THE SADIES, THE STANDARD
(Graceland) Toronto's the Sadies have expertly culled everything but the kitchen sink (rock, country, surf, blues, punk, spaghetti Westerns, bluegrass), crafted several excellent records, and made an excellent career of acclaimed, energetic live performances. Bloodshot Records discovered them in 1998 when they opened for Neko Case, and since then a reverent fan base has seen fertile growth. The new record, Tremendous Efforts, continues in the Sadies tradition of juxtaposing songs from a wide array of genres and forms--some instrumental, some brooding, and all delivered with an immediacy and fervor that can only be described as punk rock. One can hear everything from Ennio Morricone to the Stooges on a Sadies record, so odds are there's something in this band for everyone. JEFF DeROCHE

NELS CLINE, TOSHI MAKIHARA & WALLY SHOUP, EYVIND KANG & TUCKER MARTINE
(I-Spy) If the concept of improvised music brings to mind the worst in noodling dalliances and ill-advised jamming, this night of the Seattle Improvised Music Festival will more than surprise you: It will demonstrate the form at its best, in the person of Nels Cline. Cline is a West Coast guitar wizard who stretches the boundaries of his instrument, pulling startlingly imaginative ideas, and reconfiguring idioms. His forte is not in merely borrowing or recontextualizing phrases, but actually inhabiting them to the degree that they become complete sentences. His playing on record can be best experienced with his own Nels Cline Trio, and his latest, Destroy All Nels Cline, with his sextet, expanding his avant-jazz and sensuous skronk to capacity. In his collaborations, Cline displays Catholic tastes, performing with Thurston Moore, Mike Watt, Carla Bozulich, and Devin Sarno. Cline even took the guitar post of Bozulich's former band the Geraldine Fibbers for their finest hour on Butch. His most audacious moment was collaborating with Gregg Bendian on a remake/interpretative meditation of John Coltrane on Interstellar Space Revisited. As with all of Cline's luminous explorations, that album walked the line for potential disaster and not only dodged it, but laid his own claim to a masterwork. This performance is the opportunity to see the alchemy and beauty possible in free-thinking improv. NATE LIPPENS

UZ JSME DOMA, SLEEPYTIME GORILLA MUSEUM, GUARDIAN ALIEN
(Crocodile) A favorite of both high- and low-brow critics, Czech band Uz Jsme Doma blends Old World traditional music with experimental jazz and punk rock for a sound with which fans of Frank Zappa or John Zorn can indulge their kooky side. KATHLEEN WILSON

BUILT TO SPILL, THE DELUSIONS, SUFFOCATION KEEP
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EMMYLOU HARRIS, JOE HENRY
(Pier 62/63) With his under-the-radar presence, Joe Henry has become a critics' darling who can't seem to break out. But that seems to suit him fine. His latest album, Scar, is certainly not about to launch him into the stratosphere of album sales. It's a masterpiece that requires multiple listenings. With its mixture of jazzier phrasing and instrumentation, the sound is a far cry from his origins as a singer-songwriter with a country bent and a knack for rustic portraiture. Henry's literate lyrical turns paint the ragged edges of emotional life. His aching voice delivers the material to its fullest with cracked turns that suggest a less idiosyncratic Vic Chesnutt crossed with John Hiatt. Since 1996's Trampoline, Henry has taken leaps and bounds to redefine his artistic vision (think of it as his Swordfish Trombone). The opening song on Scar finds Henry stepping into a great comedian's shoes for "Richard Pryor Addresses a Tearful Nation." Jazz legend Ornette Coleman lends a horn solo of condensed torture that grounds the song in a simpatico soulfulness. "Stop" was written for and recorded by Henry's sister-in-law Madonna Ciccone. His recording of it shows the great divide between pop confection and artful distillation. His opening slot for Emmylou Harris provides an opportunity to see two divergent talents whose creative restlessness and depth of imagination are transformative with each new album. NATE LIPPENS

BUILT TO SPILL, THE DELUSIONS, SUFFOCATION KEEP
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THE MAKERS, STAGGER LEE, THE GET DOWN SYNDROME
(Crocodile) Stagger Lee is the best kind of party band--not an annoying, horn-blowing, fraternity pleaser, or cheesy cock-rock bullshit peddler (though there is some cock to the rock here), but a full-on, pretension-free guitar band. And while Stagger Lee may never be taken seriously or acclaimed critically--nor would these guys care to be--the band can certainly feed a good, drunken party with stoned-out, wonky '70s guitar riffs, noodly bass-playing, and splashy drumming. Think the Stones (like "Brown Sugar") and Lynyrd Skynyrd (like "Sweet Home Alabama"); drink lots of beer and smoke a whole bunch of weed. Just don't do the weed at the Crocodile, because security there is badass. JEFF DeROCHE

