THURSDAY 8/25

VELELLA VELELLA (CD RELEASE), THE LONG RANGER, SIBERIAN
(High Dive) See Live Wire, page 46.

VOYAGER ONE CD RELEASE, THE VELLS, THE PURRS
(Neumo's) See Live Wire, page 46.

BATTS OF BELLFRY
(War Room) See Stranger Suggests, page 27.

ELEPHANT MAN, ABIJAH, ZION'S GATE SOUNDSYSTEM W/ DJ ELEMENT
(Chop Suey) Jamaican dancehall deejay (rapper) Elephant Man is all about energy. He has way too much of it, both in his music and in his live shows. When he's on the stage, it's as if the oppression of being black and poor is exploding in your face. He also sports bright blond hair, which, because of his dark skin, seems to be the flames of a red-hot brain. I have no idea how one man can be so loud, so charged, so dangerous. Dancehall does wonderful damage to your senses. CHARLES MUDEDE

SIR RICHARD BISHOP, BLACK SWANS, B**F, THE ANTAGONISTS
(Rendezvous) Sun City Girls mainstay Sir Richard Bishop plays guitar with the diverse stylistic mastery of a fortysomething world traveler who practices every day and is blessed with outrageous dexterity—because that's exactly what he is. Live and on disc, his music fluidly spans folk, raga, flamenco, gypsy jazz, the celestial improv of John Fahey and Robbie Basho, and a surprising stash of mellow-gold AM radio hits. Bishop just returned from a tour with Devendra Banhart and Will Oldham, and had a summit meeting with psych-folk icon Donovan, who reportedly really dug Bishop's style, man. DAVE SEGAL

TEA FOR JULIE, DERBY, VILLAGE GREEN
(Crocodile) The Village Green allegedly hail from Portland, but their savvy, hook-laden guitar rock sure sounds like a UK export (although the singing lacks affected, Madonna-esque British accents, thank God). With its lush vocal harmonies, their rollicking "Under the Covers" swaggers like the bastard offspring of Steve Harley's laidback glam classic "Make Me Smile (Come Up and See Me)" crossed with "Coffee and TV" by Blur, while the hazy vapor trails of the trippy "Get Up, Get Out, Get High" spark a smoldering desire to fire up the hookah and make sweet, sweet love on some velvet throw pillows. KURT B. REIGHLEY

THE DEAD SCIENCE, CASIOTONE FOR THE PAINFULLY ALONE, HOME RECORDING PROJECT
(Gallery 1412) Chicago's Home Recording Project is the work of Nathan Cowing, who creates organic compositions from a piano (dragged in from a back alley), a harmonium, strings, guitars, a cello, and vintage amps. He creates what he calls a mix between "Woodie Guthrie and Joy Division." I'd call it music for a country wake where a family's been wiped out by famine and the lone survivor lives to sing the bleak story, the weight of his loss dampening the tone of every bittersweet song. JENNIFER MAERZ

SUSAN TEDESCHI, BLIND BOYS OF ALABAMA
(South Lake Union Park) The gospel group Blind Boys of Alabama have been around forever, but in the last half dozen years they've harnessed new energy. Their most recent couple of albums dip into an increasingly wider, secular songbook that includes Tom Waits and Joe Henry. Of course, it doesn't matter what they apply their harmonies to; everything sounds soaring, sorrowful, and divine when they're through with it. While the Boys' recent albums are fantastic, nothing beats the power of their live performances. Even atheists say hallelujah at their shows. NATE LIPPENS

FRIDAY 8/26

ROTTEN APPLES, CRIMSON SWEET, FLIP TOPS
(Funhouse) Real estate zombies might be gobbling up Manhattan's brain, but as long as scruffs like Crimson Sweet prowl the Bowery, some grime will remain un-spit-shined. This trio has been kicking cans down the gutter for about five years now. Their latest, Eat the Night (Shake It), is really more about drinking, cheap glam riffs, and singer Polly Watson's rummy ruminations. While her Lower East Side may be swelling with squares whose idea of eating the night include dainty amounts of mango chutney, Watson and Co. still know where to find the best alleys to pee in. ERIC DAVIDSON

