This “snowpocalypse” left around 300,000 people without power, and I was one of them. The power at my apartment was out for six days.

Many nights were too cold to sleep. My partner and I survived by standing on opposite sides of the kitchen counter, surrounded by candles, playing highly competitive games of Hello Kitty Uno. For warmth, we boiled water for hot tea on the porch using our camping stove, and drank cheap red wine. For musical entertainment, we dug our beat-up boom box out of the closet, attached some tin foil to the antenna, inserted some D batteries, and took a journey through modern radio.

When I was young, I deified radio DJs, sitting on my floor all night moving the dial from station to station, occasionally calling in to win prizes, even using blank tapes to make mixes of my favorite songs.

Nowadays, like most people, I simply don’t listen to the radio as much as I used to. I’m preoccupied with surfing the internet, streaming Netflix, playing XBox, and listening to my MP3 player. When I’m in the car I plug in my iPod or I listen to the local jazz station. It’s just the way things have progressed. I hardly even know what radio stations exist, let alone which one I should be listening to.

Sitting there, playing cards in the candlelight night after night, I took an extremely random — yet delightfully fun — journey through Seattle/Olympia radio. I spent a lot of time listening to the shows on 89.3 KAOS, The Evergreen State College’s radio station. I especially enjoyed “Excuse All the Blood” with Seamus O’Reilly, “Campfire Island” with Frank Barber, and “One Chord to Another,” in which a gal named Melissa was filling in for Johnny Koch. I didn’t stop there, though. I bounced around to the classic rock, light music, cheesy pop, classical, and hip-hop stations as well. I even listened to some monastic chants and opera.

Here’s a big list of the songs that made me dance, smile, laugh, cringe, and reminisce in the darkness. If it was legal I’d make you a set of mixtapes. It’s not, so I’ll just share a list.

Prince – “Purple Rain”
Des Ark – “It’s Only A Bargain If You Want It”
Cyndi Lauper – “True Colors”
George Michael – “Faith”
Meat Loaf – “I’d Do Anything for Love (But I Won’t Do That)”
Fugazi – “Epic Problem”
Nicki Minaj – “Super Bass”
Sleater-Kinney – “Taking Me Home”
Simple Minds – “Don’t You (Forget About Me)”
Two hours of awesome metal and thrash on “Excuse All the Blood”
Elton John – “I’m Still Standing”
Unrest – “Foxy Playground”
The Little Willies – “Lovesick Blues”
Kelly Clarkson – “Stronger”
Thao & Mirah – “Squareneck”
Pitbull featuring Ne-Yo – “Tonight”
New Order – “True Faith”
fIREHOSE – “Things Could Turn Around”
Peter Gabriel – “In Your Eyes”
Free – “All Right Now”
LAKE – “Sing 99 & 90”
Katy Perry – “The One that Got Away”
Smoking Popes – “Writing A Letter”
KT Tunstall – “Suddenly I See”
Kool & the Gang – “Fresh”
J. Geils Band – “Love Stinks”
The Eagles – “Already Gone”
Semisonic – “Closing Time”
The Raincoats – “Lola”
Dexy’s Midnight Runners – “Come On Eileen”
Led Zeppelin – “Kashmir”
The Ritchie Family – “The Best Disco in Town”
Kool & the Gang – “Let’s Groove”
Gloria Estefan & The Miami Sound Machine – “Rhythm Is Gonna Get You”
Madonna – “Vogue”
Soul City Symphony – “The Hustle”
Lady Gaga – “Poker Face”
Alice in Chains – “A Looking in View”
Rhianna – “We Found Love”
Gym Class Heroes – “Stereo Hearts”
Mecca Normal – “Man Thinks Woman”
Cyndi Lauper – “Time After Time”
Dr. Hook – “Sexy Eyes”
Etta James – “At Last”
Adele – “Set Fire To The Rain”
Smashing Pumpkins – “Today”
Snoop Dogg & Wiz Khalifa – “Young, Wild & Free”
Ani DiFranco – “Which Side Are You On?”
Guided By Voices – “Doughnut For a Snowman”
The Cure – “Let’s Go To Bed (Live)”
Haddaway – “What Is Love”
Vivian Girls – “Dance If You Wanna”
Lionel Richie – “Dancing on the Ceiling”
The Black Keys – “Lonely Boy”
Madonna – “Like a Prayer“

