Wednesday 8/21

My Bloody Valentine, Lumerians

(Showbox Sodo) Anticipation for the 17-years-in-the-making m b v was so great that what essentially sounds like a collection of outtakes was hailed as something close to the second coming of Loveless. But here's the thing: m b v is as close as we're ever going to get to another Loveless, and as m b v's nine tracks make clear, no one else in the world can make a racket like My Bloody Valentine. Live, the band is amazingly, assaultingly loud—even with earplugs, your head will be buzzing hard—and no one who appreciates an epic guitar roar will want to miss it. With San Francisco space-rockers Lumerians. DAVID SCHMADER

BLSPHM, ADC, Wind Swept Planes, Lucid Aisle, the Loathsome Couple

(Chop Suey) Since one of black metal's most prominent driving forces is misanthropy, it only makes sense that some of the strongest players in that community are solo artists. Subcultural rainmakers like Xasthur, Leviathan, and Burzum all work in isolation; they're so evil, they can't even make nice with a bass player. Add BLSPHM to that list of loners. Under his vowel-less moniker, Demian Johnston lashes out at humanity with layers of blackened noise and apocalyptic drone. While BLSPHM's battle plan resembles the approach of solo experimentalists like Merzbow, Masonna, and Prurient, Johnston's sonic vocabulary owes more to the corpse-painted crowd. The resulting sound is so repugnant that Johnston never revisits the past, opting instead to transform the project with every performance. Consequently, every BLSPHM show is mandatory for folks who revel in revilement. BRIAN COOK

Atlas Sound, Tacocat, Pony Time, Pollens

(Neumos) I could tell you more about the beautiful, weird, folky, and ambient music of the prolific lead singer of Deerhunter, Bradford Cox. Yes, I should probably tell you more about his solo project, Atlas Sound. But you know, Cox as Atlas Sound hasn't released any new LPs since his much-loved and critically "thumbs-up" 2011 record Parallax. Instead, it seems like he's been busy playing on rooftops at openings for artists like NYC photographer Ryan McGinley (one of the youngest people, at 25, to ever have a solo show at the Whitney) and spending time making an experimental VHS-filmed documentary about his own life called Youth Museum. No sky and/or creative medium can limit this dude. KELLY O

Inner Mounting Flame: The Music of Mahavishnu Orchestra with Being John McLaughlin, Jacques Entertainment System

(Royal Room) Being John McLaughlin is the clever name for the local ad-hoc sextet tackling the phenomenally complex, combustible, and beautiful music of 1970s jazz-fusion deities Mahavishnu Orchestra. McLaughlin is, of course, MO's superhumanly dexterous guitarist/leader and one of the catalysts in Miles Davis's paradigm-shifting electric period. His group's first two albums—1971's Inner Mounting Flame and 1973's Birds of Fire—remain overwhelming sources of quicksilver inventiveness and spiritual profundity (go to "The Noonward Race" for instant proof) on the level of those early Tony Williams Lifetime LPs, Miles's Dark Magus, and Return to Forever's Romantic Warrior. It's a damn shame this show is happening the same night as My Bloody Valentine, though. DAVE SEGAL

Thursday 8/22

Scout Niblett

(Barboza) See Stranger Suggests.

Dog Shredder, Great Falls, Heiress

(Sunset) Old-man beard rock is what punk-rock dudes do when they decide to grow up, quit their bands, and pick up an acoustic guitar to sing introspective songs about how they miss life on the road/hate life on the road (see: most anyone who's been on the Revival Tour). But Heiress aren't shutting up just because they're growing up—the group of Northwest hardcore veterans, fronted by John Pettibone of Undertow and Himsa, deliver punching beats, throat-shredding vocals, and charging guitar riffs. As they say themselves—they're "older Seattle gentlemen making loud beard metal." That makes it sound so polite! Great Falls are also fantastic—the Seattle trio started as a noise duo, and while their songs have taken on more traditional structures over time, their main goal still seems to be to blow your eardrums out of your head. MEGAN SELING

Friday 8/23

Alan Bishop, r millis, Noisepoetnobody

(Josephine) See Underage.

Lusine, Natasha Kmeto, Vox Mod

(Mural Amphitheater) See Data Breaker.

