THURSDAY 6/7

OSUNLADE
(Baltic Room) Osunlade's press tends to focus on his appearance (he's been known to DJ in long flowing garments or with a bone in his nose) or his religion (he's a priest in the African religion Ifa), giving short shrift to his music. His deep, soulful house does more than inspire one to dance; it lifts the entire spirit, turning beats into a transcendental experience. On this visit, Osunlade should play a few cuts from Elements Beyond, his upcoming Strictly Rhythm LP, which is partially inspired by his travels and features Osunlade himself on piano, guitar, drums, bass, and vocals. The opening track was written during a winter visit to Seattle and is appropriately titled "A Cloudy Mist." DONTE PARKS

PO' GIRL, CAROLYN MARK
(Tractor) Charismatic Canadian upstart Carolyn Mark can be disarmingly playful onstage, but that doesn't mean the Victoria, BC, resident doesn't take her music very seriously. Especially these days. Her forthcoming fifth album, Nothing Is Free, strikes an ideal balance between the rambunctious character of her best previous work and her more winsome side. Melodies are simple, yet ever-so-slightly twisted, while wry turns of phrase punctuate sincere sentiments. And her voice, a natural country instrument if ever there was one, settles nicely into a more laid-back register that underscores the overall mellower vibe. Even if you don't know them yet, request "The One That Got Away with It" and "Point of View"—the sooner they become audience favorites, the better off we'll all be. KURT B. REIGHLEY

FRIDAY 6/8

BROKEN DISCO: NORTEC COLLECTIVE, SMASH TV, PANOPTICA, DJS COLIN, INTROCUT, KAMUI, ELECTROSECT, RECESS
(Chop Suey) See Stranger Suggests.

NOISE FOR THE NEEDY: THE LIGHTS, THEE EMERGENCY, KISSING POTION, THE WHORE MOANS
(Comet) "Jesus Christ, Megan, stop writing about the fucking Whore Moans!" "Shut up! I'll write about the Whore Moans if I want to! I like them, and I have the pen." "Dude, you've never even seen them live. How can you like them so much? What if they suck live?" "They don't, fucker! I've heard they're awesome. I can like a band a lot without seeing them live first. They're totally loud and tight bluesy and swingy punk rock with attitude, swagger, and awesomeness. What's not to like?" "Okay, fair enough. But you write about them all the time. Are you dating them or something?" "No, asshole. I've never even met them. I'll stop writing about them when they stop being good. It's not my fault there aren't more talented bands in the city for me to focus on. Besides, this time they're playing with Thee Emergency, who consistently blow minds with their sexy cock rock." "Seling, you don't even know what cock rock means. You were born in 1980." "Touché." MEGAN SELING

BIG BUSINESS, MIDDIAN, MINSK, IAMTHETHORN
(El Corazón) "Fuscular." That's the word a Scottish friend of mine minted to describe band dudes like Jared Warren, bassist and vocalist for Big Business. Guys who carry around a bit of heft, but also have plenty of muscle coiled between their flesh and bones. "Fuscular" sums up the sound of the duo—which also feature Coady Willis behind the drum kit—damn near perfectly. Their second album, Here Come the Waterworks, offers up more of the propulsive, progressive punk-metal that earned them full-time membership in the Melvins. Like some creepy sci-fi slime monster that crawled out of a meteorite (or prime Black Sabbath), the music of Big Business moves with startling speed and deadly accuracy for something so bottom heavy. Brace yourself. KURT B. REIGHLEY

SATURDAY 6/9

PRETTY GIRLS MAKE GRAVES
(Neumo's) See Stranger Suggests., and Underage.

NOISE FOR THE NEEDY: COMMON MARKET, , GRAYSKUL, SLEEP (OF OLDOMINION), DJBLESONE
(Chop Suey) While the more mild-mannered Blue Scholars are being run up the flagpole as the group that will finally bring Seattle-made hiphop to national attention, local rap iconoclasts Grayskul have been laying the groundwork for a very well-deserved blowup of their own for some time. Consisting of bloody-mouthed MCs Onry Ozzborn and JFK, as well as bassist Rob Castro, Grayskul have emerged as the most unusual and exciting extended siblings of the massive Oldominion crew. Since their 2005 debut, Deadlivers, on Minneapolis's Rhymesayers Entertainment—at present one of the absolutely most successful and influential indie hiphop labels—they have proven themselves more a part of the national rap community than pretty much anyone else out of the Emerald City. The early showings from Bloody Radio—their second album for Rhymesayers, set for release this coming September 11—find them employing the sort of agitated android flows and dystopian, palpitating beats more in line with the chaotic, experimental aesthetic of their friends at Def Jux than with the bulk of their own RSE labelmates. SAM MICKENS

THE WRENS, YOUNG GALAXY, SAY HI TO YOUR MOM
(Crocodile) I've got good and bad news. The Wrens are back in town, but they don't have a new album. The infrequently prolific New Jersey band have recorded just three full-lengths in the 10 years they've been together, but each has been a minor masterpiece. Smart, biting lyrics about failure, love, and frustration adorn the propulsive, melodic, guitar-driven music produced by four lads who take "punk" to a new level—one's a lawyer, one's in sales, one works for big pharma, and one used to be an accountant for an ad agency. Just goes to prove that genius lurks everywhere, so next time you're sneering at the man in the gray flannel suit, consider the perfect pop songs that may be hiding somewhere inside his corporate heart. CHRIS McCANN

SUNDAY 6/10

DATAROCK, DJ COLLAGE, VELELLA VELELLA
(Chop Suey) See preview.

