Tangerine w/ SALES and the Washboard Abs
The Crocodile, Seattle, WA
11.20.16
They’ve been building quite a name for themselves around their hometown of Seattle, but it was with pleasure that local indie surf-pop outfit Tangerine announced that they would be supporting SALES on their fall American tour. The bands made their final stop at The Crocodile for a lucky Tangerine-loving crowd.
Mostly college-age kids dressed in thrifted clothes, the crowd looked like they belonged in an old Urban Outfitters ad. The bands were dressed similarly, igniting a retro 90s theme for the evening.
First up were The Washboard Abs, the musical project of acoustic singer-songwriter Clarke Sondermann. The set was short and sweet, filled with brief, seemingly emotionless songs lasting only about a minute or two each, before quickly transitioning to the next. The set was good though, and it was definitely fun to watch. With painted nails and a single dangly, jeweled earring swinging around, Sondermann played his guitar and the crowd slowly bobbed along.
Second on the bill for the night was Tangerine, who livened the night right up with their bright and fun set. Consisting of sisters Marika and Miro Justad along with their friend Toby Kuhn, the trio has managed to book a lot of performances around Seattle recently. Slots including Capitol Hill Block Party and 107.7’s Summer Camp have helped them quickly gain traction. It’s not hard to see why people have been picking up on their sound—it’s cute, happy, and basically what summer would sound like if you made it a band.
The members themselves are also great performers, starting their set out calmly, playing a bit coy, until eventually warming up to jump around the stage. They finished their set leaning all over each other and hitting cymbals haphazardly with their hands. Tangerine played much of their Sugar Teeth EP, and an especially darling and captivating performance of older track, “Feel This Way,” towards the end of their set.
All the way from Florida, awkwardly real and honest duo, SALES, headlined the night. With an LP and an EP released, the band has a refreshingly simple, relaxed, and raw indie sound—the kind of music you hear playing during the opening of independent films and in hipster coffee shops. Their music is charming and fun on its own, but that didn’t really translate to their live show. The performance sounded like a single very, very long song with pauses in the middle of it. Individual tracks weren’t unique enough to show much diversity, and it led to an unfortunately one-note set. That’s not to say it sounded bad by any means—their music is wonderful. But the lovable simplicity of their music only went so far during their live set.
Tangerine certainly stole the spotlight for the night with their upbeat, lighthearted set that got the crowd dancing around and having a good time. SALES closed with a relatively mediocre set, filled with a good idea that just seemed to be dragged on for a little too long.
Review by Lulu Dawson
Photos by Zach Etahiri
Tangerine
SALES
The Washboard Abs