• Heavy Cream by Leigh Metzler

• Odd Future by Suzi Pratt

• Atari Teenage Riot by Mat Hayward

• Bumbershoot by Mat Hayward

• Pentagram by Mat Hayward

• Pentagram by Mat Hayward

• Devo by Leigh Metzler

• Peelander-Z by Shahab Zargari

• Yeasayer by Dave MacIntyre

• Amon Tobin\'s ISAM Live by Heather Schofner

• Monotonix by Chad Elder

• Title Fight by Chad Elder

• Occupy Wall Street by Jammi York

• Lily Verlaine Burlesque by Mat Hayward

• The Kills by Cayte Nobles

• Matt and Kim by Suzi Pratt

• Lemuria by Diana Guay

• Dum Dum Girls by Leigh Metzler

• The Joy Formidable by Cayte Nobles

• Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros by Kevin Rafter

• New York Food Film Fest by Ryan Howell

• Primus by Kris Arnold

• Rage Against the Machine by Suzi Pratt

• The Sounds by Cayte Nobles

• Queens of the Stone Age by Cayte Nobles

• Secret Chiefs 3 by Kris Arnold

• Sick of It All by Peter Borghard

• Tamaryn by Timothy McLaughlin

• The Tubes by Mat Hayward

• Dropkick Murphys by Mat Hayward

• The Devil Wears Prada by Elizabeth McClay

• Mirah by Heather Schofner

• The Jukebox Romantics by Peter Borghard

• Wild Flag by Cayte Nobles

• Yelle by Mat Hayward

Check out some of the amazing photography we’ve featured this year! Impressive, to say the least.

• Typhoon

• Typhoon

• Typhoon

• Typhoon

• Typhoon

• Typhoon

• Typhoon

• Typhoon

• Typhoon

• Typhoon

• Typhoon

• AAN

• AAN

Heather Schofner shares photos from the final show of Typhoon‘s two-night, three-show mini-residency at Mississippi Studios in Portland, Oregon. AAN were the openers. Locals packed into the venue to welcome the band home from tour.

Heather also shot a little video at the show which you can view below, and Neighborhood Films was shooting video and recording sound at the show earlier in the day. Keep your eye on our news section for details on their production.

Verbicide Free Download: Click here to download Verbicide Select Mixtape Volume 9 featuring “The Honest Truth” by Typhoon

Verbicide Free Download: Click here to download Verbicide Select Mixtape Volume 5 featuring “Starting Over” by Typhoon

• Puscifer

  Puscifer

• Puscifer

  Puscifer

• Puscifer

  Puscifer

• Puscifer

  Puscifer

• Puscifer

  Puscifer

• Carina Round

  Carina Round

• Carina Round

  Carina Round

• Carina Round

  Carina Round

Maynard James Keenan‘s pet project Puscifer began their tour in Seattle at the historic Paramount Theater. The performance began promptly at 8 pm — it was the first show I’ve been to in a while that began right on time. Carina Round — singer, songwriter, and, incidently, one of the members of Puscifer — was the opener. Her gorgeous voice reverberated through the theater, and I looked around, wondering what all of Maynard’s devotees thought of her rock-tinged pop sound. They were paying attention, and appeared to be enjoying themselves quite a bit. I’m personally looking forward to hearing her forthcoming album. She’s got a lot more going for her than being a backup singer for Keenan, that’s for sure.

