Click & Dagger newcomer Royal Stuart was at the Bishop Allen show last week (sans photog unfortunately) and gave us a great first impression of his work. Here’s his review from the show:

Review by Royal Stuart

There are very few songs with the magical power to evoke goosebumps upon every listen. Live or recorded, it doesn’t matter; it consistently happens at the same spot in the song — cresting over the bridge into the final chorus, almost as if there’s a tone or beat within, that, when struck, triggers chills in the listener. Radiohead’s Let Down, The Beatles’ Polythene Pam / She Came in Through the Bathroom Window, and Bishop Allen’s Flight 180 all have this magical moment. And last night’s performance of Flight 180 at Chop Suey was no different.

We all knew it was coming. Surely they wouldn’t not play it. But after their 50-minute set they left the stage having done just that. The anticipation was killing us. Since they chose to put that song in their encore, they made the song somehow impossibly bigger than it already is. Every song, from the 80s-tinged synth-pop of opener Darwin Deez, into the bouncy tunes and antics of Throw Me The Statue, up through the first song of Bishop Allen’s encore was played in preparation for Flight 180. Building, building, building, up to that chill-inducing point in the song, “if you feel like DANCING…”

It was fantastic.

Strangely, the show was not sold out prior to the start time. I’ve seen both Bishop Allen and Throw Me The Statue perform in larger venues separately, touring along with bigger acts, but somehow the combination of the two fails to fill the relatively small floor at Chop Suey. Unexpected, but welcome, as it’s always nice to have a little extra breathing room when standing for 3+ hours, well into the early-early morning.

I only managed to catch the very end of the opener, Brooklyn’s Darwin Deez. Managing a rare feat for an opening band, the audience liked them enough to beg for an encore. The band was even unsure if this was an ok move, yelling out as they strapped on their instruments for the second time, “Justin, is this ok?!” That one song, along with some further evidence online, made me wish I’d shown up earlier to catch their whole set.

The last time I saw Seattle’s Throw Me The Statue I wasn’t very familiar with the band. I’d only heard a couple songs on KEXP, and that combined with the fact that they were sandwiched between the phenomenal Grand Hallway and headliner Robin Pecknold (of the Fleet Foxes), I was none too impressed. But a lot has changed since then. Their 2nd album, Creaturesque, was released in August. And while a lot of the songs on that album could be identified as covers of songs not written by Modest Mouse, Built to Spill, and other Northwest favorites, their middle-act set last night allowed the band to shine in all its indie-pop glory. I suggest you catch these guys the next time they roll through your town, as they won’t be playing these smaller venues for very much longer. The few songs they played from their debut, Moonbeams, along with most of Creaturesque (of which the bass-lead Ancestors was a major highlight), made a perfect launchpad for Bishop Allen to jump from.

Brooklyn’s Bishop Allen is a nerdy band. Justin Rice, the lead singer, wearing a dark-blue wool cardigan and large, plastic-rimmed glasses, came onto the stage looking nothing like what you’d expect if you were only hearing them perform on the radio. But for what Justin may lack in chiseled looks, he gains in stage presence. Along with his longtime co-songwriter and bandmate, lead guitarist Christian Rudder, Justin commands attention. His voice and demeanor on stage, even when totally screwing up a song (as he did not once but twice when trying to perform Empire City early on in the set), is that of a seasoned professional.

While their sound has changed drastically over the years, from a more punk-pop base on their 2003 debut Charm School, up through 2009’s great pure pop exploration Grrr…, Bishop Allen’s live sound remains consistent from start to finish. There are very few slow moments overall, and those that do come (markedly when the lead singing duties moved to keyboardist Darbie Rice a couple times during the set) are welcome breathers between intense, power-pop singalongs. I found myself bouncing up and down with the non-capacity crowd a number of times during the set. And even though Bishop Allen may have four people on stage singing the same lines at the same time at various points during their set, it was clear that the audience, at least towards the front of the stage, knew the words to nearly every song the band performed. Each song was a battle for the listener, trying to pull Justin’s voice out from the sea of singing from all around. It can get quite annoying when the guy behind you, singing off-key at almost a full octave lower than the lead singer, is the loudest thing in your ear. But thankfully those moments were few and far-between.

