I don't know if y'all remember me raving about Blue Skies for Black Hearts earlier this Summer when I saw them play with Tennis Pro, but I just remembered they are playing in Seattle again this Thursday at the High Dive, so I had to alert the masses because YOU DO NOT WANT TO MISS THIS. 

On Thursday night, this excellent Portland band will take the stage for Elba's record release party with Matt Badger (from Ravenna Woods) and Jarret Killen. Word is they will play 3rd - but you should go shortly after doors so you can listen to the other bands too. Just don't miss these guys, trust me. They will impress you.

Thursday, 9/22
The High Dive
Jarret Killen | Matt Badger
Blue Skies for Black Hearts | Elba
Doors @8pm, $7 cover

Photo by Justin Dylan Renney from the BSFBH web site. 

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Our own (previously imaginary) Chris Burlingame has been rockin' Seattle's journalistic world with his poptastic site Another Rainy Saturday, and we're pleased as punch that he's put together a second show!

Tonight's High Dive lineup is made up of three bands that sold me on first listen, and were clearly made to complement each other: Secret Shoppers has a synth-heavy retro 80s sound that I love, The Midget does catchy electro pop with sweet vocals, and Glitterbang has got some SOUL going on amongst sway-worthy, bounce-inducing beats and sexy, throaty crooning.

I know, I know. BUT THE SUN IS OUT, you say. It's totally cool. Doors don't open 'til 8, so you have plenty of time to prefunk on a sunny patio (I hear Nectar has a great happy hour!), and then head on over to the HD get your groove on.

The deets:
Another Rainy Saturday and the High Dive Present:
Secret Shoppers
Glitterbang
The Midget
Thursday, 5/12
Doors @8, $7, 21+

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For those out of the loop, Tomten is a Seattle band that enchanted the judges this year at the EMP Sound Off! finals. So much so, they aced the "Wild Card" vote and won. (OK, yeah, I was one of those smitten judges, hence the following interview.) They have a sweet nine song debut available at local record shops, and with a lot of shows coming up, you're going to be hearing a lot more of them. They're booked to headline the High Dive this week on Thursday, April 28, then the all-ages Vera on May 13. Both shows are more than worthy of your night-out dollar.

Also coming up is the beloved literary/music event Verse Chapter Verse, this time held at Chop Suey on Saturday, May 28 (7pm). This installment will be with cult science-fiction author China Mieville, who will be interviewed live by The Stranger. Paul Constant, a VCV promoter and fellow Stranger scribe, descibes Tomten as, "...a local up-and-coming rock and roll outfit that calls back to the Rolling Stones and the Zombies while moving forward with a jittery kind of gonzo energy. I think their organ-heavy music will mesh with Mieville's self-described weird fiction in fantastic, science fictional ways."

Below is our hot-fresh interview with singer/songwriter/guitarist/organ grinder Brian Noyeswatkins, initiated when I ran into him at the Elliott Bay Bookstore Cafe as he was planning to quit his job at Value Village and grabbing a coffee. He had a bad cold, but that didn't prevent us from lining up this exchange and bonding over Big Star and other sublime frequenices.

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Okay. So, in case you've missed the squee-ing we've done over the album, or the nifty DIY video, or all the amazing they brought to Audioasis on KEXP recently -- let us tell you again: Youth Rescue Mission is a Good Band. And in the sea of things you could have taking over your Thursday night, this show is hands-down the one event you should let your boat succumb to. Period.

YRM will be at the High Dive tonight with Smokey Brights (who come complete with a smattering of local all-starness action) and Sean Flinn and the Royal We. Doors are at 9. Cover is six bucks. And as per usual, it's a 21+ show. Dig on the poster, show up early enough to buy your passes at the door, and go -- we promise you'll dig how Youth Rescue Mission does it live!

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Our favorite Australian balladeer is coming to Seattle for an early Saturday show on Saturday 16th! Touring in support of 2010's brilliant I Will Love You At All (which was one of my top 10 records of 2010) and the recent Butterfly Bones EP (which features two songs from the album), Darren Hanlon will take to the High Dive stage at a very reasonable 5.30pm time slot to charm us with his unmatchable disarming banter and cozy melodic tales of schoolboy crushes, punk roommates, true love, and squash.

More than just a fella with good taste in friends (he's opened up for the Magnetic Fields and Billy Bragg, just to name drop a little), most folks leave his shows feeling like you have a new BFF... and one that can play the ukulele at that. Let's start off our Saturday night in High Dive style!

And if your friends still aren't convinced that they should join you at the DH show...

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Good music, good people, good ol' Fremont, good ol'... well, everything. These are our high expectations of this up-and-coming Thursday night, when Young Lions, Bryan John Appleby, Fort Union, and Widower take the stage at the High Dive.

In the event you're not familiar with all these fine folks, take a moment to do some parking with your soon-to-be-favorite corners of the internet: Young Lions will have some live tracks up in the next minute or two (if they're not up already) with up-to-the-moment details on their Facebook page here; the new-great (as opposed to late-great) Bryan John Appleby will woo-and-croon you into submission at his Bandcamp page here. And of course, as we heard last week, Fort Union's got some new tunes up at their Bandcamp mixed by the Mighty Gary Mula, and you can find those just begging to be clicked right on over here.

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When Travis Hay launched his site Ear Candy 5 years ago, he had no idea that one day an evil corporate giant would come after him and force him to change his name, which you know, frankly SUCKED. But! Lucky for us, he simply changed the name to Guerilla Candy (oh man I love that new tagline) and continued to give Seattle readers the same great coverage with music news, show and album reviews, interviews, etc.

Now that the legal nightmare is over, it's only natural that he'd also choose to make a clean break with his old name by throwing an awesome party at The High Dive this Friday {2/4} with four of his favorite local bands: My Goodness, Hot Bodies in Motion, Hobosexual, and Hounds of the Wild Hunt. The evening will be hosted by the city's favorite cowboy Brent Amaker, and is sure to be a rockin' good time. Swing on by and give Travis some props, will ya? He's a great guy and deserves some, trust me.

Guerrilla Candy's Launch Party
Hounds of the Wild Hunt
Hot Bodies in Motion
Hobosexual
My Goodness
Hosted by Brent Amaker
The High Dive
Friday, February 4
$10

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It's rare these days that I make it out of my house on a weeknight to see a show, but this Thursday I'm heading down to the High Dive in Fremont to see the Black Swedes emote some extreme alt-rock goodness and celebrate the release of their 3-CD box set, Catching Up with the Black Swedes.

The Swedes will be joined by Levi Fuller and Colin J Nelson (who is also releasing a new CD that eve). Show starts at 9pm with a $7 cover. Who's with me?

Note: In my review of Catching Up with the Black Swedes, I said the CD box set would be available for $10, but they will actually be selling it for only $7 at the show!

It's another lace-your-sneakers up kind of Friday here in Seattle -- so go get those kicks out of the back of your closet and get ready to hit the town.

Kurt B. Reighley's reading / booksigning at Elliott Bay Bookstore

Prefunk your Friday night right with a stop at Elliott Bay Bookstore in Capitol Hill around 7p. That's where you'll find our good pal Kurt Reighley (who you may also know as DJ El Toro from KEXP) reading selected sections from his new book, United States of Americana: Backyard Chickens, Burlesque Beauties, and Handmade Bitters: A Field Guide to the New American Roots Movement. Come early, get a good spot, and get your listen on -- and while you won't need an ID to get into this one, make sure you bring wallets along so you can pick up a copy.

Cataldo at the High Dive

We recently heard from Matt Bishop, lead singer / songsterer extraordinaire from the alt.orchestra-pop outfit Hey Marseilles, who recommended we take a moment out of our busy imaginary days to give the band Cataldo a listen -- and we're sure glad we did! Cataldo's sparse-but-loaded, sometimes twangy, always heartstring-yanking sound swept us right off our Mary Jane-wearin' feet. We can't wait to dig on the live show at the High Dive after Kurt's book party --  get there early to check out the warmups, as Red River and Drew Victor open.

If that doesn't suit your taste, mosey on over to check out Wheedle's Groove at Neumo's or "The Best of the New" at Columbia City Theater -- both are guaranteed to get your weekend started right. Wheedle's Groove will be taking the stage with DJs Mike Nipper and Marc Muller from the Emerald City Soul Club, putting on a night to remember as a fundraiser for Mother Maxine Hill. (Mother Maxine passed away recently, and funds are being raised to help cover the family's medical and funeral expenses.)

Out the other end of town, you can check out an awesome gig over at Columbia City Theater, where great new sounds from Lemolo, Kimo Muraki, Luke Stevens, Kirsten & Travis, Bryan John Appleby, and Youth Rescue Mission will be bringing the bliss -- for free. That's a lot of band for no bucks!

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If Ariel Pink isn't your thing, then consider checking out Iowa's favorite sons, The Poison Control Center tonight at the High Dive! Think of it as Pavement with gymnastics. I've seen these boys a bunch (including last night in a 200 sq ft basement in Olympia) and they are absolutely one of my favorite live bands. You can hear me gush for about a minute straight on our latest Imaginary Mixtape about how much I love this band.

No two shows are the same, but last night's set included a crowd surfing guitar player, tons of guitar solos played upside down candle-stick style (see above), and lots of rolling on the floor and doing the splits. I just wish I'd brought a camera. Of course, tonight they play on a stage, but as you can see in this below video, that doesn't make much of a difference. If you're looking to thrash around (with Salmon Thraser opening, no less!) with a giant grin on your face, I'll see you at the High Dive.