THURSDAY 2/12


THE STRANGER'S SEVENTH ANNUAL PRE-VALENTINE'S DAY BASH
(Chop Suey) See Stranger Suggests, page 39.

THE BLOOD BROTHERS, THE RED LIGHT STING, AKIMBO, KILL ME TOMORROW
(Vera Project) See preview, page 49; see also All Ages Action, page 64.

THE WALKMEN, WEIRD WAR
(Crocodile) Ian Svenonius often draws the love/hate line in the sand. There's nothing subtle about the ex-Make Up/current Weird War singer, who enjoys making a dramatic spectacle of himself in a musical context. (Svenonius toured with another of his bands, the Scene Creamers, when I-Spy was still around, and he broke the songs into these pretentious "chapters," complete with their own lengthy introductory babble, that drove me out of the show halfway through they were so obnoxious.) This time, Svenonius is touring on a new Weird War CD, If You Can't Beat 'Em, Bite 'Em, which I have to admit piques my interest in his work again. In typical Svenonius style, it turns blacksploitation-sounding R&B into an indie rock endeavor, this time through a dirgy Royal Trux vibe (along with the Make Up's Michelle Mae, Weird War used to include the Trux's Neil Hagerty--he's been replaced on guitar by Six Finger Satellite's Alex Minoff) and there's plenty of moaning and groaning going on (see "Into [Music for Masturbation]"). See also preview, page 51. JENNIFER MAERZ

FRIDAY 2/13


KARAOKE BASH W/THE TURN ONS, ELECTRIC KISSES, LOVE HOTEL, THE CATCH, AN AMERICAN STARLET, RADIO NATIONALS, BLACK NITE CRASH, IN PRAISE OF FOLLY, DOLOUR, GUESTS
(Crocodile) See Stranger Suggests, page 39.

THE BLOOD BROTHERS, SHOPLIFTING, AKIMBO, KILL ME TOMORROW
(Vera Project) See preview, page 49; see also All Ages Action, page 64.

THE NOTWIST, THEMSELVES, PLAN B
(Chop Suey) Although Data Breaker scribe Dave Segal gave headliner the Notwist a mixed review (see page 49), I highly recommend hitting this show for its openers. Themselves are part of the underground hiphop crew Anticon, and the group pairs vocalist Doseone with producer Jel for some truly fucked-up shit (their No Music of Aff's is psychedelic hiphop at some of its most interesting). Plan B also give hiphop a spin, mixing ambient laptop beats, live breakdancing, organic instrumentation, and a few other surprises into the mix. JENNIFER MAERZ

FILASTINE, FREE JAIL, INFERNAL NOISE BRIGADE, KISSKISSKISS, OPHELIA AND THE GREAT IDEA, THE NEW DEATH SHOW
(Luscious Studios) If you're looking to hang in a cool, non-club space for a pre-Valentine's Day party, Luscious Studios' Forgive Me Friday event should rank high on your list. The art space down in Pioneer Square (321 Third Ave S, #301) is hosting a variety of entertainment tonight, including art, kissing booths, drag queens, and bands that fall all over the art rock/math rock/noise rock spectrum. For those who thought the studios were closed, the group behind it says, "There aren't enough punk/hip/chic/underground art/music scenes in this town to go around and as long as we have electricity, we'll have shows." Works for me. JENNIFER MAERZ

KANE HODDER, THE MAGIC MAGICIANS, BIG BUSINESS, THIS PROVIDENCE
(Old Fire House) Members of brand new band Big Business (they debuted about two weeks ago at the Crocodile) include Jared Warren (Karp, Tight Bros from Way Back When, the Whip) and Coady Willis (Murder City Devils, Broadcast Oblivion, Dead Low Tide). Yeah, I know! I'm excited too. And in case you aren't familiar, the Magic Magicians also include some Northwest heavy-hitters--John Atkins (764-HERO) and Joe Plummer (Black Heart Procession). With that much talent in one room, how could you possibly be disappointed? MEGAN SELING

SATURDAY 2/14


ALASKA!, ROY, GATHERED IN SONG (FEATURING DAMIEN JURADO)
(Graceland, late) See Stranger Suggests, page 39.

