Wednesday 10/31

Crypts, Ononos, Haunted Horses, Battle Stations

(Chop Suey) See Stranger Suggests.

Nice&AO

(Hollow Earth Radio) I've seen Nice&AO (young Seattle producers Nicenate and DJAO) play live twice at the Lo-Fi's Stop Biting weekly and both times heads couldn't stop nodding, corners of mouths couldn't stop moving upward, and my mind couldn't stop thinking, "This sound has to be one component of the future of hiphop." There's cloud rap aplenty these days, and then there's cloud nine rap (but without the MC); Nice&AO's weirdly atmospheric, unobviously funky productions occupy that more exalted cloud. Their music's a rarefied combo of sly physicality and emotion-laden ethereality. Either together or on their own or both, these guys are poised to make major moves. DAVE SEGAL

Glenn or Glennda?, Poop Attack!, Blood Orange Paradise, Last Gasp, the Downstrokes, Tight Lies, CCAA

(Funhouse) October 31, 2012, is the last day the Funhouse will exist, thanks to development, condos, and blah blah barf. Enough about that! Tonight, WE PARTY! All the bands on the bill feature at least one member of the Funhouse staff—the very same people who've made the Funhouse one of the most beloved bars and music venues in the city for years. The people who, especially tonight, deserve to be showered with your love. Headliners Glenn or Glenda? are a Misfits (and more!) cover band who only come out once a year. It'll be the most memorable Halloween party in town—wear your costumes, get weird, and tip the bartenders extremely well. MEGAN SELING

Dyme Def, Slow Dance, DJ Rad'em, Tony Goods

(Barboza) The release of Erik Blood's Touch Screens, an album that celebrates pornography, revived my interest in Sex Tape, a pop-oriented 2010 album by Dyme Def (Brainstorm, S.E.V., Fearce Villan)—it features beats produced by one of the founders of Seattle's hiphop sound, Bean One. Sex Tape, however, is not so much about pornography as it is about the encounters, the moments, the words, the looks, the moods that lead to fucking. What Dyme Def inaugurated with this record, and what Erik Blood's recent album continues, is a new erotics for Seattle. Finally, we are devoting whole songs and raps to the sex of our city. CHARLES MUDEDE

White Mystery, Night Beats, Monarchies, the Pharmacy

(Lo-Fi) Chicagoans (is that seriously what you call a Chicago person? I think I hate that word. How about Chicaggalos?) White Mystery are a minimal-by-default brother/sister/ginger duo who kick out buzzing, gritty rock pop jams. Miss Alex White is an excellent guitarist for a redhead (KIDDING, of course—she is an excellent guitarist for a girl), and her younger brother Francis plays the kind of whomping, garage-style drums that ensure you wake up with a dance-induced hangover. I've saved the best info for last—this show will be sponsored by Airheads candy, and hundreds of white, mystery-flavored Airheads will be in attendance! EMILY NOKES

Toadies, Helmet, Ume

(Showbox at the Market) Ah, the '90s. What a wonderful time for alternative rock radio—a time when both guitar-driven fuzz metal and quirky yet catchy pop-centric outfits existed within the same realm and the same playlist. Aside from the fact that they both hit rock-radio gold a couple decades ago with their respective breakthrough albums, Meantime (Helmet) and Rubberneck (Toadies), these two bands don't have much in common. But isn't that kind of the beauty of a nostalgic trip down your '90s memory lane? Since this show's going down on Halloween, I suggest breaking out your baggy jeans, ball-chain necklaces, flannel, and wacky-colored hair dye. KEVIN DIERS

Si Limon, Picoso, the Cumbieros, DJ Chilly

(Nectar) Si Limon is the best dance band in the city of Seattle. Easily. It's Latin, African, and Hasidic, all tumbled and rolling together. It has integrity, but you don't need to know any secret codes of moves. Seriously: Your feet and your ass will just do it. Tonight is the release party for their new CD. The members' names, so you can cheer them on between numbers, are Eli Rosenblatt, Bryant Moore, and Sam Esecson. You'll be so glad that we had this conversation. JEN GRAVES

Thursday 11/1

The Cure vs. the Smiths Cover Night

(Sunset) Also known as "The Cure Get Their Asses Kicked" and/or "The Smiths vs. No One Worth Mentioning in the Same Breath as the Smiths." Tonight's concept is redeemed by the words "cover night," which is the only arena in which the drama-clubby Cure might prove worthy opponents to the great-bandy Smiths. Should an extremely tight rendition of "Boys Don't Cry" or "In Between Days" pair off against a sub-par performance of "Girl Afraid" or "That Joke Isn't Funny Anymore," the Cure team might feasibly win. Otherwise, pssshhhtt. DAVID SCHMADER

