THURSDAY 6/2

THE NEIN, CHARMING SNAKES, AUDIO INFIDELS

(Funhouse) See CD Reviews, page 41.

VOICE INDUSTRIE

(The Vogue) See Data Breaker, page 53.

COUNTDOWN TO ARMAGEDDON, BLACK NOISE CANNON, NOV23, THE ARID SEA

(El Corazón) Tonight's the CD release party for Seattle quartet Black Noise Cannon's Unsaved: The Reality of the Silent War (Soultheft Records). Produced by Randall Dunn, the disc manages to do all of these things (deep breath): ooze coal-black ambience that recalls Coil and Rapoon's ominously woebegone emissions; conjure Godflesh's ruptured, fuzzy majesty; trudge dolorously in Neurosis's blood-encrusted boots; and methodically churn guts like early Swans. In other words, wear your most festive black clothing and come prepared to grind your fists into your wincing eyes. BNC members Eric Greenwalt and Phil Petrocelli also play in nov23, who are supposed to make similarly joyous musick. DAVE SEGAL

FRIDAY 6/3

NOVA HIGH SCHOOL BAND SHOWCASE

(Vera Project) See All Ages Action, page 55.

CHRISTY MCWILSON AND THE PICKETTS, RUBY DEE AND THE SNAKE HANDLERS

(Tractor) See Border Radio, page 31.

ROUGE WAVE, MATH AND PHYSICS CLUB, THE LONG RANGER

(Neumo's) If the Shins are peanut butter and grape jelly, then Rogue Wave is peanut butter and strawberry: sparkling and deceptively sweet, with poignant choruses that catch like seeds. Zach Rogue, who founded the band after emancipation from cubicledom, claims inspiration from JT LeRoy to Guided by Voices. Last fall, he found a stronger head voice when a slipped disc kept him supine, guitar on the diaphragm. Rogue Wave songs are intimate yet fierce, spread with frustration and love. Look for the Buddy Holly cover, plus jams from upcoming sophomore release, Descended Like Vultures (Sub Pop). As everyone knows, it's the strawberry ones that trade for the best cupcakes. MAIREAD CASE

REED, SHAWN SMITH, TOM BROSSEAU

(Triple Door) Tom Brosseau is a folksy Americana artist who's celebrating his new release, What I Meant to Say Is Goodbye (Loveless Records). Brosseau dusts old-timey acoustic tracks with hints of harmonica and a voice that tells as many stories with his phrasing it does with his delicately perched delivery. His intimate recordings should do well in Triple Door's upscale supper club setting, although one imagines he could also do just fine charming old barflies in some dirt-floored hole in the wall. JENNIFER MAERZ

SATURDAY 6/4

APHRODITE

(Premier) See Data Breaker, page 53.

THE FACTORY, MULITMEDIA FOR THE MASSES, PLEASURECRAFT, INFOMATIK

(Rendezvous) See preview, page 33.

MOBIUS BAND, SOME BY SEA, VERONA

(Paradox) See Data Breaker, page 53.

ENDFEST: SOCIAL DISTORTION, QUEENS OF THE STONE AGE, INTERPOL, HOT HOT HEAT, STEREOPHONICS, VENDETTA RED, PRETTY GIRLS MAKE GRAVES, AND MANY MORE

(White River Amphitheatre) For its 14th consecutive year, Endfest-107.7 the End's annual all-day summer music festival-is going balls to the wall with an impressive 18-artist roster that's sure to please even the snobbiest of music snobs. On the mainstage, you've got old-school punk kings Social Distortion, Queens of the Stone Age, Interpol, Hot Hot Heat, Stereophonics, and MxPx. The What's Next stage has MTV2 darlings the Bravery, Ash, Kaiser Chiefs, the Caesars, Kasabian, and Tegan and Sara. Then there's the Young & the Restless local stage with Pretty Girls Make Graves, Vendetta Red, the Lashes, Aqueduct, Mountain Con, and Stranger Big Shot winners, Razrez (who kick things off at 1 pm). The pit tickets have already sold out, but at White River Amphitheatre any seat is a good seat. MEGAN SELING See also Stranger Suggests, page 23.

