THE CARDIGANS, JONATHAN RICE, CHRISTIAN KJELLVANDER
(Neumo's) See Stranger Suggests, page 19.
U.S. MAPLE, FIELDS OF GAFFNEY, SOME BY SEA
(Graceland) In the same way that the first few Meat Puppets records felt weird but sounded pleasing, U.S. Maple simultaneously assault the sensibilities while stroking the senses. Their music contains some blues alongside noise experiments, guitar butchery, fractured rhythms, and all the other indescribable '78-'82-vintage oddness currently being attempted by a bunch of semi-famous bands in New York these days. But U.S. Maple are from Chicago, which is apropos of nothing, except to say that their willful bizarreness is more compelling than most of the folks trying to occupy similar cultural space. SEAN NELSON See also preview, page 27.
TALIB KWELI, MF DOOM
(Showbox) Rappers who want to sound poetic, intelligent, or original usually resort to verbal tricks, like speeding up their raps, or using the biggest of forgotten words, or elongating words to the point of them being meaningless. Not with the veteran MF Doom. His meters are normal, he never uses intelligent words, and his pace is always calm and easy. MF Doom is one of the few rappers who can be poetic without being complicated. His poetry, which is in the content rather than the form of his raps, flows like a force of nature, and his new CD with Madlib, Madvillainy, is, as Black Thought once put, "as surreal as a cartoon." CHARLES MUDEDE
FRIDAY 5/21
JUCIFER, BIG BUSINESS, PLASTER
(Crocodile) See preview, page 23, and Live Wire, page 36.
A FRAMES, THE PIRANHAS
(Comet) See preview, page 27.
RJD2, DIVERSE, THE SATURDAY KNIGHTS
(Chop Suey) See preview, page 19.
BATTLE OF THE SHITTY BANDS
(Sunset) See Stranger Suggests, page 19, and Live Wire, page 36.
THE CATHETERS, AKIMBO, THE HUNCHES, THE LIGHTS
(Vera Project) See Underage, page 27.
ZEKE, SPEEDEALER, HELL PROMISE
(Graceland) Although only one band has "speed" stuck in its name, that's what tonight's lineup is all about. And by that I don't just mean tempo--which with all three bands means a pace that doesn't stop for gulps of air between songs--but also the aesthetic of the dirty bathtub methamphetamine stuff, the shit that'll pock out your face and make you grind your teeth to the gums. That's the grit that's stuck to Zeke from the beginning, and they're in no danger of cleaning up that act with their latest release, 'Til the Livin' End, out now on Relapse Records. There's still dregs of classic Motörhead in their sound, especially in vocals that sound screamed from a throat full of shredded glass, but they rub a little Zeppelin between the riffs on songs like "383," and tracks like "Dragonfly" carry the whiff of old ZZ Top. It's a formula for sure, but with Zeke, it's never broken enough to fix--and on this latest release, it's easy to see why it works so well. JENNIFER MAERZ
ELF POWER, AVEO, SUMMER HYMNS
(Neumo's) This SIFF kickoff party features three diverse and excellent bands. Athens, GA's Elf Power have become less elfin with each passing record of their seven-year career, which began as an adjunct to the Elephant 6 Recording collective, transforming themselves into a muscular pop outfit along the way. Their melodies are particularly inspired. The same can be said of Seattle's own Aveo, whose soaring vocals are ratcheted down by a fierce rhythm section. Summer Hymns come from Texas, where pop intersects with campfire in a mold reminiscent of Okkervil River, Shearwater, and South San Gabriel. SEAN NELSON
SATURDAY 5/22
JOLIE HOLLAND, LAURA VEIRS
(Sunset, early) See Drunk by Noon, page 41.
T-MODEL FORD, SPAM, KENNY BROWN, CEDRIC BURNSIDE, PAUL "WINE" JONES
(Hideaway) See Stranger Suggests, page 19.
