Fistful of Mercy kicked off its tour with style at Showbox at the Market Tuesday night.

The band — consisting of Ben Harper, Dhani Harrison, Joseph Arthur — covered just about every song from their debut album As I Call You Down while throwing in a few pleasant surprises during a 90-minute set. Earlier this year Fistful of Mercy made its official public debut at Easy Street Records in West Seattle so it was fitting the group started its tour at the Showbox, which was dressed to the nines for the occasion.

Instead of the typical open floor GA setup, the floor of the Showbox was littered with tables and chairs as were the bars with each table  lit by a votive candle. The atmosphere classed up the already pretty classy Showbox quite a bit and gave the show an feeling of intimacy and elegance which was a perfect fit for the band’s mostly acoustic brand of folk.

The three-part harmonies of Arthur, Harrison and Harper were in full effect from the beginning of the show, which started with “I Don’t Want to Waste Your Time.” A few songs later Bob Dylan’s “Buckets of Rain,” the  first of several covers, made its way to the set. The other covers included PJ Harvey’s “To Bring You My Love” and the Velvet Underground’s “Pale Blue Eyes,” both of which popped up during the encore. The latter was one of the more impressive songs of the evening. Rounding out the setlist were songs from each individual members solo careers.

The instrumentation was sparse with mostly guitars and a keyboard on stage which allowed for the harmonies to soar through the Showbox. The group was accompanied by violinist Jessy Green whose contributions helped make the Fistful material stand out from the covers and solo numbers. Her playing was definitely a subtle highlight. Other highlights included Harrison’s playful and bouncy keys on “Things Go Round,” which saw Harper on bass and Arthur playing a drum and a blistering lapsteel solo by Harper during “Restore Me.” Continue reading →

The answer to the question posed by The Heavy’s biggest single, “How You Like Me Now?,” should be pretty obvious  after the band’s recent stop at Showbox at the Market.

In case you weren’t there, allow me to provide the answer for you. You like The Heavy.

Why do you like The Heavy?

Well, it could be because the U.K. band’s brand of soul-infused rock simply slayed a sparsely populated Showbox on a cool November evening. Or maybe it’s because of the infectious smile and charisma of singer Kelvin Swaby whose stage presence packs about as powerful a punch as the group’s R&B-skeletoned songs? No wait, you like The Heavy for the way they delightfully demolish crowds in a dance-friendly manner.

Really though, I’m pretty sure you like The Heavy for all of the above reasons and more.

The band’s electrifying 70-minute Showbox set was, um, heavy with material from last year’s The House That Dirt Built with a few tracks from 2007’s Great Vengeance and Furious Fire thrown in for good measure. “Sixteen” was a fun romp through forbidden love. “No Time” was as garagey and bluesy as it is on record and the soulful groove of  “What You Want Me To Do” provided enough of a boogie to get the laziest of feet on the dancefloor moving.

As if all that weren’t enough the best part about the band’s set was that it was fun, and really isn’t that reason enough to like The Heavy?

Friday night Wild Flag, the practically newborn band consisting of former Slater-Kinney, Helium and Minders members, gave one of its first public performances and to say I was impressed is an extreme understatement. I left the show with two immediate thoughts:

1) I can’t wait to hear the band’s debut album

2) I can’t wait to see Wild Flag live again

The band, featuring S-K’s Carrie Brownstein and Janet Weiss on lead guitar and drums respectively, Helium’s Mary Timony playing rhythm guitar and The Minders’ Rebecca Cole on keys, played an hourlong set of blistering rock that received an overwhelmingly positive response from the sold-out crowd considering few in the audience had heard any of the group’s music.

Since the band consists of two-thirds of Sleater-Kinney the comparisons to the band named after the road off exit 108 will be aplenty so allow me to go there:  Wild Flag’s songs are bit  more restrained and less urgent than Sleater-Kinney and most contain a catchy big rock feel giving them an edge Sleater-Kinney didn’t have until later in their career. More simply put, Wild Flag is more rock and less punk whereas Sleater-Kinney is the opposite.

Although the members of Wild Flag are veterans of various groups it was pretty evident the foursome is in the fledgling stages of being in a band. Timony was writing down notes and chord progressions on pieces of paper before the set and kept them next to her array of effects pedals. Brownstein also made a few comments about the newness of the band throughout the show letting everyone know it was only the band’s third live performance.

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Leave it to a virtual band to put on one of the best arena rock shows of the year.

For nearly two hours at KeyArena Tuesday night the cartoonish band known as Gorillaz delivered a sensory spectacle so enjoyable it was impossible not to walk away wanting more when the show ended.  The concert marked the group’s final U.S. stop on its Escape From Plastic Beach tour and the nearly 10,000 on hand at KeyArena were treated to a set list featuring more than 20 choice cuts from the Gorillaz catalog including a health dose of material from Plastic Beach, easily one of the best records of the year.

The journey began with “Welcome to the World of the Plastic Beach,” during which a video of Snoop Dogg was played on the video screen that served as a backdrop for the dozens of musicians that filled the stage. Colorful videos featuring the Gorillaz virtual conterparts 2-D, Murdoch, Noodles and Russel were shown throughout the show immersing fans in the nefarious rockstar universe of Gorillaz. During some songs  the band’s music videos were played and the cartoons perfectly sang in sync with lead Gorilla Damon Albarn, formerly of Blur, and during others concertgoers were treated to original animations by Jamie Hewlett (the other main creative force behind Gorillaz) made specifically for the tour. The paring of cartoons with arena rock worked so well it makes you  wonder why nobody else has previously attempted the combination. I guess all it took was a little bit of British ingenuity to shake up the worn-out formula for a successful stadium rock show.

Although the Doggfather wasn’t there to deliver his cameo, several other delightful in-person appearances by friends of the Gorillaz made the show almost an all-star concert. The soulful Bobby Womack superbly sang his parts on “Stylo” and “Cloud of Unknowing,”  the adorable Little Dragon popped in for “Empire Ants” and “To Binge” and De La Soul made “Superfast Jellyfish” and “Feel Good Inc.” two of the highlights of the show.  But the highlights weren’t all cameos, if those guest appearance can even be considered cameos since all the performers had recorded with Gorillaz. “Rhinestone Eyes” and “Punk,” which is perhaps the most Blurish Gorillaz song, also stood out during the set. Continue reading →

Seems like just about every 90s alt-rock band is reuniting nowadays and the latest group getting the band back together are rootssy-rockers Grant Lee Buffalo.

According to Brooklyn Vegan the group, consisting of Grant-Lee Phillips (vocals and guitar), Paul Kimble (bass) and Joey Peters (drums) are slated to play two dates this year as part of a brief reunion and one of those dates is in Seattle (the other is in New York).

The band will perform at the Tractor Tavern on Dec. 9. Tickets went on sale today and will cost you $18. You can buy your nostalgia in the form of a concert ticket by clicking here.