Sunset Tavern - Seattle, WA - Izaak Opatz/Serafima & the Shakedowns
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Izaak Opatz’s music has always been about longing, run through with nostalgia for the passed-by and out-of-reach. His first two albums, Mariachi Static and Extra Medium, were propelled by a longing for specific people and places, made relatable by wry humor, thoughtful simile and close observation.
More recently, he’s been writing songs that long for an alternative reality, for different possibilities than the short, doomed menu offered by our tech lords and the current kakistocracy failing to regulate them. Songs that push back against the coercive pressure to indulge in small conveniences at the expense of personal privacy, a 20th-century attention span and the steady drip of a monthly subscription:
"I spend a lot of my time now, jumping through hoops / asking permission from a little screen
convincing a robot that I’m not a robot / this future isn’t all it was cracked up to be"
With Serafima & the Shakedowns:
Serafima finds influence in the likes of Johnny and June Carter Cash, Kimya Dawson, Joni Mitchell, Lily Allen, Dan Reeder, and Cake – somewhere in there among the honest and the groovy. Her lyrics hit you in the heart and stick in your head – wry, time-twisting verses as deceptively complex as her protagonists and their experiences. She won’t lie to you, but she just might tell you a story … so keep up, folks, and let’s ride along.
If Serafima’s lyrics are so honest, they burn, The Shakedowns distribute the heat, electrifying classic elements from the Golden Age of Radio, honky tonk, and Russian folk. With drummer Jules Tennyson (Biblioteka) joining in 2023, and the arrival in 2025 of trumpet player Finn O’Hea, The Shakedowns rounded out to a fivesome, with founding guitarist Sam Burrows and bassist Joe McPhee, and Serafima on vocals and rhythm guitar. Onstage, they’re a party.
More recently, he’s been writing songs that long for an alternative reality, for different possibilities than the short, doomed menu offered by our tech lords and the current kakistocracy failing to regulate them. Songs that push back against the coercive pressure to indulge in small conveniences at the expense of personal privacy, a 20th-century attention span and the steady drip of a monthly subscription:
"I spend a lot of my time now, jumping through hoops / asking permission from a little screen
convincing a robot that I’m not a robot / this future isn’t all it was cracked up to be"
With Serafima & the Shakedowns:
Serafima finds influence in the likes of Johnny and June Carter Cash, Kimya Dawson, Joni Mitchell, Lily Allen, Dan Reeder, and Cake – somewhere in there among the honest and the groovy. Her lyrics hit you in the heart and stick in your head – wry, time-twisting verses as deceptively complex as her protagonists and their experiences. She won’t lie to you, but she just might tell you a story … so keep up, folks, and let’s ride along.
If Serafima’s lyrics are so honest, they burn, The Shakedowns distribute the heat, electrifying classic elements from the Golden Age of Radio, honky tonk, and Russian folk. With drummer Jules Tennyson (Biblioteka) joining in 2023, and the arrival in 2025 of trumpet player Finn O’Hea, The Shakedowns rounded out to a fivesome, with founding guitarist Sam Burrows and bassist Joe McPhee, and Serafima on vocals and rhythm guitar. Onstage, they’re a party.
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Where is it happening?
The Sunset, 5433 Ballard Ave NW, Seattle, WA 98107-4052, United States
Event Location & Nearby Stays:
Know what’s Happening Next — before everyone else does.
Host or PublisherIzaak Opatz