Souls of Mischief, Shorte, Jewels Hunter

(Crocodile) It is my first time in San Francisco, and my lover's best friend, who used to live in Seattle, now lives in the Mission District. My lover's best friend is a rising DJ. Her bedroom is packed with old and new rap records. She plays me everything that is important to her. And the most important record of the moment is Souls of Mischief's 93 'Til Infinity. Because Souls of Mischief are from East Oakland, bars and parties all across the Bay Area are playing their record from start to end. This is the birth of Left Coast hiphop. 93 'Til Infinity shares its name with its most popular track. There is not a week that closes without its four minutes being filled by the sad melodies and pounding beats that make "93 'Til Infinity" one of the highest aesthetic achievements in hiphop production. The music says the same thing as the words. It is always about the diamond infinity of moments that, in glittering rings, radiate from 1994 until the present, the now, the moment that's being crystallized by the sorrowful soul of the looped electric piano, the lonely blow of the Pete Rockish horn, and the man-machine compression of the drum machine. CHARLES MUDEDE

Pixies Cover Night: Members of Midday Veil, Ononos, Tea Cozies, Kithkin, Gibraltar, Charms, Noddy, Bad Motivators, and more

(Chop Suey) A recipe for all the fun: great bands covering great songs by other great bands. It's the one time when you can clunk out a song you didn't write, to the best of your ability, and people will go WILD because AHHH I LOVE THIS PIXIES SONG! Even better if you can nail it or put your own spin on it, but let's face it, no one loses at a good cover night, and this lineup is solid. Each band will play at least two songs—the Bad Motivators tell me they will be including "The Sad Punk" in their set, the Tea Cozies will play "Caribou," and I can't wait to hear Ononos do "Into the White." EMILY NOKES See also The Homosexual Agenda.

Les Claypool, Reformed Whores

(Neptune) Leslie Edward Claypool turns 50 this year and has been releasing records with Primus and an impressive array of other bands since 1988, but his signature funked-up slap-bass technique has never gone out of style. As expressive and inventive as it is technical and precise, it's one of the most distinguishable sounds to emerge from rock's recent history. Never a stranger to side projects, Claypool is performing on this nine-stop tour with guitarist Bryan Kehoe as "Les Claypool's Duo de Twang"—likely focusing on the more bluegrassy, NorCal-backwoods root elements of his sound and playing style. Opening duo Reformed Whores should fit right in with their accordion-/ukulele-led musical comedy routine. MIKE RAMOS

Jail Weddings, Country Lips

(Comet) The LA-based rolling carnival called Jail Weddings is one of the most electrifying rock 'n' roll bands working today. With a large (and shifting) cast of characters, multi-instrumentalists, and comely backup singers, the group brings a gale-force storm of soulful, bacchanalian heartbreak and fury into any bar they set foot in. Jail Weddings dress smartly and play hard with a gasping, gutter-dandy glamour. Frontman Gabe Hart stalks the room with wolfishly hungry eyes and a yearning snarl. Being a member of Jail Weddings probably isn't good for your health, but they're a vivifying sight to behold. BRENDAN KILEY

Saturday 8/24

Linda's Fest: Absolute Monarchs, Constant Lovers, Tilson XOXO, Katie Kate, Big Eyes, Iska Dhaaf

(Linda's) See Stranger Suggests.

Waxwing

(Vera) See preview.

Pressure Suit, Jimi Jaxon, Tremel

(Vermillion) See Data Breaker.

Sam Flax, Part Time, Mega Bog, Punishment

(Cairo) See Underage.

Stones Throw Soul Tour: Dâm-Funk, the Stepkids, Myron & E

(Crocodile) Stones Throw is best known for its releases by Madlib and J Dilla, but the roster of this venerable Los Angeles indie imprint doesn't stop with underground hiphop, encompassing rough-hewn post-punk, neo-soul, and outsider oddities like Gary Wilson, too. Consistent quality is mandatory for survival when you champion as many weirdoes as Stones Throw does, and this package tour delivers: Dâm-Funk's outré electro conjures up the ghosts of Rammellzee and Zapp's Roger Troutman, while newcomers Myron & E deploy finely tuned classic soul grooves. And the Stepkids, who drop their superlative sophomore set Troubadour next month, operate in a world all their own, infusing jazz, '70s pop, psychedelia, and tight vocal harmonies into sinewy funk grooves—their kaleidoscopic support slots for the Horrors in 2011 damn near eclipsed the headliners. KURT B. REIGHLEY See also Data Breaker.

