My apologies, as this week’s edition of Guaranteed Good Times will be rather abridged due to me having been off the grid for a week catching the Sasquatch! Music Festival in the Pacific Northwest.  On the bright side, having spent three days totally immersed in music I now have some great first-hand experience with bands that will be travelling to Des Moines in the next few months!  So, without further avail, I bring you this week’s selections!

Santigold (with Trouble Andrew and Amanda Blank)

Santigold performing at Sasquatch

People’s Court - Friday, May 29th, 7:00 pm – Showtime: 8:00pm – All Ages – $18 advance/$20 at door (new wave/dub/psychobilly)

 I was able to catch Santigold this Monday at Sasquatch.  Going in to the show, I had heard a lot of “hype” about her, but basically just knew her from her music being used in commercials and on shows on the CW.  I was pleasantly surprised to find myself at one helluva entertaining show.  First of all, the music is fun.  You can’t deny that.  The new wave influences run rampant, and you can’t stop your feet from moving.  But above all that, Santigold is a performer.  She engages in the audience, along with her unsmiling backup singers/dancers, the SG1s, at all moments of the show.  Truth be told, it is hard to take your eyes off the SG1s, waiting to see them crack a sign of emotion or erupt into one of their dance moves.  At the beginning of the show, Santigold acknowledged a fan in the audience that she had seen at a show the night before and spoke of her appreciation.  She also mentioned it is a bad idea to eat Burger King right before performing.  Luckily, her performance seemed unaffected.  At the conclusion of the show, members of the audience were asked to come up on stage to dance along.  Just think–attend this show and you could be one of those dancers! (Tips to becoming one: wear purple, wear gold, stand out, be loud).  Her band, which she just started playing with a few shows ago, are fun to watch as well.  The synth player was obsessed with a new sound he just got that day and kept chiming in with it between songs (less annoying than it sounds).  All in all, Santigold’s shortened set at Sasquatch was one of the highlights and I am excited to see what will happen at a full, headlining show!

 There are a variety of different, entertaining shows at the Vaudeville Mews this week.  Check out the shows listed on the webpage, choose one at random, and attend!  Even if you don’t like the band, the Mews is always a Guaranteed Good Time with its cheap beer and comforting environment.  It feels like home.  If you have any recommendations, feel free to leave them in the comments!  This doesn’t make up for me being time-restricted and lazy this week, but it will help get the word out about some great shows!

Popularity: 3% [?]