The Andy Aupperlee Explosion 5000

Spiritualized.
Neumos. Seattle, WA.
September 14, 2008.
EXIF.

On my 27th birthday (September 14, 2008), the Spiritualized tour rolled through Seattle. Unlike most bands that play Neumos, Spiritualized parked buses, not vans, on the street outside the Seattle club. After nearly two decades of music, front man Jason Pierce and Spiritualized at least deserve the extra leg room and air conditioning that a luxury tour rig provides. It had been at least six years since my last Spiritualized concert. Chris Brown and I drove to Detroit and Chicago during the early part of the decade to witness Spiritualized live. While the performances were great, I’ll never forget a girl in the audience who sat on the floor and read a book during an entire show in Detroit. (continue reading…)

Mt. St. Helens Vietnam Band. Live at Neumos.
Seattle, WA. October 11, 2008

What’s better than free live music? Not much—although getting drunk to help kids might be close. Local bars and spirit makers sponsored a week in Seattle known as “A Drink for the Kids.” On certain nights, participating establishments donated a portion of their sales to The Vera Project, an all ages music venue in Seattle. The week culminated in a music extravaganza at Neumos on Saturday, October 11. New Zealand’s The Ruby Suns opened up with Mt. St. Helens Vietnam Band playing second before headliner Tokyo Police Club. Julie won a couple of tickets from The Stranger and took me along. I, of course, invited the Nikon and a few lenses. (continue reading…)

Meric Long of The Dodos.
Nikon D300. Nikon 50mm f/1.8 lens.
Aperture Priority. 1/30 sec @ f/1.8. ISO 1100.

San Fransisco’s The Dodos descended on Neumos late last month. Sharat, Julie and I met up in Capitol Hill to catch the show. For several days prior to the concert I had been blasting Visiter in the Explorer. “Walking,” “Red and Purple,” and “Jodi” had become fast favorites. Although I got pretty rowdy playing drums along to The Dodos on my Ford-logo’ed steering wheel (no disrespect, Alan), I had no idea what I was in for at Neumos.

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Nikon D300. Nikon 50mm f/1.8.
1/30th sec. @ f/1.8. ISO 1250.

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