Submitted by Dangerous Dan:

It had been a long time since 7 Year Bitch last played Seattle and, judging by the size of the crowd, I was not the only person anxious to see them again. This would be our first chance to see them with Lisa Fay on guitar and everyone was excited at the prospect of hearing some of the new songs as well.

Prior to the show, I saw Elizabeth and we talked for a bit about various things, including the web page. A few people nearby overheard us, and upon discovering I was indeed the guy who does the page, came over to say hello. It ended up being Daniel (woodworm), Becky (reno-beano) and Craig (Plakester) from the iMusic 7YB bulletin board. They were all really cool and it was great to meet them. Daniel and Becky had driven out from North Dakota and Minnesota respectively just to see 7 Year Bitch at their three northwest shows!

Lost Goat was up first and got the evening underway with a solid set of driving hard rock. After hearing them, I can definitely see why 7YB chose to take them out on tour. All three members are very accomplished musicians, with the drummer being particularly awe inspiring. It's been a long time since I've seen someone pound their kit like she managed to do.

Zeke came out next and delighted us with a short, fast-paced set of blistering punk tunes. I had heard their name mentioned many times before in the various northwest music newspapers and they lived up to everything people had said. The bassist liked to confront the audience and played a majority of the set with his guitar literally inches from my face. I was quite impressed, however, because despite his close proximity, and the crowd pushing that was going on behind me, he never hit me once.

Finally, around midnight, came the moment we'd been waiting for when 7 Year Bitch took the stage. Selene timidly announced who they were and thanked us for coming before launching into 'The Scratch.' As soon as she sang "I want it..." the crowd was into it and nearly matched her volume level in completing the line. They were in great form and the show got off to a rousing start.

Next up came 'Blue Side', the first of the four new songs they played. By the sound of what I heard, the next album is going to be a scorcher! All the new stuff fit perfectly into the set and felt right at home next to the older material. Two of the other songs were called 'Shining Armor' and 'Limb' on the set list, but I didn't catch the name of the fourth one. Some of the older material they played included 'Crying Shame', 'M.I.A.', 'Rock A Bye', and 'It's Too Late'. 'Whoopie Cat' was dedicated by the band to Roisin who was sitting at the side of the stage watching the events.

Lisa Fay seems to fit right in with the band and did a good job of playing Roisin's parts on the older material. If you closed your eyes and listened I doubt you could tell it was someone different. She appeared to be enjoying herself, as did the rest of them, and they all flashed plenty of smiles throughout the set. It was fun to see Lisa and Selene trade smiles and glances at several points as they moved within inches of one another during some of the new songs.

All in all, it was another great show, but a minor complaint was the sound quality. Normally, Moe's has really good sound, but for whatever reason, the guitars and vocals were extremely low in the mix. Perhaps it was because we were on Elizabeth's side of the stage, but her bass came through loud and clear and it provided a nice opportunity to hear just how important of a role she plays in the song's structures.

Submitted by Tony:

This is the fourth time I have seen Seven Year Bitch at Moe, and the sold-out crowd seemed surprisingly complacent. They opened with "The Scratch," which in recent Northwest shows I have seen, they usually save nearer the end, so it was a pleasant surprise. Next they played a new song, "Blue Side," which according to reliable sources, is the same one with which they closed their recent Lake Tahoe show. They continued on to play five or six new songs mixed in with old standbys, including "Rock A Bye," "M.I.A." and "Hip Like Junk." On "It's Too Late" they had a rare false start and had to begin again. Selene looked amazing, as always, and seemed particularily upbeat. She smiled and laughed often throughout the one hour performance. They also pounded out several selections from their most recent album, Gato Negro, including, "The History of My Future,""Crying Shame,"and "Whoopie Cat," which Elizabeth dedicated to former guitarist, Roisin Dunne. New guitarist Lisa Fay Beatty seemed tired and usually leaned against a wall between songs. They did "2nd Hand" and "Rest My Head." "Miss Understood" was the last song before the three song encore. Of the new songs, besides "Blue Side" I also really liked the third new song, a particularily up-tempo number that I don't know the title of.

A review by Kathleen Wilson that appeared in Seattle's music paper The Stranger:

Seattle's live music crowd is hard to read. That is, you can never quite pinpoint which bands are going to raise the most interest, which long timers are still able to sell out large venues, and which side-project or post-break up supergroup will get the most attention right off the bat...

The next night at Moe, however, was a suprise. With 7 Year Bitch missing in action since returning from a national tour, and their major label album having been released to almost no fanfare, I expected to see a spotty turnout at best, certainly no more than comfortably full. But by 11 pm a line of fans reached halfway down the block. They were told that the show was already sold out, and if they didn't have tickets in hand, they were SOL. Inside, the club was packed, and it was obvious people were there to see the headliners, not just openers Zeke.

7 Year Bitch kick-started their suprisingly short set with crowd favorite "The Itch," (Note: she's obviously a big, big fan! *LOL*) and singer Selene Vigil had the house in her grip immediately. The band played a tight set, rife with dedications and shout-outs, but closer inspection revealed it to be wholly predictable and, save for a couple of songs, lacking in new material. Bassist Elizabeth Davis was the band's backbone, eliciting the most response from the audience ("There's nothing sexier than a woman bass player!" yelled one enthusiastic fan, as if it were an oddity). But Vigil seemed subdued, and not nearly as panther-like as in the past. The coy, taunting prowl of yesterday was replaced by a sense of listlessness, maybe even boredom. Not that it bothered the bulk of the audience any, who remained faithful throughout the encore