THURSDAY 5/4

FLUNK, MERCIR
(Chop Suey) Do you remember the band Frente!, who worried the charts briefly back in 1994 with their too-precious cover of "Bizarre Love Triangle"? Probably not. Norwegian folktronic quartet Flunk are Frente! for people who find triphop too edgy, right down to their anemic version of "Blue Monday." Good luck selling back their CDs in a couple years. The compelling band on this bill are local quartet Mercir, who continue refining their mesmerizing blend of theatrical vocals and lively electronic programming on their new six-track EP, Windchimes & Landmines; the soaring, slow-mo number "Nova Scotia" offers a particularly fine example of how to sculpt ambient textures to boost the impact of a quiet vocal—without boring the pants off the listener or dipping into New Order's back catalog. KURT B. REIGHLEY

THE BLAKES, STABMASTER ARSON, THE YOUNG SPORTSMEN, TRIP THE LIGHT
(Crocodile) Bottle up the sunshine and stir it around with some ice, a splash of sweet sugar syrup, and a little bit of mint, and you've got the... wait, fuck that shit. I hate it when rock writers turn music into bullshit recipes, too. Check out the Young Sportsmen if you like your pop to be extra catchy, tons of fun, and a bit more innovative than every other ho-hum and blah pop act out there. They're still warm and familiar, like pop peers the New Pornographers, and if you really wanted to, you could probably get away with comparing them to some sort of sunshine cocktail. MEGAN SELING See also Rocka Rolla, page 47.

BLOOD ON THE WALL, PSYCHIC ILLS, COCONUT COOLOUTS
(Funhouse) Former Stranger music editor Jennifer Maerz passionately recommended that I check out Blood on the Wall shortly before she left us—and after digesting their 2005 release, Awesomer, I completely understand why. Maerz knew my taste well enough to know that metal-minded, sludgy-yet-melodic fusions instantly prick my ears, an approach that this brother-sister-fronted band take to elegant excess. Bassist/vocalist Courtney Shanks's low, dry delivery comes off like a prettier version of Kim Gordon's monotone growl, while her brother Brad scales a higher range, screaming with all the vigor and charisma of similar singers like Caustic Resin's Brett Netson or Slanted and Enchanted–era Stephen Malkmus. HANNAH LEVIN See also preview, page 34.

FRIDAY 5/5

DESTROYER, HUDSON BELL, NORFOLK & WESTERN
(Crocodile) Portland's Norfolk & Western are equally adept at solemn, elegant chamber pop and gleeful, sepia-toned indie rock, using old-fashioned instruments like glockenspiel, banjo, pedal steel, and viola alongside distorted electric guitar like it was the most natural thing in the world. Core duo Adam Selzer and Rachel Blumberg have toured the world as M. Ward's backing band and Ms. Blumberg used to play in a little band called the Decemberists; but it's the downright charming and genuinely affecting music they craft as Norfolk & Western that should impress you the most. BARBARA MITCHELL See also preview, page 39.

KINSKI, GREEN MILK FROM THE PLANET ORANGE, BIRDS OF AVALON
(Funhouse) How come Japanese people are always so much more efficient than everyone else? Japan's Green Milk from the Planet Orange somehow consumed several decades' worth of psychedelic/hard rock and beyond—touching on everything from Zeppelin to Hendrix to Unwound to the Allman Brothers—and created their own talent-ridden hybrid of those disparate influences. North Carolina's Birds of Avalon also mine from decades-past ghosts. Psych, arena, glam—it's all in there. But as with their billmates, BoA expertly traverse all this information, picking up what they like and adding it to a sound that's simultaneously familiar and new. GRANT BRISSEY

TV ON THE RADIO, CELEBRATION
(Showbox) TV on the Radio's recent jump to Interscope has increased their media profile substantially, with everyone from Vanity Fair to GQ waxing poetic about the New York trio's hypnotic qualities and ethereal, post-punk elegance. And guess what? They deserve every rose being tossed at their feet. Tunde Adebimpe possesses a captivating voice that's somehow both angelic and foreboding, while Kyp Malone and David Sitek's knack for graceful, unique arrangements is practically unparalleled in today's modern-rock landscape. HANNAH LEVIN

SATURDAY 5/6

WHITE ROSE MOVEMENT, THE COPS, SIRENS SISTER
(Chop Suey) If you haven't heard much about London's White Rose Movement yet, don't worry, the buzz will be inescapable soon enough. Fans of early Depeche Mode or new-wave aficionados who prefer their electronica with a sharp edge will undoubtedly be pleased. After a few European tours with the Kills and M.I.A, they're heading stateside for the first time and are hitting Seattle after a high-profile gig at Coachella. HANNAH LEVIN

