THURSDAY

JULY 1

BROUN FELLINIS, SUNSHIP
(700 Club) Highest compliments usually include references to a singular sound and style. Sometimes that's the only driving force behind a band's popularity, but the Broun Fellinis' confident, hiphop-driven individualism isn't part of an otherwise empty, niche-seeking marketing scheme. These San Francisco-based cats are true musical connoisseurs, and like their heroes (James Brown, Coltrane, Ornette, the Last Poets), their sound resists musical classification. It's a deep, free flamesowin' groove through Afro-American musical history whose extensive scope does not lend itself to a simple "acid-jazz" tag. "Hardening of the categories promotes art disease" (John Medeski), and a Fellinis show is a soul-cleansing musical angioplasty.--James Kirchner

THE DONNAS, THE SMUGGLERS
(RKCNDY) See Live Preview page 39.

WALTER "WOLFMAN" WASHINGTON,

EDDY "THE CHIEF" CLEARWATER
(Ballard Firehouse) Being in Seattle ain't always a plus with regards to blues music. Much of the local stuff revolves around the same 'ol "Sweet Home Chicago" winds, and lacks any sort of spicy personality and innovative inflamesuence. So, when killer outta town acts arrive (especially those with cool nicknames), my ears perk up. Walter "Wolfman" Washington is the real deal, direct from New Orleans, where he's a local legend. The groove is full--gumbo, funk and '60's soul--and gets dashed around Ă  la a Clarence "Gatemouth" Brown or Johnny "Guitar" Watson. He's one of the best around, as is Eddy "The Chief" Clearwater, a wild Chuck-Berry-fueled and Chicago-based showman.--JK


FRIDAY

JULY 2

HARVEY DANGER
(RKCNDY) A thoughtful, big-hearted benefit for a friend in need. See Calendar Lead page 47.

NUEVA ERA
(Century Ballroom) Seattle's Nueva Era plays it fancy at the Century Ballroom, where getting there early will earn you a lesson in the art of dancing salsa. But even if you don't learn how to stroke the salsa tunes, merengue songs are easy to dance to, as are the cumbia, bolero, and bossa songs that Nueva Era throws into the mix. Despite the occasional lapse into a synthesizer aesthetic, band founders Manuela Figueroa and Steve Guasch have collected a number of fine musicians for the group. Local jazz aficionados will recognize Tom Marriot on trumpet, and although his bebop solos are slightly anomalous in the middle of the Latin groove, he and the rest of the horns play tight and true. But in salsa, it's the vocalist who has to sell the whole package, and Nueva Era's vocalists, especially Carlos Cascante, do so with sincerity and charisma.--Nathan Thornburgh

ZEKE, PROMISE KEEPERS, BANTAM

ROOSTER, FAMILY SEX JACKPOT
(Breakroom) See Calendar Box page 55.


SATURDAY

JULY 3

GIGOLO AUNTS,

HULA BEES, JON AUER
(Sit & Spin) Inoffensive, scrubbed-clean pop from the headliners, and former Gigolo Aunt Phil Hurley's in Hula Bees, with Tyler from Green Apple Quick Step. But the guy you want to see tonight is Jon Auer, otherwise known as The Other Posie. If you're a pop aficionado, you owe it to yourself to make it to this show. Auer played a couple of demos at a party two years ago that were such perfectly crafted examples of the form, I still can't get them out of my head. He's joined onstage by an all-star cast that includes John Kirsch (Super Deluxe) and Gavin Gus (Tube Top, the Tycoons), which should make for gorgeous harmonies to go along with the stellar songwriting. They don't come much more recommended than this. --Barbara Mitchell

HUGE SPACE BIRD,

INSTANT GURU, MUCHO MOXIE
(Mural Amphitheater) The popular Pain in the Grass outdoor music series continues with the boogie-flamesavored, '70s bar band sounds of headliners Huge Space Bird.--Kathleen Wilson

JEWEL
(Gorge Amphitheater) If you can't say something nice, then you're probably not a Jewel fan. Jewel is the Queen of Nice. She writes nice songs about nice things, sung in her nice voice and designed to make the world a nicer place. I'd lay odds that her concerts are pretty nice events, too--lots of nice folks being nice to each other while they wait to hear that nice music. Far be it from me to criticize something--or somebody--so overwhelmingly... nice.--BM

