How does it manage to stay fairly dry all winter long, and then dump torrential snow and rain all over spring break? Alanis Morissette would've found it just a little too ironic, don't you think? In my dream world, the recent recess from community college would have included a beach party or two, some bike rides in the sun, maybe a picnic with my roommates. Instead, Seattle's students got stuck with rain on our proverbial wedding dates.
After holing up in my house to stay warm for most of the week, I managed to scrape myself off the couch Saturday night to see Past Lives at a warehouse space on Capitol Hill. If you haven't heard, Past Lives are a new band formed from the ashes of former Seattle heavyweights the Blood Brothers and Shoplifting. I saw them a couple months ago at Chop Suey and loved it, so I was excited to see them in a more intimate setting.
Though a quiet PA hushed singer Jordan Blilie's vocals to a murmur all too familiar at smaller shows, the band were on point. In between almost every song, Blilie sincerely thanked everyone for coming to see them. That the members of Past Lives have played for much larger crowds over the years but were still stoked about playing to the small group in front of them was a real treat.
The band are playing Friday, April 11, at the Old Fire House in Redmond. Growing up on the Eastside, bands like the Blood Brothers were a huge part of the strong sense of community I felt there. The band's members played their first shows as teenagers at the OFH, so in a way it's a homecoming. A lot of memories have been made in the OFH's show room, and Past Lives' first show there will surely be unforgettable.
After making the trip across the water on Friday night, you're probably going to want to stay in the city for Saturday, right? Perfect. The always all-ages, always amazing Vera Project is hosting a gem of a punk-rock show on Saturday, April 12, with Olympia's the Old Haunts and tropical party starters Coconut Coolouts. Having seen both headliners play some insanely fun shows, I can't see how Saturday will be anything short of a perfect climax to your all-ages weekend. 
