Washington recently welcomed Rancid, My Chemical Romance, and blink-182 on the 2011 Honda Civic Tour. The night was packed full of roaring crowds, awesome bands, and sex jokes (courtesy of Mr. Tom DeLonge). But honestly, what is a blink-182 concert without the mention of bj's and wait...Justin Bieber? Don't worry, the two subjects did not coincide, yikes! But before these nonsensical ramblings occurred, there were two sets that were sure to deliver a jaw-dropping time.

Rancid opened the show, and while I was amongst many teenagers who had never indulged in their music (nor had…

As most of you probably know, the Vans Warped Tour wrapped up two weeks ago, and Rain City Ambience had the privilege of covering both the Seattle and Portland dates (Katie, Chris, & myself at the Gorge, Brianna in Portland). Covering events like this is kind of my bread and butter, so I'm claiming blogging rights, but Katie and Brianna both will have images featured in this post as well.

While there were many well known and well loved bands on the tour this year, there were also a handful of up-and-comers who are worthy of your…

Last Wednesday, Thomas Dybdahl played a show at Chop Suey for an audience that should have been larger than it was. I had no idea who this guy was before Tuesday, but man this was a good show. When I heard that Thomas was from Norway, of course you think about everything that is going on IN Norway and I have to say, the talent this man possess blew me away. When I walked in, there was a band playing on the venue floor (which ended up being Kimo Muraki & Tiny Messengers, with an AWESOME stand…

HARD SUMMER TOUR
Get your tickets!



DIGITALISM
Electronic music... no one does it quite like ze' Germans. Hailing from Hamburg, Jence and Isi aka Digitalism have been bringing superior dance music to the scene since 2004. They've caught the attention of major DJ's such as Justice and Erol Alkan and their tracks have caught regular rotation in their sets. With one of the most rad studios I've ever heard of, they record and produce their music in a WWII bomb shelter they own in Hamburg - talk about low noise…

To say I am "slow" when it comes to compiling photo blogs post-any-show-at-El-Corazon is an understatement. I am usually horrified by the number of images that are too dark/godawful to post, but last Tuesday night I had the pleasure of shooting Alabaster, Goodnight Sunrise, Girl On Fire, and The Material at El Corazon with sporadically awesome lighting. I had to leave before the headliner, New Year's Day, played, so I apologize if they are your favorite band and I just ruined your evening by not sticking around to capture their essence via photographic measures.

/end typical rant…

Currently I am burdened with heavy post-concert depression but while I yearn for the opportunity to revisit that night, I know that I would not be in this state if it were not for the show being completely kick-ass! While I won't dwell on the fact at how disappointing it was to be informed that fun. would not be attending the Portland date, I must say their set would have been far more superior than that of their replacements', local band…

After an extremely long couple of weeks, I was eager to indulge myself in a very mellow show. Opening was Austin Gibbs and while I had never heard his music, he performed with a great deal of enthusiasm that caused an uproar from the crowd. Shortly after, The Maine took the stage with a multitude of hilarities, songs of nostalgia, and a teenage fan accompanying John O'Callaghan on stage and taking over the mic...there may or may not have been a little bromance. Lastly, Augustana satisfied the audience with a flawless and beautiful set. I am envious of those who…

Ladies and gentlemen, I just downed a 5-hour energy, and my blogging brain is bursting with ideas. Luckily, I just finished editing my photos from last week's Cage the Elephant, Manchester Orchestra, and Sleeper Agent show at Showbox Sodo--and as much as I would love to sit here and complain about how terrible the lighting was that night--I'm just going to cut to the chase.

Sleeper Agent opened the show with a solid performance, and--incidentally--the best lighting of the night was during their set. Way to build me up to break me down, lighting gods. I guess…

There are very, very few bands that can span multiple generations of concert go-ers and still maintain the same momentum they had when they first spiked in popularity. Death Cab is one, Jimmy Eat World is another. Let me precursor this by saying one thing, the last time I saw Jimmy Eat World was a bad experience. Details aren't important, because this show was kinda sorta really great and completely redeemed the band in my mind.



There isn't much that can be said about this band that hasn't been said before. They have a…

Just as a bit of a precursor to this blog, I want to outline the main things that I learned at this year's Bamboozle festival:

1) Juggalos really do exist. And they're creepy as hell. Whoever decided that Insane Clown Posse needed to play a festival comprised mostly of 16-year-old girls is either a) a pervert or b) has no idea what a "target demographic" is and why they should at least KIND OF stick to it.

2) There are actually people in Jersey who look, talk, and act like the goons on Jersey Shore.

3) It…

So sorry for the delay on this post, my lovelies!! I'm in the process of getting my very own internet at the moment, so I'm at Starbucks mooching for awhile.

All Time Low recently came through Seattle on their Dirty Work tour with Yellowcard, Hey Monday, and The Summer Set, and it was a great show. I have uploaded all my photos to my flickr, so I am ready to share them with you!!! Here are some of my favorites:





This…

Wolfgang Gartner. You might recognize the name from a track likeAnimal Rights that he co-produced with Deadmau5. Maybe you've heard one his new smashes (ie. Illmerica, Space Junk, Wolfgang's 5th Symphony, etc.) on the interwebz somewhere. But then again, maybe you were one of the lucky rascals who got to experience Wolfgang live at the King Cat Theater on April 8th.