POPULAR SHAPES, THE INTELLIGENCE, INFOMATIK
(Fun House) With half the Popular Shapes' lineup helping out with the Intelligence (at least for now), Lars Finberg's mad-genius no-wave band benefits from the addition of the Shapes' excellently spastic, noisy guitar/bass section, the perfect accent to his already captivating sound. JENNIFER MAERZ
SLENDER MEANS, COWBOY CURTIS, TOURIST, MU MESON
(Crocodile) Minneapolis band Cowboy Curtis is a power pop group with an extra heavy edge that sounds like '70s rock is as much an influence as Soul Asylum--or, to move on to another region, the Get Up Kids. Their album Observations | Assumptions is sweetly romantic, especially on "Tired," while "Snapshot Pictures" sounds almost stream-of-consciousness. This is one of those bands that could go either way when playing live--energetic and carefree, or overwrought. I guess we'll see, but I'm betting on the former rather than the latter. KATHLEEN WILSON
ALICE DONUT, BLÖÖDHAG, CRICTOR
(Graceland) One of the originals acts to come out of New York City's Lower East Side punk underground (they formed in 1987), Alice Donut has come off a long hiatus for a rare show in Seattle. Local metalheads BlöödHag are notoriously pro-reading as well as science-fiction fans, and though some of their act may be tongue-in-cheek, they've won themselves a huge, devoted following. Crictor is a two-piece metal band consisting of Jenn Ghetto on guitar and Creighton Barrett on drums, both playing at breakneck speed. If you want to be blown away by a show this week, this one is your safe bet. KATHLEEN WILSON
CURSIVE, SAUL WILLIAMS, EE, MIKE PARK
(Neumo's) Ever since last year's The Ugly Organ was released, I've had a little spot in my heart for Cursive. There's even more reason to adore Cursive, though, as they're headlining the national Plea for Peace tour, which supports the Plea for Peace Foundation. PFP set up this nonpartisan bill with the goal of getting more young people involved in the 2004 election. At the show, besides getting a head full of amazing music, you can also register to vote (for any party) and pick up information regarding the electoral process and the current state of American politics. More information about the organization and tour is available at www.pleaforpeace.com. MEGAN SELING
THE MOUNTAIN GOATS, VINNY MILLER, WE RAGAZZI
(Tractor) There are plenty of indie rock bands that take folk as the cornerstone of their sound, but the Mountain Goats are one excellent example. Helmed by John Darnielle, the Goats' latest album, We Shall All Be Healed, is a deeply satisfying song cycle of lives askew or agitated into disintegration. The rush of clever words and shoehorned phrasing recalls Dylan by way of poet James Schuyler. Darnielle's voice has the adenoidal quality of both Robyn Hitchcock and the Go-Betweens. It's a limited but flexible instrument, a hectoring, impassioned voice that when multitracked on such songs as "The Young Thousands" has an almost political fury. (The production makes some songs sound like the Thermals, Portland's brilliant mixture of Bright Eyes and the Violent Femmes.) Most exciting about the Mountain Goats is that they tap the left-field impulse of folk, where rock and post-punk influences are the springboards, rather than the oft-mined Nick Drake and Tim Buckley vein (both of whom I love, but really now). NATE LIPPENS
ALTER ECHO, TORTURED SOUL
(ToST) Somewhere between Twilight Circus Dub Sound System and DJ Spooky lies the music of Alter Echo. He has worked with DJ Spooky on several occasions (remixing or contributing dubs to Spooky's compilations) and is presently remixing a dub for Twilight Circus' next CD, DUBwise Remixed. Alter Echo's dub is less about sound engineering and more about sorcery. CHARLES MUDEDE
SUNDAY 5/23
CHEAP TRICK, VISQUEEN
(Showbox) As Cheap Trick has been a strong influence on the careers of not only the long-lived Fastbacks and their singer Kim Warnick, but also her new band, Visqueen, what an edifying landmark it must be to land the opening spot on this bill? I'll tell you how much: Just because they've been friends and bandmates for so long, Warnick is taking along former Fastback pals Kurt Bloch and Lulu Gargiulo as her guests for the sake of a bond that can never be broken, however dissolved the band may be. Cheap Trick truly is one of the most influential power pop bands of the entire genre. Hell, they probably invented it. No matter how old or weathered its members get, it's still a blast to hear them unfailingly open with "Hello There," off Heaven Tonight, a lesson to the (gasp!) uninitiated that it's not all about Live at Budokan. KATHLEEN WILSON MONDAY 5/24
YO LA TENGO, ANTIETAM
(Showbox) With 2003's squishy, amorous Summer Sun, the fine wine that is Yo La Tengo proved once again that time is on their side. Love songs are treated with kid gloves that warm hushed melodies in sophisticated, circular motions, and our payoff's built into their understatements. In the first minutes of "Beach Party Tonight," Ira, James, and Georgia morph into a strangely compelling amalgam of Smoove B and Brian Wilson, at once illustrating and celebrating the canonized band's marriagelike commitment to achieving their relationship goals (in this case, the Pop). Granted, the band doesn't have to stretch too hard to exercise restraint, but aside from album burps like the nocturnally guitared musings of 10-minute long "Let's Be Still," shit's cozy like my blanky. Live, expect them to pepper the Yo La set with ballsier classics. Be they Sateen Rocking Chair or straight-up rock, YLT is constantly and exponentially able to grow together as a unit. JOAN HILLER
BOB DYLAN TRIBUTE: BABY GRAMPS, ANNA COOGAN, LARRY BARRETT, GUESTS
(Sunset) The Sunset Tavern is hosting a tribute night to the original folk shitkicker, Bob Dylan, on the day he was born (May 24). As part of Movie Monday, the club will host a screening of a secret Bob Dylan film that was never officially released, after which a slew of musicians will step up to pay their respects, including Blue Spark, Kim Virant, the Rockfords, Radio Nationals, Baby Gramps, the Riffbrokers, and Jake London. The five-dollar cover benefits the Boomtown Cafe, and the night promises to be the kind of event that shows everyone's debt to the Picasso of folk rock, who not only created unforgettable songs but demonstrated that great music can define itself any way it sees fit. NATE LIPPENS
TUESDAY 5/25
SIMPLE KID
(Chop Suey) See preview, page 29.
WEDNESDAY 5/26
HINT HINT, THE DETACHMENT KIT, THE FITNESS, THE LIGHTS
(Neumo's) See Some Candy Talking, page 68.
SONDRE LERCHE, CHARLOTTE MARTIN
(Crocodile) One of the several hundred thousand things that suck about moving is not being able to find that one particular CD that you're absolutely dying to hear. That's why I'm thrilled that Sondre Lerche is coming through town--his latest album, Two Way Monologue, is buried somewhere in a mountain of boxes, and hearing the title single on KEXP just whets my appetite for his perfectly crafted, sunny pop songs. If you're a fan of timeless, '60s-influenced tunes that somehow manage to be upbeat and melancholy at the same time, then you, too, will be there with bells on. BARBARA MITCHELL
