Three Imaginary Girls - Kay Kay and His Weathered Underground

Tonight's recommended show: The Head and the Heart at Columbia City Theater

imaginary victoria — Fri, 06 Aug 2010 22:48:01 +0000

If you're kicking yourself about missing The Head and the Heart last month at Block Party, The Comet, and/or Sonic Boom, you're in luck: our new favorite six-piece will be bringing the bliss to Columbia City Theater tonight, when they open up for Kay Kay and His Weathered Underground.

The Head and the Heart -- recently voted "Best Band that Didn't Exist Twelve Months Ago" in the Best of Seattle poll -- has taken our town by storm this summer. With a decidedly four-on-the-floor (and then some) sound and a stage presence that just won't quit, this group takes that earnest, backroad, achey-core vibe to a whole 'nother lev. And they're busy bees, too -- now that their self-titled release is out, they've got nine shows in September alone with the likes of Fences, Mt. St. Helens Vietnam Band, and more. Whether you're at KEXP's Mural series, heading to PDX for Music Fest Northwest, or just generally kicking it on the left coast, you'll be able to dig on one of their shows.

But getting back to tonight -- come for the sweet stories, and stay on for the headliner. Tickets are only $12 and the whole boat gets going at 9pm.

We'll see you at the show!

Three Imaginary Girls IndieTunes Podcast {Bumbershoot 2009}

three imaginary girls — Wed, 02 Sep 2009 05:02:21 +0000

Bumbershoot takes place at the Seattle Center this September 5-7 and there's about a million and a half things to do (bands, literary panels, art shows, Flatstock, kettle corn lunches) over the three-day fest.

To help folks (especially ourselves) prepare for Bumbershoot 2009, we put together this lil mix of some of the things you should add to your Bumbershoot scheduling spreadsheet. We hope this helps you pick your must-sees or at least provides a soundtrack as you wander to and fro.

{go listen}

54:38 minutes (50.02 MB)

Photo of the day: Kay Kay & His Weathered Underground at the Croc

imaginary keenan — Wed, 01 Apr 2009 15:11:20 +0000

As if we weren't excited enough about our Top of the Croc spectacular on Saturday, here's this lovely photo of Kay Kay & His Weathered Underground by our own Amelia Gyde who caught the Kay Kay/Builders and the Butchers show at the Croc last Friday.

Best of 2008: Top Northwest Releases of 2008 TIG Editorial Picks

three imaginary girls — Mon, 05 Jan 2009 20:10:11 +0000

TIG staffers are a lot like you -- coming up with our list of faves for the year is a fun and gripping process. After comparing/contrasting/debating our individual favorites, we figured the sum of our imaginary parts would make for an interesting list.

While ChrisB and Keenan, among other things, brought in the power-pop elements, Chris Estey stood by the smartie subtle elements of this year's Northwest offerings. Imaginary liz, as usual, loved the lo-fi and indie-pop songs, while imaginary dana spent much of the year obessed with Throw the the Statue and of course, the Fleet Foxes. And nearly all of us agreed that the Saturday Knights album was a force to be reckoned with. Here's our our staff votes tallied up...

Top Northwest Releases of 2008, TIG Editorial Picks:

25. The Nextdoor Neighbors - Magic Vs The Machine {live show review}
24. The Dead Science - Villanaire {album review}
23. H is for Hellgate - Come for the peaks stay for the valleys {info}
22. Kay Kay and His Weathered Underdround - Kay Kay and His Weathered Underdround {live show review}
21. BOAT - Topps EP {live show review}
20. LoveLand - The Beautiful Truth {info}
19. Damien Jurado - Caught In The Trees {album review}
18. Common Market - Black Patch War {album review}
17. Chris Walla - Field Manual {album review}
16. Hey Marseilles - To Travels and Trunks {live show review}
15. Jared Mees and the Grown Children - Caffeine, Alchohol, Sunshine, Money {album review}
14. Grand Archives - Grand Archives {album review}
13. Man Plus - Hungarian Suicide Songbook {album review}
12. Wallpaper - On The Chewing Gum Ground
11. (TIE) Young Sportsmen - If You Want It {album review}
11. (TIE) Doll Test - Mosque Alarm Clock
10. The Pica Beats - Beating Back the Claws of the Cold {info}
9. Team Gina - Products of the 80s {album review}
8. The Kindness Kind - The Kindness Kind {info}
7. The Pharmacy - Choose Ur Own Adventure {info}
6. Throw Me The Statue - Moonbeams {album review}
5. Dutchess and the Duke - She's the Dutchess, He's the Duke {live show review}
4. The Old Haunts - Poisonous Times {live show review}
3. All Girl Summer Fun Band - Looking Into It {live show review}
2. Fleet Foxes - Fleet Foxes {album review}
1. The Saturday Knights - Mingle {album review}

