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1 RAWK Final Four Finals

03/19/10
Andrea
· live music reviews · service station

Saturday, March 13th at the Service Station
Can I just come out and say who the winner is? I won’t do that just yet but don’t scroll down to find out okay. After interviewing all but one of the bands for the RAWK Final Four we were kind of rooting for all of them to win!

When you paid to get in each person received a ballot with all five bands listed! Here is the cool part; each vote was $2 to the band you voted for! So it was very important to vote! Plus the winner received $500 and got to play the last final RAWK Show; in case you hadn’t heard ( I didn’t know this until Saturday) RAWK will be taking a break so the last touring show will be Ted Leo & the Pharmacists on Thursday, March 18th at the BLVD. Then the final show will be put on by the RAWK winners (who I won’t say just yet)!

Lewis and Clark High School’s hip The Sassmatrons were up first and with duel singers and drumming. They played a few songs including a song they wrote earlier in the week which wasn’t heard by anyone there unless you were stalking them. They reminded me of a Vampire Weekend-ish/Bulit to Spill-ish laid back indie rock kind of band. During the last song all five of them drummed and that was pretty cool to see and would take some practice!

Act One Scene One from Cheney took the stage next and they came out with two beach balls and glow sticks; plus a wireless guitar where he was playing before they hit the stage. These guys had a fun attitude as did the Sassmatrons. With only a short time to play they rocked a few tunes, did an acoustic song, and covered Fountains of Wayne’s hit Stacy’s Mom! I am not sure if it was the looks or what but by the end of their set the each one of their microphones hung bras that were thrown up on stage.

Victory for a Day drove all the way from Moses Lake to be in the competition! I thought that was pretty fucking cool. If you are into metal take your little ears to check out Victory for a Day. Loved the bands energy and the ability to play some heavy bass and just make anyone want to head bang. It was kind of crazy how many kids wanted to mosh and just let their heads roll to the music! You can check out video of them on their Myspace!

Yukon the Archer came out to hip hop and some dancing that all the sudden turned into some serious cut metal. Which was perfect to go from Victory For A Day to Yukon the Archer, the kids were just jacked full of energy and ready to let it out. I think synchronized head banging is amazing (secretly want to get up on stage and do it with the band), and they sure did a lot of it! The boys had a soft spot and had everyone sing Happy Birthday to their friend Heidi! The music is super heavy and rich with intense vocals and tons of energy. One thing Brian said that I thought was awesome was “Vote for your favorite band!” Instead of saying VOTE US VOTE US!

Last but not least in the competition was Executive Smack. If you haven’t listened to our podcast with them please do so. You will understand what I am about to write. The band morphed into Lazurwuulf in three weeks and blew the Service Station away with their techno dance beats. It was nuts! They probably threw out 100 glow sticks and had the floor dancing like they were at the Sasquatch Dance Tent! They were throwing out CD’s in the crowd and telling kids to sign up and they will mail them to you. They were complete rock stars with all three of them bare foot and dancing in neon bright clothes as video played with the music behind them… it was too hip. I just had my jaw open the hole time, good for these kids to do something new and fresh by changing your band during the competition. It was a blast.

The ever so amazing Space Opera 77 played while votes were counted and yet again had me amazed by their onstage presence and perfectly unique sound. They destroyed the night with their music and during (I believe it was 163) they had everyone come up and drum and sing on stage it was awesome! I thought that was the perfect way to end the night!

Drum roll please… yes drum roll on your desk or table!

5th – Victory for a Day
4th – Act One Scene One
3rd – The Sassmatrons
2nd – Yukon the Archer
1st – Executive Smack / Lazurwuulf

Woo Hoo! It was a fun night full of all types of music and it was cool to see high school kids get excited about music. More kids should! Check out our interviews with the bands here! Thank you Dale and the RAWK Crew for making this available to the music scene and kids! It is sad to see it take a brake, however hopefully we will see you back in the future!

See more photos from the show here!

