If you’ve been following Ear Candy on Twitter then you know Bumbershoot is expected to announce its initial lineup this week.
While I have no inside knowledge about who has or hasn’t been booked for BShoot 09, I do know there is a rumor out there about a big name Seattle band headlining the festival and there is a little bit of evidence supporting this rumor.
If you haven’t figured out who the act is yet, go ahead and click the jump to find out.
The folks over at Live Nation and House of Zacks have steadily been adding performers to this year’s Sasquatch! Music Festival. Here are a few of the new additions:
Marco Collins, KEXP DJ, dished the details on who will be headlining this year’s Capitol Hill Block Party on Monday night.
One of the bands is an alternative rock icon and it will be interesting to see how their music goes over outdoors in the cramped confines of the main stage area at the Block Party. The other band is a group that was banned from playing shows in Seattle 12 years ago because of its singer’s penchant for stage diving.
Here’s the info
If you caught Green Day on its American Idiot Tour then you know they are an amazing live band. I’ve always liked Green Day and I think American Idiot was their crowning achievement which is why I am excited to see it hit the stage as a musical. Here’s the press release with the details as sent by the folks over at the Brothers Warner, complete with odd press release formatting.
As mentioned yesterday, the guys from Soundgarden got back together Tuesday night and replaced Chris Cornell with Tad Doyle for what was likely a one-off three-song set that included “Nothing To Say,” “Spoonman” and “Hunted Down.”
I did some digging and was able to track down some okay quality mp3s of the compete set as well as some other songs that were performed by groups that took the stage including Mark Arm singing “Kick Out the Jams” with Tom Morello and Wayne Kramer, Morello singing “The Ghost of Tom Joad” with Steve Earle and the crazy funky Nightwatchman B-side “Shake My Sh*t.” I also tracked down some videos of performances from the show including a couple of Tadgarden songs. The songs, some more pictures and video are after the jump.
In case you missed it from my Ear Candy post early this morning:
Ear Candy just got back from Tom Morello’s Justice Tour at the Crocodile and was witness to some amazing things.
The show featured Wayne Kramer of The MC5, Steve Earle, Blue Scholars, Mark Arm and, of course Morello, who was playing host/showman as member of both The Nightwatchman and Street Sweeper, his new project with rapper Boots Riley of The Coup.
However, the first major live debut of Street Sweeper, brief solo sets by Earle and Kramer, three songs from Blue Scholars and Mark Arm singing “Kick Out the Jams” with Kramer and Morello were the smallest of the nights highlights.
The biggest highlight came when Morello introduced former Soundgarden members guitarist Kim Thayil, bassist Ben Shepard and drummer Matt Cameron. The three former bandmates took to the stage with none other than Tad Doyle, former frontman of TAD and current powerhouse singer for Brothers of the Sonic Cloth. He led the band through a three-song “Tadgarden” set that included a Soundgarden rarity and a classic.
Believe it or not, some things are more important than rock ‘n’ roll.
I know, I know, it’s hard to believe, but it is true.
What are these things that are more important than what is perhaps one of the most important things ever? Well, family is one important thing that takes priority.
This is why I am sad to report that The F*cking Eagles had to step out of the show-closing slot at Saturday’s Ear Candy Birthday Bash Deux: Bash Harder. Unfortunately there was a family emergency and the band will not be able to perform at the High Dive this weekend.
But as the saying goes the show must go on and so I am happy to report hip-hop duo They Live has stepped into the evening’s late slot.
Who are They Live? For those of you who didn’t click on the hypertext above, They Live is a side project for MCs Gatsby and BlesOne. You probably know theses guys from here, or perhaps from this interview which was done way back when Ear Candy was a baby blog.
You can download their entire debut EP for free here and below is the video for “Weed Murder”
What I love about They Live, aside from the fact they’re coming off a near show-stealing performance opening for Blue Scholars at Neumos last week, is that they fit the theme of the evening perfectly. What’s the evening’s theme?
