Tuesday, December 8

We All Have Hooks For Hands, Ironclads, Doctor Doctor at Neumo’s (21+, $7 at the door)

From the wee town of Sioux Falls, South Dakota, We All Have Hooks For Hands bad boys are known for their off-kilter musical madness in the both recording studio and on stage. Their new album, The Shape Of Energy is a dance between brash and beautiful, and will definitely get you hooked.

Wednesday, December 9

Stripmall Architecture, Erik Blood, The Tea Cozies at Chop Suey (21+, $7 at the door)

With the death of longtime band Halou in 2008, came the birth of Ryan and Rebecca Coseboom’s new noise, shoegaze project, Stripmall Architecture. If you like the eccentricity of Sigur Ros and the spangled-poppiness of the Cocteau Twins, then pick yourself up a copy of one of their albums, like We Were Flying Kites.

Passion Pit, Pyramiddd at Moore Theatre ($25 online)

Since their debut album, Chunk Of Change, Cambridge band Passion Pit has electrofied our brains and bodies with their I-can-do-anything, danceable tunes. Their new album Manners is definitely worth a listen.

Friday, December 11

The Dandy Warhols at Neumo’s (all ages, $20 at Rudy’s Barbershops, Moe Bar, select QFC’s and www.ticketswest.com)

Mid 90s power pop band The Dandy Warhols are still going strong with their new record, The Dandy Warhols Are Sound. The Portland group does the Northwest justice with their quirky performances, and feel-good psychedelia and art-rock meets indie pop experimentation.

Saturday, December 12

KEXP 7th Annual Yule Benefit w/ The Thermals, The Cave Singers, Grand Hallway and The Builders and the Butchers at Neumo’s (21+, $20 advanced at Rudy’s Barbershops, Moe Bar, select QFC stores, and online/$22 at the door)

KEXP’s annual Yule Benefit is all about giving back what you’ve gotten and what better way to celebrate than with performances from four of the greatest indie bands of the Northwest! So get your holiday on with The Cave Singers, The Thermals and more!

Tuesday, December 15

Coconut Coolouts, The Cowabunga Dudes, The Mean Jeans, Partman Parthorse at the Fun House (21+, $6 at the door)

If you’re in to bands that aren’t afraid to flaunt their dorky side, than Coconut Coolouts is the group for you. With tracks like ‘I Wanna Come Back From The World Of LSD” and “Pizzafest” are the perfect freak-rock tunes for a chill out night of fun.

Friday, December 18

The Maldives, Hey Marseilles, Champagne Champagne, Goldfinch at Neumo’s (21+, $10 at Rudy’s Barbershops, Moe Bar, select QFC’s and online)

The Maldives with steal your lonesome heart with their country charm and down-right passionate songs. You haven’t experienced Seattle music if you’ve yet to see these western maestro’s rich American melodies live.

Schoolyard Heroes, These Arms Are Snakes, Kane Hodder, Sirens Sister at El Corazon (all ages, $15 at the door and online)

Schoolyard Heroes were just that for most of us angsty Seattle middle and highschoolers of the 2000s: a sort of comfort to our nobody-understands-me and everything-is-blue-in-this-world outlook. And now, we should honor their moshable music by attending their final show before they call it quits. R.I.P. Schoolyard Heroes!

Wednesday, December 30

Thee Emergency, Gravelroad at Tractor (21+, $6 Sonic Boom and online)

Thee Emergency has a reputation for heart-thumping and ferocious performances, bringing out the freak in most of their audience. And, with the addition of a fifth band mate on keys and the release of new album What’s That? Some Sorta Cracka Slang, you can be sure there’s more bombastic music to come.

photo by Alex Crick

Thursday. December 31

Minus The Bear, Kay Kay and His Weathered Underground at Showbox at the Market
(21+, $28 online)

Known for their organic meets electro sound and soft indie vocals, Seattle’s own Minus the Bear is one of the few indie bands that’s made it onto the playlists of mainstreamers. Check out their new album, Into The Mirror.

Stop by KEXP’s Recommended Events page for more upcoming shows and information about venues, dates and tickets.