JONNY X AND THE GROADIES, XIAO GU FANG, schlaze-3
(Vera Project) See preview, page 49.

HELL PROMISE, KANE HODDER, FIVE GOOD REASONS, SOMEHOW HOLLOW, SIX DEMON BAG
(Studio Seven) You know those moods where you get so pissed off you could use a dull piece of cutlery to stab the head of the next asshole who crosses you? Hell Promise egg on that hostility, enveloping you in an orgy of bloody imagery, death-knell growls, and phlegmy screams that almost make a band like Speedealer sound like Death Cab for Cutie. The vocals are blind crazed, the power drumming could flatten a concrete gargoyle, and guitar riffs come down like blades in a slasher movie. If this local band were used to soundtrack a horror film, I'd stick them in a scene where the hero gets his skin shredded with a cheese grater, or something like that. JENNIFER MAERZ

SENSES FAIL, MONEEN, THE BEAUTIFUL MISTAKE, BOYS NIGHT OUT
(Graceland, early) Every song on Boys Night Out's latest release, Make Yourself Sick, reminded me of a song I've heard before, long ago, and really liked. But instead of liking it this time around, it came off as being just a trite, obvious ploy to make some money, cash in on what's hip (pop punk/screamo/emotional acoustic ballads... it's all there). I don't hear heart, I hear songs that were put together with such an exact formula, I wouldn't be surprised if the band/label/government put together a focus group prior to the release to make sure it's what the kids would spend their allowance on. Boy's Night Out aren't music, they're math. They add up to sell, but that's about it. MEGAN SELING

DURAN DURAN TRIBUTE NIGHT: SLOMO RABBIT KICK, THE CAPILLARIES, KINSKI, THE LONG WINTERS, GUESTS
(Sunset Tavern) Not only is tonight's show a benefit, with all proceeds going to the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society, but it's also a 30th-birthday celebration for Jenny George, a local woman who survived leukemia as a teenager, despite constant warnings that she wouldn't. But those aren't the only two reasons you should go! Seriously, who doesn't like Duran Duran? No one, that's who, and with local bands covering all your favorite DD tunes, you'd be a fool not to get in on this action. There will also be Polaroid transfer portraits, a champagne toast, a raffle, and an art show, making it quite an impressive Valentine's Day date spot. Really, what more do you need? MEGAN SELING

DEAD MOON, THE HIGH BEAMS, CHIEF
(Hideaway) If you wanna talk love (this show being on Valentines' Day and all), Dead Moon is one band that probably couldn't better define the word. Fred and Toody Cole are the husband-and-wife partnership behind the group, and they've devoted nearly two decades to the trio (which includes drummer Andrew Loomis), crafting a cultish set of worshipers whose feelings for the rootsy garage punk don't even begin to be described with the word "obsessed." JENNIFER MAERZ

ANTS INVASION, PICASSO'S ASSHOLE, ATOMIC BOMBSHELL BURLESQUE
(Crocodile) It sounds like the intro to a bad joke--what's the deal with Picasso's Asshole? The answer, though, is that it's the moniker for a Jonathan Richman tribute band (a riff-off of the Modern Lovers' "Pablo Picasso") fronted by Robert Lopez--that's El Vez to you and me--lovingly paired tonight with an Adam and the Ants tribute act, Ants Invasion. MADELINE RAYES

SUNDAY 2/15


THE POP SHOPPE RECORD SWAP
(Crocodile) Today is the very first Pop Shoppe Record Swap, the new monthly vinyl fair happening the second Sunday of every month at the Crocodile Cafe. From noon to 4:00 p.m. today, the Croc will be filled with records for sale from both stores and local wax enthusiasts. There will also be live music from Dejha Colantuono of Rotten Apples (she'll be playing an acoustic set), and Lance Romance of the Briefs will be DJing while you browse. It's free to come in and look around (so you can save your money for a delicious Crocodile Cafe brunch) and it's all ages. MEGAN SELING

