FRIDAY 12/16

LIVINGSTON SEAGULL, WHITE COWARD, HEAVY FLOW, SLOTHS

I saw Livingston Seagull two years ago in Bellingham. Next to their setup sat a power-generating bicycle that fueled all their gear, and fueled it so gloriously they were shut down by the neighbors and forced to relocate. It was magic. Their jams weren't bad, either—if the words "emotional pop punk" strike your strings, don't miss out on them. Joining them by way of Santa Barbara comes Heavy Flow, an all-girl four-piece borrowing some charm from Raincoats-esque post-punk idiosyncrasy. Though their sound has a darker edge, the songs are crafted with pop elegance that makes it no surprise drummer Rebecca Redman also performs under the folk-pop moniker Watercolor Paintings ("Mountain Rock" even feats twee-as-fuck songstress Katy Davidson). Add Portland band Sloths' mathy riffage on early hardcore, and you have yourselves a damn show. Black Lodge, 9 pm.

SATURDAY 12/17

POLICE TEETH, TACOCAT, COLD LAKE, DON'T TALK TO THE COPS!

Tonight would have been one of the hardest of my underage years. Luckily for those who do not make Father Time's cut—and I made it by only six months—to see Scratch Acid (or, sure, Dino Jr.) tonight, this show exists. Police Teeth call themselves "Seattle's most unpopular rock band" and have recently shifted from playing the bar circuit to only all-ages shows, to a youthful guitar snob's glee. Maybe Seattle's most self-deprecating noise-rock band, they've been together since 2006 and show no (serious) signs of giving up. Also a band made of fuzzy things like irony and good friends, Cold Lake will make you reach for your earplugs with their cacophonous brand of punk hardcore. If that's not enough to cheer the biggest David Yow fan, Tacocat—a longtime favorite of mine—and their fun party-punk just might make you dance to a song called "WTF OMG $300 HPV." So for those of you bummed on missing tonight's 21-plus craze of indie legends, as Police Teeth would say: "Fuck you, [we're] still here." Funny Button, 8 pm.