Oh dear ones, dreams do come true! And last night at The Tractor in Ballard, for me, they did.

I’ve been practically in love with the music made by the Handsome Family for nearly a decade now. I first heard their song “So Much Wine” thanks to a “free” CD with Uncut magazine. It was one of the most beautiful things I had heard.

They don’t play in the states very much, even though they’re from Albuquerque. I missed them last year in Athens, Ohio, though I can’t remember why – maybe Scoot 66.

But last night I was finally able to see them.

A bearded fellow named Daniel Knox opened for them. The crowd was mostly at the bar or milling about. But when he started to play, they paid attention. It was neat to see an opening act win over an apathetic crowd.

He played through about eight songs and had a weird feel of a darker, less silly Tom Lehrer in a 1920’s carnival. It was just him at the keyboards with a great drummer. I bought his CD and it’s really fun. But the songs I liked best were his newer stuff, some of which is up on MySpace, the rest on his new album, Evryman for Himself. I’ll be picking this up. He did a song about a teacher and I’m not sure what it was, but listen to “Ghostsong” (it’s on MySpace). It’s pretty brilliant. You can also check him out on YouTube (check out “Evryman…” which is sung in the bathtub – thankfully safe for work). This is fairly beautiful as well.

The crowd was mostly off the floor for his set, but as soon as the Handsome Family took the stage, I had to slowly fight my way forward to see them.

Their first few songs were from the new album, Honey Moon, which I didn’t yet have. I was impressed with the new stuff. It didn’t greatly differ from the stuff that I knew, but they had grown musically as well as lyrically. They noted that they sang so many love songs because they had been married for 300 years.

The Handsome Family is Brett and Rennie Sparks. They play a dark blend of alt country and blues, but really, it’s better than that. Brett’s deep voice and Rennie’s dark lyrics instill a sense of uneasy dread that is often hilarious. There is nothing else that I listen to that I can compare them to. They easily make my top five favorite bands ever.

As their show went on, I moved closer to the front until I was standing right next to the stage. They played “In the Air,” “Giant of Illinois,” “So Much Wine,” “Arlene,” “My Sister’s Tiny Hands,” and others I can’t remember (sorry).

You can hear some of their stuff on MySpace.

I’m tempted to head to Portland on the 21st to see them again. I don’t think I’ll make it since I can’t ride due to my bummed up hand, but if I could, I would without hesitation.

They’ll be playing San Fransisco, Santa Cruz, LA, San Diego and Tuscan before heading to Europe again.

Last night made me so happy. I finally got to see one of my favorite bands and got introduced to Daniel Knox and can’t wait to hear more from him.

I went with Smartz and Jamie, who both seemed to enjoy it (though the darker stuff wasn’t to J’s delight). Smartz did pick this up.

What a fun night. Sorry the pictures aren’t better. There was a gal there taking way better pictures than I could. I wanted to find her after the show, but I think she was there on a professional level (for a magazine or something) and I figured that I couldn’t get copies. Oh well. Great night anyway!

I was able to get a quick recording when they played “So Much Wine.” It’s not of good quality, but here it is…

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