"Is it just me...": Episode 72308
....or is it strange that they are charging admission for the Madison Street Fair?
Every other street fair I can think of is free, and usually involves some neighborhood association or business district: the Perry Street Fair, The Garland Street Fair, Hillyard Festival.
The full details on the Madison Street Fair haven't yet been announced, so maybe there is some community spirit, or neighborhood oriented aspect to be revealed, yet it still seems like a tall glass to drink to see a lot bands we're used to seeing for free at similar festivals over the course of the season.
The example I used in my column this week is Shim, the Seattle rock band that is headlining Madison Street Fair and also headlined the last two Elkfests, which of course is free.
What if Elkfest, or even Pig Out starting charging?
Andrew Bird against the Dark Knight?
I'll admit, I didn't really love "The Dark Knight."
I snuck out and caught an afternoon show on Tuesday. After the Josh Ritter and Andrew Bird show last night, I spent the majority of my pint at the Baby Bar, defending my opinion that, as masterfully told as it was, this wasn't the right story for Batman.
To be honest, I was way more excited about Ritter and Bird - the fanstastic double bill last night at The Bing - than I was about the Batman and Joker matchup (I know, I'm going to hell...).
A lot of people I talked to were split on Bird's dynamic, whirlwind of a live show - whistling, looping fiddle and guitar all at once - versus Ritter's rollicking truth in live performance and pure craftsmanship - that kid can write the ish out of a song and play it like a sport.
Bird had a four piece band with him but after a couple of songs it seemed like the guitarist and the bassist weren't completely necessary, almost like they were just for show. Bird really carried the load.
Ritter was almost the opposite thing, his band really complimented everything he was doing on voice and guitar. His bassist was a hoot and the keyboardist was the secret weapon, each adding his own something special to every song.
A co-worker who is a fan of both said Ritter's show was pretty similar to his Sandpoint performance last year, obviously more intimate because of the venue.
I enjoyed watching Bird, but loved listening to Ritter. At various points during the show I found myself closing my eyes so I could better keep up with the lyrics to songs I was hearing for the first time, so I was all ready when Ritter sang one song, I forget which, with the house lights turned completely off.
Another colleague pointed out that there wasn't enough stage time for Ritter and Bird to collaborate. That's sort of how I feel about the Batman and Joker in "The Dark Knight."
Either way, the both of them together were amazing on stage and no one walked away from the packed Bing Crosby Theater disappointed. I know it's not popular to say, but I had a lot of complaints about "The Dark Knight," but Josh Ritter and Andrew Bird was the best thing I saw Tuesday.
I think I've got some pretty cool video, plus a whole bunch of other multimedia from live shows I've been to this past week (Verhexen, Palms, The Globes, Motion City Soundtrack) so keep checking back. It'll be worth the wait.
Madison Street Music Fair lineup
I got wind of the full lineup for the Madison Street Music Fair, which may as well be called Empyrean Street Fair, as the event is being put on by the coffee house and music venue located at 154 S. Madison St.
There will be two stages, one in the street and one in the venue, and a beer garden (plus more festivities to be announced.
The event happens Aug. 8 and 9. Presale tickets are $15 for a two-day pass (.60 cents per band) or $10 per day, available Friday at Empyrean. Tickets day of show are $20 for two days, or $13 per day.
Here's the lineup (no set times yet):
Aug. 9
Pour Soi
Don't Tell Sophie
Junk Face
Slowly We Survive
Pickwick
Odyssey
Cyrus Fell Down
Ice Age Cobra
Oil of Angels
Joel Smith and the Hands of Plenty
Karli Fairbanks and the Pretty Flowers
The Beautiful Clarks
Lafayette
The Lonely H (last)
The Globes
Shim
Aug. 10
Merrick Diaries
Lord Kelvin
Meteorites Attack
Hallelujah Soul Explosion
Finn Riggins
Go Man Gos
James Pants
M(o)usa
Space Age Fur
B-Radicals
Monuments (I heard they broke up, maybe they're back together...)
Booze Fighters
Groove Patrol
Locke
Mixtape special: Salute to Sub Pop
Congrats to legendary label Sub Pop records for bringing 20 years of music that has come to define music in the Northwest - artists such as Nirvana, The Shins, The Postal Service, Mudhoney, and many, many, more.
As reported ina previous post, Sub Pop celebrated it's 20th anniversary last weekend with th SP20 Festival at Marymoor, which featured bands such as The Helio Sequence, Fleet Foxes (which is coming to Spokane with Wilco in about a month), Mudhoney, Iron and Wine, The Vaselines, Low, Flight of the Conchords.
The label release of series of re-issues and singles. (Find out more here.)
