U.S Girls at KEXP 3.26.18

My schedule hasn’t lined up well for covering KEXP instudio sessions lately, so I made it work for me this past Monday.  I signed up for an afternoon shoot with the band U.S. Girls, whom I admit I wasn’t very familiar with.  I have seen my friends attending their concerts or sets at festivals lately, and after a quick listen to their music, I was intrigued. 

I found out that U.S. Girls is the project of vocalist Meghan Remy, who previously was known for her punk background and activism.  Though U.S. Girls ventures into pop and funk in some cases, the content and messages of the songs are still quite progressive and contemplative regarding the current state of U.S. politics.

U.S. Girls also incorporates much collaboration from other artists. “Over 20” musicians have contributed, Remy says, on her latest album In a Poem Unlimited.  Remy encourages people to review liner notes for albums, because she believes you'll likely enjoy the other projects done by  those who have worked on her record.  For her current tour, Remy brought 7 other band mates who all seemed as invested as she in their live performance at KEXP.

A few songs off of In a Poem Unlimited that were played during the instudio were “M.A.H.,” which features the lyrics “As if you couldn't tell, I'm mad as hell  // I won't forget, so why should I forgive?” and “Velvet 4 Sale,” a track which eloquently investigates the feeling of vulnerabilty that automatically comes with being born as a woman, and the contemplation of purchasing a gun (to take up arms) for safety.

Though Remy’s messages are serious and purposeful, the actual tonality of the music is light and funky.  Sometimes, Remy’s voice is obviously a throw-back to another era of female musicians, transporting me to a disco dancefloor while in 2018 - this ridiculousness is multiplied by the fact that I’ve never been on one. Expectations of what femininity looks like and sounds like in the music industry of today do not matter.  Remy solidifies this with her juxtaposition of vibrant music and weighty ideas.  What’s so weird about wanting to dance and fight the machine at the same time?

With the current political climate, it makes sense that there would be a desire for such expression.  I can’t think of a better city than Seattle to embrace the messages of Remy and co., which means it came as no surprise to me that U.S. Girls performed later the same evening to a sold out crowd at The Sunset Tavern in Ballard.

Lucy Rose & Charlie Cunningham at The Sunset 3.9.18

Lucy Rose set the record straight in Ballard last Friday night.   The British singer-songwriter brought out all of the stops after having to reschedule her October 2017 headlining date.   Rose spent a Seattle night last October instead opening alongside Paul Weller on his A Kind of Revolution tour, meaning fewer songs from Rose.  Unfortunately, Rose was also ill during that last performance through Seattle (though it’s hard to tell when your voice is that incredible)… this time, returning to headline, Rose was 100% again, her voice ringing ethereal.

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Lucy Rose

As soon as Lucy Rose and co. took the stage, the notes to “Intro” the first song of her latest LP Something’s Changing began pulsing into the tiny room of The Sunset Tavern while the sold-out crowd applauded.   The opening track seamlessly leads into “Is This Called Home”.  After singing through these first opening pieces, the ice was broken, and Rose was connected with the audience.

Lucy Rose is known for her nostalgic sound – many of her songs are special because they hit an extremely personal note within her lyrics, and the quiver of her otherwise powerful vocals.  Songs about love lost are easy to relate with, and Lucy does not hide from this pain, but instead embraces it.  She joked while going through a few of her older tunes like “Middle of the Bed” that when someone once asked her what genre of music she describes her work as she told them, “just very, very sad songs”.

Though there is no denying the vulnerability of Lucy Rose’s work, there is strength in every story that Rose tells.   Throughout the evening, Rose stopped a few times to express how thankful she was to have a full crowd on a Friday night when “people ought to be doing something fun instead”.  Taking self-awareness to an extreme, Rose addressed that she figured that some people attending were likely forced to come to her show by a mate, and for that she was apologetic.   Everyone around me was in shock – we were only about half way through the show by this point, and swooning over each note.  It’s hard to believe someone creating such intense beauty could be doubtful, but it also makes sense.  When something you create is so personal and close to you, it is hard to know how it is truly affecting others, and Rose is brave for performing under such circumstances.

Getting further into the set, Lucy Rose expanded on these thoughts by letting us know that between her previous albums and Something’s Changing, she had hit her own roadblock within her work.  She began traveling around South America and playing free gigs while staying in her fans’ homes.   She explained how moving the experience had been. Over this period of time, she learned of the misfortunes of peoples' lives in which she also had happened to touch with her music.  

In a moment of quietness within the set, Rose began to play the song “Moirai,” which is “probably my most important song,” she self-described.   Inspired by the Greek Goddesses of the same name, who determine the inescapable destiny of other's, Rose expresses her disappointment.  She continued by performing the song, "I Can't Change it All," which she wrote for a fan whom she wanted to help, who had simply requested that she keep writing more music that could help him through his life's harder moments.  While Rose played the soothing tracks on keys, there were no murmurs.  Even I refrained from taking many photos during these specific songs – there are certain times the sound of a camera shutter just isn’t appropriate. 

 Charlie Cunningham providing backing vocals on one of Lucy Rose's songs.

