From the Apr 3 – Apr 9, 2003 issue

Music

Up & Coming

THURSDAY 4/3


ONYX, JOHNNY BLANCO, BLACK CIRCLE
(Ballard Firehouse) Onyx introduced to the world a crew of gremlins, spiders, snakes, and other creatures that slither and hiss. The group's biggest CD was Bacdafucup, which contained their biggest single, "Slam" (produced by the late Jam Master Jay), and they were a kind of hiphop-thrash band; thrash in the sense of their attitude, rather than music, which has always been hardcore hiphop. Charles Mudede

TRICK DECK, THE FADING COLLECTION, KUMA
(Chop Suey) As one who considers himself to be an aesthete above all else, it's strange that I don't like a band that has nothing to offer except beauty--beautiful sound, production work, voices, and lyrics. In this respect, Trick Deck shares a lot in common with L.A.'s Supreme Beings of Leisure, another band that I don't like despite all of the beautiful sounds and sensations they relentlessly pursue. Bands like Alpha and DJs like DJ Krush are much closer to my kind of beauty, though--evil beauty, the beauty of imperfection. Charles Mudede

ELECTRIC EEL SHOCK, THE RUBY DOE, THE AMAZOMBIES, THE HOLLOWPOINTS
(Crocodile) Before word could really even spread about what a great live act they are, Japan's Electric Eel Shock are back, spreading their garage metal like a vicious rumor. These guys are true freaks, yelling in Japanese about god knows what, but understanding exactly what you're talking about if you bring up Slayer. Plus they have my vote for some of the funniest album titles ever, such as Maybe... I Think We Can Beat Nirvana? Last time they played Seattle, their drummer stripped down to a single sock (worn Red Hot Chili Peppers style), and the other two band members screamed like newborn babies. This is the good kind of insane band. JENNIFER MAERZ

DUB NARCOTIC SOUND SYSTEM, OPERATION MAKEOUT, SMOOSH
(Vera Project) Dub Narcotic Sound System are my ultimate confliction. They're something of a difficult subject for me, as my blind faith in the creed of K Records is firmly rooted in my universal esteem (read: obnoxious adulation) for the output of the label's figurehead, the inscrutable Calvin Johnson. And thus I am torn. You see, in spite of the fact that I attend (and enjoy) nearly all of their local performances, I simply can't bring myself to actually like Dub Narcotic Sound System; and for that, I feel like a traitor. I mean, the math is all right: Chris Sutton and Heather Dunn are a more than apt rhythm section, and with Calvin presiding in stately form, all of the ingredients seem ripe for consumption. But instead, it always just comes across like the Calvin show to me--a spectacle that is in itself engaging enough for the cover charge. ZAC PENNINGTON

PHO BANG: BROADCAST OBLIVION
(Re-bar) Good pop is undeniable. But some of it--no matter how much it may have made your heart sing at the time--can sound like a hideous embarrassment when heard out of context (like, next year). You can preface and parenthesize until the blue almost wipes out the red in your face, but the fact remains, songs like the Sweet's "Fox on the Run," the Jam's "Town Called Malice," and TLC's "Waterfalls" come few and far between. That said, I doubt anyone will be dying a thousand deaths come 2004, when a year after Broadcast Oblivion's debut album comes out, the band will still sound as sweet and brashly energetic as it does right this second. You'll want to keep your eye out for their self-recorded CD in the coming months; until it's ready for distribution, though, the band's ever-increasing number of live shows will keep you happy and in pop's sunny glow. KATHLEEN WILSON

FRIDAY 4/4


MIKE WATT, CAUSTIC RESIN, MIKE JOHNSON
(Crocodile) See preview, page 51.

AFI, BLEEDING THROUGH, THE EXPLOSION
(Northgate Theater) See Underage, page 56.

