HOWE GELB, MARC OLSEN, JESSIE SYKES
(Crocodile) See preview this issue.
JON AUER EXPERIENCE, SUSHI ROBO
(Sit & Spin) As half of the Posies' masterful songwriting duo, Jon Auer has proven himself to be one of the country's most talented songwriters, with a knack for composing soaring pop gems. His solo affairs always inspire guessing games--the singer is as likely to dedicate an evening to new material as he is to gather his friends around for a tribute night to other artists, or to take a trip down the Posies' memory lane. Whatever tonight has in store, you can be sure Auer's infectious love of pop songcraft will prove intoxicating and inspiring. KATHLEEN WILSON
NOFX, RISE AGAINST, SWINGIN' UTTERS
(Showbox) Since the release of 1988's Liberal Animation, NOFX has been putting out smart, bratty records and playing boundlessly energetic punk rock shows. The Hollywood-formed quartet excels at producing literate political commentary, injecting it with humor, and layering it atop breakneck musical scores. This is one of the smartest and goofiest punk bands the '90s produced, and though prickly fans have criticized the band for straying from its punk rock roots over the years, rest assured that NOFX still puts on a show worth attending. P.S. Punk is dead. JEFF DeROCHE
BOB LOG III, THE IMMORTAL LEE COUNTY KILLERS, GASOLINE
(Graceland) For those not in the know, Bog Log III plays the guitar like he has three hands--no, scratch that, four hands! He also wears a motorcycle helmet (or is it a jet pilot's helmet?) with a microphone built inside, and he sits up there on stage hammering out complicated slide guitar numbers while pounding out a beat on a drum (or is it a cardboard box?) at the same time. No, really. I'm completely serious. Check him out and see for yourself. BRADLEY STEINBACHER
DANNY BARNES & RALPH WHITE
(Tractor Tavern) Though his band Bad Livers is a bona fide member of the mid-'90s alt-country scene and delivered bluegrass to the discerning masses by blending it with punk and plenty of attitude, Danny Barnes remains an artist dedicated to keeping Americana pure and simple. He is joined tonight by bandmate Ralph White for an evening that promises plenty of stripped-down, earnest tribute, outfitted with guitar, banjo, fiddle, accordion, and lots of twangy vocals. KATHLEEN WILSON
CALEXICO, KINGSBURY MANX, TRACKER
(Crocodile) See preview this issue.
NOFX, RISE AGAINST, SWINGIN' UTTERS
(DV8) See Thursday listing.
THE SHITKICKERS, EVANGELINE, THE COUNTRYPOLITANS
(Tractor Tavern) Seattle-based country quintet Evangeline recently released the excellent album Felt Like Home, establishing the band as a fiercely talented group of musicians who mine early '70s country with a smattering of Americana accents. Formed in 1998 by former Cheap Ones member Chris Cline, Evangeline soars on the silvery vocal prowess of Jennifer Potter and the propulsive rhythm section of bassist Scott Summers and drummer Kevin Warner. Cline steps up to the microphone on a few songs with his pleasingly burnished delivery, but it's Potter who steals the spotlight with a restrained, powerful voice that has a plaintive undertow even on the upbeat songs. Kevin Suggs plays guitar and pedal steel with a flair that adds to the overall sound, which at times recalls the Burrito Brothers and Gram Parsons. NATE LIPPENS
CASUAL, PALE SOUL, ORBITRON
(Sit & Spin) Made when he was 17, Casual's Fear Itself is an album of such creative braggadocio that in '94 it made many ears and eyes turn to Oakland for a new rap capital. Along with Souls of Mischief, Pep Love, and Del Tha Funky Homosapien (among others), Casual is part of the Hieroglyphics crew, which never seems to blow America's lid off, but is definitely holding steady through the years. Word is, he's working on an album for Loud/Stimulated records, so you'll probably get a full dish of new cuts. Clocking in for Seattle will be Pale Soul from Old Dominion, who is working on an album for Stuck Records, and Orbitron, who is more often seen spinning on the floor as a member of Circle of Fire. BRIAN GOEDDE
"SUMMER OF ZOMBIES" PROM NIGHT
(Graceland) As a benefit for JAMPAC, Graceland is hosting two "proms" tonight--both with a dress-up zombie theme, like Night of the Living Dead. There's an early, all-ages event that features DJ Selector Dub Narcotic (Calvin Johnson), C.O.C.O., and Blood Brothers. (Johnson opens the set at 5 pm.) Later that night there's a prom for the grownups, featuring DJ Cherry Canoe, DJ Krist Novoselic, DJ Dan Gallucci, and Girl Trouble. (DJ Dan opens this set at 9 pm.) The events are being touted as proms you would "actually want to go to," and given the impressive lineups at both events, that sounds like a fair assessment. JEFF DeROCHE
