Another Hoot – One for the Gulf
25 Sep 2010 Leave a Comment
in Duff McKagan, Duff McKagan's Loaded, Mark Pickerel, Mike McCready, Music, Pearl Jam, Seattle, Star Anna Tags: Hootenanny for a Healthy Gulf, Jeff Rouse, Moore Theater, Rick Friel, Shawn Smith, Tim DiJulio, Ty Bailie, Victoria Contreras
September started out the Hootenanny for a Healthy Gulf, another sing-a-long with some of Seattle’s greatest musicians, this time at the Moore Theater. No cameras were allowed, so I didn’t bring mine, not that I’m not tracking down what bootleg video exists. OK, questionable on the goodie-two shoes award here. . . It probably was a good thing for me to just enjoy a show for a change instead of taking too many (maybe not so great) photos, and sometimes a decent video or two.
Hootenanny for a Healthy Gulf 9.2.10 by Pearl Jam Official, on Flickr
Once again, Pearl Jam‘s Mike McCready and his wife Ashley O’Connor headed up the effort, pulling together some of Seattle’s best talent, sponsors and all the other logistics needed to put on a successful benefit.
I won’t even pretend to remember the order of the songs this far after the event (and while there’s a lot of video, there are a lot of good moments missing as well).
Duff McKagan - Wild Horses, video by Outlaw Digital Media
Guns N’ Roses dude Duff once again headed up the line up with Mike as the big name draws, also promoting the show in his Reverb blog for Seattle Weekly. In reality, Duff and Mike shared the stage equally with all the other musicians, letting them shine.
There weren’t really any moments like this:
Saw that one coming!
Here’s how Patience went at the real Hoot, with Jeff Rouse (who is in Duff McKagan’s Loaded), Star Anna & Shawn Smith leading up vocals:
While My Guitar Gently Weeps – Mark Pickerel & Star Anna on vocals, Tim DiJulio (aka Rock Tim) on lead guitar, and Ty Bailie on keyboards (video by ShastaLoup):
Blue Bayou – Rachel Flotard of Visqueen, with Rusty Willoughby on guitar:
Wonderwall – Jeff Rouse and Victoria Wimer Contreras (video by ToryRenManagement):
Instant Karma -Star Anna – awesome, with a little help from her friends (video by rb1229):
Purple Rain- Shawn Smith (with Tim DiJulio once again stealing the show on lead guitar):
You can see the great thing about Seattle’s music scene in the video – all the musicians are supportive of each other and love jamming together. The not so great thing is the audiences’ tendency to just sit or stand there. I don’t think it’s really that they, or rather, we, don’t love the music. I don’t know . . . is it that we’re a city of introverts -people who read, spend a lot of time online or hike alone in the woods? . . . or that we’re so polite? The latter was part of my problem that night, as I wanted to get up during Star Anna’s last number (which I think was Instant Karma), but everyone was sitting. . .except a few people and the guy in front of me was apologetic. . . and I told him he shouldn’t be. I finally did get up during Shawn Smith’s Purple Rain finale, only to be glared at by at least one woman (who I wasn’t even standing in front of).
One of my favorite moments of the night (which I wish there was a video clip of), was when Rick Friel, after running the raffle and auctioning off a dinner with the two Deadly Catch guys, opened the second half of the show with The Monkees‘ I’m a Believer, hamming it up and getting everyone out of their seats first, and dancing! Alas, they all sat down again after that, instead of rocking out the rest of the night. . .
Other musicians playing that night included Pete Droge (Crimson and Clover – another blast from the past!), Kristen Ward, Gary Westlake, Kim Virant, Chris Friel, Rebeqa Rivers and Justin Davis.
The concert was a fundraiser for the Gulf Restoration Network, to help clean up the Gulf following BP’s disaserous oil spill. Learn more online at: http://healthygulf.org/
Summer Arrives With Pirates & Music in West Seattle
12 Aug 2010 Leave a Comment
in Kim Virant, Kristen Ward, Mark Pickerel, Massy Ferguson, Music, Seattle, The Dusty 45s Tags: Hells Belles, Jesse Sykes, Marc Olsen, Satchel, Seafair Pirates, West Seattle, West Seattle Summerfest
I know summer was supposed to arrive on June 21, but in Seattle it took until July 5 to get here. It was time for more music and pirates landing in West Seattle the next weekend.
