It’s Capitol Hill Block Party weekend again, which means it’s our double birthday weekend!! (Brady & Jean, for those of you who don’t know about our latest shared turn around the sun.) Here’s where we’ll be partying at–feel free to buy us drinks, or just drink around us, or don’t drink. You do you. Whatever you do, we expect a high five. It’s gonna be a great weekend!
FRIDAY
ISKA DHAAF | 6:00pm | Vera Stage (Brady)
Consistent purveyor of haunting and vaguely sinister indie pop, Iska Dhaaf is back in Seattle for a smattering of shows this summer. Former locals Nathan Quiroga and Benjamin Verdoes have stepped into new territory on recent album The Wanting Creature by physically moving to New York, and moving slightly away from their previous drum and guitar setup to a more digitalized sphere. They never fail to whip the audience into a frenzy, and it’ll be interesting to see how their new tracks pan out to the hometown crowd.
MØ | 7:45pm | Main Stage (Jean)
Despite the fact that I can’t type her name without having to find this special fucking Ø, I am pumped to see MØ. My first brush with the Denmark native was through her album No Mythologies to Follow (2014), a swirling electro-pop soundscape emerging from the same forward-thinking Scandinavian pop scene that produced Björk (another special ö). Since then she’s transitioned into mainstream U.S. charts through collaborations with Major Lazer and Iggy Azalea. I forgive her for the latter because she’s so cool. Just don’t ask me to say MØ out loud, because I will mumble.
DONORMAAL | 8:15pm | Neumos Stage (Jean)
When I first listened to Christianne Karefa-Johnson’s debut LP, Jump or Die (released under her performing name, DoNormaal–a riff on a Dutch phrase that roughly means “just be normal already”), I was struck by its rich lyrical landscape. Then I found out that before ever taking on music she was studying poetry at Sarah Lawrence. Bottom line: If this is how poets can rap, then I want all rappers to be poets and all poets to be rappers (maybe).
SATURDAY
DOWN NORTH | 3:00pm | Neumos Stage (Jean)
I have never been to a Down North show that didn’t make me want to jangle around my lanky-ass limbs in some kind of attempt at rhythm. I have not seen them live for a while, although they have steadily been performing here in Seattle and beyond, and I’m curious to see how their alternative-soul-funk-punk sound has developed. No matter what, it’s sure to be a killer dance party.
LISA PRANK | 3:45pm | Cha Cha (Brady)
There’s something absolutely endearing about simple songs recorded over drum machines. Filled with perfect pop punk morsels, Lisa Prank’s Adult Teen is the bedroom album you need this summer. Every song echoes afternoons spent staring into space thinking about that special someone in the room you plastered with band posters. Check her out, fall in love, and write LISA PRANK in giant letters on your homeroom binder surrounded by tiny hearts.
CAR SEAT HEADREST | 6:00pm | Main Stage (Brady)
“Fill in the Blank” has gotten heavy airplay on KEXP and I keep hearing it out of the corner of my ear, wondering “Who the hell IS this?” I need it in my life! In fact it’s stuck in my head right now. That’s how damn catchy these kids are. With vocals that sound a bit like Mark Smith of The Fall sprinkled with hints of Julien Casablancas, I would not be surprised if these guys are secretly post punk obsessives. Maybe after block party, I’ll be obsessed with Car Seat Headrest too.
SUNDAY
SASSYBLACK | 5:00pm | Vera Stage (Jean)
Self-described as a “space age singer, songwriter, and producer,” what I love about her music is exactly the same shit I love about space: that it exists somewhere between the known and unknown, full of the possibility that comes from being deeply connected to this big-ass awe-inducing life-network. SassyBlack has been releasing DIY solo tunes for a while, but now that her split from THEESatisfaction is official I’m excited to meet her singular cosmic-tinged voice in No More Weak Dates (2016).
CHARMS | 6:45pm | Cha Cha (Brady)
If you’re not privy to the DIY scene, you may have missed local Seattle band Charms. All this is about to change. They’ve been brewing a new album of formidably dark and deeply textured noise punk, with drums you can feel in your guts, synths that slice your sanity, and guitar riffs at frequencies that will boil your soul. Catch them now before this warlock volcano blows the eff up, and ya can’t even get inside one of their molten ROCK shows. Boom.
{See the full line-up and get tickets at Capitol Hill Block Party | July 22-24, 2016 }
Image courtesy CHBP Facebook.