ROCK FOR TSUNAMI RELIEF BENEFIT: STAB MASTER ARSON, RAZ REZ, BIRDS OF PREY, THE ZERO POINTS, GUESTS
(The Comet) See Live Wire, page 28.
COLIN MELOY, CORINA REPP
(Triple Door) See preview, page 27.
IRON COMPOSER: CHRIS BALLEW VS. RACHEL FLOTARD
(Crocodile) I've never been to an actual Iron Composer event, but I know what I've heard, and given the cracked talent of the people involved, it sounds like a lot of squirrelly inspiration and good times, where musicians attempt to write songs while loud antagonists throw pies at them and juggle torches or whatever. What I do know for certain is that the Presidents' Chris Ballew is one of the most ingenious composers of tiny, wonderful pop (and rock and funk and so on) this city has ever seen and he should get a lot more credit than he does. His opponent, Rachel Flotard (Visqueen), gets a lot of props, which she richly deserves, so this should be an entertaining fight. SEAN NELSON See also Stranger Suggests, page 19.
BLACK NITE CRASH, THE YOUNGS, MONOSTEREO, MAN OF THE YEAR
(Chop Suey) The Youngs are a married couple who make beautiful music together--isn't that cute? But Timothy (vocalist/guitarist in Zony Mash, Thruster!, and many more) and Eryn Young (drummer/vocalist/sample manipulator) don't inspire "aw"s so much as awe with their delicately spun sadcore songs that get Low, if you know what I mean. Eryn's voice exists somewhere in that sublime zone between Dusty Springfield and ex-Run On warbler Sue Garner. Tim plays guitar with exquisite finesse and an enviable range of styles (plangent country to bombastic Hendrixian/Frippian rock). The Youngs' self-titled debut disc on Web of Mimicry makes a strong case for the salubrious effects of matrimony on music making. (I never thought I'd write a sentence like that, Sonic Youth and Plastic Ono Band notwithstanding.) DAVE SEGAL
FRIDAY 1/14
THE NICE FAMILY SHOWCASE WITH UNITED STATE OF ELECTRONICA, LUKE TEMPLE, TENNIS PRO, ROCHESTER FOSGATE, JOHN TSUNAM, PLEASURECRAFT, THE GRAZE, GUESTS
(Chop Suey) See preview, page 27.
BEN GIBBARD, JAMES MERCER, DAVE BAZAN
(Showbox) See Stranger Suggests, page 19.
GAVIN FROOME
(SeeSound Lounge) See Data Breaker, page 39.
NEUROSIS, JARBOE
(Neumo's) The oppressive heaviness of a Neurosis record is elephantine in scope and cinematic in vision. The Oakland act's expansive, atmospheric metal broods, and frontman Steve Von Till--an excellent solo artist, albeit for the days when pouring rubbing alcohol on your slit wrists isn't punishment enough--is its turbulent eye. When he screams through a labyrinth of tribal and tidal instrumentation, you feel the weight of the universe alternately crushing his soul and buoying his resolve, as his lyrics cycle back through images of blood, bones, and bonfires. Here he's paired with idiosyncratic ex-Swans siren Jarboe, whose eerie caterwauls and cacophonous vocal play have earned her an audience all her own. She recorded with Neurosis for a Neurot Recordings release that paired the two eccentric acts in a perfectly gothic storm. JENNIFER MAERZ
PATTERN 25 SHOWCASE WITH SMOOSH, SUSHIROBO, ROBERT ROTH, JON AUER
(Sunset) It happened slowly, but it's pretty much undeniable: Pattern 25 has become an important Seattle label, as tonight's star-studded showcase makes abundantly clear. Robert Roth and Sushirobo make inventive, pleasing music that's ripe for bigger, more appreciative audiences, while Smoosh continue to impress all comers with their dauntless pre-adolescent power. Jon Auer's long awaited solo record may still be in for a few tweaks, but the bits I've heard are stellar and worth the wait. Tonight's a good opportunity to help a fine label commemorate its continued rise. SEAN NELSON
ANNUAL MLK HIPHOP SHOW WITH RA SCION, CANCER RISING, H-BOMB, SPECS ONE, YOUTHSPEAKS, ONION, IISEI
(Vera Project) Conflict of Interest Show #1: Larry Mizell Jr., the rapper in the local duo Cancer Rising writes the hiphop column (My Philosophy) in this paper. Unlike me, Larry has no problems with the double role of being an artist and critic. And anyone who has read his excellent column and heard his meaty raps on the CD Tropic of Cancer is certainly aware that both practices draw their energy and imagery from the same source, the same great love that he has for all that is hiphop--which, according to another artist and critic, Greg Tate, is now is celebrating its 30th birthday this year. Indeed, what would Larry be if there were no such thing as rap? That is something I refuse to imagine. CHARLES MUDEDE
NO. 13 BABY, THE LEGEND, ARGO
(Crocodile) Conflict of Interest Show #2: You never know what to expect from Everett True, be it in print or performing onstage. One moment, he's a shy music geek, the next he's a stumbling drunk doing the '80s shuffle, and the next he's getting a trash can full of refuse chucked at his head from the crowd. Whether he's a cappella or with a full band, True is a true Legend, as his stage moniker implies. He's sandwiched here between Pixies cover band No. 13 Baby and Argo, a hazy dream-pop act with candied melodies cascading through delicate keyboard work. JENNIFER MAERZ
SATURDAY 1/15
STEVE FISK, FOSCIL, SUN VOW, GREG JASPAN
(CHAC Lower Level) See Data Breaker, page 39.