I headed off after work Friday, August 9, to catch the rest of the first day of West Seattle Summerfest. I wandered around first, spending some time at the Easy Street Records booth to dig through their bargain cds (& enjoying the mariachi band playing nearby). While I wasn’t planning on any more food than the raspberry lemonade I got from one of the stands, the $3 chicken skewers they were offering outside Tom Yum Koong, a Thai restaurant about a block west of Easy Street, was too tempting (and tasty).
Kim Virant at West Seattle Summerfest
Kim Virant was playing the Alaska Street stage with an all star line up in her band including Chris Friel (her husband), Jeff Rouse, Ty Bailie and Jeff Fielder. She sounded great, and the band did, too!
While I don’t have any video from their West Seattle set, here’s a clip by OutlawDigetalMedia on YouTube of Kim from the Wine, Women & Song night showcasing Seattle’s women singers, with, maybe not coincidentally, many of the male musicians who were on stage with Kim in West Seattle playing as the house band:
Check out more of Kim Virant’s music at: http://www.myspace.com/kimvirant
A little bit later, I caught Satchel at the same stage. Satchel really rocked, as you can tell from the clip below (from West Seattle Blog). I had only heard lead singer Shawn Smith at the mini-Brad reunion with Stone Gossard & friends at the Hootenanny for Haiti, where they played Buttercup from Brad.
Shawn (& Stone)’s other band, Brad, had a cd release this week, and are playing a free gig at Easy Street Records’ Queen Anne location on August 12 at 7 pm (wait, its after midnight, so that’s tonight).
Websites at: http://www.shawnsmithsinger.com
& http://www.bradcorporation.com/
It was finally getting dark at the end of Satchel’s set, but I wasn’t done rocking out for the evening. Playing a couple blocks up the street, at the California Stage were Hells Belles, the all girl AC/DC tribute band. They totally rocked out the place, with a huge and fanatic crowd, singing along. I had not realized how many AC/DC songs I knew by hear. Hey, I was going to high school when these guys were big. . . The girls had all the moves down, too; and the guys in the crowd were going ape*#@%!
See where they’re playing next, and links to merch and music at their website: http://www.hellsbelles.info/
Here they are with their TNT encore, from eyeheartgiraffe on YouTube:
Wow! I was finally rocked out for the night and headed home; but I would be back in West Seattle soon. . .
That Saturday’s West Seattle adventure started out at Alki Beach. I decided to check out the Seafair Pirates‘ landing this year. I don’t know, maybe I’m just not young enough. The pirates’ landing didn’t seem that exciting to me. The kids (& a lot of grown ups) love them though.
Just be careful with your possessions. . .
Seafair Pirate Auctioning Camera
Is that a stolen camera you’re trying to sell me, or are you happy to see me? . . . or are you checking out my camera?
I did not join the bidding on the camera nabbed, no doubt, from some poor soul who thought he’d take a few pictures of the nice pirates. OK, maybe not so poor. It would have been a nice upgrade. . .
I learned my lesson about Seafair Pirates at this year’s St. Patrick’s Day Parade. This charming scalawag. . .
Pirate who stole my backpack
“Look up there!”, he said to me, and so I looked, while he made some outrageous claim about someone flying an Irish flag off one of the flagpoles (still flying the Stars & Stripes and the Washington state flags, as usual). Seconds later, he’s running down the street with my backpack. . .
Hey, wait a second! Well, at least I had his photo to show the cops. . . Come to think of it, though, there was a cop right at the intersection. . .Fortunately, the pirate returned my backpack.
So, no, I didn’t bid on the stolen camera at the pirate’s landing. Is this a good thing to be teaching kids? How easy it is to steal? I know the Seafair Pirates return their loot, but will all the little rascals (especially when they grow up)? Just asking. . .
It was a nice, if hot day, so I took the time to dip my toes in the water and walk up Alki Beach to the lighthouse before heading over to the West Seattle Junction for more music at their Summerfest.
Alki Beach Lighthouse
While it isn’t the ocean, Elliott Bay does have salt water and little waves. Although, alas, it and the rest of the sound does need some cleaning, which is why I think the idea of the Puget Sound Partnership is a good one. It’s just that there have been reports that they’re spending their money in questionable ways. . . Lets hope most of it is being used to clean up Puget Sound.
After my stroll on the beach, I navigated the buses to go back to The Junction. As I’ve learned in the past, going to more than one place in West Seattle, especially on the weekend, when the one route that runs from Alki to the Junction isn’t running. I figured I’d take the bus I came on back to California Street in the Admiral District and hop a bus down California to the festival, which worked.
