Three Imaginary Girls - The Dutchess and the Duke

The Dutchess and The Duke barely illuminated at Sonic Boom

Chelsea Werner — Thu, 08 Oct 2009 21:46:30 +0000

7 Oct 2009

Wednesday night at the Sonic Boom on 15th (soon to be relocated) The Dutchess and The Duke put on a pre-emptive record release show for eager listeners lined up between aisles of records and CD’s. On a darkened stage Kimberly Morrison and Jesse Lortz hit their harmonies more solidly than the previous time I saw them play at Bumbershoot and the tambourine guy was doing real good things with that tambourine. The performance was sparse and Jesse informed the audience that the songs on the new album were “more fuller.”

There was something sweet to the pared down songs. Recorded The Dutchess and The Duke are far from complex, but, for instance, they do incorporate violin on opener track, “Scorpio.” Live this track only had the two guitars and the female/male harmonies as legs to stand on. This made the song feel bare, but not in a bad way, in a sort of bare-all way. Almost as if the audience at Sonic Boom was getting the songs in pure, albeit poorly planned, form as Jesse and Kim stopped between each song to discuss which of the ten songs off Sunset/Sunrise, out October 6th on Hardly Art, to play. Despite Jesse’s statement that this album was written for the studio, these songs translated well to the crowd in the small record store.

The real record release party is Friday, the 9th at Crocodile. The band promised to figure out their set list by then, so even if you missed the intimate show at Sonic Boom, you can still get an earful of the new album’s light-in-the-darkness melancholia and rough country riffs that combine to create an illuminated product; something perfectly suited to those rare moments in your life when you realize something that has been painfully evident for a long time, it just needed a little light shone on it.

Capitol Hill Block Party 2009 {Friday}

Chelsea Werner — Wed, 29 Jul 2009 07:43:48 +0000

24 Jul 2009

Block party started off mellow enough with the sultry blues of The Dutchess and The Duke kicking off Friday on the main stage at 4 pm with “Reservoir Park,” the gravel between Jesse Lortz and Kimberly Morrison’s deep vocal harmonies foreshadowing the fine layer of grit that would coat my skin by the end of the day.

As far as I could tell The Dutchess and The Duke didn’t have much of a set list planned and they informed the audience that their bassist had only practiced with them three times before. Considering Lortz has a new-born and the band is gearing up for a month long tour with Modest Mouse to release their new album Sunrise/Sunset, their unplanned set seemed effortlessly smooth. I guess this can be expected from these two Seattleites who have known each other since high school and played in a multitude of bands in and around Seattle (watch the imaginary interview).

In the four songs I caught the end of the Flexions eclectic set on the Vera Stage, they ranged from droned-out synthy shoegaze to catchy surf tunes, their songs breaking and popping into variations on intstrumental themes aided by the computer behind guitarist Devin Welch and bassist Robin Stein. Their wide range of sounds allowed one song to cast a heavy darkness over the late afternoon or drop an up-beat ray, reminiscent of Tom Waits’ Real Gone, onto 10th avenue. Despite all their ambience, their stage presence was lacking.

From the little I overheard of Spinerette I didn’t need to get any closer to make out Brody’s distinct singing that failed to make Spinerette its own beast, distinguishable from The Distillers. With little to learn from that set, I headed back to the Vera Stage for Bow + Arrow.

Since Benj Rouse has been a powerhouse drummer behind this band on his own, I was excited to see what Bow + Arrow would do with the inclusion of a second drummer. The division of drum duties didn’t deliver any overwhelming energy to their set. The drums mostly served to bring together the choppy transitions. Lucas Thilman’s apology for being a jam band at the end of their set felt out of place. Despite the improvisational nature of this show, Bow + Arrow’s show was a genuine display of a hardcore band enjoying themselves in light of their immanent disbanding (watch the imaginary interview).

