photo by joshc

There were a lot of great moments for live music at KEXP in 2009, but our studio space, which saw over 400 performances this year alone, is only part of the picture. We broadcast from the Bay Area, SXSW, Portland, CMJ, and even Iceland, plus our Hood to Hood Challenge on Capitol Hill, and all of our monthly benefit shows for Audioasis at High Dive and The Sunset. And this year, we were lucky to have captured many of those performances on video. Be sure to head over to our YouTube channel, where you can watch hundreds of our videos.

Among the artists we’ve had several opportunities to film is Bobby Bare Jr., definitely a favorite among KEXP listeners and one of the best live performers you’re likely to see. Just a few months ago, during Musicfest NW in Portland, Bobby stopped by The Woods, an old funeral home turned music venue in the Sellwood neighborhood, as part of a full day of live music presented by KEXP and Caffe Vita, to play a set that ran the gamut of his career– including his classic “Valentine,” the more recent “Mayonnaise Brain,” and covers of America’s “Sister Golden Hair” and Shel Silverstein’s “Cover of the Rolling Stone” and even an unrecorded new song. Check out the entire session here:

photo by Kyle Johnson

The Builders & the Butchers were Portland’s sole representation during KEXP’s broadcast from the Doug Fir during Musicfest NW, and there couldn’t have been a better band to carry that weight. Marrying a punk sensibility with American Roots instrumentation, the band of Alaskan transplants can barely contain their sound on their excellent two albums, yet live they’ve been known to work the most jaded hipsters to a frothing frenzy. Check out four songs from their scorching set here, and then experience the mayhem for yourself on October 14, when The Builders and the Butchers perform the Showbox in Seattle:

On Saturday, during Musicfest NW, KEXP and Caffe Vita presented a series of mostly acoustic performances at The Woods, an old funeral home turned new music venue in Portland. Musical guests included John Vanderslice, Bobby Bare Jr., The Lonely Forest, Black Whales, Fences, and Port O’Brien. Opening the day was Langhorne Slim (who you can also hear live on KEXP today!). Enjoy two songs from his set and check back on the KEXP Blog for more!

photo by Kyle Johnson

Combining melodic vocals, swirling keys, thickly layered guitars, and a pounding rhythm section, the unmistakably Scottish band The Twilight Sad performed a particularly emotive set of songs mostly from their new album, Forget The Night Ahead, during KEXP’s broadcast from the Doug Fir Lounge in Portland at Musicfest NW.

photos by Kyle Johnson
intro by Christy Thacker

With subzero blood and a southern devil soul, Americana gothic band, The Builders and The Butchers, is bringing musical salvation to the Northwest. Three years after playing on the streets and busking in front of venues the fivesome has refined their sound, picked up several awards and released their critically acclaimed second album, Salvation Is A Deep Dark Well.

The group did it the old fashion way starting out with nothing but themselves and a garage full of instruments. Between 2002 and 2005, each member traded Alaskan ice for Portland rain in the pursuit of music. Frontman Ryan Sollee changed more than just his address, setting aside his punk roots to explore the antiquated sounds of the deep south.

On a rainy afternoon, Sollee decided to unveil his new musical workings to the others. What started as a ordinary hangout in drummer Ray Rude’s garage soon turned into a jam session that would impact the rest of their lives. After reassigning instruments (Alex Ellis on guitar and Harvey Tumbleson on mandolin) and adding a second drummer (Paul Seeley), The Builders and The Butchers were born and ready to haunt Portland’s folk scene.

Once off the damp streets and into the warmth of actual venues, the band played strictly acoustic and on the floor. Their debut self-titled release showcases their earlier raw approach, as the five developed most of the dark tunes at rehearsal or during live performances. After shifting to stages, they created the “trunk of percussion,” a mass of thrift store toys and instruments for the audience to play in order to assure fan/band unity.

Even with a refined, less middle-of-the-night-graveyard-gathering sound, The Builders and The Butchers still manage to stay in touch with their barn-burning, dirty southern selves. Salvation Is A Deep Dark Well doesn’t skimp on ghostly strings or possessed preacher vocals. Aside from some bolder brass, the record hasn’t abandoned the band’s obession with religious imagery, nature, and death.

Who said making a pack with the devil is always a bad thing?

Check out their Web site for a full list of tour dates.

photos by Kyle Johnson
intro by Christy Thacker

I’ve finally figured out how to become an overnight musical mega-star: 1) Be born in England; 2) Decide you’re bored with your life sometime around the age of 18 and teach yourself to play an instrument you got for Christmas; 3) Don’t give a shit about your success, but play because you have nothing better to do and it’s fun; 4) Don’t advertise your songs or gigs, but allow your fans to share your music over the Internet and create your band Myspace without your knowledge; 5) When you receive several awards such as the 2006 Mercury Prize, 2007 BRIT Award for Best Album, and fastest-selling album in British History, don’t show up to claim your prize. Instead dress up as characters from the Wizard of Oz and The Village People in a video acceptance speech. 6) And finally, continue to play just for fun.

