Catch indie rocker at the Neptune

  • By Andy Rathbun Special to The Herald
  • Wednesday, January 22, 2014 6:32pm
  • LifeGo-See-Do

For a guy who got his start recording music alone in a cabin, Justin Vernon has become a very busy man.

Just look at the past few years. Since recording “For Emma, Forever Ago” by himself in the woods, Vernon has been flown to Hawaii by Kanye West to work on songs. He has won two Grammys — for Best New Artist and Best Alternative Album — as the lead singer of Bon Iver.

He even found himself in a small battle with another indie rock group, the Avalanches, after he endorsed Bushmill’s Whiskey. (The Avalanches called him a hypocrite for endorsing something as destructive to a person’s health as alcohol.)

Despite all that, he’s still found time to release several albums, including two with his excellent Wisconsin-based side project, Volcano Choir. That group will bring Vernon to the Neptune Theatre for a show at 8 p.m. Saturday.

Volcano Choir is essentially an indie rock supergroup, fronted by Vernon but featuring members of another oddly named band, the Collections of Colonies of Bees.

The group released its second album in 2013, “Repave,” and hit No. 40 on the Billboard 200. The album featured Vernon’s inimitable vocals over quietly anthemic rock songs that, more often than not, built slowly to their explosive conclusions.

Tickets are $21.50 at stgpresents.org or 877-784-4849.

Excision also is coming to Seattle for a show at the Paramount Theatre at 6 Friday night.

The Canadian-based dub-step producer and electronica artist has promised “virtual walls of bass” on his upcoming tour, which will find him playing large theaters across America for the next three months.

With those “walls of bass” in mind, Excision is bringing a 150,000-watt bass sound system on the road with him.

Which is a fancy way of saying: Bring earplugs.

Tickets are $35 at stgpresents.org or 877-784-4849.

Josh Ritter, meanwhile, isn’t touting his sound system on his new tour. The Idaho-born singer-songwriter is instead going acoustic as he continues to tour behind his 2013 album “The Beast in Its Tracks,” which hit No. 22 on the charts.

Ritter first started turning heads after helping soundtrack the HBO hit, “Six Feet Under” — his song “Come and Find Me” was used on the show’s end credits.

That little bit of attention was enough to help Ritter grow his loyal following. He’s since released a string of folk-based records, each more successful on the charts than the last. He plays in Seattle on Sunday.

Tickets are $25.50 at stgpresents.org or 877-784-4849.

Finally, Robert DeLong will wrap up a two-night stand at Barboza in Seattle with a sold-out show at 7 Friday night.

DeLong grew up in the Seattle suburbs before relocating to Los Angeles, where he started crafting his high-energy electronica.

He made a splash in 2013 with his debut “Just Movement,” an album that featured the expletive-laced single “Global Concepts,” which asked listeners if he had found a way to make them dance.

Tickets are available at a mark-up through stubhub.com.

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