I MADE YOU A COOKBOOK: "HORRIBLE FOOD FOR HORRIBLE PEOPLE"

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PHOTOS & SHOW REVIEW: KING TUFF @ NEUMOS, SEATTLE, WA. 10/22/14

Every night of the week, year-round, Seattle provides me with a dilemma: there are too many great entertainment options available to me, and I am just one (semi-) humble person located on the far side of Lake Washington. This embarrassment of cultural riches is nonetheless most welcomed by me, having spent my youth entertained mostly by giant snow drifts and clouds of mosquitos. Last Wednesday, my evening overfloweth, not only with buckets of damned rain but the opportunity to once again enjoy the performance skills and pithy prose of perfectly-peculiar power-pop princes, King Tuff. Say the last half of that last sentence five times fast, then look at this, and I feel your day will be made.

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I MADE YOU SOME HALLOWEEN CARDS

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PHOTOS & SHOW REVIEW: KING KHAN & BBQ SHOW, AUSMUTEANTS, THUNDERPUSSY @ THE CROCODILE, SEATTLE, WA. 10/11/14

As a highly-experienced concertgoer, I know that each show I attend has a quality of unpredictability: that the chances of the unexpected happening sometime during the night are pretty good, and this, for me, is very good. I don't like to go to shows where it's something slick and overproduced, where each crowd is told they are the very best that ever was tonight and that their sportsball teams are also the best. Sometimes the surprises I get are good, sometimes they are bad, and sometimes are just "huh?"  I'd say that at least two of those categories were fulfilled last Saturday night at The Crocodile in Belltown, and now I will tell you why and also show you photographs of the event that I personally took with a camera device.

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MACEFIELD MUSIC FESTIVAL 2014, DAY TWO: THE POSIES, THE MALDIVES, GREAT SPIDERS, STAG, BEN UNION,OLE TINDER, KIM VIRANT, & FULL TOILET (!), SEATTLE, WA. 10/4/14

(Thanks once more to the lovely and talented writer/photographer AJ Dent, we have this sparkling coverage of Day Two at Macefield Music Festival! I'm a pretty lucky person to know her. -- Marianne)

Ah, the sweet smell of death and decay. Ballard’s streets were filled with it as I stepped off the bus at NW Market Street and Ballard Ave NW. My friend Mariama and I paused for a moment to breathe in the aroma, caused by fallen leaves scrambling across sidewalks and huddling in the gutters. The sun coated everything with that perfect orange color that’s synonymous with October, and above the passing cars, I could hear alt-country music in the air. The minds behind Seattle's Macefield Music Festival are definitely doing the neighborhood justice by hosting it during this resplendent time of year.

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MACEFIELD MUSIC FESTIVAL 2014, DAY ONE: THE SONICS, BOSS MARTIANS, DEEP CREEP, & STAR ANNA, SEATTLE, WA. 10/3/14

(Once again, I am happier than a kitten rolling in endless carpets of fluffy catnip to bring you the writing and photography of AJ Dent, who spent last weekend covering the Macefield fest for Popthomology. Thank you so much, AJ, and everyone at Macefield! -- Marianne)

Live music is medicinal, I swear. Even though I had a horrible cold and was way too sober Friday night, I found myself elated as I wandered around Ballard for the Macefield Music Festival. Northwest Market Street and Ballard Ave were lit up with fellow revelers, but the atmosphere felt very mature -- no teens in neon nor angry, shovey crowds here. I did catch wafts of weed and plenty of smiling stumblers, but they added to the contentment all around. It seemed people were actually there to support local bands (gasp!), not just be seen.

As twilight took over the sky, I bolted to the KEXP main stage in Hattie’s Hat’s parking lot to catch the Boss Martians. Since their debut album dropped nearly twenty years ago, they’ve been fueling parties with surf-poppy rock and their badass 'n bubbly stage presence. To the loud delight of the crowd, Sonics bassist Freddie Dennis joined the guys to provide vocals for a cover of Esquerita’s “Rockin’ The Joint,” and the entire scene just made sense. No doubt the Sonics have been inspirational for the Seattle four-piece, so for them to appear together at a PNW showcase, well, it was just awesome. And the perfect appetizer for The Sonics’ full performance.

Boss Martians, Macefield Music Festival 10/3/14

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HOLY CRAP! 28 ODD VINTAGE (MOSTLY RELIGIOUS) RECORD COVERS FROM THE THRIFT STORE!

There's so much cultural anthropology in thrift stores, I tell ya whut. If I were an academic sort, I'd be writing my thesis on discarded American ephemera, with special emphasis on musical recordings and the sociological implications of finding great quantities of small-time religious pressings dumped in donation bins all over the country (along with the entire recorded outputs of Mitch Miller, Neil Diamond, and 101 Strings). Instead, I'll post my findings here, save a ton in tuition money, and have lots more fun. Please to enjoy!

WISE UP, EVERYONE! The End-Time Voices are telling you to "Save Yourselves" before it's too late! Also, to invest in plaid before the Rapture. Please note that the sale price of this album is one cent.

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MACEFIELD MUSIC FESTIVAL 2014: AN INTERVIEW WITH LARRY PARYPA OF THE SONICS!!!

(I am beyond excited and honored to host this outstanding exclusive-to-Popthomology piece from writer/photographer AJ Dent, featuring an interview with Larry Parypa, the founder of the Godfathers of Garage, the Progenitors of Punk, the Sovereigns of Psycho, The Sonics, who will be performing at Seattle's Macefield Music Festival this weekend!!! WOW! Thank you AJ, Larry, and Jen Stippich! -- Marianne)

If only more people’s morals inspired music festivals!

For those unfamiliar with the story, Edith Macefield was the Ballard resident who refused to sell her 1900s-era farmhouse to developers -- even for a cool million. While the construction manager’s story goes that she simply thought it was too much work to move, her house has become a symbol for sticking it to the man and refusing to sell out. Her tiny home -- now surrounded by the Ballard Blocks -- was even a source of inspiration for the movie Up.

In honor of this smart, stubborn woman, in 2013 the discontinued Reverb Music Festival was reborn as the Macefield Music Festival. To me, that’s an even better legacy than any Pixar flick. I can’t think of a more fitting namesake for a celebration scattered across Ballard, especially one with such a strong local focus.

This year’s fest takes place October 3rd and 4th, and includes a comedy showcase, rock ‘n roll market, and over seventy freaking bands! Yowza. I don’t know what Edith’s musical tastes were, but I bet she could've found plenty of new favorite artists within that bounty. While there are simply too many groovy groups to give proper shout-outs to, I’ve gotta go ahead and say that Goodbye Heart, Bad Things, RA Scion, and Deep Creep are high on my recommendations list. And, gloriously, Friday night will feature the matchless, can’t-miss Sonics.

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