From the Dec 9 – Dec 15, 2004 issue

Music

Up & Coming

THURSDAY 12/9


DECK THE HALL BALL W/MODEST MOUSE, FRANZ FERDINAND, THE KILLERS, KEANE, THE SHINS, SNOW PATROL
(KeyArena) See Stranger Suggests, page 19.

TIN HAT'S ANNUAL HISTORY OF PUNK ROCK
(Tin Hat) The Tin Hat is the kind of bar that makes you wish--if you're scattershot in other neighborhoods--that you lived stumblin' distance from this off-the-hipster-beaten-path Ballard sweet spot. The nonpretentious rock dive often plays host to a number of local personalities/DJs on Thursdays, and tonight they trip through the punk spectrum both geographically and historically, with our own Hannah Levin taking her turn in the Riot Grrrl phase of the evening for her 20-minute slot. JENNIFER MAERZ

DEAR JOHN LETTERS, MS. LED, GLORIOUS
(Crocodile) Few thrills compare to witnessing a good band come into its own, and evolve into a great one. With These Things We Say, Ms. Led have done just that. Live, the Seattle quartet's spirited performances and defiant ferocity have long been irresistible, but their latest release dispenses with the more strident leanings that prompted detractors to dismiss their otherwise stellar 2002 effort, Afternoon in Central Park, as the product of slavish Sleater-Kinney disciples. No mistake, the spirit of Riot Grrrl still runs strong through the new 10-song disc (the Kathleen Hanna-invoking, Spice Girls-bashing opener, "Stigma," should be the new NOW recruitment jingle), but Lesli Wood has now developed a distinctive, rousing singing style wholly her own, one edgy enough to slice through the band's blistering punk-pop riffs on the rockers, yet by turns cool and alluring, too, as on the stop-start "Gone." KURT B. REIGHLEY

WAYNE HORVITZ AND SWEETER THAN THE DAY
(Rendezvous) Seattle avant-jazz-funk-improv emissary Wayne Horvitz brushes off the acoustic version of Zony Mash--Sweeter Than the Day--after a long hiatus. Hushed sublimity is the order of this quartet's sweet day. The group's self-titled 2001 album abounds with contemplative ballads that are spare as the pockets of a Depression-era autoworker. Most of STTD's songs sound amazingly deft and beautiful, seemingly emanating from an older, better world. Even when they swing, STTD do so with a subliminal, light touch. Horvitz and company (guitarist Tim Young, bassist Keith Lowe, drummer Andy Roth) play two sets tonight (7:30 and 10 pm), but the ideal time to hear their music is actually on a Sunday morning after a debauched night on the tiles. DAVE SEGAL

SENSATION JUNKIES, TWO LOONS FOR TEA, SHANE BARTELL
(Tractor) Christopher Blue croons like a roughed-up David Gray. In the Sensation Junkies, he's the centerpiece among a swirling mass of moody, atmospheric rock that weaves dreamy melodies into adult-alternative music--"Crisis Addict" takes a couple cues from the Pixies, as well. JENNIFER MAERZ FRIDAY 12/10


SLAYER, KILLSWITCH ENGAGE, MASTODON
(Premier) See preview, page 31.

THE SHAPESHIFTERS, PIGEON JOHN
(Rainbow) See My Philosophy, page 39.

A-FRAMES, POINT LINE PLANE, THE FACTUMS
(Sunset) See Live Wire, page 37.

JOINT: DJS SPECS ONE, VARIFORM, LINCOLNUP
(CHAC Lower Level) See Stranger Suggests, page 19.

KJ SAWKA
(Chop Suey) See Data Breaker, page 44.

