Sorry for your Luck had their work cut out for them in the tiny venue with a small turnout. Their songs weren’t radically different, but the addition of a keyboard and a harmonica was a nice surprise. Their songs were poppy, but not very diverse. The vocals weren’t very clear so it was hard to really get into the songs. The keyboard entry into a song that they said was not called “Star Trek” was fun and gave them a little bit to set them apart, and gave the band a strong finish.

By the end of Sorry for your Luck’s run, there weren’t many people in the Tavern. The energy that Katharsis brought was awesome though, and actually brought in people off the street. Their songs were upbeat and fun and intermixed with covers that ranged from Tom Petty to Outkast to the Rocky Horror Picture Show.

Needless to say, for a beginning band, I was pleasantly surprised. The vocals were great and harmonic. They switched lead singers back and forth for different songs and each of them were strong. The growing crowd really got into their set and were commenting on how good they were.

Katharsis actually has huge potential and could already be booking other music venues around Bellingham. Their modern-punk take on classic rock turned me on and their cohesiveness as a team was obvious. The audience continued to get bigger throughout their show and they were impressed. I was impressed. This new band may be one to look out for.

The band is made up of frontman, Petunia on acoustic guitar and kazoo, Stephan Nikleva on electric guitar, Marc L’Esperance on drums, fiddle and harmonies, and Sam Shoichet on stand up bass.

Trying to pin down Petunia to one genre of music would be like trying to find a needle in a haystack. Throughout their three sets, I heard five different genres of music rockabilly, western swing, americana, surf rock and ragtime. According to the band, they just meld it into “their own thing,” or according to Petunia from an interview with Anna Rankin in the February 2010 What’s Up!, their sound can be described as “Tom Waits meets Elvis at Woody Guthrie’s hobo junction.”

The band played seven songs during their first set. The songs had a tone of rockabilly, western swing and americana. Petunia would start up a song on his acoustic guitar, Stephan would then play warm sounds on his electric guitar, Marc would play simple snare hits and Sam rounded out the song with some slap bass. One cool thing was that each member would have solo elements in each song that still blended in with what the rest of the band was playing. All the songs were fun, upbeat, fast and enjoyable even though some of the song lyrics weren’t necessarily, as with one lyric, “just a girl looking for a man, and she’s breaking every heart she can.”

After a 15-minute break, continuing with western swing, the band began playing songs much slower in their second set. The songs were simpler, the chords were softer, more stacatto and Petunia’s voice wasn’t as loud. During the first four songs of the set, the floor of the Green Frog filled with couples waltzing. However, on the fifth song, “Walk On Down the Line,” Stephan busted out his guitar chops and started wailing on his guitar. The chords he was playing had created a surf rock tone, and the whole band picked up the beat. They kept up the fast and furious surf rock guitars for a couple of more songs, that were so infectious, everyone was out of their seats and dancing in the aisles of the Green Frog. After playing nine songs, the band slowed things back down with a sweet and romantic song before taking another break.

The level of excitement was high from their second set, and Petunia and the Vipers played right into that for their third set. Petunia began to sing really quickly, and was yelping and yodeling. They played a variety of nine fast, rockabilly and slow, ragtime songs. Having too much fun to sit in my seat any longer, I had to get up and dance for the rest of the show.

Leaving the show, I had only wished that I knew about Petunia and the Vipers months ago when they were still playing a show every month at the Green Frog and hope that it doesn’t take them too long to come back.

As the evening started, electrical issues created doubts that the show would be able to go on, due to a concern that singer David Lowery could be electrocuted by mic shocks. Luckily, an electrician was in attendance. The crowd entertained themselves while the repairs were under way, consuming various libations. Nearly 50 minutes later, doors opened and the mayhem ensued, as the band was hanging out, shooting pool, giving everyone time to get their beer, etc. As the band took the stage I felt like I was in a weird David Lynch thing. The band went into “Euro Trash Girl,” which I believe is the No. 13 ranked alt rock song of all-time, then all hell broke lose. People were jumping and dancing, making the floors shake, causing this reviewer to become a little nervous. Of course, we all survived.

