ZION I, OPIO, H-BOMB, DJ SABZI
(Chop Suey) See preview, page 39.
CONNECT_ICUT, FROZEN RABBIT
(CHAC Lower Level) Connect_icut--Sam Macklin--takes inordinate care to transform minute sonic fragments into hallucinatory pieces you might hear if you scrambled the Residents and Nurse with Wound's back catalogs in Reaktor--or so it seems to my feverish sensorium. Forgive my glibness; actually, Connect_icut's CD Moss (Dehausset Records) boasts some extremely interesting tonal morphogenesis that recalls Mille Plateaux's heyday and the wonderstruck miniaturism of Neina and Tetsuo Inoue. Frozen Rabbit's 26,000 (Dehausset) recalls the sound of halcyonic early-'90s chill-out rooms often found at raves--except FR (Skinny Puppy/Download/Plateau members Phil Western and Tim Hill) inject much more darkness into the ambient equation than any E'd-up raver could handle. They harsh mellows with ominous arpeggios, motorific drones, Spectrum-like desolation, and eerie Ligeti-esque ghost choirs. Makes me happy, though. DAVE SEGAL
MELT-BANANA, DAS OATH, BOOK OF BLACK EARTH
(Neumo's) Now in their 10th-plus year, Tokyo's Melt-Banana continue spending every second exploding genre constructs and testing intervals of attention. Renowned for pushing thrash tempos into a fusion-like heat that drags a whole history of deconstructed rock into a psychedelic sludge, the band's live show unsettles even the most staid crowd. While the phrase "calculated chaos" is an oxymoron to be sure, it remains an apt description of the band's method of choice. It should also be known that listening to 2000's Teeny Shiny, Melt-Banana's 25 minute LP, while driving late at night has been known to succeed in cases where all other stimulants have failed in keeping the driver alert and bringing passengers safely to their destinations. SCOTT GOODWIN
KORBY LENKER, AMY FARRIS, DEADMAN
(Tractor) 1-in-120: Those were the odds of local troubadour Korby Lenker being selected as a finalist in the songwriting competition at MerleFest 2005, the big-ass roots music hootenanny held in North Carolina a couple weeks ago. Not only did our boy Korby make the cut, he came in second place overall. That's right, number two out of 1,200 applicants. Listening to the originals on his 2003 release, Bellingham, its not hard to hear why; any judicious country buff immune to the tug of conflicted desperation running through the hushed "Papercuts" is probably deaf, heartless, or both. Although he's also been affiliated with bluegrass outfit the Barbed Wire Cutters and the gospel-tinged David Goliath project, Lenker's new solo material--slated for commercial release later this year--finds him favoring increasingly stripped-down, acoustic textures, the better to showcase his fine acoustic guitar picking and easygoing vocals. KURT B. REIGHLEY
FRIDAY 5/13
THE SHINS, THE BRUNETTES
(Bank of America Arena) See Stranger Suggests, page 21.
THE BOOKS, MIA DOI TODD, THE LONG RANGER
(Chop Suey) See Data Breaker, page 51.
FALL OF TROY, CLAYMORE, A KISS FAREWELL, HEAVY HEAVY LOW LOW
(Old Firehouse) See All Ages Action, page 53.
BOOK OF BLACK EARTH, BLĂ–Ă–DHAG, WOLVES IN THE THRONE ROOM, SINDIOS
(Vera Project) See All Ages Action, page 53.
WORMWOOD, THE SPEED OF DARKNESS, CAMBODIA, GODS AMONG MEN, MOUNTAINS OF MIGHT, MODUS
(Manium Warehouse, Olympia) See All Ages Action, page 53.
