THURSDAY 10/6

FEAR BEFORE THE MARCH OF FLAMES, BEAR VS. SHARK, SINCE BY MAN, THE FALL OF TROY
(El Corazón) See preview, page 42.

THE COUP, LIFESAVAS, GUEST
(Neumo's) See Stranger Suggests, page 23.

STEVE LAWLER
(Trinity) See Data Breaker, page 55.

FRIDAY 10/7

THE WILLOWZ, THE OLD HAUNTS, INVISIBLE EYES
(Funhouse) See preview, page 40.

MIGUEL MIGS, LISA SHAW
(Trinity) See Data Breaker, page 55.

REED, THEE MORE SHALLOWS, JAYCOB VAN AUKEN
(Sunset) Grandaddy gets mentioned a lot in reviews of Thee More Shallows' latest, More Deep Cuts, but another apt reference point is Yo La Tengo. Dee Kesler's hushed vocals so closely resemble Ira Kaplan's that you'd swear Cuts was the latter's side project. The instrumentation takes some cues from Kaplan's crew as well, but it doesn't stop there. A recording process that stretched out over years finds Cuts simultaneously intimate and massive in scope. Accented with violin, French horn, singing saw, and a host of backup vocals, the songs are more dynamic and dramatic than their aforementioned peers', and most certainly darker. GRANT BRISSEY

VISQUEEN, MON FRERE, THE LONELY H
(Vera Project) The Lonely H are a quintet of shaggy-haired young men from Port Angeles. They look to be straight from a shampoo commercial circa 1967, and their sound is just as vintage. If they ever break out of the small peninsula town, they're apt to charm the pants off the world with their harmony-heavy classic pop that boasts the geekiness of Weezer, the sweetness of the Beach Boys, and the endearing cockiness of adolescence. MEGAN SELING

SATURDAY 10/8

THA ALKAHOLIKS, DJS MARC SENSE AND SABZI (OF BLUE SCHOLARS), GUESTS
(Chop Suey) See preview, page 39.

JEFF SAMUEL
(Re-bar) See Data Breaker, page 55.

WORMWOOD, PLAYING ENEMY, SLAVE TRAITOR, GRIEVOUS, THE ABODOX, IRON LUNG, GUESTS
(Vera Project) See Stranger Suggests, page 23.

VISQUEEN, THE COPS, TENNIS PRO
(Crocodile) Local preppy pop punks Tennis Pro take a swing at some lofty predecessors on their new disc, Cassie's Junior Varsity Make-Out Squad. Elements of Weezer, the Beach Boys, and Fountains of Wayne ("Taking Your Mom Home Tonight," the least inspired concept of the bunch) get served snotty attitude, sweet keyboard licks, and subtle distortion as the Pro turn out a few ace power-pop tracks in the process. Indie-boy irony also finds a home here and works best when it's more clever than clumsy. "We Put the Punk in the Punctuation" is one of Cassie's more imaginative offerings, with the addition of both a horn section and such droll plays on words as "I'm planting kisses on your sweet ellipses." As the album moves along, Tennis Pro develop an increasing proclivity toward experimentation, unraveling an otherwise straightforward pop structure and pushing Tennis Pro out of the shadows of their obvious pop idols. JENNIFER MAERZ See also preview, page 35.

THE FUCKING CHAMPS, BIG BUSINESS, PARCHMAN FARM
(El Corazón) While some women and men toil through the day-to-day drudgery of plasticware, internet jobs, and condominium apartments, the members of Parchman Farm chug on through to the other side. They conjure up images of hobo derelicts with shirts off and jean shorts on, wrestling in the parking lot over a discarded Wishbone Ash record (not so that they can play it, mind you—just so that they have something to eat off of). Hessian hooligans, if you get my drift. Born to ride. This is muscular, finger-wagging, long-haired freakbeat, whacked out on the crystallized Purple Indo-chine strain that everyone says will make your sac shrink up. Also, the lead singer will actually drink right out of a goddamn cowbell. Good times. JON PRUETT

MURDOCK, SPAZMS, COOTIE PLATOON, THE GROPERS
(Funhouse) There's been a lot of bitchin' lately about there not being enough coverage of all things butt rock in this town. Well, here's your chance for the devil-horned, dirty-minded, Vince Neil–strain of the rawk virus: Murdock. After singer Alex Karchevsky split for a bit (to continue his work as a medic in emergency rooms, if you can believe it), the band is back in all its thrust-your-junk-in-the-air glory. Come hear one of the grittiest rock howls in town—next to the Emergency's leading lady, of course—when these guys blow the roof off the Funhouse. JENNIFER MAERZ

PARALLAX, BARRICADE, DIE YOUNG, WAIT IN VAIN, BETWEEN EARTH & SKY, GREYSKULL, OWEN HART
(Paradox) Tonight's show is a benefit for the family of Blake Donner, the lead singer of Utah hardcore band Parallax. Blake and three friends drowned last August while swimming through a cave's underground waterway in Provo, Utah. This show was booked before the tragedy, and in Blake's memory, Parallax has decided to play on, performing their songs as instrumentals. All proceeds will be going to his family, and a memorial site has been set up at www.counterhq.com. MEGAN SELING