The precision and sharp wit of Lowery kept the scene very exciting and edgy. The layout of the room put the band right in the crowd, which made the show so special. Cracker played crowd pleaser’s like “Movie Star”, “Take me Down to the Infirmary” and cuts from their new album Sunrise in the Land of Milk and Honey to everyone’s delight including the throngs of people outside Graham’s who were dancing in the windows and on the street outside. To band performed the closer “Get Off This and Low” which made me think the building may collapse as a majority of the people in the room started to let the music and strong local beers take hold.

After the show I got to ask Cracker’s lead guitarist Johnny Hickman a few questions, which was very cool.

BB: Why in the world did you guys choose to play a show at Graham’s Restaurant in Glacier WA?

JH: We really enjoy playing the off the beaten track gigs. We play major cities all over the world and it’s fun to get out and explore other possibilities. Especially when it someplace as beautiful as Glacier WA. This show was recommended to us by our friend Ashley Raines who has played there.

BB: Give us your impressions of the Graham’s venue and audience.

JH: They needed to tweak the sound system and the power and bring it up to snuff but we had a great time. What the hell, the building is over 100 years old. We really appreciate the patience of the local folk as they waited for us to get the equipment going inside that night. The audience was enthusiastic, just on the edge of mania. Loved it.

BB: What did you guys do after the gig?

JH: Sampled some local brew and then went off to sleep in the house so graciously provided for us by the Wake N Bakery folks.

BB: How do Glacier women compare to Euro Trash Girls?

JH: A little wilder than their Euro counterparts. Love those mountainbilly women. Reminded me of home in Colorado.

BB: Where any of you worried when the floor began to shake and buckle?

JH: I was more concerned with the girls trying to do some kind of pole dance on our speakers. Great show darlings but that stuff is expensive ya know? See you next time!

I got there in time for the opening act who was halfway through their act and I was immediately captivated by what I was hearing. Besides the excellent quality of their musicianship the lyrics were very captivating. I didn’t know if they were originals or not but I did know that I was really taken by the images they created for me. There was a small break and then there was another mix of musicians who repeated the same quality performance. Once again it was the lyrics that really got to me.

There was a great crowd there, especially for a Sunday evening in B’town, and the ambiance of the Temple Bar, the great drinks and the music truly were making this evening very magical. After another break the third set started which consisted of the person who told me about the gig, Rabia Magnusson, and Biaggio Biondolillo. This indeed was a very tasty performance.

As I was enjoying the music I looked around at the audience and noticed that there were a lot of other Bellingham musicians in attendance so I figured I got lucky to get invited to this gig. I left midway through the last set as I was very tired but it was a great way to journey home to bedtime with their music echoing in my head. I will never again be so quick to turn down an invite to a Sunday night gig in Bellingham.

Black Breath at Jinx. Photo by Paul Israel

No mainstream Bellingham venue could get away with charging $6.66 at the door. However, The Karma Kitchen is by no means a mainstream venue. Actually, it’s the epitome of underground and indy venues.

The wall of sound commonly known as Dog Shredder got the bid to open things up. With such a stellar band going first I knew the rest of the night would be exciting. The amount of noise these three make is amazing. Josh Holland is a Jedi-Master in the realm of feedback; on stage Holland’s SG becomes an extension of his body. As a unit they’re tight and diverse, and technically untouchable. Noah Burns (drums) and Jeff Johnson (bass) are the perfect blank canvass for Holland to sonically paint. There were plenty of comfortable couches and tables, but almost all of them were empty. The crowd of about 70 stood huddled, enjoying the raw skill and power of Dog Shredder.

When Seattle band Heiress started sound checking, Bellingham’s finest arrived and shut down the show. Luckily there’s a place in town that is so dedicated to art that two of the three remaining bands loaded up and moved the show. Heiress didn’t make it to the new location, but by the time I got there the Lesbians were ready to go.

Hailing from Seattle, Lesbians are a mostly instrumental four piece that can go from ambient to progressive rock in one song. Lead guitar player Aaron McInnis replaces the lead vocals by screaming on his SG standard on most of their songs. Being ready to play at the drop of a dime is something that only an accomplished band could pull of, and the Lesbians did.

Although their MySpace states that they’re a Seattle band, Black Breath has two ‘Hamsters’ amongst them. Drummer James Byrum and vocalist Neil McAdams used to rip up the scene as members of Old Rawler, surprisingly they both had different roles back in the days of The Show Off Gallery; James played guitar and Neil was on bass. These two have been making great music for over a decade, and the great thing is they progressively get better.

