Seattle Show Gal

SEATTLE ROCK ORCHESTRA PRESENTED FUNERAL: A TRIBUTE TO THE ARCADE FIRE

November 19th, 2009, 3:45 PM

Written by: Nikki Benson

To See Rating: 8/10
Just Curious Rating: 8/10

Band Members
(ummmmm…)

This post is something of a special feature. Special occasions call for special feature posts! November 17th at The Fremont Abbey was a red carpet affair for Seattle’s finest musicians. There were best of performances, a worst of, and a couple that were somewhere in between. Hats off to Scott Teske and the Seattle Rock Orchestra. The Seattle Rock Orchestra created an event where people felt like Gods gallivanting in the clouds. Five thousand years from now, there will be a class on Seattle Rock Mythology where they will tell about music being played by angels among humans. Scott’s conductor hand was as powerful as a titan, and the celebrity guest singers were like the children of God’s among us.

The outstanding celebrity guest performers will be given SSG awards with blurb explanations. The first goes to . . .

Matt Shaw, with the “Way to kick off the set, you understated hottie!” award.

Matt Shaw, of With Friends Like These, started the set off with “Neighborhood #1 – (Tunnels).” He walked to the front of the room, handsomely understated, and sang with fire, energy, and yearning. He embodied the desperation of the song perfectly. Shaw set the bar high for the other guest singers. When he completed, the audience roared.

Ian Bell receives the “Yeah I’m a tool, and what are you going to do about it?” award.

Ian Bell, of Black Swedes, took the stage as if he were the main act, and everyone else in the room just happened to be there. It was very awkward. Shenandoah Davis joined Ian to sing “Une Annee Sans Lumiere.”  She was speaking to him privately before the song about God only knows what, then directed him to the microphone as if he were drunk. “Une Annee Sans Lumiere” was very awkwardly preformed. There was about a minute where Bell and Davis danced at the end of the song that felt like the audience was peering in on a private moment–that we shouldn’t have been peering in on. NEXT!

Ian Bell had center stage for “Neighborhood #3 (Power Out).” This song started a bit awkward with Bell’s face contorting and him not singing directly into the microphone, but about halfway through, he really brought joy and happiness to the song–and the room. The second half of “Neighborhood #3 (Power Out)” almost made me forget that when they announced his name he looked at the audience with water bottle in his mouth and lifted his eyebrows like he was Cosmo Kramer. Ian Bell FTW!

Alessandra Rose gets the “MORE, MORE, MORE–HOT! HOT! HOT!!!” award.

Alessandra Rose, of The Kindness Kind, was dressed to kill! Her blonde hair was in a full-on Sonic the Hedgehog hawk, she had a golden sequenced dress on, she could have walked on anyone’s back with her golden spiked heels. Even with all that going on, Rose was nothing of an egocentric performer. Her rendition of “Wake Up” embodied pure strength. Each note off of her lips was powerful, poignant, and s-e-x-y! She was a high note of the evening.

Alessandra Rose and Shenandoah Davis performing “Haiti” was another high note. This song is simple and sweet, but three minutes of it was not enough. 10 minutes of “Haiti” would have been perfect, but thankfully SSG came FTW and brought the video camera–you can watch these leading ladies sing sweetly over and over.

Last but NOT least, Shenandoah Davis with the “DAHHHH!” award.

What is there to even comment about this? For most of the show, Shenandoah Davis played the fine roll of supporting actress, coming in with those intrinsic harmonies that made the leading vocalists shine. When Shenandoah Davis humbly took front and center to sing “In the Backseat,” she delivered controlled explosions. Her rendition was so emotional, there were tears falling all over the room. After the set, Shenondoah had an exchange with a fan that sounded something like, fan: “Shenandoah, you were making me cry!” Shenandoah Davis: “Good! I thought I was the only one crying.”  No Shenandoah, you were NOT the only one crying. Thank you for being an integral part of the evening, and closing the set, pre-encore, with a BANG.

Thanks again to Scott Teske, for setting up a beautiful evening, and for letting the early bird Seattleites be a part of it.

Categories: -Rock, Concert Reviews, Special Features | Tags: Alessandra Rose, Black Swedes, Haiti, Ian Bell, Matt Shaw, Neighborhood #1 - (Tunnels), Neighborhood #3 (Power Out), Scott Teske, Seattle Rock Orchestra, Shenandoah Davis, The Arcade Fire, The Kindess Kind, Une Anne Sans Lumiere, With Friends Like These