Belles of the Sound

Are you sick of hearing about the Rock and Roll Marathon yet? For those of you living under a rock, it takes place this Saturday, June 25 in South Seattle-SODO. I personally know four people participating in either the marathon or half-marathon, and have been eagering watching them train and prepare for the big day! In fact, for one of my friends, this will be her first longer-than-a-5k distance race (GO JENN!). Me, on the other hand, am not really built for running long distances… think built for comfort rather than speed.

If you’re like me and not running in the race, NEVER FEAR! You can still take in the fun and entertainment of the day. Running a marathon or half-marathon is a great accomplishment, and the more people down there encouraging the participants the better. Plus, how often do you get to see Everclear play for free (they play at 11 a.m. on the Qwest Field North Lot)? Not to mention the other 20+ concerts happening along the race route.

Here are some of the other groups playing during the race (pulled directly from the website):

So, get on out there. Cheer on your friends. Take in some free music. And enjoy the predicted sunshine!

First, I would like to dedicate this post to Neko Case’s three-legged cat Wayne.  I hope you make it home safely.

Second, let’s start with a teensy bit of history.  I have lived in the “Seattle area” for my entire life.  I have had a proper Seattle address since I graduated from college.  With all of that time around here you’d think I would have gone to Bumbershoot at some point before.  I’m not surprised I didn’t do it when I was little.  We lived about an hour and a half drive from the city and a full day/weekend music festival was not likely high on my parents list of good places for small children.  We didn’t go to Disneyland until I was a sophomore in high school because they wanted to make sure we could all walk ourselves around.  They didn’t want to deal with strollers.  I guess they just wanted to play it REALLY safe in case one of us took a long time getting a hang of this “walking” thing.

Anyway, this year I finally didn’t have to work on the weekend.  I wasn’t out of town.  I live within walking distance of Seattle Center!  I was ready to finally check it out.

I only went one day,  but I feel that was at least a start.  We checked out all of the main stage shows on Saturday.  The Decemberists, who were up first are a personal favorite of mine and I have seen them many times.  I prefer them indoors but they were still quite entertaining.  It really takes a special kind of band to make infanticide into a sing-along subject.

Neko Case was up next and she too was good.  Her voice really is something spectacular.  It’s nice to know that in an Auto-Tuned world there are still some voices that sound great without assistance. In fat some of the songs on her newest album, Middle Cyclone, which sound a little flat on CD are far alive when she sings them.   She admitted to being sorely unprepared and  borrowing gear from a variety of sources, even Bob Dylan, but it certainly didn’t diminish the quality of her performance.  Also she has a three-legged cat named Wayne who is missing.  How could that not get to you?  Come home Wayne!

Last, of course, was Bob Dylan.  He has gotten awfully gravelly in his later years and if you didn’t know any of the words to his songs when you arrived his mumbly delivery wasn’t going to give any of them away.   At least he isn’t Auto-Tuned either.   He doesn’t speak to the crowd but instead powers through song after song and puts on a decent show.   Disappointing or not, I should hope to be even half as interesting when I’m 69 years old.

I enjoyed myself but I wouldn’t say I really fully got the whole experience.  We walked around a little but pretty much just went to the main stage shows.  I feel like I really just got my feet wet. Next year as long as there’s a decent lineup I’ll be ready to dive in.

I spent the weekend here:

The Gorge in George

Dave Matthews -- Dave Matthews Band

Hello Internet People!

The last time I blogged with any frequency was in college, where most of my posts were fueled by boxes of Franzia wine and my sole intent was to compare my life happenings to lyrics in Dave Matthews’ songs. As it has been many, many months since I last drank Franzia, I feel I am once again qualified to write things on the Internet.  My name is Cathy and I’m the newest addition to Belles of the Sound.

There isn’t much I dislike in life (except Dick Cheney) and my reactions to most things are overly enthusiastic.  I love going out, I spend too much time reading and I like to ring doorbells for politicians I care about so I’ll probably posting on Belles of the Sound about all of those things. Bars, books and people, folks, this is what really matters in life.

The Sunset Tavern in Ballard. Hipsters not shown

What I’m looking forward to this week combines the above:  This Monday The Sunset Tavern in Ballard will be hosting author Gary Shteyngart, who will be reading from his new book Super Sad True Love Story. This is exciting to me on so many levels!  He teaches at Columbia and Princeton so this is the closest I will ever get to an Ivy League school and his books are satirical and wonderful.

Details for those of you who prefer list format:

What: Reading of Super Sad True Love Story with musical guests Orkestar Zirkonium

When: Monday, August 2nd, 2010 at 8pm

Where: The Sunset Tavern, 5433 Ballard Avenue.  There is a $5 cover charge at the door.

