Thursday, February 17, 2011

Seattle-Oh what an awesome music scene!

Before we go into some of the awesome shows and incredible music venues available to you when you visit Seattle we need to look at some of the music greats from the area. This will help you understand how incredibly talented our local musicians are because of the amazing inspirations they have.
Famous Bands and Musicians from Seattle and Washington.
1.       Jimmy Hendrix  (phote credit: by Luiz Fernando / Sonia Maria)
















2.       Dave Mathews Band
3.       Sir Mix-a-Lot (seriously, remember “Baby Got Back?”) 
4.         Kurt Cobain
5.       Pearl Jam
6.       Soundgarden
7.       Elvis Presley (no just kidding)
VENUES:
We can divide the venues of Seattle into two categories, the local places where you can hear a really great show for $8 cover or the premium venues where you will pay $35 or so. I need to mention one of unique venues Seattle that will appeal to the majority of you, the Triple Door, a luxury performance theatre where you can enjoy an amazing meal with a perfect view of an amazing performance on a fabulous sound stage. Tickets run 25-$35 with the meal running $20-$27 per person excluding vino and other libations.
$8 Cover Venues
Neumos-nice venue, excellent sound stage.
The Crocodile-also has a good sounds stage.
The Tractor Tavern-whole lot of character and really good shows
Premium Venues and ShowsThe Paramount and Moore Theatre-well know artists, Robert Plant, Sarah McLachlan and plays
The Showbox (near the Market, not SoDo)-good venue, can be a line before a show, diverse line up
Dimitriou's Jazz Alley -for almost three decades, Dimitrou's Jazz Alley has been a West Coast 'must' for all the towering figures in the world of jazz.
The Triple Door  This is probably the best bet for people looking for a delicious dinner and an awesome show. 
SHOWS (happenings  between March 21-26th ’11)
So with the conference happening March 21-23rd here are some shows that you may be interested in. 
Tower of Power- With 40 years of recording and touring experience, and 20 CDs behind them, Tower of Power has released their latest album, THE GREAT AMERICAN SOULBOOK which shows the band "Bump City-izing" many of their favorite soul songs, originally recorded by James Brown, Aretha Franklin, Stevie Wonder, Marvin Gaye and Tammi Terrell, Otis Redding. Guest singers on the album are Joss Stone, Huey Lewis, Sam Moore, and Sir Tom Jones. Melding jazz, funk, rock and soul in a way no group ever has, the ten-piece outfit is, according to the HOLLYWOOD REPORTER, “tighter than a clenched fist.”







Billy Elliot Musical-I have seen Billy Elliot on Broadway twice now and will see it again if I have a chance! The kids are extremely talented performers and the story is good as well. Each time I leave the show having gone through a large amount of emotions. It is extremely touching and hits on a large number of touchy subjects, just like the movie
Galactic- Its shaping up to be a stellar year for celebrated New Orleans outfit GALACTIC. On February 9th the band will release their groundbreaking new album YA-KA-MAY a visionary mix, intertwining New Orleans sounds from jazz to brass band to funk and far beyond. With this release, the five-man group comprised of drummer Stanton Moore, bassist Robert Mercurio, saxophonist/harmonica player Ben Ellman, keyboardist Richard Vogel, and guitarist Jeff Raines - reaffirms their status as the quintessential modern day New Orleans band and one of the funkiest outfits in the known universe.








Lynne Arriale- Pianist/composer Lynne Arriale is still experiencing the momentum of her previous release, a dizzying flurry of magazine covers, features and stellar critical accolades heralding her skills as an, “ingenious arranger, composer, soloist and performer . . . Arriale has made one of the most original ensemble recordings of 2009. Nuance is an album of brilliant group interpretations, finely crafted original material, intricate arrangements and rapt solos”—DownBeat
Good Charlotte- Good Charlotte are a band who need no introduction. Originally formed as a poppunk act in Waldorf, Maryland, in 1996, the bandvocalist Joel Madden and his identical twin brother guitarist Benji Madden along with guitarist Billy Martin, bassist Paul Thomas and the latest edition drummer Dean Butterworthhave sold over 10 million records to date, penned countless mainstream radio hits such as "The Anthem," "Lifestyles Of The Rich & Famous" and "Hold On" and shared the stage with everyone from Justin Timberlake to Third Eye Blind.









Electric Six-Electric Six is a six-piece metro Detroit-based band that plays what has been described as a brand of rock music infused with elements of "garage, disco, punk, new wave, and metal." The new album is heavy at times as demonstrated by Formula 409 and Heavy Woman. The album is anthemic at times as demonstrated by Your Heat is Rising and We Were Witchy Witchy White Women.

Akron Family-Before people begin to question the motivations of artists flying the scene's banner with increasing regularity, enjoy Akron/Family; enjoy their gentle soundscapes and crashing crescendos; enjoy the careful construction of their twisted pop songs; enjoy their belief in the sound that they create and the philosophy used to make the music uniquely their own. Most importantly, enjoy this record before some dolt on a barstool drinking an apple-tini lies to you about having loved it long before it was released.
Kultur Shock- A quote from the artist "Kultur Shock isn't just the name of our band. It's Balkan punk rock gypsy metal wedding-meets-riot music from Bulgaria, the US, Japan, and Bosnia. Six members, and no two of us really speak the same language. You may wonder what brought such an unrelated, mixed-up group of people together, and you can read our biographies to find out. Call our music whatever the &*%$ you want — we'll still play every song of every performance as if it were our last."
We admit that we have hardly done Seattle justice in exposing the amazing venues and attractions, apologies to those we missed.

2 comments:

  1. If you're getting to Seattle on Saturday, and enjoy classical music, the Seattle Symphony will be performing a nice program on Saturday night and Sunday after noon. Check it out: http://www.seattlesymphony.org/symphony/buy/single/production.aspx?id=9038&src=t&dateid=9038

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  2. Thanks for posting this! I'm definitely seeing MEN at the Croc on the 21st! - Adam L (NYC)

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