Here are just a few examples of what Sub Pop has done for the world:
"Can't Say No," The Helio Sequence
"Call it a Ritual," Wolf Parade
"The Bithday Wars," Oxford Collapse
"No Age," Eraser
"In n Out of Grace (Live in Berlin 1988)," Mudhoney
"Birmingham Eccentric," Kelly Stoltz
"Rat Is Dead," CSS
"Miniature Birds," Grand Archives
"Ladies of the World," Flight of the Conchords
"White Winter Hymnal," Fleet Foxes
Clint Black breaks in Two Rivers amphitheatre
The Spokane Tribe of Indians unveils its new outdoor amphitheatre on Saturday with a concert headlined by country music star Clint Black.
The Two Rivers Amphitheatre sits on the grounds of the Two Rivers Casino located North of Davenport on the Spokane Indian Reservation and has a capacity to comfortable seat 7,000-plus concert goers in festival style seating, where spectators are encouraged to bring a blanket or a lawn chair. Limited VIP seating is also available.
The 60-foot-by-25-foot stage features an impressive backdrop view of the confluence of the Spokane and Columbia rivers.
The venue offers food vendors on site and an enclosed beer garden with a view of the stage. Outside food is not permitted.
Local musicians will be appear onstage as well as the big names. Native American Music Award winner and Colville Tribe member Jim Boyd and local blues band Sammy Eubanks open the Clint Black show; Elbow Coulee and blues-rock scorcher Two Slim & the Taildraggers support country-pop singer Ronnie Milsap, who comes to Two Rivers on July 27.
Tickets for Clint Black and Ronnie Milsap are $40 each, available through TicketsWest, www.ticketswest.com, (509) 325-SEAT and Two Rivers Casino, www.tworiverscasinoandresort.com, (800) 722-4031. Gates open at 5 p.m.
Tent and RV camping with amenities such as laundry rooms and showers is available in the nearby RV Park and pavilion space through the Two Rivers Casino & Resort.
Spanning such genres as country, classic rock and pop, more concerts are expected to be announced at the venue throughout the summer.
Updated list of breakups and departures
In the last few weeks I've been made aware of several band breakups and/or local artists leaving the area.
Trip on the latest 7 so longs:
Requiem... Danny Weber's band has disolved and he's back to playing solo acoustic loop jams.
Melody Moore... is moving out of Spokane again.
Dave Hannon... is moving to Tacoma to get more intensely into his music.
The Longnecks... are going on an undetermined break when the bass players leaves the band after the band's farewell show at The Zombie Room on Saturday.
Monuments... recently split after a total of, I think, two shows.
Future Relics... is on extended hiatus and has cancelled all scheduled shows for the time being, after maybe five shows.
Flee The Century... is having a farewell on Aug. 15 at Empyrean.
It's been a good run, and some of these artists and bands will likely resurface in some other new (or old) incarnation.
Rock the Bells rings at The Gorge
A Tribe Called Quest reunion, The Pharcyde reunioin, De La Soul, MF Doom - Nas.
The headliners for the Rock the Bells hip-hop festival truly looks too good to be true.
Hip-hop heads were drooling at the lineup when I saw it announced a few months back, the only problem for cats in the region is that the closest the show was coming was Vancouver.
Well hopefully you didn't get your tix before it was announced that Rock the Bells is coming to The Gorge on Sept. 6.
Here's the lineup announced currently listed at The Gorge (subject to change): A Tribe Called Quest, Nas, The Pharcyde, Mos Def, De La Soul, MF Doom, Blue Scholars, Sage Francis, Murs, Wale, Jay Electronica, Spank Rock, The Cool Kids, Kidz In The Hall, Amanda Blank, hosted by B-Real, Supernatural and Scratch, and DJ Green Lantern.
Tickets are $50, through Ticketmaster. Camping is available.
Kaylee Cole gets Sound approval
Kaylee Cole got full-page layout love and a favorable review for her recent live performance at Seattle's Cha Cha Lounge in the sheets of Seattle Sound Magazine.
In the review, Mark Baumgarten writes: "If the songwriters unabashed giddiness confirmed her youth and inexperience, the beauty of her craft and ease in front of a discerning and unfamiliar crowd bellied it."
Here's the online version of the full review: Woot!.
Video from Andy Combs' Moth
This video clip accompanies this week's podcasts in
Spokane7.com/music/podcast, featuring multi-instrumentalists Jake the Snake and Dr. Space, who appear in Portland's Point Juncture, WA. side projects Andy Combs and the Moth and IOA (pronounced like the Midwestern state).
...just an improv interlude between sets, so you get the idea.