Like Castanets, Middle Management (both from The Broken String) and Charm School’s Busted Heart were marked highlights throughout the set. Even during the less-noisy moments, such as Darbie’s quieter singing on Butterfly Nets, where the silence throughout the bar showed that everyone was paying rapt attention, made for a set without any dull moments. As the band was completing the aforementioned capper for the evening, Flight 180, I remember thinking they must end the show now. Anything that follows that religious-experience of a song would sound like an afterthought. But try they did. As the drummer and bassist left the stage, Darbie looked at Christian with a “sure, why not?” kinda jesture, and came to the main mic again. With Christian on guitar and Justin on xylophone, Darbie proceeded to sing the normally male-lead Ghosts Are Good Company from Charm School. And she absolutely nailed it. The six-year old song ended up sounding completely new without the heavy drums, background-chorus or slide guitar from the recorded version. And even with the decidedly unfat Darbie singing the chorus “I can’t do this, I can’t do that, I can’t believe I got so fat…”, it all somehow worked fantastically together.

With that, the show ended. Perfectly. I left the bar with a new band to investigate further, a stronger love for an up-and-coming Seattle act, and a renewed love of a band that I had allowed to wither away as new shiny-objects appeared in my playlists. But even though they’ve been around a while now, I feel there’s a lot more to come from Bishop Allen. They may not find that chill-inducing moment again, but I’m sure they’ll come very very close.

*A note from Dagger 1:

*Remember that giant ass rain/thunder storm we had last Friday? We thought, what a perfect time to test out a couple of the new Recruits at a cool local show. Lucky for us, Willie and Dave stepped up to the plate big time (Dagger Guys: 1 Dagger Girls: 0) and were on point to capture all the action. Here’s how the evening went down…

Photos by Dave Lichterman | Review by Willie Matterson

It was a dark and stormy night…

Since Mercer Street was hard to cross without reefing the mainsail, it didn’t surprise me that the crowd was thin at the Vera Project.  And a shame that it was.  The bands – Universal Studios Florida and Holiday Shores – didn’t seem to notice (The Evangelicals canceled due to family issues).  And I had forgotten just how good the Vera Project can sound.  This place is ably run by, and for, young artists.

Universal Studios Florida laid down three ambient songs reminiscent of the melodic side of Moby.  The crowd started swaying as New Cub, their last song, started with a danceable beat.  Regrettably it faded back into a trance groove.  Bring more of that next time, Jason and Kyle. Keep an eye out for these busy guys.  They’re honing their craft, working on remixes, and carrying class loads at the UW.

Full Universal Studios Florida setlist:

* Elm Skeye
* Sun Glyphed Commanche Kissed
* Greywolf
* New Cub

Holiday Shores brought their bright playful sound from central Florida.  They bundled up – honestly, it doesn’t normally rain like this in Seattle – in sweaters, hoodies, and corduroys then flew into a modest handful of songs from their latest album Columbus’d the Whim released on twosyllable records. These guys are fresh from wowing crowds at CMJ – their instruments showing wear from long stretches on the road. Nathan Pemberton and his crew bounced and played with full energy; though they could have been trying to get warm.  I was expecting more lo-fi noise and reverb similar to their album, but they played with a cleaner rawer sound.

The Vera Project crowd seemed to really enjoy that plan of attack. Bradley Bear, Phones Don’t Fued, and Errand of the Tongue seemed to get the most crowd response.  The calypso/southern sound was so infectious that I wasn’t ready to go back out into the cold dark stormy night.

Full Holiday Shores setlist:
* Days Drag
* Reruns
* Bradley Bear
* Experiencer
* Phones Don’t Feud
* Errand of Tongue
* Edge of Our Lives (dedicated to basketball)

A big thanks to my partner-in-crime and “THAT guy” David Lichterman for also fighting the elements and taking some awesome shots of both acts. Check out the full set HERE.

