Certain things are slightly illegal depending on what parts of the world you live in. Some places you can only have one spouse, some places you can't be a topless woman walking around the beaches . . . to these kinds of blurred and vague illegalities I am going to add just how much I love Switches.

These guys have been working overtime the last couple of years and don't show any signs of fatigue - indeed, the Showbox appearance was the third time I have seen them and they attack all songs with a limber ferocity every time. Lay Down the Law is as brash as ever, Drama Queen is halcyon glam, and Coming Down is the kind of song you just know immediately in the best way. They're a foxy group of Brits led by Matt Bishop, who has the provocative allure to be a huge star. But then you'd be equally smitten with the fierce rhythm section of Steve Godfrey and Thom Kirkpatrick, or the sweltering guitar work of Ollie Thomas.

The bad news is Switches won't be coming back here for a bit, the good news is they're going to work on the next album. To go by their new song Lady for a Rainy Day it's on a promise to be a perfect follow up to Lay Down the Law. It's a more gentle piece that should go well with The Need to Be Needed - that's my only complaint from the show - where was that song?

See my pix of Switches here.

My first exposure to She Wants Revenge took the form of my alarm clock waking me up to one of their songs, Tear You Apart. It was of course the radio edit so a certain part of it was missing. I still thought it was beautiful and sort of evil at the same time.

I mention this because it's come to define a bit how I feel about She Wants Revenge's music. It's got a dreamlike quality to it that can be both soothing and jarring depending on when you listen to it. You think you're listening to what should be a love song, then singer Justin Warfield coos something really horrible and then you realize you're still listening to a love song - of sorts.

Live, Warfield and Adam Bravin kept a smooth momentum going with a menacing These Things, a danceable What I Want, a trembling Written in Blood, and a perfect Tear You Apart. Save Your Soul, a song off their new EP is gorgeous too. I had a couple favorite moments. Don't get me wrong, Warfield's got a velvety voice and good dance moves. But my first favorite moment was when the entire audience sang along with a key part in Out of Control it seemed like everyone knew exactly when to sing the line Oh My God It's My Favorite Song. My second was a solo Bravin on the keys, playing Disconnect. It's a truly beautiful and evocative piano piece.

The Showbox, lit in mostly red lights, was a good venue for them. Many people think of She Wants Revenge's music as dark, but I think of it as more red than dark - it's bloody, it's written in blood.

Click here for my photos from the show.

The Fratellis have a seriously fierce fan base. Made up of three Glaswegians going by the names of Jon Fratelli, Mince Fratelli, and (my favorite) Barry Fratelli, the band created a special kind of frenzy.

Yes their show at Neumo's was all ages. Still, I was shocked by the large number of teenagers at the show. Yes school is out and I guess I sound like a real geezer mentioning how young the crowd was – but I wasn't the only one to notice it, singer/guitarist Jon Fratelli commented to the audience something along the lines of "you get younger and younger." Not only was the crowd young, but they were little moshers. I hadn't really thought of the Fratellis as a band one would mosh to. It's not that they don't play great rock, it's just they seem to have more of a 60s vibe to them and I just don't equate moshing with 60s music. A few of them even moshed - especially strangely I might add – to Neil Diamond's Sweet Caroline as it was piped through the speakers at the end of the show.

The Fratellis released their first album, Costello Music, in 2006 and the band won Best British Breakthrough Act at the BRIT Awards the following year. Their second album, Here We Stand, came out just this month. Costello Music is a great album, but Here We Stand is greater. Of the highlights from the show for me the bulk of them were songs off the newer album: My Friend John, Look Out Sunshine, Mistress Mabel, and Tell Me a Lie. Costello Music's Chelsea Dagger and Everybody Knows You Cried Last Night rung true as well. All were vibrant and show they have more in them than just one or two albums. In concert Jon Fratelli has this excellent and attractive presence, drummer Mince Fratelli is a center of gravity, and Barry Fratelli plays an exciting bass.