Peruse some of individual staffer favs:

Amelia Gydé
ChrisB
Chris Estey
Erik Gonzalez
keenan dowers
Kyle Johnson {his photos} {other's photos}
imaginary dana
imaginary liz
Shrie

skwinner.jpg

Win tickets to the New Years Eve Extravaganza at the Paramount

imaginary liz — Wed, 17 Dec 2008 05:33:48 +0000

Is there a better way to spend your evening than as a BIG WINNER with the Saturday Knights and Kay Kay & His Weathered Underground (among others) at The Paramount?

Chris B's Top 10 NW Releases of 2008

ChrisB — Wed, 17 Dec 2008 05:31:14 +0000

Here are the ten Northwest albums that made my iPod a happier place in 2008.

The Lashes with Kay Kay and His Weathered Underground

Imaginary Kiku — Wed, 09 Jan 2008 05:29:58 +0000

5 Jan 2008

lashes08jan-01.jpg

Last Saturday VERA was host to a rather eclectic line up of local bands, which included relatively new band Ships, the Lonely H from Port Angeles, and two Seattle favorites Kay Kay and His Weathered Underground and the Lashes. I think that this line up really proved something that I believe is true: everyone in Seattle has about 2 degrees of separation. The night was full of amazing music and pleasant surprises everywhere, which made it, as Ben Lashes said, "The party we've been waiting for all week."

Kay Kay and His Weathered Underground play so effortlessly together that you would never guess over half of the band are transient members. The band is made up of three core musicians: lead singer and guitarist Kirk Hoffman, keyboardist Kyle O'Quin and electric cellist Phil Peterson, also of Tennis Pro.

Last Saturday at VERA Kay Kay recruited the Lashes' bassist Nate Mooter, Ships' drummer Garrett Lunceford and a host of other musicians who played everything from electric violin to maracas to the flugelhorn. I imagine that it's hard to make all these unusual instruments work together and appeal to an audience of young indie rock enthusiasts, but Kay Kay manages to incorporate every strange sound into a myriad of jazzy, funky pop songs. The band performed so naturally that if felt to me as if I was watching them compose each song as they played it. The various sounds complimented each other beautifully, but they never sounded rehearsed or forced; each song was like the best improvisation imaginable. Every band member seemed passionate about the music and their constant dancing and moving to the beat added to the lighthearted air of extemporaneous jamming. Unfortunately, for whatever reason, Kay Kay's set was fairly short, but they left with us with the tantalizing information that they will be playing another all ages show soon, at the Triple Door on February 18.

I saw (and heard) Seattle powerpop band the Lashes for the first time at Bumbershoot last year, and for me, they really raised the bar for live shows. I came to VERA on Saturday with the thought that there was no way they could match their incredible performance last summer, but I left knowing never to doubt the Lashes. As soon as they took the stage the crowd got considerably rowdier than it had been for Kay Kay, and I found myself in the first moshpit I'd seen at VERA.

The Lashes know how to get people energized, which unfortunately resulted in one kid leaving the dance floor with a bloody nose. But the rest of the night went injury-free and the ever charismatic lead singer Ben Clark (nee Lashes) worked the crowd into a dancing, cheering frenzy while he and the rest of the band played a set full of catchy and powerful melodies. And, of course, at the end of the night, confetti was poured, silly string was sprayed and hundreds of noisemakers were thrown into the audience by Ben so that we could all hum along with the last song. I had previously assumed that the party favors were unique to the Bumbershoot show, but now I have to guess that this is trademark Lashes. They have the unique ability to involve their audience and make each show special and memorable.

I know there has been a fairly heated debate on TIG concerning the Lashes and that some have called them "gimmicky", but I disagree. The Lashes have in fact taken live shows to the next level by allowing their audiences to do more than just listen and watch. I whole-heartedly believe that they do what they do because they love the music and they love their fans and want everyone, themselves included, to have a good time.

After the last song was played, Ben announced something that I honestly couldn't hear over all the noisemakers, but eventually I understood from the shouts of people around me that there was pizza in the lobby. The crowd poured out of the dance floor and into VERA's cozy entrance hall where there were dozens of Pagliacci’s pizza boxes open and wafting delicious smells throughout the venue. The Lashes truly offer everything anyone (specifically a mob of teenagers) could want: great music, a fun time, and occasionally good food.

The night was full of amazing music and pleasant surprises everywhere, which made it, as Ben Lashes said, "The party we've been waiting for all week."