THE PROM, HERBERT GOES TO THE SIERRA, LOS ALIENS, BART DAVENPORT, JAN NORBERG
(Paradox) The best thing about the Prom is singer/pianist James Mendenhall, whose somewhat timid indie-rock voice is a fine complement to the band's classic piano pop sound. Now part of the Barsuk Records roster, the Prom is about to embark on a tour with labelmates Death Cab for Cutie. Hopefully, DCFC fans will be excited about the strong, literate music of a lesser-known group of guys who aren't afraid to show their Billy Joel and Elton John influences. JEFF DeROCHE

MUDHONEY, CLIMAX GOLDEN TWINS, TOT FINDER
(Graceland) See Stranger Suggests.

CLINTON FEARON & THE BOOGIE BROWN BAND
(EMP) A former member of the classic Jamaican reggae band the Gladiators, Clinton Fearon is the only real roots rocker in the Pacific Northwest. His first Seattle band, the Defenders, was beloved by all black immigrants, who were moved by his sense of authority, his command of important issues, and his determination that Africa would one day rise again and destroy monolithic Babylon. The Defenders' "Chant Down Babylon" even became a local hit. The Jamaican expat is still alive and well, performing now with the Boogie Brown Band, which does a competent job of backing this reggae master. CHARLES MUDEDE

HELL'S BELLES
(Showbox) To warn all 19th-century Americans against forgetting their individuality, Ralph Waldo Emerson wrote: "Envy is ignorance, imitation is suicide." Applied to contemporary American culture, this maxim sharply points at cover bands like Hell's Belles, the local girl band that famously plays AC/DC songs. But the imitation that Hell's Belles does has American history on its side: The 100-plus years since Emerson wrote have shown American culture folding over itself again and again, where elements of art and thought are imitated--but in irony, mockery, reverence, or all three. From cover bands to hiphop beatboxers to drag kings and queens, "imitation" has developed into its own artistic process (its own genre?). This is why Hell's Belles have had such success: Being that they're girls playing AC/DC, they both faithfully imitate and give you something you've never seen before (unless, of course, you've already seen their show, in which case they'll be imitating themselves--a concept Emerson couldn't even touch in his day). BRIAN GOEDDE

94TH STREET, DISCOHESIVE
(Sit & Spin) It's not often that a musician appears seemingly out of nowhere to make a splash, so naturally I was a bit skeptical when waves of awe suddenly hit me from all directions about a year ago: Drummer Kevin Sawka of 94th Street (also of Siamese) attacked his kit with a frenetic precision so impressive I speculated that he'd once been replaced by a drum machine, and had spent all the years since working out an elaborate revenge. Kevin's resulting ability to run through endless high-bpm breakbeat drills will be in demand for many years to come, but a band's longevity depends upon whether it can kick out memorable tunes. My hunch is that 94th Street's Police-tinged rave-pop stands a greater chance of survival than Discohesive's eclectic, funky-suburb rap-rock, which may take too many collateral hits from the burgeoning "keep your rap outta my metal" movement. JAMES KIRCHMER

ROBBIE FULKS, OLD JOE CLARKS
(Tractor Tavern) In days gone by, the alt-country club members of Old Joe Clarks took lo-fi to the ultimate, providing percussion by simply kicking an old suitcase with a cowboy boot. Now the band is more electric, so to speak, and also more folk-rock. See preview this issue. KATHLEEN WILSON

HARLOW, FREE VERSE, THE FLAKES
(Breakroom, 5 pm) Alert to all Bands on the Run fans: Time be damned, Harlow still sucks. The music, the personalities, the godawful wardrobe. But somehow Harlow has managed to land in the favor of Seattle and ROCKRGRL magazine, hence the press conference/show at the Breakroom tonight. Get out your crushed cowboy hats and torn fishnets, and don't forget that ratty velvet robe to complete the grunge-meets-goth-meets-Vegas Shakedown 2000 look, and be sure to raise your hand and ask Rayshelle about Rex's wife. KATHLEEN WILSON

