I made some strategic errors in October and somehow over the course of one month ended up with 9 concerts on my calendar, which was a serious overestimation of my stamina. Still, I had an awesome time going to the concerts and felt by the end that I had a great feel of most Seattle venues!
PSA on Hearing Safety
As a quick nag, if you’re going to a concert use hearing protection. It’s not cool to go deaf. Recently, I invested in a nice pair of reusable high fidelity earplugs, because foam ones turn music into mush.
I’ve tried a few but my favorite for comfort are DownBeats Reusable High Fidelity Hearing Protection ($14.95), which come with a teensy carrying case that I toss into my pocket before any concert.
Concert 1 (9/27): Vampire Weekend, WaMu Theater
It wasn’t my first time at WaMu but had been a while since I’d seen Die Antwoord there. It’s a medium/large venue that you just buy a general ticket to but has both a seated and standing area – first come first serve. I opted for standing, though I sat last show and you still get great views from the seats. The venue sells both food and drinks and there was a sizable merch booth. I don’t recall if you can bring drinks into the concert area but my recollection is that you can’t because it’s an all ages venue.
The opener was Soccer Mom (just OK) but overall it was a great show, with lots of energy and big inflated globes being bounced through the audience. I knew a lot of the songs (which in my experience is one of the key ingredients to a good time at a concert) and bopped my way through show. I did get aggressively two-handed pushed at one point but the people around me were very sweet and concerned!
Erza Koenig was also cuter than I had thought in pictures, to my sister’s credit (she had told me this before).
As a bonus after the concert, since the baseball stadium is next door and the Mariners had just won a game, we were greeted by fireworks and I grabbed a Seattle dog (a delicious cream cheese monstrosity).
Concert 2 (9/28): Macklemore (& Guests), Paramount Theatre
Paramount is probably one of Seattle’s best, most historic, most fancy venues (and the setting of the prom scene in 10 Things I Hate About You) – assigned seating through most of the multi level balcony venue – though the ground level is sometimes standing room. It’s an all ages venue but they sell alcohol and candy snacks you can take to your seat in re-usable STG cups you can usually bring back in later for a discount.
I seriously misinterpreted the intent of this show as it was a fundraiser showcase of the local Seattle youth hip hop mentorship program that Macklemore co-founded (The Residency) but the up-and-comers were pretty good (especially Parisalexa – keep an eye out for that girl, those pipes!) and Macklemore did perform as part of it. If you ever get the opportunity to see Macklemore perform in Seattle, TAKE IT. Seattle is crazy for their local god and singing “Can’t Hold Us” with a Seattle audience and Macklemore is practically a religious experience.
Macklemore had some cute comments to his mom in the audience throughout the show, such as “Will you grab me one of those cupcakes, before they’re gone?”
In addition to Macklemore and the youngins, Sol and Sir Mix a Lot both performed as well, two of our other resident rappers, who I’ve been hoping to see!
Concert 3 (10/6): Ashe, The Crocodile
This wasn’t a venue I’d been to before but it was very similar to Neumos, Chop Suey, and the other “larger” (but still pretty small) Cap Hill venues. It probably fits a couple hundred people into the small standing room space (uncomfortably) but you get the benefit of being jammed up very close to the performers, who are usually moderately big names, but not big enough to fill a stadium. There’s a bar as part of it and I’m not sure if you have to stay near the bar to drink.
I’d started listening to Ashe a few months ago when Moral of the Story: Chapter 2 dropped in August and she hoved into my field of view. I would describe her style as similar to Lorde – sort of sad female pop.
She had two openers, Gavin Haley (her younger brother) and Charley Burg. They were both pretty good, especially Gavin Haley who I thought was utterly adorable with his dimples, soft voice, and guitar, though he was unfortunately being talked over by some loud girls near the stage, who he specifically (and relatively unawkwardly, to his credit) called out in an attempt to shush – which would have worked if they were listening to him. Charley Burg wasn’t my cup of tea, though I did like his song “Instead of My Room.”
Ashe was good but a bit too “heartfelt”/”melodramatic” for my taste in a concert, though the crowd (mostly teen girls) loved it.
I think I actually liked her music a bit less AFTER having seen her live, but her song “Cold in California” is still one of my favorites and she performed it on stage with her brother, which was adorable.
Concert 4 (10/7): Lostboycrow, Neumos
I’ve been to Neumos before and it’s a great venue with a specific drinking zone. There’s a less crowded lofted area above the stage you can stand or sit in “if you’re an old person” (as one person around me remarked), though I stood up there when I saw Of Montreal. It’s a similar size to The Crocodile, usually attracts similar artists, and gets really packed.
This concert actually had the headliner of Flor, who I hadn’t heard before and I ended up not being super impressed by, so I peaced after the openers.
Lostboycrow, who I came to see, was actually the first opener but DAMN they’re good and I’d love to see them headline (though from a sleepiness perspective, I liked having them come on first). I would describe their music as somewhere between surf rock and Avicii – my ideal work music. I was worried I might think the frontman was a douche based on his picture but both he and the drummer looked like the nicest guys and dripped “California surfer.” They were amazing in concert and I absolutely have a crush on the guitarist/singer now, who cut his long hair into the cutest shoulder length flop that he kept tossing out of his eyes (*swoon*).