FRIENDS OF DEAN MARTINEZ
(Tractor) This Tucson, Arizona, band featuring members of Giant Sand, Calexico, and Naked Prey has been quietly but effectively operating on the fringes of hipster awareness since 1994. Friends of Dean Martinez make music to melt you into your saddle as you ride into a dazzling sunset or, alternately, to twirl a swizzle stick in a cocktail while you banter with urbane individuals poolside. They're that diverse. FODM's nonchalant eclecticism hits many sweet spots, including exotica, mariachi, orchestral and spaghetti-western film music, jazz standards, or moody, twangy post-rock that leaves Wilco eating their dust. DAVE SEGAL

THE DIRTY THREE, GUESTS
(Neumo's) On their latest release, Cinder, the Dirty Three's signature elements (Warren Ellis's melancholy-soaked violin, Mick Turner's fractal guitar leads, Jim White's sneaky-loud percussion) merge somewhere between freeform improvisation and linear melodic progression. Past efforts have seen the group inject so much intensity into climactic passages that they became almost unbearable, but they have learned where to draw the line between adventurous and abrasive. At times, Cinder feels like a foreboding tropical country album, on which "high lonesome" means stranded on a remote island. Other cuts, tinged with Celtic folk and hiding deep grief in their jubilant flourishes, could score an Irish wake. Only "Great Waves," with its dire lines about "humans running for cover," communicates its content through words, but the other 18 tracks are no less evocative. ANDREW MILLER

SUNDAY 10/9

TRIAL, THE WARRIORS, THE DEAD UNKNOWN, THIS TIME TOMORROW, GUESTS
(Neumo's) See Underage, page 57.

GRATITUDE, BIG CITY ROCK, MECHANICAL DOLLS
(Crocodile) Seeing Jonah Matranga, ex-Far frontman and Onelinedrawing creator, singing in his new rock band, Gratitude, is sorta like watching your dad go through a midlife crisis. So many modern bands will cite Far and even Onelinedrawing as their inspiration for picking up a guitar and spilling their guts. And instead of continuing to inspire, now Matranga is the one searching for acceptance from the very scene he helped create. It's sorta twisted. And sadly, it makes for shallow sounding songs that present absolutely nothing new to the table. MEGAN SELING

MONDAY 10/10

MAKE BELIEVE, BIRD SHOW, IN PRAISE OF FOLLY, JOULES
(Paradox) Considering that Make Believe are a new project starring the fantastically insane Tim Kinsella (Cap'n Jazz, Joan of Arc, Owls), of course MB's sound is a crazy collection of disorderly time signatures, hiccupping vocals, and guitars that bounce around like the soundtrack to a warped video game about drunks. Joining Kinsella are Sam Zurick (also of Owls) and Nate Kinsella (also of Joan of Arc). Bobby Burg rounds out the lineup. Despite how awkward their sound can be, it still manages to capture something quite wonderful. MEGAN SELING See also preview, page 35.

FATAL FLYING GUILLOTEENS, THE VALLEY, WITCH DAD
(Funhouse) I'm still waiting for the follow-up installment of the Oops! tour that crashed into Graceland three years ago. On that momentous night, the Load and Skin Graft labels threw their lineups together to drill the lining from art punks' hearts and minds, leaving a sold-out show writhing for more abusive skronk with soul. The Fatal Flying Guilloteens weren't on that tour, but their nasty nests of crude noise would've fit well on that bill. The Guilloteens are a bit more garage than straight barrage, but the band still spin your head like a top with their pileup of distortion, destruction, and sonic dementia. JENNIFER MAERZ

TUESDAY 10/11

BOB MOULD BAND, SHINY TOY GUN
(Neumo's) See preview, page 36.

OSCILLATE, HALOU, BLOODWIRE
(Baltic Room) See Data Breaker, page 55.

WEDNESDAY 10/12

CHARMING SNAKES, INDIAN JEWELRY, DU HEXEN HASE
(Funhouse) See Stranger Suggests, page 23.

COHEED AND CAMBRIA, THE BLOOD BROTHERS, DREDG, MEWITHOUTYOU
(Showbox) Dredg is the art-rock group for people who don't normally enjoy art rock. They create concept albums about obscure subjects such as sleep paralysis, leading to manifold message-board variations on "I don't know what he's singing, but it sure sounds deep!" The Bay Area–based band pressure-condense their progressive flourishes into spit-shined verse-chorus-verse vehicles. Dredg won't win many converts from the experimental-music-connoisseur crowd, especially because their compelling minimalist score for the terrorism-themed indie film Waterborne isn't available for purchase. But by smuggling unorthodox time signatures and polysyllabic words into ultra-polished packages, they've done their part to make modern-rock radio more intelligent. ANDREW MILLER