The Kooks played a sold out show recently in Seattle and even though they were missing under the weather drummer Paul Garred, they were alarmingly vigorous. This was my first time seeing them live and this band has the charisma to continue on their major way.


Luke Pritchard

Pritchard, with his brown wavy locks and rock star figure, has a voice and talent that set him well apart from his contemporaries. Harris, the red-haired guitarist, is equally a standout. Their new bassist, Denton, joined just this year. And to be fair I never saw former bassist Max Rafferty live, I was quite hypnotized by Denton’s playing. Hypnotized, even though I was dancing to the music.


Hugh Harris

The history of the band starts in 2003. Consider that singer/songwriter Pritchard and drummer Garred are now 23, guitarist Hugh Harris is 21, and I am putting their new bassist Peter Denton near the same age. They’re following a line of classic British rock bands that did get a young start and made it big at young ages – I am thinking of bands like the Who, the Rolling Stones, the Beatles and the Kinks. I want to point out You Don’t Love Me and Ooh La in particular. You Don’t Love Me is petulance at its best, with Pritchard screaming if you don't love me you don't care and Ooh La, one of the strongest pop rock songs to come out in ages, melts you with its sweetness and cynicism: And ooh la, she was such a good girl to me/ And ooh la, the world just chewed her up and spat her out. With songs like these, Sofa Song, Mr. Maker, Jackie Big Tits and See the World I am of high hopes the band will continue this line of rock well into the next decade. Beyond? Judging by the audience, who knew the songs and were happily appreciative, the Kooks have a committed fan base.


Luke Pritchard


Peter Denton


Luke Pritchard and Peter Denton

--- For more photos I took at their show click here.

These extremely busy guys next head to the U.K. and Europe for a string of sold out dates. Then they head to Japan, Australia and New Zealand. They are rightly in demand.

We Are Scientists formed in 2000. They’re from Brooklyn and I am pretty sure they’ve been to Seattle several times (at least once or twice). So why did it take me until 2008 to see this band? Okay one reason is I don’t live in Brooklyn and the other reason is . . . I am not sure what my other reason is. Every so often it takes me a while to check a band out. I remedied this terrible accident the other night when the band opened for Kings of Leon at the Paramount and I am very sad I have missed them all this time. On the other hand I finally saw We Are Scientists – a band whose music punches you in the face with its impressive pop sounds.


Keith Murray - photo by Dagmar

During Nobody Move, Nobody Gets Hurt the stage lights were nearly extinguished but for a few dim white lights. So picture a band singing: My body is your body/ I won't tell anybody/ If you wanna use my body/ Go for it, yeah, in basically the dark. It’s striking. On a side note, the girl seated next to me actually was stretching during part of the set. She impressively stretched one of her legs behind her head. I am not making this up and I wondered if the band saw this, and whether they had ever seen this while putting on a show before.

From It’s a Hit and Great Escape from their first album, With Love and Squalor to Chick Lit off their latest, Brain Thrust Mastery they have the most wonderful songs. Keith Murray (guitarist and lead singer) and bassist Chris Cain are like frenzied hurricanes onstage - we should all see much more of this band with such presence. They said they had programs and beer at the merch table - I would hold them to this next time.


Chris Cain - photo by Dagmar

For more photos, click here.
A full set list for the show can be found here.

I’ve mentioned dream triple bills before but this one really took the cake – you’ve got Heartbreak opening, the Presets in between and Cut Copy headlining and you’ve also got a crowd of seriously crazed fans I don’t think I have ever seen matched at the Showbox.

Heartbreak, a British duo made up of Argentinian singer Sebastian Muravchix and Ali Renault, nailed their performance with truly hot synth pop pieces such as Regret and We’re Back. This band should be big – Muravchix’s theatrics and dancing are totally fun to watch. Muravchix’s voice reminds me a bit of Jake Shears of Scissor Sisters – something that endears me to this band more than I can say.