And, proving that rock boys from Glasgow actually do have a tender side, I saw Barry Fratelli do something really sweet at the end of the show. Through the entire show a very young fan – perhaps 11-years-old – stood by the stage and soaked up the experience. As the band readied to leave the stage, Barry grabbed a set list and ever so gently tapped the girl on the top of her head with it. He then handed her the set list – it was so very chivalric.

See more of my pix from the show here.

George Michael makes me smile. I realized through most of his show on Wednesday night that I was smiling - even during his ballads. It's probably, in part, because he filled that giant Key Arena with authentic, charismatic love and joy the entire 2 hours+ extravaganza. The other part - just being in the fit and glorious George Michael's presence is enough to make me grin like a complete and utter idiot.

He sang and danced in the way only George Michael can on a marvelous space-age stage colored with changing digital art. The sweetness that is A Different Corner had a sea and sunset. Other songs had a disco ball, a display of rotating great lovers of the 20th century including Bill Clinton, Monica Lewinsky and Liz Taylor and Feeling Good had Dita Von Teese stripping in feathers and in a champagne glass. Somewhere during the truly jaw-dropping wham bam trio of Amazing, Flawless, and Too Funky there was a laser beam rainbow slashing and morphing across the stage. Too Funky featured clips from the video with supermodels Linda Evangelista, Tyra Banks and Estelle Hallyday. That motorcycle outfit from the video is etched in my retinas and was stunning over 80 feet tall. For Outside Michael pranced around in a modified cop uniform - this and the rainbow laser stage may have been my favorite moments. He mentioned how kind America has been to him before he performed Hard Day, and how the song off Faith, is an American favorite. Singing Won't You Give Me a Break . . . /Trust Me/I Want You to Trust Me . . ./'Cause I Won't Bring You Down it's true, I am thrilled to see Michael in top form and America (gay and straight) has maintained his relevancy.

The enthusiasm that gripped the audience was something else. Across the stadium from me I could see a guy in a pink top in the aisles doing insane jumping jacks and yet dancing really well. Others were dancing and jumping too - they all knew the words to Michael's songs, chanting and embracing the air along with the show closer, Freedom! '90. Oh, and footage from the David Fincher-directed Freedom! '90, one of the hottest videos ever made, featuring supermodels Cindy Crawford, Naomi Campbell, Tatjana Patitz, Christy Turlington and Linda Evangelista (again!) punctuated the digital stage during the finale.

Michael's voice is an instrument all on its own and was smooth and emotive perfection in every song. Careless Whisper, Everything She Wants and Kissing a Fool are fresh classics all over again. My only gripe - and still, this is just coming from a place of love is that Michael did not do Monkey or Wham!'s Freedom. You can't do every song though when you're George Michael there are just too many of them. He did 25 songs - if you break up the combined Fastlove/I'm Your Man - and yes, his new album is called TwentyFive, so there you go! But let's get back to smiles, George Michael has a smile that lights up a gigantic arena and I swear I could see that bright light from anywhere.

You can see more of my photos from the show here.

Seattle was fortunate enough to have Gavin Rossdale perform last week at Showbox Sodo to support the release of his first solo cd,Wanderlust. Rossdale, formerly of the British band Bush, has stayed true on this cd – it's perfectly crafted and there's nothing pretentious about it. The first single, Love Remains the Same, was a really sweet and tender song – and there is everything right with that. Frontline and Can't Stop the World were also extremely accessible. If I have to pick a favorite though I think This is Happiness has really cool emphatic guitar work in it. I like the lyrics in it too: pleasure comes in all disguises/to each their own their devices.

The aggressive Machinehead, off Bush's cd Sixteen Stone, started the show and my suspicion was right – that the songs Bush made do sound great live and they stand on their own. In total Bush released four cds – Rossdale gathered several songs off these cds and perfectly blended them with his newer material. This is a tricky thing for any performer to pull off. Everything Zen, Comedown and Glycerine also off Sixteen Stone sounded so fantastic – as did Swallowed off Razorblade Suitcase and The Chemicals Between Us from The Science of Things. Rossdale formed a band after Bush called Institute – and I was surprised and happy that he also did the songs Bullet Proof Skin and When Animals Attack off their cd, Distort Yourself.