DOLOUR, AUTUMN POETRY, RACETRACK, SAMEER SHUKLA
(Kirkland Teen Center) See All Ages Action, page 41.
FISHBONE, INSTANT WINNER, NEW BLOOD REVIVAL, THE PULVERTS
(Hell's Kitchen) Recording wise, Fishbone has been in an economic slump since 1991, when they released The Reality of My Surroundings. What has kept them alive during this long winter of weak album sales have been their live shows, which are still popular. Based in Los Angeles, born in 1979, and once closely connected with the Red Hot Chili Peppers, Fishbone are a black band that plays punk, funk, and ska. There was a time when they were certainly the coolest thing on earth, when their music generated a great deal of excitement, and they appeared on high-profile music shows like Soul Train, performing Curtis Mayfield covers. Those were the days of sunshine; but now the sun has completely left the sky and what remains under the dark clouds is a resilient band with resilient fans. This relationship could last forever. CHARLES MUDEDE
ANDREW NORSWORTHY, ANDREA MAXAND, EXPLONE
(Showbox Green Room) Andrew Norsworthy is one busy man. He takes the concept of the troubadour seriously when he visits Seattle this week, playing three shows--Hattie's Hat January 15, The Green Room at the Showbox the same night, and The Hopvine January 17. Of course, ambition and omnipresence aren't enough on their own. Norsworthy is a very fine singer-songwriter worth checking out. His album Stateside is gorgeous, with lush instrumentation highlighted by his intricate interlacing of fretwork, pedal steel, and cello. Norsworthy upends folk-rock conventions with a plaintive voice, playful phrasing, and strange guitar tunings that hark back to folk forebears like Nick Drake (but are also infused with the pop sensibilities of Nick Lowe). NATE LIPPENS
THE FITNESS, MS. LED, KANDA, THE CRIPPLES
(Vera Project) Nerves will jangle and asses will shake tonight. The Cripples are just like any garage-pop band… with 900 volts of electricity shooting through their nervous systems. They fill the void left by the tragic demise of Brainiac with swell, bratty melodies and sick synth spasms. The Fitness are the better-behaved and groomed sibling to the unruly Cripples. Riding the new wave of dance-punk may now draw more sneers than cheers, but the Fitness' take on the style is supremely catchy and spiky. Their swanky debut, Call Me for Together, has songs, damn it, not just attitude. I need a Valium. DAVE SEGAL
VANCE GALLOWAY
(Living:Room) Engineer/producer Vance Galloway is a crucial behind-the-scenes figure in modern underground music. Chances are good you own a disc he worked on if you dig San Francisco's Asphodel label, home of the dopest illbient releases ever. Aside from his sound-design work for a notorious local billionaire, Galloway plays guitars and drums for radical-left dub/drone activists Elders of Zion, whose Dawn Refuses to Rise will empower you no matter your political persuasion. Galloway can throw many styles at you, and in tonight's solo set he plans to bliss--and possibly freak--you out with processed, improvised guitar emissions that shimmer, shudder, and sometimes tinkle like distant wind chimes. Fans of Stars of the Lid, Manuel Gottsching's Inventions for Electric Guitar, and Greg Davis' Somnia should bask in this sublime sonic shower. DAVE SEGAL
SUNDAY 1/16
IDIOT PILOT, ANCILLE, GUESTS
(Vera Project) See Stranger Suggests, page 19.
MONDAY 1/17
Feel the pain.
TUESDAY 1/18
MOUNT EERIE (AKA THE MICROPHONES), C.O.C.O., CALVIN JOHNSON
(Chop Suey) See Stranger Suggests, page 19.
CHROMATICS, the formless, DJ FUCKING IN THE STREETS
(Neumo's) Seattle brooders Chromatics churn out mud-brown, dub-informed post-punk that shunts me back to my ill-spent youth (circa the Iran Hostage Crisis). Were they 25 years younger and based in England, Chromatics would be getting contract offers from Rough Trade, opening for the Fall and the Pop Group, and recording Peel Sessions on the regular. As it stands, Chromatics sully the present air just fine with a casual malice and admirable disregard for mainstream acceptance. Their angular, scuffed rumblings offer respite from all the pleasantly jangling careerists angling for comfy record deals around here. DAVE SEGAL
WEDNESDAY 1/19
SON OF ROSE
(Living:Room) See Data Breaker, page 39.
FRENCH KICKS, DIOS, MERCIR
(Neumo's) French Kicks' Trial of the Century is an ass-kicking, guttery collection of songs that shows the band in its finest form to date, playing loose and joyously. The group came out of D.C. with a post-punk sound, moved to New York City, and evolved into what they are now--a mix of garage, power pop, soul, new wave, and rock. The new album has the lush wall of sound production that is associated with Phil Spector and it adds depth and beauty to the songs without dulling their edge or snuffing their aggression. NATE LIPPENS