SMOG, THE HEAVENLY STATES, J. TILLMAN
(Neumo's) Smog's Bill Callahan is the Gen X Leonard Cohen—a droll, literate troubadour of exquisite moroseness who sings in a hangdog croon of pitiful range, yet who stirs up powerful feelings in listeners. Gone are the days of Julius Caesar's cracked experimentation. Now Callahan strips his music down to the marrow, exposing thoughts like an autopsy specialist. His new album of minimalist, lo-fi balladry, A River Ain't Too Much to Love, sounds like the best celery tastes. Back in 1997, Callahan sang, "Most of my fantasies are of/Making someone else come," making it sound as sexy as ingesting saltpeter. Genius. DAVE SEGAL

LAYNE STALEY TRIBUTE AND BENEFIT FOR HEROIN RECOVERY: OUT FROM UNDERNEATH, BUZZ FACTOR, REVOLVE, FEAR ITSELF, GUESTS
(Showbox) On what would've been his 38th birthday, Layne Staley's friends and fans come together to celebrate the life of the former Alice in Chains frontman who died of an overdose in 2002. Last year's tribute drew supporters from all over the world, and tonight's lineup boasts bands from across the country (as well as Seattle's Out from Underneath). Proceeds from this show will benefit the Layne Staley Fund for heroin recovery at Therapeutic Health Services. JENNIFER MAERZ

HAMMERFALL, EDGUY, INTO ETERNITY, KILLING ROOTS, TEMPERED CAST
(Studio Seven) Medieval imagery and metal go together like dungeons and dragons, and HammerFall ranks among the genre's most devoted olde-school acts. Not only do they sing with operatic bravado about heroic quests, but they also perform in suits of armor. Their fans embrace their warrior-of-valor conceit because they see HammerFall as classic metal's defenders against unwanted innovations (yawning-lion vocals, hiphop and hardcore influences, amelodic grind). Chapter V: Unbent, Unbowed, Unbroken, their recent release, overflows with dual-guitar harmonies and confident choruses, including one that dubs HammerFall's members "Knights of the 21st Century." On every roundtable stage, they hold court in full regalia. ANDREW MILLER

SATURDAY 8/27

SCOUT NIBLETT, SHELLAC
(Vera Project) See preview, page 35.

FRUIT BATS (CD RELEASE), DOLOUR, LILLYDALE, GHOST STORIES
(Chop Suey) See preview page 35.

SLENDER MEANS (CD RELEASE), CRYSTAL SKULLS
(Crocodile) See Live Wire, page 46.

KIND OF LIKE SPITTING, MATTHEW SHAW, ARGO, AUTUMN POETRY
(Paradox) See Underage, page 57.

I SUNK YOUR BATTLESHIP BOOZE CRUISE: THE SATURDAY KNIGHTS, STABMASTERARSON, DJ FUCKING IN THE STREETS, DJ CURTIS
(Pier 55) See CD reviews, page 44, and Stranger Suggests, page 27.

THE BLOW UP, MEXICAN BLACKBIRDS, THE GROPERS, 4 EASY PIECES, JOE SILVERKING, THE KAVE-INS, GUESTS
(Funhouse) Empty Records' "Stream-of-consciousness soul" punk provocateurs the Blow Up come out of retirement tonight to lay down the loud load while the Mexican Blackbirds give garage rock a bruising. This is a celebration for Funhouse booker and all-around great guy Brian Foss's wedding, and the more of you packin' the place the sooner he takes his fine lady on a honeymoon that's not a motel on Aurora. JENNIFER MAERZ

LARRY CORYELL TRIO
(Triple Door) Damn, this legendary ax-slinger tours a lot for an oldster. This is like his third time through Seattle this year. Why so peripatetic? Did this pioneering jazz-rock guitarist make some poor decisions in his youth that cost him bank? Or maybe he lives here now? Anyhoo, Coryell has a solid catalog from which to flaunt his magisterial chops and phenomenal stylistic range. Dude is also up there with Hendrix, Sharrock, and McLaughlin among the most scorching shredders ever to plug in. The Shellac show is sold out, so get your squalling, squealing guitar fix here. DAVE SEGAL

SUNDAY 8/28

BRIAN WILSON
(Paramount) See preview, page 38.

