{photo by the lovely Victoria VanBruinisse}

Thanks again to everyone who stopped by the Crocodile on Monday!

It was *so so awesome* seeing you and boy oh boy did the double helpings of pizza make my tummy happy. I still have a couple of those wooden tokens for rum drink specials left over; I suppose I've kept them to remind me of the rum vanilla-y goodness for weeks to come.

Word from our interoffice email threads since the event confirms that every member of the DJ crew had an amazing time! Chris Estey, Amie Simon, and Victoria VanBruinisse really outdid themselves putting together their sets.

Some folks who couldn't stay the whole time (or perhaps redeemed one too many of those wooden rum drink tokens) asked for a recap of the set... so here's mine:

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{photo of an imaginary DJ hand by Andy Pixel}

This Monday, August 22nd, please join us in the Croc’s back bar as the imaginaries take over the DJ booth and ply you with our favorite songs, drink specials and cheap eats from 5pm to 9pm!

It’s all part of the Crocodile’s weekly happy hour booze and schmooze series, The Office (aptly named since most of the important work in this town gets done at a bar).  For the Three Imaginary Girls happy hour, each of the four TIG DJs has a distinct style and vision for their set.  We’ve planned them out with care for maximum Monday post-work bliss.  

Of course, we’re still firming up our playlists – so if you are planning to join us and have any requests, shout ‘em out in the comments section and we’ll do our best to fit them in!

For more info and to spread the word to all your friends, check out the Facebook event page for the Office and share / like / RSVP!
 

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{photo by Robersen Ashman}

Earlier this week I talked about all the City Arts Fest line-up amazingness taking over the city of Seattle from October 20-22, 2011. One band I'm particularly pleased to see in the line up is Joseph Giant, the moniker of Joe Syverson, at the Rendezvous on October 21 with Son of Warren Oats, Smokey Brights, and Bryan John Appleby.

You might recognize Joe from his time spent with Throw Me The Statue, Pearly Gate Music, and Final Spins. Obviously with friends like those, he's a talented guy. But over the course of listening to his self-titled debut album, Joseph Giant proves himself to be more than a sum of his Neil Young / Wilco influences.

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{The Divorce. Photo by Breanne Koselke.}

Some of Three Imaginary Girls' favorite (and some infamous) moments of the first five years of our tiny lil web existence (from 2002-2007) involve The Divorce.

Over the course of an introductory EP, two full-length albums (2003's There Will Be Blood Tonight and 2005's The Gifted Program), and countless live shows, the Divorce embodied the both the sweet and salty of the Seattle music scene of the time. On stage they were fresh and fearless, belting out beautifully destructive pop songs to packed crowds. Then, in 2007, they decided to call it quits (the 'D' word if you will) and dispurse into different bands and projects.

On Saturday, July 30, 2011, they will once again take the Crocodile stage together to Divorce it up and of course we'll be there. What a better time to chat with the four Divorce fellas (Shane Berry-lead vocals, keyboard, guitar and tambourine, Garrett Lunceford-lead guitar, Jimmy Curran-bass, and Kyle Risan-drums) to find out why they are reuniting now and offer some more insight into the band for those that might have missed them the first time around. To do so, I thought it a great opportunity to resurect our original interview series (circa 2002-2006): Coffee with a Rockstar.

TIG / Liz: I can't believe in all of our Divorce fandom TIG never sat down for a Coffee with a Rockstar imaginary interview with you guys. It's surely a sign of our shyness. This chat is a long time coming and there's a lot to catch up on, but first, we have our ice breaker traditional first question:

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The Crocodile is poised to break your hearts this Thursday {7/7} with a double dose of powerhouse female vocalists: the throaty, drop-dead gorgeous voice of grunge-Queen Ms. Carrie Akre (if you don't know who she is, look up Hammerbox, Goodness, and The Rockfords) and the amazingly raw and pretty tones of Star Anna. AND IT IS ONLY $10!!! What.

Akre is leaving Seattle to head to the midwest, and this is billed as her FINAL Seattle show (we can only hope that isn't entirely true), so y'all better get out there to hear how incredible she is one last time before she's gone. If you've never experienced her live, you have to. She will shake you the core, trust me.

I couldn't be more pleased about this pairing, because it seems like these two ladies are meant to play together - which is another argument for getting your butt down to The Croc, as you might never have another chance at that.

