at Showbox at the Market

 

 

Built to Spill came out with an energetic show, an abundance of talent and a prime selection of songs including many off their latest release There Is No Enemy. And for a band that has being playing the hits since 1992, they seemed to have a revised sense of energy and urgency.

Fans crowded in to the Showbox Green Room early for Friday night's sold out show. Some were hoping to score tickets, others were scarfing down much needed corndogs, but everyone was emphatically discussing which songs they hoped to hear. "I hope Doug plays 'Kicked It In The Sun'" one women literally shouted at her friend - while at the same time trying to convince Showbox security to let her up to the clearly closed off box office to buy a ticket. And the chatter didn’t stop in the venue or during their set. In fact, the intensity of some of the fans was a little distracting. During a lovely selection of songs, the audience kept yelling out favorites like “Strange,” “Stab” and “Liar.” One guy worked himself up into such a frenzy during a twenty minute rendition of "Conventional Wisdom" that he jumped up on to the stage after the song ended to give Doug a HUGE hug (before being promptly escorted out of the venue by security). But maybe the audience was picking up on something very rare and real - a chance to hear Built to Spill, energized from a new album, play old songs with renewed intensity. And I have to admit, despite the distractions, it was pretty magic.

 

 

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at Capitol Hill Block Party 2009

Block party started off mellow enough with the sultry blues of The Dutchess and The Duke kicking off Friday on the main stage at 4 pm with “Reservoir Park,” the gravel between Jesse Lortz and Kimberly Morrison’s deep vocal harmonies foreshadowing the fine layer of grit that would coat my skin by the end of the day.

 

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The lineup is Built to Spill, Ra Ra Riot and Smile Brigade and it will be on the HUB Lawn at the University of Washington from 3-7pm and it's free.

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As if Yo La Tengo, Built to Spill, Jesus Lizard and Tortoise weren't enough.. the brilliant minds (or not so) behind the lauded Pitchfork Music Festival have added the infamous Flaming Lips to the Sunday ender show, "Write the Night: Set Lists By Request". Ticketholders will be emailed a link to a website in which they can vote on which song they'd like to be played by each band. 

Setlist decided by audience!!! ("Kim's Watermelon Gun", "When You Smile", "A Spoonful Weighs A Ton"! I can't decide.)

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Watch as Doug Martsch skillfully axes his way through "Paper Planes."

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Being a regular contributor on here on TIG takes the show going experience from something you do on the weekends to part of your regular routine. I'll never forget shoving five shows in one week, or running from set to set during Bumbershoot trying to frantically interview all the local bands. Sometimes I still can't believe I'm here.

Very few shows I regret seeing, the vast majority were really good. But there's a distinct ten still stuck in my mind, shows I talk about to this day. The bands who made this list are not just comprised of musicians who stood up there and played -- these were performers who demonstrated how their band is more than a job or hobby, it's their lives. In each case they provided a memorable experience where I left feeling I'd just witnessed the most talented artists making music today.

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at Showbox at the Market

Standing front and center, there was too much stimulation to take in without my head whirling. Three guitarists working their instruments, gliding up and down the necks with finger slides. Their sound is definitely not enclosed in the indie-rock box; the wall of guitar sound produced could put even many of the post-rock bands this writer raves about to shame as well.

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Where are the theoretical mathematicians when you need them?

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The winners in the TIG Best Northwest Releases of 2006 Readers' Poll, including BOAT, the Decemberists, the Long Winters, Band of Horses, the Thermals, and um, 45 more.

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You In Reverse taps into the the entire Built to Spill discography to create an album that would make diehard fans happy along with gathering more into Martsch's flock.

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