After her short set, a screen came down and hovered in the top left corner of the stage. We were treated to a hilarious skit featuring Keenan’s character Billie Dee, a blond piece of redneck of trailer trash that drinks every day until 6 am. These skits punctuated most of the performance; in between songs we’d be treated to a laugh.

After seeing the first skit I expected the band to come out dressed in costumes, acting as these characters, but they didn’t. The first person to come out on stage was Keenan wearing Western garb, dragging an Airstream trailer behind him. He ducked into the trailer and began pulling things out of it, explaining how many of the songs came into existence by a campfire as he set out lawn chairs, folding tables, and a grill in front of the trailer. A screen behind him displayed an image of a desolate desert road. Keenan stated that people go to the desert to either find themselves — or lose themselves — and that’s what the performance that evening, and the creative process, is all about.

Carina Round climbed out of the trailer to big applause and helped Keenan set up the rest of the set. Eventually they dragged a platform with a drum kit, a drummer, and some instruments on it onto the stage. It was surreal to see them dragging their gear around like that. It was quite intimate in a goofy sort of way, the whole act of setting things up seemed very unpretentious of them. I felt the urge to go up onstage and see if there was anything I could do to help — not because I felt annoyed or wanted them to rush, but because I was so disarmed by the way they were acting onstage that I would probably feel comfortable doing so.

We were warned that it was the band’s first show of the tour and that we were being experimented on; however, I thought things went swimmingly. It was an inspiring, all around good time with funny skits, great music, and pretty visuals. The images that were projected behind the band on the screen that spanned the stage were entrancing and often related to the lyrics — for example, a playful dust devil swirled behind the band during a gorgeous rendition of “Horizons,” and shots of a sparkling coastline came up on the screen to close out “Oceans.”

Carina Round was amazing — she really stole the show, dancing beside Maynard, her voice harmonizing beautifully with his. Interestingly, the two of them dance rather similarly. They move their arms as if performing an interpretive dance, bending their knees, swaying to the music like ocean floor seaweed being tossed by the tide. I see a strong artistic connection between the two of them.

I don’t mean to glaze over the rest of the band, though — the drummer, keyboardist, bassist, and guitarist did great as well. If this was what their shaky opening was like, I wondered what they’d look like when they’re all tightened up by the end of the tour.

They played most of their new album, Conditions of my Parole, as well as a few songs off of their debut album and their EP that came out in between the two. I particularly enjoyed hearing Carina Round sing the lead on “Rev. 22:20.” (How about hopping into the studio and recording that as a B-side, guys? Maybe include it on a live album? Please?)

In between songs the skits on the screen had the audience cracking up. Periodically Maynard or Carina would walk over to the lawn chairs and have a seat to casually sip a beverage and watch the skits on screen or their band mates perform. It was a very relaxed atmosphere. The crowd had a great time, and so did I. I highly recommend catching Puscifer live if they come through your town.

Verbicide Free Download: Click here to download “Girl and the Ghost (Puscifer Remix)” by Carina Round

• Mt Eden

  Mt Eden at Decibel Festival 2011 in Seattle

• Mt Eden

  Mt Eden at Decibel Festival 2011 in Seattle

• Mt Eden

  Mt Eden at Decibel Festival 2011 in Seattle

• Mt Eden

  Mt Eden at Decibel Festival 2011 in Seattle

• Mt Eden

  Mt Eden at Decibel Festival 2011 in Seattle

• Breakage

  Breakage at Decibel Festival 2011 in Seattle

• Fans at the Mt Eden show

• Breakage

  Breakage at Decibel Festival 2011 in Seattle

• Breakage

  Breakage at Decibel Festival 2011 in Seattle

• Fans at the Mt Eden show

• Breakage

  Breakage at Decibel Festival 2011 in Seattle

• Chateau Flight

  Chateau Flight performing at Neumos during Decibel Festival 2011

• Chateau Flight

  Chateau Flight performing at Neumos during Decibel Festival 2011

• Deniz Kurtel

  Deniz Kurtel at Decibel Festival 2011

• Deniz Kurtel

  Deniz Kurtel at Decibel Festival 2011

• Oval

  Oval performing at Decibel Festival 2011, at the Optical 2: Grains of Sound showcase

