Santa wants to know who’s been naughty!
photo by Gregory A. Perez
This Saturday, KEXP presents the 5th Annual Yule Benefit. We’ve had a lot of success with these shows in the past, and we’ve often used them as a showcase to expose bands that KEXP DJs think deserve a wider audience. We’ve had some great lineups in the past: Cold War Kids, Ghostland Observatory, and Ted Leo and the Pharmacists in 2006. Okkervil River and The Wrens in 2005. Longwave and The Fire Theft back in 2003. And there were a ton of other great bands featured with them in these Yule Benefits of yore. You might recall a little band called Arcade Fire — they were the headliners at our 2nd Annual Yule Benefit in 2004. (Can you imagine seeing Arcade Fire at Neumo’s? It was amazing!) My point? That you trust KEXP to bring you an incredible amount of fantastic bands, often at the verge of their breaking it big. Haven’t heard much of Yeasayer or Dead Confederate? Maybe not yet you haven’t. But can you really pass up this opportunity? I think not. Get your tickets now.
Here are a few grungy live videos of the bands performing this years’ Yule Benefit. You won’t find slick production here — no Michel Gondry‘s or Spike Jonze‘s among them — but you will find highly energetic performances, the kind you can expect at this Saturday’s show. Also, you’ll find a few videos from past Yule Benefits thrown in the mix. Enjoy:
Yeasayer – 2080, live at the Brooklynvegan CMJ showcase, R Bar, NYC 10/19/07
Drunk Santa – Neumo’s, Yule Benefit 2005
Dead Confederate, live at The Cave, Chapel Hill 11/26/07
The Wrens – Jingle Bells (to the tune of Blister in the Sun), Neumo’s, Yule Benfit 2005
Feral Children, live at Easy Street Records in Seattle 10/26/07
The Valley – Cold Killa, live at The Sunset Tavern, Ballard, WA
Okkervil River – No Key, No Plan, Neumo’s, Yule Benefit 2005
