Browsing Category caterina winery

0 The Pharmacy

11/16/09
Andrea
· caterina winery · live music reviews

The Pharmacy
Monday, November 16th at the Caterina Winery

Everyone crowded around their instruments and microphones as soon as the Pharmacy began to play, and well after Scott asked us to move in. There was a great turnout which was awesome to see a big group of kids out on a Monday night. A, B, and C, also known as a) Stefan Rubicz, b) Scott Yoder, and c) Brendhan Bowers made our Monday night one of the cooler Monday’s in a long time.

Girls were dancing to their vintage-esk rock sound that has been mixed to still sound hip with their own finesse. It was cool to see kids dancing, it even got me to bend my knees a little and bob back and forth; kind of like a fish. They seemed happy to be back in Spokane, I guess it had been over a year or so. It seems like were having quite the time on tour, Scott said in New York some guy tried to lick his arm. YUCK! The Pharmacy really puts it all in their set, they have fun and let loose. Stefan was jumping so high that his feet were almost always higher then the keys on his keyboard. They had a lot of energy, which in return mixed up the audience and was helping everyone relax a little and have some fun. Boogy, holler, do what you should do at a concert.

The Pharmacy literally went out with a bang. Towards the end of their last song they just destroyed their set banging drums and jumping off of amps, off the keyboard, just knocking down everything. It was done smoothly while looking nuts; they did it right distorting unplugging, plugging, pushing pedals. It was something I have never seen. Matt nailed it when he told Stefan “thank you for doing what Sonic Youth should’ve done every time I have seen them.” It was epic.

Check out more photos here!

Photos courtesy of Matt Auclair.

0 2nd Annual Platform House of Charity Benefit Show

11/07/09
Andrea
· caterina winery · live music reviews

2nd Annual Platform House of Charity Benefit Show
Saturday, November 7th at the Caterina Winery

House of Charity Spokane is part of Catholic Charities and is a fantastic local charity that helps Spokane’s homeless, hungry, hurting, and weary since 1958. They provide meals, clothing, counseling, mental health services, laundry facilities, mail delivery, showers, and medical care. Saturday, Platform booking put on a show to benefit this cause. Instead of a cover charge you donated coats, vitamins, socks, underwear, or cash/check. When we left there was a cart full of goods for the House of Charity and a night full of local music.

The following artists dedicated their time to promote the Charity: Joylissa Vleck, Kim Wescott w/Rajah Bose, Kurt Olson, Kevin Long, Som Jordan, Cheap Meat Suits feat. Quiz & Ocean, Matthew Winters, and Space Age Fur.

Out of the list includes some of Spokane’s local top’s but I also discovered some new interests! Joylissa Vleck opened the night with her sugary charming vocals and love songs. Out of her set I really enjoyed her song where she associates love to colors. It was a warm way to open up the show. Joylissa (which is such a cool name by the way) also played Magic, and Mr. Lucky.

After Joylissa Miss Kim Wescott took the stage playing electric tonight, it sounded fancy-neat-sweet. Kim is just as cute as a button, sweet as a cupcake, and puts Colbie or Zee Avi under the table. I love how genuinely kind she is and talented, at that. Rajah Bose joined her on stage playing the violin also while adding a few vocals in. The duo is always a delight to watch. Kurt made our vocabulary run through pages of our mind dictionary as he quickly did spoken word on bitter love. All while making us laugh in between, he has the perfect stage performance always fun to watch and listen too.

Love must have been in the air tonight for Kevin Long also did a few romantic songs and a Willie Nelson cover. Pat from Mon Cheri joined him for a song, and another one from the audience. He must want to be in another band on top of his other two with Kevin. Som picked up the night with his intelligent hip-hop music. Word after word mixed with multi-layered beats creating this mind stimulating music. After his set he did an auction for his very own (1 in existence) album, with another album, and Som Show Tee where the whole profit went to the House of Charity. It sold for $30 bucks, and Som is really good at hosting an auction! Great idea Som!!

Quiz and Ocean of Cheap Meat Suits took the stage after Som. Quiz with his eyes shut and open was just like a roller coaster of words. Fast, rough, smooth, forceful, blended in beats. His lyrics were there in your face and something to relate too. It was overwhelming for I don’t get to a lot of hip hop shows. I am just so impressed with the ability to make words run together so fast and to make sense. Always willing to check it out, I would love to see Quiz again.

