{MAPC photo by Steve Louie}

We had such a blast at the Croc on Saturday! We hope you did too! Big thanks to everyone who came out and celebrated with us!

We just can't stop celebrating, and we're continuing on with a super fun bash at Moe Bar this Wednesday night! You'll find imaginary folk behind the bar and behind the decks blasting our favorite tunes. Please join us as we raise many glasses to our dear ChrisB who will be moving on to his new blog Another Rainy Saturday. We'll be raging from 8-11pm, and we hope you can join us! The night has no cover, but tip your *ahem* imaginary bartenders! See you Wednesday!

There is a lot of celebrate this Saturday {June 12th}.  Besides marking our eighth birthday and the release of Math & Physics Club's new album, the Crocodile is going to be site of a massive concussion of Seattle indie-pop with Aqueduct, Math & Physics Club, and Skeletons with Flesh on Them all taking the stage.

We'd love for you to join us so we've got a pair of tickets to give away to the show. To enter, email tig @ threeimaginarygirls.com with the subject line "JuneIndiePopRocks" before Wednesday, June 9th at 9am.

Can't wait until Saturday to hear all the fabu indie-pop, have a listen right now!

Aqueduct's MySpace Page

Math & Physics Club {imaginary podcast / MySpace page}

Skeletons with Flesh on Them's MySpace page

We'll see you on Saturday!

 

 

What we've got going on in town tonight and tomorrow night is nothing short of a one-two punch, SXSW 2010 style. Two of the acts I liked enough to venture out and brave the endless lines for in Austin are both coming through town: Good Old War at El Corazon tonight, and First Aid Kit at the Vera Project tomorrow.

Both shows are guaranteed to raise a smile, both are all-ages, and both have such a wide appeal that you practically can't miss. First Aid Kit, my personal favorite of the two, showcases two talented singer-songwriter gals who sing sweet, contrasting harmonies full of smart lyrics -- think of them as older cousins of Smoosh, with a little more string-based hippie-parenting influence and a bit of a darker take on things.

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How exactly is it Memorial Day weekend? It's super gross outside. Lots of you are probably headed to Sasquatch, where the weather will hopefully be nicer, but those of us staying in Seattle are probably going to have soggy grill-outs. But, we're headed into a 3-day weekend, and here's a bit of cheer to help you get there faster! It's a brand new Darren Hanlon video!

I've often waxed on about how much I love his wonderfully honest and beautiful pop songs that always through in a joke right after the most heart wrenching thing you've ever heard. Plus, he really is just one of the most charming men ever. Check out this adorable video for a brand new song called "All These Things". It warms my musical-loving heart. Enjoy!

{Join us at the Math & Physics Club album release show on Saturday, June 12 at the Crocodile with Aqueduct and Skeletons with Flesh on Them!}

Ethan, Charles, and James started playing together in Seattle in 2004, after the latter two had grown up in and inspired by the Olympia scene, tumbling about the spreading evergreen branches and primitivist punk pine cones from the shakin' Beat Happening family tree, and its simple, playful underground pop aesthetic. M&PC also shared love for bands like Seattle's power pop princes The Posies and UK positive energy-priests The Housemartins. This led to kinship with The Lucksmiths from Australia, and KEXP DJ John Richards getting excited about them, and a signing to the irrepressible Matinee label. Adding drummer Kevin and violinist Saundrah to their sound had helped them make a candy store of EPs filled with songs shimmering autumn sunshine, effervescent anthems with a hint of sadness.

After four years, Math and Physics Club release its long-awaited latest album, I Shouldn't Look As Good As I Do. The band has wondered if people are just polite in Seattle about bands, but a few listens of the short ten tracks on their second full length unveils a band that has absorbed their influences and come up with songs as huggable as anything Camera Obscura has ever recorded. If you doubt the strength of the rating with this review, bear in mind that I am far from an expert in "twee." That genre term means nothing to me here; these songs pulse and bounce and zip along as magically as if I hadn't grown up with The People Who Grinned Themselves To Death and Hatful of Hollow. I will be playing all ten tracks here over and over as much as I ever listened to Jonathan Sings! Check back with me in six months and my iPod "Most Played" list will prove it.

