Musical Trifecta

Most everyone knows that Seattle is a hot spot for musical talent and venues. And after living in Seattle for years, I finally had the chance to check out the famous Crocodile and see three spectacular bands perform, last night for the Seattle Heineken City Arts Festival (10/20 - 10/23).  A huge thanks to my sister Megs and her boyfriend Branden for letting Jamie and I weasel our way up to the front row.

First up was Lucy Schwartz. Her sound is a bit old soul/low-key/jazzy-pop combined with drums, harmonica, piano, guitar and percussion.  She has a beautifully unique voice and puts on a crowd pleasing perfomance.  Next time she's in the area, I'll definitely be back to see her.

After Lucy's trio performed, the hottest band to come out of Seattle, in most recent memory, The Head And the Heart, put on an awesome performance. If I were an A&R manager for a record label {dream job!}, I'd sign this band in two seconds...seriously...mark my words...they're gonna be big. They opened for Vampire Weekend a few weeks ago at the Paramount!  They remind me a lot of Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros. Check out Jamie's post from a few weeks ago on this newfound musical love here.

Next up were the shows headliners, The Weepies.  The singer-songwriter/husband-wife duo put on a great mellow folk style show.   The cheery lyrics, acoustic guitars and tambourines made for some fun audience interaction.  Unfortunately, as the night went on, and after 3 hours of standing, this pregnant mama and Jamie called it quits mid-way through their set and I missed my favorite song by them, World Spins Madly On (check it out here). 

BUT on the plus side of an early departure, as we walked out of the Crocodile, we crossed paths with this musical icon as he stood amongst the normal folk, enjoyed the same awesome tunes as us.

Quad { 30th } Birthday Party

With four of our good girlfriends turning 30 all in the month of February, we decided to do a combined party for these lovely ladies at Kell's in Post Alley last weekend. Lynds flew in from LA (along with Avery, Christy and Lori) and Laura few up from Northern CA to celebrate their "Quad-City-Bday" with Wexler and Spry. I always love that Steve is so willing to take photos at these get-togethers with our friends, but unfortunatley out of the 185 photos, this is all we got that are post-worthy...

Steve and Erik drinking Absinthe at the Polar Bar (bar at the hotel)

We started out the night by meeting up with Carrie and Erik (who flew in from DC for the party) at The Arctic Club Hotel, which is where the four of us had booked rooms for the night. We met up in the lobby for a couple of drinks, got ready and then headed out for a delicious dinner at the Pink Door. After dinner and a couple of bottles of champagne, we met up with every (just across the alleyway) at Kells. The night was a blast! So fun to catch up with friends from college that I hadn't seen in years. After the party, we headed back to the luxurious hotel with the Reynolds. Carrie was off to London in the morning for work and Erik back to DC...or at least he thought, until his flight was cancelled due to snow and he ended up coming to our house for for the night and to watch the Super Bowl with the Rinabarger's, Roth, Cheryl, Jamie, Spry, Avery and Lynds.
I love weekends with friends in town, but I'm so sad when they all leave...we definitely need to get our next adventure on the calendar soon!

The Reynolds

* If you're looking for a hotel room for a night or a weekend in downtown Seattle, I HIGHLY recommend The Arctic Club. The rooms are large and beautifully decorated with an early 1900's style. The staff was very friendly and helpful. We enjoyed a very reasonably priced and delicious brunch, the following morning at their restaurant, Juno.