Upon arrival at what is becoming my new favorite venue in Seattle I was drunk with anticipation (and whiskey). I was greeted by the pulsating sounds of Felix Cartal,…

Hailing from across the pond in his native UK, Chris Lake looked to make waves at his "Play Pause Record" tour stop in Seattle. Unfortunately, all we got was a healthy splash of his upbeat trademark house music and a monsoon of lights and lasers courtesy of Republiq Night Club in SODO.

With a raucous crew and the week's disposable income in hand, arriving at Republiq was a pleasantly surprising experience. Nestled in the heart of SODO, I was expecting the venue to be a bit on the grimey side. Other venues in this area have a tendency…

Moneta has broken up. For many individuals, including the band members, that is a statement difficult to swallow. Everyone has their own opinion on the band but that doesn't matter, because now after it's all been said and done, the truth is that they gave their fans what a ruthless society wouldn't: hope, and depending on who you talk to, worth as well. Throughout Moneta's time in the Seattle local scene, they had seemingly mastered the art of showing their fans through music and friendship that they matter and no matter what people said to them once they…

During a recent show in Perth, the Chariot's performance was shut down after they took the show out of the venue--and into what appears to be a deli--via a side door. During this awesome display of showmanship, a bowl of pears was knocked over and ultimately destroyed, causing whoever was running things to shut down power and call it off.

Reason number #467 why the Chariot is awesome: They decided why end it there when people paid money to see a show? Luckily, a fan in the audience's house was already…

Here's a little look at My Chemical Romance currently on tour promoting their latest album, "Danger Days: The True Lives of the Fabulous Killjoys". If they come to your city, I suggest you go see them!

Not only did KTUB and I rekindle a lost love on Saturday evening, but I also experienced my first ever hardcore show--AND I managed to survive without breaking my camera or getting punched in the eye by flailing hardcore-dancing arms. The last time I went to KTUB was before From Aphony broke up about a million years ago, so the event was quite the nostalgic sensory experience.

I was only at the show long enough to take photos of To the Wind and WOLVES, so I apologize to the other bands that played that night (all 80…

Friday, December 17th, 2010.

‘Twas a week before Christmas and all through the house,
Not a soul was at home, to Club Motor they had bounced;
The stockings were pulled up high by the girls with much care,
In hopes that all of the young chaps would both gawk and stare;

The party crews descended upon SODO, no intent on using their beds,
While visions of Downlink and Designer Drugs danced in their heads;
Banging basslines, screaming synths, and zooming lasers galore,
Santa, all I want for Christmas this year is THIS, and much much MORE.


Recently,…

...and the photos really do speak for them selves. So just look and see what I mean:

If you have seen MVM play before, then you now that the guys are great. They are sweet guys and are appreciative of their fans, and of Seattle. If you want to know more about them, check out my interview with them. It was a lot of fun talking with them.

lovelove,
Christie

P.S. My Flickr has the whole set. So take a look. You don't have anything better to…

..even at 3000 miles away, I, Colleen Elizabeth Gilfoy, will be able to enjoy JBB this year. How is that so? Well, the cool people at KISS 106.1 will be streaming the WHOLE show today on stikam starting at 4pm!

Since today is my first day off since Black Friday (!!), I'll be watching the show, making comments, and posting them right here on Rain City Ambience. If anyone asks, I'm doing "homework". So sit down at 4 pm, open two tabs on your browser (stikam and RCA), and hit the refresh button…

The Rocket Summer’s “Bryce Avary: His Instruments and Your Voice” Tour stopped by Seattle on Monday, Nov. 8. This isn’t a tour you’d normally see on my list of must see shows. I’d been hearing mixed reviews of Bryce Avary for quite some time and considering since The Rocket Summer hadn’t come through Seattle recently, there hadn’t been a chance to see if they were my “cup of tea”, or so to say.

Joining The Rocket Summer on this tour were He Is We. A lot of people I know rave about them, due to the fact that…

It's very well possible that I start every photo blog by talking about how much the lighting at El Corazon sucks for taking photos. It's also possible that I have never mentioned this before, but it's Sunday and I'm feeling a bit too lazy to go back and check. Anyway, should any member of a band who wants me to take photos of them at this venue actually read this, I have a message for you:

BRING LIGHTS. Even if it's just a damn work lamp from Home Depot, somehow set that thing on strobe mode for…

I hope everyone is having a great Halloween! I went to the album release show for Wild Orchid Children last night and got some killer photos and a great interview with Kirk Huffman. I will have my article up soon, so be looking for that and more photos coming this week!

