NadaMucho’s #41for2015: Night 2
Substation, Seattle, WA
10.14.15 – 10.18.15
There’s maybe fifteen, twenty people here, two arcade games, one guy drawing in the corner, two girls doing Jell-o shots. Ballard’s newest underground venue Substation is playing host to #41For2015Fest, and it’s night two of five for this baby music festival, curated by NadaMucho and full of buzzworthy local goodness.
Less a festival and more of a showcase, #41For2015Fest is like getting to see your music-nerd buddy’s playlist come to life. Based on NadaMucho’s 41 Seattle Bands We’re Watching in 2015, this festival features 19 of those 41 local emerging artists that the honchos at Nada think you should know about.
Night two started out with Beatrix Sky, local – if Olympia counts – synth-pop songstress Beatrix Hauth, her brows dotted with silvery gems. Her downbeat deviations from formulaic pop are eerie and dark, honest, vulnerable. Her work seems fuzzy in a purposeful way.
She’s followed by The No Good Hearts, Seattle slack rockers with brooding melodies, making you feel like grunge never really went anywhere while the drummer straight-faced wears aviators and a hair-metal wig.
Detective Agency put a brighter spin on the night with their jangly garage-pop, making fuzz and fizz mashups with oldies melodies. They kind of remind me of The Sleepy Jackson mixed with Jenny Lewis, laced with shimmering guitars and a dab of harmonica. Their tunes actually had more than one person dancing, and they threw in a work-in-progress “Halloween Song” by request at the end.
Closing the night was Wes Sp8, who began his set with an impeccably haunting cover of Rick Astley’s “Never Gonna Give You Up” and proceeded with a stripped-down but heavily layered set full of bluesy vocals and virtuosic musicianship. Handling his guitar, synths, everything really, alone on a stage, Wes managed to be soulful and quirky and hold the crowd’s late night attention with aplomb.
So on to the next night, the next new favorite band. Go take a listen to the full lineup, as there’s something for everyone out there.
Review by Stephanie Dore
Photos by Sunny Martini
#41for2015 – Night 2:
Wes Sp8, Detective Agency, The No Good Hearts, Beatrix Sky
