May 2
at
7:00 pm
–
9:30 pm
PDT
Last May, Uncle Bonsai recorded the Olympia show, at New Traditions Cafe, for inclusion in a brand new release. Now, one year later, the group is thrilled to return to Traditions Fair Trade, on Saturday, May 2nd, for the Olympia CD Release Concert!
Now in its 45th year, Uncle Bonsai presents “UNCLE BONSAI LIVE: selections from 7 Sins, 7 Wonders, 7 Dwarfs – a song cycle,” the group’s 11th recording, featuring 20 brand new songs, some which were recorded at Traditions Fair Trade!
And just what IS Uncle Bonsai? Imagine what might happen if Tim Burton and Edward Gorey hijacked the Andrews Sisters en route to a Stephen Sondheim festival with The Beatles and Tom Lehrer in the sidecar; you’d get Seattle super-harmonizers Uncle Bonsai. With just three voices and an acoustic guitar, Bonsai presents an often dizzying vocal array of intricate harmony. Their songs, dark and hilarious at times, just as often delight with moments of great insight and beauty.
The trio aligns itself with the under-achiever, the dejected, the outsider, the black sheep. Densely-packed lyrics fly by in a whir at times, and take a skewed stance on topics such as first-world problems, the creation of the universe, the afterlife, and, of course, holidays with the family. Uncle Bonsai’s acoustic folk-pop songs are almost one-act plays or short stories, resisting strict pop, folk, or singer-songwriter categories. Their songs focus on the passing of time, the passing of genes, and the passing of pets – the truth of everything seemingly buried somewhere under the family tree.
