the veils @ chop suey.

Well, to start it off I finally got to see The Veils, well, actually in Seattle. You know, as opposed to flying across the country to St. Louis back in August of 2007 and then missing them completely last year–both times because I never heard about the shows here in Seattle. I was fortunate to hear about that '06 show in time to quick book a flight a week out to St. Louis and catch them in a total dive bar near the Anheuser-Busch brewery with about ten other people. That show was way too short but definitely worth the trip.

I caught a bit of their on-air segment at KEXP as I was finishing up at work that afternoon, then was off. And so our evening in Seattle began with pre-show drinks at The Elysian a couple blocks away from the club. I got a phone call and the place was crazy-noisy so I headed for the door to step outside, walking right past Finn and Sophia as they walked in probably looking for the other three. Turns out they all grabbed a table across the way from ours, but we were finishing up and heading out. A quick run by the club told us they weren't on until midnight and it was all of about nine o'clock so we had some time to kill and we proceeded to hit up a dive bar followed by some coffee for all.

Around eleven we started swaggering back over to the club to hear the end of some lame band's set (sorry to whoever that band was but every song sounded the same and did not interest me in the slightest). A bit of time setting up for The Veils (this time they had help, whereas in St. Louis they dragged in all their own gear and set it all up). I'm not sure but am assuming sometime around midnight they took the stage and the club was fairly crowded (a good sign–although it was something else being in a bar with ten other people listening to The Veils).

I didn't jot down the setlist but they played a decent mix of songs. It was sort of the epitome of a small show–the drummer (a stand-in for the band's drummer who I think I read somewhere was on holiday cos his wife or girlfriend had had a baby–although Wikipedia already has the lineup as just Finn, Sophia and Dan Raishbrook so I'm not sure if he is gone for good or not) had to signal to the sound dude in the back that he needed to hear more kick and vocals via hand gestures. Until Sophia–the bassist–cued in and got on the mic with the same polite request. Apparently they got their way, and I think I noticed I heard a bit more kick after that but the vocals were still a little too subdued in the mix to hear well. We were right up front by the stage so I'm not going to bother critiquing the sound any more than that–I'll just say it's what was to be expected again from a show at a club like Chop Suey with maybe a hundred or so people. I thought the drummer was a bit too mechanical, whereas Henning Dietz–the band's drummer–was much more organic and fluid when I saw them in St. Louis. Regardless, the show was great, energetic and they played together live really well. This is good or bad (depending on how you look at it as the bassist is, well, pretty darn cute) because on their website they promise that "we’re going to play the best shows we’ve ever played and if we don’t you can have sex with a band member of your choice for free."

Finn had lots of energy throughout the show, played a bit of keyboard, fell down and got back up, took a shot of something and washed it down with a gulp of water, smiled once or twice (I even have a photo of it to prove it) and came out for an encore by himself to highlight the evening by playing a solo guitar version of The Tide That Left And Never Came Back from "Runaway Found" (second greatest pop album of all time). This seriously made the night. And in retrospect, I wondered given the fact they seem not to often play songs from the first album (but really, I've only been to two shows) and maybe it is because of some turmoil Finn might have with that part of his past and it is difficult to revisit but maybe he played it alone because of some personal reason–maybe that none of the current lineup was with him during that phase–I'm not sure but I would be willing to bet there is a reason or a story behind it all. Regardless, that song did it for me.

I do not even remember anymore what song they ended on (wait a minute, I think it was Larkspur–my least favourite song from "Sun Gangs")–but it was good and I was presented with a swiped poster at the end of the show to take home and put next to my autographed album of "Nux Vomica" (from St. Louis, where I apparently bought the last vinyl and yes–did the corny thing of asking the band to all sign it which they graciously did since it meant getting away from the obnoxiously drunk dude telling everyone the same story over and over and over). They say they love Seattle and plan on being back next year–and I'm hoping I hear about it and make it. Looking forward to it and wishing them the best of luck on the rest of their American tour.

cheers