Capitol Hill Block Party 2012 Festival Preview & Picks

Seattle’s Capitol Hill Block Party is upon us again for 2012, bringing some major acts from beyond and local Pacific Northwest acts into the same sweaty and crowded outdoors spaces! See below for the full daily run-down of what you ought to look out for.

WRITE-UPS BY KATIE NGUYEN UNLESS OTHERWISE NOTED

FRIDAY, JULY 20

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Youth Lagoon

6:30 PM • MAIN STAGE
He is a pioneer of dream pop — and come this Friday, Trevor Powers will have the entire Capitol Hill Block Party crowd in a mesmerized daze. His 2011 debut album The Year of Hibernation was named one of the best albums of the year from various outlets, leaving me with no doubt in my mind that his performance won’t blow all of us away. Youth Lagoon is sure to be one of the most anticipated performances at this year’s event.

SATURDAY, JULY 21

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Beat Connection

4:45 PM • MAIN STAGE
It looks like the organizers of CHBP were impressed with Beat Connection last year on the Vera Stage, because this year’s festival has them graduating onto the main stage. With their hit single “The Palace Garden, 4am” and the release of their latest LP, Beat Connection are making all of the right moves in building a successful musical career for themselves. This year’s main stage performance will surely bring the electronic dance party.

SUNDAY, JULY 22

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Phantogram

6:10 PM • MAIN STAGE
It would not be a music festival season if Phantogram were not included on a bill or two or three. To watch the band’s musical career over the last few years has been incredible. Their 2009 debut album Eyelid Movies received rave reviews and that was no different for their follow-up LP Nightlife, which was released earlier this year. Both Sarah Barthel and Josh Carter mesh so well together that their performances always turn out seamless. They are definitely a band worth checking out this year; I promise you, you won’t be disappointed.

FRIDAY, JULY 20 (cont’d)

Fly Moon Royalty

7:00 PM • VERA STAGE
Formerly known as Sugar Water Purple, Fly Moon Royalty is 50 percent soul and 50 percent sass. The vibrant duo made up of vocalist Adra Boo and DJ Action Jackson have been creating music together since 2010, but this will be their first appearance at this year’s Capitol Hill Block Party. The pair has previously opened up for Sharon Jones & the Dap Kings as well as CHBP act Allen Stone. As their name states, they are royalty, and not ones to be messed with or to be missed at this year’s music festival.

Thee Oh Sees

7:45 PM • MAIN STAGE
There is little to say about Thee Oh Sees other than: we suggest them as a live act every chance we get. They are veterans and well-respected by absolutely everyone in the garage rock world (and beyond) for very, very good reasons. – VH

Allen Stone

9:15 PM • MAIN STAGE
Dubbed as the John Mayer of Seattle, Allen Stone is pretty much our hometown’s coveted celebrity. After performing on Conan last year, the television host complimented his performance by calling it “fucking awesome” and we think that’s how the rest of Seattle feels too. Allen Stone isn’t displaying any signs of slowing down especially having performed at the ESPY’s Countdown show this past week. Kudos to CHBP for bringing us some soul this year!

Fitz And The Tantrums

10:45 PM • MAIN STAGE
One of the main reasons why I keep coming back to Capitol Hill Block Party every year is because it gives me a place to get down! Is there any other event in the city that you can go to and dance freely on the streets acceptably? I don’t think so. Fitz and the Tantrums had a tremendous year in 2011 by releasing their hit, “Moneygrabber,” appearing on Conan, Leno, and Kimmel, and snagging themselves on the lineups of five major music festivals in the country including Seattle’s very own Bumbershoot.

Fresh Espresso

10:15 PM • NEUMOS STAGE
If you haven’t noticed recently, the hip hop scene is exploding onto the city of Seattle. These members may not be original natives of the city, but they have developed a unique sound that makes us proud to call them one of our own. Their rhymes are effortlessly paired with jazzy instrumentation, melodic riffs, and other colorful surprises. They were a hit with the crowd at last year’s Block Prty and will surely dominate once again in round two.

SATURDAY, JULY 21 (cont’d)

Grimes

7:30 PM • MAIN STAGE
Born in Vancouver, Canada and developing her artistic styling in Montreal, Claire Boucher is a visionary combining rhythmic beats with soft and pretty vocals. Her sound is raw, edgy, and entrancing and I think if you haven’t ever seen her perform live yet, you will fall in love with her at Capitol Hill Block Party. You would think that combining both harsh and delicate elements would make the opposites not attract, but Grimes has completely proved us wrong.