COLIN POTTER (NURSE WITH WOUND), IRR. APP. (EXT.)
(Electric Heavyland) Some of England's weirdest musical ambassadors will bomb your mind with malevolent frequencies at this in-store show. Potter's an obscure gent who's been quietly molding (and melting) the FUBAR sound of "Britain's Hidden Reverse" (see David Keenan's book of that title). As collaborator with Nurse with Wound, Current 93, Ora, and others, Potter's twisted the knobs for maximum disorientation on more records than you've had lukewarm meals. irr. app. (ext.) (Matthew Waldron) is even more mysterious. His An uncertain animal, ruptured; tissue expanding in conversation is as baffling and disturbing as that title implies (don't play it on acid if you value your sanity; I did and look what happened). The Nurse with Wound weekend continues in Portland Dec. 11 and 12 with NWW mastermind Steven Stapleton playing Doug Fir Lounge and overseeing an art exhibit at Optic Nerve Arts of his 94 hand-painted covers for his Angry Electric Finger LP on Beta-Lactam Ring Records. See www.electricheavyland.com and www.dougfirlounge.com. DAVE SEGAL

THE PRESIDENTS OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, MOUNTAIN CON
(Showbox) I'm generally supportive of bands selling their songs--it's too damn hard to make a living in this industry to begrudge an artist for peddling a track to say, Volkswagen. But when I saw the recent TrimSpa diet pill ad featuring the Presidents' "Kitty" playing in the background while Anna Nicole Smith attempted to be, um, catlike and seductive, I was instantly embarrassed for the band. "We kind of feel schmucky about it in our heart of hearts," admits drummer Jason Finn, "but I figured all bets were off when the Shins sold a song to McDonald's." Laughable licensing deals aside, no one can fault the trio for their philanthropic streak--both shows this weekend are hygiene and food drives for YouthCare (www.youthcare.org), one of this city's most enduring and effective social service agencies for homeless youth. HANNAH LEVIN

SATURDAY 12/11


THE ARCADE FIRE, EARLIMART, CHUCK PROPHET
(Neumo's) See preview, page 35.

THE PRESIDENTS OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, VISQUEEN, SMOOSH
(Showbox) See Friday's preview.

INTONARUMORI, GRAILS
(Living Room) See Data Breaker, page 44.

HIPHOP HOPE SEATTLE: PIECE, GRAYSKUL, GUESTS
(CHAC) See My Philosophy, page 39.

KUMA, SUSHIROBO, IN PRAISE OF FOLLY, KINGSLEY
(Graceland) Sushirobo have mastered the art of the spazzy pop song fizzing with strange retro-futurist tones. Imagine proto-electronic rockers Silver Apples playing XTC's early-'80s songbook on Mars, and you're close to grasping the off-kilter sensation animating the typical Sushirobo composition. It's a rare sound, like that produced by temperamental robots with human hearts, and we're lucky to have such a band in our area code. With frontman Arthur Roberts' otherworldly good looks and basketball shooting guard's physique on top of the sonic delights, it's a mystery why Sushirobo ain't huge by now. DAVE SEGAL

SUNDAY 12/12


DECEMBER HOOT W/JOHN ATKINS, JASON ALBERTINI, JEN WOOD, JAN NORBERG, KENTO OIWA, ANNA OXYGEN W/KITTY JENSEN, RYAN KRAFT W/AMY DEVINE, LEVITATIONS, JEFF YATES, TREVOR STADTMILLER
(Kincora) See Stranger Suggests, page 19.

IRON & WINE, SAM JAYNE, HORSES, KELLEY STOLTZ
(Neumo's) See preview, page 31.

OVER MY NAKED BODY
(Fenix) See Data Breaker, page 44.

JACOB FRED JAZZ ODYSSEY
(Triple Door) For a decade, Jacob Fred Jazz Odyssey have taken the organ-trio lineup and groove obsession to the unhygienic (and lucrative) realms of jam-band land. Like Medeski, Martin & Wood, the Tulsa, Oklahoma trio invest lots of unpredictable twists and turns into their skewed funk and shape-shifting improvisations, occasionally messing with your sinuous hippie-dance moves. But on the new Walking with Giants (on Hyena, with a bonus live DVD), pianist Brian Haas, drummer Jason Smart, and bassist Reed Mathis pay their respects to the Mingus/Monk/Tyner/Dolphy tradition of brainy bop and post-bop. Here they prove that reverence for the past doesn't have to sound stodgy--that it can, in fact, sound dynamic and vital. DAVE SEGAL

