The smoke has slowly started to clear, the temperature has dropped, and we can finally go outside again without crouching in fear of the elements. Celebrate this newfound freedom by attending one of these concerts picked by our criticsâwe've got everything from the rapper at the top of the rap game (2 Chainz), to a stacked bill of death metal icons (Summer Slaughter 2017), to a free celebration of local bands (Mercer X Summit Block Party). Follow the links below for complete details and music clips, or check out our music calendar for even more options.
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MONDAY
:| Depths |: August Edition with Videodrome
It was only a matter of time before Depths mastermind Andrew Crawshaw (aka Meridian Arc) would get down to the important task of creating a new soundtrack to David Cronenbergâs very fucked-up 1983 sci-fi-horror film Videodrome. Howard Shoreâs original score conveys the queasy atmospheres of the directorâs twisted vision with maleficent proficiency. Shore certainly manifested a subtly disturbing backdrop for Videodromeâs charactersâ hallucinatory experiences, so Crawshaw and his stalwart accomplices have their work cut out for them. Expect them to rise to the occasion. Go for Debbie Harryâs and James Woodâs acting and Cronenbergâs visceral surrealism, stay for the sinister synth emissions. DAVE SEGAL
TUESDAY
Primus with Clutch
One of my favorite visuals that played during a concert in recent memory was a white animated elephant jumping on a trampoline during Primusâ âSouthbound Pachyderm,â its cute trunk-swinging body rocketing higher and higher as the song crept, drove, then galloped to its conclusion. A band that never has disappointed in the six times Iâve seen them rage the stage, Primus push out an absurdist-cheeky mix of experimental rock and alt metal thatâs heavy on the funk and propelled by Les Claypoolâs idiosyncratic, rubbery low-end banging, string-yanking prowess, and nasally singsong vocals, with strong backup in Larry LaLondeâs relentlessly riffy and shreddy guitar. Itâs the kind of music that makes me feel both utterly satisfied and a pressing desire to bounce and thrash around while screaming, âToo many puuuuuppiesâ and doing my best twisted-faced air bass impression. Definitely a must-see. (The band, not my terrible air bass.) LEILANI POLK
Zen Mother, Ahleuchatistas, Roy Rodgers
When so many local bands of twentysomethings are content to reference the rock music made around the time they were born, Zen Mother are a refreshing corrective. The psych/experimental group is the project of two Virginia transplants, Monika Khot and Adam Wolcott Smith, who share an affinity for the avant-garde. The duo self-recorded their bandâs latest album, I Was Made to Be Like Her, and itâs rich with sonic experimentation: impressionistic layers of synth drone, caustic guitar leads, lyrics that repeat like incantations. Tension and release, instead of traditional song structure, gives the music its form, which allows Khot and Smithâs many ideas room to breathe. Youâre unlikely to hear a more risk-taking, rewarding rock record out of Seattle in 2017. ANDREW GOSPE
WEDNESDAY
Crybaby Studios Monthly Show
Every month of 2017 will see a different locals-only showcase hosted by Crybaby Studios, with the third Wednesday of each month acting as a feature for some of our best regional musicians. The August show will include a headlining set from raw local hiphop-post-punk hybrid group The White Tears, no-wave-adjacent noise rockers Miscomings, and post-post-punk punks Quid Quo, and visuals from Daisyheroin.
Haunted Horses, Into The Storm, Webdriver Torso, Kihalas, To End It All
As reliable as bad news appearing in your news feed, local twosome Haunted Horses return with another batch of truculent, postindustrial punk songs on their COME EP. Drummer Myke Pelly and guitarist Colin Dawson never waver in their admirable quest to interpret the wretched zeitgeist with music that rails against corrupt power structures while simultaneously striving to level architectural structures. Seattleâs Webdriver Torso are one of those classic male/female synth duos (see/hear: Chris & Cosey, Adult., Crystal Castles, etc.) that traffic in storm-cloudy tunes that make you feel exhilaratingly pessimistic. Despite the gloomy sonics and pitiless vocals, Webdriver Torsoâsinger GG and bassist/synthesis Alex Noelkeâseem poised for a bright future. DAVE SEGAL
Pallbearer with Guests
Itâs a blessing and a curse for a metal band to receive crosssover praise from the indie community. On the one hand, more exposure is a good thing. On the flip side, metal folks donât like to see their beloved bands find audiences outside of their inner circle. Much like Deafheaven faced the ire of black-metal purists in the wake of the melodic Sunbather, Little Rockâs Pallbearer have faced some backlash for their sophisticated take on doom metal. And to be fair, Pallbearerâs output may not be as earth-shattering as Cathedralâs Forest of Equilibrium nor as grim as Burning Witchâs Crippled Lucifer, but the finely woven melodies and deliberate steamroller crawl of albums like Sorrow & Extinction and Heartless deservedly resonates with the broader rock community. BRIAN COOK
Tyler Childers with Eddie Berman
Kentucky singer-songwriter and storyteller Tyler Childers manages to make dusty backroad tracks about the old country sound new again, with a world-weary narrative helmed by his charcoal-accented vocals.
