ByGD
I often set myself up behind the sound guy at concerts, since where he’s standing is usually where the sound is best. I have so much respect for the job they do, especially because so much of the music I listen to is really hard to mix. But I am still angry about this show from years ago when one of my favorite bands at the festival was on stage and the sound guy spent the whole set on Facebook.
ByGD
I grew up in a family that was quite fond of archaic and colloquial proverbs like
If you’re not the lead dog, the scenery never changes.
I try to avoid such phrases now, but sometimes they still hold value. Like the much-adapted opening lines of Pride and Prejudice, I’d like to riff on this particular cliche to make it a little more relevant to my situation.
If you’re not in the front row, the stage is a black hoody.
This photo is nice, because I took it at a Meshuggah show. So at least I can tell where I was at the time. Because at this show, like every other show in which I didn’t fight my way to the front of the pit, a black hoody was all I saw of the show.
ByGD
The first and last time I ever saw Fox and the Law was at Macefield Festival in 2015. I think it was one of their last shows before breaking up. Folks in Fox and the Law are involved in Freakout Records and Freakout Festival, which seems to have replaced Macefield, and the band Acid Tongue, which I also like, and have gotten to see more than once.
But Fox and the Law was particularly my jam, a very particular type of rock music that I can never adequately describe because it is such a baseline sound for me. I even love the name, which sound like an ’80s tv show in the vein of Simon and Simon.
Plus, I’m really proud of getting a clear picture in red stage light. That is so hard to do.
ByGD
Last weekend was intense. On Friday night I saw the final program of Pacific Northwest Ballet’s season, Themes & Variations. On Saturday night I saw the Barboza lineup of Northwest Terrorfest. I intend to write about the ballet and the festival in more detail later, so I won’t say too much here, but naturally, I heard a lot of music I like.
There is alwasy good music at the ballet, but one piece in particular really grabbed me last Friday. Barret Anspach is a local-to-me composer. The double violin concerto VVLD was inspired by Vivaldi and written for the ballet Signature. I could not find an embed of the music, but it is worth clicking through to hear it on his webpage. http://barretanspach.com/#/music/vvld
And if you really can’t be bothered, here’s some of his older work.
I saw five great bands at NW Terrorfest on Saturday, but of course I had my favorites. As often happens with me, I was most interested (and then impressed) by the opening band. Shrine of the Serpent from Portland were crushingly heavy. I recently read an article about Henry VIII and their set reminded me of his habit of executing people by “pressing.” But unlike most ridiculously heavy bands, Shrine of the Serpent have loads of melody.
I love the name Immortal Bird, which reminds me of Thao Nguyen’s feminist rage in “Meticulous Bird.” But the music is much different. This Chicago trio is more like the prize box at the dentist. Yeah, you had to let someone drill holes in your mouth bones, but look at all the fun goodies you can pick from!
If that sounds like a backhanded compliment to you, just ask yourself if you’ve ever seen a kid who wasn’t stoked to dig through the dentist’s prize box? (Plus, if you bought tickets to NW Terrorfest, you probably kind of like the sound of the dentist’s drill.)
No, I did not see Pelican live last weekend, but since when have I ever been able to stick to a theme for an entire Music I Like post? The first time I ever heard Pelican, I realized there had been a seabird-shaped hole in my life up to that point. So when I found out this weekend that they are releasing a new album, Nighttime Stories, next week, you can bet I listened to the available tracks and loved them. I’ll probably like them again in next week’s post.
ByGD
Remember the Animaniacs cartoon? Where the cartoon characters ran around acting crazy until they saw a pretty girl, then they’d stop everything and shout in chorus, “Helloooo, nurse!”
It’s funny how silly lines like that can work their way into your personal vocabulary.
This one time, at band camp, at a music festival, I was wandering between shows and caught a glimpse of this guy. I stayed to watch hear the set.