Chali 2na, Roc C, DJ P Trix, the Staxx Brothers, the Good Sin

(Crocodile) It's impossible for me to hear the name Chali 2na and not think about the rise of LA's underground (1998–2002), which was concomitant with the rise of Jurassic 5, an LA crew that released four albums, had a relatively long run (1997–2007), and consisted of two DJs and four rappers—one of the rappers being Chali 2na. Known for his deep voice and playful rhymes, Chali 2na, whose solo career has not been as bright as his career with Jurassic 5, holds an important place in history. He, his crew, and his city helped make a new home and market for innovative hiphop after the mainstream abandoned it in 1997. Long live Chali 2na; long live the underground. CHARLES MUDEDE

Jens Lekman, Taken by Trees

(Neptune) The Swedes do many things right, among them gummy fish and witty pop music. Swedish pop chap Jens Lekman is lovely, and his lyrics make me laugh. They contain such concrete, pedestrian references and words and then, when they've set a scene that looks like your recognizable everyday life, he punches you in the solar plexus with sadness and wonder and confusion and existential angst. I could listen to him sing words like "avocado" and "vending machine" and "eyebrow" and "asthma inhaler" for so many hours, all whispery and sweet. Taken by Trees is his Secretly Canadian labelmate, fellow Swede, and former frontwoman of the Concretes, Victoria Bergsman. ANNA MINARD

Saint Etienne, Rose Melberg, Beat Connection DJs

(Showbox at the Market) Tonight should be like an Anglophile convention at the Showbox, as the great British pop group Saint Etienne play their first show here since 2000. Hyperaware and ultra­clever, Saint Etienne's Bob Stanley, Pete Wiggs, and Sarah Cracknell have negotiated both the slick byways of dance music and the intimate confines of bedroom melancholia with exquisite skill. They've also recorded one of the greatest Neil Young covers ever with "Only Love Can Break Your Heart." The band makes a rare Seattle appearance to support their 2012 album, Words and Music of Saint Etienne. If that title sounds like a career summation of everything these understatedly euphoric tunesmiths have done, that's because it is. DAVE SEGAL

Friday 11/2

METZ, Survival Knife, Monogamy Party

(Barboza) See preview.

The Sea and Cake, Matthew Friedberger, the Purrs

(Crocodile) See Stranger Suggests.

Eighteen Individual Eyes, Mr. Gnome, And And And

(Sunset) See Sound Check.

Tacocat, G.O.A.T., the Plurals, FF

(Hollow Earth Radio) See Underage.

The Lonely Forest, Aqueduct, Yuni in Taxco, Telekinesis

(Neumos) Chances are your mind is already made up about this upcoming election. If you're an undecided voter at this point, you're an idiot. Still, the Washington Bus's work won't be done until the polls close on November 6, so they're spending the last few days before the 2012 election reminding everyone to vote. One great way to get people's attention? Give them free rock and roll! And that's what tonight's show is about—this wonderful lineup of local talent is playing in support of Jay Inslee for governor and Senator Maria Cantwell. The show is free and all ages, and if you haven't yet sent in your ballot, fill it out before the show, drop it off along the way, and celebrate your democracy. Vote. VOTE. VOTE! MEGAN SELING

i

Saturday 11/3

Tony Rohr, Naturebot, Mathew Anderson, 214, JAK, Phaedrus

(Lo-Fi Performance Gallery) See Data Breaker.

Kid Smpl, DJAO, Domokos, and DJ Coupe

(Vermillion) See Data Breaker.

Airport, Black Hat, the Webs, Neighbors

(Black Lodge) See Underage.

Cat Power, the Goat

(Showbox Sodo) Chan Marshall (Cat Power) got a new haircut (mohawk), made a beautiful new album (Sun), and seems to be train-wrecking at shows again (Four Loko). But that's what we love about Marshall, yeah? The way she stockpiles her feelings and sews them into a jagged emotion outfit, wearing it for everyone to see—beautiful and layered, but with a big conspicuous rip somewhere in the front. Whatever Marshall is going through, she maintains her silky smoky husky mama voice—still better than most every other voice around. Sun will take a few listens and isn't without flaws (no matter how tempting, ye must NEVER succumb to the robo-siren song of the Auto-Tune), and maybe nothing can beat The Greatest, but it's nice to hear from Cat Power again. EMILY NOKES