Did I mention my chosen attire for the pirate’s landing? My Riot Act era Pearl Jam t-shirt with a skull & crossbones and my pink sun hat. Now, I always get strange reactions when I wear that t-shirt. On the one hand, I get compliments from die-hard Pearl Jam fans, always guys. . . Hey, wait a second, maybe I should wear it more often. . . Sigh. Unfortunately, even the Pearl Jam fan base is generally 10 years younger than me. It’s getting even stranger now that I realize most of the bands I’m watching are young enough to be my kids. . . Regarding the t-shirt, on the other hand, a lot of people recoil, or give me dirty looks because of the skull and crossbones. . .
Even when paired with this pink hat:
Pink Sun Hat
I wandered around at first, as the two bands I knew I wanted to hear, playing at partially overlapping times, were later in the afternoon. A lot of indie music that I wasn’t that into at first. I decided to look around for a bite to eat, and ended up going to the Taco Guaymas on California for a couple of beef tacos (holding the cheese, of course, much as I miss it). It was good, and so was the non-carbonated aqua fresca I had with it.
I walked on down to the other end of the street and caught Massy Ferguson at the California Stage. They were playing some great Americana. Here’s their Wagon Wheel closer (and my not so great video):
Here’s a better clip, by TheShadyOne of them playing Take Down the Company at the Sunset Tavern in Ballard:
Check out Massy Ferguson’s website for upcoming gigs, including their cd release party September 17 at Neumos:
http://www.massyfergusonband.com/
Next, I listened to an acoustic set by Marc Olsen down at the Alaska Stage. Good songwriting. There’s not a lot current about him or his music online (a MySpace page that looks like it hasn’t been updated in far longer than my own or our Amnesty International group’s which I’m supposed to be maintaining, and an album from 2003 on cdbaby, for example). Marc has played with bands like Sage and Sky Cries Mary.
Marc Olsen
I then headed over to the California Stage to catch the start of Mark Pickerel and his Praying Hands‘ set. More great Americana. I know a lot of people still think of him as the Screaming Trees drummer, and he still does a lot of great drunning with groups around town; but if you haven’t checked out his singing, you really should; and he’s got a great band backing him with the Praying Hands.
Here’s a clip from the West Seattle Festival of Graffiti Girl:
Check out more of Mark’s music on Bloodshot Records and his MySpace page:
http://www.bloodshotrecords.com/artist/mark-pickerel
http://www.myspace.com/markpickerelandhisprayinghands
Of course, you can also find Mark’s music (and many of the other bands I’ve mentioned on this blog) at Damaged Goods, his record store in Belltown.
I slipped away from Mark’s set in time to catch Kristen Ward at the Alaska stage. It makes no sense that they scheduled them at nearly the same time. . . Of course, I could have caught Kristen the next day at the Ballard Seafood Fest, . . .but that would have meant having my act together, which I sadly didn’t on Sunday. . .
Kristen and her band were in find form. Here they are with a new song:
. . . and Shoot Me Down, from West Seattle Blog:
Kristen’s website for more music and upcoming gigs:
Her one Friday night at the Columbia Theater with Kasey Anderson and Barton Carroll has fallen off the front page with all the other gigs coming up, but is listed on the Shows page.
I caught a little of Jesse Sykes and the Sweet Hereafter before I left. Here’s a clip from the West Seattle Blog:
Her website is: http://www.jessesykes.com/
As I waited for the bus back, I was already plotting my return trip the next morning to catch The Dusty 45s. I had it together, or at least I thought I did. Somewhere between Saturday evening and and Sunday morning I lost track of the time. 12:45. . . It’s not that early on a Sunday. OK, maybe for me it is. . .
OK. There were other things distracting me, which is why I built in extra time for the 1:45 start. . .oops. . .to get there early and even have a cupcake from Cupcake Royale. . .which at least meant I only missed half of their set instead of all of it. . .
The Dusty 45s
It just wasn’t my day. When I got home, and checked the two videos I took, I realized just because I can zoom in during video on my camera, doesn’t mean it’s a good idea. Unfortunately, it takes to long to recover focus. . . OK, so my camera is kind of like me. . .
Here’s one of Walking in the Rain from the West Seattle Blog:
Fortunately, that was not my last chance to catch The Dusty 45s this summer, or even that week. . .
Check out their upcoming schedule at: http://www.dusty45s.com/
A lot more music coming soon, and lantern floating on Green Lake!
Hopefully, before September. . .