JOHN BELTRAN
(Baltic Room) The Future Soul crew brings in Detroit producer John Beltran, who's promoting his new Ubiquity Records album, In Full Color. Beltran's delicately melancholy, ambient techno from the '90s has morphed into a more organic, Latinized shuffle (hence the logical move to S.F.'s Ubiquity). The former Derrick May collaborator (they worked together as Indio) now plies his trade in tropical broken beat compositions that'll gently shake your fruity drink and perhaps stir you to dance--or at least to sway like a palm tree, especially after a few light-colored cocktails. With DJs J-Justice, Mikey, and AC Lewis, plus vocalists Kim Nauman and DJ Collage and percussionist Jayson Powers. DAVE SEGAL

MONDAY 2/16


CRACKER, CAMPER VAN BEETHOVEN
(Crocodile) When I was in high school, Camper Van Beethoven was one of my favorite bands, and when I went to college at UC Santa Cruz, I was pretty damn stoked that the group was birthed from my alma matter (CVB was a reworking of the "college five b-dorm" living quarters there). Over the years, the band, which only recently re-formed for tours, released some serious skate punk/surreal folk. The absurdly psychedelic imagery and the flippant tone in their lyrics made songs like "The Day That Lassie Went to the Moon" and "Where the Hell Is Bill" so brilliant in a beer-drinking kinda way. Sadly, CVB disbanded in 1990 and frontman David Lowery went on to Cracker, taking with him his smart-aleck ways--but not his old band's penchant for experimentation--for a new country-tinged pop endeavor. I saw CVB in Austin last year, and sadly, they weren't half as good as back in the good old days... but then again, what really is, right? I still love those old CVB records, though. JENNIFER MAERZ

NO-FI SOUL REBELLION, SCIENCE VICTIM, OPHELIA AND THE GREAT IDEA, DALMATIONS
(Graceland) Imagine if Prince had been born with a sense of humor and a garage-band aesthetic. I don't know if he'd end up as part of the No-Fi Soul Rebellion, but he'd probably like to record some backing vocals for them. The Missoula two-piece is heavily influenced by funk, R&B, and pop, lo-fied down to the bare minimum and then punched out with the simple sounds of crappy keyboard beats and handclaps. Live, the duo are a theatrical karaoke act, as Mark Heimer croons the lyrics while his wife Andrea "plays" an instrument called a "soul system"--a hollowed-out bass embedded with an MP3 player to back the campy frontman. See also Live Wire, page 55. JENNIFER MAERZ

TUESDAY 2/17


CHINGY, LUDACRIS
(Paramount) You don't fuck with Ludacris, even if you live worlds away from the music industry as some liberal-bating TV show pundit. But Bill O'Reilly started the war with the Southern rapper, and the old guy suffers the consequences, as the Fox News talking head is on the receiving end of some serious lyrical barbs on Chicken and Beer. 'Cris has better things to do than slag the conservative who got him cut off the Pepsi payroll, though. He's got ladies and parties to attend to, bling to blow out, and boasts to roast the competition with--not to mention the buckets of greasy chicken wings to lick up with a big ol' beer. CHRIS MADRON

XIU XIU
(Sonic Boom, Capitol Hill) Xiu Xiu continue to astound me. Not because singer/songwriter Jamie Stewart writes gloomy, depressing-as-shit music that's both cathartic and almost uncomfortably personal; I am astounded that so many people have responded to the band's music so positively. Given Stewart's melodramatic delivery and his exaggerated self-loathing, one would think Xiu Xiu would be relegated to the curbside bin like so many emo recyclables. But the frontman shows again on the band's fourth and latest release, Fabulous Muscles, that like Ian Curtis before him, he has adeptly harnessed the dejection and injustices of life, transcribing his pain into synth-driven, darkly reflective music that, despite itself, is somehow neither cheesy nor overly sentimental. Just good. NICK KOCH