BLACK KEYS, THE POPULAR SHAPES, THE CHARMING SNAKES
(Graceland) Just like an Internet affair that dissolves the minute you realize, after finally meeting in person, that the man of your dreams is a prepubescent computer hack with a large vocabulary, my strong feelings about the Black Keys have been severed since seeing them perform live. While I was a fan of their records, and I appreciate their no-bullshit, no-shtick take on the blues (listen up, Jon Spencer), when they're on stage, the guitar/drums duo sound like something fans of Eric Clapton could really get into, and they morph into a band that rehinges the best parts of coming unhinged, smoothing the genre out for those summer concert series in the suburbs. That said, Dan Auerbach is a great guitar player and Patrick Carney keeps a steady beat. Unfortunately, their ride is a little too predictable when matched against what else (White Stripes, Immortal Lee County Killers II) is out there. JENNIFER MAERZ

SATURDAY 4/5


BOBBY BIRDMAN, PANTHER, the BADGER KING, [[[[VVRSSNN]]]], THANKSGIVING
(CoCA) See preview, page 63, and Stranger Suggests, page 32.

BRIGHT EYES, ARAB STRAP, PAPERBACK
(Showbox) I'll admit it, here in print, where it will forever haunt me should I ever dare to take it back: I like Bright Eyes. And I like BE's newest album, Lifted, or the Story Is in the Soil, Keep Your Ear to the Ground (Saddle Creek, 2002). Those of you who aren't dear friends of mine probably aren't aware of the love/hate relationship I'm very vocal about. "Lifted is so bad!" I whined. "It's so country and cheesy!" I screamed. But then I attended the Bright Eyes show at the Showbox not long after the album's late-summer release. It was amazing. With a plush array of sounds from Conor Oberst's touring band, the venue swelled with sweetly orchestrated music, bringing a tear of contentment to every listener's eye. It was a beautiful sight. MEGAN SELING

TRACTOR SEX FATALITY, DEEP THROAT, SLIT ME WIDE OPEN
(Zak's) Deep Throat are a theatrical no wave act from San Francisco who have shared stages with the Epoxies and the Vanishing, and have been compared to the Birthday Party and the Contortions. Their angular gothic melodramas swell with blackened punk balladry, adding spiky guitar windups to pull barren-hearted blues numbers out of their slumps and into something more spastic. Slit Me Wide Open are a New York "electrotrash" band (featured in Paper's "50 Most Beautiful People" issue) who use keytars, guitars, and fishnet costumes to back odd discopunk songs about pirates and doomed doctors--songs that sound like the Cramps meshed with the Rocky Horror cast if they'd gone to school at Rhode Island School of Design or lived in Williamsburg. JENNIFER MAERZ

BURN BURN BURN ROCK 'N' ROLL CIRCUS WITH JESSE SYKES AND THE SWEET HEREAFTER, HOLY GHOST REVIVAL, BROADCAST OBLIVION, SEA WOLF, STEVE TURNER
(Vera Project) Sure, you've seen these bands play before, but tonight's event is a new configuration of your standard lineup. This rock 'n' roll circus is based on the original kamikaze stunt by the Rolling Stones in the late '60s, in which the band compiled a supergroup of stars, from the Who to John Lennon to Eric Clapton, to perform various hits while ridiculous circus performers tried their tricks around the musicians. I'm not sure exactly what kind of low-rent Ringling Bros. these guys have in store for the Vera crowd tonight, but even if Steve Turner doesn't fly from a trapeze and Jesse Sykes doesn't ride in on an elephant, there still should be a lot of haphazard fun involved. JENNIFER MAERZ

SUNDAY 4/6


PINBACK, MARK GARDENER, THE AND/ORS
(Showbox) You know that saying about those who haven't learned history being doomed to repeat it? Unfortunately, there's a musical variation: Those who helped shape musical history by being involved in genre-defining bands are often stuck in that precise moment, sometimes by their own hand, and more often by listener expectations. If his three-song demo is any indication, former Ride singer/songwriter Mark Gardener has managed to dodge the first part of that bullet. The woozy, textured trademark sound of his former band has been cleared away like cobwebs to reveal gorgeous, sweeping, and sometimes fragile songs that more than stand on their own. The second part of the equation is out of Gardener's hands, so check your expectations at the door and prepare to enjoy a great set of music from a gifted singer/songwriter. BARBARA MITCHELL

MONDAY 4/7
If you don't have anything nice to say...

TUESDAY 4/8


NOBUKAZU TAKEMURA FEATURING JOHN HERNDON AND MATT LUX, BOBBY KARATE, KENTO
(Chop Suey) See preview, page 49.

