It didn’t take me long after flying back from New Orleans to get back into Seattle’s music scene. Star Anna was playing a free gig at Mark Pickerel’s Damaged Goods Records in Belltown in honor of Record Store Day, according to her Facebook fan page.
I was eager to hear some more music, so I headed on down. It’s kind of cool living in a city where a rock star owns a record store. Damaged Goods is very retro. Well, I think I officially become retro in a couple days, but that’s beside the point! Lots of records (& ones I remember), and a good mix of cds (especially of local music) at a good price; with lots of retro clothing, at a considerably higher price (hey, he has to be making money somewhere), posters and other memorabilia.
It turned out the music was next door, though, at Roq la Rue Gallery.
Playing first was Exene Cerevenka, of the punk band, X. Here she is playing Alone In Arizona, a song she played that day:
In between her set and Mark Pickerel’s I checked out the art in the art gallery. It was. . . rather. . .disturbing. . .
Here’s a the gallery’s blog entry on the show (which closes May 7), with photos of some of the pieces. I think Lady Clown might be the most creepy. . .
But what do I know about art? Probably less than music. . ., but I know what I like. . .
Mark Pickerel was the drummer for Screaming Trees. I don’t think everyone is familiar with his Americana albums. That, combined with the fact most of the fans seemed to be there for Exene or Star Anna, explains why it wasn’t until he did a cover of One More Cup of Coffee that most of the crowd started gathering to hear his songs.
Star Anna and Justin Davis, from her band the Laughing Dogs, played their set next.
They played a short and sweet set, just enough to wet my appetite for their show that was coming in a couple weeks. Maybe 6 songs, including a Beatle’s cover (Run for Your Life), and one they said they said they hadn’t done in awhile, that they opened with the next week before Flight to Mars.
Here’s a clip of Sleep My Darlin’ from YouTube at the Tractor a couple years ago (and I have to be honest, with 3 shows in 3 weeks, I’m not certain which was done where):
More to come soon. . .
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