THE SOUNDS, MORNINGWOOD, ACTION ACTION
(El Corazón) The Sounds aren't exactly subtle about their sexuality. When performing "Hit Me!" live, the Blondie-aping band's striking singer, Maja Ivarsson, punctuates the phrase "right between the eyes" by gesturing toward her thighs, then purrs "you know how I like it, baby." However, such antics appear staid when compared to Morningwood's debaucherous displays. Backed by trashy-pop riffs and sneaky-fast rhythms, frontwoman Chantal Claret sticks front-row fans' fingers in her mouth and gleefully gropes her own curves. Claret's cheerleader choreography and impish facial expressions recall Kathleen Hanna, though she directs her energy toward cultivating an orgiastic atmosphere rather than fighting the power. ANDREW MILLER

RAINER MARIA, ALOHA, AMBULETTE, SEA NAVY
(Paradox) This time last year, I think I hated Rainer Maria. But for whatever reason, while listening to their new record, Catastrophe Keeps Us Together, it sorta clicks. Maybe it's the band's ability to write a stunning and passionate pop-rock song that finally won me over, or perhaps in my older years (all of 25), I'm shunning my inclination for hardcore and trading it in for shimmering guitars and female-fronted songs that remind me of both the Alkaline Trio and the Cranberries at the same time. If there's a record that might make you change your mind about the Brooklyn trio, it's Catastrophe Keeps Us Together. MEGAN SELING

BUCK OWENS TRIBUTE W/THE BUCKAROOSTERS, VINYL HAYRIDE
(Tractor) See Border Radio, page 49.

SUNDAY 5/7

THE VACATION, THE SUN, TOP HEAVY CRUSH
(El Corazón) I last saw the Vacation at SXSW—but not onstage at a rock dive. It was in the hotel hot tub. They were skinny young dudes from L.A. who offered me a can of beer while the foreboding Austin skies opened up and weather girls on three networks declared a countywide tornado watch. The situation wasn't that different from the Stooges-y rawk band's live show: hot, wet, shirtless, more than a little drunk, and laced with a sense of impending catastrophe. I ditched the tub when the wind carried off the patio umbrella; the tornado never came, but something tells me those guys would've stayed in that Jacuzzi till the weather sent 'em on a somewhere-over-the-rainbow vacation of their own. MAYA KROTH

MONDAY 5/8

LAHAR, CLAYMORE, HOSTILITY
(El Corazón) It's hard to call Claymore metal with their grinding hardcore breakdowns, but it feels wrong to call 'em hardcore with their shredding guitars. In fact, it's hard to describe them at all, other than saying they're fucking intense and awesome to watch. So for the rest of this write-up, I'm gonna steal what they wrote on their MySpace page, because really, I couldn't say it any better: "Imagine a large commercial airliner full of giant radioactive wasps crashing into a burning building in which there are 100 angry, rabid grizzly bears banging on giant steel tubs with six-ton sledgehammers. Now imagine this is set to music. Such is the ferocity of Claymore." MEGAN SELING

SECRET MACHINES
(Neumo's) Secret Machines' 2004 release Now Here Is Nowhere was one of the few major-label rock releases of recent years I found myself able to sink my teeth into. The New Yorkers' sleek revisits of Floydian keyboard backdrops and fuzzy, Kraut-rock stompathons sat nicely within the record's cold and calculated production bubble. Those hoping for more of the same terse, motorik fare might find the band's new record, Ten Silver Drops, to be a bit of a letdown. This sophomore outing finds the Machines riding the fence between their past minimalist finesse and strained arena-rock melodies, as if the honchos at Reprise were breathing down their necks for a single. JOSH BLANCHARD

HUGH MASEKELA
(Triple Door) See CD Review, page 45.

TUESDAY 5/9

ACID MOTHERS TEMPLE, ANTARCTICIANS
(Neumo's) Acid Mother Temple's Kawabata Makoto calls his Japanese ensemble's output "trip music," but it's far from your mellow Grateful Dead meanderthon (not that there's anything wrong with that, in moderation). No, what AMT do with rock is much more combustible. They set off plumes of napalm-hued noise that uses the primordial blues deconstructions of Blue Cheer and MC5 as a springboard to leverage more extreme manifestations of cacophony. Call it transcendental devastation. AMT are also musical chameleons, assuming the traits of rock deities like Black Sabbath, King Crimson, Gong, Mothers of Invention, Hawkwind, etc. No matter what skin they're in, though, this gig should be another gobsmacking cosmic inferno. DAVE SEGAL

DRIVE-BY TRUCKERS, SON VOLT, CURT KIRKWOOD
(Showbox) See preview, page 40.