Brittney Bush Bollay

As you may have heard, KEXP has combined forces with the Seattle Center this summer to present the 2009 Concerts at the Mural series.  Things got off to a grand start at last Friday’s opener, with some memorable performances from the mighty Blitzen Trapper and native sons Throw Me The Statue.  The free and all-ages series continues this weekend with local ill-rhymers Dyme Def and Fresh Espresso set to go Friday evening, followed by the 7th Annual KEXP BBQ from 2-9pm on Saturday.

A special inclusion to the Mural series, this year’s BBQ features an incredible, fuzzrock-heavy lineup—Dinosaur Jr., Cymbals Eat Guitars, Viva Voce, Japandroids, Born Anchors, Champagne Champagne — and is now a free (yes, free!!) event.  A full beer garden will be on hand for the over-21-and-thirsty crowd, along with food available for purchase from Ballard Bros, Korman, Whole Foods, and Big O’s Barbecue.

Check out the tunes and video footage below from some of the performers, and don’t miss what is sure to be one of the musical highlights of the summer!

Dinosaur Jr. - I Want You To Know (MP3)

Viva Voce - Octavio (MP3)

Born Anchors - In Disguise (MP3)

Cymbals Eat Guitars - Cold Spring (MP3)

Japandroids - Young Hearts Spark Fire (MP3)

Champagne Champagne - Magnetic Blackness (MP3)

Kyle Johnson

Need a little spice in your Friday evenings? Ticketmaster service fees got you down? Well, my friend, KEXP has got just the prescription for you.

Starting this weekend, KEXP is teaming up with the good people behind Seattle Center to present a weekly series of free, all-ages concerts on the lawn of the Mural Amphitheater. Come bask in the warm glow of Seattle summer and enjoy live performances from some of KEXP’s favorite artists, every Friday from 5-8pm, July 31st through August 21st.

The series opens this Friday with the country-fried power pop stylings of Portland’s Blitzen Trapper, followed by the lyrical indie-rock of local outfit Throw Me The Statue. Other upcoming artists include the 206’s own Dyme Def and Fresh Espresso -- two of the most forward-thinking groups in hip-hop today — along with down-home rockers The Moondoggies and percussive-folkies The Dodos.

As special inclusion to the series, the 7th Annual KEXP BBQ will also be taking place at the Mural stage and is now a free event. This year’s BBQ lineup includes breakout bands like Cymbals Eat Guitars and Japandroids, as well as a special headlining set from the legendary Dinosaur Jr.

For the full mural series and BBQ lineup, see below. You’ll also find some free tunes from some of the performing artists — check em out!

Friday 7/31, 5-8pm
Blitzen Trapper
Throw Me the Statue

Friday 8/7, 5-8pm
Dyme Def
Fresh Espresso

Saturday 8/8, 7th Annual KEXP BBQ! 2-9pm
Dinosaur Jr
Viva Voce
Cymbals Eat Guitars
Japandroids
Born Anchors
Champagne Champagne

Friday 8/14, 5-8pm
The Dodos
Army Navy

Friday 8/21, 5-8pm
Fruit Bats
The Moondoggies
Johnny and the Moon

Throw Me The Statue - Lolita

Blitzen Trapper - Wild Mountain Nation (MP3)

Dinosaur Jr - I Want You To Know (MP3)

The Dodos - Fools

Fresh Espresso - Big or Small (MP3)

If you’re a KEXP listener residing in Portland, or you find yourself less Block Party-inclined this weekend, don’t miss the sixth annual PDX Pop Now! Festival going down Friday through Sunday at The Rotture. The three-day event is a celebratory showcase of Stumptown’s vibrant and DIY-spirited music scene, with over 40 Portland-area bands playing hour-long, shotgun sets under a single roof. Admission is free, all-ages, and open to the public.

