Photos, videos, and context about why this extraordinary show was the best night of 2024.
It was a Sunday evening like any other, until it wasn’t. My husband walked into the living room to share some unexpected news.
“Amelia Fletcher just emailed me.”
My head spun. Amelia Fletcher is the beloved front-woman of some of the greatest indie-pop bands of all time: Heavenly, Talulah Gosh, Marine Research, and Tender Trap, to name a few — and more recently, the Catenary Wires, European Sun, and Swansea Sound.
She also sang on albums by other iconic indie bands: the Wedding Present, Hefner, the Pooh Sticks (more about this soon), the 6ths (hello, Magnetic Fields fans!), the Candyskins, and I’m sure more that I’m not even aware of.
Amelia and her bands were part of the “riot grrrl” movement from the beginning — some of her bands’ catchiest songs are powerful DIY and feminist anthems. Heavenly songs like “Atta Girl” (released in 1993) and “Sperm Meets Egg, So What?” (released in 1994) had us all singing-along to lyrics that brought women’s rights to autonomy to the forefront.
Her influence cannot be overstated.
And did I mention she’s also a renowned economist, having held the titles of Professor and Director and Chief Economist at a number of British government agencies and universities? She’s even written an open letter to Spotify’s CEO about its discriminatory royalties program (it’s a searing beaut!).
In short, Amelia Fletcher wearing a “Riot Twee” t-shirt is both accurate and wonderful.
So, back to my living room and the email from Amelia Fletcher that landed in my husband’s inbox.
He followed that statement with, “she asked Tullycraft to open for Heavenly at their show in Seattle. They are touring with Swansea Sound.”
My husband Sean is in the band Tullycraft, and the band hasn’t entertained the idea of playing a show since their last performance at the San Francisco Pop Fest in 2009.
I first fell in love with Tullycraft before I even realized the band was from Seattle (my chosen hometown) and waaayyyy before I ever met Sean (which is a story for another time). This is all to say that I — possibly more than most — really wanted to see a Tullycraft show and was all for this heavenly option.
It was all mind-blowing news. I never thought Heavenly or Tullycraft would ever play again, let alone in my hometown.
Tullycraft quickly agreed to this dream line-up and the date was set — October 15, 2024 at the Tractor Tavern.
Before I get to the show, here’s some background on the bands on the bill.
Heavenly is indie-pop royalty. The band’s legacy is outlined in the first chapter of any twee bible and Heavenly songs are staples of any indie-pop mixtape made in the last three decades.
The band defined the important tenants of the indie/DIY-scene, with their sound, style and attitude. Their songs brought out the extrovert in all of our shy twee hearts with their songs about coy passion, female empowerment, and questioning the status quo. They appeared on Pitchfork’s list of The 25 Best Indie-Pop Albums of the ‘90s and they’re part of the beloved Sarah Records story.
The band has been silent for nearly three decades, and only recently played a handful of shows in the UK and on the East Coast. It’s been 29 years since they’ve played in the Pacific Northwest. I already consider myself a chosen Seattle native, and I haven’t even been here for 29 years.
It’s also worth noting that all the members of Heavenly are overachievers in their non-indie-pop lives. In addition to Amelia’s aforementioned attributes, Rob Pursey (bass) has his own IMDB page of executive producer credits. Cathy Rogers (keyboard) also has her own IMDB page full of executive producer credits and was the celebrated host of Scrapheap/Junkyard Wars. A few years back I heard she was working on a PhD in neuroscience. Pete Momtchiloff (guitar) was Commissioning Editor for Philosophy at Oxford University Press from 1993 to 2023.
Tullycraft hail from Seattle and, as mentioned earlier, the band hasn’t played a show here (or anywhere) since 2009. They have their own page in the indie-pop history books thanks to their defiant brand of indie-pop. The band’s debut album was also included on Pitchfork’s list of The 25 Best Indie Pop Albums of the ‘90s. Tullycraft has been name-checked in (most) articles about the twee sub-genre. Pitchfork even proclaimed that the band wrote the definitive twee anthem. Tullycraft songs have been featured in the British dark comedy “The End of the F***ing World” and the popular American drama “The Good Wife.”