Black Breath, signed by Southern Lord Records, started at midnight. Instantly the crowd began to mosh which is a rarity at Bellingham metal shows. The sound coming from the five men of Black Breath is brutal, unabashed old school metal. Heavy down tuned power chords and fast, clever leads makes it easy for the audience to lose their inhibitions. Neil is an awesome vocalist, the simplest way to put it; this guy has serious mic control. It takes a strong scene and high energy bands to successfully move venues during the middle of a show. This night was a win for the Bellingham music scene on many levels.

The band I originally intended to see, Queer Bait, is a performance art/hip-hop group of four women. Donning funny hats and strange block shoes, they rapped about the origin of the word queer. They incorporated unique theatrical elements to their show that included odd choreographed dances and blowing sand into the audience. The frontman even rapped in her native language of Swiss German. Watching them was refreshing; I haven’t seen an act so unique in a long while.

As No-Fi Soul Rebellion got settled, my friend asked, “Do they play down here?” He looked around the club floor quizzically. I laughed and said, “You’ll see.”

Mark always does a great job of making everyone really, really uncomfortably fascinated. This can be accomplished by screaming into audience members’ faces or grinding up against them. Or, perhaps a combination of the two. Any way you look at it, No-Fi is undeniable good at freaking people out.

That live presence is a great way to get recognized, and I think they left an impression that night.

It’d been several years since seeing The Americas live (Lobster Manor ‘06?) but honestly, I think I was more excited to hear the new songs (Sweet Release just released, sweet!). There was the guy who joked to his friend, “When’s the rest of the band gonna come out?” Americas ruled.

Casey drummed standing and Travis gnarled it up. They even drove up from California to kick-off their month-long coast-to-coast tour with Rooftops, whom readers may recall my prediction of winning Best Album (told you so). Taking advantage of the hometown send-off, Rooftops played a tight set to an incredibly warm and receptive crowd with a guest appearance by Pan Pan’s Sarah Jerns. So, question: how will the horn melodies be replicated on tour? There was a call out for TvN’s Kat Bula to join the stage as well, but she unfortunately managed to hide from the crowd.

The girls played a few airy, folk songs and a couple covers as well. The coffee shop was packed. Everyone seemed to enjoy the laid-back atmosphere and warm, graceful vocals, green tea or espresso in hand. They ended the set with a gorgeous cover of “No Woman, No Cry.”

Mary hoped the event would help raise money for her DTS (discipleship training school) training she was about to start, which includes three months of spiritual training and two months of traveling. This show helped fund her future plans.

After a relatively quick change over, considering Midlake had to fit seven guys on the Plan B stage, the band was ready to go. And for the next hour plus, Midlake played one of the most inspired and interesting sets this reviewer has had the privilege to see. Playing songs off of the Trials of Van Occupanther as well as their latest release, The Courage of Others, Midlake captivated the near capacity crowd with their stunning songwriting, glorious melodies as well as incredible musicianship.

Normally a six piece, they appeared to have added a flute player for the tour most of the song now included the flute and at times, singer Tim Smith also played one dueling flutes. What had the recipe for disaster was actually beautiful it’s nearly impossible for a band to pull of one flute player, much less two, without sounding like a poor man’s version of Jethro Tull. But for Midlake, they not only played their most recently album (which includes a lot of flute), but they adopted it into Van Occupanther so seamlessly, you would’ve thought that’s how the song had been written.

The highlights of Midlake’s set include the “Courage of Others” and “Acts of Man,” as well as “Roscoe” and “Young Bride.” “Roscoe” was especially magical as the band created more and more tension within the song to the point where they turned it into an epic rock explosion. Afterwards, singer Smith actually said something to the effect of, “that song is perfect… almost.”

The ability to push these interesting folk and pop songs to the point where they expanded into the realm of epic rock was one of the more thrilling parts of the night ya knew Midlake would bring amazing songwriting, but their ability to really let loose was phenomenal aided in a large part by the remarkable drumming of McKenzie Smith.

At one point, Eric Nichelson thanked the Plan B for having them play, which he added, “Plan B was our Plan B,” a good line that got a chuckle from the audience.

The only downfall of the night had nothing to do with the music and realistically was only something that annoyed this reviewer. At times, Midlake seemed to fit the part of their style a little too perfectly they not only changed their sound with the recording of Courage of Others, but they dramatically changed their look as well. It’s like they had to change their physical appearance to truly get into the new songwriting mode.