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Last Friday, Damien Jurado played to a packed house at Easy Street Records in West Seattle, as part of KEXP's Hood-to-Hood challenge winner's day. Not only did the performance round out a day of tremendous live acts and a blast of a broadcast, but it also gave us a sneak peek at the new album (out today), Saint Bartlett. The songs are tremendous, the performance blew the roof off of Easy Street, and the record completely translates into a dozen or so tracks of pure greatness.

If you missed all of this, however, fret not: you (and seventy-five of your closest friends) can go pack the Ballard Sonic Boom tonight for a encore performance at 6:30p. Tonight's set also marks the official release of Saint Bartlett, being new release Tuesday and all, and we'd highly recommend picking it up (on vinyl, if you have the means) while it's there to get your hands on.

Easy enough, right? Let's recap:

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So, call me a luddite or whatever, I'm always a bit behind the times on technology crazes. I didn't get a facebook or a twitter til last year, and though I have an iphone, I use it for very simple tasks, like checking my e-mail. So, I may sound a bit like a certain local NPR host when I say that I love Band Camp. If you haven't seen it, it's basically the new best way for bands to share music.

Case in point, yesterday I came across this, Pet Milk, a brand new band out of Philadelphia, featuring Herbie from Brown Recluse. Looking at their Band Camp page, you can stream their entire demo cassette, see the full artwork, download the entire thing for free, buy a copy if you really like it, and easily post a link to any of your social networking sites. It's like myspace on steroids for its music sharing capabilities.

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Today is like Christmas morning for indie pop nerds. Today, I am giddy as hell because THE ATHENS POPFEST LINEUP HAS BEEN ANNOUNCED! I've compared Athens Popfest before to indie pop summer camp, but basically, it's the best week out of the year for anyone who loves indie pop. And this year, I think they've really done it with the lineup:

The Wedding Present, Mission of Burma, Apples In Stereo, Go Sailor, Circulatory System, Oh-OK (early Athens greatness), Joe Jack Talcum (Dead Milkmen), Nana Grizol, BOAT, Cars Can Be Blue, Poison Control Center, Gold-Bears, Dream Diary, Eux Autres, Afternoon Naps, World Atlas, Your Heart Breaks and more. Complete lineup after the jump. Commence freaking out and immediately buying plane tickets now. Check out complete band bios here.

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{See Me River photo by Kyle Johnson}

Tonight is a three band deep jubilee of American self-expression as smart and intimate as a poem by Walt Whitman, and as big and overflowing with talent as a Seattle Carter Family.

The Tractor hosts See Me River's album release for The One That Got A Wake, their latest and best album so far. They're middle in the bill, but SMR's latest songs (among the best: "A Drink To The Kids," "Pasithea Will Try," and scopious character study and album opener "Heroine") are more ample in composition and have a flux in both lyrical insights and musical twists than ever. If you've often been blown away by the majestic pull and sweep of the Kerry Zettel and his dark-garbed collective of players' performances live but have been waiting for less minimalist and doomy undertones, the bracing, sobering wake up call of The One That Got A Wake will be the one that sucks you in. Check out the new songs and see for yourself, and I bet you'll be walking away with a copy tonight.

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If you know and love Clem Snide the way we do, you've had this Wednesday's show at the Tractor carved out with a heart-shape on your calendar for at least a month now. He's coming through town to sweeten the stage of one our favorite imaginary venues, and we're just beside ourselves at the mere thought of it!

But if you haven't been formally introduced, and our sheer love and compelling adjective of all things Eef Barzelay isn't enough to convince you, may we suggest you pull up a chair for a moment and dig on this two-part in-store performance Clem did back in 2003 -- courtesy of the one and only Laura Musselman. (If you squint, you might be able to see her sitting somewhere in the front row on one of the clips.)

Although the tour is in support of the most excellent new release, The Meat of Life,, this almost-forever-ago set still lends itself to giving new fans a great snapshot of everything that's perfect about Clem Snide. A few quick warnings: One, the videos are impossibly lo-fi, but the sound shifts to pure magic after the first song on Part I. (Promise.) Two, you'll probably want to make sure you have some plastic ready, for when you go running off to get tickets for the show the minute you're finished. It's not sold out yet, but we're expecting it will be by showtime tomorrow.

Enjoy!

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