• Christopher Willits

  Christopher Willits performing at Decibel Festival 2011, at the Optical 2: Grains of Sound showcase

• Christopher Willits

  Christopher Willits performing at Decibel Festival 2011, at the Optical 2: Grains of Sound showcase

The third day of Decibel, for me, got off to a late start. I unfortunately missed out on a showcase I had wanted to attend, Optical 1. I later found out that the headliner Urlich Schnauss missed it as well due to visa issues. For the night’s activities, rather than going all of the way to the Showbox SoDo to see Moby spin a DJ set, I decided I’d rather do a dubstep case study at the Showbox at the Market downtown.

After riding around forever looking for a parking spot, I finally found one and allowed the robot at the parking lot to devour $15 of my hard-earned cash. I arrived at the door to the venue and the doorman rifled through my camera bag, suspiciously eyeing the generic Advil I had brought with me. He opened the bottle, shook the pills around, and gave me the once over. “It’s Advil,” I said. I was free to go.

As soon as I got inside, I realized why he was so touchy — pills were big business at the Showbox that evening! Everywhere I looked there were big black pupils staring back at me. Kids were sucking on pacifiers and wearing beaded necklaces, glow-in-the-dark accessories, hats that looked like gutted stuffed animals, and t-shirts with sayings like “E-MAZING” emblazoned on them. Did I step through some kind of time portal into the ’90s? Was I at…a rave?

The sounds of Breakage thumping on the speakers reminded me that no, it’s not the ’90s, it’s 2011, and things are different now. “This is something we call dubstep,” the UK DJ said to the audience as he spun records that had everyone drawing breath as the songs built up into explosive climaxes. The club had a feel of excitement and frenetic energy, and it was hot as hell in there. A thick cloud of moist air hung over the dance floor — no fog machine was required. Any empty piece of floor space was quickly filled by a dancer with liquid arms, blinking lights on a string, or white gloves with glowy things at the tips of the fingers. Even the wallflowers seemed to be genuinely enjoying themselves.

The fans I came in contact with were extremely friendly. They chattily asked me to take their picture, and rewarded me with smiles and hugs when I agreed to do so. Generally I attend metal or indie rock shows, where everyone keeps to themselves. I had found a family atmosphere in an unlikely place. I began to understand the draw of the dubstep scene, but didn’t feel I was done with my dubstep case study just yet.

Next up was Mt Eden. When they came on the energy of the club — already at I’d say a seven or eight — cranked its way up to a solid 11. Jesse and Harley stepped onstage and instantly connected with the crowd — they had the same friendly air onstage that their fans had on the floor. They were all smiles, and kept their charismatic energy going for the entirety of the set, constantly praising the audience for their enthusiasm. I’ve heard many an artist address the audience saying, “You guys are great!” but never have I felt the artist was so sincere, or that the compliment was so well deserved as it was that evening. I think if Jesse could’ve hugged every single person in the audience he would have.

Musically, Mt Eden is tight. I found myself tweeting, “Ah, so this is dubstep in its purest form, eh? It’s actually pretty fucking hard!” The bass pounded, the drums kicked, the buildups exploded, and, well, it moved me. I may have been converted. In fact, I may even go pick up a copy of their EP, Meds, and see if I like it as much in my car as I did in the club. I’m sure I probably will. Good music is good music, no matter what label you slap on it.

At 1:35, after an epic finish in which the whole crowd had their arms in the air, singing along to “Sierra Leone,” the New Zealand duo bid the audience adieu. The audience wasn’t ready to go, though. They screamed, “One more song! One more song!” and Mt Eden obliged, only to have the lights turned on and the music shut off mid-song. Rather than riot or throw a fit, people peacefully meandered out to the streets, no doubt headed to the next party. If so desired, you could hear electronic music 24 hours a day in Seattle that weekend. Parties would start at two a.m. and last until five, then another would start at six and last until noon, when Decibel’s infamous boat parties began. Afterparties blended into pre-funks — all day, all night, and all day again. I decided to call it a night.

