The Month Ahead: DJ/Electronic

Recommended shows from Bumbershoot After Dark to Identity Festival.

Sip & Spin

The Crocodile’s Eli Anderson Talks “Woo-Woo Synth Music”

Sip & Spin is a feature that asks local DJs what’s in their crates and what’s in their cup. This month, we talk Mondays with Eli Anderson, booker of Belltown institution the Crocodile, and find out where he likes to put his cucumber during the summer.

SW: Where are you spinning?

Anderson: I DJ at Havana on Monday night from 9 p.m. until I run out of records. The night is called Something Good. The goal is to create a quality soundtrack for people to kick back and have a few drinks. Classic rock and soul with a mix of newer indie rock and whatever else is good.

What records are you digging lately?

Listening to lots of post–Diana Ross Supremes, especially New Ways But Love Stays. Newer indie-rock albums from Pure X and Fruit Bats. Also, can’t get enough of this Harald Grosskopf album that just got reissued by RVNG. It’s the perfect late-’70s/early ’80s woo-woo synth music.

What’s your drink of choice and where are you drinking it?

I lived about one minute from Redwood until about a month ago, but it remains my favorite bar in the city. I’m a beer-and-a-shot kind of guy, although I’ve been known to get wild and throw a cucumber in a gin-and-tonic during the summer.

music@seattleweekly.com

Something Good With DJ Eli Anderson. Havana, 1010 E. Pike St., 323-2822. 9 p.m. Mondays.

 

Reverb Recommends

Bumbershoot After Dark/Saturday, Sept. 3-Sunday, Sept. 4

Decibel co-hosts this late-night party at Bumbershoot, encompassing bubbling, popping techno (Claude Von Stroke), proto-mashups (Z-Trip), OG electro-funk (DâM-FunK), and best of all the loose, organic beats and lush, upward spiraling melodies of Four Tet. With Jokers of the Scene, DJ Craze. Bumbershoot Exhibition Hall, 305 Harrison St., 673-5060. 10 p.m. $22 adv./$30 DOS.

Identity Festival/Saturday, Sept. 10

It might take Kaskade’s blank big-room trance-pop and Rusko’s crossover-ready dubstep to fill the Gorge, but further down the bill enjoy the slick nouveau-disco stylings of Aeroplane and Holy Ghost! With Pretty Lights, Nero, Afrobeta, Jessie and the Toy Boys, The Crystal Method, Booka Shade, Datsik, Le Castle Vania, The Eye, White Shadow, LA Riots, Riotgear, Chad Hugo, Figo. Gorge Amphitheater, 754 Silica Rd. N.W., Quincy, 628-0888. 1 p.m. $50. All ages.

Mexicans With Guns/Saturday, Sept. 10

Texas border-anxiety button-pusher Ernest Gonzales produces hazy hip-hop instrumentals and wobbly, polyglot bass music that has connected dots between Major Lazer, Animal Collective, Freddie Gibbs, and Bun B. With Take, adoptahighway, Trashy Trash DJs. Chop Suey, 1325 E. Madison St., 324-8000. 9 p.m. $8 adv./$12 DOS.

TRUST With Trus’me/Saturday, Sept. 17

UK producer Trus’me and Seattle’s monthly TRUST share more than like names: Both pump out smooth, eclectic blends of house, funk, soul, and beyond—an ace combination. Baltic Room, 1207 Pine St., 625-4444. 9 p.m. $10.

James Blake/Saturday, Sept. 24

The angelic face of post-post-post-dubstep, Blake has rapidly evolved from airlocked beat-slicing to a kind of hollowed-out, electronic-piano balladry that must appeal to latter-era Radiohead fans. With Teengirl Fantasy. Showbox at the Market, 1426 First Ave., 628-3151. 8 p.m. $22.50 adv./$25 DOS. All ages.

Decibel Festival/Wednesday, Sept. 28-Sunday, Oct. 2

Seattle’s premiere electronic music festival returns for its eighth year. Highlights of the impossibly busy lineup include reclusive dubstep experimenter Zomby, MPC master AraabMuzik, electro-popsters Ladytron, instrumental rockers Holy Fuck, slowgazer oOoOO, and deep-house head Motor City Drum Ensemble—along with tons of other choice acts both local and international. Various venues and ticket prices.