Iron Lung at The Northern, Olympia WA - 28 June 2010

Iron Lung recently swung through town with Slices and White Wards opening.  Further tour dates are here.  The bands were much louder than the Thou / Moloch show.

Slices photos:

Iron Lung:

Thou at the Northern, Olympia, WA - 25 June 2010

THOU recently came through town and played a show at The Northern, a small space on 4th Avenue in downtown Olympia, WA.  Support for the night came from touring mates MOLOCH and local band BONE SICKNESS.  I took a bunch of photos of THOU - they're all posted below.  The Northern spends time as an art gallery and the band elected to keep the yellow lights on.  Both the singer and a guitar player (armed with a Flying V) turned out blurry in almost every picture.  Even though the music is slow and sludgy, they rocked hard.  It was a brilliant performance by the band - be sure and check them out when they come to your town. 

Exploding Planet Records, Bremerton WA

I visited the town of Bremerton, WA recently.  I didn't expect to find anything too interesting there, musicwise.  There's plenty of trees, the Puget Sound, and the Naval Shipyards.  But whilst exploring the small downtown area, I stumbled upon a small piece of culture on a street of porn stores, pawn shops, and a Christian café.  That gem is Exploding Planet Records.  A small record store located at 320 N Callow Street.  I was there early in the morning, so the store hadn't opened yet.   But that Witch Hunt LP in the window really caught my eye.

The store is smaller than Phantom City (located in Olympia, WA).  It looks like they carry vinyl and CDs.  The wall behind the register was filled with patches, so they've got to be run by Crusties.

According to this article they are the only record store in Kitsap County.  There's a Wall-Mart out in Port Orchard that is probably the biggest seller of CDs in the area.  What a sad state of affairs.

If you're in the area, you should check them out.  According to the sign on the door, they're open Wednesday through Saturday from 1 PM to 10 PM.  There's plenty of street parking and poles to chain your bike to.

Myspace



And across the street is the Charleston Music Venue which appears to be a good place to see some good bands, even if you are underaged.

Myspace