photo by Ron Henry

Cheerio, lads and luves! We here at Three Imaginary Girls suggest you enjoy a hearty dish of fish and chips (beans optional), put your bracers on, hop in your lorry (but continue to drive on the correct side of the road for your own safety) and come out for what will be a bang on array of music from across the pond. This will be a week of indie-pendance for all! In the spirit of diplomacy, there’s a little something out there for everyone this week- some well-loved favorites of classic rock, the romantic and droney, and the blippy and electric, all presented to you in the Queen’s English.

10/10/09: Robyn Hitchcock & The Venus 3/Young Fresh Fellows @ Crocodile: English oddity Robyn Hitchcock had his finger in about every pie of the fine art bakery. As a painter, a writer, a comic strip artist, an actor and a musician, he brings whimsy and surrealism with him to every project. Come and witness a strange man in a strange land doing what he does best.

10/11/09: Passion Pit/E-603 @ Showbox: British beatmakers Passion Pit bring flavors of Of Montreal, Arcade Fire, and a little Postal Service for dipping from across the pond. Lead singer Michael Angelakos claims to want to be the next Randy Newman. Can you hear the collective confused “blink blink?” of the eyes of Passion Pit fans everywhere? Yeah, we don’t get it either, but we like it!

10/12/09: Metronomy/Fool’s Gold @ Nectar: With glowing attached to their chest, they may look like skinny, paler, taller versions of ET, but that’s not the only thing that makes these electronica artists so unique. Be prepared for a wild night of dancing, light shows, and synchronized routines. Fellow countryman Roger Daltrey will performing at the Showbox SoDo, if you prefer your rock and roll a bit more like a good bottle of wine.

10/13/09: Butthole Surfers @ Showbox: This will be a night of nostalgia for anyone who had the misfortune of being in high school in the 90s (I don’t think I’ll ever forget the lyrics to “Pepper” for as long as I live!). Gibby Haynes and his band of long tall Texans are back and ready to rock. Though they’re not English, they have punk sensibilities. They’re loud, brash, and occasionally vulgar, just like the good ol US of A!

10/14/09: Why?/Mt. Eerie/No Kids @ Vera: Anticon label hip-hop act Why? are touring on their recently released 4th album Eskimo Snow. Lead MC Yoni Wolf and company aren’t the average hip-hop act. They bring elements of indie-rock and folk (?!) to their flow and the result is surprisingly refreshing. Don’t miss the chance to see some of the coolest hip hop from down Oakland way since Del tha Funkee Homosapien and Too Short.

10/15/09: Monsters of Folk @ Paramount Theater: Coming together like a beardy Voltron, Jim James, Connor Oberst, M. Ward, and Mike Mogis form Monsters of Folk. These guys put the super in super group. When these fellows hit the stage, the entire audience might just keel over from the collective vapors. Smelling salts may be in order.

10/16/09: Hey Marseilles/Fences/Mason Lindahl @ Vera: The collective love for this band here at Three Imaginary Girls is well documented. This group is the cat’s pajamas, the bee’s knees, the tastiest taco on the platter… you get the notion. They would be on Top of the Pops, were it still on the air in Merry Ole England. They’re at the top of our pops, anyways, so go show some love!

See you out in about, drinking tea with my pinky up!

Pip-pip
Mary Kwatkosky-Lawlor (Imaginary Mimi)
*Three Imaginary Girls*

In high i-pod rotation:
Crayon Angel
The Pains of Being Pure at Heart
These United States

(Three Imaginary Girls is a Seattle-based website that showcases the great music of the Northwest and beyond to music lovers worldwide. We post a Seattle live show calendar to help you fill your day-planner with loads of great shows, as well as record reviews, live show reviews, and an imagi-blog to entertain you throughout the day.)

Kyle Johnson

• LA outfit No Age have an upcoming EP out on October 6 on Sub Pop, but you can stream all of it now on Sub Pop’s website now. You’ll need an email address to stream, but you most likely have one if you’re reading this.

• The recent passing of British World War I veteran Harry Patch has inspired a new song by Radiohead; the group has made a new song available for purchase entitled “Harry Patch (In Memory Of)”. Patch’s story is pretty impressive [he passed away at the age of 111] and the entire song consists of quotes from the man himself. All proceeds from the download will go to the UK vets charity the Royal British Legion.

• Beastie Boys’ Adam Yauch aka MCA has released his health status after his surgery to remove a cancerous tumor from his parotid gland. There’s nothing but good news and you can read the entire email here.

• Ex-Pedro the Lion frontman David Bazan has been performing solo for a few years now, but September sees the release of his first full-length (Curse Your Branches) under his own name. Before heading out on tour with members of Say Hi, Aqueduct and others, Bazan will perform the Doe Bay Fest next weekend. Thanks to local label Barsuk, you can preview one of his new songs now:

• Before his untimely death, Heath Ledger was directing a music video for Modest Mouse for “King Rat,” new song from an upcoming EP. Now, the video has surfaced, and the details of the online only EP No One’s First and You’re Next have been released. The video starts off innocently enough but gets bloody before you know it.

• Dave Grohl, Josh Homme, and John Paul Jones have formed a group with the moniker Them Crooked Vultures. There isn’t much information beyond an August 9 show in Chicago, a website that redirects to social networking sites and vice versa, and a graphic displaying the logos of The Foo Fighters, Queens of the Stone Age, and Led Zeppelin.

• Yoni Wolf has some serious 90’s indie rock sensibilities: the Why? frontman has released a cover of Pavement’s “Shoot the Singer (1 Sick Verse)” off their 1992 EP Watery, Domestic. Props to Yoni for digging deep beyond the “Gold Soundz”. Let’s hope no one ever tells him to “Cut Your Hair”. Unless it’s for a really special girl, like a “Summer Babe.” Okay, now this is getting out of hand.