Monsterwatch w/ Dusty and Antonioni
High Dive, Seattle, WA
01.31.17
There are plenty of venues off the beaten track within the Seattle metropolitan area. They often play host to the city’s favorite under-the-radar groups. One venue which sees its fair share of traffic is Fremont’s High Dive, where they’ve been running a solid string of heavy-hitting local lineups. Monsterwatch, for their part, have been holding a month-long January residency there, rocking out with a number of other local bands. On Tuesday, January 31, the lineup promised a cool mix of ambient rock, rock ‘n’ roll, and groove punk.
The opening act of the night was Antonioni. The 4-piece group is a project of Seattle-based singer/songwriter Sara Pasillas. They performed a number of songs by Pasillas, in addition to new tracks which will be featured on their upcoming EP, one of which was the song, “Love Is A Landmark.” Pasilla’s voice dreamily reverberated throughout the venue, drowning out the chatter of the crowd standing at the bar. A couple of songs in, they dove into what sounded like a thunderous jam session.
Dusty was the next local outfit to hit the stage. The trio described themselves as “when Bob Dylan went electric but sadder and not as good.” There was an undeniable influence of Dylan in their sound – the singer often had a bit of a folksy twang to his voice, though the group was certainly a rock band. The heavy bass and kick drum sent vibrations through the chest and the crowd swayed along to the beat. They powered through their set with only a few short breaks to engage the crowd. They confirmed they will be releasing a new EP soon, and asked the crowd to wait to purchase any digital content until Friday, February 3rd, when Bandcamp would be donating all proceeds to ACLU.
When Monsterwatch finally hit the stage, they were met by an exuberant crowd. The lead singer shouted his lyrics into the microphone over the sound of punchy guitars. They are the embodiment of ’90s punk rock – short, crunchy songs with biting lyrics and attitudes to match. The self-described “groove punk” band incorporates a funky bass line into each song, which gives their sound a uniqueness among other punk rock outfits. During their set they confirmed there will be a new music video released in the next week or so for their latest single, “Tuesday.” As they performed the song, a friend of theirs hoped on stage for the second time and danced wildly to the music.
The band took a brief pause to announce the next three songs on their setlist would be on their forthcoming EP, one of which was titled “Inside Out.” This particular song is a cover of a track originally performed by the English rock outfit 999. Social activism is a part of everyday life in Seattle, so in true Seattle fashion, Monsterwatch also asked fans not to purchase any of their music on Bandcamp until Friday, February 3rd. This statement was met with cheers from the crowd.
As they launched into their final song of the night, lead singer, John Spinney, shouted “Everyone dance!” and the audience eagerly obliged. The band went all out on the last song, and it seemed like one of them might even smash a guitar on the stage. The song came to a sudden end, and they quickly thanked the crowd and left the stage. The audience chanted “Encore! Encore!” after them, but the singer came back out to say they had played all of their songs, and promised to perform an encore in the future.
All three of these artists should be checked out live by locals and visitors alike. They all also have music available for purchase through Bandcamp that is worth giving a listen.
Review by Kriston McConnell
Photos by Alex Crick
Monsterwatch
