goddamn thing about A Cautionary Tale. Lead singer and keyboardist Tierney Tough's throaty vocals are complemented by pretty melodic oohs and ahhs from multi-instrumented Jason Kupfer (guitar, keys, computerboard (!), and foot bells), and ably backed by Nathan Chase's drums and electronics.

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My favorite Canadians, also known as Sloan, made this entirely rad video near an airport for their song "The Good in Everyone" way back in 1996. Even though the song is only about 2 minutes long, the video is a little over 4 minutes, which makes for an interesting jet engine prelude. It's well worth the wait for the seriously catchy beats of this indie-alt-rock-power-pop foursome.

(psst: I've seen them live SEVERAL times, and they are always awesome! If they make it to Seattle again, I highly recommend.)

I stumbled on to this band via OK Go, because Debate Team is their drummer's (Dan Konopka), side project. A quick listen told me all I needed to know: Debate Team makes bouncy indie-rock songs that are catchy, fun, and easy-to-fall-for. Give them a try with the video above for "My Expertise" (which is also totally adorbs), and if you like that, you can download the whole album Wins Again on iTunes here for about $8.

Craving some cover action? This new video from Nada Surf was filmed during their 2010 European tour in Nuremberg, Munich and Dresden and features their cover of "Enjoy the Silence" from the If I Had a Hi-Fi album. Since I'm kind of a Depeche Mode purist, it took awhile to grow on me - but I now appreciate the re-styling...I'm just wondering how many people in that audience have heard the original. :)

But hey! Speaking of Depeche Mode covers, we'll be on hand at this year's Dancing on the Valentine: Strangelove benefit show on Friday, 2/11 at the Crocodile. Join the Facebook page and stay tuned for updates here on TIG.

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Another discovery via my boyfriend - I love, love, LOVE the way this Portland band rocks my socks off! I can’t really put a label on what they do (they call it indie/alternative/pop-post-punk, so I guess they can’t either), all I know is: it is awesome. Watching them live in this KEXP video at Bumbershoot last year makes me all giddy with anticipation.

I’m unsure if I’ll be able to make it to the show on Friday, but you absolutely should because it’s going to be a bouncy night of super-fun with The Thermals, Unnatural Helpers and White Fang. Swing on by Moe Bar to buy some tix, or pick them up online here.

Friday, 1.21 at Neumos
Doors @8pm
Cover: $12 (Advance)
All Ages, Bar w/ID

Ramshackle rock rules with Blitzen Trapper.

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Beartrap Island has ideas bursting out of every corner, often giving the album a ragged and unfinished appearance.

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