SPOCK'S BEARD, LYRANTHE, PRESTO BALLET, ASHLAND
(Studio Seven) Spock's Beard plays prog-rock for prog-rockers, attracting the type of followers who write fan fiction about the further adventures of their concept-record protagonist Snow. Erstwhile primary songwriter Neal Morse now chronicles the life of another messianic figure with Christian-market solo works such as Lead Me Lord, and many members of Spock's flock forsook the group's recent releases with new frontman Nick D'Virgilio. However, 2005's live double-album Gluttons for Punishment joins Black Sabbath's Dio-helmed Live Evil and Genesis' Phil Collins–captained Seconds Out as examples of how instrumental virtuosity can temporarily keep a group's concert caliber from plummeting after its creative catalyst's departure. ANDREW MILLER

WEDNESDAY 5/10

ISLANDS, BUSDRIVER
(Neumo's) Islands features Nick Diamonds and J'aime Tambour, who toiled in the Unicorns, a whimsically unhinged Montreal rock troupe that sometimes succumbed to cloying cutesiness. Now as Islands, they channel their inner Elephant 6/Animal Collective fanboy and squeeze him for a more refined pop levity. Islands' debut disc, Return to the Sea, is a dinghy of mood-elevating prog-pop that reaches a peak on "Volcanoes" and "Where There's a Will," the latter of which features antic, lickety-spit rhymes by L.A. MC Busdriver. Speaking of whom, don't miss this cat's faster than Google-search flow and smartly absurd takes on music-biz and real-world politics, as well as various black tangents. You'll see Bus's mug in the dictionary under idiosyncratic. DAVE SEGAL

MIRAH W/SPECTRATONE INTERNATIONAL, EVOLUTIONARY JASS BAND, THE TOIDS
(Tractor) It's impossible to accurately preview a Mirah show—to talk about the upcoming performance with any shred of accuracy—because Mirah, who cemented her place as one of my favorite female songwriters with her album Advisory Committee, is always full of surprises. Whether she's playing solo and asking for crowd accompaniment, improvising with the Black Cat Orchestra, or playing, like she is tonight, with the Spectratone International (featuring members of the Black Cat Orchestra), the only guarantee I can make you is that it will be terrific. MEGAN SELING

FILM SCHOOL, SWORDS, TALKDEMONIC
(Crocodile) There's nothing piercing about Swords (formerly Swords Project). Quite the contrary: The band specialize in hypnotic, textured songs that pull you in and under their spell and leave you wanting more. With six members' schedules to coordinate, Swords play out infrequently. But the band have been hard at work recording a follow-up to last year's addictive Metropolis, which I hope means they'll be taking the stage more often. Look for that album this summer, but don't miss the chance to catch them live tonight. BARBARA MITCHELL

MORE

THE AQUABATS, STREETLIGHT MANIFESTO, NO TRIGGER: Fri May 12, El Corazón

MOS DEF, CARLOS MENCIA, MIX MASTER MIKE, PHANTOM PLANET, UNITED STATE OF ELECTRONICA: Fri May 12, Bank of America Arena (UW Campus)

STARLIGHT MINTS, DIOS MALOS, THE OCTOPUS PROJECT: Fri May 12, Neumo's

MUTE MATH, THE LISTENING: Sat May 13, Crocodile

THE (INTERNATIONAL) NOISE CONSPIRACY, THE FEVER, GUESTS: Fri May 19, El Corazón

SMOKING POPES, LOVEDRUG: Mon May 22, Crocodile

SICK OF IT ALL, STRETCH ARM STRONG, FIRST BLOOD, THE VOWS: Tues May 23, El Corazón

MOGWAI, EARTH: Tues May 23, Showbox

THE NEW AMSTERDAMS, THE LASHES, THE LOOK: Tues May 23, Neumo's

MINISTRY, REVOLTING COCKS, PITBULL DAYCARE: Sun May 28, Showbox

ALKALINE TRIO, THE LAWRENCE ARMS, THE DRAFT: Tues May 30, Showbox

PELICAN, MONO, TARENTEL: Sat June 3, Neumo's

BUILT TO SPILL: Tues–Thurs June 13–15, Showbox