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…

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…

In case you haven't noticed, I have been on a bit of a Seattle hip hop kick over the past several months. While I am no aficionado, there are a ton of local artists who are being recognized as up-and-comers to look out for--and for good reason. Case in point: Grieves & Budo, a duo who just released their first album on Rhymesayers Entertainment, Together/Apart. They played their CD release show in Seattle at Neumo's, and I was fortunate enough to snag a photo pass for the event.

Yeah, I don't even know how to begin…

Nevermind how late I am on posting this.. but what's with all the band bashing? Ignore how hypocritical I am for saying that, seeing how I've had my fair share of bashing on bands, but I've taken a new stand! Really, they're doin' their own thang. Who are we to judge their intentions? We don't know these musicians personally, so we shouldn't be talking like we know them. I had this in mind as I was watching such bands as fun. and Panic At The Disco take the stage in Seattle late last month.

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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…

When I first started getting involved in Seattle local music, bands like Gatsbys American Dream, Danger:Radio, From Aphony, and Blane were names commonly found on the bills for a majority of shows. With that in mind, last night's show a throwback. I think it's fair to say that only at a Rain City Ambience show would you find members of each of those bands, even if the members from those bands weren't performing but merely in attendance. Before I joined the staff here, I had always thought of this website as the middle person in the scene,…

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…

I'm always a little skeptical of tours nowadays. Over time I have found that tours has one of two things happening: either all of the bands aren't my cup 'o tea and I end up very bored, or every band is amazingly mind-blowing and not a single person is having a bad time. Thankfully last night the band situation stayed in the realm of the latter. Although only a little over 200 tickets pre-sold, El Corazon started to fill up just before Bayside went on, only to half way empty just before Silverstein took the stage.

I can't…

Last night I had the pleasure of joining Chris Bicknell and Kevin Hanaford, of the new band Fira, in the studio. Those names aren't at all foreign to Rain City Ambience. They recorded a new demo for the band within our time there and I can say with all certainty, there is change coming. I can't exactly pin point what, but it's been a long time since I've seen that much passion for music come out of individuals in the scene. The band is still very much in the beginning stages but I know it's going to blow…

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…

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!

Wild Orchid Children and Orbs ended their tour in Seattle last weekend and I thought their show would be a fantastic way to round out my weekend of shows before spring quarter began. I didn't see very much of the first two bands, but Orbs is fantastic. I don't have photographs of them though.

I think Kirk Huffman has unparalleled talent. Everything that man touches turns to gold, and what makes him so incredibly gifted isn't just his sheer talent as a musician but the musicians he works with: amazing percussionists, and not to mention Thomas Hunter who…

On March 5th, Macklemore & Ryan Lewis played their last of three sold-out shows at the Showbox. I said it that night, and I'll say it again: Despite the fact that I rolled solo to a hip hop show on a Saturday night, by the end of the concert--even as a photographer--I felt like I was in a completely different world. The last time the "show high" effect rubbed off on me while I was working was, uh, never--mostly because usually when I go to shows I zone out, take pictures, and leave. Every single artist…

Since I have nothing of substance to say about this show yet, I thought I'd leave you with a 1500x1000 image of Spencer Chamberlain (Underoath) doing what he does best. This week is full of midterms and misery for me, but look for our interview with Grant Brandell and more photos of the band in the next couple of weeks.

(Click the photo for the full-size version.)

...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…

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!

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…

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…

There are few things I love more than hip hop from the Northwest, and The GNU Deal are no exception. I had the privilege of hanging out with Ashton and Eric a few weeks ago to take promos, and our adventure around Seattle ranged from the University District to the ever-classy White Center. We told dirty jokes, ate pho, and took about 300 awesomely ridiculous photos. This is the only one I can release for now, but I will definitely be posting the rest after their next album drops.

Check out The GNU Deal on