N.A.P.S., THE FLOOD, OCHIEMI, KHALIL CRISIS, AFRICAN DIASPORA
(Local 46) It only makes sense that the Seattle Young People's Project would put on hiphop shows, and it only makes sense that the Vera Project would host it: SYPP is the nine-year-old, youth-run organization for social change, the Vera Project's Local 46 is Seattle's new all-ages club, and hiphop is arguably the most potent art form in America today for addressing youth and civic society. In any case, the show will be tight: You'll recognize Khalil Crisis as the winner of the Brainstorm Battle freestyle competition at the Paradox last February; the Flood put itself on the map last year with a self-titled release that was nominated for best rap album by the Seattle Area Music Awards; N.A.P.S. has members of 500 Years and Elevated Elements; and to get back to the roots, African Diaspora is a jazz ensemble, and Ochiemi is a drumming crew. BRIAN GOEDDE
THE STUCK-UPS, GODDAMN GENTLEMEN, THE PIN-DOWNS
(Gibson's) Everything you associate with rock and roll--sweat, guitar solos, decadence, flashing lights--becomes a sacrament wrought in flesh upon experiencing Portland's Goddamn Gentlemen. Though they play a kind of punk-influenced, hot-rodding knock-around you've heard a million times before, the band's endless energy, and use of a saxophone, bring the music just to the point of deconstruction. It almost recalls jazz improv, but if you're one to shrivel up at the sound of skronk, don't freak just yet--the Gentlemen are rockers, and they'll bleed from the eyeballs in the name of a good show. JULIANNE SHEPHERD
PETER PARKER, COUNT DANTE & THE BLACK DRAGON FIGHTING SOCIETY, THE STUCK-UPS
(Breakroom) After years of toiling away, Peter Parker seems to be in a bit of disarray as of late. Or maybe the band is just gearing up for some kind of explosion? Either way, the group's shows are always loud, poppy, and entertaining. As for Count Dante & the Black Dragon Fighting Society... the name pretty much says it all (and if you can tell me, send an e-mail to brad@thestranger.com). BRADLEY STEINBACHER
PAUL SIMON, BRIAN WILSON
(Gorge Amphitheatre) The amount of shit Paul Simon takes nowadays seems directly proportional to the amount of lionization heaped upon the weary shoulders of Brian Wilson--especially now that Pet Sounds has been duly recognized as a watershed and Smile is lodged in the pantheon of unfinished masterpieces. In all fairness, while Wilson has spent the better part of the last three decades in and out of psychotropic fugue, Simon has worked steadily, as a singer-songwriter whose rhythmic ambitions bolster his lyrical mastery. From his days as a self-styled poet in Simon & Garfunkel to his '70s stint as a Caucasoid boogiemeister to his triumphant Graceland era and beyond, Simon has mapped the intricacies of romantic agony with wit, beauty, intellectual curiosity, and depth that few musicians ever reach. Both of these guys are well past their prime, but while Wilson receives no end of plaudits for his past work, Simon remains a critical and popular whipping boy for reasons that are completely baffling. Maybe it's because he's still trying. SEAN NELSON
PLAYING ENEMY, SCARS OF TOMORROW, HURRICARANNA, XONESTEPBACKX
(Paradox) With the exception of incredible bands like Botch and Isis (who bring a unique approach to a stuck genre), all-ages, straight-edge hardcore hasn't really changed in about five or six years--it's usually still replete with male-centric anomie, pacifist aggression, chugga-chugga guitars, and the requisite throat-chafing vocals. That said, listen closely to Orange County's Scars of Tomorrow. The band's off-kilter drumming recalls newer Neurosis, and the vocalist's monster delivery alternates between laissez faire surfer sneering and screams. Plus, there are bridges in their songs. JULIANNE SHEPHERD
RED HOUSE PAINTERS, ROSE THOMAS
(Crocodile) While the recent and long-awaited release of Red House Painters' boring Old Ramon was surely a disappointment to many fans, this show should prove reinvigorating. Red House Painters write some snoozers, sure, but they also have songs like "Japanese to English," one of the most gratifying odes to love and sorrow the '90s produced (and it's interracial love, to boot!). Mark Kozelek's voice is rich and gooey, and, at its most soulful, drips charisma. This is a fact of which the rest of Kozelek's band is well aware, made obvious by the restraint the players show in the creation of fine, gentle melodies that haunt whatever showroom the Painters play. JEFF DeROCHE