THE PEOPLE NOW, WIMBLEWEATHER
(Central) It would seem the People Now are trying to incite some kind of soft revolution. They make no claim to social action, but instead hope to be the soundtrack to it, their manifesto rooted not in the works of Marx and Engels but in the lyrics sheet to The Shape of Punk to Come. They found their voice, singer Paul Florin, in Bucharest, Romania, and within months of swapping demos he uprooted his life to Seattle to front the band. It seems everything the People Now attempt is epic in scale, from their long, layered songs to their markedly portentous website. It may only be a matter of time before their words ring so true to the masses that they must be sacrificed for the good of the status quo. JEFF KIRBY

OKKERVIL RIVER, SERA CAHOONE, GHOST STORIES
(Neumo's) Will Sheff is the source of Okkervil River's greatness. His voice is alternately soft and ragged, a perfect broken-hearted instrument for his worn-down, romantic lyricism (seriously, "oubliette"—that's so awesome) and thoughtful songwriting. The band's 2005 releases, Black Sheep Boy and Black Sheep Boy Appendix, are full of timeless folk/country—influenced ballads, dark dirges, and desperately hopeful driving songs. The band fleshes out Sheff's songs with strings, lap-steel, keyboards, brass, as well as the usual guitars, bass, and drums—they're careful to never overwhelm the quieter moments, letting Sheff's voice stand with only spare accompaniment when called for. But when the whole band swells up along with Sheff on songs like "For Real" or "So Come Back, I Am Waiting" they sound fully triumphant. If the single "Our Life Is Not a Movie or Maybe" is any indication, the band's recently recorded full-length, The Stage Names (due out in August), will be more of the same tender anthems, perhaps with just slightly brighter production. This show should be a chance to hear some of that new material worked out live. ERIC GRANDY

MONDAY 6/11

LUCINDA WILLIAMS
(McCaw Hall) There are certain artists who just can't fake it—and Lucinda Williams is one of them. Her voice betrays every bruise and betrayal the obstinately resilient singer/songwriter has suffered, and her latest album, West, documents it. Arguably her most personal and vulnerable record to date, West is a harrowingly beautiful excursion and a remarkable work of art. If you've ever witnessed Williams live, however, you already know that her albums only hint at the raw emotion and force of her live performances. By turns gravelly, gruff, plaintive, and plainspoken, Williams is devastating whether she's singing about her mother's funeral or an absent friend or lover. In an industry concerned about its future, it's artists like Williams who prove that there's simply no substitute for the real deal. BARBARA MITCHELL

MICE PARADE AND TIM BROSSEAU, KIRA KIRA
(Triple Door) Mice Parade is the anagram alias of Adam Pierce, an indie-rock drummer turned multi-instrumental solo recording wizard. Formed in 1998, Mice Parade has since expanded to include other musicians—their latest self-titled album features collaborations from Stereolab's Laetitia Sadier and Múm's Kristin Anna Valtysdottir—and the band's live setup includes cheng (a kind of Chinese harp), two drummers, vibes, violin, electric piano, and synths. Mice Parade focuses less on intricate instrumentals than Pierce's previous releases and more on acoustic, almost folky pop. Sadier collaboration "Tales of Las Negras" buries beat-up drums under swirls of piano and vocals harmonies, Valtysdottir's guest appearance sounds, unsurprisingly, like a Múm castoff, only with more classical guitar than toy piano. Solo or with collaborators, Mice Parade consistently pair quietly compelling songwriting with expert, occasionally experimental recording and arrangement. ERIC GRANDY See CD review.

TUESDAY 6/12

DESTROY THE RUNNER, ENDWELL, BLOODLINED CALLIGRAPHY, LAY TO REST
(El Corazón) Female-fronted Christian thrash bands are few and far between, so it's faint praise to anoint Bloodlined Calligraphy as the best of the bunch. However, the group's esoteric categorization doesn't matter on disc, where Ellen Hoffman's guttural vocals cloak her sex and render lines such as "Save us, oh God" indecipherable, or live, where Bloodlined Calligraphy's sheer brutality renders tangential concerns irrelevant. Eric Cargile's rumbling bass lines, often isolated as the prelude to seismic breakdowns, give this group an unassailable rhythmic foundation, while guitarists Ryan Hampton and Shawn Williams shred and chug with equal ferocity. Bloodlined Calligraphy's latest album, Ypsilanti, pays titular tribute to their hometown (Ypsilanti trivia: also the birthplace of Iggy Pop) and musical homage to early Sick of It All and D.R.I. ANDREW MILLER

DARRIUS WILLRICH AND FRIENDS
(Nectar) Longtime and hard-working local pianist/singer Darrius Willrich possesses a mastery of and dedication to various forms of 20th-century black music, from hard bop to quiet storm R&B. This makes him not only a great rarity in the largely soul-droughted city of Seattle, but truly in the lineage of musically polyglot but still fundamentally R&B artists, from Stevie Wonder to D'Angelo. With vocal phrasing and tone closer to the horn-like clarity of the young Wonder than the more sultry huskiness favored by many '90s neo-soul dudes, Willrich writes and produces unabashedly romantic, luxuriant soul music. And given that his many local "friends" include illustrious homegrown artists such as Vitamin D and Choklate, and that as the longtime keyboardist for Jambalaya he was involved in countless hours of inspired improvised soul and hiphop, tonight could prove a truly spontaneous and exciting evening. SAM MICKENS

WEDNESDAY 6/13

ARCHITECTURE IN HELSINKI
(Neumo's) See Stranger Suggests.