Andrea@checkitoutmusic.com

: Victory for a Day

0 Shannon Stephens, Broken Blossoms & Karli Fairbanks

11/12/09
Andrea
· live music reviews · service station

Shannon Stephens, Broken Blossoms & Karli Fairbanks
Wednesday, November 12th at the Service Station

The Service Station had aroma’s of rich coffee, warm spices, and teas. Walking into the concert hall at the Service Station all of the chairs were occupied by adults, teens, and kids; it was a vast age group. It was great to see it full for two reasons, one to support the music and two to support Krochet Kids. Tonight was a benefit show for Krochet Kids, which was formed by a few Mt. Spokane Graduates. They took the skill of crocheting (which they learned in high school) and turned it into something they could do for good. They teach women in Northern Uganda to crochet hats, in which Krochet Kids sells in the U.S. to pay them; also helping them become independent empowering women. All proceeds from Karli’s EP “Followed” will go directly to Krochet Kids. It is a great story, and I encourage you to check out the website HERE and buy a hat – winter is on its way!

Shannon Stephens got the evening moving with her gracious vocals and acoustic guitar. She hadn’t played music for about 10 years and currently released a new album. As she said “this is the best audience I have had in like 10 years!” She has soft vocals and a warm feeling on stage, very pleasant to listen to. Shannon was bouncing in between morbid and worshipful, morbid and worshipful and when we arrived she picked morbid for the next song. Had a great cover of “Seems I’m Never Tired Lovin’ You” which was performed by Nina Simone. For Shannon’s last song Karli and Broken Blossoms came out on stage and after only trying the song twice, they smoothly played it all together.

Broken Blossoms was a toe-tapping, clapping, fun group from Boston! Actually the lady in the group Kimber is from Spokane, but the rest of the group has never been over to the great Northwest! The group featured Andy on Guitar/Vocals, David on Mandolin/Vocals, Kimber on Fiddle/Vocals, Simon on Bass, and Charlie on Banjo. They also had a guest Kellan sing in two songs including the last song. From Kimber being the current Grand National Fiddle Champion and Simon beatboxing while Charlie plays the banjo it was quite the set! They played originals like “A Wife So Young,” and covers such as “Gap Tooth.” Kimber put Karli through a Bluegrass boot camp which Karli said was hard because she turns her guitar up really loud and sings sad songs. Not the case in bluegrass, she sounded great with Broken Blossoms. During the last song “Liza Jane” they had the entire room clapping and the ended it with a bang!

Karli Fairbanks mentioned how she was glad to play with Broken Blossoms because her grandparents like that type of music. Karli looked darling in a new dark hair style and a great dress! It was extremely kind of her to do something good with her EP “Followed”, and a great way to get the word out! The EP came about because there were 4 songs that just didn’t fit on her latest album. Therefore she added one more and ta da! The songs capture Karil’s Blues Americana/Alt Country glowing style well. Karli had Caroline and Anna for vocals with her, Zac on Guitar, Caleb on Drums, and Kory on bass. Kory also recorded, mixed, and produced the EP and her latest album. Karli played one of her favorite songs to play “Meet the Day,” and also “Followed,” “Two Directions,” Whiskey Flowers,” and more for us to enjoy! I think Caroline and Anna have the perfect vocals with Karli, together they have soothing harmonies. Caroline made us laugh throughout the set and I loved her bright green tights. The set sounded smooth, as it always does and I am excited to hear more new music from Spokane’s Karli Fairbanks! Don’t forget to do you ears good (with her music) and the world good (Krochet Kids Benefit) by buying her new EP “Followed”

Check out more photos from the show here!

Andrea@checkitoutmusic.com

0 Shiny Toy Guns, Back Row Kings and Stockholm

06/09/09
Matt Auclair
· live music reviews · REVIEWS · service station

Shiny Toy Guns, Back Row Kings and Stockholm
Tuesday, June 9th at the Service Station

Unfortunately Matt and I have jobs that sometimes make us work longer then 5pm and we couldn’t make it in time to see Please Draw In Me. Which is lame because they are one of our local favorites! I heard they rocked it though and that is all that matters.