THURSDAY
AMANDALA
Seattle-based, conservatory-trained, South-African born singer AMANDALA (Amanda Lamprecht) plays a "very special blend of her uniquely expressive voice, emotional and deeply personal songwriting, top-tier musicianship, combined with accessible and universal themes of discovery."
Guantanamo Baywatch
Portland surf punks Guantanamo Baywatch will be back in town to promote their new album Desert Center, which comes out in August. They describe their own work as "SURF SEX SLUDGE AND GARBAGE." Dreamdecay and Steal Shit Do Drugs will provide support.
Kid Koala, Blueyedsoul, Indica Jones, Rosby
An unsung turntablism hero and UK label Ninja Tuneâs first North American signee, this Vancouver-born scratch master pulls the same sample-heavy tricks that made the likes of DJ Shadow famous, but stitches them into more introspective, even ambient numbers. Perhaps Kid Koalaâs music is driven by his penchant for drawing: He sketched two graphic novels, Nufonia Must Fall (2003) and Space Cadet (2011), and in 2009 pioneered âMusic to Draw To,â live events where he would play music while the audience was encouraged to sit down and draw rather than get up and dance. In January, Toronto imprint Arts & Crafts formalized that sound with Music to Draw To: Satellite, a dreamy album and the Kidâs first in five years. GREG SCRUGGS
Priests, Lithics, Casual Hex, Sleepover Club
Priests' somber rock occasionally sounds dreamy rather than angry, but has enough bite to qualify as postpunkâand the lyrics pack plenty of anti-conformist indignation and individual malaise. They'll be joined by local groups Lithics, Casual Hex, and Sleepover Club.
Psychic Ills with Wall of Ears
Washington legalized recreational marijuana, and suddenly everyone in Seattle is a sommelier of weed. But it sure beats the old days of getting an eighth of mystery bud and rolling the dice as to whether you were going to immediately pass out on the couch or stay up half the night in a red-eyed panic attack. Now that you know your preferences for indica or sativas, you can more accurately dial in the chemical enhancement for your evening entertainment. Like most psych outfits, Psychic Illsâ music practically begs for intoxicated listening, but whereas many of their peers jam in sativic amplified ecstasy, the Brooklyn outfit zone out in a pleasantly languid indica plateau of simple, repetitive chord structures and modest auxiliary instrumentation. Adjust your head space accordingly. BRIAN COOK
Studio 4/4: Damian Lazarus
Thank the solar eclipse for bringing so much revered international DJ talent to our front steps at a time of year when they can be making bank at an Ibiza residency or a festival in Croatia. With the Eclipse Festival landing a few hours away in Oregon, Crosstown Rebels honcho Damian Lazarus is making a pit stop at Studio 4/4 to bring his increasingly cosmic brand of house and techno, one thatâs evolved from the early-2000s UK club scene into sampling Pakistani Qawwali singers for his new Ancient Moons project. Expect an indoors warm-up for what will surely sound better under the dark skies east of the crest as the raved-up masses await totality. GREG SCRUGGS
Summer Slaughter 2017
This yearâs Summer Slaughter headliners donât get the respect they deserve. Brutal death-metal old guard Dying Fetus revel in their own anti-intellectual brutishness, but their licks require intense chops. By the way, they pull their mosh-pit instigations off with only three musicians. Their latest, Wrong One to Fuck With, matches its almost absurdist title with an overabundance of half- and quarter-time drops. The Faceless canât seem to nail down a lineup or finish their long-awaited upcoming album, but they now feature Olympiaâs Ken Sorceron on vocals. Regardless of their cluttered history, their 2008 masterpiece, Planetary Duality, remains a must-listen. Best, Detroitâs the Black Dahlia Murder will play their unsung classic, 2007âs Nocturnal¸ from front to back. JOSEPH SCHAFER
Walter TV, Eola, Versing
Mac Demarco, a man who not long ago was climbing on the ceiling ducts of tiny rock clubs and sticking fingers up his own butt onstage, has become indie rockâs number one darling. The fact that he did so by writing an insistently catchy song about smoking his favorite cigarette is telling: Heâs a prankster with a pop starâs gift for simple, soaring melodies. Walter TV, in which Demarco plays bass and band mate Pierce McGarry fronts, is the cracked-out cousin of Demarcoâs music. Itâs like the ennui-riddled characters from Tim Heideckerâs The Comedy got sober for long enough to learn some instruments, then recorded a Ween cover album straight to 4-track. All the wincingly saccharine impulses of Demarcoâs work are jettisoned in favor of blown-out jamming and half-assed harmonies. It's not unlike watching your brilliant loser friends rehearse in a bong-fogged basement, for better or worse. KYLE FLECK
FRIDAY
Lady Rizo
Amelia Zirin-Brown, aka Lady Rizo, has won the Time Out London and Soho Theatre Award and the 2013 London Cabaret Award in addition to her Grammy for a collaboration with Yo-Yo Ma, and she sounds a bit like Judy Garland on vocal steroids. She'll bring her brassy one-woman performance art and music cabaret to the Triple Door.
