It seems like promoters are offering the last of their summer
fruits. We, the fans, are but squirrels, and this week offers a flurry
of nut gathering as we all prepare to hibernate for the wet, gray fall.
If your social calendar wasn’t already full, it should be by the time
you finish reading this.
If you’re looking to get your body rattled by bass, look no further
than Elixr, held Thursday at Chop Suey. The promoters are wisely mixing
up genres, with dubstep, grime, dancehall, and dub all sure to test the
sound system’s bass response. Local dubstep hero DJ Struggle is joined
by Portland’s Monkeytek, DJ Collage, MKS, and Electrosect for the
night’s tour of the low end.
Moving into the weekend, Saturday is this month’s edition of Krakt
at Re-bar. In a trick of the calendar, this month’s second Saturday
precedes the second Friday, so you won’t have Broken Disco fatigue as a
reason to stay home. You don’t want to miss this anyway: Krakt promoter
Kristina Childs is celebrating her birthday, so the usual shenanigans
will be amplified accordingly. Musically, it’s a double dose of
head-to-head DJ sets, with Kristina vs. Kris Moon and Jerry Abstract
vs. Nordic Soul. These DJs boast some of the best record collections
you’ll find anywhere, so their attempts at one-upmanship can only lead
to good things. It’s Kristina’s birthday, but the gift is for any
techno fan.
One of the best parts of Seattle summers used to be Sundazed, an
all-day event featuring DJs in various parks. Sundazed is no more, but
the Innerflight Records crew is thankfully keeping the spirit alive
with their version, dubbed Sunset Seattle, now in its third year. In
the vein of hair of the dog, Kris Moon and Jerry Abstract also play
Sunset Seattle on Sunday afternoon/evening in Golden Gardens Park.
Rounding out the lineup are Adlib, Recess, and the Innerflight
regulars. The music gets going at 2:00 p.m. and runs until 10:00 p.m.,
so there’s plenty of time to swing by and enjoy one of the last days of
summer.
After a quick break from the park, it’s time to head down to Re-bar.
This should be your destination every Sunday—but once again,
Flammable is teaming up with Hot Mess for Flammable Mess. Last time
these two crews got together, DJ Minx absolutely killed it, and the
crowd brought a rarely reached level of energy (and intoxication) to
the weekly. There was grinding, gratuitous making out, and the
occasional flash of nudity. This time around, the music is more local,
with L. A. Kendall, Marty Mar, and Julie Herrera, but the copromotion
should provide the same degree of debauchery.
Closing things out at Nectar on Tuesday in a (thankfully) more
relaxed fashion is Ninja Tune’s Bonobo. Touring in support of last
year’s Days to Come, Bonobo brings a DJ set that will prompt no
shortage of chilled-out head nodding. I’m not one to advocate the use
of illegal substances, but if you’ve got a stash of some of the
Northwest’s finest greenery, this might be a good night to break it
out. Between Bonobo and the Fourthcity openers, the music isn’t the
only thing in the room that should be blunted. 
donté@thestranger.com