Rossdale as a performer is very catlike – this is a good thing. He has an exuberance about him that is actually fun to be around while watching him onstage. So often I see his vocals described as a growl and though maybe that's a good way to describe them there's more to it than just snarling or gnarling or however you want to word growling. His voice has a richness to it that punctuates the lyrics and always sits just right with the music. Thursday's event was part of the Samsung AT&T Summer Krush and a large-scale tour is in the works for later this year. Wherever you can see him, go!

To see photos I took please click here.

I have had a major soft spot for Judas Priest ever since I saw the videos for Heading Out to the Highway and You've Got Another Thing Coming – they are one of the few bands I would describe as majestic. Their music, enormous and powerful, crosses over into varied tastes. People who don't even like metal embrace the instantly recognizable and distinctive Judas Priest.

I think the affection I have for this band stems from several things: Singer Rob Halford has one of my very favorite rock voices plus the guitar playing of both Glenn Tipton and K.K. Downing just knock my socks off. Another big bonus for me has always been the look of this band. Quite apart from their music being so unusual, they created an entirely new appearance. I might be wrong on this but I think they brought the whole leather and biker thing to the forefront of music. And they're still doing it and doing it so well.

The material off the new cd Nostradamus sounds fantastic. Prophecy and Death were stunners. But they didn't disappoint with their impressive catalog either. Everything from Electric Eye, Breaking the Law and Eat Me Alive were gruesome fun live and Halford came out on a motorcycle for Hell Bent for Leather. Green Manalishi was so beautiful and really a special moment. They closed with You've Got Another Thing Coming, a song that's really difficult to describe just how meaningful it is to me. It's so perfect.

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To check out more of my Judas Priest photos visit: page 1: & page 2

First thing I am going to say about Jet is that their second cd, Shine On , is brilliant. Second thing is that they are fantastic to see live. The new songs blended in seamlessly with the older ones – this does not always happen with bands.

Lead singer and guitarist Nic Cester is a star who knows how to involve an audience. Cester walked around in the audience twice, and the band seems even musically closer since the last time I saw them when they opened for Oasis . Mark Wilson is a fantastic bassist, Cameron Muncey is what I would describe as a cool, calm and collected guitarist, and drummer Chris Cester is an original.

I have many favorite Jet songs. Cold Hard Bitch still sounds fresh and dirty. Their new song Rip It Up is luscious; Take It Or Leave It is just super, and Look What You’ve Done Look What You’ve Done . . . is so touching.

To see more of my Jet photos, click here


Jet's Nic Cester, Seattle 2006

Goldfrapp’s following in Seattle is tremendous. The fans not only sold out the show, they came dressed up and ready to dance. Goldfrapp knows how to create and sustain a sexy mood and Alison Goldfrapp appears a bit like an indifferent dominatrix in the best way meant. Watching her up close - hearing as well as seeing, yes I said seeing - that voice come out - it’s all kinds of beauty and colour.

More artists should do as Goldfrapp chose to do that night - be the only band. No openers, no filler, none of that. Just what people came to see and hear. I got the feeling that the audience would have been insulted by any opening act, that they wanted Goldfrapp and they wanted no other. It’s electronic, it’s got a chanteuse, it’s a rock band . . . it’s many things.

Singer/Composer Alison Goldfrapp really was in superb, slender form, dressed in a black zip up cat suit and black heels tied to her small feet. I could say something silly about her tininess belying her large persona . . . but that’s kind of cliche. Though she is a sleek and precious picture for sure. Her voice filled the Showbox smoothly and the band kept up throbbing and loving beats. She did that thing she does of playing her portable theremin between her legs. Strict Machine, Number One and White Horse were favorites of mine and I found some space to dance. Which brings me back to the dancing. Most of the audience was dancing - many like it was a huge disco floor, though yeah some of us tapped our toes. This was a great thing to see and rare to see at any concert.