Dancer & Prancer’s Xmas Extravaganza @ Chop Suey
Didn’t make it out to Chop Suey yesterday? Don’t you worry; you can still catch the vintage, glitter-coated licks of Shannon and the Clams (a band whose outfits rival those of those of mid-’60s stop-motion-animation Christmas specials and/or John Waters himself) on day two of the Xmas Extravaganza, brought to you by Seattle’s sharpest Christmastime-only surf band, Dancer & Prancer. Tonight’s festivities will also include the lovely sonic waves made by La Luz, a rare performance by the Fe Fi Fo Fums (that’s Jesse Lortz, Johnny Samra, and Nick Larson—they went defunct in 1997, but occasionally reunite for a good reason), and merry punk jams provided by DJ Brian Foss. EMILY NOKES
Posse & Guests @ Vera Project
Armed with the dreamy-sexy sheen typical of electronic-pop wizard Erik Blood’s productions, queer post-punkish pop four-piece Wishbeard offer solid support for local indie charmers Posse tonight. Wishbeard’s dazed, celestial pop has an almost C86-like jangly sweetness, topped with a cherry-lacquered guitar swirl and swooning female vocals. I somehow missed the release of Posse’s latest and very excellent LP, Soft Opening, earlier this year, but it is a sparkling guitar-pop treat worthy of extended play on an overcast day. Vocalist/guitarist Jon Salzman comes across as deeply Stephen Malkmus/J Mascis–indebted, but with a stronger plaid-wearing twang, while co-songwriter Sacha Maxim is perfectly and powerfully understated. Posse’s honest approach feels especially genuine in a sea of cloying, soulless, and overly saccharine “indie-rock” contemporaries, reminding us that sometimes music is still about writing good songs. BRITTNIE FULLER
Greg Boudreau & Ryan Molenkamp @ Bherd Studios
Boudreau’s tools are spray paint, stencils, and salvaged wood. He’s able to create highly detailed renditions of photographs using this technique. Molenkamp’s recent works have been friendly looking abstractions of volcanoes.
Worm Oroborus & Co. @ Highline
Bay Area headliners Worm Ouroboros play stately doom folk, with Lorraine Rath and Jessica Way’s vocals communicating a solemn sadness and delicate beauty in the vein of Jarboe. Way’s guitar sometimes spangles with delicacy and sometimes bulks up and ladles on the heavy gloom vibes. It’s called “dynamics,” and Worm Ouroboros deploy them with a masterly touch. With unobtrusive steadiness, Seattle’s Scriptures have scaled to very high position in this city’s musical ecosphere. Granted, I generally look favorably toward rock bands that forgo vocals, but Scriptures’ methodically surging, circuitous, and grandiloquently melodic excursions should make anyone with a three-digit IQ and a sensitive heart punch the air in triumph. Their songs’ payoffs aren’t instant, but when they do come, they possess a mighty impact. Thunder Grey Pilgrim (aka Seattle multi-instrumentalist Mitchell Bell) peddles a decidedly morose strain of gothic folk and ominous, solemn drones that transport you to a Northern European forest on a winter night. DAVE SEGAL
Sandrider and Guests @ Sunset
While it might not always get hyped, the Northwest has always had a strong contingent of bands blasting out high-quality heaviness. One of the more recent bands that churned out said heaviness was thinking man’s hardcore project Akimbo. It wasn’t easy for Seattle to say good-bye to this long-lasting band, but if it weren’t for their split two years back, drummer Nat Damm and guitarist/vocalist Jon Weisnewski wouldn’t have the time to focus on the awesomeness that is Sandrider. If you’re a fan of big riffs played out of loud amps atop ear-piercing screams and a punishing rhythm section, do yourself a favor and indulge in one of the city’s heaviest. KEVIN DIERS
T. G. I. F.