With such notable alumni as The Shins, M. Ward, The Decemberists, Blitzen Trapper, The Helio Sequence, and The Thermals — just to name a few — the festival is a unique chance to catch some incredible bands before they break through, as well get up close with a some more firmly-established acts who’re staying true to their PDX-roots by returning to perform once more. This year’s bill features artists from all sonic corners of Portland’s vast and deep local talent pool, including KEXP regulars like Menomena, Au, and The Shaky Hands performing alongside newer bands like Explode Into Colors, Nurses, and Grouper — all recently named to Willamette Week’s top new bands of 2009 list.

But best of all, the festival represents the awesome end result of the numerous artists, businesses, and volunteers who donated their invaluable time and energy on behalf of championing something special: local art and community. Sound like a familiar cause?

You can find the full weekend lineup below, along with a bunch of free media from some of the performing artists to whet your whistle.

Full Schedule:

Friday July 24

• 6:00-6:30 Dirty Mittens
• 6:40-7:10 The Estranged
• 7:25-7:55 Chamber of Commerce (Blue Cranes + Paxselin Quartet)
• 8:05-8:35 Don Hellions
• 8:50-9:20 Fear No Music
• 9:30-10:00 Peter Broderick
• 10:10-10:40 The Mint Chicks
• 10:55-11:25 Animal Farm
• 11:35-12:05 Explode Into Colors
• 12:15-12:45 The Minus 5

Saturday July 25

• 12:00-12:30 Teeath
• 12:40-1:10 White Hinterland
• 1:20-1:50 Morning Teleportation
• 2:05-2:35 Magic Johnson
• 2:45-3:15 Rob Walmart
• 3:25-3:55 Fist Fite
• 4:10-4:40 Benoit Pioulard
• 4:50-5:20 Breakfast Mountain
• 5:30-6:00 Nucular Aminals
• 6:15-6:45 Luck-One
• 6:55-7:25 Inside Voices
• 7:35-8:05 Red Fang
• 8:20-8:50 Church
• 9:00-9:30 Tara Jane O’Neil
• 9:40-10:10 Deelay Ceelay
• 10:25-10:55 Laura Gibson
• 11:05-11:35 Nice Nice
• 11:45-12:15 Pierced Arrows
• 12:25-12:55 Strength

Sunday, July 26

• 12:00-12:30 Ah Holly Fam’ly
• 12:40-1:10 DASH!
• 1:20-1:50 Guidance Counselor
• 2:05-2:35 The Andrew Oliver Sextet
• 2:45-3:15 The Quick & Easy Boys
• 3:25-3:55 Purple Rhinestone Eagle
• 4:10-4:40 Sallie Ford & The Sound Outside
• 4:50-5:20 Daniel Menche
• 5:30-6:00 Jeffrey Jerusalem
• 6:15-6:45 The Old Believers
• 6:55-7:25 MY-G
• 7:35-8:05 Cull
• 8:20-8:50 Grouper
• 9:00-9:30 Nurses
• 9:40-10:10 Thrones
• 10:25-10:55 The Shaky Hands
• 11:05-11:35 Lightheaded
• 11:45-12:15 Au
• 12:25-12:55 Menomena

This week we’re back at the Sunset Tavern in Ballard with Hannah Levin and DJ Rachel, delivering you live sets from Weekend and Jason Dodson. Each month for the Audioasis live broadcast, one local charity is chosen as the event’s beneficiary. This month, that charity is Real Change, a newspaper that offers opportunity and a voice to low-income people while building real solutions to poverty and homelessness. It’s good karma, it’s great journalism, and it’s the best dollar you’ll ever spend. Make a new friend and buy one today.

Photo by Kyle Johnson

Weekend (6:30PM) is the new dance music project from Mark Gajadhar (Champagne Champagne, Past Lives) and Ryann Donnelly (Schoolyard Heroes). It’s sexy, it’s beat-driven, and it’s sometimes in French. The band have only a handful of demos on MySpace, but look out for future recordings soon.

Photo by Kyle Johnson

Jason Dodson (8PM) is the frontman for the country-folk band The Maldives. “We don’t do Americana. We don’t do alt-country. We make American music and that extends beyond simple genres,” frontman Jason Dodson of The Maldives declares. Make sure you catch this rare solo performance.

