KEXP Suggests: EXPO 91 at Cairo 1/9-1/12

Starting this Thursday local venue / vintage store / neighbourhood treasure Cairo kicks off its sixth annual EXPO mini-festival, featuring four nights of art and music from around the Northwest, always all-ages, always out there. Come get weird and check out the full schedule below.

If reading seems like a chore, you can also listen to my EXPO 91 preview show this Thursday, 1:00 to 6:00 am, live or available thereafter on the KEXP Archive.Thursday, Jan. 9th - Art Opening & Reception (6:00 pm)

Meet and greet fellow EXPO-goers in Cairo’s cosy space, look at cool art and make eyes from across the room at that boy / girl you’ve been wanting to talk to for a while.

Artwork on display from: Alexa Anderson, Derek Erdman, Julie Alpert, Allie Manch, Kat Larson, Sacha Peet, JD Banke, Doug Newman, Chris Ando, Lynda Sherman, CM Ruiz, MKNZ & Taylor Pinton, Christopher Harrell, Ellie Dicola, Kate Ryan, Erin Frost and Hannah Patterson.

Friday, Jan. 10th (7:00 pm)

• Newaxeyes
• Youryoungbody
• Black Hat
• USF
• Nice&AO

EXPO’s first night of music features a diverse group of electronic acts from around town, a microcosm of sorts of Seattle’s inventive and forward-thinking electronic scene. As well, the lineup is probably as good an indicator as any of the city’s schizophrenic nature; on this night blunted beats, goth-informed synth pop, mystical drone landscapes and Carl Sagan-worthy planetarium music all coexist (read: it’ll be weird, wear your finest X-Files tee).

Kicking off the festivities is Newaxeyes, an exciting up-and-coming quartet steeped in glitchy, meditative beats. Their songs burn slowly and shine brightly.

 

Next up is Darkwave-inspired duo Youryoungbody, purveyors of ethereal synth pop that errs slightly on the menacing and heavily on the sizzurp’d. They played a fantastic in-studio session for Audioasis last spring you can listen to here.

 

On a more adventurous, spacey sonic tip is Black Hat, crafter of restless and immersive ambient landscapes incorporating elements of both drone and industrial.

USF make richly textured, buoyant tunes positively dripping with good vibes. They’ll put a smile on your face and keep that head bopping. Also, they really like cats, which counts for something.

Rounding out the bill is Nice&AO, the beat-making team of Nice Nate and DJAO. These fine young chaps make sumptuous “future” hip hop instrumentals and would be right at home on L.A.’s Brainfeeder label. Chief as needed.

Saturday, Jan. 11th (6:00 pm)

• Health Problems
• Childbirth
• Stickers
• Hornet Leg
• Wimps
• Weed

Saturday’s lineup offers plenty for the denim jacked-clad, stick-and-poked set out there. This promises to be a loud night. Shred, sweat, rawk, repeat.

On the noisy, distortion-drenched end of the spectrum are Health Problems, who dish out snarling blasts of jittery and sardonic rock weirdness.

 

Super group alert: Childbirth are a fairly new trio with members from Pony Time, Chastity Belt and TacocaT who perform catchy songs on diverse topics such as menopause, making poor decisions about who to bonk and the Hawaiian-Korean place above QFC. They just released a cassette, too, and wear costumes when performing.

 

Stickers, whether they be of the colourful, adhesive variety or the sludgy, no wave variety, are awesome and you will love them.

 

Hornet Leg are a band from Portland with a groovy psych-garage sound, plus they have a pretty killer name. Sold!

Wimps! ‘Nuff said.

Vancouver, B.C.’s Weed are practically Seattle residents at this point, what with their frequent cross-border visits and home on local label Couple Skate, but don’t take that for granted! Weed always brings it, so be sure to stop by and get sweaty. Scope their excellent in-studio performance for the Morning Show below.

 

Sunday, Jan. 12th (6:00 pm)

• Corey J. Brewer
• Maryjane Dunphe
• Dragging an Ox Through Water
• Elissa Ball
• Lori Goldston & Dan Sasaki

EXPO’s final night features a heady mix of art, poetry and music, with performances from Elissa Ball and Olympia’s Maryjane Dunphe, the cello and drum duo Lori Goldston & Dan Sasaki (the former played with Nirvana, David Byrne, Parenthetical Girls and Earth), ramshackle lo-fi country crooning out of Portland from Dragging an Ox Through Water and the floating, hauntological transmissions of Corey J. Brewer. Mark this one down as a night to really connect with something new, unexpected and meaningful while also communing with your fellow EXPO freaks one last time.

For full details, peruse EXPO 91's events page and see you there!