City Arts Fest 2011 – Video: Robyn, Crystal Castles
Oct 21, 2011, 8:29 PM | Updated: 8:37 pm
Last night I dropped by the Crocodile to meet up with a couple of friends (ladyfriends, that is) and have a drink and discuss fun and interesting things. As our discussion progressed it turned into a chat about all things music and which venue(s) we were planning on hitting up as is happening all over the city of Seattle. Turns out that Ladyfriend #1 wasn’t familiar with Swedish dance pop savant Robyn one tick. Not one tick. Ladyfriend #2 agreed with me when I said that Robyn is amazing and that if we were to go and see her we wouldn’t be able to stand still because we’d be dancing the night away. I think it’s actually a rule that you must dance whenever you hear any song from Robyn and if you don’t someone will shoot you. I’ve seen it happen and it’s not pretty. Ladyfriend #1 decided to come with me to see Robyn and Ladyfriend #2 went off to do something not as awesome.
The Paramount was effing packed with folks frothing at the mouth, desperately wanting to get their Robyn fix. This was my second time getting to see Robyn as the first was at Sasquatch! Music Fest this past year and it was the best. Since that day I’ve been on pins and needles just waiting, wanting to see her again in the worst way. I’m so glad that Robyn came into town last night because those pins and needles were really starting to get under my skin. Check some video of the show below.


After Robyn had finished her set I took off to the Showbox SoDo to catch some Crystal Castles. I saw a bit of these guys at Coachella one year and I’m telling you that these guys put on a show that would scare your dead grandmother back to life and then kill her again. It’s rough. As soon as the music started I could not just stand around in the bar watching from a distance. I took the hand of new found friend Angela (she was hanging with some folks I had met up with at the joint) and led her directly into the massive pit of people who were already tearing up the place. We pushed through the barrage of sweaty, glistening bodies to get as close to the center of the pit as possible. Everyone was pushing and shoving and jumping and crowdsurfing (yes, that happened) and it was the most fun I’d had since that one time I saw Robyn at the Paramount. Eventually, the crowd got the best of me and I fell to the ground and my glasses flew from my head to the floor. If you know me then you know that I am very particular about the handling and general care of my specs. As a stranger was helping me up from the floor I was frantically combing the ground for my glasses hoping that #1, I would find them and #2, find them before they got crushed into bits. I totally found them before they got crushed. They are bent and they sit weird on my face now but it was completely worth it to get to sweat it out at Crystal Castles. Check the video below to watch the entire event mentioned above unfold…

sean.