Deck the Hall Ball 2018

It was that time again for our favorite holiday event to take place and we were thrilled that with the Key Arena remodel it was returning to WaMu Theater. It’s not that we don’t like Key Arena, we just enjoy the vibes in the smaller WaMu space, plus getting drinks is much easier. Deck the Hall Ball is always a highlight for us and we’re so lucky to have 107.7 The End host these every year. In comparison to recent years the bill was filled by 5 acts which is a smaller number but we thought that this worked much better as we enjoyed focusing on them and since it is a weekday we didn’t have to miss the couple first ones.

Jen Champion

Kudos to the station for promoting such an underrated artist who is an incredible songwriter/performer. We’ve been following Champion for a few years and seeing her musical progression is a joy. Her latest, Single Rider, was one of our favorite releases and we really liked hearing it in such a large space. The theater was already packed when she came to the stage and people were happy they discovered her at the show.

Billie Eilish

No idea when The End booked Eilish but this was a homerun booking for this year. The young superstar has taken over this year and she is only going up. She hasn’t even released a full length record yet and she has millions of followers dedicated to each step she takes. Her Don’t Smile At Me EP has songs that the fans are relating to and her raw lyrics are hard not to appreciate in a world full of copycats. Her talent is noticeable and even though she might be on the younger side you could still relate and admire her as an artist. People were absolutely wild when she came to the floor and she orchestrated and controlled every movement going on. From running around the stage, making them jump, throwing their hands in the air, she had them eating out of the palms of her hand.

Young the Giant

We can never get enough of YTG and we make sure we never miss them when they visit Seattle. We first heard them on The End and they have been the soundtrack to our summers the past few years. They have transformed a few times and every release is something that keeps us interested but not the same as before. Sameer Gadhia is a great lead vocalist who doesn’t lose a single person while performing. Their fourth record, Mirror Master, was recently released and we couldn’t wait to hear their new material live.

Bastille

It had been a while since we’d caught the British band Bastille and we had forgotten just how much we adore them. When Bad Blood was released it was stuck on repeat in my car and it was great to experience all those emotions again. Dan Smith’s voice is mesmerizing and it was a treat to hear him perform live. The band shared a couple of tracks from their upcoming third record, Doom Days, which we can’t wait to hear in 2019. They also managed to release one of the most played dance songs last summer with Marshmello, “Happier”. Smith also covered TLC’s, “No Scrubs” which he ends with The xx’s, “Angels” leaving everyone in nothing but euphoria. Their lighting design was incredible and added to the visual element of their performance especially if you were far enough behind to enjoy all the elements used to create the display.

Death Cab for Cutie

This was the first show in Seattle since their latest album release, Thank You for Today, and we were excited to see our hometown pride play live. They started with “I Dreamt We Spoke Again,” of the new record as Ben Gibbard intensely moved side to side playing his guitar. It’s always so great to see the band play live as there is so much chemistry between them. As each song progresses you can see that they are feeding off of each other and the high is most noticeable in the buildup intro of “I Will Possess Your Heart,” that brings you to the edge of your seat with every note. It is such a pleasure to witness their live shows and it makes us extremely happy that they are still one of our favorite bands to hear and sing along to.