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Knitting Factory L.A. update
I had a chat with staff from The Knitting Factory about the rumors swirling about it's woes with city code issues in Hollywood (see previous post).
The sentiment was that this has always been an ongoing problem, perhaps blown a little out of propportion on some of the blogs, but a substantial concern nonetheless.
New podcast with PJWA's IOA and Andy Combs
It's been a minute, but there are finally two new podcast episodes -- PJWA's IOA and Andy Combs and the Moth. Both are well worth the wait.
Plus, one of the most ridiculous interviews in the podcast's history (live from the van).
L.A. Knitting Factory in trouble?
Word is spreading across the blogosphere that The Knitting Factory in Los Angeles in under fire by the city, which claims the Knitting Factory is a nuisance and is out of compliance with its conditional use permit, according to a call of support from Morgan Margolis, The Knitting Factory's vice president of West Coast operations.
Knitting Factory staff in Spokane did not know the full details at press time.
Here's a cut and paste of Margolis' letter as it appeared on a number of blogs and online reports (Classical Geek Theatre, Crave Online, laist, Team Goon). Keep checking the blog for updates:
Im writing this letter to garner support for an upcoming public hearing by the LADBS (Los Angeles Bldg. and Safety) against our venue on Thursday July 17th 2008.
The Los Angeles Building Department is aggressively trying to revoke our CUP (Conditional Use Permit), for those of you who dont know, a CUP is the conditions that all Restaurants, bars, clubs etc must run under in order to keep their doors open, if you lose your CUP, you are essential closed for business. After eight years in a crime riddled Hollywood corridor, the LADBS and vice, states that our venue is a nuisance and we do not comply under upscale restaurant guidelines (nonsense, food is always served and continues service and will someone please define upscale for me). They are also trying to say we do a steady stream of Erotica here, which is absurd, as weve only had 3 Adult Entertainment parties over 8 years and 10,000 shows.
Bar owners beware; the city is on a major crack down for what they deem CUP violations.
Knitting Factory was lured to this location and has served as the anchor tenant to re vamp this neighborhood. Suddenly, as the neighborhood has pushed the drug dealers out, the rents up, built condos and turned our complex from an Entertainment Center to a retail center, we are no longer wanted. When we moved into this location the crime statistics where 3 times higher than the city average, the corner of Hollywood and Sycamore sat only 1 block North of the 18th street Gang. In 2004, this corner was used as the first corner to install cameras as a test to stop crime.
Weve endured tremendous hardship from 2004 to 2007 in this complex, whilst LA Fitness, DSW, Longs and Fresh and Easy were built around us (joy and thrill to be in a mall) and Galaxy Movie Theatre, Hollywood Ent. Museum, Tower Records all went out of business. We still have no visible signage from Hollywood Boulevard except for a banner hanging at the back of the plaza. CIM, the landlord, claims that our cueing is a problem to some of the retail outlets; of course there wasnt a complaint while the jack hammers blasted for 3 years and our parking structure shut down for 26 weeks. Still, we are jammed to the back of the plaza, with no access to the Sycamore door (by law) and no where to line up our patrons.
Our Public Hearing is scheduled for Thursday July 17th at 10am @ 200 N. Spring St, room 1020. Zoning Administration. I would greatly appreciate anyone willing to get up on our behalf, just show up and be a part of this fiasco, or at least send in a letter to me, supporting the need for Knitting Factory as a live Music venue in the Hollywood corridor.
Warmest
Morgan
PS
Please forward to anyone you think might be amendable to our cause.
Mr. Morgan Margolis | Knitting Factory Concert House
VP, National Operations | morgan@knittingfactory.com
Boise, Los Angeles, New York, Spokane
Footage from Dance-a-Que
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Between here and there, Joe Varela and his music
Spokane όberperformer and record producer Joe Varela is preparing to move to the Bay Area for a new scene, taking along not only his studio but a deep passion for the work.
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It's Knitting now
The Big Easy is no more.
The flaming guitars have finally come down and signage is up for the newly renamed Knitting Factory Concert House.
There are four Knitting Factories on the planet in New York, Hollywood, Boise, and Spokane as the night club promoter bought the Boise and Spokane Big Easy Concert Houses and their Bravo Entertainment parent last year.
This bodes well for mid-level concertgoers in Spokane as The Knitting Factory brings with it a stellar reputation for hip, cutting edge shows that have typically skipped Spokane in the past.
Odds are better that those shows will make stops in Spokane as up-and-coming acts associated with Factories in New York and Hollywood look to break into new markets.
Expect more obscure names on the marquee at 919 W. Sprague Ave., in addition to staple bills with Tech N9ne, Tyrone Wells, Otep, and Sevendust.
