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Where It's At

Belle and Sebastian mosey to the Paramount Theatre, Metric sizes up The Showbox, We Are Scientists and Arctic Monkeys invade The Crocodile Café
by Albert Rodriguez, Richard Kennedy and Lee Arthurs - SGN A&E Writers Belle and Sebastian w/ New Pornographers Saturday, March 25 - 8:00 pm Paramount Theatre - Sold out Scottish band Belle and Sebastian return to Seattle this weekend at the Paramount Theatre. They have a huge fan base in this city and it's sure to be a packed floor with hipsters, both Gay and straight. Seattle has great taste when it comes to music, so it's no wonder they garner such praise here. From the very beginning, Belle and Sebastian were anything but mainstream. Through their first two years of public existence, the band shielded their personalities, submitting publicity photos of a girl who wasn't in the band and reluctantly posing for photo shoots. Furthermore, they performed in odd venues, playing not only the standard coffeehouses and cafes, but also homes, church halls, and libraries. All seven members, including front man Stuart Murdoch, were college students, and all agreed the idea behind the band was to stay on a small scale, to keep it as a project and not let the band run their lives; they even assumed they would release two albums and break up. Their debut titled Tigermilk was limited to 1000 copies and all sold quickly upon release in the UK. Word of mouth by fans and critics alike propelled them from a "project" to a real band. After their second successful release, If You're Feeling Sinister, the group put out a series of EP's before finally getting the original debut, Tigermilk, re-released. The music is gorgeous. They can turn delicate melodies into a full-bodied sound. Murdoch wrote music and short stories in college, and his knack for writing is in every song by the band. At one time whimsical and surreal, and another time odd and unsettling, Murdoch and crew create multi-layered pieces that get better and better with each album. Full of heartache, country lanes and dewy pastures, Belle and Sebastian's songs allow you to get away from your sorry life and examine it simultaneously. Check out their website for more info, www.belleandsebastian.com. - R. Kennedy Pre-concert CD recommendations: The Life Pursuit featuring "The Blues Are Still Blue" and "Funny Little Frog." Also, try Tigermilk featuring "The State I'm In" and "We Rule The School." Metric w/ Islands Monday, March 27 - 8:00 pm Showbox - Tix through www.ticketswest.com / $13 adv, $15 dos. There's something about female trash rockers that gets my libido rocking. Metric, with lead vocalist Emily Haines, is no exception. According to my friend and co-conspirator of all things music, Albert; Emily Haines scares him. That's exactly the sort of reaction I thrive on. Being a Gay man with a huge fascination for artists like Joan Jett (the leader of all things chick-rock) I am somehow drawn to these women that could seemingly demand all things naughty and cause me great confusion over my own sexuality. Haines, guitarist Jimmy Shaw, bassist Josh Winstead and Joules Scott-Key on drums make up Metric and hail from Toronto - the birthplace of Broken Social Scene, which Haines and Shaw have also been members. No strangers to the indie-rock scene, Metric released Old World Underground, Where Are You Now? in 2003 with its nu-new wave feel featuring "Combat Baby" and "Dead Disco." However, their current release, Live It Out finds the band shifting gears and building upon its driving dance-rock foundation. And it's on the strength of songs like first single "Monster Hospital" and personal fave "Empty" that finds the band securing an ever-growing fan base; most recently playing Madison Square Gardens with The Rolling Stones. Islands, another Canadian import with former members of The Unicorns, open the show. Vocalist Nick Diamonds and drummer J'aime Tambeur are joined by bassist Patrice Agbokou and guitarist Jim Guthrie and our touring in support of their debut Return to the Sea, which will be released stateside in April '06. I haven't personally heard the album yet, but judging from the strength of The Unicorns, this should be worth checking out. Metric alone is worth the price of admission. Come let Haines scare you, eh? - L. Arthurs Pre-concert CD recommendation: Live It Out featuring "Monster Hospital" and "Empty". Seattle Gay News presents We Are Scientists w/ opening acts Tuesday, March 28 - 8:00 pm The Crocodile Café - Tix through www.ticketweb.com / $10 If I were planning a house party any time soon, I'd book We Are Scientists for the entertainment. Not just because they're a great band, but also because they wouldn't mind sharing a living room with go-go boys and drunken queens. They're cool like that. The power rock trio just completed back-to-back tours in Europe with high-profile UK acts Kaiser Chiefs and Arctic Monkeys. Both tours featured many sold out performances. We Are Scientists returned to the US, after months of being overseas, and went directly to work again, appearing on Conan O'Brien's late night talk show and at last week's SXSW Festival. The threesome is promoting their debut With Love and Squalor, which includes "The Great Escape" and "Nobody Move, Nobody Get Hurt". We Are Scientists are scheduled to perform at the three-day Sasquatch Music Festival in late May at The Gorge. Back in November, Seattle Gay News sponsored We Are Scientists at The Crocodile Café to a small, energetic crowd that took notice of a group on their way up. Tuesday night at the same venue, Seattle Gay News is extending its support of this talented alt rock band by sponsoring their show again. This time around, the audience is guaranteed to be bigger. Tickets for the concert are selling fast, pointing to a possible sell out by day of show. In an intimate space for only ten bucks, We Are Scientists are a bargain. These guys put out a lot of sound playing three instruments. If you haven't checked them out yet, stop by any Easy Street Records or Sonic Boom Records store and sample their CD, primarily the cuts "Inaction" and "Cash Cow". We Are Scientists give a free in-store performance at Easy Street Records Tuesday evening at 6:00 pm. Opening for them at The Crocodile are new bands The Grates and Foreign Born. See this week's "The Music Lounge" for an interview with Keith Murray of We Are Scientists. - A. Rodriguez Pre-concert CD recommendation: With Love and Squalor featuring "Inaction", "The Great Escape", "Cash Cow" and "Lousy Reputation". Arctic Monkeys Wednesday, March 29 - 8:30 pm The Crocodile Café - Sold out It isn't unusual for an up and coming music act to be referred to as the best new band in the world. Uncommon, however, is to receive that label before you even have an album out. Case in point - Arctic Monkeys. Months before they were even signed to a record label, these young lads could only be heard on their website. The quartet's first single "I Bet You Look Good on the Dance Floor" was initially released as a download, zipping directly to #1 on the UK charts before anyone really had a chance to introduce them. Soon thereafter, fans flocked to the Monkeys' rural hometown in Northern England to see and hear them perform live in small clubs. Still, no album. Domino Records, glowing from the success of Franz Ferdinand, wooed Arctic Monkeys to their label and the foursome began working on their debut. Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not came out last month and has been a top-selling CD at Sonic Boom Records and Easy Street Records since its release. So, do Arctic Monkeys live up to the hype? Absolutely. Every bit of it. I predict you'll see their album in many critics year-end lists this year. The sound is thrilling. It's like hitting full speed on a rollercoaster. You're out of breath through most of it. And when it finishes, you can't wait to do it all over again. Personally, I've been known to spin the CD on my home stereo and jump around until I'm exhausted and dripping with sweat. I certainly recommend it for a good workout. At nineteen and twenty years of age, the Monkeys have planted themselves firmly in rock soil. They have a lot to live up to when they begin pondering a follow-up. Wednesday night's show at The Crocodile Café sold out before you and I opened our holiday gifts and everyone wants "in" to this concert. If you've got tickets, congratulations! If not, don't pout because they're performing at the Sasquatch Festival, on the same day as We Are Scientists, in May. Definitely, give Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not a spin. - A. Rodriguez Pre-concert CD recommendation: Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not featuring "I Bet You Look Good on the Dance Floor" (SGN's Top Twenty-five Singles/Tracks, 2005), "Dancing Shoes", "From the Ritz to the Rubble" and "Red Light Indicate Doors are Secured".