Mar 28 2009
An Experience at the Vera Project
Within my 5 years of living in Seattle, I have not gone to a Vera Project show until last night. The Vera Project (located under the awning of the Key Arena) is a music/arts center run by youth and it has been providing a safe drug/alcohol free environment for youth to experience music since 2000. It’s the only dedicated all ages venue in Seattle and it provides classes for those who want to pursue their musical interests, opportunities for emerging artists to perform in a professional setting, and all ages late night shows.
The headliner was a Nova Scotia band, Wintersleep, who won the 2008 Juno Award for “New Group of the Year” for their first full length album Welcome to the Night Sky.
Next, An Horse is an Autralian band who is touring with Winter Sleep. I overheard that the reason why they are getting big in North American is they recently toured with Tegan and Sara (I wasn’t able to find source to prove this).
The opener for the show was Dearboy, the 3rd place finalist for EMP’s Sound Off! Competition. They are a Seattle based experiemental band who has been around since 2003. Kudos to them and their accomplishments.
Just to let you know the Sound Off! Competition is an annual Northwest underaged battle of the bands contest for musicians under 21. It’s been a launching pad for music careers and past bands who won this include Schoolyard Heros, Natalie Portman’s Shaved Head, and Dyme Def.
Overall, the show experience was excellent and chill. No rowdy crowds, drunk people, and hostility. Plus there is a lot of art hanging in the venue to look at in between band sets. This is a definite recommendation to visit and money goes to a good cause.
More info on the Vera Project and shows- http://www.theveraproject.org/
I’m going to try to make it to the Mirah show on April 2nd. Stay tuned for a possible blog about Mirah.
