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DEAD PREZ, KILLER MIKE, THE YOUNGBLOODZ
(Chop Suey) See preview, page 39.
OLDOMINION
(Seattle Art Museum) This week, SAM's Thursday After Hours will host the hiphop universe that is Oldominion. I've heard that the supergroup has over 30 members in the Seattle/Portland area. Others have told me Oldominion have an unnatural monopoly on Northwest hiphop and need to be broken up, so that an atmosphere of fair competition can be restored. Whatever the case may be, their CD One (2000) is a marvelous work of dark art. The vampires, the deserted streets, the Hitchcockian madness, the cinema of the dead and dying, the notes from the underground, the rejection of the suburban ideal--all of this and more is impressively detailed on One's sonic canvas. Their new CD, Polarity, which stars Barfly and Onry Ozzborn as insane Norman, features some of the best production work by the supergroup "dat's runnin' tings 'round here." Charles Mudede
LOS PELIGROSOS, THE JIMMYSTUARTS, CRUSHCOAT
(Last Supper Club) The Jimmystuarts are one of those bands who've been around a while but are only now grabbing attention for themselves. Theirs is a cloudy, beautifully messy kind of pop, which complements the art of the Jimmystuarts' clothing-designer drummer. His designs include crazy fashions crafted from thrift-store paintings, as well as affordable jackets hewn from flour sacks. You can check out his wacky take on wardrobe when some of the best local designers gather on Fri Feb 21 at Aftermath, 218 12th St, Capitol Hill, at 9 pm. KATHLEEN WILSON
CHROMATICS, DISPLAY, SINGLE LIFE
(Double Trouble) Late next month marks the release of the Chrome Rats vs. Basement Ruts LP--an incredible piece of basement clatter by a band that will never be able to support it. Sometime back around August of 2002, the Chromatics, the most interesting punk band this city had to offer, collapsed--leaving two distinct factions to arise from the rubble. Three-fourths of the band reconciled as a new band (the face-fucking unit known as Shoplifting), while frontman Adam Miller undertook the heavy burden of reconfiguring under the familiar moniker. And despite my immediate reservations, the new Chromatics are actually an impressive revision--a two-piece of bass, guitar, and drum machine that, while somewhat more subdued, retains much of the character that made the band great in the first place. ZAC PENNINGTON
CELEBRATION FOR FALLOUT RECORDS
(Zak's) For anyone who was unable to drink a beer with Tim Hayes on Fallout Records' final day (February 8), here's your chance to pay respects to an independent record store/record-store owner who heavily supported the independent punk community. Tonight is one of two Fallout-celebrating shows at Zak's, and this one features the Gloryholes, the Fall-Outs, the Boss Martians, the RC5, Konny Kindlund (of the Kent 3), Flying Dutchmen, the Lonesome Teardrops, and Head--a band that rarely plays shows yet retains a strong following and sounds a lot like the Ramones (even though they look like Hessians on their album covers). This show is free and starts at 6 pm (a second Fallout show happens at Zak's a week later with an equally long lineup), so get your ass down there early. JENNIFER MAERZ
UNEXPECTED ARRIVAL, THE UNDERCASTE FAMILY, DJ KIDD KUTLASS
(Showbox) Seattle's Unexpected Arrival is Neema Khorrami, whose talents as a rapper and beat producer are almost impossible for me to determine. He could be good, he could be bad, he could be anything as far as I can tell. It's just that my ears and whole sense of hiphop are not familiar with what he is trying to do--although I'm told he has a lot of local fans. My raw instincts, however, suspect that his music is aiming for the pop charts. And judging by his commitment to very optimistic, boogie-down sounds and themes, he may very well reach that level and status. His new CD, If We Try (his third), does feature fewer pop-oriented rappers like Byrdie, but overall the Unexpected Arrival project is not tuned to the underground but to corporate stations like KUBE. At least in my opinion. I could be wrong. CHARLES MUDEDE
FRIDAY 2/21
DEADLY SNAKES, RIGHT ON!, THE DARK PLACES
(Crocodile) See Stranger Suggests, page 23.
