REGINA SPEKTOR
(Crocodile) See preview, page 39.
ASVA, POINT LINE PLANE, ZOMBI, THE BUILDING PRESS
(El Corazòn) See preview, page 37.
QUEENS OF THE STONE AGE, THROW RAG
(Premier) See preview, page 37.
ATMOSPHERE, P.O.S., GRAYSKUL
(Neumo's) Rappers Onry Ozzborn and JFK and bass player Rob Castro are Grayskul, a local hiphop group signed to the nationally recognized label Rhymesayers. Their debut, Deadlivers, is without a doubt one of the best works of hiphop to come out of the Pacific Northwest. All 17 tracks on Deadlivers were made with a great deal of work, as the gothic imagery of the lyrics is matched by the dark beauty of the beats, most of which were produced by Mr. Hill--a man this city should keep its eyes on. CHARLES MUDEDE
DAVID THOMAS, DAVID GRUBBS, DJ DANIEL
(Sunset) As Soft Pink Truth, SF artist Drew Daniel has issued two faboo albums of bristling, edgy electro-pop, one incorporating hints of hiphop, the other a homage to underground punk. He's also one-half of eclectic duo Matmos, who've done everything from backing Björk to recording trapped rats. So what the hell does the go-go-turned-grad-student plan on spinning when he DJs between performances from the former frontmen for Pere Ubu and Gastr del Sol, respectively? We can anticipate "soul and psyche weirdness for Mr. Thomas," and "Kentucky punk rock and twang for Grubbs." But take heart, SPT fans--after the live sets, Daniel will also drop some bumpin' electro, acid handclaps, and twisted a cappellas. Oh, and the Puppies: "It's Miami booty bass made by and for children," he says. "I always play the Puppies." KURT B. REIGHLEY
FRIDAY 4/15
UNITED STATE OF ELECTRONICA, DOLOUR, FRIENDS FOR HEROES
(Vera Project) See preview, page 22.
BLACK NITE CRASH, THE FEMURS, JIMMY FLAME & THE SEXXY BOYS, EDIE SEDGEWICK
(Nectar) See Stranger Suggests, page 25.
CHERRY
(War Room) See Stranger Suggests, page 25.
GATSBY'S AMERICAN DREAM, THIS PROVIDENCE, THE DIVORCE, THE LASHES
(El Corazòn, early) Gatsby's American Dream always seem to bite off a bit more than they can chew. 2003's Ribbons and Sugar, was hailed as a concept record loosely based on George Orwell's Animal Farm, though it was less concept and more awkward pop. Gatsby's latest, Volcano, supports the idea that Gatsby's are onto something that could be fantastic, if only they were strong enough to grab hold of the reins and bring it more under their control. Instead, the unconventionally composed rock runs away from them, bouncing between catchy hooks and confusing breakdowns. Each song sounds as though it's been pieced together from fragments of three or four others, and while so many twists can make some musical more interesting, more often than not distractions like nasally vocals crash their experimental course. MEGAN SELING
THE TURN-ONS, ARMY NAVY, THE REPUBLIC
(Crocodile) Army Navy bring to mind early '90s acts like Teenage Fanclub and the Swirlies--power pop reflected through a kaleidoscope of cashmere-soft fuzz, buoyant hooks floating helium high, and confectionary keyboard melodies. The L.A.-based band's eponymous EP carries with it a twee earnestness that floats like a butterfly and stings like a first kiss. Former NW resident/Pinwheel co-frontman Justin Kennedy has moved on from his days sharing vocal duties with Ben Gibbard in that band, and the Los Angles sunshine warms the dreamy days traversed on Army Navy's record. JENNIFER MAERZ
STRAYLIGHT RUN, MINUS THE BEAR, GRATITUDE, THE HONARARY TITLE, SPITALFIELD
(El Corazòn, late) Former Far frontman Jonah Matranga killed his solo project, Onelinedrawing, last year. But he continues to make music. His newest project, Gratitude, is a full-blown rock band with real live members (as opposed to tweaked out R2D2 toys). Grattitude are a little bit typical in sound, with the same epic choruses and sensitive guitar riffs, but Matranga's familiar warm and strong voice rings over it all, reaching moments of rock 'n' roll angst that went unheard during his solo years. But the highlight of this bill is local outfit Minus the Bear. Dave Knudson's stunning guitar work stands out in the cool indie rock that sparkles with layers of electronic additives. MEGAN SELING
THE BLACK LIPS, TRACTOR SEX FATALITY
(Funhouse) Hailing from Atlanta, a typical Black Lips show can include a variety of elements. Guitar solos played with a penis, firecrackers, onstage vomiting, or the coup de grace… lead singer Cole urinating into his own mouth and then spitting it into the crowd. While they easily distract the faint of heart, the Black Lips are without question one of the premier garage bands in America today. Drawing inspiration solely from the exquisite Back from the Grave compilations of the mid-'60s (non-hits by no-counts), theirs is a dirty, sloppy, fun-filled mess. Currently on the West Coast to record an album for In the Red Records, this show will either be loved or feared. (Note: This is an early show--4:00 p.m.) BEN BLACKWELL