Record Store Day at Damaged Goods
06 May 2010 Leave a Comment
in Mark Pickerel, Music, Seattle, Star Anna Tags: Damaged Goods, Exene Cervenka, Justin Davis, Roq la Rue Gallery
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. . .
Hootenanny for Haiti: Seattle’s Rock & Roll Campfire
07 Mar 2010 Leave a Comment
in Duff McKagan, Duff McKagan's Loaded, Kim Virant, Kristen Ward, Mark Pickerel, Mike McCready, Music, Pearl Jam, Seattle, Star Anna Tags: Brad, Gary Westlake, Haiti, Jeff Rouse, Johnny Thunder, Kim Warnick, Mad Season, Matt Cameron, Mother Love Bone, Partners in Health, Shawn Smith, Showbox, Stone Gossard, The Fastbacks
I went to the Hootenanny for Haiti with Mike McCready, Duff McKagan and friends last Sunday night and it was a blast!
It was kind of like singing around the campfire with 1,100 of your closest friends, who happen to include some of the best musicians in Seattle, and a song list that includes The Rolling Stones, Neil Young, Tom Petty and a couple surprises from the deepest vaults of Seattle rock history.
They started the show off, to a sold out and capacity crowd at the Showbox at the Market (the original Showbox), with Wild Horses. Here’s the preview before the show from KISW radio.
Let’s see: Duff McKagan (Guns N’ Roses, Velvet Revolver, Duff McKagan’s Loaded), Mike McCready (Pearl Jam), Gary Westlake (Kristen Ward, Flight to Mars -the UFO tribute band that also includes Mike), and Jeff Rouse (Duff McKagan’s Loaded, Alien Crime Syndicate); and many more at the actual show.
Maybe it says something about the crowd (including me), that the first good sing along got going with Tom Petty’s Even the Losers (Mark Pickerel taking the lead on this one):
Some of the songs were a real hoot (and totally unexpected)! Jeff Rouse covering Prince’s I Can Never Take the Place of Your Man? Kim Warnick (The Fastbacks) taking the lead on Belinda Carlisle’s Heaven is a Place on Earth? Actually, Duff warned us this one was coming a couple weeks before on his Reverb blog on The Seattle Weekly site. Still, that he had so much fun playing it. . .
Johnny Thunder’s Can’t Put Your Arms Around a Memory was another one Duff told us was coming:
Star Anna really stole the show with her version of Otis Redding’s That’s How Strong My Love Is (version below not from the Hootenanny). I’ve said it before, but her voice is just incredible. The amount of emotion that just breaks your heart (but in a good way).
Kim Virant took up the challenge of following Star with Stevie Nicks’ Stop Dragging My Heart Around (doesn’t seem to be any video of that up). I’m not sure which of the guys was singing the dead on Tom Petty part of the duet.
Kristen Ward really held her own, taking the stage early with Hank Williams’ I’m So Lonesome I Could Cry amidst wolf whistles. Here she is with Gary Westlake singing Dolly Parton’s Jolene (and, yes, the drunk guys shouting at the start see Pearl Jam’s Matt Cameron. . .). Some people need to get out more, or maybe not. . .
Now for some pure Seattle moments. River of Deceit, from Mad Season, the super group Mike played in with the late Layne Staley (Alice in Chains), among others. Jeff Rouse takes Layne’s part:
There was also a mini-reunion of one of Pearl Jam member Stone Gossard’s side projects, Brad, after the raffle. Brad is playing at the Showbox on April 14, and that show is already sold out.
Then, back deeper into Seattle’s past – Crown of Thorns, from Mother Love Bone (a band before Pearl Jam that Stone and Jeff Ament were part of before their lead singer, Andrew Wood, ODed when they were on the brink of fame). Shawn Smith, from Brad, took the lead vocals. Holy Cow!
Then Duff and Star Anna did a duet of Bob Dylan’s Knocking on Heavens Door. Even Duff was in awe of her Otis Redding cover, and really embarrasses her (but in a good way) going on about it.
Sweet!
Closing out, Duff taking the lead on Iggy Pop’s I Wanna Be Your Dog, followed by the ladies taking the lead on I’ll Fly Away.
Awesome show for a great cause!
With the packed house and raffle tickets ($5 for one, $20 for 5), they must have raised a lot for Partners in Health and their work for Haiti. There is still supposed to be an autographed guitar that was played by Mike and Duff at the Hootenanny coming up on Charity Buzz. If you have $1000 or so lying around, it should be coming up this week at: http://www.charitybuzz.com/auctions . Search for Hootenanny for Haiti.