MAKTUB, BLACK ANGER,

SHAWN SMITH, UBIQUITOUS,

DJ RIZ, DJ DEFF AYERS
(Crocodile) Seattle may be famous for its rock scene, but there's a vital and exciting groove underground that's threatening to break out in a big way--and Maktub could be the agent to blow the doors wide open. Tonight's show celebrates the release of the band's outstanding debut album, Subtle Ways. It's all about soul--from the laid back, almost classic grooves to the smooth, velvety vocals of Reggie Watts. It sounds like their tenure as one of the city's best kept secrets is coming to an end.--BM

ROAD RASH '99
(Showbox) Brought to you by The Stranger, Road Rash is an all-day hootenanny and barbecue featuring Southern Culture on the Skids, El Vez and his Lovely Elvettes, R. L. Burnside, The Dirty Birds, plus a few more surprise guests. There'll be a classic car and motorcycle show, vintage clothing and accessories, tattoo culture, and barrels and barrels of beer. Tickets are $25 (available at Ticketmaster and The Showbox) and it's an indoor-outdoor affair. It's also a benefit for JAMPAC, so get your starpeepers on as there's likely to be plenty of local celebrities gettin' sunburned with the rest of us.--KW

SWEET 75, GUARDIAN ALIEN
(Elysian) Sweet 75 features Krist Novoselic and the fabulously Cruella-like Eva Las Vegas.--KW


SUNDAY

JULY 4

THE MINSTREL IN THE GALLERIES
(Myrtle Edwards Beach, Pier 70) See Calendar Box page 53.

NANCY SINATRA
(Myrtle Edwards Park, Pier 70) Nancy Sinatra will always be associated with that timeless ode to self-reliance, "These Boots Are Made For Walkin'," first released in 1966. "It had a life of its own and it still does," she says. "Everybody should be so lucky to have a song like that. Because generation after generation of kids discover this song and love it." But that's not the only hipster credit on her resume. She also sang "You Only Live Twice," for the James Bond feature of the same name ("I just lucked out. They called me: 'Would you do a title song for a James Bond movie?' I said, 'What time?'"), and has

appeared alongside Elvis Presley (in Speedway) and Peter Fonda (in The Wild Angels). On her most recent album, How Does It Feel? she even covers "Sweet Talkin' Candy Man" from that cult favorite Beyond the Valley of the Dolls. But one of the things she hasn't done is visit Seattle. "I'm so excited to be coming up there," she says. "I fell in love with Seattle when I saw that movie, Sleepless in Seattle." We're excited too, Nancy. So hustle yourself down to "Fourth of Jul-Ivar's" at lovely Myrtle Edwards Park for the show. And the secret of Nancy's success? Her faith in the power of the song. "Whether you write it yourself, or whether someone writes it for you, you need the song," she says. "It all begins with the written word and the written note, and don't let anybody tell you any different. Because it just is not true."--Gillian G. Gaar


TUESDAY

JULY 6

PERLA BATALLA
(Tractor Tavern) Folks say witnessing Latina singer/ songwriter Perla Batalla in the live setting is a "stunning" and "sublime" experience, and I'm inclined to believe them given her transcendent voice and expressive singing style. A female singer with real cajones.--KW


WEDNESDAY

JULY 7

MAINLINER, KINSKI, OHKAMI NO JIKAN
(Monkey Pub) It's been a great couple of weeks for Japanese rock 'n' roll adventures, with Melt Banana, the Boredoms, and now Mainliner, a power-psychedelia guitar/bass/ drums trio featuring members of the Ruins, High Rise, and Acid Mothers Temple. Never mind the less-visible Monkey Pub booking; these three avant-freakers have got huge credentials, and the biggest, most fucked-up sound of 'em all. Also known as "Musica Transonica," Main-liner's super-intense, Blue Cheer-sized mega-onslaughts will be preceded by their other, mellower alter-ego, Ohkami No Jikan, with the dense, hypnotic space- rock of Seattle's own Kinski sandwiched in between. --JK