Do you have a friend you always go to for new music? Someone always out at live shows who seems to know all the latest and greatest bands? If you or someone you know is that person, we want to hear from you!  Seattle Music Site Click & Dagger is growing rapidly and looking to expand our talented roster of music writers as we make our push for local music supremacy. The initiation is tough and we run a tight crew, but if you think you’ve got what it takes, drop us a line. Go ahead, we double dog dare you! Here are the details:

1. Send us a Direct Message on http://twitter.com/clickdagger with your Email address so we can send you more information about next steps.

2. We will send you an E-Mail back with a few questions about your background.

3. Qualified applicants will be given a fun and interesting secret task to complete. We will make our final selections based on these results. 

4. Apply today – Selections will be made by November 1st!

*Feel free to pass this along to anyone crazy you may know…

FAQ:

What exactly are you looking for? Experienced Music writers or people with a background in Music. Passion/Musical Knowledge can subsititute some writing skills. Please have writing samples available.

What do you need me to do? Go to lots of live shows and write previews/reviews as well as review/find new music.  Plus, you’ll get to do a ton of other cool stuff most other outlets would never let you touch. Want creative freedom? This could be the place for the right person. Your writing will be backed by our world-famous concert photog group: The Deadly Viper Photo Squad.

What types of music/shows do you cover? You can take a look at our site for some examples or you can peruse some of our material on KEXP. Indie-Rock, Hip-Hop, Folk, Punk, Etc… If it’s good, we’ll cover it. We just need more help covering all of it! Our musical pallette is what sets us apart. Neumo’s, Chop Suey, and Crocodile happen to be our sweet spot locally, but we also cover the larger shows too.

What does this gig pay? If you’re asking, I probably can’t afford you. Unless of course you consider “Wicked Indie-Cred” a form of payment. How about never paying for music or shows again and being part of a kick ass local outlet like Click & Dagger? It’s all about exposure.

Do I have to be in Seattle? We need local people, but we are also looking for National and International writers! We would love to have some coverage in other cities – especially Chicago, Los Angeles, and New York. If your’re in a live music hot-spot and want to help out, we’d love to hear from you!

What if I’m not a writer? Trust us, there are still other ways that you can help behind the scenes. Drop us a line and let’s chat!

Review by Jason Kinnard | Photos by Alex Crick

Tuesday was an interesting night in Seattle. Like most nights in this city, you can check out a good band just about every night of the week, and Tuesday was one of those nights. Having given up on trying to communicate with anyone from the Ben Folds camp, we set our sights on an early week Hip-Hop show at Neumo’s. It’s always nice to have a back-up plan and this seemed like a pretty good one. In fact, there was actually a fair amount of buzz around town for Kid Sister; the show definitely peaked our interest after a few listens. I’m also a sucker for a big show or the “next best thing” and this had all those elements. We had the Viper Squad there to photograph all the action.

Tuesday night arrives. Press contacts went well for us and by the look of things the guest list was a mile long for the show. It seemed like everyone was on there! You know there could be a problem when “JESUS +12″ is on the list. Luckily, things went off without a hitch and we even had time to grab a few drinks at Moe Bar. It was definitely a different looking set of patrons than what I’m used to seeing at Neumo’s but it just helped add to the intrigue for me. We discussed this at the bar over a couple beverages and then attempted to put it all on the Three Imaginary Girls tab. No luck. It was then that we came to the conclusion we generally don’t like DJ opening acts. They’re always a crap shoot. I still remember a horrid evening at the Pyramid Snowcap event a couple years ago with Citizen Cope where he had a DJ playing for HOURS before he came on. God that was painful. From then on, I’ve been leery.

