RON SWARNER: VERY SPECIAL SHOW IS VERY SPECIAL >>> Back in the early '90s the tag line "with special guest" often meant a truly special guest. Pearl Jam, Soundgarden, Alice in Chains would often fine tune their live show at the Crocodile Café or Off Ramp clubs in Seattle before launching a tour. Avoiding the crowds and press, they would be listed as "with special guest" or a fake name on posters. I remember a "with special guest" rumor that had Soundgarden playing a secret show at the Off Ramp actually turned out to be Chris Cornell's siblings' band Inflatable Soule. (I became a huge fan of Inflatable after that show â€" great harmonies).
The shows with truly special "with special guest" are few and far between these days.
So when I saw the Glimpse poster for tomorrow's show at Hell's Kitchen included "with special guests" I didn't think much of it.
For the hell of it, I contacted Hell's Kitchen's promoter/booking agent Flash for the scoop.
Whoa, it's special.
Sunny Day Real Estate will fine tune their live show tomorrow night at Hell's Kitchen before heading out on a "2009 Reunion Tour" with 21 stops across the nation including the kickoff Thursday at the Commodore Ballroom in Vancouver, B.C. They will end the fall tour Oct. 16 at the Paramount Theater in Seattle.
It's a true reunion, too. All the members of the Seattle proto-emo heroes Sunny Day Real Estate â€" singer/guitarist Jeremy Enigk, guitarist/singer Dan Hoerner, bassist Nate Mendel and drummer William Goldsmith â€" are back together again for this North American reunion tour. If you remember, the band has broken up twice â€" in 1995 and 2001. After the band's 1995 breakup, bassist Nate Mendel and drummer William Goldsmith joined Dave Grohl's Foo Fighters.
In celebration of the reunion, Sub Pop reissued the band's two original-lineup albums: their 1994 debut Diary and the 1995 follow-up LP2 (better known as The Pink Album) today. The reissues will include bonus tracks and new liner notes.
[Hell's Kitchen, Sunny Day Real Estate, Glimpse, Basic Radio, Wednesday, Sept. 16, 9 p.m., $5, 3829 Sixth Ave., Tacoma, 253.759-6003]