Photos Of Cool National Bands

National Bands: Just Passing Through.

A n i D i F r a n c o

Ani DiFranco playing to a standing room only audience at Bumbershoot '96. Ani started her own record label at the ripe young age of 19, and in the six years since she has recorded eight albums on that label. On top of the fact that she sings about politics and life and love and sex more honestly and more poetically than most musicians have the guts or the ability to do, Ani DiFranco is just plain old talented. She plays all kinds of guitar and drums and her vocals are incredible. I think the photo in the center captures her spirit in a way no words can.

Shot at the Weathered Wall. Ash made long haul from Northern Ireland.

Another photo of Ash.

CIV

These first four were shot when CIV visited the Ol' Firehouse.

A killer punk band. These guys know how to rock.

An audience member is stopped by the Event Staff crew.

With just one album out, CIV has become an instant hit.

Taken during the final show of CIV's U.S. tour.

Check out some CIV photos taken at Warped Tour '96

Love Nut

A Baltimore semi-punk band mixed with a cool heavy-guitar sound.

Caught these guys at the Moe, they are slowly working their way on to the College scene with thier debut album "Bastards of Melody". I thought they were pretty good, lots of catchy melodys.

MORRISSEY

Upon parting with The Smiths, Morrissey embarked on a solo carerr. His deep and somewhat depressing songs have earned him a place in many peoples hearts. This October night was no exception. Morrissey doing his first US tour since 1992,was greeted in Seattle by a sold-out show. The line around the corner of people trying to get last miniute tickets. Morrissey played for a good hour delving into various songs from his last 3 albums. Fans screamed out song names hoping he would play them. I don't know much of Morriseey's work but I can tell you he put on a spectacular show. The floor was standing room only when he came out for a two song encore. He delighted all the Smiths fans by ending the show with "Shoplifters of the World Unite".

Note: I will be puting up the color pictures I shot as soon as I get them scanned.

`The Ocean Blue`

The Ocean Blue, a pop quartet from Hershey, PA. These guys seem to be thriving off the re-intrest in british pop music. There sound comes in as a real mellow and calm, much like Oaisis and Blur. Little slow for my taste, but the crowd loved them.

PRIMUS

A pumped crowd greeted Les Claypool and friends as they hit the stage at HORDE Tour '97. A rather band for the tour, they proved their worth. This was my second time seeing them play (1st time was Lolla. '95) they didn't seem to have the energy they once posessed. Les basically stood there the whole set, I kinda expected him to see him yawn. Though they did pull a wide variety of songs out for their set, everything from My Name is Mud to Golden Boy. Les just kept playing and palying, going well over the 45 miniute set time, which was cool with me. Primus was pretty boring to watch but the music was as rocking as ever.

`Porno For Pyros`

Perry Ferrel was in town June 14th 1996. This was only his 2nd time in Seattle with Porno for Pyros. Judging from the show and the crowd response it certainly won't be his last. As soon as the lights dimmed the sold-out crowd began to chant "Perry, Perry". Perry and his band came on and did a terrific 10 song lineup before leaving the stage. The crowd wasn't satisfied and neither was Perry. He came back to do 2 more songs plus a beautiful 5 song acoustic set. Never having seen Porno For Pyros before I was fascinated by Perry's orchestra conductor style of showmanship. He knew exactly the sound he wanted and the band members followed his lead to make a truly memorable perfomance. I would have to say this was one of the best shows I have ever attended. Porno for Pyros truly deserves the title "Performance Artists".

Anyway here are the Porno 4 Pyro pics I got. I like all 3 but I feel #2 is the best one.

- The Queers -

A really ancient punk band. These guys were playing when I was 3. Now they're back, playing clubs around the United States. These were taken at the Ballard Playhouse, an all-ages venue that's known for it's Punk and Ska shows. Sadly the neighbors complained about the noise so they ended the punk shows. That was the begining of the end, The Balard Playhouse shut their doors in Febuary of 1996. This leaves just two all-ages venues in the entire city of Seattle.

A true punk venue, the bands play on the floor while the audince holds the pit back from thrashing the bands.

Rusted Root

Starting as a small east coast band, they played all over the New England area before signing up on the '96 HORDE tour. This band’s first release "When I Woke" has some of their best work on it, including my favorite "Beautiful People". These guys are simply amazing. I got a chance to see them at the Paramount where I was equally impressed by their stage presence. Using a various array of lights and images, this band had the audience dancing in the aisles. It was a rockin show, check out the pictures I got from it.

Neil Young

This man is an American music legend, for a good reason too. Since the mid-60's he's made numerous albums, while standing up for numerous political and social causes. Through the years his music has remained the driving force in his life. He's done everything from playing at Woodstock to playing with Pearl Jam. I got a chance to see Neil at HORDE Tour '97, due to a stroke of luck I managed to get witihin ten feet of Neil during an acoustic show on a small side stage. He played a short 5 song set based on requests from the audience. It was a simply amazing show.