OK GO, THE ONES, CHINESE FINGER CUFFS, DEAD IN HOLLYWOOD

(Comet Tavern) My dad is really into OK Go. This statement is not meant to age anyone going to the show, as my father is a youthful man. Ever since seeing them at a live taping of This American Life, the NPR show, my dad has constantly championed the band. It may just be because he idolizes the show, but he has played their record for me, and I think I know why he identifies with them-their music is, simply put, an exuberance of youth. The pretty boys in the band explode with indie-rock simplicity, and they make purely happy music. They fit nicely in This American Life's pantheon of excitement in the face of ordinary life. OK Go are one excited band, and they transfer that feeling willingly. ARI SPOOL

YOB, GARGANTULA, GRIEVOUS, GOLGOTHAN SUNRISE

(El Corazón) "Ball of Molten Lead" is the opening opus from Oregon's doom metalists Yob, a band that takes anywhere between 6 and 26 minutes to lumber through an entire song. Their album Illusion of Motion is aptly titled; Yob trudge along as though their limbs are getting swallowed by Melvins-sized sinkholes with every step forward. Lyrics are lost and found and guitar solos spiral out of black holes of feedback, creating an overall density that's crushing at its lightest. Plus they have some weird chanting and church bells and growling shit, just to keep the fierce factor high. JENNIFER MAERZ

EASY ACTION, THE OLD HAUNTS, THE OSWALD EFFECT

(Sunset) As a hardcore pioneer fronting Negative Approach, Detroit rock survivor John Brannon stomped Oi-style, but it was with the Laughing Hyenas and their sick post-punk blues crawl that his true voice emerged. Brannon's damaged bellow is the sound of a wounded animal backed into a corner and faced with extinction, simultaneously a threat of violence and howl of fear. After the Hyenas' dissolution, Brannon formed Easy Action to pound out Alice Cooper and Cheap Trick covers; initial forays into original material weren't encouraging, but their latest LP, The Friends of Rock and Roll, is a monster. Helmed by Jim Diamond at Ghetto Recorders, it's full of thick-necked anthems and sinister, spidery blues dissections that finally approach the tortured heights of Brannon's legacy. FRED BELDIN

AKIMBO, DOOMSDAY 1999, THE ASSAILANT, MIKAELA'S FIEND, SEXY PRISON, BULLET TRAIN TO VEGAS

(Vera Project) If you really think about it, you owe it to Zack Carlson. If you've been a witness to his antics as singer of Doomsday 1999 or his hosting of the All Freakin' Night film festival, you owe him as much to come to his birthday, which is being held tonight at the Vera Project. For those unfamiliar with "alleged" happenings at Doomsday 1999 shows they include: spray paint in the face, jumping out of windows, a Charlie Chaplin-esque mustache, rewriting the Bible, Southern "genteel" types complaining about the heat, and the "Drugbust 1989" proclamation that "cocaine isn't illegal in Washington." If Doomsday's mix of Pig Destroyer-style bare-bones metal and the performance value of early SST punk isn't your idea of a good time, then know that tonight they have a good deal of noteworthy guests-and bringing cake gets you a dollar off the show! SCOTT GOODWIN

SUNDAY 6/5

APE CITY R&B, THE EMERGENCY, THE COFFIN LIDS, HONEY HUSH

(Funhouse) See preview, page 37 and Stranger Suggests, page 23.

AMUSEMENT PARKS ON FIRE, CRUTCHES, MOON RATS

(Neumo's) See preview, page 39.

