Congratulations are in order for our hometown boys THE GLOBES on really and truly (and now officially) being signed to Seattle’s BARSUK RECORDS! Woooo! I spent some time in the intern department at Barsuk a few years back and they are some of the greatest people Seattle has to offer and wonderful, wonderful things are on the way for this fantastic band. Continued success and best of luck! Look for the release of their first full-length with the label in spring 2011.
Changes are once again afoot in Spokane’s beloved and confusing music scene…
Effective November 1, the Seaside (once the Blvd, once the B-Side, and something in between, right?) is no more. Booker/manager/all-around-stellar-dude BILL POWERS will be taking his talents a short distance closer to downtown at A CLUB (406 1/2 W. Sprague Ave., formerly the Casbah, but maybe not memorably).
A Club has been happening for awhile now, with mostly-success, and is considering November a bit of a re-launch as Powers takes the reigns and PLATFORM BOOKING returns to present Thursday nights each week. Consider the November 4th show the start of a new era! That night features SEE ME RIVER and Terrible Buttons for $7, and the following week’s Thursday has local favorites VELELLA VELELLA. A Club’s calendar can be found online at: www.aclubspokane.com.
Platform continues to book shows at MOOTSYS (a true friend of the scene, indeed, and downstairs from A Club—located it in your mental map yet?) and brings the Soul and the Machine with Hannah Reader in on November 5.
It’s a lot to keep track of, Spokanite pals, and I don’t envy you that! But! The most important part is that you, the music-going public KEEP TRACK OF IT. Music spaces experience difficulty for a variety of reasons, but MOST of the time (not always) the problems are overcome by way of BODIES THROUGH THE DOOOOOR. There are a handful of people in this town who are continually striving to make the arts WORK. You know who they are. Keep track of what they’re up to and make sure to rally around it. Otherwise, ugh… R.I.P.(A.—again?) Magic Lantern Theatre.
On the flip side: some things NEVER change! (Thanks KNITTING FACTORY!) Some great fall tours are sweeping through the Factory this month: Ghostland Observatory, 11/16; Built to Spill, 11/18; Sara Bareilles, 11/20; the Casualties, 11/27 (okay, opening for GWAR, but whatever); John Butler Trio, 11/29.
And you’ve got the formidable holiday tradition of TRANS-SIBERIAN ORCHESTRA, coming to the Arena on November 14! TSO, to those in the know, is an unstoppable holiday force-to-be-reckoned-with and I’m not sure when it was last in town, but we in Seattle get it every. year. and it’s consistently a thrill for the regulars! ‘Tis a spectacle to be seen if you’ve not yet already. Also along the spectacle lines: the travelling version of Nick Jr.’s YO GABBA GABBA, which arrives at INB Performing Arts Center on the 12th. Join DJ Lance Rock, Muno, Foofa, Toodee (I don’t even know what I’m writing anymore, what’s going on?) and the rest for what is sure to delight the kiddos, even if they’re too young to really know what’s going on (I mean really…).
Final shout-out to ROD STEWART’S 5th in his Great American Songbook series, Fly Me to the Moon, which I was all set to review until I realized I should be cooler and listen to Kings of Leon. Rod’s been releasing albums for 40 years and even though the Songbook idea in theory should be boring and tired at this point, it’s still not. This awesome collection of songs, featuring “I Get a Kick Out of You” and “I’ve Got You Under My Skin,” is topped off at track 12 by a truly fantastic cover of “Moon River.” Rod rules.
