SATURDAY 10/5

QUEER F*CK FEST

It's a queer punk's paradise at Heartland tonight. Queer F*ck Fest sees barbed hardcore band Cold Lake headlining; their anxious, shrill punk should titillate fear in queers (in a good way). Having played together for more than 15 years, Seattle-based transgender two-piece Nation of Two are what might happen if a Bryan Ferry–esque glamtasia collided with a Rozz Williams death buzz over driving funk-grunge riffs. Their latest release, The Sorceress, is a theatrically sideways avant-rock spectacle produced by experimental musician/Stranger Genius Award finalist Jherek Bischoff. Continuing the "F*ck Fest" is Seattle's premier all-person-of-color queer dance-punk band My Parade, who just released the Good Manners, No Morals EP, which sounds like it could have been born in Olympia circa 1992. With the bonus of crafty synths to their consciously riotous sound, My Parade should stir some politically charged footwork. With Ox and ET Russian. Heartland, 8:30 pm.

JULIE BYRNE'S WELL-CULTIVATED PASTORAL FOLK

If you're feeling more of a subdued night, cozy up to some cute shoes and pretty sounds at Atlas. Since I last checked in with local four-piece Swamp Meat, they've exchanged their countrified garage blues for something more melodic and grandiose, and with bassist Laura Seniow now occasionally on viola, downright orchestral. Joining them on this local-boosted bill are Waxing Hearts, with a particularly huggable brand of introspective lo-fi folk/cracklecore. Seattle #sadboys Pitschouse will also reverb out a sulkified dream-coma of bedroom pop accented with low-lit keyboard flourishes. If you like local pop bands iji and Mega Bog, watch out for them. Headlining the night for quiet, known pleasures is Chicago songwriter Julie Byrne. Her gentle, ethereal folk pop tiptoes on well-cultivated sonic pastures, with acoustic guitar gingerly tickling her threadlike vocals. Byrne's sound treads lightly, and with a pungent air of nostalgia for agrarian simplicity in the aggressive hustle of urban life, it may make time seem to move slower tonight. Atlas Space, 8 pm, $7.