VOLUME COUNTDOWN: 3 days! Buy your tickets in cash at our headquarters, located at 9 S. Washington St., this week. If you purchased your passes online, will-call can be picked up Friday and Saturday.
Banjos have made a sexy, albeit backwoodsy comeback. But don’t be fooled by the Seattle band’s acoustic string section, hand clapping and folksy harmonies — Campfire OK doesn’t sound dated. The quintet incorporates subtle synthesizers and a thunderous piano to create a textured, atmospheric rock sound that’s more indie than Americana, and more experimental than roots. Listen for skillful instrumentation, thoughtful arrangements and a modern interpretation of banjo playing. Catch them on Friday at 8:10 pm at Club 412.
Electronic pop has never sounded so sweet. Sick Kids XOXO combines lackadaisical synthesizers with catchy guitar hooks and two solid lead vocalists — one male, one female — to create a sound that feels like a caffeine high. The band has become darlings of Missoula’s music scene and show stoppers at events like the Treefort Music Fest in Boise. They are sure to draw a dance-happy crowd at Club 412 on Saturday at 9:50 pm.
Type in #Volume509 into Instagram, or if you're too cool for that, use the super rad alternative Webstagram, and see why Friday and Saturday are going to be so incredibly awesome.
Here are some highlights so far:
Summer in Siberia practice for their 11:59 pm set on Friday at Mootsy's.
Interplayers joined our list of venues last week.
Bagpipes drone sharp and lonely over the solemn quiet of the INB Performing Arts Center in downtown Spokane. Hundreds stand straight, hands crossed behind them, some clutching damp tissues. Snare drums roll like falling rain as "Amazing Grace" sounds throughout the auditorium.
One-by-one, dozens of airmen from Fairchild Air Force Base march forward to offer a final salute to their fallen comrades. They pause before three smiling photos of Capt. Mark Tyler Voss, Capt. Victoria Pinckney and Technical Sgt. Herman "Tre" Mackey III.
Voss, Pinckney and Mackey, the crew of Shell 77, died May 3 when their KC-135 air refueling tanker crashed in Kyrgyzstan. Military servicemen and women, regional dignitaries and the Spokane community gathered this afternoon to honor their service.
At the center of the stage, three sets of tan combat boots stand in a row. An aviation helmet rests atop each set to form a combat memorial. Airmen slowly file by in dark blue dress uniforms, pausing to salute.
As the low hum of the bagpipes fades, a shout cuts across the room. Orders sound from just beyond the auditorium as rifles can be heard cocking, the heavy clack echoing against the walls.
With the first volley of gunshots, a shudder ripples through the crowd. Babies wail and men sniff back tears. Two more volleys follow to complete the 21-gun salute.
Col. Brian Newberry, commander of the 92nd Air Refueling Wing, speaks of their great sacrifice. They join the 2,090 other servicemen and women lost as part of Operation Enduring Freedom. He motions to the hundreds of people filling the center.
"The crew of Shell 77 will never be forgotten," he says.
Friends and family of the three deceased airmen take the stage to share stories of service, compassion, eccentricity and honor.
Voss, of Austin, Texas, always looked out for those in his Air Force family. Pinckney, of Denver, Colo., served as a "hard-charging aviator" and loving mother. Mackey, of Bakersfield, Calif., became a father figure for those around him.
Newberry says current and future airmen will hope to live up to their examples, and to be "guided by their starlight."
Voss' mother Marcelle Voss says her son always dreamed of being a pilot. Fairchild gave him that chance. She singled out her son's gift for living life to the fullest.
"Tyler was prepared to meet his maker," she says, urging the audience to cherish every moment and those people close to them.
"May God bless America," she ends, "May God bless the military, especially the Air Force."
Spokane Mayor David Condon then steps forward to read an official proclamation from the city, honoring the three airmen and voicing strong support for the Fairchild community.
"We are humbled by your loved ones' sacrifice," he says.
When the thunder of the gunshots dies down, a lone bugle starts playing "Taps." Those in uniform stand straight, saluting the row of memorials. Civilians hold their hands over their hearts as the lonesome tune carries over the auditorium.
Fairchild Chaplain Jim Glass then leads the audience in singing the Air Force hymn:
"Thou who dost keep with tender might
The balanced birds in all their flight,
Thou of the tempered winds, be near,
That, having You, they know no fear."
Glass ends with a prayer. The bagpipes begin again as the crowd slowly files out of the auditorium. They quietly spill out onto the sidewalk where limousines and patrol cars line the street.
Overhead, hoisted on the ladder of a fire engine, a massive American flag flutters in the wind.
Tags: Fairchild Air Force Base , David Condon , News , Image
We hope you guys had a great three-day weekend. Here's something for your dead-eyed-post-three-day-weekend computer screen stare.
HERE
The first river rescue of the season means that summer must be right around the corner. (KREM)
Speed kills at the Spokane Motorcycle Raceway Park over the weekend. (S-R)
Weed is legal, but robbing medical marijuana shops is not. (KXLY)
THERE
Remember George Zimmerman, the dude who heroically shot an unarmed teen in Florida? Dude's finally in court. (Orlando Sentinel)
Stupid bird flu is back. (Guardian)
Justin Bieber's International Asshat Moron of the Year Tour continues. (LA Times)
And now, a guy on a buffalo!
Tags: Morning Briefing , River rescue , Spokane , news , memorial Day , Video
The Gorge has been taken over for the holiday weekend by indie rockers, overpriced beer vendors and my flower-headband-wearing, vodka-downing peers. (And all the others Culture Editor Mike Bookey told us about last week.)
The sounds (waking up in the campground to my neighbor singing, a cappella, Foreigner’s "Hot Blooded"), sights (a young woman vomiting in a garbage can while passersby continued to throw away their trash there) and smells (see last anecdote — plus, curly fries) are exactly what you're imagining.
But so far I’ve seen Vampire Weekend send a crowd of hipsters into a dancing frenzy, Nick Offerman (you know, Ron from Parks and Recreation) shirtless and giving life advice, and indie supergroup Divine Fits shred as night fell. Worth it.
(We’ve included some of his iPhone photos here, but look for a post next week of all the best close-up, high-res photos freelance photographer Nick Gast has been snapping throughout the weekend.)
Tags: Jeers
Tags: Jeers
Tags: Jeers
Tags: Jeers
Tags: Jeers
Tags: Jeers