Matthew Winters puts a big smile on my face when I see him. His music is so honest and straight forward. It is bittersweet and wonderful. I now know almost all of his lyrics and have fallen for almost all of his songs. Even before he played we heard his music with a full band and backup singers on the stereo and it was even cool. I will always take time to see him play!

The night had a lot of variety, a lot of love, laughter, and I wanted to thank everyone who played; Patrick for getting this together, and the winery for hosting it. Look forward to the 3rd Annual Platform House of Charity Benefit Show. To learn more about or how you can help Spokane’s House of Charity click here.

Check out more photos from the show here! Photos courtesy of Matt Auclair.

Andrea@checkitoutmusic.com

0 Parker Ainsworth, Dawn Mitschele, Bushwalla with guest Jason Mraz

09/24/09
Matt Auclair
· caterina winery · live music reviews

Parker Ainsworth, Dawn Mitschele, Bushwalla with guest Jason Mraz
Thursday, September 24th at the Caterina Winery

It was a summer night in the first week of Fall as we all sat outside the Caterina Winery with candles lit and chairs arranged accordingly. I have missed that patio, it felt good to be back. Everyone took in the “simply delightful weather” as Parker said.

Parker Ainsworth stood up front with Dawn Mitschele and when he talked he just seemed like a shy kid but within the first twenty seconds of “Awake” I was taken in. Parker has these deep rich vocals that sweeten his minimal guitar and harmonica. I enjoyed his lyrics to his song “Is this the fall,” I think that might be my favorite from his set.

I do agree with him that jeans are amazing and it is great to be able to wear them a lot. The cellar song was also a neat little tune. The two completed each other like chocolate syrup and vanilla ice cream.

By 9 the patio smelt of good wine and Dawn Mitschele was simply sugary and kind. She gracefully grabbed our attention as she stood with a guitar and sang her music. Dawn had songs about crushes, songs about getting out of town and a little diddy about floating like feathers. Music we can all relate too, and sing along to as some girls in the crowd did.

Parker joined her on stage with a little vocals and the guitar. I can understand why the pair are on tour together. They left us with a love song and the set was serene and perfect. There was even a couple slow dancing in the back, picture perfect.

Bushwalla, best show I have seen this month. Billy the acoustic rapper was witty and hilarious. Not to mention a fantastic entertainer. He worked the crowd with fast moving words, beat boxing, and a good friend on stage. The entire night was full of good friends artist or not.

Bushwalla opened with a little tune while playing a banjo like instrument and by song three Jason Mraz joined him to play. Bushwalla can flow words like a downward stream all while shaking his ass and flirting with the ladies. He even balanced a chair on his chin with no hands!

Bushwalla and MC-MRAZ were like two peas in a pod. I laughed a lot! Two truths and A Lie and Gangsta were our favorite songs. Dawn did a great job with Bushwalla singing Mayhem is Beautiful.

The forty or so people there just saw the coolest set that was laid back and fun. It is a show that can’t happen again or will ever be repeated. Parker, Dawn, Billy, and Jason even hung around afterwards and talked to everyone that wanted too. I can’t wait to see Bushwalla and Jason Mraz again on Friday!

Check out more photos from the show here! Photos courtesy of Matt Auclair.

Andrea@checkitoutmusic.com

0 Japanther, Saltwater Magic and Matthew Winters

08/21/09
Matt Auclair
· caterina winery · live music reviews · REVIEWS

Matthew Winters, Saltwater Magic, and Japanther
Caterina Winery on Friday, August 21st

Things were running a little behind so to entertain us out of the blue came Matthew Winters. It was a good thing he had his guitar with him. I am always excited to see him play so it was a nice little treat! After Matthew played a few songs (including two of my fav’s Dandelion and Cute and Stabby) Saltwater Magic grabbed their instruments and took too the stage.

They became a band that morning and had a couple of tracks for us. Saltwater Magic had kids in it from Electric City Football Camp, Pegasus Dream, and The City We Live In. For being a band for not even 24 hours it was extremely good. They sounded like an alternative dance scream infusion. They had a kid come up to sing with his back to the crowd (he was nervous) and no lyrics. But he killed it! As Patrick called it an “Awesterfuck,” an awesome cluster fuck. It was improve music with a bunch of talented kids. I hope it wasn’t a one night thing because it was fun. Plus it’s a cool name.