BETTIE SERVEERT, THE LONG WINTERS
(Crocodile) Dutch quartet Bettie Serveert left behind the guitar-based jangle and Neil Young solos long ago for a stranger, lusher sound. On the band's latest album, Log 22, Carol Van Dijk is in top form, with her conversational lyrics taking hairpin turns and her phrasing becoming looser than ever. The arrangements include strings and horns that push the songs into unexpected places with soulful inflections. For some bands, this kind of stretching would seem desperate or overwrought, but Bettie Serveert sound fresher and more energized for the chances they're taking. They haven't been to Seattle in ages, so go and see how they translate their new songs into their live show. NATE LIPPENS

ANGELS OF LIGHT, DEVENDRA BANHART, SUFFERING AND THE HIDEOUS THIEVES
(Tractor) Sitting cross-legged on a throw rug in the middle of a concrete floor, Devendra Banhart gave an all-too-brief performance at January's edition of the Slender Means Society; his set's trajectory was paused only for a few fervent swigs from a wine bottle between songs. Twenty minutes passed like a heartbeat as he cradled and cooed the skewed lullabies of his epic debut, 2002's celebrated four-track masterpiece Oh Me Oh My.... Another of those young solo acoustic wunderkinder of the moment, Banhart's Bolan-by-way-of-Barrett vocal collapse makes him a little different from his potential contemporaries--and by "different," I mean he's actually worth whatever hype precedes him. Banhart may embrace the mad-genius guise with a bit too much volition, but it's clear from his captivating live performance that underneath all those layered vocals and all that tape hiss, he's a solid craftsman. Let's just hope he can pass the 30-minute mark this time around. ZAC PENNINGTON

WEDNESDAY 4/9


THE DATSUNS, THE SIGHTS, STAGGER LEE
(Graceland) See preview, page 47.

BOYRACER, TULLYCRAFT, ASHTRAY BOY
(Crocodile) This is perhaps the closest thing to an international twee-pop wet dream--but, you know, in that anxious, weedy, sexless kinda way. Among the few truly notable jangle-pop purveyors in Seattle, the elusive Tullycraft revel in their unabashed adoration of all things indie--providing their audience with smug, wink-wink-nudge-nudge self-congratulation in nearly every saccharine-sweet blast. But damn, is it addictive. England's celebrated Boyracer, with their impossibly muddled discography, hide behind a little more racket than most of their pasty brethren, but unless you're a member of their vast, insular cult, you'll hardly know the difference. ZAC PENNINGTON

THE BLACK HEART PROCESSION, RADAR BROTHERS, BARTENDER'S BIBLE
(Showbox) I don't wanna scare any of you indie- rockers out there, but the Black Heart Procession are pretty darned goth. Let's look at the facts: They're a bunch of well-dressed hopeless romantics who sing darkly atmospheric songs about romantic hopelessness. And the name? Black. Heart. Procession. I'd be more upset by the fact that you describe them as "brilliant" and artists like Nick Cave as "pretentious" if I weren't so smitten--and thankful for the much-needed elegance and eloquence that they've injected into a stale music scene. (Maybe even two stale music scenes....) Let's just put our differences aside, pull out our best black clothing, and meet down at the Showbox for an enchanted evening filled with desperately beautiful songs and communion with other souls who understand life's exquisite pain, shall we? Barbara Mitchell

DAME DARCY, NORA KEYES, JESSE PAUL MILLER, PUSSY CHOP BANANA
(Rendezvous) After appearing at Confounded Books & Hypno Video at 6:30 p.m. tonight to celebrate her most recent book of illustrated prose, Frightful Fairytales, Dame Darcy heads across the street to the Rendezvous at 10:00 p.m. to do, well... I'm not exactly sure what. Darcy boasts multiple feathers in her cap--from authoring Meat Cake comics to dabbling as an independent movie sub-star, making dolls, and playing the banjo, singing saw, and autoharp, among other talents. Her music has been described as a mix of sea shanties, murder ballads, and folk/death rock songs--which feels like a dozen wacky artist descriptions crammed into one person. Also on the bill is Nora Keyes of the Centimeters, an artist/dollmaker who creates "operatic music for ghosts," Jesse Paul Miller, a local sound/noize artist, and Pussy Chop Banana, a noisy guitar/drum duo. Definitely not your typical music event, no matter how you angle it. JENNIFER MAERZ

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