After driving around in circles for a half an hour trying to find a parking spot in Ballard, I arrived at the Sunset Tavern and was greeted at the door by the smell of pizza. There were already a fair amount of people at the bar/restaurant, including a large group of folks getting drunk with funny wigs on. I wondered if I missed the memo.
The show began at 10 p.m. and the first performer was Clutch Douglass, a band consisting of a guitarist, a singer, and a moody laptop. The duo came onstage donning uniforms reminiscent of those that Hot Dog on a Stick employees are required to wear. The vocalist, Rachael, greeted the crowd by saying, “Thank you for supporting independent fast food restaurants of America.” Rachael is a firecracker, full of energy and in possession of a big, beautiful voice. Her delivery ranged from a sassy rap-style, to punk rock shouts, to R&B/pop crooning.
There was one problem with their set, though — specifically with the third member of the band, the aforementioned “moody laptop.” A couple of times during the set, the computer stopped playing music, which was the equivalent of the drummer and bassist just getting up and walking off-stage. When this occurred during their rousing track “Portland,” Rachael humorously expressed her discontent, yelling “Nooo! We were almost there!” She later brought out a platter of corn dogs and offered them to the fans. When people didn’t rush the stage to grab a dog, she said, “See, this is why I told you to drink more! You’ll want these later. When you want something salty…on a stick.”
The next band up was The Redwood Plan. I thought that Clutch Douglass had lots of energy — their energy was nothing compared to the explosion that was The Redwood Plan. The little Sleater-Kinney fan inside of me delighted at the dance-punk vibe they had going on. Like Clutch Douglass, The Redwood Plan are a Seattle band, so no doubt I’ll be checking them out again.
Mr. Gnome‘s set was up next, and by then the wasted people in wigs had drifted to the back of the bar, replaced by a crowd of intense fans. The duo came onstage quietly — they’re not much for banter — and launched right into the music. Nicole’s dark curly hair was swept up in a fluffle atop her head and it obscured her face for most of the set, except for when she was headbanging with her guitar, which she tore at ferociously. She’s certainly one who isn’t afraid of the distortion pedal. The crunchy guitar sounded gorgeous accompanied by her voice, alternately pretty and fierce, full and dainty, like a grunge version of Bjork or Joanna Newsom.
Sam — Nicole’s husband, bandmate, and drummer — seemed to genuinely enjoy the set. A lot of the time when I see drummers, they’re grimacing in concentration, or perform with a blank expression on their face. Sam seemed to be as moved by the music as the fans. I loved how a slight smile would come to his face and stay there through the rest of the song as he slammed on the skins in perfect time.
The duo played a mix of old songs and tracks from their latest album, Madness in Miniature. Their performance of “Cleveland Polka,” off their 2009 album Heave Yer Skeleton, was one of the highlights of the set for me. I also loved hearing “House of Circles” live. The riffs at the end of “House of Circles” rattled the windows and the fans threw their fists into the air. They closed their rocking set with a scream rather than a whisper, blasting the crowd with “Capsize.” Fans left sweaty, smiling, and super-satisfied.