The Crocodile Presents
Carrie Akre (FINAL Seattle show) 
and Star Anna
Thursday, July 7
Door @8, 21+, $10 Adv/$12 day of

{Star Anna is also playing earlier in the eve on 7/7 at the Kenmore Summer Concert series, and plays 7/9 @Wine, Women and Song, 7/10 @the Ballard Seafood Fest, and has a record release party on 7/12 @Easy St in West Seattle. Whew - that woman is busy!}

 

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{Photos: Victoria VanBruinisse / Ashley Anthony}

As you are already aware, the Pacific Northwest is a breeding ground for amazing songwriters. One afternoon perusing the archives of the EMP or one evening bar-hopping the clubs of Capitol Hill proves as much. But, we are also lucky enough to have a slew of artists who can take a batch of proven songs and cover them in a way that infuses a whole new life and energy into them.

On Tuesday, May 10th one of Seattle's finest {Sean Nelson} and one of Portland's finest {Dave Depper} will each take to the Crocodile stage to re-introduce us to the songs of a couple of heros and we have a pair of tickets to the show to giveaway. To enter, email tig @ three imaginary girls.com with the subject line UncleAlbert before noon on Friday, May 6th.

Opening up the night is the always lovely and talented, Sir Sean Nelson performing his famous Nelson Does Nilsson tribute set. The only thing more beguiling than Sean dressed in his finest suit, is Sean evangelizing the brilliant song-smithing of Harry Nilsson.

Headlining the evening is Mr. RAM Project himself, Dave Depper, a Portland renaissance man who...

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at The Crocodile

The Pains of Being Pure at Heart played a sold-out show to promote new album Belong at The Crocodile last Friday, with many of the Imaginary crowd eagerly in attendance.  Offering a welcome retreat from the Sakura-Con crowds, the show also heralded in the spring concert season that I have long been anticipating.

This was not a concert to thrash about to, and at times it seemed more fitting to be cross-legged under a willow tree with a hot cuppa (Do POBPAH sell thermoses or teasets?  I sense a niche in the merch stand!) than shuffling to-and-fro amid the humid belly of The Crocodile.  The music of POBPAH is cardigan-clad, awkward, and unapologetically poppy - but who cares?  This love is fucking right.

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In the onslaught of "I think I can smell spring tour" shows that took over the city this weekend, we found ourselves front-and-center for some of the best sets we've seen yet this year.

Thursday night, John Vanderslice played to a mostly-attentive yet less-than-capacity crowd at the Crocodile. Despite some technical difficulties, he put on the kind of performance we've come to expect: both the physical set and the vibe of the night were warm, inviting, and mindbendingly good. A night with JV is about as close as you can get as a fan to a night where you're sharing the stage-time with an old friend -- the familiar selections he chose to play were as excellent and comforting as ever, and the newest songs were folded in perfectly, leaving us wanting more of both. Which is not the easy feat for an artist with a compelling back catalog, mind you. Add in three parts local notable / designstress / musician Dianna Potter on accompanying vocals and one part audience participation bit, and our swoon-meters were absolutely done for.

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It's been a tough past couple days as I whittle down the countdown clock to Friday night and the big Pains of Being Pure at Heart show at The Crocodile!

The tick tock on the clock started months ago when I first heard whispers from the blazingly pretty new album, Belong {listen to a full stream here}, and began fantasizing about how they are going to tear the stage up {in the nicest way possible} with fuzzy pop the next time they visit town {read Chris Estey's spot on imaginary review}.

An added bonus is that Seattle twee-phenom Seapony will be opening up. Their recent signing to Hardly Art Records only confirms my suspicion that they are poised to take over the indie-pop scene.

The show has recently sold-out {score one point for all the shy guys in the room!}, so I'm extra proud of myself for procuring tickets early.

Are you headed to the show too? What songs do you want them to include in the set?

Have other plans/suggestions for this weekend? Details please!

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The text placeholder during this photo upload read as follows: fill in here RE super mega-ballertasticness show. While a departure from proper journalistic prowess, that verbage is so close to on-the-money that we're just going to have to leave it.

Saturday night at the Crocodile was indeed a super mega-ballertasticness kind of night. Between the bump-bump of the house music between sets, Mal de Mer's melancholy-but-upbeat indie pop, the beats of the Globes, and the general mindbendingness of Telekinesis -- we literally couldn't have asked for anything more. We bopped until our feet were sore, and we've even got the photos to prove it:

Mal de Mer

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