The next day I managed to catch Optical 2: Grains of Sound at the Nordstrom Recital Hall at Benaroya. The recital hall had small piles of gear on the stage, and a big screen at the center. The whole goal of the two Optical showcases was to “explore the boundaries between experimental electronic music and visual art.” I settled in and looked forward to the upcoming visual and aural buffet.

Matthewdavid came on, and he started his set off with a repeating sample that said, “Let us give thanks for the colors.” He played an hour-long set of dreamy, warm, ambient electronica while splashes of color were displayed on the screen on stage. Perhaps Amon Tobin‘s set on Thursday had set the bar a bit high, but I expected the visuals to be a little more compelling. There was nothing crazy going on, just colors. That’s not to say it was a terrible experience, though. I enjoyed the music.

Christopher Willits followed, and his music was even more ambient and dreamy than Matthewdavid’s. He sat indian style on the floor of the stage with a small guitar in his lap. He plucked the strings, looped them through his laptop, and they came out sounding nothing like a guitar–if I hadn’t been watching him create the sounds, I wouldn’t have guessed that there were any live instruments involved at all. The images projected behind Willits were nature photos, lots of rich browns and greens. When the bass pulsed, so did the image on screen. I sunk into my seat and took a deep breath, placing my camera down and just absorbing the music. I thought about how drastically different this was from the insanity at the Showbox the night before. The music at Optical didn’t even have beats so far.

The final performance of Optical did have beats, though, disjointed though they may have been. Oval’s music and visuals were different from the first two performers, a bit livelier, more complex. I definitely want to hear more from him.

After enjoying the bassy music at the Showbox so much the night prior, I decided to attend Community Bass Session at the Crocodile Cafe that evening. However, when I drove by the club, for some reason I felt a little sketched out. Instincts kicked in and I made a snap decision to go up to Capitol Hill and see what was going on at Neumo’s.

I arrived at Neumo’s to find a sweaty club full of people dancing to a DJ set by famed deep house producer Deniz Kurtel. I’ve never been a huge fan of house music, but when you’ve got a world renowned producer in town, it’s a good idea to go check it out. I have to say, she was really good! House music is dance music, plain and simple. She, as well as the DJs that followed her, Chateau Flight, kept the crowd in constant motion for the duration of the evening.

I scooted out a few minutes before the showcase ended. Capitol Hill is full of bars, and it was close to closing time. The streets were full of people: Decibel Festers from Neumo’s, metal fans spilling out of the Absolute Monarchs show at the Comet Tavern across the way. I jumped, hearing a loud crash followed by a big “Oh!” from the people on the streets. There had been a car accident, it looked like three cars had gotten into a fender-bender. With a shake of my head, I turned away from the scene and walked away, my steps in time with the thumping house music beat in my head. What a crazy week! Can’t wait for next year.

• DJ Krush

• DJ Krush

• DJ Krush

• Decibel Festival 2011

• araabMUZIK

• Fans at the Beat Prodigies showcase

• Shigeto

• Shigeto

• Fans at the Beat Prodigies showcase

• Marley Carroll

• Fans at the Beat Prodigies showcase

• Citymouth

• Citymouth

• Ghost Feet

• Ghost Feet

• Amon Tobin - ISAM Live

  Amon Tobin, ISAM Live, Decibel Festival 2011

• Amon Tobin - ISAM Live

  Amon Tobin, ISAM Live, Decibel Festival 2011

• Amon Tobin - ISAM Live

  Amon Tobin, ISAM Live, Decibel Festival 2011

• Amon Tobin - ISAM Live

  Amon Tobin, ISAM Live, Decibel Festival 2011

• ESKMO

• ESKMO

• ESKMO

• ESKMO

• ESKMO

• Tokimonsta

After the rave boom of the 1990s fizzled, Decibel Festival was founded by Sean Horton in 2003 as a way to showcase the beauty and diversity of electronic music. This year’s festival showcased 143 artists from over a dozen countries performing at 31 unique showcases at venues around Seattle. It’s a “techno SXSW” of sorts, one that floods the Emerald City with beats, beeps, and walls of lab-created sound.