UNWOUND, THE EX, eXBeSTFRIeNDS
(Graceland) With the recent double-album release Leaves Turn Inside You, the regional heroes in Unwound have gone interior-bound for a guitar-fuzzed nocturne. The album weds the wayward sprawl and brilliance of Sonic Youth's Daydream Nation with the minor-key melodies of Yo La Tengo's Electro Pura. The density has been leavened a bit with the band's trademark abrasive guitars, finding new textures and ethereal passages, with guitarist Justin Trosper's sleepy vocals belying the tense agony of the lyrics. If Unwound's 1998 album, Challenge for a Civilized Society, explored the personal toll and spiritual depletion inherent in capitalism, the new album finds the workday ended but the voices of doubt and quiet terror playing out in the desperate thoughts between twilight and morning. It's the pitch-perfect soundtrack for anxious insomniacs who just can't let it go. With such meaty material to play, the live show should crackle and spark. NATE LIPPENS

THE EX, UNWOUND, LOVE AS LAUGHTER
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THE MENTORS, NORTHWEST BREEDERS, THE HANGMEN, BETTY BLOWTORCH, WARD A
(Breakroom) Guys aren't the only ones who want to rock hard and get laid after the show, you know. Girls like a little play-the-geetar-and-get-it-on action too--especially L.A.'s Betty Blowtorch. These punk chicks recently released their debut CD, Are You Man Enough? and because you asked, the answer is no. Frontwoman Bianca Butthole's whiskeyed, razored screams make Axl look like the fat, lazy sloth he's become, and songs like "Shut Up and Fuck," "Hell on Wheels," and "Size Queen" are tight metal sing-alongs you haven't had the pleasure of yelling along to--fist in air--since your sister the whore stole your Motörhead collection. With a smartass attitude, thunder and lightning instrumentation, and let's-fuck lyrics, these hot rock chicks are no one-night-stand wonders. JENNIFER MAERZ

BUILT TO SPILL, THE DELUSIONS, SUFFOCATION KEEP
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THE ACTUAL TIGERS, THE DROO CHURCH
(Crocodile) The Actual Tigers make fun pop that you may recognize, as the band used to go by the name of Willis. Tonight is a party to celebrate the release of a new record, Gravelled & Green, and if the easy rock sound of Willis appealed to you, this show will not disappoint. JEFF DeROCHE

AMERICAN STEEL, CHAMPION, SOME STILL BELIEVE, THE HIT
(Breakroom) While American Steel has always had a self-conscious sort of East Bay punk/hardcore sound, the group has been evolving into something unique and interesting over three records. This month's Jagged Thoughts works through punk, power-pop, untweaked guitar rock, and random flashes of psychedelic beauty to reveal the four-piece to be a very talented group of musicians. This is an early, all-ages show, and if I were a teenager in need of some excitement, I would look no further than American Steel. JEFF DeROCHE

STEWART WALKER, SUTEKH
(I-Spy) At last year's CMJ Music Conference in New York, a friend and I made the pilgrimage to ultra-trendy, totally boring, and now defunct Twilo to catch underground techno artist Stewart Walker. Since the place was normally equipped with high-energy dance DJs like Junior Vasquez, we were puzzled by the choice of a venue such as Twilo for Walker. Leave it to Walker to completely blow any misconception we had of the place. He worked the room masterfully, taking its high-energy sound system and turning it into a cocoon of sorts, warming the room with techno masterpieces, giving breadth to his musical prowess and his place on the mantle--a place that has him resting somewhere between Richie Hawtin and Autechre. F. VENTURA-PENA

BICYCLE, LITTLE LUANN, SOPHIE TUCKER
(Rainbow) Sophie Tucker sure goes all out when trying to catch the media's eye. Not once, not twice, but three times The Stranger's music department received a package containing candles, glitter, a sparkly garland, incense, iridescent lip gloss, scarves, and, oh yeah--a CD, sent by the aforementioned glam band in hopes of getting some attention. Guess what? You got it! KATHLEEN WILSON

SUNDAY MORNING MASS
(Church) If you haven't been going, you might want to consider it. Pray that next Sunday's musical options are a bit more appealing. J. C.

