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.
To enter to WIN FREE TICKETS, click HERE, or e-mail nikki@seattleshowgal.com with the words “The Mountain Goats” in the subject line. Please be sure to include the two names you would like listed at the door. Happy clicking!
Final Fantasy, whose name comes from the popular video game series, is not so much a group as it is the solo project of Owen Pallett, although Leon Taheny is also credited with being the drummer and engineer. Owen is a violinist, composer, and vocalist from Toronto, and he is one of the mainstays of the Toronto music scene. You may not have ever heard of Owen Pallet, but you’ve certainly heard his work before. Pallett was the co-writer for the string arrangements on The Arcade Fire’s Funeral and Neon Bible. He was also the writer of the string arrangements on the Beirut album The Flying Club Cup and Grizzly Bear’s Yellow House. He has worked with many other bands, including Pet Shop Boys and Great Lakes Swimmers, as well.
Pallett might have lent a helping hand to some big bands, but in his solo work, Pallett truly shines as an artist. His first album Has A Good Home was recorded in 6 days while touring with The Arcade Fire. It’s a collection of whimsical chamber pop and some Joanna Newsome type folk. On Final Fantasy’s second album, He Poos Clouds, Pallet does an 8-section movement with a string quartet describing each school of magic from the Dungeons and Dragons role playing game.
For his live performances, Pallett is alone on stage strumming and bowing his violin and using a loop pedal. He loops previously played harmonies through his sampler and plays additional parts and sings simultaneously. It’s a quirky mix of chamber and indie pop. His music might be hard to follow because he loops in different time signatures and different keys but it’s mesmerizing to watch one man make such a huge sound. His spellbinding performances are definitely worth showing up early for.
The Mountan Goats started in 1991 as the brainchild of John Darnielle. He was simply writing poetry and putting it to music. In the early years, the recording was done on a 2 track recorder and was extremely lo-fi. It was a period of intensive song writing, where Darnielle wrote short fictions about everything from drug dealers and debt collectors to mummified vikings and attic dwellers. The lo-fi recording came to its pinnacle in 2002 when Darnielle teamed up with his friend, bassist Peter Hughes, to record All Hail West Texas and Tallahassee. The two toured relentlessly over the next several years. They released several records, including the great albums Get Lonely and Heretic Pride.
While Get Lonely sounded almost like a confessional, with John Darnielle crooning about a dissolving relationship, Heretic Pride was a return to Darnielle’s short fiction style of song writing, as he sings about joining cults and gathering in smoke filled rooms. On October 6th of this year, The Mountain Goats released their newest album, The Life Of The World To Come. All the tracks are named after bible verses and they’re supposed to be as universally relatable as the book itself. John himself said the album was about 12 lessons the Bible has taught him. Whether singing about the helplessness of watching someone die of cancer, or driving in the rain just to shoot up in your car, the album is full of metaphors that can directly relate to your life.
During the live shows, John Darnielle is captivating. He commands the stage, sometimes in a whisper sometimes with a yell. Either way, it will keep you coming back for more. Catch him at the Showbox at the Market on Tuesday November 11th.
THE SEATTLE ROCK ORCHESTRA PRESENTS FUNERAL: A TRIBUTE TO THE ARCADE FIRE
November 17th at 8pm at the Fremont Abbey
Seattle, WA – On Tuesday November 17th, 2009 the Seattle Rock Orchestra will perform The Arcade Fire’s iconic album Funeral in it’s entirety, featuring 50 piece orchestra, backing band and guest vocalists including Matt Bishop (Hey Marseilles),Ian Bell (Black Swedes), Jima (The Purrs), Alessandra Rose (The Kindness Kind), Matt Shaw (With Friends Like These), Jasen Samford & Danny Oleson (Exohxo) & Shenandoah Davis. Exohxo opens with a set of fully orchestrated indie-pop tunes.
Since December of 2008 the Seattle Rock Orchestra has accompanied local artists Jeremy Enigk, Jesse Sykes, Damien Jurado, Rosie Thomas, and bands Black Swedes and Grand Hallway. Comprised of some of Seattle’s best professional & amateur classical and pop musicians, SRO collaborates with bands and artists to produce one-of-a-kind symphonic shows.SRO is directed by bassist and orchestrator Scott Teske.
This is an all ages show.Doors at 7pm, show at 8pm.Presale tickets can be purchased online on the Fremont Abbey blog at www.fremontabbey.org/?p=541 for $12 (general) and $10 (students/seniors), or for $15 at the door.Purchasing tickets in advance is recommended as past shows have sold out and tickets have not been available at the door.The Fremont Abbey is located at 4272 Fremont Ave N.
Seattle Show Gal is in hot pursuit of undiscovered talent! How many great bands are out there that are slipping through the cracks? Seattle is saturated with so much music, it would be nearly impossible to sift through it all to find the good stuff. The Seattle Show Gal staff is not so proud to think that we can bring you all of it, but we are actively pursuing all different types of acts to give you a pulse on what is going on--right here in Seattle! (See more in "About")
