PHOTOS & SHOW REVIEW: THE INTELLIGENCE, THE GODS THEMSELVES, BALI GIRLS @ LOFI PERFORMANCE GALLERY, SEATTLE, WA. 9/27/14

Early fall is a great time of year for concerts in the Seattle area: a cooling of summer temps means clubs are no longer loud saunas, and it's not yet raining so much that people want to hibernate at home instead of going out. With that in mind, we see a rush of shows coming though, and last Saturday night had a TON of entertainment options. What did I choose? WELL DUH, of COURSE I would be at any show by Seattle/L.A.-based band The Intelligence (even in a sauna or in the pouring rain, although I would actively complain about that at the same time), and with two very solid opening acts on the bill, my evening was set.

(poster by CMRTYZ)

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MY FAVORITE 26 SEATTLE HIGH SCHOOL YEARBOOK HAIRSTYLES FROM 1971!

One of the items I am most excited to find on my thrift store raids are old high school yearbooks. Why, you ask, why would you be interested in something so personal to the (ex) owner? WELL, one big reason is HAIR. Yes, HAIR. Hair of the Distant Past is AWESOME. A couple of days ago, I was lucky enough to score a PRIME artifact of teen style, a Seattle high school yearbook from 1970-71. (I have chosen to keep the names of both the school and all these hair owners private, protecting the innocent, a la Jack Webb.)

The early '70s are particularly...interesting when looking at hairstyles. It's like the doors were thrown wide open for a few years and it was "anything goes" time, yet when given this freedom, many people either went WILD or tried to go wild but only went halfway wild, to peculiar effect. You see shapes on heads that seem more like crazy fungi than human hair, but when these kids got it right, they RULED. Actually, when they got it wrong they ruled HARDER. Please to enjoy!

THE BLOND BOYS

Endless summer, bros.

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I MADE YOU A CHILDREN'S BOOK NOT FOR CHILDREN: "JUNE THE A**HOLE" (NSFW)

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BIZARRE BACK PAGES ADS FROM BETTER HOMES & GARDENS, '70-'71!

As a kid growing up in the '60s and '70s, I read everything that came into my house. I mean every last little thing, from cereal boxes to tins of creamed corn to the daily newspaper to whatever magazines my parents subscribed to. One of those magazines was the venerable Better Homes & Gardens, of course slanted towards the homemaker. Besides reading recipes for Lime Jello Marshmallow Surprise and learning how to set the table for Thanksgiving, there were these tiny little ads at the back of the issue that often got my attention. I recently picked up a couple of old issues of BH & G when I was back in Wisconsin, and thought I'd share some of my old confusion and delight with you. Please to enjoy!

This ad ran for years. I was always stunned that there were TWO NAKED PEOPLE in Better Homes & Gardens. I think if I ever saw one for sale now I'd have to buy it, but then would never hang it up.

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19 MORE ODDBALL ITEMS FROM WISCONSIN AND WASHINGTON THRIFT STORES!

I have been asked more than once -- perhaps maybe even up to three times possibly -- the question, "How do you find such funny/weird/unusual/terrifying things at the thrift stores you go to?" I always answer, "Honey/Baby/Sweetie/Your Honor, they find me." Please to enjoy this lot of losers!

Decomposing Dora will haunt us both, forever.

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BUMBERSHOOTING 2014 WRAP UP & LINK PARTY!: BUMBERSHOOT FESTIVAL, SEATTLE, WA. AUGUST 30 - SEPTEMBER 1, 2014

Everybody does a preview post for festivals, but I like to do a post-view post as well, after my eyes have recovered from editing a prillion photos and I've had some time to reflect on the three days of the giant annual Seattle music and arts festival, Bumbershoot. I look forward to the fest every year for both the familiar and the novel, and every year has been an overwhelmingly positive experience for me as both a photographer and a gen pop attendee. So, let's set the Way Back Machine for two weeks ago, shall we? I've made a little list, because People Like Lists, you know.