NEKO CASE
(Woodland Park Zoo Amphitheater) The big-voiced alt-country chanteuse returns to Seattle for this outdoor gig. Her last album The Tigers Have Spoken was an exquisitely realized live document of her shows. Her last swing through town backed by the Sadies cemented the deal. Case played a tight—if too brief—set that drew on Tigers. She's now recording material for a new album, which will feature a couple of studio versions of songs from the live album, demonstrating her ever-increasing strength as a songwriter as well as a belter. NATE LIPPENS See also Border Radio, page 49.

2ND ANNUAL ORBIT AUDIO BBQ: ALIEN CRIME SYNDICATE, TOP HEAVY CRUSH, THE OSWALD EFFECT, THE LONELY H, ALERT NEW LONDON, THE REPUBLIC, SPEAKER SPEAKER, GUESTS
(El Corazón) As a way to show appreciation for their band's fans, local recording studio Orbit Audio started throwing annual all-afternoon, all-ages barbecues. The first installment last year featured the Schoolyard Heroes, then merely an up-and-coming act, who blew the roof off the joint. This year's lineup boasts more of the same soon-to-be-favorites with the Lonely H, the Oswald Effect, and Speaker Speaker. Alien Crime Syndicate close out the evening with what's sure to be a fantastic power-pop performance. Get there early—doors open at 3:30 p.m. MEGAN SELING

PARTICLE
(Crocodile) L.A. quartet Particle create music that exists at that seldom-heard juncture where jam-band pyrotechnics (or "wankery," as learned musicologists call it), human-powered techno, space rock, and porn-flick funk intersect. You may find yourself irresistibly prompted to move your junk to Particle, but you probably won't be able to look yourself in the mirror the next morning. Regardless, Particle sound best—if their 2004 debut disc Launchpad is indicative—when they lock into serpentine, psychedelic-improv mode (but then who doesn't?). Don't be surprised if the Croc starts to feel like an indoor mini-Bonnaroo fest come 1:00 a.m. DAVE SEGAL

MONDAY 8/29

It hurts my brain just thinking about it.

TUESDAY 8/30

IN RESONANCE: AN EVENING OF SOUND AND PERFORMANCES FEATURING STEVE RODEN, EYVIND KANG, JIM HAYNES, MARINA ROSENFELD
(On the Boards) Some of the biggest names in "lower-case" music (if that's not too much of a paradox) gather tonight for a sound-installation summit. Steve Roden, Eyvind Kang, Marina Rosenfeld, and Jim Haynes are among the most refined artists working in that nebulous zone in which barely audible sounds generated from unlikely objects and techniques are the (dis)order of the day. All of these masters of molecular sonic mutation will be accompanied by visuals as rarefied and scintillating as the audio around them. It's safe to say this will be a unique night of entertainment. DAVE SEGAL

WEDNESDAY 8/31

THE JUAN MACLEAN, THE LONG RANGER, DAYLIGHT BASEMENT
(Chop Suey) See preview, page 37.

HELLA, BLUES GOBLIN, SEAN
(Neumo's) Sacramento chaos-conjurers Hella (cyclotronic drummer Zach Hill and laser-beam-intense guitarist Spencer Seim) pulled an OutKast with Church Gone Wild/Chirpin Hard (Suicide Squeeze), on which they separately indulged their wildest whims. Selling several million fewer copies than did André 3000 and Big Boi, Hella nevertheless strengthened their status as some of underground rock's most technically skilled and searingly visceral players. I dig Mars Volta, but Hella make those worthies sound positively bloated and emasculated. What I'd really like to see is a bill with Lightning Bolt and Hella—just to watch the moshpit spontaneously combust. DAVE SEGAL

KORBY LENKER, GUESTS
(Triple Door) Some may be familiar with Korby Lenker from his bluegrass band the Barbed Wire Cutters, who play like men possessed. But on his solo records Lenker is a powerhouse of classic country music. He was a Northwest secret for a while, but people everywhere have caught on in the last year, leading to invites to Merlefest and tour dates all over the place. This show is a perfect matchup, as the superior sound and plush environs of the Triple Door are the optimum environment to experience Lenker and his band. NATE LIPPENS