Though I was well aware I would be in attendance, it took me until the night before the festival started to finally nail down my itinerary. There was so much good music scheduled to happen simultaneously! The hardest decision was what to check out on Wednesday, the first night of the festival. Zomby, DJ Krush, and Toro y Moi were all scheduled to headline showcases. After some heartbreaking deliberation, I decided to head out to Beat Prodigies, where DJ Krush was scheduled to spin. (He’s one of my all-time favorites). Also, Beat Prodigies was scheduled to go down at a nice place called Neumo’s in Capitol Hill, which is one of my favorite neighborhoods to see live music in Seattle.

I arrived right when the doors opened, and Marley Carroll’s set began immediately. Carroll hails from Asheville, North Carolina and his set was rather chill, a nice way to ease us into a long night of beats. He sung over his music a little, and his vocals reminded me a bit of Ben Gibbard.

Next up was Shigeto, who started out by telling us how happy he was to be there. He said with a smile, “Playing with Krush is, like, a lifetime achievement for me.” I’ve gotta say, I was really impressed with his performance! His music is unique, beat-driven, and full of life. He showed off his skills not only on the tables, but on live drums as well. The crowd ate it up! I couldn’t believe I’d never heard his stuff before.

I tore myself away from Shigeto towards the end of his set, promising myself that next time he was in town that I’d go watch him spin and stay for the duration. I hoofed it over to the HG Lounge to check out some of the local shit that was going on at the Dropping Gems showcase.

When I walked in, Citymouth was playing. He peered through a rectangular window above the dance floor, the trippy projected lights reflecting off his glasses like he was a villain in an anime. I only caught a song or two before he ended his set. Ghost Feet, from Olympia, Washington were up next. They had been standing to the left of Citymouth, waiting to play. Much of the festival went that way — to keep people dancing, one performer would set up while the other was finishing up. This kept the beats constant and the crowds happy. Ghost Feet had big smiles on their faces as the duo blended guitar and beats. As soon as they finished I made a beeline for Neumo’s –I wanted to be sure to catch Araabmuzik beating on his MPC.

I walked in, and indeed, Araabmuzik’s hands were blurring as he pounded out hard-ass beats on the MPC. The size of the crowd had almost tripled since I had ducked out to the HG, and they were loving it. I was able to wriggle my way to the front to get a closer look. I was shooting photos, and it seemed that no matter how fast I set my shutter speed his lightning-quick hands were a blur in every picture. He had a buddy on stage with him, a tall dude with enormous bling hanging around his neck who just kind of stood there nodding his head to the beats. I wondered if he had done something earlier in the performance that I missed. Was he an MC? Did he interpretive dance? Was he Araabmuzik’s official body guard? I’ll never know.

Next up was DJ Krush, and the sweaty crowd went positively nuts when he came on stage. They should — the man is a legend. Hailing from Japan, Krush is one of pioneers of Japanese hip-hop, and one of the first musicians, in 1991, to use turntables as live instruments while performing with musicians onstage. He started his set smooth and jazzy, greatly contrasting Araabmuzik’s hard-hitting beats.

Krush unveiled artfully mixed music of all genres over the course of his set, starting off the hip-hop section with Method Man and Redman’s classic hit “How High.” He then moved on to classic rock, of all things, launching in with a mix that utilized the stadium handclaps and chorus of Queen’s “We Will Rock You.” He mashed the epic tune up with Zeppelin’s “Whole Lotta Love.” He brought in vintage pop, too, with a little MJ in the form of a track you may have heard once or twice, “Billie Jean.”