THE NEW MEXICANS, OPHELIA, THE JAILBIRDS
(Sunset) I think I can say, without fear of being wrong, that there isn't one person who has seen the mighty New Mexicans play lately who walked away unsatisfied. They've got heart, soul, and some big-ass bass and drums, making a name for themselves as the band that made math rock fun again. KATHLEEN WILSON
SIR MIX-A-LOT
(Showbox) I had just left miserable London and arrived in wintry Stockholm. I was 19 years old and at the very end of what is now demarcated as the 20th century (1988). My Stockholm visit was a graduation present from my parents, and I stayed with the impoverished suburban family of a downtown baron, who continuously bitched about the aggressive way the Swedish government had taxed his dwindling fortune. The baron had lots of red wine, and a younger, beautiful brother, who one evening, while mixing and scratching records in his bedroom, introduced me to Sir Mix-A-Lot. On one turntable he spun De La Soul's "Plug Tunin'," on the other, "Posse on Broadway." The young DJ then deftly faded De La into Mix-A-Lot's rising boom. I approached and asked the baron's brother if the rap was about Broadway, New York. He removed the Sony earphones from his blond head and said, "No, man, he is rapping about Broadway, Seattle." CHARLES MUDEDE
MINUS THE BEAR, COBRA HIGH, THESE ARMS ARE SNAKES
(Chop Suey) With Minus the Bear we've got ourselves a rock band led by a searing, math-obsessed guitarist, and a group of guys whose particular brand of pop begs you to see them live no matter how dog tired you are. Cobra High need little introduction, seeing how they've quickly become an awe-striking band that makes you go ahead and admit that prog can be pretty all right, so long as it throws some curve balls every now and then. These Arms Are Snakes roar, with leaps and scratches, leaving the audience aware that what it just witnessed is something churning with massive force. The latter plays notoriously short sets, so please don't dally. KATHLEEN WILSON
SATURDAY 2/22
Kinski, Earth, Comets on Fire
(Crocodile) See preview, page 35.
VERONA, KNIFE IN THE WATER, ROCKY VOTOLATO, SUFFERING AND THE HIDEOUS THIEVES
(Graceland) See preview, page 37.
Harkonen, Free Verse, Cold Sweat
(Vera Project) See preview, page 41.
NASHVILLE PUSSY, COOKIE, CAMAROSMITH
(Chop Suey) No, Camarosmith aren't an Aerosmith cover band. They're a couple ex-members of Zeke (drummer Don. E. Paycheck and bassist Jeff Matz), together with Camaro-driving frontman Ben Rew, who can play a mean harmonica. Together they play nasty, '70s-sounding hard rock--the kind you imagine being played in biker bars where fights break out with little hesitation. The band has a new CD coming out in April. JENNIFER MAERZ
THE SPITS, THE GIRLS, JAKUZZI, TYCO PARTY
(Lobo Saloon) Tyco Party is a fun little two-piece oddity that should play every freak show in town. Fronted by "just Gary" (AKA that Nikki Sixx rocker-looking dude in town) on a Tyco toy keytar, with Jeff Leonard on drums, the band provides an opportunity for Gary to show off his skills at tickling the, um, plastics, as well as his ability to flex the kung fu moves (with nunchakus) and perform a semi-strip show. And while the Girls don't get down to their Speedos like Gary, they're still quite a musical attraction, with glam-dusted pop songs that detonate like firecrackers--definitely an act that deserves more attention, especially in a city with such an insatiable appetite for upbeat, spastic punk. And speaking of spastic punk... the Spits are also on this bill. JENNIFER MAERZ
RUSTON MIRE, MS. LED, DORKWEED, THE CAPILLARIES
(Sit & Spin) The spawn of the long-defunct Tube Top, Ruston Mire are capable of making shining Beatles-influenced pop and then molding it into a sound all the band's own. Ms. Led--the girl and her guitar-led, electric rock band--make you think of the Rotten Apples, or a sassier Josie and the Pussycats. What the band doesn't do, however, is sound like Lesli Wood, the singer/songwriter whose alter ego is none other than Ms. Led. KATHLEEN WILSON
