eternal fair - the sunset & the comet

Ever gone to a movie by yourself? First time feels weird - like everyone is staring, wondering what the creeper with a kid's snack pack is doing alone on opening night of "Tangled". Take that feeling and magnify it by a million if you ever plan on going to a Seattle show alone. Amidst a sea of flannel-clad, heavily spectacled, chain smoking hipsters in tapered denim, the lone show-goer sticks out like a sore thumb. Enter: ME at the Eternal Fair show at Ballard's Sunset Tavern July 22nd. I was really hoping either A) Eternal Fair would go on first or B) the opening bands would be super quick so I could beat it out of there. Was the music that bad? No. But the dude sitting next to me at the bar was creeptastic. Picture with me a 40 year old man drinking cheaper booze than I was spending the entire time critiquing art and showing me 30+ pictures of crotch rockets on his Droid. THIRTY. Luckily, I'm a master of acting a dutiful listener yet hearing absolutely nothing. Did I mention this guy had a full-blown Kentucky Waterfall? You just don't see those outside of incestuous mining towns anymore these days, much less the Seattle bar scene.

I digress...

Alone. Eternal Fair Show. My saving grace of the night was some solid music with the faithful not at the Capitol Hill Block Party. Opening act "Boxcar Rebellion" left a lot to be desired that night. Their set lacked cohesion and I just wasn't digging the "mid-life crisis" vibe they were putting off. Aside from a couple decent face-melting guitar solos by lead singer Kathy Moore, all I really saw was a band of old people trying a little too hard. There you go - that was the first negative thing I've ever said in a music review! Had to happen at some point, right? Moving on...thank God Eternal Fair was on their game. Second up to bat, they undeniably brought the heat and got people on their feet at Sunset. Everyone from dirty hippies to soccer moms were shakin what their momma gave them on the floor. Like I mentioned before, lead singer Andrew Vait channels Emile Hirsch better than Emile Hirsch does and after the most excessive mic check I've ever witnessed, Andrew, Brent Rusinow and Daniel Nash hit the stage and I had an instant smile on my face. Long forgotten was my oddball bar neighbor as some MGMT-esque strains hit my ears. I kept mentally noting how incredible of a musican Andrew is - he never fails to disappoint, this time flawlessly switching between the guitar and keys. Though each song had it's own unique identity, the entire set was bound together by Vait's Muse-like vocals, Rusinow's fuzzy bass and some solid beats on Nash's part. After a show like that, I almost forgot about headliner M. Bison, who wrapped up the show with a set eerily reminscent of Animal Collective. I listened to a few of their songs but was soon overwhelmed by a slew of Spokane visitors, Fireball whiskey and the urge to get far, far away from stanky hippies in motion.

courtesy of Eternal Fair

Hands down, Eternal Fair is coming into their own and getting better every damn time. Lucky for Seattleites, your latest opportunity to let them cast a spell on you is this Friday at Capitol Hill's Comet Tavern (9 pm, $7 cover) with American Girls and Portland's own, John Craig + The Weekend. Just don't go alone...you may end up peeping rare mullets and pictures of motorcycles.

allen stone w. eternal fair

last friday night at the crocodile, i was that girl. you know, front row, sweaty, screaming and whipping out my iPhone every 6-9 seconds to type a longggggg ass note reviewing the allen stone show with openers eternal fair and special guests alessandra rose, kris orlowski, and ben carson of hot bodies in motion. blew my muthaeffin mind people. in case you were lame enough not to show, here's the rundown.

the sold-out show kicked off with emile hirsch's long lost cosmic twin, andrew vait and his band, eternal fair. i nearly shed a tear when he said they didn't have any albums available yet BUT that didn't dampen the golden set these indie rockers flawlessly executed. though definitely harnessing his own sound, andrew had the innate ability to conjure phil collins, kings of leon's caleb followill and panic! at the disco's brendan urie all at once. other times, he just let his fingers do the talking with some face-melting guitar solos (although i was strongly tempted to let MY fingers do the talking in his gorgeous mop of hair...le sigh). all in all, a rousing set by a group hitting their musical stride. do yourself a favor and see them next friday, july 22nd at ballard's own sunset tavern.

now, where do i even begin with allen stone? he's a black voice trapped in a white body. stevie wonder's gestures and head sway with john mayer's facial expressions. he's got a ridiculously soul-filled sound that would make the likes of elvis and jackie wilson roll in their graves. he's that damn good. he opened with some crowd pleasing folk covers further enhanced by the bevy of friends including some of seattle's finest up-and-comers. when he finally did launch into his own arsenal of songs there wasn't a bystander in the house. hundreds of literal hot bodies in motion were funking the shizzzzz outta the place as allen brought the house down. big ups to the two wasted girls to my right who shoved and spilled beer on me roughly 23 times. you weren't annoying at all. allen ended up performing (with a costume change and ever-present prospector's hat) for just over two glorious hours and i couldn't wipe the grin off my face. he's a master at what he does - born to perform and croon to the masses. for an encore, allen KILLED ITTTTTT with his fan favorite, "last to speak". video of that and my favorite song "figure it out" below.

with alessandra rose and ben carson from HBIM

with alessandra rose, kris orlowski, and andrew vait of eternal fair