THURSDAY 10/26

CLUB POP: GLASS CANDY, CHROMATICS, SAM RUSSO SOUND SYSTEM W/DJ FITS, COLBY B, PACO
(Chop Suey) See Rocka Rolla, page 49.

BE YOUR OWN PET, AWESOME COLOR, TALL FIRS
(El CorazĂłn) Adolescent "indie" rock bands with music-industry families are the new child pageant stars and stage parents, respectively. Case in point: Be Your Own Pet (who have parents in all aspects of the industry, including performers, professional rock photographers, and Vince Neil's manager). Everyone in high school should start a punk-rock band, but if your band, or more accurately your parents, have the money to pull off nationwide tours and the connections to kick it with Thurston Moore, you might want to make sure that you're really living your own teenage dream and not your parents'. Kids, it's not rebellious to start a rock band if your parents are building your home studio and negotiating your contracts. You might as well just play football. ERIC GRANDY

THE BAD THINGS, THE WAGES OF SIN, PIRATES R US
(Funhouse) See Rocka Rolla, page 49.

REGINA SPEKTOR
(Moore) If you wanted to pigeonhole Regina Spektor's sound, you'd say "singer-songwriter." But she's no vapid coffeehouse Venus—Spektor roars and crescendos, sings about guilt and "ttt-angerines," and is sweet instead of chirpy (or nauseatingly optimistic, which is worse). Live, she's even better, because her voice has a color and spontaneity that can't be confined to tape. Last time, she banged on a mic'd metal chair and drank from three different cups. One had water, another coffee, and the last whiskey. "Sometimes," she explained, "you need all three." That you do. MAIREAD CASE

AMON TOBIN, HEAVYWEIGHT DUB CHAMPION, KJ SAWKA
(Neumo's) See preview, page 47.

BARTON CARROLL, THE HOPE, MIKE DUMOVICH
(Sunset) See preview, page 39.

FRIDAY 10/27

BULLET FOR MY VALENTINE, SCHOOLYARD HEROES, BULLETS AND OCTANE, FROM APHONY
(El Corazon) See Underage, page 39.

SILVERSUN PICKUPS, VIVA VOCE, THE KINGDOM
(Crocodile) See preview, page 43.

PATIENT PATIENT, EUPHORIC, DJ IAN COWEN, DJ PROGRAM
(Halcyon) The Halcyon is the latest venue to join the army of clubs offering all-ages action. Located in Edmonds, it has hosted some terrific local talent (Kane Hodder, Speaker Speaker, Sirens Sister) in just the few months they've been open. But the Halcyon's doors are also open to those bands that are still building up their fan base. No doubt new-to-the-scene Radiohead-inspired indie rockers Patient Patient will have no trouble at all finding folks to dig their action—they're sorta Slender Means-—ish with a Bends-era sound. If you don't feel like traveling up to Edmonds, though, you can also catch 'em at the High Dive on the October 30 with the Human Echo. MEGAN SELING

GERALD COLLIER, FERNANDO
(Sunset, early) You took Gerald Collier for granted. For shame. But you're forgiven. Hell, in the late '90s, we saw a lot of this cantankerous wiseacre around town. After his band Best Kissers in the World split, he headed into maverick country territory, providing the perfect soundtrack to drink your troubles away, be it in a crowed saloon or dimly lit hovel. And then, thanks to major-label monkeyshines and a healthy dose of self-sabotage, his momentum slipped. This time two years ago, Collier was living in Austin and making noises about never playing solo again. Now he's back in the Northwest and preparing a 2007 release. Thank Christ some people never learn. KURT B. REIGHLEY

GREG SKIDMORE, JOSH ROBERTS, KRISTINA CHILDS
As two-thirds of local crew Flea Market, Greg Skidmore and Josh Roberts combine eclectic tastes (from the Mars Volta to DJ Assault to Matthew Dear) with expert mixing to keep the dance floor moving and the heads spotting. Their parties fly under the radar for now, but don't expect them to be your little secret for long. Opener Kristina Childs (Krakt) was a serious contender in Seattle's recent Battle of the Megamixes; get there early for her happy-hour set. ToST, 513 N 36th St, space E, 547-0240, 6:30 pm, free, 21+.

SATURDAY 10/28

AKUFEN, LUSINE, KRISTINA CHILDS, KV2 SOUNDSYSTEM(Neumo's) See Beat Connect, page 61.