Obligatory late night transit story for this concert:
They’ve got police posted at the Westlake tunnel late nights. A cop was dragging a guy away in handcuffs for. . .(cue Dragnet theme). . .smoking a cigarette? OK, I’m not a big fan of second hand smoke, but . . . “You’re busted!”? I can see a ticket. He deserves a ticket (the officer helpfully pointed out the sign on the way out when the guy claimed he didn’t see any rule about it).
At least with the cops there, people aren’t getting the crap beaten out of them and getting robbed with everyone including the security guards standing around. Looks like the police are looking for something to do, though; so I’d suggest not lighting that cigarette and throw away your trash properly! Granted, a good idea anyways. . .
Ringing in New Years with The Dusty 45s
03 Jan 2010 Leave a Comment
in Mark Pickerel, Music, Seattle, The Dusty 45s Tags: Tractor Tavern
So, I ventured back to The Tractor in Ballard for New Year’s Eve with The Dusty 45s and Mark Pickerel and His Praying Hands. Two great Americana/Rock-a-Billy bands for $20 in advance, topped off with a literally flaming trumpet toward the end and an encore or two after that.
What’s not to love? Well, probably the cost of the new sprinkler system for the Tractor, but the owner had to install those by the December deadline anyways, might as well put to the test. . .
Famous last words, probably one day on my tombstone (and not doubt another great rock-a-billy band will write a song about it), but on with the show!
Mark Pickerel and His Praying Hands opened and would have been worth the price of admission themselves. Really great songwriting and sound. Here’s a clip of A Town Without the Blues on Vimeo which looks like it’s from the West Seattle Festival a couple years ago:
Check out the NPR Song of the Day clip for Let Me Down Easy as well:
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=87915173
Kelly Van Camp, the drummer for the Dusty 45s, came out and joined them playing the harmonica and singing for a few songs.
Someone offered to take a photo with me in front of the band. Here I am, dazed and confused (or maybe just looking like a geek – but that was in 2009!):
Their main website seems to be down, but more from Mark Pickerel and His Praying Hands at:
http://www.bloodshotrecords.com/artist/mark-pickerel
&
http://www.myspace.com/markpickerelandhisprayinghands
Then it was time for The Dusty 45s! They set the crowd afire long before the trumpet. Great band, and Billy Joe is a good front man for Seattle crowds (who as we’ve talked about before, have a tendency to just stand there, inert), because he’s a great showman, and if the crowd’s energy isn’t there, he’s going to make sure he brings it back up.
They played a lot songs from their upcoming album, due out in March. Here’s the title cut, Fortunate Man from a show at The Brick Tavern in Roslyn, WA:
Oh, wait! Am I forgetting something? Oh, yeah. It was New Years! I actually YouTubed the countdown (my first video attempt at a club show):
I didn’t video the flaming trumpet finale to the main set, but here’s one from a previous show on YouTube:
Yes, a little pyromania to start the New Year! He even went into the crowd with it!
Trumpet a little singed. . .
That wasn’t the end of it. The band came back for two encores!
Over at 1:30 in the morning. Did I mention both bands played an earlier show at The Tractor, too?
Check out more of The Dusty 45s’ music at:
Moshing to Mudhoney & More in West Seattle
13 Jul 2009 Leave a Comment
in Mark Pickerel, Mudhoney, Music, Seattle Tags: Black Panties, Dow Constantine, Easy Street Records, McTuff, West Seattle, West Seattle Fest
I wound up my Friday night in the mosh pit in front of the stage listening to Mudhoney. Oh, yeah. Mosh pits. I remember hearing about them. A fool and a camera who is three – oh wait, moving in closer, make that two – feet from the stage are not easily parted (fortunately, I had to hold on to that sucker tight)!
So I headed off to West Seattle straight from work. I figured I wanted to check out some tunes at the West Seattle Fest. I hopped a 55 which took me straight there and started wandering around the booths. Unfortunately without a lot of money to spend, but the cd deals at the Easy Street Records booth (in front of the store) are absurdly cheap, if you can squeeze in. Alas, it only got worse my second pass through. Maybe Sunday.
West Seattle is a more blue collar part of town, and after the initial shock to my system (people smoking on the street? a graphic anti-abortion booth?-eek, wait, as well as the NARAL booth), I find I feel more at home. I was raised working class (and, let’s face it, I’ve fallen to poor).
