Every year since 2015, Nada Mucho, a volunteer online publication that has been diving into the PNW music and pop culture scene since 1997, has published a list of 41 emerging PNW bands to keep an eye on that they’re spotted since the previous year. The zine then takes that list and curates a multi-day festival — which they pay for themselves so that 100% of the door price goes to the bands — featuring some of their favorite acts.
Now in it’s fifth year, Nada Fest is a masterfully curated festival of the best bands about to blow up in the Seattle scene. Primarily geared toward rock, previous years’s lineups have included big players in the local scene such as Actionesse, Monsterwatch, Wild Powwers, and Low Hums.
Split over two days at the Skylark Cafe in West Seattle, this year’s festival stayed true to its mission in bringing incredible sets from a lot of bands you haven’t heard of yet.
T-BASA, or Tim Basaraba — who is a contributor to Nada Mucho — kicked off the night by wryly reading a list of the Skylark’s food specials for the evening. What followed was a beautifully curated one-man set filled with dark acoustic accompaniments to smartly sardonic lyricism about everything from love to the homelessness issue. The tone of the set can best be described by the title of T-BASA’s latest album: Caffeinated Funeral Songs. While, solo, Basaraba had a few issues with fluctuating time, his set was ultimately captivatingly cryptic as he controlledly flailed his limbs around while keeping his butt firmly planted on a single black stool.
The rest of the lineup focused more on full rock groups: Levi Fuller & The Library — a band made up of self-described cool 40-somethings that celebrates the 10th anniversary of Fuller’s album Colossal on November 10 at The Sunset — took up the second set and put on an incredibly rocking show. From haunting instrumental tracks to protest political anthems to songs sung in German, frontman Fuller, bassist Jon Wooster, and drummer Dekker Deen kept up an ecstatic energy throughout their entire set. Only two acts in, I found my body thrashing to the beat.
After Fuller and co left the stage, I was left wondering if that might be the set to beat of the night. Then Double or Muffin hit the stage. Having seen their name around town and being a sucker for puns, I was super hype to see this band but had no idea what to expect.
Made up of frontman Austin Hunter, bassist Jack Nelson, drummer Colin Nelson, and guitarist and mandolinist Paul Beaudry, Double or Muffin is basically complete and utter nonsense tied together by intense musicality. Watching Hunter galavant around on stage was like watching Jared Leto pretending to be Bob Dylan doing Brit post-punk. Talk-singing about sexy seals, a song about muffins he claimed he wrote when he was three, and turning down for “respec,” Hunter has exactly the kind of only-fun-and-games, no-fucks-given attitude that creates a superstar.
And while a frontperson who can hold it down is key, Colin (wearing an Antonioni shirt), Jack, and Beaudry were intensely integral in creating the entire Double or Muffin sound. Colin, especially, was wonderfully animated on his kit, and it was captivating to watch Hunter and Colin play off each other’s energy, front to back, while Jack and Beaudry kept the sides of the stage solid and steady. With only three tracks on their Soundcloud and an upcoming album release, Nada Mucho got this one right: Double of Muffin is definitely a band to watch.
Next up was Shitty Person, which somehow managed to fit six musicians on the Skylark stage. Snuggly fit, their set of anti-pop dirges was in large contrast to the eccentricity of Double or Muffin, but, as the set went on, I found myself able to dig into their slow, sultry, deep grooves. Fronted by Benjamin Thomas-Kennedy, the group also features Daniel LaRochelle on rhythm guitar, Nicole Thomas-Kennedy on bass, Dave Abramson on drums (Sam Yoder filled in for this show), Simon Henneman on lead guitar, and Allison Eltrich on back-up vocals. I was especially impressed by Eltrich, who really held her own at the front of the stage, grooving to the beat and pulling the crowd in when she wasn’t sining. Nicole and Henneman, flanking Eltrich, were masterful, creating a trio that consistently drew my eyes to stage left.