Swansea Sound is a supergroup formed during the pandemic and made up of indie-pop superheroes. Rob Pursey and Amelia Fletcher (of Talulah Gosh, Heavenly, Marine Research, and many other bands), Ian Button (of Death in Vegas) on drums, Bob Collins (of the Dentists) on guitar, and Huw Williams (of the Pooh Sticks) on lead vocals. The band and its catalog of songs are the brainchild of Rob (on bass). The songs are full of subversive attitude and moxie, which matches the combo of vocal duties shared by Huw and Amelia. Moreover, the band’s DIY ethos means you’ll never find their songs on Spotify, Apple Music or other corporate providers. They only release on grassroots indie labels and their songs are only made available digitally via on the Swansea Sound bandcamp page.
As the show’s date approached, our excitement and plans for the days around it grew.
The Sunday before the show, we met up with Heavenly and Swansea Sound at the Crow House in Olympia. The show itself was a who’s who of Olympia DIY/music royalty in the comfort of a house show. Both bands, although from the UK, have strong ties to the Olympia music scene thanks to their shared DIY spirit and a number of of their various bands’ records being released on K. There’s even an official Heavenly music video filmed at the Capitol Theater in which their Oly-scene friends impersonated Heavenly.
Swansea Sound performed a rocker of a set. Every person in the living room full of people fell in love with Swansea Sound. This band of legendary musicians disarmed us all with their charm and sharp-witted songs.
Also, meeting these bands of heroes before Tuesday’s show helped us calm our super-fan nerves.
One of the highlights of the performance occurred near the end when Swansea Sound performed the song “The Pooh Sticks” — which is so meta considering lead singer Huw Williams was the lead singer of the band, The Pooh Sticks.
Tuesday, the day of the big show, finally arrived.
A week earlier, we had invited Heavenly and Swansea Sound to our local radio station, SPACE 101.1 FM to record a short interview and perform a couple songs. To our delight, they had time before load-in for the big show at the Tractor Tavern and were game!
Sean and I host a radio show on SPACE 101.1 FM named “Pop Songs Your New Boyfriend’s Too Stupid To Know About.” Each week we share our favorite — yet somewhat obscure or yet-to-be-discovered — indie-pop gems. Most episodes feature a special guest musician who shares one of their favorite under-appreciated or obscure songs and tells us why they love it so. Heavenly and Swansea Sound were familiar with the station because Amelia (ep. 100), Rob (ep. 62), and Huw (ep. 101) have all been guests on our radio show (go listen to their episodes; their song picks were great!).
Around 1pm, Sean and I met them at the station. We were thrilled and surprised to see that Calvin Johnson (K Records founder and frontman of the renowned band Beat Happening ) was in tow.
Having gotten our jitters out of the way in Olympia, it was like seeing new friends again. The interview was conducted by SPACE’s Program Director, Eric Zappa (who also hosts a radio show on Friday nights) and was followed by a couple of songs performed by each band (two songs by Heavenly, two songs by Swansea Sound). The interview was aired later that day and the videos of the performances will be on YouTube in a wee bit (they are being prepped for posting). I’ll share links to both of these here when they’re available (subscribe to me and you’ll get notified when I post them!).
The afternoon floated by and, before we knew it, we were all off to the Tractor for the main event.
I want all the cool t-shirts the Swansea Sound models are wearing. Not pictured: their “Corporate Indie Band” t-shirt. Photo by @wadedotphoto
Swansea Sound
In their short time together, the band has released two full albums and a host of clever and civically-minded singles — ranging from Christmas songs (a wonderful annual tradition I can totally get behind) to limited edition releases and cassette singles. The DIY ideology is strong with these folks.
Even those unfamiliar with any of their releases adored the set. We sang along with the Buzzcocks-esque “Toxic Energy” and cheered along with the lyrics of “Twentieth Century” (“Come together/Fight the powers that be”).