SEATTLE ELECTRO-MAGNETIC POTLUCK ORCHESTRA
(Liquid Lounge) This EMP event, featuring the Seattle Electro-Magnetic Potluck Orchestra, is either going to be stilted by self-indulgent wankery, or a genuinely great time. It's an "employee jam" night--perhaps tactically organized by management to see whether or not rock-museum employees are doing their homework? JEFF DeROCHE

ULTRABABYFAT
(Crocodile) About halfway through Ultrababyfat's Eight Balls in Reverse comes a song called "Apple Tree" that immediately pricked up my Rock*A*Teens-worshipping ears. Chris Lopez's unmistakable guitar wails and shabbles, and the drums pound out a stuttering beat as his voice hups along in the background. What follows is not only the rest of the album, but the awareness that the beginning can now be heard in a new context. Sometimes whom a person knows can cast an entirely different light upon them, and what at first seemed to be yet another girl band hung up on power chords and the '60s now reveals itself to be a girl band hung up on power chords and the '60s that also rocks smart, sexy, and Southern--a compliment that lesser, geographically handicapped bands have spent decades trying to garner for themselves. KATHLEEN WILSON

THE DERAILERS
(Tractor Tavern) As Portland, Oregon teenagers kicking around in various rockabilly bands with shifting emphasis between rock and twang, Tony Villaneuva and Brian Hofeldt formed a friendship and laid the foundation for their artistic bond. Relocating to Austin, Texas, and forming the Derailers, they soaked up the cantankerous Bakersfield sound of the '50s and '60s. With nods to Merle Haggard and Buck Owens, the band created a raucous sound that mixed tried traditionals with impressive originals. If the band's initial ventures seemed to wear the country regalia without the requisite grit to feel lived in, time and touring has filled out the backstory nicely. The soaring harmonies tip their hat to the Everly Brothers, but the juke joint rough-and-tumble suggests one bug-sticky bare bulb illuminating the drunken and damned. It's a combustible mixture that is sure to please in the cozy environs of the Tractor. NATE LIPPENS

WARPED TOUR 2001
(Gorge Amphitheatre) Yes, it still goes on. This year's installment of the annual skate-themed tour features bands such as 311, Pennywise, New Found Glory, Less Than Jake, Rancid, the Vandals, AFI, Kool Keith, Alien Ant Farm, Bouncing Souls, Fenix TX, Good Charlotte, Me First and the Gimme Gimmes, H20, the Juliana Theory, Liars Inc., the Line, Madcap, Pepper, Sugarcult, and the Vandals. Celebrity skaters included Mike Frazier, Jesse Fritch, Anthony Furlong, Phil Hajal, Jon Comer, Brian Wainwright, and Scott Crowford, while BMX/Moto X names include Michael Mancuso, Rick Thorne, Beau Manley, Colin Morrison, Jeremy "Twitch" Steinberg, and Tyler Evans. KATHLEEN WILSON

JUNO, RAINER MARIA, THE PROM
(Paradox) Here's a bill that might find one formerly (but not so much anymore) emo band cringing in horror at the currently (and proud of it) emo band, Rainer Maria. Juno's latest disc, A Future Lived in Past Tense, has been selling like mad here in the Northwest, and we all know the kids (and even the grizzled twentysomethings) love Rainer Maria--except maybe for the kids who recently became chagrined upon learning that the band evolved out of a different project that went by the name of Ezra Pound. KATHLEEN WILSON

THE FAINT, PLEASURE FOREVER, KILL SADIE, SUPERMAGNIFICENT ACTION TRIO
(Paradox) From Omaha, Nebraska, comes a band of mad, aggressive, new-wave goth kids who use keyboards, heavy vocal effects, and crazy onstage posturing shamelessly. The time I saw them they also used a fog machine. The show I saw was bad--technical problems, not with the fog machines but with the surplus of electronics up there. However, on record the Faint is great--driving, gnarly, lushly melodic, and completely arrogant. Fans of art rock, Brit pop, and the punk of bands like Joy Division, take note. See below. JEFF DeROCHE

KILL SADIE
(Paradox) Track one of Kill Sadie's Experiments in Expectation immediately brings to mind Pitchfork and Drive Like Jehu's Rick Froberg--both his singing and his frenzied guitar-playing style. Subsequent tracks reveal a band that may or may not recognize influences such as the aforementioned late-greats, as well as Tortoise and even Unwound, but fans of any of these bands will find plenty to love in Kill Sadie's elastic snarl of brainy and visceral rock. I haven't immediately loved a record this much in a long time. Look for this band to become the fast favorite of smart club bookers. See above. KATHLEEN WILSON