If you were lucky enough to catch The Head and the Heart's sold-out show at Neumos a few months back, you know just how excited we are about this Friday.

Back in January, THatH took the stage at Neumos with Lemolo and Curtains For You, one of the first shows they played where we stood with fellow "I saw the Sonic Boom set last summer" fans and realized we didn't know most of the people in the room. Well, as the nation's well aware (yes, the nation, not just the Pacific Northwest anymore), this band has been going onward and upward on a steady pace since -- up to and including the current west coast tour that has them playing two nights in Seattle this weekend. On Friday, April 29th, THatH will be playing to a sold out Showbox with Lemolo and the The Devil Whale, and the next night finds them at the Moore (yep, that's sold out too) with Grand Hallway and Ivan & Alyosha. Both nights are sure to make the mark, but we're definitely excited that we've got tickets in our hot little hands for the Showbox version of this latest breeze-through-town installment from one of our new favorite hometown bands.

more...

In case you conked out early last night, here's our sweet friends The Head and the Heart playing on Conan O'Brien last night. Looking sweet, sounding tremendous, and just doing Seattle proud all-around.

more...

Between the star-studded opening of the Nirvana exhibit at the EMP, and the 800 different kinds of awesome that took place on Record Store Day, we could barely keep up. However, we did manage to sneak a few shots off at the EMP, as well as at The Head and the Heart's evening set at the Queen Anne Easy Street, both of which are below for the viewing. Enjoy!

Friday night's opening of the Nirvana exhibit:

more...

There is so much flat-out awesome going on for Record Store Day this year that we almost don't even know where to start. On top of the twenty zillion amazing things you can only get your paws on by visiting the brick-and-mortar shops {just look at what Sub Pop is doling out, for example} here in Seattle we've got a whole schedule of rad happenings for you to peruse. We're quite sure this is just the beginning, but we think these few events make for a good starter to build your schedule around. Whether you're an Everyday Music type, a die-hard Easy Street loyalist or a Sonic Boom devotee: eat a bowl of cereal for breakfast and take that brunch money to the record store!

NOON: Peter Buck at the Queen Anne Easy Street

They've aged gracefully, thank heavens -- but even all grown up, they're still the mighty R.E.M. and still amazing as all get-out. Whether you're into the newest release or a lifetime die-hard, come on down to see Peter Buck in the flesh doing some handshaking, baby-kissing and item signing at high noon. You can pick up the newest release to be penned, or offer up a body part -- just make sure you bring your own Sharpie if you're going for the latter.

more...

{Sasquatch photo by asclepius6 from the Imaginary Flickr Photo Pool}

Do you hear that?

It is the sound of folks feverishly tweeting and posting about the amazing #Sasquatch line-up just announced. After weeks (who are we kidding, months!) of mathematically calculating probabilities based on tour schedules and record release dates, we finally have a firm answer of who's going to be at the Gorge this Memorial Day weekend, as well as explanations as to why certain folks don't have a Seattle tour date in the next few months.

Not to sound like everyone else every other year, but this year's line-up has left me speechless. The Sasquatch folks have brought together the best of the best of the best (except Allo Darlin, which I'm guessing will be begged to participate next year) to celebrate their 10th Anniversary.  I mean Wilco, Bright Eyes, Matt & Kim, The Radio Dept., The Thermals, Stornoway, and The Young Evils!?!?!?  You're killing me!!!

Are you headed that way? Who are you most excited about (mine bolded below)? Anyone else you think is going to be added to the bill before we pack up our roadtrip munchies and head Quincy, WA way?

more...

The Head and the Heart, Curtains for You and Lemolo slayed the pants off the sold-out show at Neumos this past Friday night, and we've got the pictures to prove it. HATH amazed, as per usual, and we couldn't have been prouder of our home-town showing of love for them. Curtains for You brought their best warmup, and Lemolo blew our minds with their two-girl show of achy post-White Stripes sound. All in all, an evening to remember, for sure.

Lemolo stealing the start of the show:

The Head and the Heart:

more...

All hands on deck! We've heard about an amazing opportunity for you to lend the Head and the Heart a hand with their next video -- and all it'll take is a lamp. Or four.

If you're anything like us, you feel a sense of hometown pride when you hear about all the awesome that's been bestowed upon this band of late, from selling out shows to signing with Sub Pop, and all as a well-deserved result of the hard work these guys (and gal) have put into their art. Each radio play, each responsive crowd, each best-selling list comes down to one thing -- well, a bunch of one things -- and that's you. Band loving, ticket-buying you. Every single last one of you. Us, really. And so, as the Head and the Heart go from taking over the town to taking over the world, they're giving pause to let us be a part of the moment.

Starting at 7pm tonight, people will be on-hand at the Living Room {1355 E Olive Way in Seattle} to accept your lovely (working) loaner lamps. They'll be used by Christian Hansen and Bobby McHugh for the band's video shoot later this month, and returned promptly thereafter. Plus, you'll be able to get your photo snapped by Christian tonight -- with your lamp -- both for fun and for posterity's sake.

