Tempus Fugate

Last night Seattle got rocked by two great bands. The Plain White T's started things off right, engaging the crowd with favorites. They played some new stuff which was exciting to hear. Their sound has gotten a lot smoother and more accessible which was evidenced by all the people singing along. After a longer than expected break, Snow Patrol woke everyone up with some rowdy renditions of popular singles. Some of the lesser listened to music took on new life with passionate and powerful stage performance. The Paramount in GA mode remains a great venue, especially for smooth rocking bands who feel intimate but have a full presence on stage and a diverse audience who aren't necessarily used to rubbing shoulders. Snow Patrol captured my ear again and the chance to hear the accent live and watch the guitars rip in real-time was a treat I'll always be down to catch. If you have half an ear you'll want to find a performance to watch for yourself.

The first time I saw Secondhand Serenade was at the House of Blues in Anaheim. It was a one-man acoustic show and his passion and powerful lyrics got to me. It's hard to compare this show, as he was headlining with a band, and the Showbox SoDo was in it's more intimate arrangement. But having Evan Taubenfield open was a flash-back that made me smile. Usually I'd be seeing gigs like this at El Corazon or Chop Suey, so it's nice to see the artists upscaling to the likes of the Showbox and the venues expanding their audiences. Watching acoustic songwriters transition from carrying a show to performing in front of a band isn't always the easiest. They can over- reach and end up sounding formulaic and repetitive. Take Matt Nathanson for example. I'd quit a job, lie to my mom, stand-up a date with Mrs. Draper, or mug an old lady for tickets just to watch him play a 5 song solo set. But tell me he's headlining his band again and I'll have to check the calendar to see if there aren't any good movies playing first. The difference is that significant. All in, the bands were engaging and lively, while the crowd was festive and typical for Seattle. I'll definitely head back to SoDo whenever it's in small setting though, because that was well done.

After dancing like crazy to Flogging Molly at Marymoor, we are continuing our tour of non-US bands with The Proclaimers at the ShowBox. The surprise tonight was a band I'd never heard called Handful of Luvin' that is from Seattle. They had a really unique sound with clearly Irish influences melded with reggae and folk. A solid vocalist and gifted bassist drove their music which was smoothly danceable. The Proclaimers were a treat to see if a bit on the novelty side. All in all, another great night courtesy of the ShowBox and my friends at TicketMaster. LIA.

There are some things in life you never get tired of experiencing, like ice cream, swimming, or the musical Wicked. I've seen it in 4 cities almost a dozen times and I was just as excited for tonights performance as for any previous. It's simply that good. Refreshingly the audience tonight dressed up a little more than Seattle audiences have been known to do. It always distresses me when this city can't seem to appreciate the culture to which they have such access. If you have an opportunity, make the time. It will change your life. Or at least give you a new found love of musicals.

Tonight the Dome was rockin' and reeling. One thing for sure, Keith works hard for his show. A few times he seemed a little hoarse but that boy can play some serious strings, I tell you! The light show was very well done and everyone took advantage of loose security to stand up close in the aisles. If you don't get to see many shows, his is worth your time.