Japanther came hauling into the parking lot and jumped out of the car from Seattle to put their gear on stage. After setting up graffiti covered speaker stacks with a Japanther flag strung in between them kids were quick to huddle up around them on the stage. They told us “we are not your parents do what you want!” And the crowd did it was a mosh pit at times and a dance party at others. It was fun, they were fun.

This was one of those nights where you had to dance and those are the best. Japanther has the set to match it’s name; they were loud, fast, and wild. Drumming, switching cassette tapes (yep tapes), pushing buttons, and plenty more all why singing/rapping into telephone microphones. I have never seen them before, they put a lot into their set. Afterwords they were dripping in sweat and mentioned that if anyone had a pool they were willing to go swimming! Bill and Patrick both killed it for putting the show together last minute! Japanther better come back like they said Spokane’s the only place in the world that has a goat who eats trash! God bless you Spok-a-vegas.

Check out more photos from the show here!

Andrea@checkitoutmusic.com

0 Matt Coleman & Allison Sattinger, Kim Wescott, Rajah Bose & Kurt Olson

08/20/09
Matt Auclair
· caterina winery · live music reviews · REVIEWS

Kim Wescott & Rajah Bose, Kurt Olson & Matt Coleman w/ Allison Sattinger
Thursday, August 20th at the Caterina Winery

It was good to visit the Caterina; I missed its warm glow and familiar faces. Tonight was a night of acoustic string instruments, a keyboard, and very silky vocals. Both of the performances included individual artists working together to create melodious tunes.

First Kim Wescott sang a few songs with Rajah as her backup and Kurt Olson on the stand up bass. Kurt Olson is also known for his spoken word and he is in Mon Cheri. It was cool to see that he is working with another great group in Spokane.

Kim opened with “The Viking Funeral” on her ukuele, one of my favorite songs. Kim also played “Floated Away,” and “Late.” She managed to play a ukulele, violin (not made out of a baseball bat), and acoustic guitar; very talented.

Every song was in tune and their charm lit up the room. Kurt explained that it was odd to play tonight because they were at Zola last night and it was so loud that they couldn’t even hear themselves talking on stage; but tonight it was quite and we were very attentive. As we should be, we were there to see the music.

Kurt read a poem in between the two sets titled “Her Light Is Still On,” which only reminded me of how lyrically talented he is on top of being musically talented. He is visually entertaining too; you can see the story being told on his face with his expressions. I am glad we got to hear a poem by him.

After Kurt, Som treated us with two episodes of the Som Show featuring the Submarines and Hockey from Sasquatch 2009. I loved watching the footage; it was neat to look back at Sasquatch and to see how far Hockey has grown. You can watch the two Som Show videos HERE.

Matt Coleman sat on stage with his guitar in his hand and opened up his set by playing a few songs on his own, Allison joined him soon after. I liked how he added a hint of percussion into the songs by tapping his guitar. His fingers were very fast on the strings and then he could make these little bebops with his voice, it was really cool. I am glad his friends requested “Bird on my Shoulder,” because I ended up really enjoying it.

Allison’s vocals were like caramel sweet and smooth. She had a darling outfit on and personality to match it. The musical chemistry between both groups tonight was perfect. “Sugar Daddy” by Allison was a fun song; she wasn’t encouraging it but had a story to go along with it. Both Matt and Allison were very polished and well put together, they knew their music.

They were so grateful to be playing in Spokane and to have a Spokane posse that let them stay at their house. They seemed really genuine and kind. We meet Matt after the show and all he could say were good things and thank you, very nice person.

Check out more photos from the show here

Andrea@checkitoutmusic.com

0 Mon Cheri, The Grownup Noise, Ash Reiter and Ben Mancke

08/06/09
Matt Auclair
· caterina winery · live music reviews · REVIEWS

Mon Cheri, The Grownup Noise, Ash Reiter, Ben Mancke
The Caterina Winery – Thursday, August 6th

When it is that you get to see one of Spokane’s best bands, an awesome indie group from Boston, more indie greatness from San Francisco and one of Spokane’s best solo guitar players?