Upcoming concerts at The Knitting Factory Concert House (which has already been dubbed The Knit by staff) include Motion City Soundtrack (July 17), Floater (July 18), Bullet For My Valentine (July 21), Candlebox (July 25) and The Hush Sound (July 31). The Faint was just announced to play The Knit on Aug. 2.
The name change become official tonight at the grand re-opening party with Reverend Horton Heat, Supersuckers and Nashville Pussy. Tickets are $24 through TicketsWest.
Also, bigeasyconcerts.com has morphed into www.knittingfactory.com.
A small piece of useless information: The ball of yarn on the new sign is rotated slightly on its side compared to the regular logo placement (proof). When the fix is made, likely no one outside of management will notice.
Globes garage sale
Seattle-by-way-of-Spokane indie-rock firestarters the Globes are coming home in July to release their anticipated new full length.
But the boys will be in town this weekend slanging televisions and couches at a garage sale to raise money for the new album.
The garage sale goes down Saturday at 4504 S. Magnolia.
You can get a sneak peak of The Globes new stuff live on the podcast.
Pants back in effect
It was good to see our darling deejay star back in his element at The Baby Bar last night.
He's going to stay in the grind over the summer, but you can still count on James Pants to pop up in local dives. That's what the rest of the world loves about him - his loyalty to this quirky towncity in the Inland Northwest from which he was bred.
Here's a write up on Pants, titled "Welcome To Spokane," that appeared in the Stranger, more evidence of how Pants is introducing Spokane to the world: Click here.
The Chasing takes top honors at BOBfest
Congrats to The Chasing for clinching first place in BOBfest on Saturday.
The band also won the RAWK Final Four earlier this year, so that solidifies their standing as the all-ages band to beat.
Blog on vacation
Thanks to Web guru Thuy Nguyen for keeping things warm on the blog (see Street Music Week posts below).
Things are going to cool off here for a bit for housecleaning, etc. In the meantime, catch up on podcasts, mp3s, and concert streams throughout the music section.
I know... I'll miss you, too.
Uber mailbox recycler shazam!
By Thuy-Dzuong Nguyen
(For the video, or the Marimba band, scroll down a page or two)
David Eggleston's mailbox makes a lot of noise, and it doesn't even hold mail.
For Street Music Week, Eggleston has been playing a recycled mailbox guitar he's named Tin Man, bringing together the best of garage sales and old-school postal delivery.
"It took me chopping apart a few mailboxes to get the configuration right," he said.
Eight months later, he has a playable guitar with a scratchy grungy amped-up sound - a garage sale guitar neck bolted to a metal mailbox body, a speaker on one end and a mirror on the other, and a cookie fortune between the tuning pegs - A wacky invention will lead to your success.
Eggleston described himself as a "born-again artist" who constantly renews himself through art projects and work, including carpentry.
But why a mailbox?
"It's about the size of a guitar body, it's hollow, it resonates, and it's sturdy - it's a steel box."
Eggleston took it out to jam in Riverfront Park when a another guitarist told him about the Street Music Week fundraiser for the local food bank. He signed up.
"I'm just a guy. I play guitar sometimes," he said. "If I can step up and help with that cause and help with that faith, then it's worth it, so I'm here."
Check out a video clip:
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Marimba madness on Main
Two classes from Hutton Elementary School came out to perform in Street Music Week, with their music teacher Dotty Thomas. The following are three different clips from Hutton's marimba band - third grade and fifth grade - producing sound that echoed for almost two blocks. Click play...
A quick soundbyte interview with Dotty Thomas:
Ms Thomas and the third grade class
Marimbas traveled by separate truck. 
Cancer Rising, Blue Scholars, Battles
Cancer Rising
Blue Scholars
Battles, part 1 and 2
Dressed-up concert-goers
Som, with Jesus. 
No more Hives live
In case you're missing the Hive's live show from Sasquatch posted last week, you might like to know that Hives management asked me to take it down because the sound quality wasn't up to their standards, which is totally fine with me.
Keep checking the blog for more Sasquaction, including a slew of mp3s from Sasquatch bands.
Fan reviews from Sasquatch
Taking it beyond basic adjectives like "awesome" and "cool", here are some Sasquatch-goers raving about their favorite acts.
Click on "Read full entry" for the other six fan reviews.
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Interview with The Little Ones from Sasquatch
And there are more coming, backordered in the multimedia production queue. The first one is an interview with The Little Ones, who came across as so mind-blowingly chic that concertgoer interviewees had nothing to say but expletive-loaded praise about them.
Hit play to have a listen:
