On the warm spring evening of January 24, I had the utmost pleasure of seeing the legendary Motels starring Martha Davis.
The Motels hit the charts in 1982 with songs like “Only the Lonely” and “Suddenly Last Summer,” but although those songs are exquisite, they proved this night that they have more than just two songs landing in the spectacular category.
The years have been kind to Martha. She looked fabulous and though she spoke with a slightly horsey voice, her singing was as pristine and lusty as ever. She wore a heavy blazer with a scarf as if it were winter outside and I wondered why she didn’t melt as it was quite toasty inside the Triple Door.
Martha Davis is very much a charismatic performer. She often joked about the lack of upbeat songs in their repertoire (I counted two), but it’s okay that their songs weren’t danceable. The Motels’ songs are very sensual and very melodic and Martha’s voice filled the club like a warm down blanket. Besides a glorious voice and undying charisma, Martha often switched between playing rhythm guitar and just singing into a microphone sans guitar. She was surrounded by stellar musicians. Marty Jourard alternated between sax and keyboards, while Eric Gardner kept the beat steady. Guitarist Clint Walsh (who is absolutely adorable) bullied the strings until they wailed and screeched. Bass player Brady Wills, also eye candy, was one of the most charismatic bass players I’ve had the pleasure of watching.
Besides playing the aforementioned classic songs, they also performed some new ones off an upcoming album (no release date yet).
After a one song encore, the band left the stage to raucous applause. No one can say Seattle forgot about the Motels and no one can say Seattle doesn’t love the Motels. Another stellar show graced a Seattle stage.
Opening the night was Seattle’s own Vaudeville Etiquette. Vaudeville Etiquette is a three-piece with the very charming Tayler Lynn on vocals and a horn shaped kazoo. Accompanied by Sander Vinberg on upright bass and Bradley Laina on Guitar, these three played an enjoyable set filled with folky music with some country influences that was rife with good humor and fun. And judging by the enthusiastic cheers and applause, this audience loved them too.
