Happy New Year!

Well, 2009 is almost over and it's been quite a year for music and for us here at The Paper Ship. We've traveled, we've made new friends, we've discovered amazing new bands and now it's time to look back on it all.

The Paper Ship's Top 10 Musical Journeys of 2009
(in no particular order)

1. Kings of Leon at The Forum, Inglewood, CA (August '09)- Driving from L.A. through the "shady" area of Inglewood had Lucyfer choosing gang sides (she was wearing red) and I developed a nice slogan 'I got shot in Inglewood and all I got was this lousy t-shirt.' Offensive? Yes. Funny? Absolutely.

2. The Kills at Neumo's, Seattle, WA (May '09)- Their live shows are always filled with sexual tension, loud guitar riffs and the wailing of Alison's vocals - this show was no different. Also, this was our first time meeting Alison and Jamie and not only were they so sweet and nice enough to take pictures with us but they were very, very sexy. As pictured here:

3. The Dead Weather at The Wiltern, Los Angeles, CA.(August '09) - Our first DW experience and we had the privilege of enjoying it at the Wiltern Theater in an amazing city surrounded by great fans. The highlight? The next day opening of Third Man Records pop-up store. This included a surprise concert for the first 500 fans and ANOTHER surprise one-song performance of 'Dead Leaves and the Dirty Ground' by Jack White and Jack Lawrence, who decided to dress as each other. Epic!

4. Austin City Limits, Austin, TX. (October '09)- Being caught in a rain storm on Day 2 with no ponchos, drenched from head to toe and keeping warm with giant Heineken beers are the memories that I will look back on fondly. We saw so many great performers that weekend; from Kings of Leon who brought Eddie Vedder on stage to close out the show with the song 'Slow Night, Slow Long' to Ghostland Observatory, Neon Indian (who replaced The Raveonettes at the last minute), Sam Roberts Band, The Dead Weather, and so many more.


5. The Raveonettes at Neumos, Seattle, WA. (November '09) - They played a collection of songs; all the way back to their first album 'Bowels of the Beast' to the new 'In and Out of Control.' We were front row for this one and to be honest, being that close to Sune Rose Wagner got me a little hot and bothered....but that's another story. And of couse, meeting Sune & Sharin was a definite highlight of the show and of the year.


6. Sasquatch Festival, George, WA (May '09) - This was a great way to spend my 26th birthday and we saw so many great bands and comedians; The Walkmen (who we got to meet as well), Zach Galifanakis, Aziz Ansari (both in the comedy tent), Yeah Yeah Yeahs, KoL again(!), M. Ward and we unfortunately were stuck (literally) in the crowd watching The Decemberists...but the only thing that made that show tolerable was the couple who were having sex plain as day on top of a mountain. Definitely a highlight!

7. Kings of Leon at General Motors Place, Vancouver B.C. (August '09) - Ok, we love KoL. That's obvious. The weekend before we started our trek to California we decides to cross the border into beautiful Canada to see KoL. We pushed our way to the front which was the first time we'd been front row since Bumbershoot '07 and boy, was it worth it! Seeing our favorite guys up close and personal was a pretty good start to our vacation.


8. Dead Man's Bones at The Triple Door, Seattle, WA (October '09) - The brainchild of Ryan Gosling and Zack Shields, DMB played a sold-out show in Seattle in October. The opening acts were magicians and comedians and the MC was a cowboy ghost; needless to say, it was original, inspiring and the dinner-and-a-show-feel of the venue made it all the more unusual.


9. Dead Man's Bones at Venue, Vancouver BC (October '09)- For the second time this year, we made our way to Canada. DMB played the following night after the Seattle show; this time with a new children's choir (they use a different one from each city they play in), new opening acts and a smaller venue - which allowed us to get VERY close to the stage and hope that Ryan Gosling would fall in love with us upon first sight. That didn't happen.


10. Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros, Fool's Gold & Local Natives at Neumo's, Seattle, WA. (December '09)- We channeled our inner hippie for this show and Edward Sharpe did not disappoint. His energy onstage is contagious and during 'Home' the crowd was bouncing up and down so much I thought for sure the floor was going to cave in. Local Natives were a delight as well and boy, did they bring it! 'Sun Hands' was energetic, fun and an overall great song to sing along to; and of course, it was nice to see those guys again!


And....the most random concert of the year goes to.....(drum roll.....) MICKEY AVALON! Lucyfer decided (for reasons unknown) to go to his show at the Showbox in Seattle.....I don't get it. But i guess it was fun.

Here's to another year of rock 'n' roll, road trips, and late nights!