Naked Giants w/ Cheap Sweat & Blotterz
The Mind Palace, Bellingham, WA
01.13.17

Billing itself as an all-ages, drug/alcohol free, informal art space and concert venue, Bellingham’s The Mind Palace sits nestled in a quiet corner, a block from highly foot-trafficked Garden Street, and not more than a stone’s throw from Western Washington University. The lineup for the night was one of face-melting garage rock, featuring Seattle’s Naked Giants as the headliner. A steady stream of people came in and out, while the night’s hosts were chill, professional, and fairly vigilant.

After entering through a dark back door, through a kitchen, and into the living room, fans were greeted with two 4-foot-tall PAs on full blast, closely monitored by volunteer sound techs. Some of the techs were wandering around with an i-pad-turned-mixer, scrubbing out any unwanted distortions, in a room dimly lit with a few flashing, colored bulbs. The night started with Blotterz, a Tacoma, WA band. The center crowd was a fun, harmless circle pit for their heavy, fast, hard garage punk. The lead singer moved all over the place, putting 110% into the vocals, while the drummer was in nothing but boxer shorts (it got humid really fast). The band had a great, raw energy overall.

They were followed by another Tacoma band, Cheap Sweat, whose twangy guitar riffs ranged from slow and moody to big and loud within a single track. They were fairly stationary on stage, in comparison, and there was a minor technical difficulty at the start – which was a miracle considering the main power outlet for the speakers was right next to a busy doorway all night – but they had a polished sound and good, positive energy.

By the time Naked Giants were up, the house was packed and the crowd was pumped. A full line out the door waited patiently for someone to leave so they could get in out of the unforgiving Bellingham cold. TNG performed fluidly and seemed quite seasoned in performing for a crowd. Their comfort on stage really showed, and the band appeared to be having a lot of effortless fun. Their fast, sludgy punk stirred the crowd wild. Crowd surfers collided with warm-shouldered post-adolescent peers, as waves in the front tried to keep them from colliding with the band or any equipment. Thankfully it didn’t happen, and TNG were able to deliver a great set.

Review and photos by Zach Etahiri

Naked Giants


Cheap Sweat

Blotterz