The front-person pairing of Huw and Amelia is a marvelous sight in person. Their endearing banter and the band’s fearless dive into power-twee and snide pop was thrilling.
Photo by @wadedotphoto
Photo by @wadedotphoto
Melodica solo by Corianton Hale. Photo by @wadedotphoto
Tullycraft
(I will now take off my wife hat and put on my fan hat.)
From the first note of the first song of the set, the energy of the crowd welcoming Tullycraft to the stage fed the band… and vice versa. Tullycraft shook off the dust of the past 15 years to take the stage to “Bailey Park” — one of their early singles.
The line-up has morphed a bit since their last show. The Tullycore of Sean (lead vocals), Chris (guitar), Cori (guitar+melodica), and Jenny (vocals+tambourine) was augmented by the addition of Ethan Jones on bass (taking over bass duties that were usually supplied by Sean) and Jackson Long on drums.
Ethan Jones on bass! Photo by @wadedotphoto
Most indie-pop Seattle-ites know these two fine gentleman from their other musical projects (and for being two of the nicest guys in town). Ethan is a part of Math & Physics Club, Model Shop, Unlikely Friends, and has worked with a number of other PNW music projects. Jackson is a part of BOAT and Racetrack, as well as being the author/illustrator of the Hiding In Plain Sight book series (which documents studios of Seattle and Tacoma), an audio engineer at KEXP, and owner/recording engineer of Hear Me Shimmer recording studio.
Jackson Long on drums. Photo by @wadedotphoto
The reimagined rhythm section added to the exuberance of the night. Ethan on bass freed up Sean to focus on vocal duties and Sean added a shaker to the mix (“Is that a baby rattle?” Cathy from Heavenly jokingly asked during soundcheck — which is extra funny when said with a British accent). Jackson on drums steadied and powered the Tullycraft speed boat to barrel full speed ahead.
The Tullycraft set list in its habitat! Photo by @wadedotphoto
The set list spanned their catalog — with at least one song from almost every album making an appearance. Hearing popular indie-hits “Twee” and “Superboy Supergirl” made every heart flutter.
Photo by @wadedotphoto
In between those two songs, “The Punks Are Writing Love Songs” punched things up with it’s riot cheerleader “hey! hey! hey! hey!” which had the fits pumping of even the most shy tweesters. The set ended with a rousing version of “Ticket Tonight” left us all wanting more.
After the show, a fellow-show-goer named Sean K. emailed the band with some very kind, but also (in my opinion) very apt words that are steeped with the same enthusiasm I felt but more eloquently put:
Over the years, live shows have become almost a chore, in a way. The live versions are usually just a crappier version of the slickly-produced version I could be listening to in the comfort of my living room drinking Natty Ice for 1/20th the cost.
Not the case last Tuesday. You guys brought an energy that made the song multi-dimensional. It’s indescribable, really; it was like we could feel it in a new way even greater than our ears and hearts. And, yeah, there was a ton of buildup having been such voracious consumers of your collective artistry for so many years and finally releasing the pressure valve; but I don’t think it was that. I went in expecting it would be pleasant and just “cool” to see you guys live. I didn’t know I was in for a borderline-transcendental experience.
Photo by Damon Kenner
Photo by @wadedotphoto
Photo by @wadedotphoto
To further illustrate their exceptional attention to detail, note that Rob and Amelia changed clothes from their Swansea Sound set attire. Different band, different outfit. Photo by @wadedotphoto
Heavenly
I usually have a pen and paper in hand to take notes at a show I plan to cover. I jot down my thoughts and feelings throughout the night so I can properly document (and recall) the notable moments and sparks. Not this time.
Having jumped on the Heavenly bandwagon right after their last visit stateside and before their final album — I had lost all hope that I’d ever get to be in the same room with this legendary band, let alone hear so many of their songs that mean the world to me. I wanted to be present and focused. I was so here for it.