Luckily, opening act Flosstradamus was nothing like that. They started off a bit slow but ended with a bang, playing all sorts of old school hits and getting the crowd ready for Kid Sister. There was the requisite ass being backed up and plenty of references to big butts, but it ran a little long for my liking. Overall though, I was happy with what I heard. DJ’s J2K (Josh Young) and Autobot (Curt Cameruci) were a cool tandem and actually part of the Kid Sister act. This was going to be an easy transition when she was ready to hit the stage. They ended their set with the obligatory “My Posse’s on Broadway” before it was time to raise our hands and make some noise. It was Kid Sister time…

Enter 2 black & silver  spandex dancers and you know some shit is about to go down. I see Kid Sister creeping up the backstage steps right before she jumps onto the stage and blows things up. The crowd went nuts.

I’ll be the first to admit I’m a sucker for this sort of thing too. Not only was Kid Sister’s energy and attitude infectious, but her music was a lot more fun than I thought it would be too. I expected more rap than dance but got a healthy dose of both. It was the smile on her face though that told me everything I needed to know about Kid Sister’s music, this girl has passion. It was also great to see the way she interacted with the audience – and they ate it up. Hell, we were all smiling and dancing too! I especially loved how she dealt with the sparkle mask boys. Everyone was having a good time.

Kid Sister played most of the new songs from her upcoming album as well as classics like “Pro Nails” which really got the Neumo’s crowd moving. She ended her brief set to a raucous applause and subsequent encore. What a great way to kick off the tour. For an opening night, this had to feel fantastic. I think Seattle may have just caught another rising star.

Dagger Insider news: The cell phone that Kid Sister took and rapped with before placing down her bra belonged to our very own Viper Squad photog Alex Crick. Hot! We will now begin bidding for his cell phone…

Chona @ KEXP “Secret” Music Lounge| Bumbershoot 2009

Local Concert Photog Chona Kasinger is holding her first ever public photo show for the West Seattle Art Walk at Cupcake Royale on Thursday, Oct 8th (more info HERE). Why does Click & Dagger care about a photo show you ask? Because Chona kicks ass, she’s down with KEXP, and she’s got skills.  She’s also a local fixture at the station and you’ll see her at just about every hot show in town. You can’t help but love someone so young with so much talent. She’s not at home talking about it, she’s out in the trenches doing it. Go eat a cupcake and meet a cool local photog. When you go, tell her the Deadly Vipers sent you.

Check out some of her amazing work on flickr: http://www.flickr.com/photos/chona_k/

Minnaars photo by David W Clarke

We scour all the UK forums, sift thru countless Emails, flip thru tons of press kits, Myspace pages, Youtube videos, and random mp3’s so you don’t have to. Here are 7 new bands from “Across the Pond” that are generating some buzz:

Minnaars: Kinda remind me of the Klaxons or the Foals. Lot’s of Hype is to be expected (and they sound good)

Frontiers: This is pretty hot, I definitely approve. The new sound of Nottingham.

Plugs: Definitely a unique sound, this is bleeding edge stuff. Not sure what attracted me to this one. Watch this VIDEO.

A Plastic Rose: Cool new band from Ireland. The boys are a little Emo but they’re not bad.

Bear Driver: A smooth sounding Indie-Pop quartet from Leeds.

Delorean: The band, not the car. Cool band (technically, from Spain). Listen to the song “DELI”.

Photos by Alex Crick|Review by Jason Kinnard

Well, Wednesday night certainly got the Fall concert schedule started off with a bang. Holy Shit! This was definitely one that we had circled on our calendars for a while now. Imagine if you will, Neumo’s magically transformed from a Seattle Hipster bar to a cool Glasgow pub that only serves PBR’s and Red Stripe, and you might be in the ballpark. This was one of those rare nights where every band on the bill was solid; a testament to the genius crew over at Fat Cat Records who put this showcase together. The venue was nice and toasty with a completely packed and Sold Out Neumo’s (Nice work chaps!). I usually like it nice and sardined, but I do have my exceptions (I’ll get into that later). All the locals were out to play, including KEXP’s DJ Shannon, our very own @klsargent (Dagger #2), The Viper Squad handling photo detail @crickontour and local Twtterati @mattwhiting & @1sjc. We were right up front for all the action; blocking your view…

*Dagger insider tip: If you see DJ Shannon front row at a show, it’s probably a safe bet it’s a good show.

