The Young Fresh Fellows ~ The Bret Tobias Set

AGE RESTRICTION: Only Ages 21+ can purchase tickets for this show. NO REFUNDS/EXCHANGES for anyone underage who purchases or attempts to use these tickets.

Doors: 7:00 PM

Show: 7:30 PM

The Young Fresh Fellows
Those aging but agile Young Fresh Fellows are set to celebrate the anniversary of their out-of-time and timeless album, The Fabulous Sounds Of The Pacific Northwest. Released by Seattle’s PopLlama Products in April 1984, it turned into a snowball on a roller coaster — or something. Refusing to call playing music a career, the combo endures, at least in its own mind. Says chief songwriter Scott McCaughey: “We never broke up and we probably never will.”

The Bret Tobias Set
Bret’s a Replacements-addled gen-x romantic still humming from the big bang of discovering MTV’s 120 Minutes in its prime (i.e. before Nirvana ruined everything). Imagine being 14 years old in Reagan’s America and hearing Sonic Youth’s “Expressway to yr Skull,” or Flesh For Lulu’s “Postcards from Paradise,” or the The Mighty Lemon Drops’ “Inside Out,” or The Wishniaks’ “Day to End All Days” or The House of Love’s “I Don’t Know Why I Love You,” or Scruffy The Cat’s “Mybabyshesalright” for the first time. Kaboom. Bret’s been striving to distill that spirit for longer than he cares to admit, initially via the punk trio Möped, and after via the wish-we-didn’t-have-to-refer-to-this-as-power-pop combo The Bigger Lovers. To be clear, this is no cheeky retro project: dude has fully digested his influences and is writing songs for the ages. Sure, a touch of folky maturity has crept in–I’m reminded of Nick Lowe who once wondered, “what do you do when you’re 30 and you’re still called Rat Scabies?”–but he ain’t boring. The Pleaser Vol. 1 EP was released in late 2023 to the acclaim of about 20 diehard Bigger Lovers fans (bless them). Pleaser Vol. 2 is due in 2024. The Set is comprised of Tracy Stanton, Jeff Tanner, Mike Kennedy and Krista Umile.