The Jesus and Mary Chain Upside Down

Heavy Metal Heartbreak... Taking Over the World!

Whew! There are very few weekends that you can describe as honest to goodness Rock & Roll weekends, and my past weekend may very well not fit that description at all. To me though, it seemed as if all the makings might be there. I arrived in Seattle on Thursday afternoon where upon I went almost immediately to the Crocodile Cafe to have a brief chat with Math & Physics Club about the Northwest music scene, a new musical direction on their recently released ep, and how each band member equates with a member of the A-Team (look for the full interview to appear here soon.)

This was also the evening where I was able to see Tullycraft live for the first time. They weren't a band that I was afraid I would never see, but there was a very real chance that I would never see them unless I traveled. So I decided to travel. This proved to be completely worthwhile. Tullycraft delivered exactly what I was expecting which was a high energy show with great banter, and their very unique brand of reference heavy, giddiness inducing rock/pop songs. If you are not familiar with Tullycraft, their brand new album "Every Scene Needs a Center" (out today through Magic Marker Records!) is a fantastic place to start. I am very nearly certain that this will prove to be my favorite ablbum of the year. If not, it will certainly be in my top five. To give you an idea as to how much fun the entire ablbum is, posted below is the video for one of the songs. Three Imaginary Girls posted it on their site yesterday, and the video actually made me fall even more in love with the song. By the way, if you are not familiar with Three Imaginary Girls you really should be:

http://www.threeimaginarygirls.com/

I spent the majority of the rest of my time in Seattle walking through varying degrees of rain, drinking coffee and/or beer, and hunting for vinyl. Which I guess is borderline Rock & Roll?

Got back into town just in time to drop my bags off at home, and dash across the street to the Echoplex for the Go! Team. Do see them live if you ever have a chance. They are quite fun, and more than one of their songs had me dancing in a way that a white girl wearing a dress from the 1950's should probably never ever dance. The evening ended (as Sunday evenings so often do for me) with much more self conscious dancing to Orange Juice at the Part Time Punks event upstairs at the Echo.

So alright, maybe it wasn't an honest to goodness Rock & Roll weekend. But I think it qualifies as a square Rock & Roll weekend, and that's good enough for me.

Tullycraft - "Georgette Plays a Goth"

I Put On My Overcoat and Walked into Winter, My Teeth Chattered Rhythms

Mmmm. I love those days where listening to KEXP feels a bit like listening to my ipod during any particular time in my life. Hearing Wolf Parade and Band of Horses on the radio this morning transported me right back to March of 2006. I was doing alot of walking around New York, and alot of listening to Wolf Parade and Band of Horses. Funny that KEXP are currently broadcasting from New York, and I am gearing up for a trip to Seattle. The performance from Poison Control Center that followed my personal nostalgia set sounded like more fun than anything rightfully should be. That band has officially moved to the top of my list of bands that I need to see live. It's enough to almost make me regret missing CMJ. Sigh, is it possible to be in two places at once yet?

Well, until I figure out a way to break the space time continuum, I'm perfectly happy to only be in Seattle this weekend. I'm told it's in the 40s and rainy there right now. While I know those aren't real winter conditions, it's probably the closest that this L.A. squaregirl will come all year. I can't wait! Here are some things to explore as you wait for your weekend to approach:

http://kexp.org/splashv3.asp

http://www.myspace.com/thepcc

I Saw Him at the Party, Standing in the Corner...

Us Squaregirls (along with pretty much every other L.A. blog) have a not so secret crush on Le Switch. There are a myriad of reasons for this of course: Aaron Kyle's attention commanding vocals. Joe Napolitano's serious percussion skills and killer harmonies. Maria De Luca's ability to rock the trumpet, the viola, and some of the most entertaining stage banter that you will ever hope to hear. Just to name a few.

As is the natural progression of most crushes, the butterflies that we feel in our stomach have multiplied lately, and Le Switch certainly isn't helping matters by making a video like the one that follows. Watch with caution, you may just find yourself with a little crush of your own.

Be sure to catch Le Switch live at our very own Squaregirls Night December 12 at the Scene Bar! Be there or, well you know...

Le Switch

I Would Go Out Tonight, but I Haven't Got a Stitch to Wear

You ever have one of those days where you are sitting at your desk at work updating some data to Filemaker Pro and then you get a text from a friend saying, "Want to go and see Morrissey tonight for free?" Yeah, I know, this sort of thing happens all the time. Right?


At the time I felt slightly guilty about recieving the ticket, as I've not listened extensively to Morrissey's solo material. In fact, it's been awhile since since I've spent any considerable ammount of time with the Smiths recordings that are in my collection (though "the Queen is Dead" will remain one of my all- time favorite albums regardless of how long I go without listening to it.)

None of this matters, if you ever find yourself in a similar situation, go! Morrissey is just as much of a showman as you would expect him to be. His voice sounds great, his stage banter is clever, and his backing band is tight. They played several Smiths songs throughout the night the most exciting of which for me was "The Boy With the Thorn in His Side." They "closed" the show with "How Soon is Now" which was such an impressive display that it caused me to turn to my friend and say, "How will they top that?" Well, they encored with the ode to Los Angeles "First of the Gang to Die" from his 2004 solo album "You Are the Quarry." This song is a huge fan favorite so the remarkable restraint that had been shown throughout the show went straight out the window. It seemed like the majortity of the folks in the first two rows of the pit began trying to somehow propel themselves on stage (at least one of them actually made it!) This caused my friend to say to me, "Now it feels like a Morrissey show."
And it really did. You've got to have tremendous admiration for someone who can inspire that level of fandom. I have further admiration for how cool he is about handling it. Charming man indeed.

Speaking of "This Charming Man" see the following video of Johnny Marr and "Paul Morressey"(?) If you are having as much trouble getting started today as I am, this should help.