Wednesday 6/5

Piano Starts Here: Music for the Baroness

(Royal Room) See Stranger Suggests.

Chastity Belt, Needlecraft, Tele Novella, Bandolier

(Heartland) See Underage.

oOoOO, Groundislava

(El Corazón) See Data Breaker.

Roman Flügel, Tyler Morrison, Ctrl_Alt_Dlt

(Re-bar) See Data Breaker.

Intronaut, Scale the Summit, Mouth of the Architect

(Highline) Intronaut's latest album, Habitual Levitations, is a progressive amalgam of tightly rendered melodic math metal and jazz-informed instrumentation, a sharp and polished affair that finds the LA quartet eschewing some of the more rugged features of their previous releases. Houston-based instrumental outfit Scale the Summit bring even more dazzle to the table, with Musicians Institute and Berklee degrees fueling their unrelenting, sweeping arpeggios and finger-tapped leads. One guitarist is even a luthier, bringing their fret-board awareness to new extremes. And now, the full disclosure: I filled in on bass for the recording of Mouth of the Architect's second album as a last-minute favor. Though there were occasional odd time signatures, unexpected turns, and detailed flourishes, my clumsy fingers were fortunate that MOTA's brand of heaviness veers toward the colossal, as opposed to the nimbleness of their tourmates. BRIAN COOK

A Hawk and a Hacksaw

(Barboza) A Hawk and a Hacksaw serve as Albuquerque-based accordionist/drummer Jeremy Barnes and violinist Heather Trost's vehicle for exploration of Eastern European and Turkish folk music. The duo often employs several guest musicians to help them manifest the creations of their restless imaginations. They're sonic tourists, sure, but damn if they don't capture the flamboyantly dramatic spirit of those cultures and put their own enthusiastic, respectful American spin on them. AHAAH's latest album, You Have Already Gone to the Other World, homages Soviet director Sergei Parajanov's cult 1964 film Shadows of Forgotten Ancestors. It's a gorgeous, pensive work that could very well turn Barboza into a shrine. DAVE SEGAL

Junip, On an On, Barbarossa

(Neumos) The Swedish trio Junip are practically a Platonic ideal for modern folk rock that doesn't cloy: They're a robustly rhythmic yet delicately melodic combo of Can and Nick Drake. For the apogee of this approach, check out "In Every Direction" from Junip's 2010 album, Fields. José González's understated, flower-petal-soft voice insinuates itself into your mind like a trusted confidante's, and the music swells with an intimate grandeur. By contrast, Minneapolis's On an On's maudlin, electro-glazed indie pop sounds like a hack filmmaker's idea of "what the kids want these days." DAVE SEGAL

Thursday 6/6

Hausu, the Numbs, FF

(Black Lodge) See Underage.

Pocket Panda, the Bony King of Nowhere, the Douglas Firs, Thousands

(Columbia City Theater) It's a shame this show isn't happening in the middle of the woods, around the safety of a warm campfire, because England's Douglas Firs sound like a band made up of the monsters that lurk in the shadows while you roast your marshmallows. You can feel them behind you—you can feel them circling you, but you can't exactly tell what or where they are. It's something a little sinister, it's making your heart beat a little faster, but it probably won't hurt you. Their latest full-length, The Furious Sound, makes me think of Kithkin's percussion-heavy, tribal sounds, but spookier and maybe a little warped. You should probably avoid dark corners during their set—who knows what'll be hiding in there? MEGAN SELING

Broken Water, Haunted Horses, Jetman Jet Team

(Comet) A rock-solid night of solid rock here. Olympia's Broken Water unleash a tough brand of shoegaze rock that has more GRRR in its DNA than la la la. Somehow they evoke both the Swirlies and Love Battery. Check out their front-to-back platter of heat, Tempest, on Hardly Art Records. Haunted Horses kick out rampaging, coal-black rock with lethal goth undertones. Truth be told, they're Seattle's Liars (every city needs at least one). As for Jetman Jet Team, I've said it before and I'll say it again: They are one of Seattle's most exciting live rock experiences, a kaleidoscopic krautgaze whirlwind of youthful abandon and nuanced melody-mongering. Enter their Dreamachine-y domain. DAVE SEGAL