By fusing the sounds of bombastic indie rock and danacble pop-punk, the Arctic Monkeys have become one of the largest bands in the UK, and are now rising to top of the U.S. music charts. Forming in 2002, Alex Turner (lead vocals/guitar), Jamie Cook (guitar), Andy Nicholson (bass) and Matter Helders (drums) divided up instruments and started playing shows in 2003 when they weren’t doing their high school homework. The unsigned chaps began recording demos and burned them onto CDs to give away for free at their small gigs. When the CDs ran out, fans began ripping them onto computers to share with each other over the Internet. The quartet took notice of the virtually muscial swapping when they witnessed more and more of the audience singing along at shows.

After years of resistance, the boys finally signed with independent record label, Domino, before releasing their debut, history-breaking record, Whatever People Say I Am, That’s What I’m Not (2006). Nicholson eventually called it quits after the release of their 2006 5-song EP, Who the Fuck Are the Arctic Monkeys, and was replaced by bassist Nick O’Malley right before their North American tour.

Since their hit single, “I Bet You Look Good On the Dancefloor” the Monkeys have gone nowhere but up, releasing two more album, Favourite Worst Nightmare (2007) and the recently recorded Humbug (2009), produced by Queens of the Stone Age frontman Josh Homme in the Mojave Desert. The foursome is currently touring the good ‘ol U.S. before heading back to their neck of the woods in the UK.

For the in-studio at the Doug Fir today, though, Alex Turner played a short acoustic set of songs from the new album.

photos by Kyle Johnson
intro by Christy Thacker

The Local Natives may be L.A. locals, but they’re foreigners in the pop music mecca when it comes to their tri-harmonizing indie sound and do-it-yourself approach. If the name doesn’t ring a bell, it’s because up until last year, the five played under Cavil At Rest. While recording their debut album, Gorilla Manor, the band thought it necessary to shed the old name created in high school by Taylor Rice (vocals/guitar), Kelcey Ayer (vocals/keys/percussion), and Ryan Hahn (vocals/guitar) to incorporate members Andy Hamm (bass) and Matt Frazier (drums) who joined in 2007.

The fresh title not only reflects their collaborative song writing and instrument sharing (they often switch instruments on stage), but their move from a “guitar band” to a “vocal band” as Taylor puts it. Don’t get me wrong, they still have marching drums and sweet-sounding violin, but organizing and perfecting harmonies has become their main focal point, and is, in my mind, what sets them apart from the countless folksy indie groups attempting to survive and thrive.

And talk about staying alive, the unsigned five rely on networking with fans to get noticed and stay in the music game. Aside from playing gigs, the band created Outta Site, a super personal blog, which features everything from Hamm’s hangover experiences to new tour dates and live video performances.

The Local Natives are hitting up the Northwest before embarking on a mini month long UK tour. But fear not, they’re making their way back to the States in November.

photos by Kyle Johnson
intro by Christy Thacker

It’s nice to see the use of the word “twilight” for something other than a cheesy, teen vampire romance. From the grassy hills of Kilsyth, Scotland, The Twilight Sad is anything but tacky with their unmistakable indie rock, layered noise sound. Beginning as a high school cover band, the quartet has since grown up and made a name for themselves, playing alongside mega-artists like the Smashing Pumpkins, Mogwai and Snow Patrol.

In 2003, after schoolmates James Graham (vocalist), Andy MacFarlane (guitar, accordion) and Mark Devine (drums) met Craig Orzel (bass, glockenspiel- xylophone-like instrument) at a bus stop, the four began performing 30 minute experimental noise sets. They eventually set aside their toy instruments, film tape loops and galactic computer games to create a more traditional, eloquent sound that we see from them today. Still, their music wavers between technical and ambient with distorted guitars and turbulent rhythm, showcased in their debut 2007 album, Fourteen Autumns & Fifteen Winters. Lyrically, the album is all about the band’s experiences in Scotland, the people they know and events that have shaped their lives. Graham stays true to his Scottish culture, incorporating silly slang into his songs like “battered a dug” (kicked a dog), “am oan a pure mad whitey by the way” (when you drink too much and you go pale and spew) and “dobber supper” (sausage and chips).

On top of their U.S. tour with Brakes and We Were Promised Jetpacks, the band is releasing a second album, Forget the Night Ahead, September 21.

photos by Kyle Johnson
intro by Christy Thacker

We Were Promised Jetpacks (WWPJ) are one of the hottest bands to come out of Scotland this year; and with good reason. Recently signed to the great label FatCat, the band shares at least an online home with similarly talented bands The Twilight Sad and Frightened Rabbit (both of which had a hand in their signing). The UK connection seems to be serving them quite well. In fact, the band is currently embarked on a lengthy tour with both bands and have been getting some rave reviews on the road. This is good quality prog-rock that sounds best in a live setting. In theory, WWPJ sound almost like every other great UK band you’ve ever heard, just rolled into one neat little package. Soaring vocals and wailing guitars are the order of business; the seriousness of their lyrics almost making you question their young ages. Maybe it’s that same ”bigness” in their music that makes them so appealing in the first place. Before even releasing a single stateside, KEXP was one of the first stations to air the band Across the Pond. We even had them playing a John in the Morning at Night show in New York last year. Their 2009 debut album ”These Four Walls” has gained critical success in the short time it’s been out there and we’ve enjoyed being fans from afar. This is a band not to miss in 2009.

The band is currently on tour  for the remainder of the year. You can find out more about WWPJ at their MySpace page.