ATHLETE

(Crocodile) With a name like Athlete, this band should have a little more energy to burn, you'd think. Someone needs to hand these guys some hankies and let them really blow it all out. Life's not really that difficult, guys-and when it is, we already have Coldplay, Travis, David Gray, and all the other gut-wrenchers performing their weepy slow dances across the stage. Athlete's music makes Ethan Hawke's angsting career seem understated. JENNIFER MAERZ

MONDAY 6/6

You knew it was bound to come to this. That drink ticket expired last week.

TUESDAY 6/7

GANG GANG DANCE, BLOODLINES

(Chop Suey) See preview, page 31.

PINBACK, PLEASEEASAUR, TIC CODE

(Neumo's) See All Ages Action, page 55.

STOP BITING

(Lo_Fi) See Stranger Suggests, page 23.

50 FOOT WAVE, THE GOLDEN REPUBLIC, MS. LED

(Crocodile) As the frontwoman for Throwing Muses, Kristin Hersh exorcised plenty of demons in their angular rock and poetic lyrical shards. But nothing in her past output-especially her folksier solo excursions of the last few years-can quite prepare you for the sonic blast with which her fierce new band 50 Foot Wave hits. The lean, loud-as-hell trio seems to offer Hersh the catharsis she always craved. Her voice is pushed to its most raw and raspy over the punishing, tinnitus-taunting racket that they kick up live. (The last time I saw 50 Foot Wave, my ears rang for hours afterward, so I advise wearing protection.) And in between torrents of noise, Hersh's smile is usually pretty ecstatic; the rage suits her well. NATE LIPPENS

WEDNESDAY 6/8

THE NATIONAL, MENOMENA, TALKDEMONIC

(Crocodile) See preview, page 35.

OUT HUD, TUSSLE, SYNTH CLUB

(Chop Suey) !!! sister band Out Hud had so much promise. Their 2002 debut, S.T.R.E.E.T. D.A.D., offered a dynamite mix of agitated disco, stripped-down funk, and tribal percussive jams. But with this year's Let Us Never Speak of It Again, the Brooklyn quintet fatally lose their edge by emphasizing Phyllis Forbes's sickly sweet vocals and emulating New Order's blandest traits. They even pooped out one of those end-of-the-night, starry-eyed, trance tracks ("Dear Mr. Bush...") that's supposed to send you out of the club as if you're floating on a cloud; you can imagine Paul Oakenfold ending a set with that one. Hmm, maybe Out Hud still got it live. Seattle's Synth Club (featuring Maktub's frontman) tickle out lush, improvised yet soulful house for sophisticated dancers who haven't waved glow sticks in years. DAVE SEGAL See also preview, page 31.

MORE

THE DIVORCE, THE CATCH, DOLOUR, WHITE GOLD: Fri June 10, Crocodile

BUILT TO SPILL, CARS SCARS, APE SHAPE: Thurs June 16, Showbox

BUILT TO SPILL, APE SHAPE, SEAWORTHY: Fri June 17, Showbox

EELS: Fri June 17, Moore Theatre

SPOON, THE CLIENTELE: Sat June 18, Showbox

WHITESNAKE: Wed June 22, the Paramount

BANE, EVERGREEN TERRACE, CURSED, VERSE: Sat June 25, El Corazón

PLANES MISTAKEN FOR STARS, BEAR VS. SHARK, BULLET TRAIN TO VEGAS, GUESTS: Sun June 26, El Corazón

BILLY IDOL: Mon July 11, the Paramount

ALKALINE TRIO, RISE AGAINST, DEATH BY STEREO: Sun July 24, Showbox

SOUNDS OF THE UNDERGROUND-GWAR, LAMB OF GOD, MADBALL, UNEARTH, EVERY TIME I DIE, GUESTS: Mon July 25, Qwest Field

EIGHTEEN VISIONS, KANE HODDER, HE IS LEGEND, CASTLES IN THE SKY: Tues June 28, Hell's Kitchen

MÖTLEY CRÜE, SUM 41, THE EXIES, SILVERTIDE: Sat July 30, White River Amphitheatre

OASIS, JET, KASABIAN: Fri Sept 9, Everett Events Center