The anarchist book fair in Seattle was in need of money in order to have their book fair. This show was put on for that particular event. I don’t recall where it was supposed to be held but the money was meant to pay for the space that they were to hold the event in. It was something like a thousand dollars for the space for perhaps three days. It’s a really good cause. Think of it like a comic book convention except instead of comic books you get some more educating and DIY oriented material, more common to be zine’s. Comics are probably in the mix but not in the same way or possibly variety that you would see at a respective convention.
I hadn’t seen World History before this show but I really wanted to. A dear friend of mine had described World History as being similar in sound to Neutral Milk Hotel, except maybe better. I would say that is a fair thing to say but not in the sense that the band is ripping off NMN but it’s like saying that the amount of soulfulness delivered through the band is matching the intensity and emotion that can be conveyed from World History. Neil’s voice carries quite well and at points during this show, I really wished he was secretly an Opera singer. Come to think of it, he may secretly be an Opera singer and that he’s actually containing his voice on account that our heads may have exploded from such glory.
Neil & Jamie are the only members of World History, and among other things, great people. Neil does most of the vocals for the duo whilst Jamie does backing and manages the instruments that he isn’t playing for any particular song. The setup is great and I remember sitting next to the door with my friend Keenan and a fellow, Adam- whom we’ve known of each other but never been properly introduced. It wasn’t when World History was setting up but I recall hearing a “ting” coming from what I thought could be from pixies had materialized in the air but haven’t quite yet crossed my plane of vision. “Ting” happened a few more consecutive times and then Someone came in the door at the same time that another “ting” was set off. I pursued this out into the stairwell of the venue and saw Neil tuning his and Jamie’s autoharp.
There were probably forty or so people at the show. Three acts had already played, everyone was chatty, I had already stopped a conversation minutes ago, and as Neil’s deep voice began to howl, voices softened and mspine started to tingle dorsal to ventral.
The anarchist book fair in Seattle was in need of money in order to have their book fair. This show was put on for that particular event. I don’t recall where it was supposed to be held but the money was meant to pay for the space that they were to hold the event in. It was something like a thousand dollars for the space for perhaps three days. It’s a really good cause. Think of it like a comic book convention except instead of comic books you get some more educating and DIY oriented material, more common to be zine’s. Comics are probably in the mix but not in the same way or possibly variety that you would see at a respective convention.
I hadn’t seen World History before this show but I really wanted to. Neil’s voice carries quite well and at points during this show, I really wished he was secretly an Opera singer. Come to think of it, he may secretly be an Opera singer and that he’s actually containing his voice on account that our heads may have exploded from such glory.
Neil & Jamie are the only members of World History, and among other things, great people. Neil does most of the vocals for the duo whilst Jamie does backing and manages the instruments that he isn’t playing for any particular song. The setup is great and I remember sitting next to the door with my friend Keenan and a fellow, Adam- whom we’ve known of each other but never been properly introduced. It wasn’t when World History was setting up but I recall hearing a “ting” coming from what I thought could be from pixies had materialized in the air but haven’t quite yet crossed my plane of vision. “Ting” happened a few more consecutive times and then Someone came in the door at the same time that another “ting” was set off. I pursued this out into the stairwell of the venue and saw Neil tuning his and Jamie’s autoharp.
There were probably forty or so people at the show. Three acts had already played, everyone was chatty, I had already stopped a conversation minutes ago, and as Neil’s deep voice began to howl, the commotion softened and my spine was tingling. Weird.
—Off Tempo
Wednesday, July 8th, 2009