ROAD TO RUIN, THE WHORE MOANS, PEOPLE WE HATE, THE FILTHY DETAILS
(Halcyon) More akin to the East Coast punk of Strike Anywhere than the Whore Moans' Johnny Rotten screech, Road to Ruin have been busting their balls onstage for the better part of two years. Their very first West Coast tour this summer briefly met with disaster when the band's tour van broke down in California, but that didn't stop them from taking a second jaunt through the states in August. This will be guitarist Brent Rogers's last show with the band—and their first night sharing a bill with the nefarious Whore Moans—so make the trek on up to Edmonds and show them some love. SAM EWALD

DAMIEN JURADO, ROSIE THOMAS, STARFLYER 59, A WHISPER IN THE NOISE
(Paradox) See preview, page 39.

SAY HI TO YOUR MOM, GUESTS
(Sunset) Say Hi to Your Mom pulls double duty at the Sunset tonight, playing an early all-ages show with Little Champions and Angelo Spencer and then a later show for the drunks with Lillydale and Metal Hearts. This Brooklyn trio started as Eric Elbogen's solo project, but Chris Egan III and Jeff Sheinkopf have stuck around since hopping on board in 2005. Their songs are as catchy as the Rentals' circa the Return of the Rentals glory days but with a heavier mood. And the latest, Impeccable Blahs (their fourth release), might sound all warm and fuzzy, but the entire thing is actually about vampires—but more the soul-sucking than blood-sucking kind. Since it's almost Halloween, you should have no problem finding a pair of fake fangs to sport for the night. MEGAN SELING

BOBBY HUTCHERSON QUARTET
(Triple Door) When it comes down to the history of the vibraphone in jazz music, this is the order of things: Lionel Hampton marks its golden age, Milt Jackson marks its modern age, and Bobby Hutcherson marks its late age, when the instrument went to the frontier of noise and music and aggressively explored and experimented. Born in 1941, and debuting on Blue Note as a band leader in 1965, Hutcherson played with almost all of the great figures of his time—Jackie McClean, Herbie Hancock, and, of course, the genius above all the other geniuses, Eric Dolphy. Dolphy's Out to Lunch could not have become part of the jazz canon if the recording was made without Hutcherson's insanely beautiful, madly delicate vibraphones. CHARLES MUDEDE

SUNDAY 10/29

THE CORAL SEA, THE WESTERN SHORE, BRIGHT RED PAPER
(Can Can) Usually when folks try to slip a little classical music into their progressive-minded rock, you end up with a swollen monstrosity like Emerson, Lake, and Palmer. You can breathe easy with Portland's Bright Red Paper, whose phosphorescent chamber pieces find downy cello passages and guitar fireworks meeting halfway instead of butting heads. This hard-working quartet is favorably analogous to groups like the Dirty Three or Godspeed You! Black Emperor, but with more of an eye for subtle melodies than wild, spiritual invocations. JOSH BLANCHARD

MAKE BELIEVE, ECSTATIC SUNSHINE, POST HARBOR
(Comet Tavern) Make Believe's Tim Kinsella recently wrote a modest proposal to Alternative Press calling for the immediate dissolution of all bands within the pages of that magazine for the sake of the common good. The rant was rambling, verbose, and more or less on point, which is basically Kinsella's MO. Whether writing polemic letters to the editor or fronting one of his myriad post-everything musical projects, Kinsella's smart, heartfelt wordplay is challenging, but worth the effort. Make Believe's music is similarly brilliant and disjointed, full of interwoven guitars and unexpected rhythmic turns. Ecstatic Sunshine showcase equally intricate guitar work without the traditional rhythm section, and locals Post Harbor skillfully evoke the sunny days of pre-math emo. ERIC GRANDY

45 GRAVE, BETTY X, TRASHLIGHT VISION
(Fenix) The Brits-to-Yanks ratio on Rhino's recent Gothic Box comp is a ridiculous 10 to 1. But with their metal-edged anthem "Party Time" prominently featured in 1985's Return of the Living Dead, 45 Grave wiped the floor with their pasty-faced UK contemporaries. Like fellow U.S. kitsch-or-kill acts the Cramps and Misfits, this enduring L.A. act draw on disparate influences—punk, surf, psych—and keep tongue in cheek when venturing into cobwebs and kohl-rimmed-eyes territory. Led by original pinup of the damned Dinah Cancer, the current incarnation gives fans what they want: a set of revved-up cult classics. 45 Grave may be ghoulish and unstoppable, but they ain't no stinkin' zombies. KURT B. REIGHLEY

NEEZIE PLEAZE, THA STAHI BROTHERS, D. BLACK
(High Dive) See My Philosophy, page 50.

PNUMA TRIO, KJ SAWKA
(Nectar) See preview, page 47.