Overall, the night was fantastic with Midlake bringing great sound to Bellingham.

Candysound at the EMP Sound-Off! competition. Photo by Haylee Nighbert.

Candysound at the EMP Sound-Off! competition. Photo by Haylee Nighbert.

Teo Crider of Candysound at the EMP Sound-Off! competition in early March. Photo by Haylee Nighbert

Candysound. Photo by Haylee Nighbert.

Candysound. Photo by Haylee Nighbert.

The weekend of March 6 was sunny and warm, not at all like most days in early March. On that particular Saturday I went on a road trip to Experience Music Project’s Sound Off! underage music competition finals with Bellingham/Burlington band, Candysound.

On the way south with the band, Teo Crider (guitarist) drove while Tom Fitzgibbon (drummer) sat shotgun. Lindsay Osborne (merch) and I sat in the back. I was already picking up on some of the band’s influences on the drive there, speakers blaring The Stooges, Bright Eyes and Neutral Milk Hotel, and just a little Notorious B.I.G. It was a day for sing-a-longs, sushi sharing, and way too much caffeine.

Candysound was one of two Bellingham bands that made it to Sound Off! this year. The other was Pan Pan, the folk indie wonder who has been all over What’s Up! these days. The band, fronted by Sarah Jerns, contrasted with the style of Candysound’s pop-alt exterior. It was a nice combo to represent Bellingham’s diverse music scene. In the end, Teo and Tom made it past the semi-finals and won the chance to grace the final stage.

Upon arrival at the Experience Music Project, Candysound and the other bands unloaded their gear in the Sky Church, voices occasionally remarking “This stage is so tall! Look at it!” There was an unseen electricity and excitement in the air for the band and their competitors.

This year had a very wide range of performers for just four acts:

Hooves and Beak (Seattle): Whitney Flinn brought out a big, beautiful wooden harp and set it in front of her onstage. With her feathered bangs and black suspenders, she claimed that most of the songs she writes are inspired by “Drinking, loneliness, and men.” And through her eerie melodrama and harp in hand, Hooves and Beak lifted some charming folk melodies into the air. In the crowd, a small child danced beside me. It was hauntingly pretty, and I couldn’t help but compare her to Joanna Newsom.

SEACATS (Kelso): As SEACATS assembled on stage, it looked like the members were an assimilation of all the different cliques in high school; each cafeteria table at their high school assigning one kid to represent them in the band.

Their execution was something that would be expected from a group much older. Between songs they would quickly switch between instruments; the drummer becoming the guitarist, the bassist becoming the keyboardist, etc. The band performed bouncy surf-rock/pop that reminded me of a much younger Weezer.

Great Waves (Sammamish): The minute Ashley Bullock opened her mouth to sing, I was amazed that such a big voice could come from such a small woman. Her voice was reminiscent of the Eisley sisters’ pure, clean vocals and traditional Irish folk style.

Great Waves exuded a passion that came forth in their playing. This was the main reason that they were so fun to watch, even with the visage of meekness on the part of Bullock. They seemed to come out of nowhere, starting songs slowly and building them up to the breaking point. Their performance of “Blue Blood” was my favorite.

Performing last, Candysound played everybody off with some captivating pop-alt melodies. Teo’s subtle vocals paired with Tom’s drums is a deadly combination. Their performance was a good mix between excited and upbeat and, at times, morphed into steady and calculated. This is an indicator of the dynamic nature of Candysound’s songwriting. It’s a journey from one end to the spectrum and back again.

Finishing off with their song, “Echo,” Teo and Tom came to the height of their performance. The mood of the audience diverged into a calm stasis, and by the end of the song, Teo shredded his guitar into a post rock-like culmination.

With the competition coming to a close, everybody anxiously awaited the judges’ final decision. And when the moment came to announce the winners, the judges gave SEACATS fourth, Candysound third, Hooves and Beak second, and left Great Waves to win the prize.

Although they didn’t take the prize, it was obvious that Candysound made an impression. They got some well-deserved exposure and the chance to interact with other underage bands in the area, as well as some powerhouses in the Seattle music scene. The car ride home was cramped because of all the goodies Teo and Tom got to bring home, including a new guitar and a vocal harmony (vocoder) machine. All in all, the competition was a success.

Check out www.youtube.com/empsfm for videos from the competition.