Here's the last of three installments of my Top 50 In-Stores of the Decade - the top 10! 

Read #50-#30 and #29-#11

10. Calexico – For a good number of years, Calexico has been one of our more steady selling indie bands. They have a ton of cred. Joey Burns had been in Giant Sand through the '90s and was one of the more inventive songwriters of that decade. I didn’t know that Calexico would be doing the in-store with their full band, including the horn section, until the day before the show. I had seen them years before in Austin, where they played a secret show in a café. That was a great night that I thought could never be matched. It was. Before the band jumped onstage, Joey sees an 8x10 of the band Love in my office. He pops his head in and says, “Hey, what a great band, that reminds me..." I didn’t know exactly what he was talking about, but I thought, cool, he likes Love, maybe he wants to buy a record. Instead, they finished the set with an encore of Love’s “Alone Again Or” with the 3 piece horn section in full effect. Viva Calexico. - 04/13/06

Calexico

9. Patti Smith- You gotta be kidding me. Patti Smith wants to stop by? She had a new record out, Trampin', that was receiving rave reviews. We were in an election year and Patti had some things to say. We held a Q&A, she signed autographs, and we played some her favorite music afterwards. She discussed her love of her ex-husband, Fred "Sonic" Smith from the MC5, she was pissed off at the then-current state of affairs, she poetically described her inhibitions, her heroes, her politics, motherhood, her feminism, and her never-ending activism. What struck me the most was the affection and admiration displayed by the young girls in the audience. Here was a living legend who has inspired damn near every punk rock grrrrl in the world. The paradox is that Patti Smith is one of the most loving and peaceful women you could ever meet. While she was signing autographs, she turns to me and says, “Jimi Hendrix is from here ... it’s just now hitting me.” She bowed her head, took a little break, grabbed a Hendrix box set and asked, “Can we play this the rest of the day?” - 08/15/04

_{Patti Smith}

8. Franz Ferdinand – OK, so there was this little band from Scotland. Their record was being played constantly by every store employee. They were destined for stardom, and we knew that our only shot of ever having this band at the store would be on this first US tour. They were some of the most gracious chaps we’ve had in the store. They were all well-coifed and proper to start, and sweaty and laughing by the end of the set. They had a great time and couldn’t get over the whole idea of playing in a record store. They bought a bunch of records and invited the staff to their show later that night. - 03/23/04

_{Franz Ferdinand}

7. Van Hunt – One of the best R&B records of the decade was released in 2004. Van Hunt was playing Bumbershoot. We were all pretty excited at the store, but after looking at the schedule, it sucked, he was gonna be playing one of the small stages mid-day. He wasn’t that well known yet. Most of us were not gonna be able to slip out to see the show, as the store stays pretty busy during Bumbershoot. We pleaded with One Reel to allow us to have an in-store with him. They usually don’t allow any of their artists to compete with the festival, understandably. We convinced them that our pre-promotion of Van Hunt would raise awareness of him and get people to Bumbershoot. They granted us the in-store as long as we didn’t advertise it. So, on a grass roots level, we did it. We re-opened the doors at about 10 pm. Those that had seen him at Bumbershoot followed him to the store, the Easy Street staff was fired up, and the R&B community was in full effect. Van Hunt was blown away by the crowd. We turned all the lights off and grooved the night away. Van Hunt would later go on to win a Grammy for his work on the Sly and the Family Stone tribute record. His debut record is easily one of the great records of the decade. We're hoping for his return. - 09/04/04

6. Kings of Leon – So, there was this new band. There wasn’t a day that had gone by that their debut record didn't get played at both stores. They were on tour with U2 and since they had a day off before their opening slot at the Key Arena, we inquired about an instore. They hadn’t done one before, so it was a little new to them, but they went ahead with it. They packed the store to the gills, turns out we weren’t the only folks getting behind this band. At one point, Caleb stopped the show and freaked out because he couldn’t hear himself. He jumped off the stage and was screaming at all of us in the backroom. Turns out the keyboard player had accidentally unplugged the monitors. We coerced him to get back on stage and finish the set, which they did...and with aggression. They signed for a few hours and we later got a basketball game of KOL vs Easy St. going in the parking lot. They were on their way to superstardom! - 04/27/05

_{Kings of Leon}

5. John Doe – X had always been one of my favorite bands and John Doe was their fearless leader. His solo stuff contains some of the best contemporary songwriting around. One day, someone will put a collection together of his best work. It’ll have to be a box set. He’s prolific, daring, and independent through and through. He’s a modern-day hero to me and to a lot of my friends and musician pals. I was able to get him to my West Seattle shop for an in-store in 2004. He turned it into a show in the round and sat in the middle of the crowd singing, most of the time without a mic. He saw all the kids with their parents so he busted into some kids songs. He closed with “Silver Wings” and hung out with everyone for a few hours. That in-store marked the beginning of a very special artist/record store relationship. We have since had John Doe on our stage in some capacity or another six more times - solo, with the Knitters or him jumping onstage at the Pearl Jam in-store to do an impromptu version of “New World.” In July of 2005, I was able to persuade him to come up and headline the West Seattle Summerfest, which, up until that time, had really just been a big West Seattle talent show when it came to entertainment. John Doe gave our little street fair some credibility and since then it has been one of the more entertaining and enjoyable of all the local summer festivals. John paved that road for us out here in West Seattle and continues to all around the country. - 2004