THE ALBUM LEAF, ASPECTS OF PHYSICS, MANUOK, PLASTIQ PHANTOM
(Neumo's) The Album Leaf (Jimmy LaValle and a rotating cast) had the distinction of releasing 2004's most soporific album, In a Safe Place. On that disc, the band combined the most yawnsome qualities of indie rock with the dullest sort of electronic music--and mystifyingly earned good reviews. Album Leaf and Múm should tour together and get Sominex to sponsor it. San Diego's Aspects of Physics like to swaddle their beautifully languid microsound pop (what they call Marginalized Information Forms) in liner notes lousy with technical jargon, as if they're reporting to MIT electronics profs. It's a funny shtick--although they may be serious. Speaking of shticks, Seattle electro-prankster Plastiq Phantom has a few that he'd like to smack against your funny bone. DAVE SEGAL
SATURDAY 4/16
SILKWORM, THE NEW YEAR, TREASURE STATE
(Crocodile) Bedhead used to be the apotheosis of what I refer to as "snoozecore" (more forgiving critics call it "slowcore," the dazzling sound of indie rock's arteries hardening). Following Bedhead's split in 1998, brothers Matt and Bubba Kadane formed the New Year and found ever more insidious ways to bore people into submission. Their latest album, The End Is Near (one can hope), makes me feel 90 years old. Silkworm display more dynamics than do the New Year--trouble is, they're Neil Young's dynamics, and he wants 'em back, brain aneurysm be damned. To counter my glib dismissal, check Sean Nelson's eloquent Silkworm encomium in The Stranger's archives. While Silkworm's latest, It'll Be Cool, may be their best, I think you'd be better off playing Decade at home. DAVE SEGAL
OSLO, REED
(Catwalk) Interpol wore Joy Division like an albatross on their debut, but Los Angeles trio Oslo have a much bigger bird to bear--in places they sound like faded copier productions of Coldplay. Frontman Mattia Borrani occasionally drops into the lower Interpol octaves, but mostly his voice crests like only the lovelorn (and Chris Martin) can into brooding, billowing rock that unfolds with dagger-through-the-heart drama. With the theatrics cranked this high, though, the music is anything but static, especially when the scene is set with such rich instrumental tapestry pulled from the storehouses of shoegazing rock and Brit pop. By the end of their recently released debut, the band becomes such a broad pastiche of past acts they obscure the fact that they draw from any one source, focusing more on keeping the mood sullen and even sorta sexy. JENNIFER MAERZ
COPELAND, ACCEPTANCE, LOVEDRUG, EAGER SEAS
(El Corazòn) Though I can't defend their name, Lovedrug is a really good band that deserves to escape the emo ghetto they're bound to be caught up in. They might look the part, and putting out records on the Militia Group won't help, but these Ohio youngsters make strong, urgent, and (least eem of all) melodic "rock 'n' roll"--which happens to be the name of their best song. Also on the bill is local Christian hard-rock outfit Acceptance, whose major-label debut has been cooking for a long time, and is now coming out on Columbia Records. It sounds expensive. SEAN NELSON
FEDERATION X, DMBQ, FIREBALLS OF FREEDOM
(Funhouse) Who knows what saki salesman convinced usually art-averse Estrus Records to recently sign these Japanese freakoids. DMBQ's batty boogie rock recalls lost Amphetamine Reptile loons Lollipop or recent Estrus reaches like Fatal Flying Guillotines. Graft on the nasal-clearing yalping and knuckle-dragging tempos and this is a stretch even considering Estrus' recent attempts to get all '70s wank. DMBQ have a wild style, but are neither experimental enough for the noise-rock crowd, nor gargantuan enough for the metalheads--though close to both, even if close only counts in horseshoes and hand grenades. And it's preferable to see Estrus lob iffy hand grenades than beat the garage horse. ERIC DAVIDSON
MIX MASTER MIKE, ELECTRIC SIX, VHS OR BETA
(Neumo's) While visiting Linz, Austria (Hitler's home town) five years ago, I got the opportunity to watch Mix Master Mike cut up records in a large dead factory. Three wide screens behind the stage captured digitally projected images of Mix Master Mike's hands, which were long like a piano player and moved with the steady swiftness of a jazz drummer. Former member of Invisibl Skratch Piklz, and present DJ for the Beastie Boys, Mix Master Mike delivered an impeccable set that night, and ever since I've realized the only way to properly enjoy a hiphop DJ is to watch him or her live. Rappers are great on record, but for DJs the opposite is true: Their actual bodies, hands, records must be seen if one is to feel the full impact of their art. CHARLES MUDEDE
THEE SHAMS, THE COPS, THE EARACHES, THE DIRTY BIRDS