Heavenly songs are both aggressive and sweet — without feeling manufactured or syrupy. Their power is in their honesty and care — which is why Heavenly songs are enduring and a cornerstone for tender and nurturing DIY indie-pop communities all over. Returning to the stage to perform these songs 29 years later, the band’s take on them sounds refreshed. The subversive punk aesthetic is still in tact, but now it feels encased in wisdom and an added layer of empowerment. As our friend Lindsay of the band Pennywhistle Park shared this after seeing Heavenly in San Francisco (a couple days later), “Seeing Heavenly in SF was life affirming in a way beyond words… so fantastic!” I 100000% agree.
Nice SPACE 101.1 FM shirt, Rob! Photo: Kelly Bosworth
The band’s set not only featured fan-favorites like “Our Love is Heavenly,” “Trophy Girlfriend,” “Hearts and Crosses,” “P.U.N.K. Girl” and “Atta Girl,” Heavenly also treated us to three new songs: “Portland Town,” “Scene Stealing,” and “The Never Seen.” You know what that means, right? There could be a new Heavenly album in the works (🤞)… and new albums could mean… another tour maybe, pretty please?!?!
Cathy Rogers of Heavenly. Photo by @wadedotphoto
Pete Momtchiloff of Heavenly. Photo by @wadedotphoto
About half way through the set, there was a moment where guitarist Pete Momtchiloff had to leave the stage for a quick moment. Rob (on bass) proudly displayed his (very cool!) SPACE 101.1 FM t-shirt and he and Amelia said all kinds of nice things about the station and our radio show. As an introvert whose love language is positive affirmations, it was a divine out of body experience.
Amelia Fletcher of Heavenly (and, earlier in the evening, Swansea Sound). Photo by @wadedotphoto
The set was full of heart-bursting moments like that. Hearing the opening lyrics of “P.U.N.K. Girl” delivered in the signature Amelia rebelliously coy voice was all that I dreamed it would be:
People say she’s bad
But they don’t see
The way she is with me
The evening was topped off with a two-song encore, ending with a song on everyone’s wishlist, “C Is The Heavenly Option.” The original version of this features Amelia duetting with Olympia’s-own Calvin Johnson. Calvin’s vocals, like Calvin himself, are revered. Calvin Johnson was at the show, stationed right next to the stage all night long — leading to much speculation as to whether he’d reprise join the band to reprise the original version.
As “Dig Your Own Grave” (the first song of the encore) ended, and Heavenly prepared to play their last song, Calvin turned to Sean of Tullycraft and handed Sean a pair of thick maroon mittens that had a huge “C” on them.
The mittens. C, C, C, C, C, C, C is the heavenly option. Photo by Damon Kenner
Calvin symbolically passed the C-torch to Sean for the evening. Sean put the mittens on as he made his way on stage to join Heavenly to be the special guest vocalist on “C Is The Heavenly Option.” It was a worthy end to the evening… complete with the Calvin-esque “AHHHHHHHHHH” from Sean halfway through the performance.
I’ll rewatch this video a hundred times. This month.
“And if you’re a C, you’ll end up like me / And love with bowl you over!” Photo by Damon Kenner
It perhaps feels like I’ve used the word “legendary” too many times in this recap — but I assure you I didn’t use it enough.
Each band melted the fourth wall, inviting each audience member into a dance party very much in the present, with the renegade energy and comforting community our indie-DNA longs for.
Everything this evening was my favorite. And I’m sure everyone in attendance felt the same way. We were bonded thanks to dreams realized. We were reminded that years may have passed but our indie-spirit still burns bright.
The joy and revelry of the evening (and for Sean and I, the last few days) made it nearly impossible to say good-bye to this bunch of top-notch humans. I had tears inside, only soothed by the hope that Heavenly and Swansea Sound will travel west once again.
The love and jubilance exuding from an instagram reel made by Cori, Tullycraft guitarist, displays it all best — you can watch it here.
Huge thank yous to all the photographer friends and folks who have shared videos of the show. You put my memories into digital media. Thank you!
Agreed! More, please! Photo by @wadedotphoto
Top photo: O M G! That’s a photo of Heavenly playing in my hometown! Photo by @wadedotphoto