I Just Wanna Get Along
The Breeders and Belly Live at the Paramount
I had a great privilege living in Seattle during the 1990’s music explosion. On September 18, 1992, the film Singles premiered nationwide in theaters, and my love for live music was born. (Yes I know Nevermind was released a year earlier, but I was more of a 7 Year Bitch and Pearl Jam fan.)
Soon after that, I read through The Rocket, a free biweekly music magazine serving the Pacific Northwest that published from 1979-2000, for upcoming all-ages shows. RKCNDY and Velvet Elvis were a blessing during the era of the Teen Dance Ordinance.
I got to see local artists such as Sunny Day Real Estate, Engine Kid, 7 Year Bitch, and Gruntruck. For the bands I was unable to see live, I had radio stations like KISW, KNDD, KCMU (now KEXP), and music shows such as BombShelter Video and MTV’s 120 Minutes to keep this music nerd happy.
As our local sound took over the world, a new music genre was spawned: Alternative Rock. To this day, 90s Alternative is one of my favorite eras. Two of those bands I loved since day one: Belly and the Breeders.
On October 25, I finally got to see both the Breeders and Belly at the Paramount Theatre! Only took 30 years, but it was worth the wait.
This night was the final show of the tour, which celebrated the 30th anniversary of two albums: the Breeders’ Last Splash headlining, and Belly’s Star as the supporting act.
Walking into the venue, I was pleasantly surprised with the diverse age of crowd. Glad to see a new generation has a chance to see this bands live. I’m thinking some may be fans of Olivia Rodrigo, who is going on tour (Guts World Tour) with the Breeders opening in 2024.
I got lucky and got really close to the stage. The floor started to fill up slowly, security motioned to get closer to the barricade and few moment later, it was showtime!
Belly was fun and their sound was fantastic. They opened with “Dusted” (love the riding baseline) that got the crowd dancing. Needless to say, “Feed the Tree” was a big singalong.
The Breeders brought a rocking set with Jim Macpherson and Josephine Wiggs switching instruments for Roi and a bubble machine.
The encore was the cherry on top, with Kim on bass for a performance of “Gigantic.” Tanya Donelly also joined the band on stage to play a few tracks from the Breeders’ releases Pod, Safari, and All Nerves.
Fun facts:
- Last Splash is the second album released on August 30, 1993. Pod, the Breeders debut release in 1990, featuring Tanya Donelly on guitar.
- January 31, 1993, MTV’s 120 Minutes premiered “Feed the Tree” off of Belly’s released their debut album (earlier that same month), Star. On July 06, 1993, Belly played now-defunct Seattle venue RKCNDY supporting an upcoming English band… called Radiohead.