Casey Veggies, Travi$ Scott, Dave B

(Crocodile) LA's Casey Veggies came up in the same lane as Tyler, the Creator and Odd Future, appearing all over the first Odd Future Tape (the first OF release ever) and even Tyler's acclaimed debut, Bastard. Since then, Veggies has distinguished himself from the punk-rap anarchists with his smooth, easygoing delivery and positive outlook on life—displayed from his first mixtape, Sleeping in Class, to his most recent, Life Changes (his Tyler-produced, Earl/Hodgy/Domo–featuring banger, "PNCINTLOFWGKTA" shows he hasn't burned any bridges, though). Travi$ Scott, whose name and Auto-Tuned voice have become more ubiquitous in the last several months, appears to be a sort of Kanye/Future–derivative hybrid (and possibly the newest servant of a dark illuminati agenda), judging from his "Quintana" video, in which he raps over a Young Chop–jacking beat and bursts into flames while wearing a strappy leather vest with a giant pentagram on the chest. Seattle's Dave B made noise by winning this year's EMP Sound Off! competition, but proved himself even further by going the fuck in during his KEXP Street Sounds in-studio last month. Show up early for this one. MIKE RAMOS

Friday 6/7

Blank Realm, Monopoly Child Star Searchers, Dreamsalon

(Cairo) See Stranger Suggests.

Cut Hands, Black Rain

(Chop Suey) See Data Breaker.

The Maldives

(Triple Door) During a previous Seattle International Film Festival, the beloved alt-country band the Maldives supplied live accompaniment to the 1925 silent film Riders of the Purple Sage, and the results were so impressive that the band's back for another round at this year's SIFF. This time, the film is 1928's The Wind, starring Lillian Gish as a poor young woman hungry for a new life and harboring a fear of wind. Expect audio-visual gorgeousness. DAVID SCHMADER

Seattle School of Rock Presents: Beck's Song Reader

(Fremont Abbey) In the olden days, if you wanted to hear your favorite song, you'd get sheet music and play it yourself. Of course, in this age of Spotify/YouTube/iTunes/downloads/instant gratification/overstimulation, that idea comes off as straight-up radical. So when Beck wrote his latest album, Song Reader, and released it as a 108-page book of art and sheet music instead of an actual recording, he left a grand experiment for fans to attempt to "cover" any of the 20 songs on the album. You can't buy the record for Song Reader, but you can check out this show put on by the amazing School of Rock, who have taken on the challenge of arranging Beck's compositions in their own style. Plus, all proceeds will go to benefit 826 Seattle. BREE MCKENNA

Roscoe Mitchell Performs Nonaah

(Benaroya Hall) When modern jazz came to an end in the mid-'60s, the leading musicians of that movement had to make one of three choices: stick with modernism, which meant sticking with the past, or go forward with either jazz fusion (jazz and rock/funk) or free jazz (jazz meets Schoenberg). Miles Davis famously chose jazz fusion, and John Coltrane chose free jazz. There were some musicians, however, who more or less began their jazz careers at this important historical point—the end of modern jazz. One such musician was Roscoe Mitchell, a talented saxophonist who in his mid-20s began the Roscoe Mitchell Sextet, which released a free-jazz classic, Sound (1966), and later evolved into the Art Ensemble of Chicago (a group that produced one jazz celebrity, Lester Bowie). Tonight, Mitchell performs music from his strange and beautiful 1977 album, Nonaah. CHARLES MUDEDE

Mikal Cronin, Shannon and the Clams, Dude York

(Tractor) After listening to Mikal Cronin's second album, MCII, I have decided you are going to like him. In fact, you, reader of this blurb, are going to like this whole show! Mikal Cronin is a thoughtful garage-rocker who sometimes plays with fellow Californian Ty Segall. Though buzzing riffs and fuzzed-out sound-walls occasionally hang in the background, Cronin's solo musicianship is cleaner and bouncier than Segall's more blown-out tendencies. Next we have Oakland sweeties Shannon and the Clams, who recently released an exquisitely packaged album called Dreams in the Rat House (you have got to get a load of the mystical golden-glitter explosion that is the cover!). Rat House is packed with dreamy, '60s-ish surf grit and, of course, the voice of Shannon Shaw—a magical wail like none other, dipped in velvet, rolled in rhinestones. With the happening pop of Seattle's Dude York. EMILY NOKES

Alkaline Trio, Bayside

(Showbox at the Market) Last week I verbally barfed on New Found Glory for enabling pop-punk-loving man-boys of the early 2000s to refuse to grow the fuck up. I suppose I could (and probably should) chastise Alkaline Trio for similar reasons, but there's something about the way Matt Skiba and co. get hopelessly dramatic that I actually love. It makes me revert back to my 17-year-old self to wallow in their morbid pop. Does that make me a hypocrite? Possibly. But that's okay, because that's just one more thing to add to my "Why Megan Sucks" list, and examining that (long, long) collection of horrible traits sounds so great with Alkaline Trio's gothic, self-loathing pop-punk soundtrack. MEGAN SELING