Sebastian Muravchix - photo by Dagmar

The Presets are immaculate. You could say I would think this because I grew up listening to synth music like Depeche Mode, Erasure, Pet Shop Boys, Visage, New Order. The fact is the Presets capture all that is great with these rhythms and singer Julian Hamilton has a miraculous voice – at times it’s dirty, cruel and then at other times it’s just touching. If you don’t think Are You the One? and This Boy’s in Love are perfect examples of what modern music should be, well, you’re wrong. If you don’t recognize that drummer Kim Moyes is part of the same gene pool that produced Keith Moon, you’re wrong again. They just have too many great songs for their own good.


Julian Hamilton - photo by Dagmar


Kim Moyes - photo by Dagmar

I saw Cut Copy open for Franz Ferdinand three years ago, so they’re not exactly that new an international band but they are now frankly too large a band for this venue. They’ve become so in not a sudden way but rather in an explosive way. There honestly was a near-chaotic frenzy among the audience but the crowd eventually hopped up and down as one. Singer Dan Whitford’s keyboards seemed at one point to come close to falling off stage during all the excitement. I’m still stuck on the song Hearts on Fire – it’s so lovely, and with Whitford’s soothing voice it too is as classic as they come.


Dan Whitford - photo by Dagmar


Cut Copy - photo by Dagmar

Additional Photos:

Heartbreak at the Showbox

the Presets at the Showbox

Cut Copy at the Showbox

I have said it before and I will say it again, Alison Goldfrapp is a goddess. For the Seattle show she was a goddess in the most adorable and sexy little harlequin outfit. She wore a dress or perhaps it was a long top with a black and white diamond pattern on it, complete with fuzzy little pompoms down the front. Her blonde hair was wild as it should have been and her feet were bare to go with the naturalistic feel of the stage set and new album, Seventh Tree. The stage had stuffed birds on it, including ravens and owls. The drum kit featured a stag's antlers across the front and what I thought may have been just a prop harp, turned out to be an actual harp and was a beautiful part of the show.

Seventh Tree's songs recall, to me, the music from Goldfrapp's Felt Mountain. It made complete aesthetic sense to have Utopia and Paper Bag on the set list – both smooth and sensual live as they are recorded. Utopia's eerie lyrics Fascist Baby/Utopia, Utopia and their high notes got perfectly matched with the beautiful Little Bird, Some People and Caravan Girl. My favorites off Seventh Tree are Monster Love and Happiness – gorgeous and positive songs.

Ooh La La off Supernature and Black Cherry's Train and Strict Machine brought the disco and dirty synth back – Goldfrapp balances the soft and the hard so well that every moment is something to savor.

Click here to check out my photos from the show!


Alison Goldfrapp, photo by Dagmar

I think this was the fifth time I have seen Black Rebel Motorcycle Club and they really were better than they’ve ever been. Few bands are this consistent in putting out great cds - I am going to come right out and say that I love this band.

There’s an equality between Peter Hayes and Robert Levon Been. It shows in their splitting songs and it’s cool to see artists share a stage in this way. Been and Hayes each had their solo moments, including Been doing a cover of Bob Dylan’s Visions of Johanna. They each have these amazing voices that you’d be lucky just to have one in a band. I was also struck by Been’s unique way of playing a bass by part of the time holding the instrument without a guitar strap – and struck by the forceful sounds.


BRMC - Photo by Dagmar

The set list was especially heavy on songs from their most recent release, Baby 81, including the beautiful Killing the Light and cracking American X and Berlin. They also did the downright racy Six Barrel Shotgun and Spread Your Love from Take Them, On Your Own and B.R.M.C., respectively. A few songs from Howl made an appearance – I particularly liked the bluesy Shuffle Your Feet and Ain’t No Easy Way.

Drummer Nick Jago has left the band, but they’ve now got Leah Shapiro from Denmark – she’s toured recently with the Raveonettes and is an explosive presence. The Showbox was a perfect venue for their deviant rock. It’s got a sultry vibe to it that fits the way BRMC combines their acoustic and electric songs. The show ended with an encore including the always exquisite Whatever Happened to My Rock 'n' Roll (Punk Song) from B.R.M.C.

To see more photos from the show click here: BRMC at the Showbox, 2008.

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.