We Were Promised Jetpacks

OK, So like I mentioned, the line-up for the evening was fantastic. You know things are going to be good when the whole place is just about jam packed for the opening band; in this case We Were Promised Jetpacks. In a city notorious for blowing off opening bands, that’s a pretty good accomplishment just by itself. And why shouldn’t it be packed? These guys put out a great album this year and thankfully the word seems to have gotten out. I don’t think they will be the opening band much longer (and probably shouldn’t have been at Neumo’s). Of course Click & Dagger has been down with the Jetpacks for quite a while now, but this was our first time actually seeing them live. I don’t know what they’ve sounded like anywhere else on tour, but they sounded incredible inside Neumo’s and had an amazing energy to them. I have a feeling this is going to be another one of those shows I look back at and say “Wow, I was there before they were big”. This is a band bound for stardom.

Dagger Insider tip: Buy stronger guitar strings! LOL

The Twilight Sad

Next up were fellow Scotts, The Twilight Sad. To be honest, this was one of the bands I was most excited to see. Unfortunately, their particular sound didn’t seem to resonate well with the Seattle crowd that I talked to at the show. The comments I read were pretty similar afterwards. They were definitely the odd man out on the bill and maybe should have even opened the show. They were pretty different from the opening band, and The Jetpacks were a pretty tough act to follow. You go from watching a band you just fell in love with, to a frontman who only gives the occasional glare into the crowd (when he’s even looking their way). It’s all about the transition and this was maybe the only slip-up of the entire evening. The Twilight Sad did have some definite flashes of brilliance in their set, but the real highlight for me had to be the new song “I Became a Prostitute” which I thought sounded absolutely huge in that room (those Keyboards!). Most of the rest wasn’t as memorable (maybe with the exception of “That Summer At Home I Had Become The Invisible Boy”), but I’m not sure their sound is as easy to pull off live. From my angle, I really had a hard time hearing the singer, and that might have made a huge difference. Not that it’s a requirement, but they also didn’t seem to do a very good job connecting with the crowd (James, please turn 45 degrees to your left). Not quite what I expected; I’ll chalk it up to an off night.

Dagger Insider tip: Move the singer up front and turn up his mic.

Frightened Rabbit

Finally, the headliner and obvious crowd favorite Frightened Rabbit took the stage. I was about to see what all the fuss was about. The 3rd and final band in what you could easily call a “Scottish Musical Trifecta”. Despite their top of the bill status, this was actually the band I knew the least about coming in. All I knew was that they were likely to be better than the other two bands I had just heard, so I was expecting a lot. Solid Acoustic guitar work and the soaring vocals worked well with what I thought were arguably the best sounding drums of the night. When the drummer shows up with an “ANIMAL!” T-shirt, expect good things. It was clear these boys were the most seasoned of the bunch and they also had the most active crowd of the night. People loved Frightened Rabbit and it was hard not to. Scott Hutchison was definitely the most endearing frontman of the night and the band sounded great live. Of course with any big show, you always have some minor crowd issues. And here’s where I bring up a few pet peeves:

1. We aren’t impressed that you “know the band” or you’ve seen them play somewhere else. Tell them that while you’re buying their merch after the show.

2. When you drink too much, push your way up front, and don’t know how to dance in a small confined space; that annoys people. That’s when I step in front of you and obscure your view (unless of course you happen to be Minka Kelly, which you aren’t).

3. We don’t mind singing along, but there’s a point where you have to draw the line. Finishing a singers lines for him during a quiet song is probably one of those times. Nobody paid to hear your drunk ass sing.

4. Never bump a photographer from the Deadly Viper Photo Squad. Ever.

The band played a nice long set with a perfect 2-song encore; one of which took place literally right above our head. The night ended with band members sitting on the ground and next to amplifiers as the feedback marked a poetic end to the evening. I definitely love hearing new bands and this was a fantastic night of discovery for me and just about everyone else in attendance. Make no mistake, Frightened Rabbit were exceptionally good, but on this night We Were Promised Jetpacks might have just stole the show.