The second band, Joan, I hadn’t heard before either but I also liked them. They had a really Backstreet Boys sound in their vocals, lyrics, and 90s keyboard aesthetic, but I’m not mad at that.
Concert 5 (10/8): Dragonforce, El Corazon
I hadn’t previously been to El Corazon since it’s the “metal” bar and honestly, I think it’s a bit too hardcore for me (take that with a BIG grain of salt, this was my first metal show). This is probably a venue I’m going to avoid unless I have a concert buddy.
There’s a bar as part of the venue (apart from the actual bar) and I don’t know if you need to stay in that area to drink (it seemed like you might need to).
I arrived a bit early and, in spite of the sparse crowd, positioned myself against a wall at the back. This meant that I got smushed during parts of the show as people used the walkway in front of me but also that I wasn’t near the most pit, something I’m still not down for. The only injury I sustained was an elbow to the chin as a guy VERY enthusiastically raised his hand to the question “Who here has played Skyrim?” *facepalm*
The first opener was Starkill, who very much embodied what you might imagine a metal band to look like, complete with the X-treme eye makeup and goth aesthetic. They were pretty good (if not my usual thing) and I was pretty wowed by the the band’s headbanging (even emptying water bottles into their hair for the spray). I’m such a metal noob.
The second opener was Dance with the Dead and I really liked them! I don’t think there really any lyrics in their songs but they were a fun electronic band with easy dance beats. If I hadn’t seen them in person (and beyond the name), I wouldn’t have thought they were a metal band.
The headliner Dragonforce, who I came to see, was fantastic with excellent light show elements (though as a Laser Safety Officer I get a skittish about lasers, since I know they get misclassified often and have seen too many gnarly retina pics). I only know a handful of songs but I enjoy their old-school fantasy metal aesthetic. I stuck around for half of their set and then peaced so I could get a decent amount of sleep before my early morning meetings.
Concert 6 (10/15): The Regrettes, Neumos
This show was great! The band was just as adorable as I predicted – with everyone just fresh out of high school and still in their teens. They have a very 1950s and 60s aethetic mixed with a riot grrrl punk sound.
It was very weird just HOW MANY young girls there were there (and a plethora of hair clips and bucket hats galore, because this really is 1998 – 2001 again), even ranging down into the elementary school range. I got a great spot near the left side of the stage and could have touched the guitarist Genessa Gariano, who was 10/10 adorable.
The opener was Greer, a younger all boy band, and it was fully BIZARRE to see how many teen girls were swooning over these sort of mediocre guys. Definitely some shudders for my teen self, though I understandably reserved that kind of behavior for David Boreanaz.
Concert 7 (10/16): Babymetal, Paramount Theatre
The opener was The Hu (literally took me writing it to get it), a Mongolian rock band that meshed traditional instruments and throat singing – which was a unique experience.
Babymetal was a real trip. I started listening to Babymetal four years ago, shortly after the release of their self titled 2014 album. Babymetal is a “gothic lolita” Japanese metal band (see video below).
The concert was fantastic, though I had a hard time seeing any dancing because of the crowd. It also got really rowdy in the mosh pit, sending big push ripples through the crowd. I was situated on the ground floor (I think there were seated tickets available as well) where they’d cleared out all the seats for standing room. I saw one of Tom’s high school friends but didn’t get a chance to say hi to him during the chaos.
Concert 8 (10/19): The Brothers Comatose, Tractor Tavern
The Tractor Tavern is always a great venue (though I still prefer Sunset Tavern for a Ballard venue), usually attracting more country acts and fitting maybe 200 people uncomfortably. You can order at the bar and take drinks onto the floor.
I wasn’t planning to go to this show but I booked it so my sister and I could go to a show while she was visiting. The opener was Goodnight, Texas, followed by the headliner of The Comatose Brothers. Both were great with Goodnight, Texas being adorably folksy country music (filled with total cuties) and The Comtose Brothers having music catchy enough that I was literally stamping my boot.
The show started out packed but opened up a bit throughout the night (it ran until after midnight, despite of a 9PM start) and, by the end, there was enough dancing space that some couples were slow dancing for the quieter songs, which fully melted me into a puddle.
Concert 9 (10/27): Noah Kahan, Neumos
This ended up being one of my favorites of the month! The opener was JP Saxe, who I recognized partway through his set when he played “If the World Was Ending.” I’ve been listening to him a bunch since the concert with my favorite songs being “If the World Was Ending” and “Women Who Look Like You.”
JP Saxe’s vibe was WEIRD though and he made self depreciating jokes the audience would laugh at awkwardly and then he’d be like “so you’re laughing at me?” That combined with the content of his songs made me feel sorry for all the women he sang about.
Noah Kahan was really good! I didn’t think I was a big fan of his but then I knew every song. He talked a lot about how he got started and gave background behind songs that made them completely heartbreaking. My favorites are Young Blood (acoustic), which captures the sadness and uncertainty of your 20s, and Carlo’s Song, about his friend who died suddenly (the song doesn’t say it explicitly, but I’m assuming of suicide).
Since the concert, these have been two of my most played artists, so I would highly recommend checking them out!
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