Everything wasn’t all seriousness on stage, however.   Lucy Rose was equally comfortable expressing insecurities as she was in making small talk much like you would with a good friend who keeps you laughing.  She spoke of positives, notably when she nodded to her helpful husband and tour manager Will Morris & when she asked for and received help with audience vocals on songs like “Bikes," where we all screamed out loud.  Even through the evening's hiccups, like the fainting of one audience member, and then the breaking of a glass right at the beginning of her last song, Rose was able to laugh things off and move on with the show, “JESUS, come on Seattle!”

Rose had left the stage originally with “Shiver,” arguably the most gut-wrenching piece of hers, so to wrap up the finale of her later encore, she opted to change up the night’s ending with her light-hearted love song “Like an Arrow”.   We were all eager to help sing along, finding our own happiness in hers.

Charlie Cunningham

Starting the night off was another British singer-songwriter, Oxford-based Charlie Cunningham. 

Very humbly, Cunningham plunged through a mirage of music, wooing the younger women in the front row, and hypnotizing the rest of us with his rhythm.  Along the way, Cunningham confirmed Spanish influence within his playing style, something he developed while playing in Seville.  This can be specifically noticed along sultry vocals on his song “Minimum”.  Alone on stage with just his guitar, it is hard to believe such intricacies could be developed by a singular contributor.  I’ll be keeping my ears peeled for more from this talent in the future.   

Diet Cig, Great Grandpa & The Spook School at Chop Suey 2.11.18

Last weekend, Chop Suey opened it’s doors to a sold old, all-ages night filled with delightful pop-punk splendor.  New York duo Diet Cig brought with them an enthusiastic Scottish four-set, Spook School, as well as local outfit Great Grandpa.

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Diet Cig

Diet Cig is Alex Luciano on vocal/guitar and Noah Bowman on drums….or are they?  The self-descried “slop-pop” two-some debuted a new lineup this tour, adding two members to their performance for the first time - Karli Helm of San Francisco’s Plush and Anna Cory of Scotland’s Spook School (this tour’s opener) on bass.  The new additions were exciting for Luciano to bounce energy off of, but with Bowman in the far back and Luciano mobile and controlling center stage, there was really no taking your attention off of her for the entire show.

Alex Luciano is a charmer on stage.  Her smile is infectious and she never stands still! I lost count of her high-kicks well into their second song.  The majority of tunes performed came from their 2017 release Swear I’m Good At This.  Diet Cig opened with album’s first track “Sixteen”…a song with a slow buildup that turns into a radical belter-of-a-tune.  All of their songs are quite intimate for Luciano – focusing on her past experiences with dating and the lonesomeness of finding yourself.  While some moments are heavily emotional (there were definitely tears shed by some fans in the front row during their set), the spunky side of the band comes out in full force live.  Luciano wears sparkles on her cheeks at each show, prepping herself for the night in the same way a football player adheres grease on theirs.  She knows a Diet Cig show is going to be a fun time, because she is going to make it a fun experience for everyone to enjoy.

The theme of the night besides fun was inclusivity.  At many times Luciano explained to the crowd that they were so thankful for everyone to be there, and singled out anyone identifying in the LGBTQ community and told them “thank you for taking up space at our show.” They further explained that they really cared about the personal space of each person at their show and encouraged the crowd to speak up if they every felt uncomfortable. That being said, they wanted everyone to have a fun time, and asked those who wanted to dance, to do it, but to respect the space of those around them. Following this mindset, Luciano did check to make sure a group of people were okay near the center of the crowd after a particularly eruptive part of the performance brought some pushing and light moshing. After a thumbs-up confirmation from the crowd that all was well, Luciano twirled off her worry and powered through the rest of the track.

Luciano edged closer to the crowd the longer the night progressed.  Upon their finale track, “Harvard,” Luciano jumped onto Noah Bowman’s drumset and finished the song with another explosive kick.  All smiles, the chords from Semisonic’s “Closing Time” were played as the band sang the iconic 90s chorus “I know who I want to take me home” a few times while saying their goodbyes.  

Great Grandpa

Just the night before, Great Grandpa had to cancel their set.  Illness had taken a few of the band members, including vocalist Alex Menne, whom had her wisdom removed in an emergency procedure hours before taking the Chop Suey stage, and also guitarist Patrick Goodwin, who was struggling with diarrhea.  The band made the joke that they had “literally gone through shit to be able to perform tonight.”

Despite all of the obstacles facing Great Grandpa earlier in the day, the group dominated the stage without distraction.  Menne rolled around on the stage floor and also embraced the crowd while belting through their power pop ballads.  Goodwin never flinched while singing backing vocals and thrusting his guitar.

The Spook School

I wasn’t sure what to expect when Spook School took the stage – I only knew they were Scottish and that my friend who attended the show with me was at the show just to see their set.  They burst out with some properly punk anthems and thick accents were present as expected.  Lyrically the band tackles subjects uniquely them, the song “Binary,” challenges social normality with the ending chant of “I am bigger than a hexadecimal!” Drummer Niall McCamley ripped his shirt off, exposing a chest with taped x’s across each nipple exclaiming that sometimes the band likes to sing about queer concepts and to get ready for their next one about boys kissing boys!

The evening, filled with retaliation and expression, had no better place than performing at Chop Suey in Seattle’s Capitol Hill neighborhood.  Radical decisions for the city of Seattle were forged in this community, and it has been the location of the most LGBTQ+ friendly establishments in the area for some time.  These bands, this venue, and this neighborhood all melded harmoniously as they came together last weekend.