 I Was There Man!
La Cha Cha, La Cha Cha, La Cha Cha....it's just so much fun to say and just as much fun to watch this band play - hey that rhymes! Our Thursday started off with no Office or 30 Rock but four bands at the Empyrean Coffee House. Matty, Dave, and I arrived at the Empyrean a little late but early enough to catch the end of the La Cha Cha set, and these Spokanites rock. At first I thought La Cha Cha would be like a ska band based on the "cha cha" but oh no it is full fledged indie rock with a taste of other musical genres thrown in. I really liked their song about robbing a bank I mean really who wouldn't want to rob a bank just for the heck of it, to see if you could pull it off... or as they say in the song "I just wanted to get my face on the 5 o'clock news." You could tell people were excited to see them play, I guess they hadn't played a show in a while. All the sudden Matty turns over to me and says "the singer looks like Screech from Saved By The Bell," and he totally does but that aside this super cool foursome that put on a fun set! If you get a chance pull up their Myspace page on the ol' computer screen and give them a listen or better yet catch one of their shows and for the heck of it say their name three times in a row, it's so much fun! 
Next up was another Pullman gem - Yarn Owl! After their set I went and talked to the boys of the band and asked the front-man how they came up with the name Yarn Owl and he told me! He has a needle point or yarn art collection and one of the works is a picture of an owl and there you have it - it's yarn-a-riffic! This pop folk band was almost cooler than owning a yarn art picture, but I don't know which is cooler. I must say I am excited that they are playing Elk Fest so if you missed them make sure to catch them in May! But about their set... it was pretty yarn awesome! Sorry, I can't get enough of the yarn play on words! The vocals were super poppy and smooth and the instruments complimented them nicely. At on point one of the members in the band managed to play a glockenspiel with a drum stick, that was a first for me ... it was nifty. The guys were really down to earth and friendly making their overall performance everything I hoped it would be! After they were done playing they invited anyone to come talk to them at their table and if you did they would give you a yarn bracelet, so I did and I am still wearing it. I thought that was super creative and a fun way to remind me of their band, thus now there will always be a place in my heart for Yarn Owl... oh and they rock!
Portrait of a Gentleman is another local Spokane band that we have seen before! They played the first Danger Radio show that Matt and I went too, but this time the guys sounded better I don't know if it was the venue or what but it was cool to hear them play again. The crowd was super excited to see them as well, I looked around the room and people were rockin' out with the band during their set. The cool thing is that Portrait of a Gentleman is in the studio right now, which means new music! Even though they sounded great this time the boys were having some problems with strings! At first the bass player broke strings and then he didn't have any to replace them so the super cool bass player from Mt. St. Helens Vietnam Band let him use his bass for the rest of their set. Then moments later they singer/guitar player broke a string on his guitar - they must be shreddin' their instruments. He did have a spare to fix it though! By the end of their set everything was fixed and it sounded good and i like their song "Let's Define Ourselves," I am intrigued as to where this band will go! Keep your eyes and ears out for Spokane's very own Portrait of a Gentleman!
And then the clock ticked and we drank another beer and the Empyrean got really full and ta da on stage was the one and only dressed to impress Mt. St. Helens Vietnam Band. As I told the bassist after the show "oh my gosh…I mean like holy Jesus." I am still stunned from what I watched on the Empyrean stage last night. It was so fast, creative, out-there, and wah-blam that I didn't know what to do with myself. Round of applause to the lovely lady in the band because she was so cool to watch! She would be up and down playing the floor with drumsticks and beating the drums, playing the keyboard and pounding her tambourine stick like instruments on the ground and shaking them in the air and shreddin' the guitar! Wow! Also their drummer who is only 14, yes 14 was stunning. By the end of their set I now understand why they call him "The Beast." As Matt said "Fuck watching America's Got Talent... people should see this 14 year old kid play the drums." Their music is rock, alternative, dance, indie and everything in between it is something you will not hear from anyone else and by far an amazing live band! I am so excited to see them at Sasquatch! Someone in the band is like a punk rock Martha Stweart because not only did they have matching outfits but they hand made their own soap - yep for $5 you can buy Mt. St. Helens Vietnam Band soap that smells like yummy flowers. Yarn and Soap what more could you ask for! The ended their set with their hit song "Albatross, Albatross, Albatross" and I am pretty sure every jaw in the room had dropped by the end of it. Not only did the singer give his guitar to the girl in the band to play while he rocked a mini drum, but the whole band was playing their instruments like this was the last time they were ever going to play this song. They mentioned that they liked the brick work in Spokane but not the vomit they saw on our sidewalks so, Spokanites lets not vomit on the sidewalk so this band will come back because they are one of the coolest live bands you will ever see. As Matty would say "I said good-day" and make sure to see this Seattle band before they are playing arena shows.
Check out all of our photos from the show HERE!
Andrea@checkitoutmusic.com |