I could have listened to him all night, and I’m sure I wasn’t alone. At 1:35 am, a security guard came on stage and gave him a five-minute warning, and the crowd yelled out in protest. Krush nodded and a pensive look came on his face as he flipped the script, moving from mixes of others’ music to sick beats that were all his own. If you get the chance to see Krush spin live, do it! You won’t be disappointed.

What to do on the second day of Decibel Festival was, for me, a no-brainer. I was going to see Amon Tobin‘s ISAM Live at the Paramount, of course! Amon Tobin is one of the most interesting artists in electronic music right now, and there’s no way I was going to miss the highly anticipated American debut of his giant 3D art installation.

I walked into the historic Paramount during Tokimonsta’s set, and she was looking and sounding beautiful. Following her was ESKMO, who was filling in for Baths. He pulled props out of a box like Carrot Top, and looped the sounds with his voice and beats, warming the crowd up nicely.

Finally, it was time for Amon Tobin. The theater’s red velvet curtain was pulled back to reveal a big white structure, composed of many different sized cubes. The music started and lights were projected onto the canvas. The lights made the structure appear to glow from within, spin, fall to pieces, blow away, explode, and fly away, even though it sat still. Tobin sat in a cube at the center controlling both the visuals and the music.

It’s hard to put to words how gorgeous the sights and sounds were. I expected the show to be beautiful, but I wasn’t prepared for how mezmerized I would become. I was like a baby staring at a mobile, my mouth agape, my eyes darting back and forth to take it all in. I’ve seen many impressive displays in my time, giant shifting LCD screens, lasers, and the like. This is not the biggest, but it’s possibly my favorite. It walks that gorgeous line between simplicity and complexity.

I drove home, reeling from the amazing experience that evening. There was still more Decibel to come, and I couldn’t wait to see what was in store.

Verbicide Free Download: Click here to download Verbicide Select Mixtape Volume 9, featuring “Lost and Found” by Amon Tobin

Verbicide Free Download: Click here to download “Things Fall Apart” by Zomby

DJ Krush at Decibel Festival 2011 by Heather Schofner

Decibel Festival 2011 is under way and Heather Schofner‘s covering it for VerbicideMagazine.com. The festival will continue through Sunday, October 2nd and tickets are available at the doors of the showcases, with the exception of the kickoff of Amon Tobin‘s ISAM Live Tour in North America, which is sold out. Baths was originally scheduled to open for Tobin but is unable to attend, and ESKMO was been tapped to fill in.

If you didn’t get a ticket to Amon Tobin’s show, don’t fret — Holy Fuck, Bonobo, and Ladytron are all headlining showcases during Tobin’s performance. If you’re in Seattle be sure to check out Decibel Fest’s website for a complete schedule of performances.

We’ll be posting a featured review and photo gallery early next week after the festival wraps up, so stay tuned!

UPDATE: A limited amount of Amon Tobin tix have been released! Info here: http://purchase.tickets.com/buy/TicketPurchase?pid=7067970

• Robin Bacior

  Robin Bacior

• Robin Bacior

  Robin Bacior

• Robin Bacior

  Robin Bacior

• Robin Bacior

  Robin Bacior

• Robin Bacior

  Robin Bacior

Robin Bacior’s debut EP Aimed For Night caught the attention of the New York folk scene in 2010, and her soon-to-be-released LP Rest Our Wings is doing the same. Fans of skilled lyricists with beautiful voices (think Regina Spektor, Jenny Owen Youngs, A Fine Frenzy) should definitely give it a listen when it comes out on November 1st. Her voice is clear and beautiful; her lyrics are the same.

A writer by trade, Bacior moved to Brooklyn from Northern California a few years ago to pursue a career in writing and music, as well as the place where the two intersect. For now, she’s on hiatus from her job as a music journalist to focus on music of her own creation. I was excited at the chance to catch her performance in my hometown of Olympia.

