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CHBP 2018 Recap: Friday, July 20

From EDM to rock, CHBP brought the noise

Dan Ray July 21, 2018
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CHBP 2018 Recap: Friday, July 20 July 21, 2018

Raised by a single mother in the suburbs of Detroit, Dan discovered an early passion for singing, songwriting, and the arts as a whole. She got her BA in English and music at the University of Michigan, where she reported for the school’s paper, The Michigan Daily. She worked as a Senior News Reporter on the government beat, transitioned to arts writing, and eventually became the managing editor of the social media department. She moved to Seattle in 2017. After losing her job during the COVID-19 pandemic and discouraged about the lack of press surrounding Seattle’s music scene, Dan made the decision to turn Dan’s Tunes, a fully fledged music journalism website focused on showcasing the Seattle area’s musicians, into its own startup. There’s so much music happening in the city that spawned Pearl Jam, Nirvana, and Jimi Hendrix — among others — and Dan’s Tunes is determined to find and expose those outstanding acts. The goal is to have satellites in every major US city, uplifting diverse and compelling voices and helping music communities thrive. In 2020, Dan was featured in the Seattle Times’s year-end music critic poll. Other than her musical endeavors (singing, playing ukulele, and auditioning for American Idol four times before the age of 24) Ray is passionate about food and education around the American food system, and she’s also a large proponent of eliminating the stigma around mental health. Ray loves cats, especially her own, who is named Macaulay Culkin (but she’s a lady).

Booboolala’s Madisen Dailly rocks the crowd. // Photo by Dan Ray
Capitol Hill Block Party kicked off its 22nd year on Friday, July 20 with a day filled with EDM. From Pheso, who kicked off the day, to Jake Crocker, who packed Neumos, to headliner Dillon Francis, whose audience filled more than an entire block of the festival, the first day of CHBP showcased heavy electronic beats spun by poppin’ DJs.
While the EDM brought what was much to be expected — a hyped crowd and dancing bodies — the surprise of the day came from The Morning After, a punk band that played the Barboza stage at 5:30. The all-female group doesn’t look like a hardcore screamo band: lead vocalist Bri Ashlee Little and drummer Baylee Harper look like your typical 20-something blondes, while bassist Stephanie Jones appears more like a performer at a Renaissance Fair, but these femmes prove that you don’t need to have a mohawk and a leather jacket to rock the house. Both Little and Jones flailed masterfully across the stage — and in the crowd — while Harper kept her bandmates in time with her perfectly synched hits. The energy of their set was unreal; these women know how to have fun and rock a crowd.
The Morning After’s lead bassist Stephanie Jones takes the main mic. // Photo by Dan Ray

Next door to The Morning After, Sundog, on the Neumos stage at 5:45, exuded a different kind of rock energy. The Seattle-based group of four sounded flawless — and their bulldog statue sitting in front of the drum kit wearing a “Sundog” sign certainly added a nice flair — but lead vocalist and guitarist Danny Francoeur was the only band member really performing for the crowd. Francoeur also gave off a Texan vibe, with his white button-up, light-wash jeans, and tan boots, which works for their sound, but seemed incompatible with the rest of the group. Nevertheless, their instrumentation was on point, and the crowd was with the band every note.

Sundog’s frontman Danny Francoeur charms the crowd with his buttery voice. // Photo by Dan Ray

Back at Barboza, at 7:30, The Black Tones brought one of the biggest crowds at the venue of the day. Twins Eva (vocals and guitar) and Cedric Walker (drums), along with bassist Robby Little, had the crowd singing along with them almost immediately. The true-to-form rock-‘n’-roll trio stands for equality, and Eva charmed the crowd with a speech about the band not caring what color anyone is, “just don’t be an asshole.” With vocals reminiscent of Janis Joplin and astonishingly full instrumentation from a three-piece, The Black Tones is certainly a band to watch.

The Black Tones’ Eva Walker said she loves people of all color, “just don’t be an asshole.” // Photo by Dan Ray

The standout from Friday, though, was Booboolala. The five piece makes party music influenced by funk and the blues, which makes them more interesting than your typical “let’s get drunk” band. Brother and sister Kevin and Madisen Dailly front the group with their infectious smiles and silky-smooth voices. Tacoma-based Booboolala’s music is irresistible, but the Dailly’s performing style is what make this group so special. Throughout the set, Kevin poured shots of tequila directly into audience member’s mouths and blew his “party whistle,” Madisen grooved with a PBR and a rain stick, and, at the end of the set, they brought out a garbage bag filled with balloons and threw them into the crowd. If you’re looking for a good time, there’s no better place to start than a Booboolala show.

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Raised by a single mother in the suburbs of Detroit, Dan discovered an early passion for singing, songwriting, and the arts as a whole. She got her BA in English and music at the University of Michigan, where she reported for the school’s paper, The Michigan Daily. She worked as a Senior News Reporter on the government beat, transitioned to arts writing, and eventually became the managing editor of the social media department. She moved to Seattle in 2017. After losing her job during the COVID-19 pandemic and discouraged about the lack of press surrounding Seattle’s music scene, Dan made the decision to turn Dan’s Tunes, a fully fledged music journalism website focused on showcasing the Seattle area’s musicians, into its own startup. There’s so much music happening in the city that spawned Pearl Jam, Nirvana, and Jimi Hendrix — among others — and Dan’s Tunes is determined to find and expose those outstanding acts. The goal is to have satellites in every major US city, uplifting diverse and compelling voices and helping music communities thrive. In 2020, Dan was featured in the Seattle Times’s year-end music critic poll. Other than her musical endeavors (singing, playing ukulele, and auditioning for American Idol four times before the age of 24) Ray is passionate about food and education around the American food system, and she’s also a large proponent of eliminating the stigma around mental health. Ray loves cats, especially her own, who is named Macaulay Culkin (but she’s a lady).