The Tractor Tavern is in for a night of Indie Blues-driven Folk on Friday, May 31st. Seattle native, Tom Eddy (also Beat Connection vocalist), is playing along with openers Heatwarmer and Pollens. “Tractor booker Greg Garcia offered me the opportunity to put together a bill of my choosing.  In my humble opinion, the resulting bill showcases some of the most amazing bands/musicians in Seattle,” Eddy stated. (more…)

Secretly, I was hoping Mount Eerie would play “Lost Wisdom” of their 2009 album Wind’s Poem. But given the release of two stellar new albums, Clear Moon a short few months ago and then Ocean Roar just last week, I knew the chances were slim. Besides, within the two new releases are plenty of new greats to look forward to. I was lucky enough to catch Phil Elverum, the mastermind behind Mount Eerie (formerly known as Microphones) perform at The Heart of Anacortes last weekend. (more…)

In almost any other city in the world, the crowd at Backspace may have been considered….to say the least, a bit odd.  Angel headed hipsters all decked out in their finest flannel shirts and skinny jeans, and fueled by the spirit in which the Goofpunx Festival provides annually (and maybe a few cans of PBR).  But, this is Portland.  A city that has taken the right ideas of absurdity and artistic reality from the likes of Greenwich Village and/or San Francisco to a whole new bizarro type of direction.  And for fans of punk and/or enlightening freaked out music, there couldn’t be a far more perfect way to spend and evening with the legendary group we all know and love, Bobby Joe Ebola & The Children Macnuggits. (more…)

Long gone are the days when hip hop music was simply about how flashy your car is or how great blood diamonds look around your neck.  Nowadays it is more important to have a good head on your shoulders, a great rhythm, and maybe even a live full 8 piece live band?  And  here in the heartland of the Northwest, there happens to be a fabulous group who has all of these elements and so much more.  There are known as Flying Spiders.  And they are everything an indie music lover could want in a hip hop act. (more…)

We arrived at What The Heck after perusing Shipwreck Day and grabbing some eats at Gere-A-Deli to catch the second half of Takhoma’s set. On stage was Phil Elverum and another fellow I met briefly the day after (Sunday) but failed to get a name. Elverum was on drums and the unnamed guy played guitar and sang. (more…)

The stars seemed to align in the 120 year old neighborhood of Brownes Addition in the fair city of Spokane. We had downright miserable weather just a few days prior, but with the 5th Annual Elkfest well underway, it was bright, shining, and thunderous with activity as the big night came upon the thousands of locals who would flock to the neighborhood known for it’s classic homes turned into kitchenette apartments and friendly bungalows. (more…)

Living amidst the wheat fields in eastern WA has reminded me lately of how well small towns can be suited to particular things. Locally grown food, irresistible coffee shops, and most importantly the glory of house-shows. The independent music spectrum lends itself well to the intimacy of a house-show performance. (more…)

There are a few reasons I rarely go to shows, and to be honest it’s a shame. First and foremost is the time of day. I’m usually in bed by 10:30PM, which isn’t conducive to witnessing live music. Second is the awkward moments prior to showtime — inevitably, I am that guy standing in the corner against the wall pretending to be absorbed in texting or Facebooking or Tweeting because, despite arriving 45 minutes after doors, the first band is still nowhere near starting. And I tend not to know anyone either. But really, this is all the precursor to the amazing. Yes, Hey Marseilles blew my socks off. (more…)

Someone once told me music is a spiritual experience; to listen to it is to allow ourselves to become a part of something intricately beautiful, difficult, and communal. Indeed there is something irrevocably spiritual about the music of Horse Feathers; a depth and lushness in their simple tone and candor that lifts us into a place of rumination. (more…)

Located in the heart of downtown Spokane sits what might possibly be the most ill coordinated bars on earth. Yes, for an act to play “Baby Bar” (the actual bar area only being a 12 ft by 12 ft room), actually means you will be squeezing you and your gear into a devastatingly small spot next to a couple of pinball machines in the burrito restaurant that makes up the majority of the building (Neato Burrito, without a doubt the best burrito in Spokane.) But, for the likes of Jared Mees & The Grown Children, it’s just another setting for these folk-oriented indie rockers to showcase their irrefutable talent as not only brilliant musicians, but as a live act that is not to be missed when they pass through your city. (more…)