MONDAY 12/13


NEW FANGS, SWEET SWEET ACTION, NEUTRAL BOY
(Graceland) Not unlike Lord of the Rings: Return of the King, Sweet Sweet Action is the final piece in the Holy Rock and Roll Trinity started by the Valentine Killers and continued by Midnight Thunder Express. In this final installment the band must battle Orcs and Orges and I think like some huge elephants come in and smash the shit out of some people. Can you tell I've never heard this band before? Well they've only played maybe once in town so what are you supposed to do. Regardless, if it's good enough for Zeppelin to sing about Gollum and shit it's good enough for you to get out there and see some good time rock and roll. Elves get in free. JED MAHEU

HENRY HANKS
(Rendezvous) From the ashes of Automoton and Juno comes Henry Hanks, a left turn off the hard-driving sound of the members' former bands into dusky, dusty alt-country territory. Theirs is a beautifully spooked, lo-fi sound covered in cobwebs and haunted by "the same, same old lies." With roots in Neil Young, Will Oldham, and Smog, the band tills the soil of infertile relations as frontman Pat Kearney delicately sings of being "stuck in the lowlands again." JENNIFER MAERZ

TUESDAY 12/14


MATTHEW SHAW, THE LOOK, ANTLERS, GUESTS
(Graceland) See All Ages Action, page 46.

SPIRIT
(Baltic Room) See Data Breaker, page 44.

NOVATONE, DIM MAK FEATURING BISHOP OF OLDOMINION, THE SNOW
(Chop Suey) The hiphop on Dim Mak's Epoch CD is hard on the nerves. The music is loud, bombastic, and attacks the ears with a destructive force that has its visual equivalent in the Shock and Awe operation that flattened Baghdad in March of 2003. This is not an exaggeration. In fact, one of the reasons why Dim Mak ranks with the best hiphop crews in Seattle (Silent Lamb Project, Specs One, Grayskul, Blue Scholars) is because, whether you agree or disagree with the group's militaristic aesthetic, they are consummate professionals. Nothing on Epoch is half-baked or underdeveloped. You won't find a hint of laziness in the production of their nightmarish war zones. Only the hardest heads can survive Dim Mak's army of beats and raps. CHARLES MUDEDE

PUNK ROCK KARAOKE (FEATURING MEMBERS OF NOFX, BAD RELIGION, CIRCLE JERKS), THE HOLLOWPOINTS, DEK
(Neumo's) Why is it that none of the International District bars sport the variety of karaoke offerings modern-day kings and queens of drunken song-botching necessitate? They'll carry every Celine Dion, Blondie, or Barry Manilow song in the book, but "Holiday in Cambodia," "Nervous Breakdown," and "When the Shit Hits the Fan"? No dice there, dudes. Well, ya punks, this night's for you. Thanks to a backing band featuring members of NOFX, the Adolescents, Social Distortion, Bad Religion, and Circle Jerks, you can be your own Rollins/ Ness/Biafra/mic'd fool for the evening, singing along to a punk-rock roster of your liking. And showing the kids how real bands do the punk thing, HollowPoints and DEK are on this bill as well. JENNIFER MAERZ

WEDNESDAY 12/15


DISNEY COVER NIGHT W/THE CATCH, THE DIVORCE, SEAN NELSON FROM HARVEY DANGER, AQUEDUCT, KANE HODDER, AND MANY MORE
(Crocodile) See Stranger Suggests, page 19.

THE LIGHTS, THE CHARMING SNAKES, THE COPS, CATBEES
(Chop Suey) The Charming Snakes are one of those bands that have a lot of buddies that go to every show. I think it proves that they're good, because sucky bands only get the friend crowd for about three shows and then nobody shows up unless they're on the list. You're usually only allowed about four people on your guest list and the Snakes always have the same 12 or so people that show up regardless of when and where they're playing. After four years of opening for bands like Mudhoney, the Shins, and A-Frames, shit's getting fit to explode for the band as they've just released a three-song, self-titled EP on their own Haunted Horse records. With their first full-length set for release on Seattle's own Dirtnap early next year, you're gonna have to move fast to get on the list. JED MAHEU

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