Up first was Ben Mancke. Wow what a unique and impressive style of guitar playing. He used the entire instrument from the neck, to the top, the bottom and every string. You could hear every pluck, tap and strum as he played a few originals and even a cover of “Come Together” by the Beatles that happened to bring on a down poor of rain, thunder and lighting along with it. He joked around that he does not play as much as he used to and not for as many people that are that attentive. How could you not give this guitar player your absolute attention? I quit taking photos so I could watch and try to keep up with everything that is going on with this one man band. If you see the name Ben Mancke on a flyer for a Spokane show go see him you will be amazed.

After a Newcastle Brown Ale between set changes Ash Reiter was up. I love the style of only having a electric guitar player and a drummer. It gives you that down to business simple sound that is very effective. This San Francisco duo of a female electric guitar player / singer and a talent drummer filled the Caterina with quirky indie pop greatness. At one point I looked behind me and 3 out of 4 members of Mon Cheri were dancing and having a great time.

I’m going to have to take a moment and thank Dale from RAWK for letting me know about The Grown Up Noise. See Me River a great band from Seattle was playing at a different venue in Spokane tonight but after talking to Dale at a past show and reading an e-mail from him I decided to go see The Grown Up Noise. Once again Thank You Dale.

This was indie music at its best. At times they reminded me of the worlds greatest bar band think The Hold Stead, other times during their set I thought of Built To Spill and other times I thought of Mid to late 80’s REM before they started making albums that were not that good . It reminded me of some of my great music hero’s thrown into a blender and then put on stage at the Caterina. This trio from Boston was multitalented the bass player also played some keyboards as did the guitar player / singer. The songs ranged from rock to a few very simple pop gems that were stuck in my head on the way home. After the show I was talking to the bass player Adam and he let me know that there is normally a cello player that was performing with them that adds another element to their great sound. Check them out in a city near you this summer or on their Myspace myspace.com/thegrownupnoise .

Mon Cheri! Check It Out Music loves this band. As we have wrote in the past from Patrick and Caroline’s one of a kind incredible chemistry onstage, to the charismatic Kurt Olson on stand up bass to the perfect drumming of Brandon. This is a tight and talented band.

They warmed up with cover of “All I Have To Do Is Dream” By the Everly Brothers that gives me goose bumps every time I hear it. Not bad for a warm up song. But the most fascinating thing about seeing them is that their live show gets better every time.

The new songs are great, the showmanship is better and the crowd participation is more involved, they even added a keyboard player for tonight’s performance. At the beginning of the set they dedicated a song to a couple in the audience and they got up and slow danced in front of the stage. Mon Cheri is a fantastic band, one of Spokane’s best and their music just brings back some great memories of 60’s pop songs and new memories of great summer days in Spokane.

Make sure to bring some change as Caroline will tell you about a great cause Safety Net and then ask you for a small donation for this great cause. Here is a little more info about Safety Net that I go from Mon Cheri’s Blog – Safety Net

It’s an organization that is going to help out Foster kids who, by law, have to leave the system as soon as they turn 18. This means that the Foster program gives them a little bit of money and sends them on their way: no more guidance, no more support, no one for these kids to turn to when the going gets rough…

I would also like to thanks Patrick for putting on this great patio party inside the winery because it was raining. All the bands were great and to Som from The Som show for working so hard on these parties and the Som Show web series that has two new episodes one of Kevin Long and the other of Kristen Marlo. You can check those out at www.thesomshow.com.

Check out more photos from the show HERE!

Matt@checkitoutmusic.com

0 Everyday Jones

08/01/09
Matt Auclair
· caterina winery · live music reviews · REVIEWS

Everyday Jones
Saturday, August 1st on the Caterina Patio

Matty and I were thrown a curve ball when we arrived at the Caterina Winery Saturday night. We didn’t know there were two separate shows! Therefore we got to catch the last act of the first show known as Everyday Jones.

Duo Alissa and Jason had a fun spunky personality together. Jason strummed on his guitar while Alissa played different instruments like a bongo, maraca, and tambourine. Then they would loop the instruments creating a fun rock acoustic pop sound.