The music madness will continue long into the night with the post-punk of Romance, our own DJ Troy Nelson’s band Black Daisy, party hipster-hop from Champagne Champagne, and beats and rhymes from Dyme Def. More info here.    

Be sure to check out these photos from yesterday (click the photos to view the slideshows):

The Helio Sequence — photos by Chona Kasinger

The Campbell Brothers — photos by Jim Beckmann

Orgone — photos by Ron Henry

Tomorrow, MGMT will be live at 1PM and on Friday, Black Mountain also at 1PM.

Remember, you can go back to listen to recent in-studios on our 14-day Streaming Archive

The New Pornographers live at KEXP 9/14/07
photo by Chona Kasinger

Last week ended with a bang. After the technical issues we experienced at the beginning of the week — don’t worry, we’ll have VHS or Beta back in no time — we were able to host four great in-studios in two days. On Thursday, Toronto band Rock Plaza Central warmed up the studio with six band members, and then on Friday, Animal Collective started of the day with their blissful sonic madness, prompting John and Cheryl to declare it one best in-studios they’ve ever experienced. John was also impressed by their “A-Team” meets “Night Rider” touring vehicle:

Afterwards, The New Pornographers didn’t let a brief delay at the border keep them from performing stunning acoustic set before their two-day residence at The Showbox. Carl (A.C.) Newman was as dreamy as ever.

photo by Chona Kasinger

To end the day, Brooklyn band The Quavers surprised unfamiliar listeners with their affecting folk rock sounds.

photo by Chona Kasinger

If you missed them or want to hear them again, you can still go back and listen to these performances on our 14-day Streaming Archive.

	Rock Plaza Central
	Animal Collective
	The New Pornographers
	The Quavers

Coming up this weeks is the Cinematic Orchestra, this morning at 9:30 am on The Morning Show. On Wednesday, on the Midday Show, catch Nyles Lannon, the former of Film School guitarist who has just released his second solo album. Friday’s a full day with Maps in at 9:30 am with John, MOTOR at 12 pm with Cheryl Waters, and the Roy Kay Trio at 7 pm with Leon Berman the the Shake the Shack crew.

During the Summer Pledge Drive, our live in-studio performances go on hiatus while we focus on rounding up enough support so they can continue for the next year, but we couldn’t pass on Brooklyn band Pela, when they passed through town, so John Richards ran down to the studio after 8 hours on the air and geeked out over one of his new favorites.

Be sure to tune in Monday, June 11, at 9:30 am on the Morning Show. If you haven’t heard the band’s expressive brand of rock, check out our Song of the Day podcast from June 7.

Also, Rock Sellout is giving away a Pela prizepack, containing a CD, a T-shirt, buttons, and a pair of tickets to any Pela show on the tour. The contest ends June 11, so get on over to there!

Seattle is incredibly lucky to host The Wrens, who have chosen the Emerald City as one of the few stops on their abbreviated tour. They’ll be playing later that night at the Crocodile Cafe.

Tune in to KEXP Saturday, June 9, at 2pm to hear this New Jersey quartet and cult phenomenon perform in our studio. And in keeping with the Wrens tradition of slow perfection, look for the long-awaited documentary on the band later this year.

Check out the band’s website and MySpace page for updates.

The Wrens - Everyone Choose Sides (MP3)

There’s more live music on Saturday, as KEXP’s local music show Audioasis has Megasapien and The Femurs. Megasapien’s Lian Light, formerly of the band Magneto, sets up shop with her latest band in our studio at 6pm before playing a 21+ show at the Central. Then, the folk-punk duo The Femurs, fresh off the release of their latest LP, Modern Mexico, cap off Audioasis, performing at 8pm.

The Femurs - Not Giving Up (MP3)

After Monday morning’s broadcast of Pela, stay tuned for an actual real-time live performance at 12:00 pm with the Norwegian dance-rock outfit Datarock, who will be at Chop Suey on Sunday. Here’s the latest video for Datarock, appropriately titled “New Song”:

The in-studio performances continue on Tuesday with Blue Scholars at 9:30 am and Keren Ann at 12:00 pm.