dent may, with ukulele.

Tonight, if the chatting, laughing, drinking, eating, and other assorted revelry of Blogsgiving hasn’t worn you to shreds, you might want to drop by Chop Suey on your way home. There, Dent May and his Magnificent Ukulele(s) can show you that contrary to conventional wisdom, if you try hard enough, you can force a dance party. They open for sibling songwriting the Fiery Furnaces, an odd couple of boundary-stretching rockers who have taken inspiration from sources ranging as far and wide as Devo to their grandmother’s choir. $15, 8pm. With Cryptacize. [chopsuey]

There have been a number of excellent events this year to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the Alaska-Yukon-Pacific Exposition but the concert sponsored by the Burke Museum this Friday, November 20, may be the best of them. Tribute to the Spirit: Little Big Band is an evening of Native American music, story telling and dance at Meany Hall that blends contemporary rock, rap, and jazz with traditional Native culture. This is going to be an exciting show that neatly illustrates how cultural traditions are continued and progressed by contemporary artists whose work will go on to influence future generations.

Representatives from seven different First Nations hit the stage for this unique event that features a number of dynamic performers including Grammy Award winning singer Star Nayea, Tlingit storyteller, actor and musician Gene Tagaban, Preston Singletary, Tlingit glass artist and electric bassist, and Swil Kanim, Native American violinist and comic.

Tickets are available at the door and in advance at Brown Paper Tickets. The concert is tied to the Burke’s excellent exhibit Indigenous Voice Reply, an exhibit that takes a look back at the representation of indigenous people at the original A-Y-P fair, how the fair shaped the history of the Burke, and gives a chance for modern people to respond to the past.

The concert is followed Saturday by a free one-day symposium at UW’s Kane Hall featuring World’s Fair historian Dr. Robert Rydall as the keynote speaker that examines the portrayal of indigenous peoples at the A-Y-P and other world’s fairs of the time.

Should be a good show, so I hope to see you there!

John Darnielle’s struggles with his faith may be the motivation behind his latest Mountain Goats album, but if previous shows are any indication, I expect a high level of devotion from his fans tonight at the Showbox. Whether the topic is fevered dreams or conversations with belief, the shows tend to be populated by legions of fans, getting sweatily pumped by the shared intensity of the moment. However, the real reason for this post is to encourage you to show up early enough to catch Owen Pallett, who, when he’s not arranging Arcade Fire string sections or Richard Kelly soundtracks, records and performs as Final Fantasy. Although his loop-happy violin covers of Joanna Newsom and Bloc Party may catapulted him to blogfame, his original material is also strong, creative, and engaging. Performances are typically solo, although sometimes a friend comes along to provide live overhead projector animations. I promise that this all sounds a whole lot more precious and treacly than it really is. $20, doors at 8. [showbox]

Landon Pigg is back on the road now and will be bringing his poetic pop to Neumos on Monday, November 9, where he will be appearing with Among the Oak and Ash who have brilliantly reworked traditional Appalachian folk songs for a modern audience, and Seattle-born, LA-raised singer-songwriter Alison Sudol who blends alt-folk with creative pop as A Fine Frenzy.

Doors are at 7, all ages with ID. Tickets are $18 in advance via TicketsWest

The last time Dirty Projectors were in town I felt horrible about missing them, both because parts of their new record, Bitte Orca nearly caused me to trip over myself while listening to it on my morning commute and also because it was clear that the size of the venues they’d be visiting would only get bigger and bigger. Luckily, they saw fit to pay another visit to Seattle this year, upsizing from Chop Suey to the still intimate Neumo’s, which felt especially cozy with the swampy warmth of packed wall-to-not-so-well-ventillated-wall and hanging-over-the-balcony with adoring onlookers.

And for good reason, for all the astoundingness of their recorded material, seeing Dave Longstreth and crew onstage performing is all the more jaw-dropping. Moment by moment, line by line, and note by note, the songs feel like a tenuous and delicate exploration of the limits of what makes a song and how a story can be told musically. The songs tremble and glow, flit and dive around the surface of an idea, rise and fall into big surrendery swells, and challenge the ambitious listeners seeking to take their physical response beyond clapping head bobbing to full on dancing. Despite this rather academic-seeming descriptions, the music remains brainy without becoming coldly cerebral; in fact, with the swirling rhythmic eddies, each member beginning in their own apparent orbit, and eventually coalescing, it feels like future soul, forward-looking yet with a full heart to match its sophistication. From an opening solo performance, to stripped down duets, but especially with the talents of the full group on display, each melodic episode was its own kind of thrilling. While Longstreth is the clear engineer of the operation, he wisely leaves plenty of room for vocalists Amber Coffman, Angel Deeradorean, and Haley Dekle to shine. Until seeing them in person, it somehow never occurred to me that the all of interlocking vocals could exist organically, but the syncopated showstopper brought down the house with the multipart, perfectly coordinated, rollicking vocal gymnastics. It was so amazing that the encore-concluding “Knotty Pine” was hardly necessary, but highly appreciated.