I liked how positive they were and how much fun they were having together. There attitude carried into the audience. Another interesting aspect to their set was how they would mix cover songs into original songs, very creative. Alissa’s sister was in the crowd and she made a point to let her pick the next song which was between The Police and Pat Benatar, because she never gets to see them play. Her sister picked Benatar and the two covered “Love is a Battlefield,” very nicely.

They had digital downloads for sale which I thought was cool because as Alissa said “…they’re environmentally friendly,” I hope we can see more of that. Everyday Jones will be back as a trio with their stand up bass player and if you’re looking for a fun relaxed show it will be worth your time, keep your eye out for the date!

Check out more photos from the show HERE!

Andrea@checkitoutmusic.com

1 Electric City Football Camp, Boy Eats Drum Machine, Please Draw In Me

08/01/09
Matt Auclair
· caterina winery · live music reviews · REVIEWS

Please Draw In Me, Boy Eats Drum Machine, Electric City Football Camp
Saturday, August 1st at the Caterina Winery

After the patio show we headed into the Winery for the second show of the night which turned the Winery into a dance party! “…excited to be hear but I have a stomach ache,” Chris said to the crowd. Please Draw In Me went right into their colorful electronic music. Chris then asked us to imagine a candy shop during their second song “Candyland Gift Shop.” I had a good time picturing isles of my favorites treats mixed in with Mario Kart racing in space.

If you have never seen Please Draw In Me live it is worth the show. Each time we see them the crowd gets bigger and bigger. It’s really cool to watch Chris just throw himself into his 3 keys. His hat and glasses come off as his hair floats around his face and his fingers glide across his keyboard. It’s a fun show. My only disappointment was how their free E.P.’s were gone in a snap, it was like free money everyone went to grab one the second he mentioned them. That must be a good sign.

Boy Eats Drum Machine was a perfect transition from Please Draw In Me. From Portland Jon Ragel is a musician with moves. While he was spinning vinyl, playing a saxophone, singing, rockin’ his cowbell, shaking a tambourine, and looping it all he still managed to bust out some bitchin’ moves. He was high energy that was a blast to watch, all over the place while still making it look smooth and fun. Definitely a multitasker. At one point he even put his tambourine around his neck and jumped up and down to get it to shake while he was singing and spinning. I was in awe.

On top of all the cool stuff he was playing he also had two tv’s that broadcasted his fingers on the vinyl. It was quite the show. During his last song he took the mic off the stand and hopped into the front of the crowd and just jumped around and had fun. I loved it. Not to mention he is a very talented writer. To add the cherry on top of his set he had his album on vinyl and the covers were recycled out of other vinyl covers. It was pretty much awesome. He will be back in the fall. We will be there and we hope you will be too.

It was the debut show for Electric City Football Camp and we were excited. Chris and Shane have been in two fantastical bands before so we knew it was going to be good and a little bit wild. By far this two man band was a blast to see. Like going from Please Draw In Me to Boy Eats Drum Machine, Boy Eats Drum Machine was the perfect way to get the crowd ready for Electric City Football Camp. E.C.F.C. had high energy, tight pants with a lot of booty shakin, and sweet dance moves to go along with their wild music. The two of them come up with the coolest guitar breakdowns and riffs. They suck you in with their fun on stage. It’s a sound unlike any other in a good way; it will definitely get your head moving at the least.

They had tracks on an iPod that had their beats set up and they would play together to the songs. Chris also played a trumpet and the drums. It was both visually and musically cool. For being their debut show I was impressed with the amount of songs they had. It only made me curious as to what they will have at their next show. Keep your eyes and ears out for more from Electric City Football Camp, I know we are!

We left the Caterina Winery dancing out the door. You can’t beat a show like that for $5, it was more fun then eating a bunch of candy and throwing up after riding a carnival ride! Ridiculously great.

Check out more photos from the show HERE!

Andea@checkitoutmusic.com

0 The Som Show Patio Party: The Awkward Years & Love is Chemicals

07/18/09
Andrea
· caterina winery · live music reviews

The Som Show Patio Party: The Awkward Years & Love is Chemicals
Thursday, June 18th on the Patio at the Caterina

Awh, it was a cool summer’s night outside on the Caterina Patio. Red Christmas lights hung in the trees, and wine glasses/beer bottles floated across table tops. It was a fantastic night of music from two bands in which one gentlemen in each band had a cool hat on.

