{Photos by Steve Louie}

Huge thanks to everyone who came out to the Rendezvous on Saturday, October 29, 2010 to welcome Allo Darlin’ to Seattle on their first visit to our fine city {full disclosure: the Three Imaginary Girls presented the show}. The sold-out show was filled with joy, even before the music began. With such an intimate space, everyone there knew that this was an important night. The unmatched mix of indie-pop gathered was bulletproof and we knew we were in store for a night we would all recount over many a summer campfire to come.

The evening started off with sweetheart-folksters The Special Places {2/5 of Seattle’s Tullycraft}. It was Jenny Mears’s first show donning an accordion, an instrument she only started learning four days before. She and her co-conspirator, Corianton Hale, weaved their way through a short 20-minute set hitting a {Tullycraft} cover song as well as their catalog of songs about hating and loving each other.

I had been waiting for months for the moment Allo Darlin’ would crack open their catalog of songs and perform them steps away from me. With all the anticipation, it’s hard to believe they actually surpassed my expectations.  They effortlessly converted their silky, flawless pop songs about Woody Allen and polaroids into a rambunctious, jaw-dropping hootenanny that filled the room with euphoric jubilation.  

Throughout the show, the band seemed as excited as we were; bass player Bill Botting bobbed while lead singer Elizabeth Morris hopped with mandolin in hand and drummer Mikey Collins smiled and chimed in on vocals. The set’s playlist was filled with songs of their new self-titled album, a rarity {“Tallulah”}, and there was a debut of a brilliant new song about their friend {and a hero to many in attendance}, Darren Hayman {of Hefner, French, etc}. My personal highlight hit halfway through the set when the band broke into my favorite song of the year, “Kiss Your Lips” and guitarist Paul Rains earned mid-song  appreciative hoots from the audience for his mad guitar-solo {watch the awesome video posted in the Finest Kiss’s review of the show}.  The show ended with “My Heart is a Drummer,” leaving us all wanting more.

The killer Allo Darlin’ set was a hard act to follow and Math and Physics Club conquered the task with a mellow wind down to the night. The set nicely featured some of my favorite songs by the quartet: “Love or Loneliness,” “Movie Ending Romance,” “Cold as Minnesota,” and “Jimmy had a Polaroid” {video on Finest Kiss}.

With the finer points of the indie-pop spectrum hit on one stage, we left the show exhausted from an evening flush with bliss.

 

The Special Places

 

Allo Darlin’

 

Math and Physics Club