I’m excited for Monday night and I’ll fill you in on the adventures next week.  Unless something more interesting happens.  Either way, this will be fun.

So, did I forget to mention that I’m moving out of Seattle in August?  I probably should have asked you if you are sitting down first, but I also do realize that not everyone would be that emotionally traumatized by this news.  You should know that I’m really excited, though, because I will be starting grad school at the University of Denver this September.

Sadly, I won’t be able to keep writing about “Seattle life” in Denver, so my blogging days with the Belles will be coming to an end (I still have one more week up my sleeve though).

Hark, fear not!  There will be a Tuesday blogger stepping in in my absence.  But in all seriousness, the last few months of my life have been dedicated to grad school preparations, visiting with friends, and preparing to leave the city that I grew up in and will always be a part of me.  You probably think I’m a total sentimental sap, but I am a bit sentimental, mostly because, although I know I can always come back, I really don’t know where life will take me (part of the fun of it!) so this could actually be the last time I “live” in Seattle.

And because of that fact, as I started to think what I want to write about this week, I wasn’t so much thinking about up and coming events, or what is going on here and now, but rather, what I would miss most about really living (i.e. being a resident) in this city.

Having grown up within walking distance of University Village, this is one of the places that holds a lot of memories for me.  I have seen this little area going from a grocery store as the main attraction, a bowling alley, and a couple random shops, to a full blown, up scale, outdoor village, bustling with life, character, and most of all…people and traffic!  As busy/chaotic/congested as it has become, overall, most changes have been good.

One thing my family has come to love over the more recent summers that it has begun, is the annual Sounds of Summer Concert Series that runs every Wednesday from July 14th-August 18th.  The best part about this is that it’s FREE, and the times I’ve gone have actually been pretty incredible.  The village practically shuts down, streets are blocked off, and everyone stops in their tracks and listens as the sweet sounds of a local artist as it vibrates off store walls.

There is one down side: traffic is horrible.  You think it’s bad now, you haven’t seen anything yet.  A lot of parking is blocked off for stage/band equipment, plus there is a higher volume of traffic anyway, so it’s really a nightmare to try to park anywhere.  Walk if you can.  Or take the bus.  Or try to find street parking outside of the village.  But please, don’t let this stop you from going.

Even though Summer (with a capital ‘S’) has already begun, “Seattle Summer” usually starts around mid-July (I’ve heard rumors of 80 degree weather on Wednesday??), so it really is a great activity to do on a Wednesday evening.  I for one am definitely going to make an effort to get over there more often this year, since I don’t know when my next opportunity will be!

University Village Sounds of Summer Concert Series

What happens when you combine a guitar-playing hobbit, a regenerating beard, an unassuming bumblebee, a fashionable charmer, a little girl, a time-keeping robot, the unintentionally funny one, and the mature teacher? You get a damn fine mix of people and instruments that make up Seattle’s-own Exohxo.

An eight-piece pop/rock band, Exohxo is comprised of Danny on vocals and guitar, Jasen on vocals and guitar, Jason on bass and vocals, Kyle on keyboards and vocals, Johnny on drums, Hiromi on violin, Elizabeth on viola, and Benjamin on violin.

The band is the brainchild of members of the group Speaker Speaker. Toward the end of 2008, Danny and Jasen wrote and recorded songs for Exohxo’s first album, Other Ghosts. Live performances around the Emerald City, and airplay on The End (107.7), as well as articles in online magazines, The Stranger and Seattle Weekly have given the band a certain amount of local fame.

The Internet played a big part in getting the band together, with some members responding to craigslist want ads, and another who answered a request on Twitter. The original plan was to have an always-changing succession of members, but once everyone started playing together, it worked so well that they’ve been together ever since.

A month ago, Exohxo recorded an EP with Conrad Uno (of The Presidents of the United States of America, Mudhoney and the Posies), and created a five-song EP called The Pitfalls, the Possibilities, the Peril and the Promise. The album varies stylistically and includes everything from ballads to driving rock, and features nearly 30 people when you include a ten-piece choir, a string quartet and a thirteen-piece orchestra.

After their very first live show, The Stranger’s Megan Seling had this to say, “it was as promising and charming as any first show should be for a band that has existed only about two months.” Others have compared Exohxo with the Hold Steady and Arcade Fire.

Check out their music on MySpace or Facebook, and the songs from the new EP here. Not enough Exohxo for you? Go see them in person on June 3^rd at Neumos at 8pm, and get ready for something different.