Seattle was buzzing last week with a much anticipated first-time visit on Saturday, October 23rd from an Italian DJ duo famed for their constant on-stage drinking, fidget house music anthems, and steezy street-wear trendiness. This week, however, that buzz has been quelled and people are hardly talking about this hyped-up first time appearance to Rain City…

Crookers, a larger-than-life DJ and production duo hailing from Milan, have destroyed packed venues and spun in front of sold-out festivals all over the world. They’ve done official remixes for heavy hitters such as Kid-Cudi, Britney Spears, U2, and Lady Gaga.…

On October 19th, the Say Anything/Motion City Soundtrack headlining tour came through Seattle, playing at Showbox Sodo. The lineup for this tour was impressive. The music scene has arguably been going through many changes; ones that we can only hope are for the better and amidst that--in a music scene of similarity and little to no tact--there are still musicians creating real and original music. This tour, with its four acts, are all bands with their own sound. This wasn’t a show that you’d go to and forget one or two of the bands that played later in…

Yes, I know. I epically fail at getting my photos up in a timely manner, but I guess its better late than never? Right then...

I had never seen WCAR before this show; never listened to their music, never saw them play, and had only heard their name before. Man, was that a REALLY big mistake. These guys are awesome. If you have heard of them but never listened, then take my advice and get their music. It is great. Just look:

I went that night to see…

Review submitted by the ever-hilarious Craig Hanson

Something needs to be said before you read this - I'm not an artist, I'm not very musically talented, and my opinion certainly shouldn't be regarded as anything but that: an opinion. Now that the standard, "I have no qualifications to review this shit" disclaimer is out there, please, turn on "Deadmau5 - Some Chords" and get your reading game on.

I've needed some personal time to sit and stew over what an experience the recent Deadmau5 concert/show/party was here in Seattle. To fully synthesize a $2,000,000 stage and visual…

This past Wednesday I had the pleasure of attending my first "rave"-esque show. Honestly, I have no idea how to describe the experience because it was all so new to me, so I will leave it to Craig to write up the review within the next couple of days.

This is what I do know: I hadn't seen Skrillex since he was the singer of From First to Last about five years ago, and his set kicked ass; Die Antwoord was entertaining yet at the same time the weirdest thing I had ever seen; and Deadmau5 blew…

Well everyone, I took photos of There For Tomorrow at El Corazon again. This must be some kind of record; I haven't taken this many pictures of a single band since the days of bi-weekly From Aphony shows at KTUB. Did I mention that TFT is from Florida and only play here a few times a year? Maybe that's a sign that I should start attending more shows.

I wasn't sure about about the lineup of this tour at first, but my skepticism melted away once Tommy & the High Pilots took the stage. None of…

Come down to El Corazon tonight to get loose in the pit to a couple amazing bands. Local seattle band Monsters Scare You! will be opening for this tour as well so it'd be nice to come out and show the local music scene a little love. If you have never experienced The Chariot live before, then this is one for sure not to miss. Even if you don't like their music, they put on one heck of a show!

I'll be there all night mixin it up so say hello and heck maybe I'll even help you…

**Thank you to Craig Hanson for submitting this preview! Look for a review from him after the show as well.**

I recently informed a friend about the upcoming Deadmau5 show and how epic it was set to be: THE best visual show in electronic music, one of the most laudable music producers of our time flexing his craftsmanship and energy for those lucky enough to attend, and the venue which holds possibly Seattle’s richest performing arts history will be his stage.

Needless to say, my friend’s response was to be expected: “Who the hell is Dead-mouse?”

If…

Here are some shots I took of Justin Nozuka on the You I Wind Land and Sea tour. It was one of the most relaxing shows I've ever experienced. If you get a chance, check him out on tour!







ps. I realize all of these photos look similar. It is the result when I am happily stationed in…

Catch the boys in A Rocket to the Moon on the Shout It Out tour with Tulsa, OK natives, Hanson. They'll be stopping by The Moore on September 23 so enjoy a great show! I'll be sidestage for the Portland date so if you see me say "Suppp!"

Screen cap is taken from Sigismund S. Pikul's video of "Theater"

The Seattle music scene has become an unrecognizable force over the last several years. Where emphasis used to be on original and creative music, is now is on haircuts and neon colored skinny jeans. In what once was a community of bands and fans [turned friends], now remains a game of who can be trendier, allowing for the quality of music to be placed on the back burner. Avid concert attenders have longed for a return to a scene where music is the priority but…

I've never covered an event in realtime, so I thought I'd give it a shot for the VMAs. Chances are I'll think it's too difficult after the first fifteen minutes and give up, but it's the thought that counts, right?

First and foremost, this is the first image that appears when you search "VMA" on Google: I couldn't look at Britney Spears' picture anymore, so here is my "twin," Emma Stone on the white carpet:




K HERE WE GO. Scroll all the way to the bottom to see pictures!

8:04PST: Paramore interview. Is Hayley the only person that…

This is the only band I used my 20mm (wide angle) lens on, and I kind of regret not using it for more bands. Oh well, Set Your Goals were my favorite band at Warped Tour this year, so I guess they deserved special treatment. Did I mention that at the after-Warped-BBQ their tour manager found an ax, and there is now a photo of me holding it floating around the cyber-verse? Didn't think so. Basically, Warped Tour was insane.

Ahem. Moving on.

Enjoy!

Read | Posted by Kelly Mason | Aug 29th 2010, 9:15^pm | Show coverage, Photography