Saturday 6/8

B'Shnorkestra, Jherek Bischoff

(Columbia City Theater) Composer, arranger, multi-instrumentalist, and all-around nice guy Jherek Bischoff is one of this year's finalists for the Stranger Genius Award in the music category—and he shimmers with genius. His compositions are really compositions (not just rock or pop with some strings as icing) and have attracted collaborators including David Byrne and Mirah Zeitlyn. Bischoff was also recently commissioned to write an arrangement for a Stephen Sondheim song. He can scale his performances and the number of musicians to fit the venue, so he's at home just about anywhere. Bischoff is great, but he's just one member of an entrenched new-music community in Seattle. Composer Samantha Boshnack is another, and her new project B'Shnorkestra—featuring Alex Guy, Joshua Kohl, and other local talents—will also perform tonight to celebrate the release of their new CD. BRENDAN KILEY

Brent Amaker and the Rodeo, the Young Evils, Tilson XOXO

(Neumos) Local cowboys Brent Amaker and the Rodeo aren't holding back in the celebration of their new album, Year of the Dragon (out June 4 on Fin Records). Not only is a mural of the band currently standing two stories high on the Pike Street side of Neumos, but they're also debuting their own wine from Proletariat Winery in Walla Walla. I had y'all pegged as whiskey-drinkin' types, but wine'll do fine, I suppose. The Rodeo wine (available in both red and white) will be available at tonight's show, and all proceeds will go to Northwest Harvest. So go get drunk! Wear your cowboy boots! And be sure to arrive in time for the Young Evils and Tilson XOXO, who are opening the show and securing the evening's "party" status. MEGAN SELING

Tempers, Metal Mother, Gold Wolf Galaxy

(Comet) Metal Mother—a darkwave white witch named Taara Tati from Oakland—doesn't sound very metal. Tati makes heavily electronic avant-pop that's highly organic. The San Francisco Bay Guardian recently called her "an acid-drenched wood nymph." MTV's Iggy website described her sophomore album, Ionika, as one that "reinvented metal aesthetics for the sake of dark, tribal folk pop." Fans of Kate Bush, Björk, and Cocteau Twins won't be disappointed (unless, of course, the Comet's sound system totally sucks that night, and some of the regulars start throwing empty beer cans at the stage). KELLY O

Georgetown Carnival: Witchburn, Ghost Town Riot, Thaddillac, the Missionary Position

(The Mix) The Georgetown Carnival, now in its seventh year, is an all-day (noon 'til 8 p.m.) merriment buffet featuring art, music, and power-tool races. Performers from the Seattle Drum School will be there, as will the terrifying/hilarious Jackie Hell and all the burlesque, belly dancing, and acrobatics your eyeballs can handle. The 8–10 p.m. after-party (on the poster, it's called the "After Hours Masquerade,"—I'm not sure if you really need to wear a mask, but I guess it can't hurt, right?) will take place at the Mix and feature the bands Communist Eyes (just when you thought there couldn't possible be more band names using the word "Eyes," though this one's a Germs reference—they're self-described as "boogie punk rock 'n' roll"), Rocket Surgery (their bio had me with "Estrogen Rock"), and snotty, fun, late-'70s-style pop-punkers Cute Lepers. EMILY NOKES

Sunday 6/9

Ceremony, Gag

(Black Lodge) See Underage.

School of Rock Presents: The Wall by Pink Floyd

(Triple Door) The Wall permeated my high-school years like a toxic airborne event. Man, did I get sick of hearing "Another Brick in the Wall, Pt. 2," "Comfortably Numb" (a great work temporarily ruined by overexposure), and "Hey You." But not "Run Like Hell"; that was one of our cross-country team's anthems, and it's still one of Pink Floyd's best songs, a real nail-biting adrenaline-pumper. Anyway, yeah, for a while in America, you couldn't escape The Wall, and surely classic-rock radio's still caning those above-mentioned songs. But this concept album's still a bloated canvas on which Roger Waters splattered his neuroses and self-pitying gripes. It's an ambitious mixed bag, to put it lightly. If the School of Rock needed a real challenge and wanted to tackle a Pink Floyd double LP, though, they should've gone for Ummagumma. Next time? DAVE SEGAL

Monday 6/10

Give it a rest.

Tuesday 6/11

JACK Quartet featuring Joshua Roman

(Town Hall): The string quartet that's been called "viscerally exciting," with works by Lutoslawski, Rodericus, and Brian Ferneyhough, marked by a world premiere, Quintet, by young composing sensation Jefferson Friedman (born 1974). New, new, new! JEN GRAVES