DEAD MOON, THE PINKOS, THE HANGMEN
(Breakroom, 9 pm) Now the night at the Breakroom really begins, as the Northwest's most edifying rock band takes over. Dead Moon is the heart of rock and roll. This band never cares about fashion or trends or the fact that the hipster fans come and go. Dead Moon only cares about rocking out, touring the world, and doing it family-style. If you ever find yourself feeling jaded about music, I highly suggest you remedy that by seeing Dead Moon perform live, each and every time the opportunity arises. Inspiration... take it wherever and whenever you can. KATHLEEN WILSON

GRANT-LEE PHILLIPS, DAVID LOVERING, SCIENTIFIC PHENOMENALIST
(Crocodile Cafe) Grant-Lee Phillips is the man behind Grant Lee Buffalo, the Los Angeles-based roots/pop trio that showcased Phillips' literate songwriter chops and the golden voice that made him Rolling Stone's pop songwriter of the year in 1995. Whether you believe such a nod from Rolling Stone means the music is good or bad, Phillips has an inarguably rich, gorgeous falsetto and an overall buttery voice, which he got to show off beautifully on his cover of the Beach Boys' "In My Room" for the Friends soundtrack in 1995 (again, positive or negative, you decide). Perhaps the group was frustrated with lack of promotion at Warner subsidiary Slash Records, or maybe the label actually made the decision to drop the band (I've heard and read two different "official" stories). Phillips self-released Ladies' Love Oracle shortly after the band's dissolve, and didn't do terribly well with it, likely because it wasn't up to Grant Lee Buffalo snuff. This year sees the release of Mobilize, and here's hoping it's better than Ladies' Love Oracle. I haven't yet heard it, and it seems to have been released back in July, which tells you how excited I am about it. JEFF DeROCHE

LESLIWOOD, STUDFINDER, THE SOCIAL STUDIES
(Elysian) This bill has been righteously assembled to benefit Books to Prisoners, a Seattle-based nonprofit that provides free books to the incarcerated. I think it's a truly great cause. At times, I even imagine committing some fabulous crime(s) that would grant me a stay at the "big house," where I would actually read a lot of those classics I merely skimmed through during my grueling, top-flight academic career at State University. To benefit my future re-education, tonight's bill features the angsty pop of Lesliwood, a band fronted by a classically trained singer/songwriter from Detroit named Lesli Wood. More interesting (and unfortunately named) is Studfinder, a band that features two gay "studfinders" and a punkish pop sound that's beefy enough to make me want to overlook the group's moniker. The show kicks off with the Social Studies, a band with much less of a rock and roll edge than the other two, with a budding diva at the helm and a body of songs that recalls Everything But the Girl. JEFF DeROCHE

WONDERFUL, PETER PARKER, DOLOUR
(I-Spy) Call this show a group CD-release party. Wonderful's pristine new record has an irritating opener, "Welcome to Wonderful," throughout which a synthesized voice repeats the title as the song's refrain and sole lyric. This opener is either a joke that doesn't work or a self-indulgence that chafes after the first time it's played, but there's some good pop to follow, reason to hope Wonderful is a band with stronger material forthcoming. Peter Parker has just released Semiautobiographical, a record I don't know whether to call "watered-down punk" or "hyperactive radio rock." Regardless, the songs are catchy and earnest. The band's live shows are definitely in that same vein, which is why Peter Parker seems to go over best with the youngsters who make up most of the band's fan base. Dolour's less-recent release, Waiting for a World War, is the best recent offering from any of the bands on this bill, and Dolour puts on a strong, Brit-pop-sprinkled live show that transports the band's easy material into something engaging and singular. JEFF DeROCHE

JOHNNY DILKS & HIS VISITACION VALLEY BOYS, KING OF HAWAII
(Tractor Tavern) See preview this issue.

BUCKCHERRY, LENNON
(Showbox) Stomach tattoos are gross, but that's only one of the many things damning this catchy but ultimately retarded band. Prefab from the get-go, Buckcherry was supposed to reclaim the rock and roll excess that indie rock had made so unfashionable. Here came a band that was all tattooed up (done in one day, I bet) and fur-vested, singing about what a blast snorting coke is and how great fucking can be, in case you needed to be reminded of either of those two stunning facts. It was almost funny for a moment on MTV, and surely memorable to all who witnessed Buckcherry's decidedly non-triumphant, unintentionally hilarious debut at the Crocodile. Well, now it's just dumb, still shirtless, and under the radar of popular culture, if record sales on the band's latest album are any indication. KATHLEEN WILSON

FANTOMAS
(Showbox) See Stranger Suggests.

