Sometimes things come together so fatefully, do they not? This last Thursday in Seattle was shimmering, sunny spring kind of thing, flowers in riotous bloom, everything new and fresh and nary a drop of that pesky gloom moisture we are so well known for. What could be, in a just and good world, the best activity for such a glorious day? It would be surfing over to the good ol' Chop Suey club to help our dear pop punks Tacocat celebrate the release of their brand-newie Hardly Art rekkid, "Lost Time," oh yes! Demand was such that the band scheduled two shows; an early one for the all-ages folks, and a later one for the 21+ people. Yours truly arrived early to help as I could with set-up and such, which included inflatable aliens and ice cream cones, and REAL ice cream from Bluebird Ice Cream made especially for the day: ChocoTacocat! And don't forget the custom lipsticks from Yé yé Cosmetics! (As always, click on any photo to enlarge, or click on the Flickr set links for more!)
As the youths of all ages (I include myself as a "youth of a certain age") filed in to the club, there was such a sweet excitement in the air, and not just for the free ice cream! Tacocat's inclusive feminist message resonates with many, delivered with incisive humor and infectious melodies, absolutely tuned into the zeitgeist. As John Lennon, a man who during his short life transformed from a patriarchal bully to an ardent feminist, noted:
Strength against the aging, out-of-touch anti-women forces that persist in America can be shown in many forms, and music is one of the most powerful. Go Tacocat Go!
First order of duty for me was helping out beloved fellow photog
Kelly O with the photobooth! You can see our combined efforts, which I think are DAMN ADORABLE, if you click on
THIS RIGHT HERE FLICKR LINK! That was a lot of fun.
First up onstage was colorful solopunk Tacofriend Robin Edwards, otherwise known as
Lisa Prank! Go
HERE to buy "Crush On The World" on Bandcamp!
More fun and shreds happened as
Hardly Boys went on next! You can and will listen and buy them on Bandcamp, too!
GO HERE!
Then, to the delight of all, Tacocat took the stage! They performed all of "Lost Time," which included my personal favorite song from the album, "I Love Seattle," and my other personal favorite song, "Men Explain Things To Me," and my other other favorite song, "Leisure Bees," and...well, OK, so ALL the songs on "Lost Time" are my favorites, which means that I highly recommend the entire album and think that if you buy it
HERE AND NOW, it will be your Album Of The Summer And Beyond.
Piñatas were tossed into the crowd, which is a better idea than tossing ice cream into the crowd, bubbles were blown, a crustacean danced, and the promise of the beautiful day was more than fulfilled. Hot, sweaty, happy, and tired, I exited after the show to make room for the next group of fans, glad to have shared in the moment.
Thank you Chop Suey, Kitty Page, Jodi Ecklund, Kelly O, Boyfriends, Lisa Prank, Hardly Boys, and Tacocat!
© Copyright 2008- Marianne Spellman