MARIANNE'S BUMBERSHOOT 2014 LIST OF NOTABLE MISCELLANEOUS THINGS

1. The Weather. Thank you, Weather, for not being too rainy on Saturday at all, and then being just about perfect on Sunday and Monday. Super-helpful of you, Bro Nature, and I was really grateful I didn't have to put my clunky Camera Rain Condom on my gear.

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BUMBERSHOOTING 2014, DAY THREE: REAL ESTATE, NADA SURF, BOMBA ESTERÉO, TWIN SHADOW, & MEXICAN INSTITUTE OF SOUND, BUMBERSHOOT FESTIVAL, SEATTLE, WA. 9/1/14

Well, kiddies, this is it: the final day of my 2014 coverage from Seattle's great urban arts and music festival, Bumbershoot! Labor Day brought us sunny skies and sweet warm temps -- a perfect end to the long weekend of spectacular performances, international foodstuffs, and me yakking it up in the press room with some of my favorite foto folks. Let's see who I saw, shall we?

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VIDEO: WHITE FENCE "NERO (HAS A LOT TO THINK ABOUT)" BY ME AND MISS ELEVEN!

Ya know, it's really fortunate I wasn't born two hundred years ago or something, because instead of taking a Saturday to make a music video with my daughter, she and I would probably bond by working together in ceaseless and grueling domestic toil! Bummer! But here we are, it's 2014, the dishwasher is running. and off we go to have some creative fun!

I received my lovely vinyl copy of White Fence's "Nero (Has A Lot To Think About)" (backed by Jack Name's "Belly Full of Blood") on Famous Class Records a couple of days ago and have been playing it nonstop. Part of Famous Class' LAMC series, the idea is to ask a favorite band to provide an unreleased song for the A-side, and then have that band pick their favorite up-and-coming artist to provide a song for the B-side. All of the singles come in gorgeous packaging and custom vinyl colors that often sell out within minutes of going on sale. To add to the coolness, digital downloads are available on the Famous Class Bandcamp page, and all of those sales go directly to the Ariel Panero Memorial Fund at VH1 Save the Music.

As I listened to "Nero..." again yesterday morning, the entire storyboard for this little video came into my head, so rapidly and with such detail that I had to grab a notebook to scribble down even a couple of words to describe each shot, fearing I would forget them. I asked the resident preteen, Miss Eleven, to star as the spooky lovestruck fangirl, got a few props together that were around the house, and we just DID IT, pretty much in order. I edited it down from about 8 minutes of raw footage, and here we are! A new thing inspired by a new thing, and that is so nice.

We hope you enjoy this tiny film, and thank you Tim Presley for making music that makes life better.

White Fence, "Nero (Has A Lot To Think About)"

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BUMBERSHOOTING 2014, DAY TWO: THE REPLACEMENTS, THE DREAM SYNDICATE, BIG STAR'S THIRD, LUSCIOUS JACKSON, & SANDRIDER, BUMBERSHOOT FESTIVAL, SEATTLE, WA. 8/31/14

Back for more visual loveliness from Day Two of Seattle's annual music and arts mega-fest, Bumbershoot! The drizzle and grey from Day One had hit the road and this was a perfect Sunday to enjoy being on the Seattle Center grounds, listening to and photographing some truly great bands. If you couldn't be there yourself, I hope this gives you a feeling of the vibrance, diversity, and fun to be had at Bumbershoot, and if you were there and you were walking next to me, I apologize for begging you to carry my horribly-overloaded camera bag for me for a few feet. Let's pop some Advil and go!

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BUMBERSHOOTING 2014, DAY ONE: ELVIS COSTELLO, MAC DEMARCO, POLIÇA, SHELBY EARL, & THE LONELY FOREST, BUMBERSHOOT FESTIVAL, SEATTLE, WA. 8/30/14

I'm delighted to once again bring you coverage from Bumbershoot Festival, a world-class festival that infuses the Seattle Center with incredible color, sounds, laughs, and creativity each and every Labor Day weekend. I'd like to brag that over this three-day event I did not accidentally run into any of the 100,000 attendees, nor did I fall into the International Fountain with all my camera gear, and I hope you are impressed by this. Let's go!

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