Every fall the Bellingham music scene benefits from the huge infusion of new energy that comes with Western Washington University students returning. A few big musical events are coming up, designed to welcome students back while offering an overview of our local scene. Even if you’re not a student, it’s a great chance to get to know some of what’s out there.
First, though, a little bit of history. If you’ve been around the local music scene over the past few decades, you might recall that there have been lots of times when there wasn’t even one legitimate all-ages venue, meaning that if you were under 21 and wanted to go see a rock show, your only options were house shows. We’re pretty blessed at this moment in time to have two venues dedicated to all-ages shows: Make.Shift and the Blue Room. Make.Shift is a multi-purpose nonprofit that also hosts a radio station, art gallery and practice spaces, while the Blue Room is just a straight-up nice nightclub in the middle of downtown with a wide range of shows and a strong connection to the WWU community.
The Blue Room is teaming up with WWU to put on First Night Out on Wednesday, Sept. 24. This starts up on campus at 5 p.m. with live music by Analog Brass leading the way as everyone makes their way downtown. (If you’re new to Bellingham, Analog Brass is a great band to start recognizing; they’ll be at all sorts of community events.) Then at 5:30 p.m., there’s music at Depot Market Square with high-energy, goofy garage rock from Tiger Penis and some more progressive sounds from Æfect.
Throughout the week, The Blue Room will be featuring some of its favorite locals as a way to help folks who are new to town get acquainted. Thursday is a bass-centric electronic dance night, while Friday has a couple different bands in collaboration with WWU’s fashion magazine, The Rage. Finally, Sunday, Sept. 28, is a showcase of sorts, with a five-band lineup covering some of the best local and national acts.
Headliner Energy Pyramid is possibly the most consistently entertaining live act in town right now, with epic instrumental tunes paired with a mystical, masked stage presentation. They also have been known to play guitar with a sword, so be prepared for that. You also get Serafima and the Shakedowns, WWU grads now based in Seattle who make excellent Americana/rock, plus three touring groups in the shoegaze/psychedelic vein: Mo Dotti all the way from Los Angeles, San Francisco’s Pink Breath of Heaven and Seattle’s New Age Healers.
If you’re just joining us here in town and you want to get involved in local music, whether as a musician, organizer or listener, there has never been a better time. This week marks an excellent chance to get out there and see what’s going on!
News
The open mic night at Zeek’s Pizza has moved from the first Tuesday of every month to the second. This is a family-friendly event with lots of performers from the nearby Bellinghome School of Music, plus a featured artist each month. That makes it a little different and maybe more accessible than most open mics in bars.
Speaking of ways for musicians to get out there for the first time, Make.Shift is going to be hosting an evening in November entirely dedicated to brand new bands. It is still taking applications for that, so if you have a new group that can be ready by Nov. 15, reach out to them. With any luck, maybe that can become an ongoing series.
The eclectic rockers of Checker Bloom are celebrating the vinyl release of their debut album from last year, Ballads of Mirror Road. This seems like it’s becoming a much more common strategy lately: Put your stuff out digitally right away, but then wait for a bit to see what you want to do for a physical release. They’ll celebrate the LP with a show on Saturday, Sept. 27 at Bar Two Eleven, with guests Smooth Kiwi and Silent Disco Club. (I was a little confused about this at first, but there really is a local band called Silent Disco Club, not to be mistaken for the actual silent disco.)
I hadn’t heard anything from Kissing Thieves for a while, but they’re back with a cool new song that’s something of a departure. Where their previous stuff was more in a folk/rock vein, “Davie St.” introduces some dance beats to the mix. It’s fun to hear Stefanie Fields’ powerful vocals showcased in such a different context. That’s out on Washingtones Records, which slowly appears to be taking over releasing all the best artists in town.
Mercato Delle Bonta, the fancy trattoria and deli in the Granary Building, is going to be hosting some occasional classy dinner music. They’ve got jazz pianist Blake Angelos on the schedule for Saturday, Sept. 27. Jazz and high-quality Italian food sounds like an excellent combination.
Jesse Stanton’s music column, The Beat Goes On, appears weekly. Reach him at [email protected]; @JSBhamMusic. Check with individual venues to make sure events are still taking place as scheduled.
Click here for Jesse’s listing of live music events in Whatcom County.
‘ The preceding article may include information circulated by third parties ’
‘ Some details of this article were extracted from the following source www.cascadiadaily.com ’