So, if you want the chance to yell, "Hey! That's my lamp!" when this video comes to life across the airwaves, make your way down to the Living Room tonight. The venue is a bar, so please be sure to send it with a 21+ friend if you're not old enough to take it down there on your own. You + your love for this band + a funky lamp + a side of hometown pride = unstoppable.

{Photo credit: Abbey Simmons / Sound on the Sound}

more...

Sweet Pacific Northwest!

We know this post's title show is sold out -- the Head and the Heart's headlining gig at Neumos has been out of tickets for weeks already -- but HATH is playing several shows regionally before they head out for tour, and it's our .02 that you should get yourself to at least one of them:

Thursday, 1/13 - Bellingham, WA @ The Green Frog
Friday, 1/14 - Seattle, WA @ Neumos
Saturday, 1/15 - Spokane, WA @ the Empyrean
Wednesday, 1/19 - Portland, OR @ the Doug Fir

Of course we're particularly excited about our hometown show, where we'll get to see one of our 2010 faves take the stage with Curtains for You and Lemolo. We'll have plenty of photos to post come Monday, so check back for a recap of the night!

{Keep an eye on the Neumos twitter feed to see if any tickets get released day of show! Photo courtesy of Robertsen Ashman, via the band's Facebook page.}

more...

It's safe to say here at Three Imaginary Girls that we go to a lot of shows. Sometimes, two (or three) in one night, if there's more than one must-see happening going on about town. And so it's no surprise that in 2010 alone, just on my own, I managed to go to shoot at least two shows a week on average, attended another two dozen-ish (or so) sans camera, plus several festivals, house parties and a handful of KEXP in-studios. We're talking everything from nights at the Sunset and Neumos to four days in Portland for MFNW, out locally for long weekends at Bumbershoot and Sasquatch, and down to SXSW and back again.

On any given night there are plenty of shows taking place, in rooms across Seattle and across the country, where boys and girls and instruments and fans all convene inside four walls to make, appreciate, and experience live music -- but not all of them are Shows. When I reference shows in this post, I'm talking about the nights that we collectively See A Show, the nights that remind me us why we live in Seattle in the first place. Seeing A Show has the ability to alter the fabric of our respective existence, to leave us forever changed -- full of those everything-I've-ever-done-led-to-this-exact-right-now kinds of moments.

With a history timeline at the ready via flickr sets and hastily scrawled notes from stage right, I give you some of my greatest moments of 2010 as an appendix to the ever-popular top albums of the year lists that have been popping up all over our radars.

First place:
Neil Young (solo) at the Paramount

This might be construed as an easy out for a list-topper, but it was by far the most stupidly amazing few hours I spent in a venue all year. Not only was I among the lucky few that got to hang and shoot from the soundboard, but I also had the privilege of being allowed to watch the set after shooting (sans camera gear) from the third-level mezzanine. It may as well have been a live reel of Young in his prime, for how good he sounded -- without a doubt one of the top ten shows of my life, probably in the history of Ever.

more...

It usually isn't in my nature to go against the John Roderick grain, but when it comes to end of year lists of favorites, I can't help myself. I have to gather all of my favorite songs into an MP3 scrapbook for my own current and future mental sanity.

Perusing the song stacks of the past year allows me to recall and file the past year before opening up my next year's calendar. Having an MP3 scrapbook gives me a one stop shop when, a year or even 15 days from now, I ask my-list-driven-self "What was 2010?" {because aren't all of our best memories tied to a song?}.

The answer to that question is below in the form of the playlist of my Imaginary Liz's Favorites Songs of 2010 mix:

1. Stornoway - Zorbing / Beachcomber's Windowsill
This is a solid album that is a soothing blend of a bashful Mumford & Sons, randy Features with a pinch of John Denver. This is the most rocking song on the album and the best Stornoway gateway drug, although I nearly featured "Long Distance Lullaby" on this record because I'm a sucker for love letters about late night phone calls. If I was the kind of girl that would have two songs by the same band on a single mixtape, "Long Distance Lullaby" would be a great way to end this year's wrap up.

2. Drums - Let's Go Surfing / The Drums
I'm a sucker for their Spector-esque take on the new wave of the retro reverb. I also love that igDana suggested that the chorus is actually, "Obama, I want to go shopping!"

3. Allo Darlin' - Kiss Your Lips / Allo Darlin'
It is far from hyperbolic to say this is my album of the year if not the decade. I can't recommend it highly enough. It's got the sweet coy of Heavenly, the foresight of Weezer (name checked in this song), and the jangle guitar of the Wedding Present. I've got several candles lit in hopes Allo Darlin returns to Seattle this year {they are set to play the San Francisco PopFest over Memorial Day weekend - which is just a hopskipjump away!}. They are getting a lot of attention from critics and record store fans far and wide, so I can only hope that Allo Darlin' is the future of sweetheart pop {and that sweetheart pop is the future of twee}.

more...