It was good to make it up to The Service Station again. The last time we were there was for The Devil Wears Prada. Other then the fact that it is super that the North Side has a venue like that, I think the sound in the venue is some of the best sound work I have heard. I also like the cleanliness and the size of it. The café is full of comfy chairs for parents to go while their kids are in the show, or for tired dancers.

We got into the venue in time to hear a few songs from Stockholm who took the stage second. I loved the front-man’s silver shinning shirt. I like how more and more in the music scene people are incorporating the piano and keyboard in different genres. This kid could play the piano, guitar, and sing. It is also cool to see brothers play together. I think that Stockholm was the perfect match to open for the Back Row Kings; another local band that features a piano/keyboard player and pop vocals with a dash of rock.

Both Matt and I were happy we got the chance to see the Back Row Kings again because the first time we saw them at the Caterina they were missing their guitar player. Holy cow, what a difference a guitar makes. They sounded completely different.

Their front man was in a great mood and he knew how to work the crowd. He is an entertainer without a doubt. Opening up with their song “Reckless Pedestrians,” they kicked the crowds butt with their energy. The power rock mixed with pop vocals and a keyboard is a new sound to me, there is a scene for this sound hence the show, but I am still getting used to it. I like the bands ability to take it from fast to slow songs too.

Their guitar player looked to be as tall as Brett Dennen and their bass player probably covered the stage from side to side 50 times. The whole group was bursting with life. We got the pleasure of hearing a new song never played live called “Live Life, or Die Tryin” they named it that night back stage – that’s pretty cool. Recommend you check it out when it is up on their myspace or maybe on their E.P./CD.

The Back Rock Kings had a fun little intro that was the theme song from the amazing TV show, I don’t know if you have ever heard it…The Office. It was fantastic, plus The Office is one of my favorite shows. It was pretty close to being on par with Relient K’s Office song. I like their stick of ending their set with their song “Giving Away the Ending,” because well it is the end of their set. I am glad we got to see the whole band, for what they are doing it rocked. They have great attitudes and fun music, what more do you need from a show?

Shiny Toy Guns. Wow. I am a little bummed they were a wee late but that is life and they are a touring band. I am really glad that they still made it and decided to play and not cancel that is pretty much awesome! The band loves Spokane, which was their sixth show. From the start with 40 kids at them to now with a couple of hundred. I am intrigued to see where they will go from here, Knitting Factory/Arena? The band defiantly packs the punch of a shiny toy gun. I love their songs “Le Disko,” and “Ricochet,” I was more then happy to hear both of them!

One of my new favorite parts about going to shows is seeing the kids who freak out when a band mentions what song they are going to play next and it is their ultimate favorite tune ever. Sometimes I am that kid, and the other times I love seeing the kids that have been counting down the days till the show. Wishing they get to hear their song by their band. It was cool to see that happened a couple of times tonight. Shiny Toy Guns sounded flawless, even while they were switching instruments, dancing, and working keys. I dug how they slanted and stacked their keys, it looked really cool. The sound effect microphones were grand, it made them sound like robots – loved it.

Sisley reminds me so much of Karen-O from the Yeah Yeah Yeahs. This girl looked like a sparkler but was a complete firework. She worked it like this was her last show, even in 3-inch heels. A badass without a doubt. Shiny Toy Guns were also able to take it from a electronic indie sound to a rockin’ tune in a stroke of a key. I was just blown away by their performance, they sounded just like they do on their CD. These kids knew what they were doing.

Dale from R.A.W.K. you RAWK for bringing them to town. It was a great show. I am glad we got to see them at the venue we did because I think from here on out they will be playing huge shows where I will only be able to see them on a screen because I am so far away. Keep a look out for them and make a point to check out their music if you haven’t before. Sorry, if you missed out on the glowstick dance fun… I am sure they will be back.

Check out more pics from the show HERE!

Andrea@checkitoutmusic.com