cactus blossoms at mercury lounge

the cactus blossoms keep mercury lounge cool on a hot night

rocky votolato at mercury lounge

rocky votolato celebrates anniversary at mercury lounge on friday

lewis del mar at mercury lounge

lewis del mar deliver in debut show at mercury lounge

holly miranda at mercury lounge

holly miranda doesn't need an encore at the late show

lo-fang at mercury lounge

lo-fang delights the crowd at mercury lounge on saturday night

rubblebucket at mercury lounge

rubblebucket are a force to reckon with
photo by: Mike Benigno

asgeir at mercury lounge

asgeir leaves no doubt at mercury lounge

margot redux

there are some bands that stay with you even as they take artistic reimaginings. for shar, margot and the nuclear so and so's are that band. i had a ticket to their show at the crocodile back in may, but bed ridden in a seattle hotel coughing my lungs out i sadly didn't make it. i'd heard the band had shifted from their chamber pop beginnings for a purer rock sound. my fav former members, emily watkins and casey tennis, went their separate ways so when i saw them on tuesday evening at mercury lounge i was a little apprehensive. the girl and boy harmonies and casey's eccentric percussions were missing, but really richard edwards is margot through and through. marissa was in tow for her first experience seeing the band, and she commented about how this really was one of my favorite bands as i sang along to most of their older material. makes me think back to when a colleague from my old radio days recommended them and i haven't stop listening. their take away show is still on of my all time favs. so that's my mini love letter to a walk down memory lane with margot. 

sonny & the sunsets at mercury lounge

smiley sonny

sonny & the sunsets rock out merc

dale earnhardt jr. jr. at mercury lounge

my review of the dejj show at mercury lounge. it was a treat but sad my pal jenny missed out. josh and dan were in fine form.

fences at mercury lounge

left me wanting more (in a good way) set: fences at mercury lounge. shar first discovered fences though npr's song of the day. christopher mansfield composes tunes that make me feel like i'm back in high school. maybe it's his seattle roots that infuses his songs with angsty lyrics. sara quin of tegan and sara produced his album and that's a lady who knows her angst.

the set that lasted less than an hour covered 11 songs:

my girl the horse

bones

sadie

the same tatoos

dusty beds

market

from roses

boys around here

girls with accents

from russia with...

baths at mercury lounge

worthy late school night gig: baths at mercury lounge. fifth sold out gig. braids opening. kids this was well worth the sleep i would not be getting.

i hadn't heard of braids until the day before the show. i've seen their name pop up on daytrotter and various other music blogs, but it's always pleasant to go to a gig and have a stellar line up to dole out the tunes. dare i say i liked braids better than baths just a teeny weenie bit more.

fellow concert goer rachel gave a nice comparison to the dirty projectors. braids emote similar choral like vocals backed against interwoven loops and chords. friends, this is my here comes spring album of 2011. if you are in bk, come over for a listen. i got their recently released "native speaker" on vinyl. will sound soooo delicious. just you hear.

not knowing the face of will wiesenfeld (aka baths), i only realized after he hit that stage that he had used my shoulders as support getting off the stage during sound check. my pal kristin clued me in this this uber dancy, happy solo outfit. she heard it from this guy. thanks dudes! i had heard rumblings that will doesn't deliver the goods live, but i can clear those rumors up by letting you know this lady was dancing. he brought that feeling i had when i first heard mgmt's "time to pretend". that urge to dance even when the too cool for school tell you to repress that feeling. must stand still. oh no friends, baths will make y'all dance. it will infect you. not only the the tunes, but will's sincere love for music. encouraging us to dance because it makes him dance. introducing "animals" with a "this song is so eff' cute". so true will, so true.

dear will, please play my rooftop bday party. it will be epic. you already gave me thumbs up on the braids vinyl purchase. you should really swing by for a listen. yes?

nuff silliness, here are vids of the kid in action.

lost in the trees

must live performance: lost in the trees at mercury lounge. shar was bummed when the stars didn't align when these kids played joe's pub early january, but i was delighted when they swung back on the tail end of their month long tour. the modest and very sweet lead ari picker leads his band with a voice that emotes sadness and regret. he is backed by emma nadeau's siren like pipes. you should check out the tiny desk concert that the group gave back in september. it's a testament to their musical talents.

i was reeling as ari strummed the first chord of "all alone in an empty house". starts all lulling and jumps into a rollicking cacophony. what was surprising was how rollicking the group was and arty. check out the dino.

best coast at mercury lounge

best heatwave concert: best coast at mercury lounge. it twas a crap work day, and i didn't even get to enjoy the sun for lunch. so sweet bethany's tunes with bobb's bass lines were the perfect remedy to cull my work blues. bethany's lyrics harken back to days of fun in the sun, surfer boys and beach goodness. ahhh, makes me miss california. shar can't wait for the LP later this year.

