Tag Archives: Dyme Def

Free summer concerts by Dyme Def, Blitzen Trapper, TMTS and more

The folks over at KEXP are bringing some excellent free live music to the masses this summer at the Mural Amphitheatre on the Seattle Center campus, which is where KISW used to have its free Pain in the Grass shows, as anyone who lived through the 90s will tell you.

The schedule features a mix of local hip hop (Dyme Def and Mad Rad side project Fresh Espresso), indie (Throw Me The Statue and Blitzen Trapper), and some good old fashioned rock ‘n’ roll (Dinosaur Jr.).

Here is the complete lineup for these free shows:

July 31, 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. Blitzen Trapper, Throw Me the Statue

Aug. 7, 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. Dyme Def, Fresh Espresso

Aug. 8, 2 p.m. to 9 p.m. KEXP Annual BBQ featuring Dinosaur Jr., Cymbals Eat Guitars, Japandroids, Born Anchors and more TBA

Aug. 14, 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. The Dodos, Army Navy

Aug. 21, 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. Fruit Bats

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My five favorite club shows of 2008

travis hay

For my final Ear Candy column of the year for the print edition of the Seattle P-I my editor has asked me to write about my top 5 club shows of the year. While I was not able to make it to every club show in Seattle (due to my geographical location as well as the fact I spent most of the year covering major concerts and festivals for the P-I), I did spend plenty of nights in dark, sweaty, booze-filled clubs witnessing some really great music.

So here’s a recap of my five favorite club shows of the year:

Weezer’s Hootenanny @ Vera Project

Yes, it was an invite-only event. Yes, it wasn’t an actual =W= concert. And yes, Rivers Cuomo’s mustache made an appearance. All of those things only touch the surface of why this was one of the coolest shows of the year. Take 200 =W= fans, crazy instruments and a rocking kazoo solo on “Beverly Hills” and you’ve got one heckuva hootenanny.

The Gutter Twins @ Showbox at the Market

The two-day Sup Pop 20 Festival was an amazing fete the venerable local label threw for itself, but you didn’t experience all of SP20 if you weren’t at this show. The combination of Mark Lanegan and Greg Dulli in the darkened confines of the Showbox was spellbinding.

Tom Morello, Mike McCready and Stone Gossard @ Showbox at the Market

This get-out-the-vote show didn’t include any big surprise special guests like many speculated it would (come on, three-fifths of Peal Jam was in the building and no PJ surprise appearance?) but really the show didn’t need any razzle-dazzle stars to impress. Tom Morello broke out RATM riffs and played enough of his upbeat new material to prove he is a more than adequate frontman. Mike McCready kicked out a set of six spectacular Hendrix covers and Stone Gossard played honky-tonk versions of “1999” and “Ace of Spades.” Oh yeah, and at the end of the show McCready and Morello jammed together.

Dyme Def 3Badbrothaaas Mixtape Release Party @ Nectar

Hip-hop gets a bad reputation by critics because for the most part it often comes off as boring when performed live because the crowd is often not engaged. Well, this release of the “3Badbrothaaas” Mixtape (which was handed out for free at the show) and the performance by Dyme Def at Nectar proved Seattle can do hip-hop right. The performance by these three MCs was one of the most charismatic sets I saw all year, and I saw more than 200 acts this year (yes, I keep count).

Supersuckers 20th Anniversary @ Showbox at the Market

Sup Pop wasn’t the only Seattle institution celebrating 20 years in business in 2008. The rockabilly punks in Supersuckers railed off a 35-song set list during a show that lasted more than two hours and touched on every one of their records. The only thing that was missing was their excellent cover of “Hey Ya!” Oh, and to help mark 20 years, Green River got together for another show ( only the band’s third in its 20 years since breaking up) to toast their friends in Supersuckers.

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The best things in life are free on the Internet (including music)

travis hay

One of the greatest things about the Internet is how easily accessible it has made music. More specifically, it has made a lot of music free. And I don’t mean in the Y2K, Napster, stealing music kind of way.

There is a lot of great free music out there and it’s all yours for the taking. To give you a glimpse into what I am rocking on my iPod and some insight into my own personal music universe, here are four albums (well, okay, three albums and one EP) that are 100 percent free and well worth the download.

Girl Talk “Feed The Animals” — Okay, so this one isn’t exactly free. The mash-up artist known as Girl Talk has released his latest masterpiece and he will give it to you for free if you want it. However, he will also take money for it if you want to give it to him. How much money? Well, that’s up to you. The record is available for a pay-what-you-want price. Sound like a familiar digital distribution method? Well, if you want to get what is possibly the best dance record of the year, I recommend picking this up, for whatever cost you think is appropriate. You can download the record here. Girl Talk plays Seattle at the Capitol Hill Block Party on July 25.

Patient Patient “The Free EP” — This group of Seattle indie popsters released a free EP of new material earlier this year. The Stranger described the band’s sound as indie Radiohead and for the most part the were spot on, so I won’t bother boring you with an attempt at pigeon-holing Patient Patient into a category. I will tell you that this EP is a solid five-song taste of Patient Patient and it does what all good EPs do: it gives listeners just enough music to leave their ears salivating for a full-length record. You can download the album here.

Dyme Def “Three Bad Brothaas Mix Tape” — This crew of young MCs (none of them are older than 21) are the future of Seattle hip hop. Last year the group released its debut “Space Music” and once I got my hands on it I couldn’t stop listening to it. The success of that release helped the group land a main stage spot at this year’s Sasquatch! Music Festival and they will be at several Warped Tour stops this summer (including the Aug. 9 Gorge Warped date) as well as the Rock The Bells Festival at the Gorge on Sept. 6. This mixtape, which the group is distributing for free, consists of mostly new material, including a track that does a killer job of sampling the “Pinky and the Brain” theme song.
You can download the album here. Dyme Def next plays in Seattle on July 11 at Sole Repair.

Nine Inch Nails “The Slip” — Trent Reznor’s gift to his loyal fans, this album has been available for free on NIN’s Web site for a few months. While the record is no “Pretty Hate Machine” or “Downward Spiral” it is way better than “The Fragile” and more in line with Reznor’s last few non-instrumental records “Year Zero” and “With Teeth.” Download it here. Nine Inch Nails comes to KeyArena July 25.

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