ZAC HENDRIX, FOSCIL, LINCOLNUP FEATURING MC MELLODHRAMA
(CHAC Lower Level) Insult 2 Injury's decksman Zac Hendrix is Del the Funky Homosapien's DJ and reliable observers say his skills are awesome. Seattle quartet Foscil parlay instrumental finesse into downtempo-funk compositions that call to mind Luke Vibert's wry, deep beat science. DAVE SEGAL
THE EPOXIES, THE SPITS, TELEPHONE, THE SNOT ROCKETTES
(Catwalk) Stop the Future is an apt title for Portland's new-wave art popsters the Epoxies. Their synth-heavy tracks are firmly lodged in the weirder side of the Me Decade, when neon hues tagged more than just the costumes of many chart-topping artists and early L.A. punk acts alike. The band's follow-up to their successful Dirtnap debut pogos across the same territory as its predecessor--ebullient day-glo pop punk given extra buoyancy by frontwoman Roxy Epoxy, whose galactic range could give Gwen Stefani direction in keeping-it-real divadom any day. Over 13 tracks, the Epoxies ride an erratic time capsule back to the days when MTV was a music channel, most successfully on the aptly titled "Wind Me Up" and "Everything Looks Beautiful on Video" which turns the story of a post-breakup blur into a hit that shimmers with disco-ball glitz. JENNIFER MAERZ
JERRY ABSTRACT, DJ RECESS, PAUL EDWARDS
(Nectar) Fremont gets a generous dosage of high-IQ techno from this triumvirate of seasoned club DJs. Recess heads electro/dance-punk crew Shameless with irreverent authority while Edwards has been integral to two of Seattle's best (and sadly defunct) electronic-music nights: Oscillate and Krakt. Jerry Abstract is now releasing burly, dirty techno for Germany's Shitkatapult label and gearing up for an appearance at Detroit's Fuse-In festival (whose fate remains uncertain at press time). Abstract's affinity for pummeling yet intelligently designed techno ensures you'll leave Nectar happily bruised and spent. DAVE SEGAL
THE FALL-OUTS, THE JAILBIRDS, THE SHACKLES
(Fun House) With just two people, the Shackles shake the dust off (and dump the dirt into) gutbucket punk blooze, weirding out celebratory moments with a touch of touched-in-the-head morbidity ("It's your birthday and you're gonna die.") They're one of the best undersung garage-rock acts in Seattle and if you're in the mood for an attitude-ridden, low-end-driven racket, the Shackles help you drop that workweek ball and chain. JENNIFER MAERZ
ZEKE, MURDOCK, THE GOLDEN GODS, CHINESE FINGERCUFFS
(Neumo's) Not content to let the hard-rock legacies of bands like Boston rest in bargain-bin truckstop cassettes, San Francisco's the Golden Gods consummate the marriage of boogie and arena rock in an over-the-top stage show that involves much boas and beards. So they're in good company with both the Chinese Fingercuffs and Murdock, who extinguish the understated like a cigarette butt, giving cock rock a big, sloppy blowjob. JENNIFER MAERZ SATURDAY 5/14
THE PONYS, THE GRIS GRIS, the CHARMING SNAKES, PLASTIC CRIMEWAVE SOUND
(Neumo's) See preview, page 29.
HAMMERS OF MISFORTUNE, WOLVES IN THE THRONE ROOM, BLĂ–Ă–DHAG, FACT OR FICTION, SILENTIST, DOOMSDAY 1999
(Manium Warehouse, Olympia) It's been a while since we've heard new recorded material from Hammers of Misfortune--last year's The August Engine was actually recorded several years ago--but rest assured they are workshopping new material for their upcoming album. Guitarists John Cobbett and Mike Scalzi have also been busy with their other bands--Alternative Tentacles' Ludicra and fantasy metalists Slough Feg, respectively--so it's not as if they've been slacking off. The Hammers' finely wrought metal compositions follow in the tradition of great works such as Queen II, Thin Lizzy's Jailbreak, and the first couple of Mercyful Fate albums. Expect heroic guitar work, complex song structures, and a sense of dynamics that's missing in your average one-trick metal band these days. WILLIAM YORK See also All Ages Action, page 53.
DAMIEN JURADO, HENRY HANKS, SAIL ON SAILOR
(Crocodile) Why veteran local Damien Jurado isn't as huge as Elliott Smith by now is a complete puzzlement. Over the course of the last decade, he's gone from a promising, yelping youngster (admit it, his warts-and-all vocals on his 1997 Sub Pop debut, Waters Ave S. , were sometimes squirm-inducing) to an incredibly moving songwriter and persuasive performer. Maybe hipsters are discouraged by the fact he's a church-going family guy, instead of fitting the clichéd "troubled artist" model? The fault certainly doesn't lie in his music, nor does he eschew dark topics like drugs, doubt, and despair, as his latest album, On My Way to Absence, reiterates. From the desolate opener, "White Center," to the bitter yet bouncy "Simple Hello" and the triumphant "I Am the Mountain," Jurado and his guests (including Rosie Thomas and Crooked Fingers' Eric Bachman) serve up his less-is-more lyrics, distinctive characters, and catchy melodies with seductive precision. KURT B. REIGHLEY
A-FRAMES, IFIHADAHIFI, INFOMATIK
(Fun House) For all the artful calculations and scientific masterplans woven into A-Frames' controlled, post-punk experimentations, billmates IfIHadAHiFi (do I have to type that out every time?) seem to explode upon contact in every song. Their manic 2004 release, No More Music, is made of gunpowder, as the Wisconsin act set it aflame, making good on threats to "steal your potential energy" by jamming angular punk riffs, stray math-rock melodies, junkyard electronics, chunks of barbed-wire noise, and anxious, agitated vocals into a crossfire of battle-ready beats. The intensity of Les Savy Fav, the harbingers-of-the-apocalypse aggression of the Wives, and a strong affinity for palindromes and shoplifting girls give IfIHadAHiFi the strength to leave puncture wounds every time. Highly recommended show. JENNIFER MAERZ
SUNDAY 5/15
BOOK OF BLACK EARTH, KING COBRA, SKARP, JONNYX AND THE GROADIES, UNDER MOUNTAINS
(Manium Warehouse, Olympia) See All Ages Action, page 53.
