(Please oh please let them play this song at Wednesday's show)

This has been a rough week for me. Two of my favorite bands of ever and all time decided September, 2011 is the perfect month to step away from the tambourine and call it quits.  Oh REM and the Bluetones, I will miss you so. Your songs have made life worth living on many a day and I thank you for the memories.  

The only thing that has made the last week musically bearable is the fact that my dear Bright Eyes is going to be in Seattle this Wednesday, September 28, 2012 at the Paramount. 

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{Photos: Victoria VanBruinisse / Ashley Anthony}

As you are already aware, the Pacific Northwest is a breeding ground for amazing songwriters. One afternoon perusing the archives of the EMP or one evening bar-hopping the clubs of Capitol Hill proves as much. But, we are also lucky enough to have a slew of artists who can take a batch of proven songs and cover them in a way that infuses a whole new life and energy into them.

On Tuesday, May 10th one of Seattle's finest {Sean Nelson} and one of Portland's finest {Dave Depper} will each take to the Crocodile stage to re-introduce us to the songs of a couple of heros and we have a pair of tickets to the show to giveaway. To enter, email tig @ three imaginary girls.com with the subject line UncleAlbert before noon on Friday, May 6th.

Opening up the night is the always lovely and talented, Sir Sean Nelson performing his famous Nelson Does Nilsson tribute set. The only thing more beguiling than Sean dressed in his finest suit, is Sean evangelizing the brilliant song-smithing of Harry Nilsson.

Headlining the evening is Mr. RAM Project himself, Dave Depper, a Portland renaissance man who...

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We are counting down to the moment that we get to {gently} plop our imaginary arses on the knee of Santa Vanderslice for a pretty photo taken by photographer extraordinaire Laura Musselman at the Imaginary Holiday Office Party next week {December 16, 2010}.

But we know that things haven't always been so indie-rock for all of us... and we want proof! Please share your favorite / best / worst / funniest / cutest photo of you with Santa by posting it in the comments section of the Facebook invite for the Imaginary Holiday Office Party.

We'll reward the photo with the most 'LIKE's by 9a December 13th with a pair of tickets to the Imaginary Holiday Office Party {Thursday, December 16 at the Columbia City Theater}.

We can't wait to see what Santa looked like when he has his photo taken with you!

{I know it doesn't look like I wearing a skirt in the above photo. Short skirts were in that year!}

It's immeasurable how much Three Imaginary Girls adore the Old 97s. I personally have been smitten since I first heard the magic line "My name's Stewart Ransom Miller, I'm a serial lady-killer" waft from the KEXP airwaves {"Barrier Reef" on the album Too Far To Care} within weeks of settling in Seattle. From that moment on, I've purchased Too Far To Care about 25 times to give to friends in hopes of cheering them up / reminding them of the power of a great song.

Years after that first informal radio introduction, I was a lucky part of a three girls / one Rhett Miller interview. If I wasn't already convinced that there should be a Rhett Miller Rockstar degree program, I was after that lovely afternoon. Like all the Old 97s, frontman Rhett is as kind and friendly as he is talented and {let's be honest} heartbeat-skipping handsome. My fellow members on the RMR degree program committee compare most frontmen/ladies to him. Rhett is great on stage with the disarming banter and humble dance moves and just as genuine and appreciative off stage when he crosses paths with a fan. We wont name names, but both new and more seasoned showmen could learn a thing or two from him.

And why should you care what Rhett and the Old 97s are like both on and off the stage? Three Imaginary Girls is happy to offer you a chance to sneak into their soundcheck, meet/greet them before their show, and tickets to the big {21+} show at the Showbox at the Market on June 30.

To enter to win this timebomb of a prize, just email us at tig@threeimaginarygirls with the subject line "RollerskateSkinny" before 9a on Friday, June 25.

{Photo by Lisa Johnson}

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There is a lot of celebrate this Saturday {June 12th}.  Besides marking our eighth birthday and the release of Math & Physics Club's new album, the Crocodile is going to be site of a massive concussion of Seattle indie-pop with Aqueduct, Math & Physics Club, and Skeletons with Flesh on Them all taking the stage.

We'd love for you to join us so we've got a pair of tickets to give away to the show. To enter, email tig @ threeimaginarygirls.com with the subject line "JuneIndiePopRocks" before Wednesday, June 9th at 9am.

Can't wait until Saturday to hear all the fabu indie-pop, have a listen right now!