BROKEN BEATS
(Nation) See page 61 this issue.

WOODY WOODHOUSE
(Avenue One) There are plenty of people who think that the last four decades of jazz, with all the bleating horns, crashing drums, and gaunt junkies cooking down crazed chord inversions, have been like a bad acid trip. If you're one of those who think modern jazz has degenerated into a psychotic Tower of Babel, then Woody Woodhouse might be what you're looking for. The singer has been haunting Seattle's soft spots and quiet clubs for god knows how long, playing clear ballads and classic standards like the last 40 years never happened. Just like heroin addicts have methadone and PCP geekers have Haldol, frazzled jazz listeners have Woody Woodhouse to bring them down slow and smooth. NATHAN THORNBURGH

THE REVOLUTIONARY HYDRA, THE TERROR SHEETS, SURETOSS
(Crocodile Cafe) With excellent songs like "Astoria Larking" rooted in a very American sound, the Revolutionary Hydra is a local band that makes good on the promises of indie pop and '90s guitar rock. The Hydra is obscenely palatable in the manner that Death Cab for Cutie is obscenely palatable, with fine guitar sounds, pretty vocals, and an overall huggy, sleepy pop aesthetic that only the meanest and cruelest of persons can actually say they hate. Comparison to Death Cab is safe, as the Hydra has received its share of help and input from Ben Gibbard and Chris Walla. But the Revolutionary the Hydra is a solid trio in its own right, culling from the guitar craft of early-'90s "It" bands like Pavement and Spoon, and the soft emotional core of late-'90s "It" bands like Death Cab, for a rock that rocks softly, and very well. See Terror Sheets preview this issue. JEFF DeROCHE

PEARL DJANGO
(Jazz Alley) When Gypsy guitarist Django Reinhardt was 18, he severely burned his left hand in a caravan fire. After intense rehab, he relearned the guitar--melted fingers and all--and eventually perfected an original style that mixes swing and Gypsy influences. He died in 1953, but his up-tempo, popping guitar-playing left a long legacy that only seems to be growing. In fact, tribute groups and recreators of his sound are thriving: In Holland, there's the Rosenberg Trio, in San Francisco, there's the Hot Club, and in Seattle, there's Pearl Django. Our Django band is arguably the best of the bunch, having produced five CDs over the last seven years, the last of which got air time on NPR's All Things Considered in May. NATHAN THORNBURGH

MEGADETH, ENDO
(Showbox) Speed metal is less interesting to me than that violent, all-too-brief-and-tiny roller coaster down at Seattle Center, but if you're a fan of the genre then you will no doubt suck up all sludge that Dave Mustaine and company provide at tonight's Megadeth show! The good news is that Megadeth has always been cooler than Metallica, because Mustaine, a former member of that band with the longest songs in the history of music and a total inability to ever shut the fuck up, is a Sex Pistols fan! It's true! Megadeth actually covered "Anarchy in the U.K." and "Problems" (both on record, and both very badly), and if you're someone into "cred," Megadeth is definitely the cooler, superior band to groove on. Not only that, but Metallica sounds like a bunch of pop-rock fairies next to the quick-change power-chord assault of the superior Megadeth! Megadeth, like the Sex Pistols, even has a political bent, so remember that when you're attempting to distinguish one song from the next at tonight's show. Yes, tell yourself there's a message in there somewhere. JEFF DeROCHE

CHICAGO
(Puyallup Fairgrounds) Like last year's Seahawks motto, "Alive and Kickin'," this year's Puyallup Fair motto, "Gallop to Puyallup," is kind of shameful. "Gallop to Puyallup" makes it clear that most of the crowd has to find a way to get there, which implies that getting down to the Puyallup Fair is kind of a pain. They shouldn't have abandoned "Do the Puyallup," the twangy phrase that has successfully imbedded itself in the minds of Northwesterners. Nevertheless, tonight Chicago plays. BRIAN GOEDDE