there was love for jersey shore (the tv show) and an update on snacks (her beloved cat) as well. bv got some good shots of last night's gig at the knitting factory, check it here. these are mine.





set list
wish you were here
boyfriend
sun was high
crazy
this is real
i want to
make you mine
goodbye
so gone
far away
when i'm with you
something in the way
up all night
feeling of love

basia bulat at mercury lounge

gig shar wishes she was upfront for: basia bulat at mercury lounge. shar's gotten a front row experience in the past, but sure would have liked to see basia's pianoette skills up close and personal. also, her adorable dress that she bought on a side of the road was much envied by the audience.

basia delighted the crowd with tunes largely from her first album oh, my darling. the set was quite similar to her gig i saw about a year and half ago. still haven't seen her singing covers, "touch the hem of his garment" and "true love will find you int he end", but nonetheless basia performed a memorable set. her solo rendition of my fav, "a secret" was my highlight of the night. here's a great review from bv complete with fab pics.

foreign born at mercury lounge

belated cow bell reverie: foreign born at mercury lounge. shar's been dying to see them live and they finally came back to me like a weary boomerang that's lost it's way to this indie rock gal's heart. they took time off from their duties with fool's gold to jam as fb. had me a primo spot front and center facing keys extraordinaire lewis. he joked with me asking if i could see.

the boys barreled into "early warnings" and the audience bopped in unison. it was a great set, but would have been better with an encore. why not, boys? in any case, they played my other fav "vacationing people".

sal, more cow bell please

jokester lewis

matt daper and crooning

ariel

dawn landes at mercury lounge

belated solo debut: dawn landes at mercury lounge. shar's admired dawn since hearing her on daytrotter. she had me at her rendition of "tous les garcons et les filles". she played it tonight, and i must say the french has improved.

dawn came with hay in tow, but merc wouldn't let her scatter around the floor to create the right ambiance for her latest album sweet heart rodeo. it didn't stop her from having a proper hoedown. she rollicked in with tunes from the album, starting with "wandering eye" and "rodeo". all good stuff. she had lots of friends join in, even birthday gal erin who hula hooped.

anne joins in

josh

she had some troubles with her electric guitar and asked if we believed in electricity. we did! it worked. no more feedback. dawn was a gem and so glad to see her in her own element. i'd only seen her previously providing backup to one thomas bartlett (aka doveman). p.s. you might meet a special usher at his kitchen gig on march 18.

notable tunes played to shar's best recollection:
wandering eye
romeo
sweet heart rodeo
tous les garcons et les filles
straight lines
bodyguard
love songs (margo guryan cover)
working girls
dance area
twilight
young girl
kids in a play

pomegranates @ mercury lounge (w/ wye oak)

belated greeting to a beloved ohioan band: pomegranates at mercury lounge. okay, i've been waiting and waiting to see the boys from cincy for quite some time. i got shut out of their gig at bell house supporting the french kicks back in mid-february. mostly my fault because i assumed i could walk in for tickets. i was wrong and ended up drinking my sorrows in the front bar. zaid was there for said night and it was only fitting that i check out his pad pre-show tonight.

going solo to see the pomegranates offered a nice spot up front. they were all i was expecting - cute boys playing indie pop goodness. no nonsense, no gimmick, just good tunes. for the last song, joey invited a kexp dude on stage to shake the tambourine.

joey was standing literally 20 feet from me enjoying wye oak post-set. i was really sleepy and couldn't bring myself to say anything. not even a generic "great set!" sigh.

blind pilot @ mercury lounge

most modest, yet totally awesome performance: blind pilot at mercury lounge. i was highly anticipating this show after i heard their gig at sxsw via npr. so israel nebeker reminds me of a cross between jack johnson and blake mycoskie, founder of my fav footwear - toms. the band is uber humble even commenting on how the kids in new yorkers dress better them. i don't mind it. i love when bands are casual and chill. i hate when bands try too hard with their outfits. if they are going to dress up, go all out and totally into an avante garde way (ie. of montreal).


best rescue: katie claborn. israel broke his guitar strap and katie sang a cover of a song that she did not name. :( she rocked the ukulele, which she apologized for being out of tune. her voice resonated a lovely twang that made me want to don cowboy boots and a fancy belt. it was revealed that she wasn't from oregon when the crowd continued to yell "PORTLAND!" i joined in with a "stumptown!" the guys in the back continued with what high school they went to, and katie confessed she was canadian ay.


must take away: blind pilot set list. yup, i did it, so did saki and hanna. i love that it's a spiral notebook on college ruled binder paper. they
encored their new song "we are the tide". they sandwiched the show with new tunes starting with "white apple". heart, heart, heart them.