As I was headed to Neumo’s stage to see The Blakes, I got distracted by a cover of “Born to Be Wild” being played by The Black Lips on the main stage and lingered behind the beer barrier long enough to hear “Hippie, Hippie, Hoorah” and realize that the sound of crackling coming from their equipment wasn’t intentional, but sounded great.

I left the sweet yips and hisses of the Southern trio to be smothered by the deafening heat and distorted guitar of The Blakes inside Neumo’s. Their audience couldn’t help but be enthused by the sheer volume of the sound blowing over them--every single one of their instruments could have been turned down. Over all they were a solid bang-out band and the end of their set was comprised of songs that sounded like a mix of The Stooges and The Stones—Their recorded material is not so straightforward. If you care to look closer into this anomaly, look for their new album, Souvenir, out in October.

Back at the Vera Stage I was immediately sure that Micachu and The Shapes were the gem of the festival. Little Mica Levi strummed away on her modified guitar, a tiny little thing played with a hammer action called a chu and a bowed instrument fashioned from a CD rack. Next to Raisa Khan’s keyboard there were two empty wine bottles on cymbal stands and two cowbells. Attached to the full drum set, manned by Marc Pell, was more cowbell. Let’s just say, no one could ever fault Micachu and The Shapes for a lack of cowbell.

Throughout their set the keyboards hummed over spoken and spewed vocals, suddenly turning into an electronic thrashing for your eardrums. Harnessing the crackle of technical difficulties that The Black Lips hadn’t intended and placing it with meaning into the jarring keys, their songs slowly settled into brief melodic interludes and frenetically moved into syncopated blues. Overarching melodies were discernable through the veneer of cowbell and cymbal tinkling down over Mica’s horrendously perfect throat moans into the microphone, like raindrops jaggedly making their way down a window pane in a thunder storm.

At the end of Micachu and The Shapes’ most straight forward song, “Golden Phone,” Khan started slamming her palms along the keys and the song dissolved into a brief stint of insanity before it became even more pop-along-to and descended once again into what makes this band great—Not writing straightforward songs, but using punk sensibilities to contort pop into fun and unexpected shapes.

Even while I couldn’t tear myself away from Vera Stage even a little early, I knew, throughout Micachu and The Shapes’ set, Deerhunter was starting any minute. Thankfully, Mica and the band were also extremely interested in Deerhunter and so we all headed over to the main stage, pushing to the front of what had, in the past hour or so, become a packed to capacity and much more intoxicated block party.

What summed up Deerhunter’s set was the look plastered on the bassist’s face. His expression was as dreamy as even their most aggressive songs can be. They escalated from instrumental ambience to catchy melodies and on into extended bridges rife with riffs and danceable drums without ever falling into a self-indulgent solo.

Lead singer, Bradford Cox laughed off mistakes during “Rainwater Cassette Exchange,” and while playing “Agoraphobia,” the bassist turned his sunglasses upside down. A little guy ran out on stage in a trench coat with a bottle of Makers Mark, yelled incoherently into the mic and ran back off. Was it one of the members of The Black Lips? The bottle stayed on stage and they ended their set with “Operation,” off Weird Era Cont.

Built to Spill played a set packed full of audience picks and it was nice to know that my fellow city dwellers share much the same taste as me in the songs that make Built To Spill’s albums meaningful, including “Carry the Zero,” “You Were Right,” and “Reasons,” to name a very brief few. After reveling in sing-a-longs and a youthful nostalgia, made all the more sensory for the scent rising from the damp cement in the slight drizzle, I sauntered over to the Vera stage once again.

I am pretty sure that my pinky toe is broken from jumping around in the Mika Miko mosh pit with a crowd that seemed more excited by the dance injected punk noise than the band. Singer/saxophonist/keyboardist Jenna Thornhill repeatedly lamented that last year they played the small stage and this year, they were playing the small stage. The size of the stage hardly mattered, as they were the perfect way to regain a bit of the enthusiasm that had waned as day one of Capitol Hill Block Party came to an end.

(Mika Miko photo by joshc from the TIG flickr photo pool)

All of the photos without photo credit noted above are from Trickshot Photography... see them all!

Win tickets to see the Black Lips at Neumo's

imaginary dana — Mon, 20 Apr 2009 14:46:25 +0000

Happy Monday morning! Let's kickstart this very real work week with an imaginary ticket giveaway.

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

imaginary dana's top Northwest picks for 2008

imaginary dana — Mon, 05 Jan 2009 19:45:05 +0000

I'm a chronic procrastinator, so here it is, January 5th, and I'm finally ready to make sense of the musical chaos and wonderment that was 2008 and compile a list of favorites.

Don't even try to make me rank these releases in order, or I'll never, ever finish my list. Let's just say these were some of the very best local bands in my iTunes list this year, presented alphabetically.

Best of 2008: Best of Lists from Eli Anderson of the Crocodile

ChrisB — Mon, 05 Jan 2009 17:58:34 +0000

When I asked the very intelligent and capable talent buyer Eli Anderson of the soon-to-be-reopened Crocodile Cafe, I was expecting a list of ten records he liked. Instead, he had sent me several well-written lists and deserves countless bonus points because he even showed his work.

Grand Archives, Shearwater and The Dutchess & The Duke rock the Yule Benefit

imaginary victoria — Tue, 16 Dec 2008 16:54:00 +0000

12 Dec 2008

YB08_03-troy.jpg

As it has been for the last several years running, KEXP's 6th annual Yule Benefit was a roaring success. With a close to capacity crowd, Neumo's had no shortage on holiday cheer -- on top of the feel-good holiday buzz, there were tiny lights on the banisters, boys in tights and Santa-hats, and a few hundred cut-out snowflakes lining the walls. Sparkly and gorgeous, it was enough to warm the hearts of even the Grinchiest of Grinches!

Of course, the music didn't disappoint either: Friday night's set served up a helping of home-baked goodness with the sweet sounds of The Dutchess & The Duke, followed by the melodic large-guitar assault of Shearwater. And as if that weren't enough, feel-good headliners Grand Archives tied the whole night off with a bow.

Make sure to check out more shots in the flickr pool, and stay warm out there, everybody!

The Friday installment of KEXP's 6th annual fundraiser jingled our bells!

Win tickets to this weekend's KEXP's Yule Benefit

imaginary liz — Mon, 08 Dec 2008 05:23:23 +0000

KEXP know how to do it right. This year they are marking the holidays with not one, but two nights of yule goodness... and they are sharing the good times with us by giving us a pair of tickets for each night of Yule to give away to a lucky imaginary reader.

And in classic KEXP style, both evenings' line-ups are bumpin':

Friday 12/12 @ Neumo's

    * Grand Archives
    * Shearwater
    * The Dutchess and The Duke

Saturday 12/13 @ Neumo's

    * Thao with the Get Down Stay Down
    * Shearwater
    * Cancer Rising

You can enter to win tickets for each night, but you must enter each one seperately. To enter, email us at tig @ threeimaginarygirls.com with the subject line "KEXPYule-FRIDAY" or "KEXPYule-SATURDAY" before 4p (PST) on Monday, December 7th and you'll be entered to win.

***Please make sure to include your name in the body of the email***

Blood and guts and the Dutchess and the Duke

Imaginary Shrie — Fri, 05 Dec 2008 22:20:14 +0000

Who says heart-melty duos who sing with the wisdom of Bob Dylan and the striking magnetism of Leonard Cohen can't be gross too?

The Dutchess and the Duke tour with... why, Fleet Foxes!

imaginary dana — Thu, 29 May 2008 23:07:52 +0000

The Dutchess and the Duke are heading out for a 18-date tour with local wonderband-of-the-imaginary-moment Fleet Foxes.