WEDNESDAY 9/26

GARBAGE, SCREAMING FEMALES

Someone in Seattle needs to open up his/her basement to Screaming Females. On their last swing through the city in March, these bushwhackers from the New Brunswick, New Jersey, basement circuit played the 21-and-up Rendezvous (although previous all-ages Seattle stops have included Healthy Times Fun Club and the Greenhouse). The Females often get classified as '90s revivalism because of their unadulterated shredding; the fact that their last album was engineered by Steve Albini also adds to this perception. Fellow Jerseyan Ted Leo has referred to Screaming Females as a "less art-school Yeah Yeah Yeahs," and that tag is as good as any to describe frontwoman Marissa Paternoster's punk howlings, with lyrics that read like your tortured yet brilliant high-school outcast's Xanga entries. Tonight, Screaming Females open for Garbage, a band that's actually encased in '90s amber. Showbox Sodo, 7 pm, $35 adv/$40 DOS.

KIMBRA, THE STEPKIDS

Another opening band worth checking out tonight are the Stepkids, a psych-pop outfit that released their debut album on Stones Throw Records last year. At their most frenetic moments, the Stepkids can sound a lot like other young febrile bands today (White Denim immediately come to mind), but their slower, groovier, blue-eyed soul numbers set them apart. Showbox at the Market, 9 pm, $20 adv/$25 DOS.

FRIDAY 9/28

DEERHOOF, BUKE AND GASE

It's been a long, obstreperous journey for Deerhoof from being a "challenging" noise band to making, as the sticker on their latest record proudly reads, "noise jingles for parties." Despite the title Breakup Song, Deerhoof's new album is neither a maudlin nor a scathing change of direction for the band. Satomi Matsuzaki's melodies, in defiance of her flat delivery, scintillate against delightfully complex instrumentation. And, yes, it all sounds like one big party. Elsewhere on the bill you'll find Buke and Gase, a friendly, bellowing duo who take their name from their self-modified instruments; the buke, a six-string former baritone ukulele, and the gase, a guitar-bass mongrel. With Raleigh Moncrief. Vera Project, 7:30 pm, $16/$15 with club card.