We were treated with the first ever world premiere of Spokane’s The Awkward Years along with the super cool kids from San Francisco Love is Chemicals. The music tonight was delightful, the weather was perfect, and the people were fun… I don’t think I need much more. I will agree, “There is nothing funny about baby poop,” but Congratulations to the singer in The Awkward Years because he just had a baby boy named Jackson about a week ago. Very sweet, that kid is going to have a cool dad.

There was nothing at all awkward about The Awkward Years in fact as Love is Chemicals said, “They should be called The Awesome Years.” These guys acted like they were great friends and they were having a good time, which is always cool to see. To me they would be the kids next door that actually sound good when they practice in their garage. It was cool to see their friends in the crowd, and them smile and nod and say hi to them when they arrived during their set. They just seem so nice. I did think it was funny that they played a song called “Mothers Day” when Fathers Day is this Sunday.

They ended their very first set with their song “My New Career is a Hit-man,” and all I need to say is I can’t wait to see them again. I think they may become another local favorite. Keep an eye out for their second show and don’t miss it, they are a cool band.

Since it is the Som Show Patio Party we got the opportunity to see the new episode of The Som Show while Love is Chemicals was setting up. You are always like la-te-dah while the band is setting up and if you have something to do in-between that time slot, awesome! We watched the second Som Show Web Episode featuring Mark Ward. It was cool because Som had the footage from their show with Laura Gibson, it reminded me of how much fun that show was! You can check out the Som Show Episode’s here and you can find out more about the Som Show Patio Parties here!

Love Is Chemicals was wonderful. It was their first time playing outside with all the trees and I thought they sounded great. I loved their singer’s Sonic Youth tee. Matty called it on the head, they remind him of Built to Spill. Totally!! Cha-ching that would be why I dig them so much! Love Is Chemicals has their San Fran flair and without a doubt can rock instruments together smoothly. They had me tapping my feet and bobbing my neck.

I loved how they called playing their new songs to live crowds “Road Testing.”. I listened to their songs on Myspace at work today for a few hours and I think they are this great little band I want to put in my pocket and pull out for my listening pleasure as I wish. Is that what an iPod is for? Speaking of music and iPods you can swap music for gas money with the band. In other words if you missed the show check out their website here and support them! I hope Spokane gets to see more of Love Is Chemicals and I hope their experience was fun here because I want them to come back! I am sure I am not the only one after their set tonight.

Check out more photos from the show HERE!

Andrea@checkitoutmusic.com

0 “Where the Wild Things Are” Koreshakti Dance Company with Kama Shivaya and Special Guests

07/16/09
Andrea
· caterina winery · live music reviews

“Where the Wild Things Are”
Koreshakti Dance Company with Kama Shivaya and Special Guests
Thursday, July 16th at the Caterina Winery

My jaw hasn’t dropped like it did tonight in a long time. I, probably like most of the audience was blown away by these women. They had strength, power, beauty, and sex appeal creating a night full of entertaining “jaw-dropping” dancing. With twenty different dances and over ten different women from ballet to belly dancing, it was full of variety. Watching these ladies move their bodies was mesmerizing.

You would think well where is the music in belly dancing? When really music is a big part of the girls’ dancing. The music showcased how with each beat they could move a different muscle in their body creating a very strong & sexy dance. The Caterina stage was turned into a jungle with lots of green plants, lights, and leaves. The Kama Shivaya music was perfect for the dancers. I was told that a lot of the music was created especially for one girl and one dance. Other then the live music girls also danced to the Deftones and the Cure, you gotta love that.

One of the most respectable parts about their dancing is the ability they have to stand on their tip toes and shake their hips without moving your upper body. You could see these girls muscles work while they were dancing; bet you they were the strongest people in the entire room. The strongest out of the group had to have been Chastitie on the pole. She could lift and hold her entire body with her thighs and legs. It was amazing, she could climb the pole and pose in these artistic positions almost like a statue, and she looked fantastic.

The Koreshakti Dance Company is something I recommend everyone sees once. It will be a new experience that will make your jaws drop with a doubt. These girls are sweet as can be and some of the top dancers around town.

Check out more photos from the show HERE!

Andrea@checkitoutmusic.com

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