Black Sabbath, Andrew W.K.

(Gorge Amphitheatre) Black Sabbath's new Rick Rubin–produced album, 13, is not bad, surprisingly, for a band that peaked in the first half of the 1970s. Of course, these doom-metal pioneers have earned some slack-cutting by this point, and the fact that they're even alive in 2013 is a blessed miracle. Hearing their iconic, powerfully downward-spiraling rock in the beautiful outdoors may cause cognitive dissonance, but the prospect still causes tingles of anticipation. A perusal of recent set lists reveals an emphasis on Sabbath's first four albums, the group's strongest phase (but no "Planet Caravan" or "Sweet Leaf"—boo!). Also: Nothing against drummer Tommy Clufetos, but this tour is marred by original member Bill Ward's absence. DAVE SEGAL

Sunday 8/25

The Beach Boys

(Snoqualmie Casino) I mean, there are the Beach Boys, and then there are the Beach Boys. Almost as if two separate bands, the Beach Boys can first be categorized as a one-surf pony, whose blond 'n' tan hits were as catchy as they were similar—the American/Californian high-school dream of cars and babes, delivered with high harmonies and beach-party hooks. Then came the deep end of the Beach Boys, the strange and gooey mid-'60s period when Brian Wilson uncorked his heartbreaking freakaleak with Pet Sounds—some of the best music anyone with ears could hope to hear. As far as the current Beach Boys appearing at the Snoqualmie Casino, this entry near the end of their Wikipedia page probably sums it up: "'Kokomo' and reliance on nostalgia." EMILY NOKES

Plow United, Smokejumper

(Vera) Here—this is my punk-rock card. Take it, because I surely don't deserve it. I completely missed out on Plow United when they were around in the 1990s—when I listened to nothing but punk rock—so I thought the Delaware trio that just released a new record, Marching Band, was new on the scene. Oh, how wrong I was. Plow United existed through most of the '90s, breaking up late in the decade, only to reunite a couple years ago at Riot Fest East. They have hooks reminiscent of the Loved Ones or the Menzingers, and they bring some punk-rock fire on par with early Rancid or Good Riddance. How did I miss this?! Seeing as how they're playing the Vera Project, and they broke up before some Vera attendees were even born, I'm guessing I won't be the only one in the room who didn't get to catch them the first time. MEGAN SELING

Monday 8/26

Whirr, Nothing, Vibragun, Nostalgist

(Vera) See Underage.

Pinback, Survival Knife

(Showbox at the Market) I only caught about 10 minutes of Survival Knife's Capitol Hill Block Party performance, but that was enough to convince that they deserve rapt attention. The Olympia quartet—which features former Unwound members Justin Trosper and Brandt Sandeno—slashed and chiseled out sinewy, intricate rock formations that flung an aging critic's mind back to crucial American groups like Slint, Seam, and Slovenly. You literally don't hear that sort of lineage every day. If you like any of those bands (or Unwound, for that matter), you will feel your heart swell magnificently for the contortionist ruckus of Survival Knife. In 14 years of sporadic listening to melodic indie-rock introverts Pinback, I've never felt a strong emotion. Apologies to all. DAVE SEGAL

Special Explosion, Sun Valley Gun Club, the Hague, New Lungs

(Comet) Sun Valley is a real place in Idaho, and there really is a gun club there. For $9 you can rent a Beretta and destroy some sporting clays. The band of the same name isn't from Sun Valley; they're from the Oakland area, and for just $1 more than a gun rental, you can buy their latest full-length, Into the Valley Sun, which has warm, guitar-driven parts that will pair very well with Special Explosion's own ode to mid-'90s guitar rock. Both will take you back to a time when you would buy the latest issue of CMJ, when it was a tall, skinny magazine with a CD tucked inside, and then hide out in your bedroom reading every single word on every single page because the internet didn't exist yet. MEGAN SELING

Tuesday 8/27

Stay in and work on your masterpiece.