Aqueduct's MySpace Page

Math & Physics Club {imaginary podcast / MySpace page}

Skeletons with Flesh on Them's MySpace page

We'll see you on Saturday!

Three Imaginary Girls is excited to present a very special GET TOGETHER to have a sneak listen to the brand new NOT YET RELEASED album from the New Pornographers on Friday, April 23 at Neptune Coffee (at 8415 Greenwood Ave N.) from 6p-7:30p. The evening is free.

Besides getting to hear the newest release by the critically-acclaimed New Pornographers in its entirety well before the release date (which is May 4 on Matador Records), this happiest of hour event will have 21+ drink specials (thanks PBR!) and a bucket of amazing giveaways such as pair of one-day tickets to Sasquatch for Monday 5/31 (the day the New Pornographers will take the stage) and various New Pornographers objects like posters, pretty pretty vinyl and the like.

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One of the last times the Pitchfork-approved, London-based noise-experimentalists Fuck Buttons came through town, I thoroughly enjoyed their set (which was opening for Mogwai) and wrote:

For a little over 40 minutes, Fuck Buttons held the rapt attention of the audience, who seemed mesmerized by the two men up front; that could be, though that it was too loud to have much of a conversation. They used laptops, synths, a drum machine (and a drum pad) and a vocoder with their microphone. When Benjamin John Power or Andrew Hung would sing, their vocals were drowned out by the sounds around them; rather than pay attention to the lyrics Fuck Buttons force you to respond to the sounds they are creating.

Now they're coming back with a highly-regarded new album called Tarot Sport and playing at Chop Suey on Sunday night (November 15). If you want to go but aren't into the whole "paying to get in" sort of thing, send an e-mail to tig@threeimaginarygirls.com before 9am on Thursday (November 12) with "TarotSport" in the subject line and one lucky person and guest will be able to say to their friends "I'm going to see Fuck Buttons for free". The show is 21+, so you and your guest will need to have that taken care of before Sunday.

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Our friends from Friday Mile are celebrating the release of their brand new album Good Luck Studio this Friday (November 13, but don't let superstition keep you from checking out a great show) at the Tractor. Earlier in the year, they rocked the hell out of my birthday show at Chop Suey in January and in the spring they unexpectedly happened to be in the same city on their west coast tour as I was for my vacation (San Diego) and made for a great surprise.

Like the good, caring friends they are, the band asked if they could send a TIG reader (and guest) into the show for free. Of course we couldn't say no because the show will likely sell out and you know how the economy is and all that. If you want to be said TIG reader who gets to go to the Friday Mile CD release show for free, please just send an e-mail to tig@threeimaginarygirls.com before 9am on Thursday, November 12 with "GoodLuck" in the subject line. The show is 21+, so please enter and choose your +1 accordingly. The Dimes, The Banyans and Indian Valley Line round out the solid lineup.

Fact: everyone loves Mission of Burma. Amiright?

Proof: if you happened to be in Boston on October 4, less than a month ago, you were in Boston on Mission of Burma Day. Even more convincing, even Wikipedia loves MOB:

Mission of Burma's efforts are largely concerned with extending punk's original vocabulary without losing its essential rebellious spirit. Using rapid shifts in dynamics, unconventional time signatures and chord progressions along with tape effects, Mission of Burma challenges the prevailing idioms of punk while attempting to retain its power and immediacy.

The converse of which is that the exact opposite of the percentage of people who love Mission of Burma is equal to the same percentage of people who like paying for stuff. So, we want to send one of our readers (and a guest) to share in the love of MOB live at the Crocodile on Wednesday, November 11. Just e-mail us by Monday, November 9 at 9am with "BurmaIsNowMyanmar" in the subject line. One name will be drawn at random and it'll appear on MOB's guestlist  +1 on Wednesday night.

{Photo by Kelly Davidson}

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Athens, GA-based garage rockers The Whigs recently finished their third album In the Dark (ATO Records) and are scheduled to release it in early 2010. Their heading out on the road on an ambitious tour across North America that will include a stop at the Tractor on Saturday, November 14.

TIG was asked if we knew of anyone that would like to see The Whigs for free and, surely, we said we had a reader that would love to go. If you want to go but don't want to pay to get in, send an e-mail to tig@threeimaginarygirls.com before 9am on Wednesday, November 11 with "WhiggedOut" in the subject line. One lucky winner will get a spot on The Whigs' guestlist for the night and provided they're 21 or older, will get in and get to rock out with The Whigs.

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