The Psychic Paramount

7:45 PM • NEUMOS STAGE
A trio of traditional rock band proportions, The Psychic Paramount bring a bass, drum, guitar combo into psychedelic and post-metal territory for rollicking sounds that thunder and tumble through genres and songwriting conventions with as little concern as possible. – VH

Twin Shadow

6:00 PM • MAIN STAGE
The man behind Twin Shadow is a little bit of a mystery. The festival’s bio on George Lewis Jr. is unclear, but I was able to pull from it that he works very closely with Grizzly Bear’s Chris Taylor who serves as his producer. In listening to music off of his album “Forget,” I can conclude that he is a musician that doesn’t hold back. I can imagine that his lyrics truly reflect his feelings and outlook on life. Even though it is slightly depressing, his lyrics in “Slow” (“I don’t want to believe or be in love”) is the most beautiful thing I have ever heard.

The Night Beats

7:15 PM • VERA STAGE
Psychedelic garage rock: an increasingly overplayed and blown out genre. But luckily for you, for CHBP, and for Seattle in general, The Night Beats are a trio that draws influence from ’60s psych without floundering on energy or lacking in invention. They’ve played our SXSW Unofficial House Party two years in a row now, and there’a fucking good reason for it. – VH

Yuna

9:00 PM • NEUMOS STAGE
Hearing Yuna’s first single “Live Your Life” for the first time was the most refreshing sound that I’d heard in quite some time. There is something calming in her soft voice that puts listeners at ease and, I am looking forward to being pleasantly surprised by her at this year’s Capitol Hill Block Party. “Live Your Life” was produced by Pharrell Williams and her debut self-titled album was released this past April. Along with CHBP this summer, Yuna also performed at this year’s Bonnaroo and will be at Lollapalooza.

White Arrows

10:15 PM • NEUMOS STAGE
The members of White Arrows seem like they completely own the “effortlessly cool” look. Not only are they a group of guys that have the ability to produce music that boasts unique rhythms, smooth synths, and light vocals, but they are also a group that has collaborated with RAC – the remix gods out of Portland. RAC turned their single “Coming or Going” into a hit, prompting the band to have RAC to produce their entire latest album Dry Land is not a Myth. The rest is all history.

SEE ALSO: WHITE ARROWS LIVE SHOW REVIEW

SUNDAY, JULY 22 (cont’d)

Haunted Horses

5:45 PM • CHA CHA STAGE
Amidst all of the happy-go-lucky sounds at CHBP, Haunted Horses bring the goth and dark to the party with guitarist/vocalist Colin Dawson and drummer/vocalist Myke Pelly (also of Footwork). An effort that is best seen live, if you want to get away from the pop for a moment and into the raw of pounding guitars and droning distorted guitars. VH

<a href="http://hauntedhorses.bandcamp.com/album/they-set-us-fevered-water">They Set Us Fevered Water by Haunted Horses</a>

Porcelain Raft

9:00 PM • NEUMOS STAGE
It’s dream pop with a punch! Italian singer-songwriter Mauro Remiddi has been at it with Porcelain Raft since 2010, but it wasn’t until 2012 that he was able to reveal his first full length album Strange Weekend. Filled with pretty melodies and blunt lyrics such as, “I know that I’m about to explode/Why don’t you stop wasting my time/and say what you gotta say…,” Porcelain Raft is proving to create whimsical live experiences.

Don’t Talk To The Cops!

12:25 PM • NEUMOS STAGE
Don’t Talk to the Cops may just be the most surprising performance at this year’s CHBP. If you’re ready to see a girl pumping more swag than you are and an exceptionally dreamy guy spitting out rhymes, then you are in for a treat. Don’t Talk to the Cops have one mission and that is to bring the fun wherever they go. Do you want to bob your head and stand in the crowd? Great. Do you want to dance and get down? Perfect. If you’re lucky, these two might even teach you a few breakdancing moves too.

Kithkin

4:00 PM • VERA STAGE
Labeled as a new form of “jungle rock,” the band embraces their newfound genre by dressing the part. They’ve got the drum intros, the stage props, and the face paint all to fit the mold. When Kithkin performs, it’s hard not to have a smile on your face. As part of the audience, all you want to do is join in on the random yelling, stomping, and the sporadic and various forms of “whoa’s” every song. Since finding each other at Seattle University freshman year, the guys are well on their way to making a name for themselves.

The Lumineers

4:50 PM • MAIN STAGE
Here in Seattle, we enjoy our indie folk rock and The Lumineers are no exception. The crowd at CHBP this year will welcome The Lumineers with open arms and they will nonetheless dazzle us with their performance on the main stage this coming Sunday. Move over The Head and the Heart; there’s a new band in town that KEXP and CHBP are backing. For the crowd coming to this performance, I just have one note for you all. Get ready to clap your hands and stomp your feet to your heart’s content.