_{John Doe}

4. Elvis Costello- We were a month out from opening our Queen Anne store and I was trying to get some grand opening events together. I had caught wind that Elvis Costello’s tour was getting started in Seattle and that he would be rehearsing in Seattle for a few days leading up to the first show. I had read some interviews about his new record, When I Was Cruel, and it seemed to be a nod to his punk rock roots. When I heard an advance copy I was very impressed. I inquired about an in-store, but, of course, I knew it would be a longshot. Before I knew it, I received a call from an Irish guy, “Paddy,” who handled Elvis. He said that he would come by and check out what the store was like when they got to Seattle. A few weeks later, he arrived with about five other Irish chaps. They walked around the store like a scene out of Miller’s Crossing, kinda shook their heads a bit, mainly because I didn’t have any product in the store, I was still doing our build-out, and the store, well, it wasn’t open. He caught my name and asked how I spelled my last name. I said, “V-A-U-G-H-A-N.” He says, “Oh, you spell it the Irish way, well that’s a good start." My contractor, Hank Dufour was with me. He was born, lived, and had family in Ireland. That seemed to help too. Paddy then said, “Can you guys build some kind of barrier around the stage?” We said we could. He said “OK, we’ll do it. You will have product, right?” I said, “Well, I’ll have Elvis Costello product at the very least.” He said, “Yeah, that would be a good idea.” He looked at me as if I’d be strangled to death if I didn’t. Of course, I couldn’t get the store opened in time for the in-store. I was able to at least get Elvis CDs in the store, but that was it. I couldn’t fill the store with product until the build-out was complete. I had to line up the fans from the front door in a single file line. Before I knew it, the line was circling the block around 1st and Mercer and Queen Anne, we had a full 360 degrees around the block and about 1,000 people waiting. Elvis jumps on stage and plays every instrument himself with synchronized pedals. KMTT was simulcasting the show live. Halfway through the set, I hear the sirens. Oh no, it can’t be....the fire department. Two trucks pull up across the street, the firemen walk through the parking lot and through the back doors. I get a dialogue going with them to try to delay the inevitable. They looked out to the throng of people, then turned to me and said, "Hey, we gotta turn the lights on and pull the plug on this, this is ridiculous. You are way beyond capacity here." It was at that point the youngest fireman of the bunch says, “Oh my God, it’s fucking Elvis Costello.” He played for over an hour. The firemen watched the rest of the show from backstage with smiles on their faces. After the set was over, the fireman says to me, “You think Elvis would sign this warning infraction for us?” I’m sure it’s pinned up at a fire station around here somewhere. - 05/15/02

3. Brandi Carlile- Our favorite girl! We have loved her from the beginning. She had lived in West Seattle for a bit and she stopped in our café early on. She could also be seen every week at the Paragon on top of Queen Anne; she performed up there for almost two years solid before she got her record deal. We’ve always felt connected to her. We had already had her on two occasions. The first brought forth one of her most-viewed YouTube clips and the second sounded so good, she - like Pearl Jam - decided to release it as a CD and offer it to all the indie stores around the country. On this third appearance how could she get any better? She did...little Brandi had become a star. She had us all singing every word even if we didn’t know the song. It seemed that all of Seattle turned out for that in-store. The new songs were exceptional and her encore had us all clapping above our heads. We were all so proud of her. - 11/20/08

Brandi Carlile

View online photo gallery of this in-store

2. Lou Reed- On Easy Street’s 15th anniversary, the king of New York, the godfather of alternative music, and one of the greatest songwriters of all time stepped into our Queen Anne store and did a very rare in-store appearance. It was very hot 95-degree Seattle summer afternoon. Lou was on tour supporting his record, The Raven, a tribute to Edgar Allan Poe, and he was playing the Moore later that evening. Even though we had a ‘64 Telecaster buzzing for him, he decided to read “The Raven” to the sweaty crowd. I asked him why he didn’t want to play, he said, "They can see that tonight, and this seems like a nice day to read 'The Raven'." Again, it’s a hot 95-degree summer day in Seattle and he reads one of the darkest stories in the history of literature. It was awesome. When I asked him why he had decided to play our store, he simply said, “I don’t know a lot of people out here, but you folks are always so nice in Seattle. I had the afternoon off and I love record shopping, so why not.” Of course, we’ve all heard how crass, rude, and standoffish Lou Reed can be. I thought so too, at first. As I was preparing for the in-store, we had the Dandy Warhols new record playing. He comes up to me in the backroom and says with his New York drawl, “What are you playing?” I say that it’s the Dandy Warhols and I thought that it might be... He cuts me off and says, "Turn it off, they (pointing to the crowd behind the garage door) don’t want to hear that." I say, "What should I play then?" Lou says, “Well, they're here for me, right? Play something you think they might like, shouldn’t be too hard.” How many people does it take to turn off a Dandy Warhols CD and put a Lou Reed one in? About five... I was nervous wreck in my own store. After he was done with his reading, he comes up to me and says, "Aren’t you gonna tell them I have a new record and that I’ll be performing tonight?" Of course. As I get on stage, it kinda hits me that damn near all of the pop/rock section of the store wouldn’t be there if it wasn’t for him. I got choked up a bit and somehow got the pertinent info out and he puts his arm around me in a consoling manner and says, “Hey, let's take a break, huh? Can you go get me another one of those cappuccinos?” He signed autographs for over two hours, drank an insurmountable amount of coffee and once everyone was gone, he said, “So, let's do some shopping, turn me onto something.” When he saw the Bowie section, a boyish smile crossed his face as he said, “Man, what’s David up to? He just never stops. Well, I better support him a little." He bought a remastered addition of Aladdin Sane. He then went on a search for instrumental guitar music. I recall him picking up Jimmy Bryant, Speedy West, and Johnny Burnette. He bought a bunch of hip-hop too, but he was disappointed, saying “You don’t have any K-OS, you better get with it.” - Summer, 2003