Audioasis Showcase: Song Sparrow Research, Tokyoidaho, Western Medicine

(Sunset) Song Sparrow Research isn't just some arbitrary indie-poo band name; it's LEGIT. Legit as in lead singer Hamilton Boyce actually researched sparrow songs while schooling away at UW! The particular whimsy involved with being the sort of person who studies sparrow songs translates nicely to Song Sparrow's soaring folkenspiel pop. Upright bass? Yes. Mellow orchestral tunes spiked with jazz? Absolutely. Sideburns? Of course. Plus! By attending this show, you are doing a good thing, as the show's proceeds will be donated to YouthCare, an organization that provides necessary programs and services for kids in crummy situations. EMILY NOKES

Brokaw, Sailor Mouth, So Pitted

(Highline) Brokaw's Good to Die debut, Interiors, was packed with crunchy riffs with a tinge of blues-guitar bends/squeals and more melodic, driving grooves in a few spots, but the most consistent strong point throughout the record was G. Stuart Dahlquist's bass lines—not surprising considering the guy has worked with Sunn O))) and Burning Witch. Sailor Mouth's August release, Fair Winds, gets a slight edge for its ballsier interpolations of blues stylings into rock riffs and more grating, screaming vocals better suited for this stuff. So Pitted's new S 0 EP is a brief-but-strong three tracks of lo-fi slacker post-punk that manages to accomplish nearly as much as both these records in less than half the time, and likely, effort. MIKE RAMOS

Sunday 11/4

Pantha Du Prince, the Sight Below, Nordic Soul

(Neumos) See Data Breaker.

Earshot Jazz Festival: The Robert Glasper Experiment

(Triple Door) See preview.

The O'Jays

(Snoqualmie Casino) If you found yourself in the proximity of a radio in the first half of the '70s (stop laughing, commercial stations used to be pretty good), you probably had your soul/funk jones sated by Philadelphia group the O'Jays. Eddie Levert, Walter Williams, and William Powell sang with passion, sociopolitical purpose, and panache over some of the most sophisticated productions—courtesy of Kenny Gamble and Leon Huff—of that zenithy era for soul and funk. Among a dozen or so all-time classics, "Back Stabbers," "Love Train," "Give the People What They Want," and "For the Love of Money" especially resonate, combining biting realism with inspirational optimism. Even if the O'Jays are only firing at 67 percent of their peak capacity, their catalog's sterling enough for at least that many minutes of golden memories. DAVE SEGAL

Monday 11/5

VOTE!

Tuesday 11/6

Those Darlins, Heavy Cream, the Mad Caps

(Sunset) Dear whoever made Those Darlins and Heavy Cream tourmates: HELL TO THE YES, AND THANK YOU! These two Nashville bands (along with Atlanta's Coathangers, Seattle's Eighteen Individual Eyes, and Vancouver's NĂĽ Sensae) are helping to fill the void of tough female voices in a fickle modern world lousy with Lana Del Reys. Heavy Cream have a song called "Prison Shanks" that's hard as steel and impossible to not headbang to, and Those Darlins hit the garage-rock nail on the head with their new song "Summer's Dead." Both of these songs are on a new split 7-inch that's only available at the tour merch table. Also on the table: those Darlins' Screws Get Loose, produced by Scott Litt (R.E.M., Nirvana, Patti Smith) and Heavy Cream's Super Treatment, produced by Ty Segall. KELLY O

OC Notes, Introcut, AC Lewis, AbsoluteMadman, Suntonio Bandanaz

(Lo-Fi Performance Gallery) Seattle producer/musician OC Notes has been on one helluva creative bender for the last couple of years. All of his fruitful, relentless grinding has culminated in his latest full-length, Pre Future Post Modern. Like much of Notes' music, this album is a mercurial mélange of funk, soul, and hiphop whose old, familiar elements alchemize into something fresher than tomorrow. Read Stranger music intern Sean Jewell's ecstatic review of Pre Future Post Modern on the Line Out blog—that assessment's going to be echoed by a lot of other listeners in the days to come. The rare conjugation of accessibility and otherness reaches its richest peak in OC Notes' new LP, especially in the sublime, sinuous dream funk of "Wave Music." DAVE SEGAL

Skeletonwitch, Havok, Mutilation Rights, Deathmocracy, Bioplague

(Studio Seven) "Smoke weed, drink beer, and eat pussy" is the official slogan of Athens, Ohio, blackened thrash metal band Skeletonwitch. It's emblazoned on their albums and shouted from the stage on a nightly basis by singer Chance Garnette. Based on audience reaction, it appears that Skeletonwitch fans, while pretty down with the whole beer and weed thing, really love eating pussy. As if blackened thrash metal weren't enough of a pussy repellent, one can only imagine the few females in attendance taking the gauntlet-clad frontman's Gollum-voiced call to arms and the subsequent boisterous testosterone-soaked applause as a cue to make a beeline for the door. Intoxicated cunnilingus fans are encouraged to stick around for grammatically stunted shredders like "Where the Light Has Failed." BRIAN COOK