Tag Archive live music

ByGD

Get Down, Stay Down

I was pretty bummed when the Neptune converted from a movie theater to a live venue. I mean, it’s way better than getting torn down for condos. But I had a lot of movie memories there. Then I saw Thao and the Get Down, Stay Down there. Car Seat Headrest played that night, too. I already liked both bands, but seeing Thao live I realized she is a legitimate rock star. (I later saw her at Doe Bay Fest, where the folky aspect of the band was on more prominent display). Really, you couldn’t put that space to better use.

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Music I Like – Live Performances

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.

Barret Anspach

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.

Shrine of the Serpent

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.

Immortal Bird

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.)

Pelican

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

Concerted Resolution

Hmm. New Year’s Resolutions. Not really my thing. I always want to be healthier, make more money, and finish writing that novel. How is a new year going to make me more likely to do any of that? After all, New Year’s Day is arbitrary. One year, I had three of them. One on January 1st in Singapore; another a couple weeks later in India when the Tamils ran painted bullocks through town and threw apple-bananas in the air; and a third a month later when I ate Indian-Chinese food to celebrate the Year of the Horse. Read More

ByGD

A PSA About Protection

All of these pictures are here to remind you how important it is to always wear protection.

By all means, have kids if you want them (I love mine) and whatever you do, keep enjoying live music and share that love with your kids. But noise causes hearing loss. It is inevitable and irreversible. But it can be slowed by minimizing exposure to extremely loud noise, like heavy machinery and amplified music – any amplified music, even if the sound is “mellow”.

For years I thought I was too cool for earplugs, and went to scores of concerts without them. Now my hearing loss is typical of a person a decade older than me. When your kids go off to college they might be stupid like me, but until then it’s up to you to protect their ears.

Helmets when they ride bikes or motorcycles. Protective ear muffs when they are little, ear plugs when they are big enough. They are not expensive, but not wearing them is.