&Me, Pezzner, Recess, Succubass, Jon Lee, Doza, Foofou, Ramiro, WD4D
&MeâAndrĂŠ Boaduâis a Berlin-based DJ/producer whoâs worked with DJ Hell and DJ T, so you know he possesses an advanced awareness of how to rock a big club⌠or a small bunker like Kremwerk, as the case may be. Boadu is a master of deep house with timbrally interesting percussion touches who can switch it up to techno when the mood strikes him (it had better in the mecca of techno-loving Seattle). The eight local DJs supporting &Me are worth getting to the club early for, as they have many decades of collective experience selecting records that inspire large groups of humans to move rhythmically. DAVE SEGAL
The Peacers, The Lavender Flu, DYED
If Peacers frontman Mike Donovan had released the bandâs second album, Introducing the Crimsmen, under his old Sic Alps moniker, casual listeners likely wouldnât have noticed much difference. Though his two-year-old outfit takes the same just-rolled-out-of-bed approach to acid folk as his previous one, heâs now working with singer and guitarist Bo Moore (Bozmo), bass player Shayde Sartin (the Skygreen Leopards, the Fresh & Onlys), and drummer Mike Shoun (Thee Oh Sees). With an aesthetic pitched somewhere between Chris Bellâs I Am the Cosmos and Guided by Voiceâs Vampire on Titus, the all-star lineup of Bay Area talent ably illuminates his conversational musings. Granted, Peacers dialed down the volume since founding member Ty Segall relocated to Southern California, but the vibe remains the same. KATHY FENNESSY
Quantic, Flamingosis, ÂĄManos Arriba!
Donât ask me how Will âQuanticâ Holland does it. The British ethnomusicologist, who spent his formative musical years in CalĂ, Colombia, before relocating to New York, has released something every year, except one, since 2001. At last yearâs Manana Festival in Cuba, I saw him record an albumâs worth of material in three days of studio sessions with local musicians, all fueled by rum and cigars. His latest, Curao, pairs his infectious dub, funk, and jazz production style with the rootsy voice of Colombian folklore singer Nidia GĂłngora. Itâs the best of traditional music matched up with the digital age, all served on a tropical platter. GREG SCRUGGS
FRIDAY-SATURDAY
Sylvan Esso with Dana Buoy
Every new generation of college kids needs at least one party album to rally behind. For my freshman year, it was M.I.A.âs Kala and Kanye Westâs Graduationâfor this yearâs crop, it will be Sylvan Essoâs What Now. Their electrified, multilayered pop is clever, bright, and fully hitched to dance as a primary activity in a way that feels much like two-dimensional worship. Preaching a lifestyle adjacent to âthe power of dance heals allâ is a little #LoveWins for my taste, but Sylvan Esso manage to carry their music through these lyrical tropes with a strength of conviction that is truly impressive (and occasionally beguiling). And heyâwho am I to shit on such an active joy? KIM SELLING
FRIDAY-SUNDAY
Gigantic Bicycle Festival
First you ride your bike (for 50 miles) and then you're done and you get to hang out and listen to music. You also can just drive. Cyclists take off from Centennial Fields Park on Saturday morning and follow an established route throughout Snoqualmie and then back to the park, where artists like La Luz, Lemolo, Star Anna, and Carrie Akre (among many others) will be waiting to play live sets over the weekend, all in celebration of the Northwest's favorite populist transit option: the bicycle. (Through August 20)
SATURDAY
Bowie A to Z with BowieVision and DJ Atticus
The local tribute group Bowievisionâfeaturing members of Dudley Manlove Quartet and Purr Gato, plus saxophonist Brian Bermudezâreplicate as faithfully as they can the chameleonic British singer/songwriterâs hits, with a light show and video backdrops for bonus dazzlement. DAVE SEGAL
Mercer X Summit Block Party
Founded this year, Mercer X Summit Block Party intends to be a free all-ages music festival held at the intersection of Summit and Mercer on the north end of Capitol Hill. The lineup for this new summer fest includes local heavy-hitters like So Pitted, Smokey Brights, Acapulco Lips, youryoungbody, Sleeping Lessons, Spirit Award, Versing, Great Spiders, Bod, Black Whales, Wyatt Blair, Moon Darling, Eastern Souvenirs, Mirror Ferrari, LovFmly, Senor Fin, and Haunted Horses. The day-long fest will take place in the center of beloved local businesses Indian Summer, Summit Pub, Toscana, Sun Liquor, Generations, and Top Pot, so support your community and shop around.
Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers, The Lumineers
Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers (and Petty's beautiful hair and teeth) will grace Seattle with the smooth pop-rock tunes that have been stuck in your head for the past 40 years. They'll be joined by local indie rock stalwarts The Lumineers.
Washed Out
Ernest Greene, the Athens, Georgia, producer/singer known as Washed Out, has been able to retain his spot atop Chill Mountain through the retention of the flip-flop disco aesthetic and his self-abasing sense of humor. This summerâs Mister Mellow, an album whose cover image includes a stoned-looking Big Bird wearing a trucker cap with âCHILLWAVEâ written across the front, is laced with so many low-pitch audio snippets of burnouts giving stress-relief advice, it borders on concept album. But if heâs hitting us over the head with pastiche, itâs only for effect; Greene is an intelligent producer whose talent has become the blending of emotive backing tracks with parodic contextualization of those tracks. Itâs the kind of endlessly pleasing RDM (relaxed dance music) weâve come to expect, bundled with the self-aware sarcasm we deserve. TODD HAMM
SUNDAY
2 Chainz, Young Dolph, Trap Karaoke
Hereâs something you might not know about 2 Chainz: He recently turned the iconic pink house from the cover of his newest album, Pretty Girls Like Trap Music, into a temporary HIV testing center. Itâs just another example of how the 39-year-old rapper, formerly known as Tity Boi, continues to stay atop the rap game for most of this decade by never forgetting his roots, ever since releasing the smash hit-filled Based on a T.R.U. Story in 2012. Pretty Girls is his fourth full-length effort, and while it doesnât see 2 Chainz reinventing the wheelâthere are still plenty of ominously minimal trap beats with the rapperâs booming voice carrying every songâitâs full of party-starting anthems. 2 Chainz will be bringing his set of hits old and new alongside Memphis lyricist Young Dolph, best known for his feature on O.T. Genasisâs chart-topping âCut It.â NICK ZURKO
Gordon Ashworth, Soft Urns, Redneck, Primordial Wound
Portlandâs Gordon Ashworth is one of the Northwestâs premier dronemongers, as well as an unconventional folk guitarist of compelling nuance. He imbues his drones with subtle electroacoustic embellishments, keeping you both in the zone and tantalized by sly disruptions. If No-Neck Blues Band were still touring, Ashworth would make for an ideal opener. Seattle composer Garek Jon Drussâwho recently returned to the city after a lengthy stint in Englandâbusts out his Soft Urns project tonight. Perhaps best known for his work in the bleakly gripping experimental outfits a Story of Rats and Dull Knife, Drussâjudging from the small sample Iâve heardâfinesses his material to chthonic depths in Soft Urns, generating a kind of finely sculpted noise music. Itâs an intelligently hostile sound. DAVE SEGAL
Kevin Morby and Shannon Lay
Kevin Morbyâs music has a way of sneaking up on you. After playing in buzzy NYC bands in the â00s (Woods, the Babies), the Kansas Cityâraised artist went solo and has released four albums of ambling, patient songwriter material since 2013. Itâs subtle, spacious music that draws from Laurel Canyon folk, early 1970s songwriter fare, and (that old standby) CSN&Y. But in the modern indie landscape, his contemporaries are artists like Cass McCombs, Kurt Vile, and Angel Olsenâsongwriters whose work is easier defined through personal idiosyncrasies than genre constraints. Morbyâs drawling, weary baritone and pleasantly meandering songs are the mark of an artist who doesnât clamor for the listenerâs attention, but gradually invites her in. ANDREW GOSPE
The Warlocks, Matt Hollywood & The Bad Feelings, Super 78
The Warlocks are psych-rock lifers who almost never veer from the path of the Velvet Underground/Spacemen 3/Brian Jonestown Massacre continuum. Theyâve figured out that a group can enjoy a lengthy, half-decent career spinning countless variations on a slackly chugging jams embellished by judiciously FXâd guitars and drawling vocals. Instructive song title: âWe Took All the Acid.â Speaking of BJM, guitarist/vocalist Matt Hollywoodâs main claim to fame is playing with those notorious psych-rock pasticheurs and fighting onstage with that bandâs leader, Anton Newcombe. (Iâve not heard Hollywoodâs other projects, the Out Crowd and Rebel Drones, but their names promise goodness.) Anyway, his latest music with the Bad Feelings rambles and chimes in similar straight-ahead garage-psych realms as BJM, but probably with fewer mid-song hissy fits. DAVE SEGAL
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