(Sunset) The tits on the cover may attract some attention, but Fat Possum artists Thee Shams need more than naked ladies to peddle their well-worn wares. Their moonshine-splashed Southern rock swaggers with the assuredness booze'll bring ya, but between laying the ladies and begging for some sympathy, there's little more than harmonica- and harmony-stacked bar-room rock happening here--even with the emotional blues cruiser, "Come Down Again." On certain Saturday nights, though, this kind of CCR-ordered, straight-up rock 'n' roll delivery can fit the bill better than a shot and a beer. Seattle boys the Cops wrote the clever "Don't Take It Personal Dave", one of the catchiest local rock songs around. JENNIFER MAERZ
TOOTS AND THE MAYTALS, WISDOM, DJ KID HOPS
The terms "reggae" and "ska" conjure up images of frat boys in Bob Marley T-shirts and the god-awful O.C. pap served up by No Doubt. It's a shame, since some of the finest music ever created came out of Jamaican sound systems in the 1960's, which is where Toots and the Maytals began their illustrious career. They've worked with legends: Prince Buster, the Clash, and Keith Richards, to name a few. The band's history includes one of the greatest gangster films ever made (The Harder They Come) and they still hold a Guinness World Record for releasing an album less than 24 hours after it was recorded. Ditch the misconceptions about the genre and go see this legendary band. Mod attire encouraged but not required. KERRI HARROP
SUNDAY 4/17
THE WEDDING PRESENT, CRYSTAL SKULLS
(Neumo's) Blocked Numbers--the debut record by Crystal Skulls, a new Seattle band formed by former members of Pedro the Lion, Scientific, and other groups--is satisfying on several levels. The main one is Christian Wargo's rich, clear, and distinct singing. The music is gentle and conversational, with off-hand melodies and arrangements that flirt with elements of Caucasoid funk, retro pop, and soft rock. The lyrics are good and crafty like pop oughtta be. Wargo's songs are smart, and the band is sharp; the guitar playing in particular is nimble and communicative, in a style vaguely reminiscent of the Strokes, minus the problematic trappings. A fine debut from a promising local band. SEAN NELSON See also preview, page 41.
LONGVIEW, MONO IN VCF, LOVE HOTEL
(Vera Project) There are so many warning signs around Manchester's Longview--the furrowed-brow seriousness, the unearned emotion and tossed-away production strings, the blank Peter Saville imitation artwork, a shriveled-indie p.o.v. of pop music that lost its use after everybody took Coldplay seriously--that I haven't been convinced. But if Longview can bring the slight uplift of their debut out into the open, and we respond, and give them the Kasabian record, they might learn something to teach back to us. GUY FAWKES
MONDAY 4/18
DOGS DIE IN HOT CARS, PHOENIX, JOY ZIPPER
(Crocodile) The boy-girl duo of Joy Zipper's Vincent Cafiso and Tabitha Tindale are already a victim of the UK's notoriously frothy hype machine. Working in their long-term favor, though, is their obvious compatibility as songwriting partners--Cafiso handles the guitar and bass while he and Tindale trade sun-dappled keyboard lines and harmonize seamlessly, reveling in how the sheer prettiness of the melodies obscures the dark, druggie subject matter underneath. Touching on everything from the joy of blowing one's mind out on psilocybin to the horrors of waking up afflicted with Alzheimer's, the pair's taste for mixing sweet with bitter gets a natural leg up with production input from former My Bloody Valentine leader Kevin Shields and mischievous cut-and-paste master John Holmes, two influences that help give Joy Zipper's languid, Southern California sound a sense of timelessness while remaining artfully advanced. HANNAH LEVIN
TUESDAY 4/19
LUKE TEMPLE, AARON SPRINKLE, JEN WOOD, ALAN ASTOR
(Chop Suey) See Border Radio, page 37.
Q AND NOT U, MANHUNTER, FOOD FOR ANIMALS
(Neumo's) See Stranger Suggests, page 25.
THE MINSTREL IN THE GALLERIES, THE DEATH RYDER BAND
(Sunset) See Border Radio, page 37.
KREATOR, VADER, PRO-PAIN, THE AUTUMN OFFERING, THE BRAINDEAD
(Studio 7) With a combined four decades of metal madness to their credit, Kreator and Vader test the human body's thrash threshold. On Enemy of God, Kreator's 2005 release, the melodies lure listeners to brutally savage segments like fuses leading to detonations. Kreator combine violent velocity with precise instrumentation; seeing it live is like watching someone assemble a model car while steering a real-life racer around a track at top speed. Poland's Vader pay tribute to old-school headbangers, musically mirroring Slayer as closely as its 2003 title Blood/Reign Forever World resembles that band's Reign in Blood. However, with their bludgeoning blast beats and a singer who sounds like a blood-gargling vampire, Vader brings fresh fury to the formula. ANDREW MILLER
WEDNESDAY 4/20
GURU OF GANGSTARR, BYRDIE, CANCER RISING
(Chop Suey) See Stranger Suggests, page 25.