Golden Idols, though, then put on what was arguably the best set of the night. When frontman Patrick Broz, bassist Jewel Loree, drummer Saba Samakar, and keyboardist Eric Peterson took the stage, there was a palpable, unmistakably dark, nervous energy that came over the room. With gold guitar straps and gold shoes but very differing auras strewn across the foursome, I was curious to see how the set would grow. Dan’s Tunes recently premiered the group’s video for “Nobody Else,” and, going in, I had high expectations for Golden Idols’s artistry.
The first two tracks were fine, and then, slowly, a shift began. Samakar, who came onstage wearing a gray hoodie and beanie, began doffing his outerwear, and, as he did so, also doffed the foreboding energy. The rest of the Idols followed suit, as Loree started moving more on stage, having more fun with her intricate bass lines, and connecting more with both Samakar and Broz. Each track become more fun — more flamboyant — than the last, as smiles spread across the stage, and, by the last track, Broz and Loree were so connected that they spent a solid 15-30 seconds playing back to back, forming a sort of human bridge.
From “I’m nervous” to “fuck yeah,” Golden Idols built their set with each note, and, by the end of the set, had the audience wrapped around their gold sneakers.
If Golden Idols had the best set of the night, though, the final act, Downtown, may have had the best set of the eon. A riotous punk band that seems severely misplaced in Seattle — yes, we have punk here, but the caliber and energy of Downtown sifts more into the East Coast in-your-face-ness of the D.C. punk scene — Downtown came out hard from the moment they started their sound check. Screaming into the mic and testing a light so bright I had to stand to the right of the stage so one of the monitors blocked it from blinding me, frontman Nicholas S. Markel, keyboardist Raja Azar, and drummer Dain Hudson made it very clear they were here to party.
Wearing a black, button-up vest, black sunglasses, black jeans, and a Texas-sized belt buckle, Markel spent the set gyrating around the stage screaming lyrics like “fuck all the pussies with the gluten free” and “I can’t wait / for world war eight” over and over. Azar, sporting a mohawk at least six inches high, sunglasses, a “Female Body Inspector (FBI)” muscle tank, and a giant gold chain, stayed behind his keys but, at once point, brought out a gun that shot fake $10,000 bills titled “Heaven Bank Note” into the crowd. Hudson, a fantastically rhythmic drummer, can only be described as Seattle’s version of Fred Armisen with his glasses, striped muscle tank, and newsboy cap. Hard and punchy on stage, Hudson was incredibly sweet off stage, sincerely thanking me for staying for their set.
Before Markel, Hudson, and Azar ran on stage amidst the smoke from their fog machine and flashing from their fantastically bright light, the crowd had, indeed, waned greatly. Performing for what couldn’t have been more than 10-15 people, Downtown, running into the audience and bringing the energy of a band performing for thousands, proved that it doesn’t matter how many people are in the audience — it only matters how you perform for the audience that is there. And when Markel shouted, “you’re standing back there and making us look like a bunch of fools. We’re not fools. We’re Downtown,” the audience dutifully obeyed, coming forward into the glare of the blinding light.
One of only a few people left at the end of the set, I felt like I had been let into a secret hardcore club, initiated only by the fact that I was punk enough to stay until the end. I left the venue severely satisfied, a Heaven Bank Note sitting heavily in my pocket.
While, unfortunately, Dan’s Tunes was unable to cover night two of this year’s Nada Fest, with a lineup featuring groups like Aaron Semer, Antonioni, and Temple Canyon, there’s no doubt that the Skylark hosted another night filled with Seattle’s best rock musicians. Big ups to our fellow PNW music pub for putting on an incredible event and keeping the spirit of the scene alive.
Photos of T-BASA, Levi Fuller & The Library, Double or Muffin, Shitty Person, and Golden Idols by Zen Wolfang.
Photos by Downtown by Dan Ray.
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