All 3 of these bands are currently touring, check them out where you live and tell us about it!

Categories provided by the Click & Dagger crew/photos by Puja Parakh

Well, Bumbershoot is done and gone and we’ve got some great memories of the festival. We’ve read some awesome reviews, seen some amazing pictures, and met some fantastic new people over the weekend.  In years past, I’ve always worked Bumbershoot for KEXP; however, this was my first year finally covering the festival entirely under the Click & Dagger umbrella (except for all those Music Lounge intros for the KEXP Blog!). I truly felt honored to be amongst the best writers and photogs in the city. It was also the first time I’ve been able to include others in the fun, working with world class photographer (and Viper Squad member: Puja Parakh and our fantastic new writer: Karalee Sargent. Click & Dagger is at it’s best when we’re mixing killer photography with fun content, and I couldn’t have done it without them (scroll down to see our previous days coverage). I can’t wait to see what we come up with next year!

In an effort to start our own unique tradition, we’ve compiled our own “Best of” list from the festival. We call them the Dagger Awards:

Best band to photograph: Champagne Champagne. Runner-up: Dyme Def. Yeah, we’re down with the Hip-Hop crowd.

Biggest disappointment: Past Lives – Sorry guys, we really tried.

Best Celeb Sightings: Leisha Hailey (from the L word). Runner up: Adrian Grenier (from Entourage)

Best girl Tattoo’s: Vivian Girls – We saw an Ice Cream Sunday and a full-size fork. We would like to investigate further.

Best Stage to smoke a doobie: Broad Street (aka Broad Leaf). No complaining here.

Worst place to grab a sandwich side-stage: Broad Street. Funniest inside story of the festival. “That Guy” damn near black-listed the entire press crew, but we took care of business. We all laughed about it later and everything was cool just in time for METRIC.

Best drummer: Michael Benjamin from Telekinesis. Oh, and did you know he sings too?

Best “secret” Stage: KEXP Music Lounge. 3 years running. This wasn’t even close – I could have (and almost did) stayed in here for the entire weekend.

Best Venue: EMP – We don’t know why more shows aren’t held here. The visuals, the sound. Also, hands-down the best crew at Bumbershoot. We had no hassles getting around here and greatly appreciate the awesome access. We may owe you a couple of Rainier’s…

Shittiest Venue: Rockstar Stage (aka Exhibition  Hall) – every damn year. Luckily, the crew running the backstage was top-notch. Unfortunately, they can’t make up for the crappy sound and horrible lighting.

Worst pace to catch a show: Samsung Main Stage. You need to go WAY WAY bigger for next year (40th Anniversary!)

Most dangerous thing we saw: A kid about break his damn neck on that stupid rotating teeter totter next to the Half-Pipe. Scary.

Best Sets of the weekend: Os Mutantes, Holy Fuck, Metric – This is all open for interpretation of course, but these were a few of the highlights. We also loved every Hip-Hop set we saw (Dyme Def, Champagne Champagne). I know we’re missing someone here: Elvis Perkins?

Chicks that rocked: The Kindness Kind, Vivian Girls, Karen O (Yeah Yeah Yeahs), and especially METRIC

Weirdest instrument: Film Editing machine – Holy Fuck.

Best green room free stuff: Greek Gods Yogurt and Pops Chips.

That’s all for now. Click & Dagger is officially back on the streets ready for the busy Fall Concert season. Enjoy a few final pictures from Day 3 of  Bumbershoot:

AKRON/FAMILY

CHAMPAGNE CHAMPAGNE

All photos by Puja Parakh

Review by Jason Kinnard

The morning started out having a few people worried in Seattle. Myself included. I looked outside and all I could see was heavy rain coming down. Needless to say, the day had a few damp spots, but it actually cooperated for the most part. Why do I have this sneaking suspicion we are going to get pelted on the last day?