“The Robin Bacior Trio” played at Le Voyeur, a tiny dive that sells libations and delicious vegetarian food. Held on a Tuesday night and poorly promoted, the gig was sparsely attended, but that didn’t stop Bacior and her two band mates from putting on a great show. In true folksinger style, she chatted up the crowd in between songs, discussing tasty food, her adventures in Olympia that day, and her desire to discover the mysterious and magical Artesian Well of Olympia. She switched from acoustic guitar to the keys and back again during the course of her set, politely warning the audience to cover their ears as she transferred cables between instruments (it made a slightly unpleasant buzz). The performance was extremely intimate, as though we had a friend playing in our living room.

Bacior played several songs from her new album, as well as last year’s EP, and although it was the second to last date of her tour, there wasn’t a hint of weariness in her voice. I especially loved her performances of “Housewife’s Lament,” a sweet dreamy ballad, and “Man Before Me,” a song from the seven-inch she had available for sale at the show. She closed her set with the lead single from her LP, “Ohio.”

Afterwards, in a room full of locals chugging well drinks, she quietly sipped water out of a mason jar. She’s one of those people that emanates a quiet positivity. I think this talented, yet humble artist is one to watch — she’s on the rise, for sure. I can’t wait until she’s doing European tours and selling out theatre shows; I’ll tell the tale of the time I saw her at Le Voyeur and how we nerded out over the venue’s outrageously tasty french fries.

Verbicide Free Download: Click here to download “Ohio” by Robin Bacior

Verbicide Free Download: Click here to download “Familiar Road” by Robin Bacior

Exclusive video from the show:

photo by Becca Blevins

Skeleton Bones, Annie Bethancourt’s New Album!

Annie Bethancourt, the amazingly talented and charming winner of the 2010 Verbicide Unsigned contest, is doing a Kickstarter to fund her upcoming album Skeleton Bones! We love our Unsigned alumna and couldn’t be more excited for her. Annie’s offering up backer incentives ranging from downloads to live acoustic performances, so head over, check out her Kickstarter video, and give what you can — every little bit helps. Also be sure to read our interview with her from last year and download her track, “What’s a Girl to Do?” which was part of our poutine-flavored Expozine mixtape.

While you’re at it, here’s a couple other interesting Kickstarter projects, in case you have a dollar or two to spare:

photo by Steve Davis

Prison Photography On The Road

Successful blogger and Wired contributor Pete Brook is embarking on a journey (literally) to delve deeper into an important subject: criminal justice reform. “I’ll be meeting the most creative and celebrated photographers who, through their work in prisons, have shaped America’s visual culture and the debate on U.S. criminal justice.” Brooks is going to travel around the U.S. speaking with the photographers face to face, and plans to release the resulting book under a Creative Commons license. Be sure to check out the powerful images he’s provided as an example on his page — prints of many of them are being made available as backer incentives.

Hot Panda at the Northern. Photo by Heather Schofner

Relocating Northern: The Olympia All Ages Project

One of Verbicide‘s favorite little music venues, Northern: The Olympia All Ages Project in Olympia, WA, was recently booted out of their home by a new landlord who apparently isn’t interested in having an awesome art gallery/all ages venue in his building. The Northern’s already held tons of great shows during its short lifetime, including Wild Flag, Thao & Mirah, Prince Rama, and many more. They just recently hit the modest goal they set for themselves, but let’s help them go above and beyond so they can get the improved sound system they’re hoping for. Seriously, let’s get them the best sound system ever to grace an all-ages, volunteer-run venue. That should make it less likely that Heather will have an experience like this again.

Check out the first track from the new Florence and the Machine album that’s scheduled to be released in November. The video for “What The Water Gave Me” features Florence’s flowing garments and red hair, and footage of her working on songs in the studio. The song erupts into one of Florence’s epic crechendos by the end — I don’t know about you, but I can’t wait to hear this album! -Heather Schofner