Lavine will be signing copies of his book on Friday, November 13, down at Olympia’s Orca Books (509 East 4th Ave), and also on Saturday, November 14 at Easy Street in West Seattle (4559 California Ave SW).

Additionally, the book is being celebrated at book release party Friday, November 13 at Neumo’s with musical accompaniment by Brothers of the Sonic Cloth, a band featuring members of Tad and Unnatural Helpers and the legendary Mudhoney. Doors are at 8pm; tickets are a mere $12 in advance and since this show’s likely to be full early, you’re definitely going to want to get them in advance.

Unless, of course, you’re the lucky winner of the pair of tickets Seattle Metblogs has to give away. If you and a guest would like to attend this show–and, believe me, you want to–send us an e-mail with your name and contact info at seattle.metblogs@gmail.com no later than Wednesday, November 11 at noon. Sorry minors, you must be 21 or older to attend this show.

You can check out images from the book on Lavine’s website. After you’re done looking at the Grunge images, I highly recommend checking out his “Real People” portfolio.

Sindri Mar Sigfussion is the founding member of Icelandic pop-folk group Seabear. Feeling a desire to diversify his musical output a bit, he shortened his name to Sin Fang Bous and released an album of experimental pop that draws from a broad range of influences that’s earned a number of critical raves. He’s playing tonight at the Showbox along with fellow Icelanders Mum, touring to support their own well-regarded album. Show time is 8:00 pm.

For a preview of tonight’s show, click here

the most serene republic, photo by josh (me)

The Most Serene Republic, who played a heck of a show opening for Grand Archives last week (a bunch of my photos are on backbeatseattle), had a pretty bad time after their performance in Vancouver.

Following a show at the Biltmore, they had an ample amount of gear stolen. It’s always sad when good people have their stuff taken from them, but if you had seen the way that lead singer / lead trombonist gleefully danced around the stage with that horn of his, you’d know that the sting of theft was all the more bitter. If you happen to see a bunch of gear (acoustic & electric guitars, Jiggs Whigham 2102L King Trombone, pedals, and flight cases) showing up at near the border pawn shops, please get in touch with Arts & Crafts to bring the lawbreakers to justice and the equipment back to the band’s loving embrace. (full list of stolen gear and contact info after the jump)

// Contact chris@arts-crafts.ca if you have any info. //

Make: Washburn Acoustic (Natural Finish) // Model: D112 // Serial #: 86028 // Notes: Not original headstock, screw markings

Make: Wasburn Acoustic (blue glossy finish) // Model: EA16MBL // Notes: Small paint chip near end pin //

Make: Gibson 335 (white w/ gold binding) // Model: E335 Diamond Cut // Serial #: 0-1387722 // Notes: Gold Hardware

Make: King Trombone // Model: Jiggs Whigham 2102L // Serial #: 932731 // Notes: Dents on Bell of Trombone. Trombone case is labeled TMSR

Make: Fender Telecaster (yellow) // Model: HWY-1 // Serial #: Z4209214 // Notes: Paint chips all over guitar

Make: Garrison Acoustic (black) // Model: AGSP-1-BK // Serial #: S06120550 // Notes: Thin body acoustic

Make: Audio Tech Pedal Board // Notes: approx: 16”x12

Make: Boss Tuning Pedal (white w/ orange writing) // Model: Tu-2

Make: Boss Delay Pedal (white w/ blue writing) // Model: DD-6

Make: Boss Delay Pedal (white w/ blue writing) // Model: DD-6

Make: Boss Distortion Pedal (yellow w/ black writing) // Model: SD – 1

Make: Radial D.I. (green)

Make: Washburn flight case for fender Telecaster // Notes: Silver case painted w/ TMSR

Make: Gator 335 Flight Case // Notes: Painted w/ TMSR