The theme, aside from celebrating the diversity of the Seattle music scene, is fun. And simply put, They Live are all about fun. Don’t believe me? Check out what The Stranger had to say about their set at Neumos:
Things really hit a peak with They Live, the newish gas of a project from MCs Gatsby and BlesOne, jumping on top of Truckasauras’ melancholy synth-heavy triumph “Angels Sound Like Bottle Rockets.” They Live is these guys letting loose their cartoonishly funny, weed-murdering side (as alter egos Dro Boy and Bruce Illest respectively) while also still killing in the departments of beats (by BlesOne) and rhymes They hit the stage last night in sweatshirts, beanies, and shades, looking like they were about to knock over a 7-11 (or at least purchase some jumbo slurpies and assorted munchies). Their delivery was far from blunted, though–Gatsby and BlesOne were the most animated people to hit the stage so far, all exaggerated energy and gestures big enough to play to the back of the room. BlesOne demanded and finally got himself turned up on the microphone, which was fortunate, because They Live have some good punchlines (I think I caught Gatsby dropping one about being tight “like jeans on a hipster”).
Ear Candy’s Birthday Bash Deux: Bash Harder is Saturday night at the High Dive. The lineup includes They Live along with Team Gina, Brent Amaker and the Rodeo and We Wrote the Book on Connectors. The fun starts at 9 p.m. and it costs $10. See you there.
It’s looking like it is going to be a busy year for everyone’s favorite indie kids from Bellingham, Death Cab For Cute. The band will digitally release an EP containing new material titled “The Open Door” on March 31. The five-song release will include four unreleased tracks from the “Narrow Stairs” sessions and a demo of the “Narrow Stairs” track “Talking Bird” with Ben Gibbard singing while playing a ukulele. The EP will see physical distribution on April 14 and be available on the band’s upcoming spring tour.
Speaking of playing live shows, Death Cab is about to embark on a spring tour. The tour will bring the band to Spokane on April 24 and it will also bring the band back home to Bellingham on April 22. Ra Ra Riot and Cold War Kids are opening both dates and I will be at the Spokane show to fill you in on what it’s like to catch Death Cab in the eastern part of the state.
After the band is through with its spring jaunt the boys have some pretty big summer plans too. Those plans include, yup you guessed it, more touring. Show info after the jump.
According to the Sasquatch! Web site everyone’s favorite towel-toting rapper, Mos Def, and Maria Bamford have been added to Sasquatch!
Things have bee busy over in Ear Candy-land the last few weeks, which has made it tough for me to post over here on Spin The Black Circle. For starters, I have been working with some friends on a pretty awesome project. I can’t share the details quite yet, but the image above may give you a hint, or you can simply click here to get a sneak peek (trust me you want to click there, and be sure to bookmark the site and check back every few days for updates).
I have also finally created an Ear Candy Facebook page, so you can check me out on Facebook if you like. You can do that by clicking here.
As for my weekend plans, aside from checking out Watchmen on the IMAX I am going to be busy hitting up some excellent shows. First up is the record release show for Say Hi and Mt. St. Helens Vietnam Band. These bands each released one of the best local albums of the year and their show at Neumos Friday is going to be killer. If my endorsement isn’t good enough to make you want to check things out Friday then how about this, Visqueen is opening.
Saturday I will be at the Sunset for the second-ever live show by The Redwood Plan. I say second because they played a secret show (which wasn’t so secret if you took Ear Candy’s advice a few weeks back) a couple of days ago. Their Saturday night set is going to be broadcast on the beacon of indie hipster coolness, KEXP. Also on the bill are Sleepy Eyes of Death and The Hands.
So now that you know where I will be this weekend, feel free to drop by and say hello if you’re out and about. Or, stay at home and read my Twitter feed where I will attempt to drop tweets to my tweeps (man that sounds strange) throughout the weekend.
