Friday
10:00 pm: Ian McFeron Band + Nicki Bluhm
Ian McFeron Band:

The Ian McFeron Band exploded onto the Seattle music scene shortly after releasing their debut album, Don't Look Back (2003), when they were discovered by The Mountain in Seattle (AM-formatted KMTT at 103.7 FM). The band went on to share the spotlight with international and national artists such as Patty Griffin, Nanci Griffith, Shawn Mullins, Amos Lee, Sister Hazel, Missy Higgins, Julia Fordham, Carbon Leaf, The Hothouse Flowers, and Jars of Clay.

A prolific songwriter whose lyrical prose and fervent work ethic has drawn comparisons to Bob Dylan and Ryan Adams, McFeron has released a steady stream of albums: Dont Look Back (2003), A Long Way To Freedom (2005), and Fistfight With Father Time (2006). Let It Ride (2007) marks the bands fourth full length LP- a fourteen-track narrative spanning themes of love and heartbreak, faith and despair, political corruption and hope. Released on March 3rd, 2007, Let It Ride was celebrated with back-to-back shows at the Triple Door in Seattle, both of which sold out in advance. In live performance, McFeron (vocals, guitars, piano) is joined by the Texas fiddle of Alisa Milner and the backbeat rhythms of Todd VanSelus and Mark Bateman. The band has also performed with well-known Northwest lead-guitar players such as Alice Stuart and Rod Cook, and with slide-guitar virtuoso Dan Tyack. The diverse musicianship of its members allows the Ian McFeron Band to shift smoothly through a variety of roots-Americana styles, ranging from acoustic folk rock to gritty alt-country blues, from heartfelt, soulful ballads to driving, danceable backbeat groves.

Nicki Bluhm:

San Francisco singer-songwriter Nicki Bluhm is as tough to pigeonhole as the eclectic city she hails from. Just as the urban bustle of the Mission district quickly gives way to the solitude of Ocean Beach, Nicki's songs effortlessly wander through eclectic styles to create a sonic landscape that is all her own. A Bay Area native, Nicki didn't take a typical path into music. She had an early vocal ability, but was in no hurry to show it. After moving to San Diego she bought a guitar and began trying her songs out at open mic's until she was ready to take her act up north. Since moving to San Francisco, Nicki has become a familiar face in the city's thriving music scene. With her acoustic guitar and electric guitarist Deren Ney she earned a reputation as one of the Bay Area's fastest rising stars. She has spent the last two years taking her tunes through several of the city's top venues, earning a coveted spot in the Noise Pop festival, opening for national artists like Josh Ritter, touring through California, and recently sitting in with the Grateful Dead's Phil Lesh during Americana phenom (and member of Nicki's backing band) Jackie Greene's recent show at The Fillmore. Greene in fact plays several instruments on Nicki's new record, Toby's Song, along with some of the finest musicians in the Bay Area, including Nicki's husband Tim Bluhm of the Mother Hips (who produced the album at Mission Bells Studio), ALO's Steve Adams and Mother Hips/Persephone's Bees drummer John Hofer. A genre-wandering mix of 70's pop, back-porch bluegrass, plaintive coastal ballads and ragged, driving rock songs, Toby's Song is at once a throwback and utterly fresh. Nicki's voice is in the tradition of classic female singers like Bonnie Raitt and Joni Mitchell, yet she has a character and attitude all her own. Her music recalls bands as diverse as Bill Withers, the Beach Boys, The Band and Taj Mahal. Nicki currently resides by the beach in San Francisco with her husband and two cats.

Saturday
10:00 pm: Band of Annuals + The Botticellis
Leslie and the Badgers:

Leslie and the Badgers play a brand of bourgeois country that has recently garnered spins on Los Angeles KCRW and Chris Morris Watusi Rodeo on Indie 103.1. In pursuit of musical traditions pioneered by artists such as Patsy Cline and Emmylou Harris and continued by artists like Neko Case, the Badgers' songs are penned by songwriter/frontwoman Leslie Stevens.

Band of Annuals:

"That devastating combo of heartbreaking alt-country earnestness and perfect pop-hook craftsmanship is elusive, which makes the victory all the sweeter when a band in your own back yard nails it. Band Of Annuals are that band right now." (BF) City Weekly

The Botticellis:

"The Botticellis is a California-based quintet whose music recalls 1960s pop but is flavored and threaded with twenty-first century sounds and ideas. At times the band's smart, intricate pop sounds like a modern progressive take on the music of The Smiths. Songs are the heart of Old Home Movies...and songs are what make this album such an appealing spin. The overall sound of this album is out-of-synch with most of the popular bands we have heard of late. Instead of jumping on the latest bandwagon... these folks seem to be just normal musicians driven by a sincere, innate desire to create and record. As such, the ten tracks on this album are pure and refreshing. The vocals are smooth and natural, never forced. And the arrangements are a perfect fit for the songs. Our favorite tunes include "Old Home Movies," "When I Call" (a particularly beautiful track, our favorite...), "New Room," and "Table By The Window." Very nice stuff... (Rating: 5+)" -Babysue

"I need bands like these to come straight out of nowhere and take me while my guard is down. Especially with a punchy, wonderful pop song like Old Home Movies, whose glimmering surf-music throb is coated with an unseasy sheen, giving it a complete, mature texture. So mature, actually, that if I were to meet The Botticellis, I would most likely call them sir. -Limerick Ox

"Old Home Movies is packed with beautifully crafted pop filled with Big Star type hooks backed with vintage keyboard washes under soulful croony vocals." -Now Hear This

"...the title track and Up Against The Glass show exactly why it [Old Home Movies] could be one of this years most treasured releases." -MP3 Hugger

"The musical byproduct of communal living in the Outer Richmond district of San Francisco, indie pop-surf band The Botticellis impressed me when I saw them at NoisePop last year opening for Cake. They've got a tight, sunny, '60s sound saturated with multihued orchestral melodies. I'd posted an earlier version of this addictive little song last year; it's now revisioned for their debut album on the Oakland, CA label Antenna Farm. Check out the vintage, analog sound of the album Old Home Movies when it comes out May 13. They're playing some Bay Area shows in the coming months and also will be at SXSW." -I Am Fuel, You Are Friends

"Old Home Movies"...is another CD I can't seem to stop playing. [The Botticellis] have a sound similar to BIG STAR or THE POSIES sometimes, but that would be pigeonholing them if that's all they are. It's BEACH BOYS sometimes, and at other times it's just gorgeous. "Old Home Movies" drips with something lush... A fantastic band." -Future Sounds

Monday
9:00 pm: Service Industry Night
Service industry workers enjoy a house discount.

Tuesday
10:00 pm: Trivia Night