X and the Blasters @ El Corazon
Even on their now-34-year-old debut records, X and the Blasters had deeper musical roots than their peers, with X powering their punk with rockabilly beats and deep folk harmonies and the Blasters mining the golden intersection of rock ’n’ roll and country and western. Now they’re the elder statespersons they started out emulating, and they’re still kicking hard. Tonight and tomorrow at El Corazón, both bands (who’ve shared a member or two over the years) bang out favorites from their respective, vast, brilliant songbooks. Opening the show tonight: Tacoma’s own Girl Trouble. DAVID SCHMADER
Bryan Zentz and Guests @ Kremwerk
Long-time Data Breaker favorite Bryan Zentz does that relentless, inhuman, pressure-cooker strain of techno as well as anyone in this country—and has done for nearly 20 years. Anyone who’s a sucker for this sort of annihilating, high-impact/high-energy stuff needs to experience this Portland-based techno DJ/producer live. Skoozbot (Brian Connelly), who recently moved from the Midwest to Seattle, is an excellent addition to our city’s techno infrastructure. His tracks for Mindshake Records and Richie Hawtin’s Plus 8 label move with a lean, tensile swiftness, embellished with some of the best bleeps in the business. Roddimus (Seattle DJ/producer Jesse Farmer) has just released his debut EP, Synaptic Backfire (Mindshift), and it’s a serious slice of equilibrium-disrupting, 4 a.m. techno. His Sweatbox partner Cntrl_Alt_Dlt provides a lysergic remix that adds more layers of disorientation to the already psychedelic original. The Underground Resistance-affiliated Santiago Salazar hands in two remakes that are simply stellar elaborations. What a great debut record. DAVE SEGAL
Strand of Oaks and Guests @ Neumos
Egads, Timothy Showalter, aka Strand of Oaks, sure did decide to tour on this album in the right season. The lyrics of HEAL read like a mantra for anyone stuck in the mire of these dark, clammy days. There’s plenty of regret lacing the contemporary folk rock (i.e., there are some unobtrusive electronic-ish elements) of Showalter’s fourth full-length, but there’s also plenty of defiance and restitution. HEAL is recommended if you like climbing out of whatever kind of rut you’re currently stuck in. This one is a lifesaver for the highly depressed citizens of Seattle in December 2014—that and for people who just like plain old quality song craftsmanship. HEAL caught me at just the right time, and I’m thankful. GRANT BRISSEY
My Goodness and Guests @ Sunset
Between these three Seattle bands, My Goodness have a song about a chilly-footed femme fatale called “Cold Feet Killer,” Chrome Lakes have a sinister-sounding metal ballad called “Cold Bones,” and Haunted Horses have a dark anthem called “Goetia” (a medieval Latin word that refers to the practice of conjuring angels or demons), with the lyrics: “Goetia, come Goetia/Goetia, light the forest stones/Goetia, burn his winter’s throne to light the night/Goetia, come Goetia/Salt my hands in sea of children drowning.” All three of these bands have a cold, dark alchemy strong enough to warm your cold soul on a December Saturday night. KELLY O
Punch International Juried Exhibition @ Punch Gallery
“Juried by SuttonBeresCuller,” they explain. “So prepare for the razzle dazzle,” they go on to warn.
And here’s the rest. Put it in your face!