Stranger Personals
SUNDAY 2/23
AN AMERICAN STARLET
(Le Pichet) As Seattle's musical arteries continue to get clogged by country-influenced bands whose country influence seldom extends much further than a cowboy hat, An American Starlet proves that a touch of twang can be transcendent. The band, which features Liz Green's lovely vocals, will perform at downtown's finest French bistro, Le Pichet, where Sunday-afternoon music is always free, but chocolat chaud never is. If you show up early enough for breakfast, I recommend the oeufs. SEAN NELSON
TRACTOR SEX FATALITY, DISPLAY
(Sit & Spin) I've only seen Tractor Sex Fatality once, but it was enough to burn the image of their crazy ruckus in my mind forever. The band is all about excess noise, Pussy Galore-style--hence the lineup of two drummers, two guitarists, a bassist, and a frontman who mutters about anal sex through a megaphone. The performance I saw was all over the place in all the best ways. Complementing the unfettered commotion of TSF, Display offer a tight, brooding version of arty punk movement--one so pristine and sharply cut in its constructions that you could shave a baby's face with it. Not that you should be shaving any part of a baby. JENNIFER MAERZ
THE DONNAS, OK GO, ROONEY
(Showbox) What's great about the Donnas is that they sing songs about partyin', makin' out in the back seats of cars, partyin', and basically using boys as accessories (and really, what else are they good for?). But what's even greater is the fact that while their songs make them sound like a bunch of troublemakin' badasses, seeing them makes me think they're really just kinda sweet, even dorky (with bad jokes and all). But despite their dorkiness, their songs make it so fun and easy to pretend (if only for one night) that you are the pot-smokin' man-eater the Donnas make you feel like. And while we're talkin' about makin' out in the back seat, how about that OK Go lead singer, Damian Kulash!? Not only is he good-lookin', but his band plays some fun pop rock that's sure to get you jumpin' and bobbin' your head. (No doubt you've seen the group's video for "Get Over It" in heavy rotation on MTV2.) Go on and take it off, Damian. Shake it off, baby, for me. MEGAN SELING
MONDAY 2/24
GUITAR WOLF, THE POPULAR SHAPES, THE PEELS
(Crocodile) See preview, page 41.
BROADCAST OBLIVION, END TRANSMISSION, DJS FRANKI CHAN, RED LEATHER CHAPSTICK
(Graceland) You knew Broadcast Oblivion had to be good, with Scared of Chaka's Dave Hernandez writing the songs and Murder City Devils/Dead Low Tide drummer Coady Willis pummeling the drums; this thoughtfully structured power pop band drives spinning doughnuts, only to smack you back in your seat again, ready for another ride. KATHLEEN WILSON
TUESDAY 2/25
Nuh-uh! You are!
WEDNESDAY 2/26
EARLIMART
(Chop Suey) Imagine a stripped-down version of Electric Light Orchestra fronted by Elliott Smith, and you've got a pretty good idea of what Earlimart sounds like. The California-based three-piece just released an EP titled The Avenues, and it's a brief, contemplative skip through past and present. KATHLEEN WILSON
THE SNOCORE TOUR: GLASSJAW, SPARTA, HOT WATER MUSIC, DREDG
(Showbox) See, here's the deal. I'm the last person who should write about Hot Water Music--but I'm going to anyway, because I CAN. I can't really say much about the band's catalog of something like nine full-lengths in nine years, except for "Yeah, I really like that band. They're great live. Especially that one song--the second one on Caution. And 'She Takes It So Well.' It's good stuff." But my friend Dan, a big HWM fan himself, is a bit more articulate on the subject, so I asked him to explain what's so great about the band. "They've been around forever, they have a cult following, they're down-to-earth guys, they have solid albums and TONS of releases..." he replied. "I'm not sure what else." Great. Apparently all HWM fans are inarticulate idiots. But we're happy idiots, and we know good rock 'n' roll when we hear it. MEGAN SELING
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