DOVES, THE WEBB BROTHERS
(Showbox) First, Doves were known as Sub Sub, a marginal Brit dance group at best. Then there was a fire, which destroyed their nearly finished follow-up record, so the Brit boys did a smart, decidedly original thing and simply reinvented themselves as Doves, changing their sound from boring old dance to smart, sometimes pretty indie Brit pop/rock. The trick worked, and now Doves are returning to town to follow up their sold-out show at the Crocodile back in February. This one should be packed as well, and with good reason. BRADLEY STEINBACHER
DIDO, TRAVIS, EMILIANA TORRINI
(KeyArena) Travis' new album, The Invisible Band, is catchy, precious, and always very pretty. Headliner Dido can sing on key, and she sometimes sounds angry. JEFF DeROCHE
C-AVERAGE, BLÖÖDHAG, FREE VERSE
(Crocodile) Sleater-Kinney may be only playing one show this year, but anyone hungry for another angry, articulate, and fiercely talented neo-riot Grrrl band need look no further than the bludgeoning beauty of Free Verse. Smart enough to impress the hell out of Kathleen Hanna, and ferocious enough to give Diamanda Galás pause, the D.C.-based quartet will remind you of why feminism and punk rock collided in the first place--and may simultaneously inspire you to pull out the first Hüsker Dü record. Party like it's 1991, ladies. HANNAH LEVIN
PUSH STARS, JESS KLEIN
(Tractor Tavern) Boston's Push Stars had plenty of buzz around them in the mid-'90s, but have since been relegated to the role of movie soundtrack regulars; their songs can be heard in Gun Shy, There's Something About Mary, and Me, Myself and Irene. Singer Chris Trapper pens lyrics that tell actual stories, augmenting the band's bright, melodic blend of rock, pop, country, and folk, which can be heard on Push Star's just-released CD, Opening Time, out on Wicked Disc/Burnside. KATHLEEN WILSON
LADYBUG TRANSISTOR, AISLER'S SET, THE LUCKSMITHS
(Graceland) See Stranger Suggests.
CONTINENTAL DRIFTERS
(Tractor Tavern) There are generally a zillion worthwhile reasons to head to the Tractor, but most important is the fact that the club books so many seasoned Americana bands that deliver consistently impressive live sets. Case in point is the Continental Drifters, a twangy, Mamas & the Papas-styled collective founded by Dream Syndicate bassist Mark Walton and fueled by a rotating cast of some of the best country blues players out of New Orleans. And keep your ears pricked for the contributions of Susan Cowsill, a silky-throated romantic with a fetching dark side who often steals the show. HANNAH LEVIN
M.O.P., BOOM BAP PROJECT, TILSON, DJ SUPREME
(Showbox) One of the most knowledgeable and insightful books in the whole world, Ego Trip's Book of Rap Lists, calls M.O.P. one of the five most underrated groups in all of hiphop. The authors write: "Perhaps the reason the Mash Out Posse's Lil' Fame and Billy Danze scream so passionately on the mic is because no one's hearing them. After four power-packed releases, it's difficult to comprehend why. DJ Premier loves this group and so should you." This was written in '99, a year before the release of Warriorz--an assaultive, head-rattling album that's difficult to hear all the way through without taking a break. This entire bill won't maul you, however. Seattle's Boom Bap Project is high-energy but smooth: Two songs off its recent Circumstance Dictates even sample languid classical music. BRIAN GOEDDE
BLAKE BABIES, WHEAT
(Crocodile) Ten years after the band's split, frontwoman Julianna Hatfield (perhaps on the advice of her accountant) has reformed Blake Babies, early-'90s college rock darlings best known for laying sugary pop lyrics over an (almost) edgy guitar-rock sound. This month, the band released God Bless the Blake Babies (not to be confused with last month's Go-Go's comeback, God Bless the Go-Go's) and only diehard, forgiving Hatfield fans will hail the band's return, as the album is an uninspired, nostalgic affair, featuring backing vocals by Evan Dando (of course) and little else of note. However, if you long for the soft indie rock of the genre's heyday, the disc could be the reviving force you've been waiting for. Hailing also from Boston, bill-mate Wheat is a band better heard than seen. Sometimes angsty melodicism sounds smart and sensitive on record, but looks embarrassing and plain overdramatic onstage, and perhaps no band has ever proven this theory better than Wheat. Beware. KATHLEEN WILSON