CLIMAX GOLDEN TWINS, SIX ORGANS OF ADMITTANCE, SIR RICHARD BISHOP
(Sunset) Whenever these artists gather, you can be assured of deep immersion in the outer limits of folk and home-brewed psychedelia. Making unpredictability their S.O.P., Climax Golden Twins traffic in Smithsonian folky-blues (ir)reverence, wry field recordings, sublime dronesmithery, and the occasional death-noise spurt. Sir Richard Bishop earned his honorific with guitar playing that combines facility with feeling better than most extant plectrum-wielders. The Sun City Girls mesmerizer waxes mystical with soul-lifting ragas, free-folk rambles, and Middle Eastern-inflected fantasias that make John Fahey's passing much easier to bear. If you haven't already, check out Bishop's essential solo discs Salvador Kali (Revenant) and Improvika (Locust). DAVE SEGAL See also preview, page 35.
IVY, ROBBERS ON HIGH STREET, ASTAIRE
(Crocodile) Ivy are one of those bands who've made consistently solid, enjoyable records since becoming critical darlings in the early '90s, but who have yet to achieve the broader success they deserve because they haven't made, y'know, a really GREAT, mind-blowing full-length yet. You probably have at least one or two Ivy records on your shelf. They're probably spun about as sparsely and with about as much reverence as your Ash or James records, which you also wish you liked more. But that's not such a bad thing, especially since Ivy are now armed with a poppier, more cultured full-length and a new label (Nettwerk). On their latest, In the Clear, chanteuse Dominique Durand kicks it up a notch in the sultry-sophisticate department (different than the junior-miss department), and it's to the band's benefit. Ivy are better-poised to expose themselves to a bunch of new, super-psyched fans than they've been in years. JOAN HILLER
MONDAY 5/16
circle of fire
(War Room) See Stranger Suggests, page 21.
LENNY KRAVITZ
(Paramount) That Prince 'do Lenny sports on his new record, Baptism, isn't doing anyone any favors. JENNIFER MAERZ
TUESDAY 5/17
PREFUSE 73, BATTLES, BEANS, SUSPENCE
(Chop Suey) See Stranger Suggests, page 21.
MILLENCOLIN, BOYS NIGHT OUT, A THORN FOR EVERY HEART, ROSES ARE RED
(El Corazòn) It's funny to be writing about Millencolin in 2005. The last time I thought about this Swedish pop-punk outfit was back in 1997, when I would drive to high school in my Op Ivy-stickered '92 Ford Tempo, blasting their then-latest release, For Monkeys. That was back when I would only listen to Fat Wreck Chords and Epitaph pop-punk bands. Back when Warped Tour was less about eye make-up and more about skateboarding. And funnily enough, after all these years, Millencolin are still doing the same exact thing they were back then. They've grown up, their fans have too, but whether or not anyone cares, they're still churning out goofy pop punk. There will always be high-school kids with Op Ivy stickers looking for something to jump around to, after all, and Millencolin seem to exist just for them. MEGAN SELING
WEDNESDAY 5/18
SHARON JONES AND THE DAP-KINGS, PISTOL STAR, DJ GREG VANDY
(Chop Suey) See preview, page 29.
EARLIMART, OKKERVIL RIVER, RICHARD SWIFT
(Crocodile) See preview, page 37 and Stranger Suggests, page 21.
AUTECHRE, SND, ROB HALL
(Neumo's) See preview, page 33 and Data Breaker, page 51.