Like Saturday, we spent some time in the Music Lounge watching some fantastic up-close performances. We all split-up again so we could cover everyone we wanted to see. Karalee was busy taking in a ton of other shows I wasn’t seeing and vice-versa. I started the day at Noon in the KEXP Music Lounge with Common Market. Seattle Hip-Hop is really getting good right now, and this wasn’t the only one we’d attend. The boys come rolling in about 10 minutes till, cool as could be (KEXP staff was visibly a little worried at this point!) and then pulled off a great opening set in the Lounge. The gang from Sera Cahoone was in the back room and said “we have to follow that?”. It was a funny moment and it was interesting to see so many different types of bands intermingling together and having fun. It’s those cool moments and rare glimpses inside that make it all worth it to me. It’s amazing how art and creative things can bring people together.

Sera Cahoone

- This was my first time seeing Sera Cahoone and it was a fantastic set. Just her, and 2 other gentlemen other guitar player and a sit-down steel guitar player was all she needed in a beautifully stripped down set of acoustic folk tunes. They were extremely nice to chat with before the show and they were having a great time.

Black Whales

- Cool local band. 2 drummers. Full big sound inside EMP. I only stayed for a few songs but it made me want to hear more.

Vivian Girls

- A lot of people weren’t into this, but I loved it. I wrote the intro for KEXP and was excited to hear them play. 3-piece band from Brooklyn who play their own fun girl version of lo-fi fuzzed out garage pop. Say what you will, I loved it.

Dyme Def

- Kinda stumbled into this one and it was one of my favorites of the day. Saw Grynch chillin in the crowd. Everyone was hyped for this show. Many hands were in the air. Waving. Like they just…. (ok you get the idea) P.S. I want one of those T-shirts.

Holy Fuck

- Holy Fuck is right. Wow! Live experimental electronics cranked up a notch. At one point the guy was playing music out of an actual old-school film editing machine complete with tape spilling all over the floor. Loud and fantastic. Best set of the day for me.

No Age

- Another cool set at the Rockstar Energy stage from a Sub Pop band I happen to love. 2-piece set-up with a flair for post punk greatness. Last time I saw this band play was in the KEXP parking lot. The kids love them some No Age. Oh, and we totally saw that guy from Entourage watching the show and smooching on some girl (not Paris Hilton).

Helio Sequence

- Last band of the day for me, what a perfect way to end the evening. I’ve seen this band countless times and they sound just as good as before. Oh, and I’ve now officially re-named the Broad Street Stage to the “Broad Leaf” stage. Get it?

Review by Karalee Sargent

We were really happy that the weather held it together for Day 1 of Bumbershoot 2009. Sure it got a little blustery, but the sun breaks and overall dryness made for a pleasant day. But what really got us excited on Day 1 was not one, but two toe-tapping sets by Elvis Perkins in Dearland.

Our first encounter with Elvis and the gang took place at the incredibly intimate secret stage where KEXP was broadcasting live. With an old fashioned slouch hat and ascot, Elvis lead the band in playing their new Doomsday EP (which is set to release October 20) in its entirety. This EP sounds much more gospel than anything Elvis has previously released, with songs like “Weeping Mary” (a Sacred Harp cover) and a sorrowfully slow version of “Doomsday.”

The KEXP set left the audience hungry for more, and luckily Elvis Perkins in Dearland blessed Bumbershoot with a packed performance at the Northwest Court Stage later that evening. While some of the songs were EP repeats for those of us lucky enough to see the set at the secret stage, we got to hear a handful of old favorites like “Chains Chains Chains,” “Shampoo” and “While You Were Sleeping.” Not only were the songs entertaining enough, but the band members were visibly excited to be there. Drummer Nick Kinsey was especially fun to watch when he donned a one-man-band getup and jigged around his bandmates while bashing the bass drum strapped to his chest. There was even a guest appearance by Jonathan Russell from Cold War Kids fame to play bass guitar during “Stop Drop Rock and Roll” off the new EP.

Be sure to catch Elvis Perkins in Dearland next time they are in town, and definitely check out their new EP in October.