_{Lou signing}

_{The "Lou Reed Door" at the QA Store}

1. Pearl Jam- Surprise! I had never had to hold a secret like this one. On a typical 55-degree, drizzly night in West Seattle, April 29, 2005, I held a staff party - "free beer" - which turned into a surprise concert in the middle of our West Seattle store. Easy Street was hosting an indie retail convention so there were a bunch of record store guys in town. Mike McCready had caught wind of it and thought it would be a nice gesture to say “hello and thanks” to these indie store owners. We talked about it and made some arrangements when he said, “Ya know, maybe we could do more than just handshakes, put something together that you think would be good and we’ll see what can be done.” I proposed an in-store. Pearl Jam manager Kelly Curtis and I talked a few times on the phone and I gave a soapbox speech at his office, but there were issues in doing an event like this. If it leaked out, there might be security and safety issues, some of the guys were going to be on vacation or having kids, the Queen Anne store was too visible, the West Seattle store was too small. Kelly and I met for breakfast at my café, he was basically going on about trying to do something else, a party of some kind, a dinner, something, but the idea of the in-store was a little too far fetched is where it seemed to be going. It was at that moment that Eddie walked into the record shop side and catches our eye. Kelly drops his head, smiles, and says “oh no.” Eddie walks over to the Sonic Youth section, the store was kinda busy, he looks over at us, plays air guitar for few seconds and yells over to Kelly, “this’ll do” and walks out. Kelly shakes my hand and says “I guess we’ll be playing in here somehow. I’ll have my crew get in touch with you, keep this very quiet.” Pearl Jam, Kelly, and I held the secret for about a month. A few days before the show, I had to tell two of my managers (they were held to secrecy), but other than that nobody was informed. I bussed the indie store guys out to join my staff at our “work party.” The band hid out in the vinyl section upstairs, which I had roped off - nobody could see them. I’m a few minutes from introducing them, writing a speech upstairs in a corner, when Eddie comes over, reads it, grabs a red pen and crosses out everything but a line or two, saying, “Hey, let us do all the thank yous, you don’t need to say all this." The lights dim, I get up to the mic, most people don’t know what’s going on, I give my quick speech and introduce the band. People are like, what?? Pearl Jam?? One by one the band walks down the stairs. Eddie grabs the mic and says, “Oh sorry for the delay folks, we thought Matt had more to say," as he looks at me and laughs. Got me. Matt Cameron’s drums never sounded better than in that small store. A blistering set and now considered one of the most legendary Pearl Jam shows ever. Only 200 people were in attendance. There were people across the street pointing at the store saying, “My God, that’s the best Pearl Jam cover band I’ve ever heard.” The special attendees were in shock. The set sounded so good that the band released it as a CD. It has since become Easy Street’s #1 selling record of all time and helped pave the way for indie stores being able to compete with big box retailers in the game of exclusive product, as the record was only available at indie record shops. Arguably one of the coolest things a band of Pearl Jam’s size has ever done. You think indie record stores have forgotten? Pearl Jam’s latest record, Backspacer, debuted at #1 and has gone on to be the biggest selling indie record of 2009. - 04/29/05

_{Pearl Jam}

 Top 50 In-Store Honorable Mentions: * Black Lips * Uncle Earl * Earlimart * Josh Ritter * Wolves in the Throne Room * Black Mountain * Stills * Snow Patrol * Rodney Crowell * Pelican * Carbon Leaf * Robyn Hitchcock * Joanna Newsom * John Vanderslice * Phantom Planet * Stellastar * Greg Laswell * Minus the Bear * Los Lonely Boys * Cut Copy * Patton Oswalt * Blue Scholars * Mike Doughty * Dungen * Black Mountain * Rilo Kiley * Camper Van Beethoven * Tom Morello * Sera Cahoone * Critters Buggin'  * Frank Black * Pleasure Club * FUN * Gomez * Moondoggies * Presidents of the USA * Conor Oberst * We Are Scientists * Miho Hatori * Arthur & Yu