No one was playing the Alaska Stage when I first came in by it. When I wandered on up California St. to the California Stage, I heard some good jazz music coming from McTuff.
Once I wandered back down California St. to Alaska, started checking out the food booths. I heard some good Americana/rockabilly coming already from the Alaska Stage, though. It was Mark Pickerel and His Praying Hands.
Really haunting music and lyrics. Check out some more on their MySpace page.
I couldn’t walk away without a cd for $10. Next I wandered the food booths again, but wanted to find an ATM for more money first. The one right behind the food booths on Alaska had a long line. Then I membered I saw a 7–11 on California, whose ATMs I can use for free with my credit union account. Good thing I checked my balance first. I didn’t know I was so close to being broke (finally caught up on balancing 2 months of statements today to find the error). I got out only $20, as $40 would have wope out my account, and decided I’d eat when I got home no matter how late that was, except for a $2 raspberry lemonade, which I brought along to catch the next act.
It was time for Black Panties. No, not for me! Besides, I didn’t have any money left for shopping. I just made the mistake of Googling their name. Oh, my!
Yeah, pretty much what you’d expect for a band named Black Panties. They were loud and they rocked. I haven’t been able to find any video. Even with adding band and Seattle, all I get is TMI (too much information). I’m sure some guys could keep themselves entertained all night with that search, but it’s not my cup of tea. Check out their music on their MySpace page.
Fortunately, I didn’t wander off far, and just took my empty lemonade cup to a trash can, then found the crowd had thinned a little and I was even closer to the stage, about 3 feet away, right in the middle. Now, it’s a good thing I didn’t have that cup of sticky lemonade in that mosh pit I didn’t know I was right in the middle of! That would have been bad.
County Councilmember and County Executive candidate Dow Constantine came out before the band. He’s the one who outed rival and former TV reporter Susan Hutchison as a stealth Republican, with considerably more conservative beliefs than she was letting on.
Then Mudhoney hit the stage. I don’t think I could write a description to due them justice, so here’s a video, complete with the Dow Constantine intro, courtesy of West Seattle Blog:
The Money Will Roll Right In! Yeah! They’re really rocking out and put on a good show. I was rocking out and taking pictures.
Everyone was having a great time. The crowd was huge and packed. I was oblivious to where I was. I’d never been in a mosh pit. Then this friendly guy started bouncing up and down and bumbing me (photo taken later in the show, after I moved out of the center of the pit).
Then more people started jumping up and down and bumping and pushing. . . Pretty soon I’m being pushed into people (fortunately, everyone’s happy and understanding). I’m still trying to take pictures. Though finding I need to keep an eye out for the action off stage, including people sailing through the crowd.
OK, I’m getting the picture. That’s the thing though, I was getting the pictures. I’m now even closer to the stage. I’m not sure I would have been there had I known I’d be in the mosh pit, but once I’m this close I’m going to stay! Especially after some guy a decade younger than me wimps out and says “I’m getting too old for this!”
Hey, all this Generation X stuff is a little too young for me. I have no concept of moshing.
Touch Me, I’m Sick? Umm, maybe I could just fix you some chicken soup?
It’s cool, though. I’m rocking out. Holding onto my camera and my hat. Literally, after I discovered it was in danger of being snatched and tossed in the air or onto someone else’s head. It was my Amnesty International hat, so maybe I would have passed on some enlightenment. Nah. It’s the one with velcro. I took it off and attached it to my belt.
Of course, me being me, I loved it when the did an anti-war song from one of their recent albums, Hard On For War. I think this could explain a lot. It was especially appropriate for the chicken hawks from the Bush administration who gave us Iraq II. Unfortunately, the Democrats also seem to need to bomb someone to prove they’re not wimps, so now it’s off to Afghanistan under Obama.
Couldn’t find video of that one from Friday night. This one if from Madrid in 2007.
It may sound crude, but killing people in war is a lot cruder.
OK, enough politics.
One thing I did recognize. Oh, sh. . . Someone didn’t really call Freebird, did they? The really funny thing was Mark had to explain it to Guy, who had mercifully never heard it before! He just smiled and shrugged.
It’s 2009! Can’t they come up with something more original?
Oh, wait. . .to shout out for the next 40 years. . .take your time!
So, I survived my first mosh pit. Will I come back for more? I don’t know. It was kind of scary.
I will be back to hear more Mudhoney!
More music to come. I went back on Sunday. Sorry I missed the Seafair Pirates landing on Alki Beach on Saturday, though!
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