Video Of The Day: Stephen Malkmus & The Jicks, Live at the EMP

It was a big weekend for the rocking and/or rolling in Seattle; Death Cab For Cutie played 3 days at the Paramount Theatre, My Morning Jacket did back to back nights at the Moore, and Stephen Malkmus came into town to play at the Experience Music Project's Sky Church. While Malkmus' generally disconnected demeanor didn't necessarily correspond with the immaculate polish of the EMP, it was a refreshing change to see a show in the Sky Church (a nice wide room with nary a bad sightline) and it was frankly great to see screensavers/stock photography loops blaring from the giant LED screen backdrop, glowering over the otherwise reserved Malkmus and Jicks. The last time I saw Malkmus/Jicks play, it was a TapeOp/Fort George beer release party down in Astoria, Oregon where the band played to 100 people and played a delightfully sloppy set, so seeing the Jicks on the big stage in a museum with all of the appropriate big-time-rock-n-roll trappings was the polar opposite experience of the Astoria show. I wormed my way to the front and caught "Freeze The Saints" on my phone, which is a beautiful song on its own but really sparkles in this live, stripped down setting (public school piano goof-ups and all). Hope you enjoy.