SWOLLEN MEMBERS
(Neumo's) See Stranger Suggests, page 29.

TOKYO DRAGONS, ZERO DOWN, LUND BROS., PAUL LYNDE FAN CLUB
(Sunset Tavern, early) Should you find yourself heartbroken about the recent downfall of the Darkness (frontman Justin Hawkins recently returned from rehab for cocaine addiction, leaving their future decidedly undecided), take a little comfort in Tokyo Dragons. These brash Brits owe big debts to Thin Lizzy and Motörhead, but with a few more booty-shaking moments than either of those greats would tolerate. They're currently in town spending their big-label studio budget with our own Kurt Bloch, an ideal butt-rocking matchup if there ever was one. HANNAH LEVIN

MONDAY 10/30

TECUMSEH, ACRE, THE BETTER TO SEE YOU WITH, BONUS
(Gallery 1412) Seattle, beware! Mr. Scott Goodwin, show promoter, member of Bonus, and all around nice guy is yet another casualty of war in Portland's manifest destiny to steal away all your experimental musicians. Are you going to take a stand or just continue to sedate yourself with cheap beer and garage bands? Bonus hasn't utterly forsaken you though, and tonight they will lay down the glacial, electronic mantras that they've proven to be masters of. Olympia's Acre (also moving to Portland!) is a solo act that swims in similarly still waters but with a tonal polish more akin to minimalist artists like Gas or Main. JOSH BLANCHARD

LEFTĂ–VER CRACK, CITIZEN FISH, THE SAINTE CATHERINES, SKARP
(El Corazón) Choking Victim combined crust punk, ska, thrash, and lived-in lyrics about smoking crack and squatting in Manhattan. For the past six years, that group's creative core (singer/guitarist Stza, guitarist Ezra Kire) has helmed the inflammatory Leftöver Crack, which used a photo illustration of Bush and Cheney celebrating in front of the collapsing Twin Towers as the cover for its 2004 album, Fuck World Trade, devotes stage-banter space to cop-killing fantasies, and flouts curfews at all-ages gigs. Stza appears addled, stumbling and mumbling between songs, but his distinctive screech remains strong during Leftöver Crack's chaotic sets, which draw from Choking Victim's catalog. ANDREW MILLER

AMY SEDARIS, LOVE IS ALL
(Neumo's) See Stranger Suggests, page 29.

HEARTLESS BASTARDS, THE SNAKEBITES
(Tractor Tavern) The Heartless Bastards' gritty, soulful rock was a delight right out of the gate: Vocalist/guitarist Erika Wennerstrom was all guts and some grace on their 2005 debut, belting out hearty, saucy songs about a world-weary bad girl who's learned her life lessons the hard way. Compelling work, to be sure, but nothing that could foreshadow the enormous creative leap forward the band took on this year's All This Time (Fat Possum). Wennerstrom is still wielding her wickedly expressive, whiskey-marinated voice, but both the songwriting and musicianship is markedly more complex, lush, and polished. Heartless Bastards were initially a fun band with promise; they are now a group who could be a serious force to be reckoned with by the time they record their third album. HANNAH LEVIN

OZMA, EVERYBODY ELSE, THE PHARMACY
(Chop Suey) Ozma's known as that Pasadena, California, band who rode the "We sound just like Weezer!" wave through the early '00s. It's true, they do sound just like Weezer. Even the big W frontman himself enjoyed their version of his adolescent geek-pop sound; Ozma toured with Rivers and Co. in 2001. Ozma also hopped on the bill with the Rentals when they reunited earlier this year. Now, though, with that bespectacled heart-on-our-sleeves sound not being the big trend, Ozma's forced to test the waters on their own. No waves to ride, no Weezer superstars (past or present) to hold their hands. It's fight or flight time, boys and girl. If they can't do it, at least we'll get to see the fuckin' Pharmacy tear the place apart. MEGAN SELING

TUESDAY 10/31

FIGURINES, THE ARK
(Crocodile) See preview, page 41.

THE HOLLOWPOINTS, OLD MAN SMITHERS
(High Dive) See Rocka Rolla, page 49.

BAD THINGS, GUESTS
(Jules Maes Saloon) See Rocka Rolla, page 49.

MICAH P. HINSON, ZERA MARVEL
(Tractor Tavern) Growing up in Texas, Micah P. Hinson had it all: a strictly religious family, a star-crossed romance with a former fashion model turned rock widow, and jail time for forging prescriptions... all by age 21. A less creative soul would have simply foisted a crappy Prozac Nation—style memoir on the world, but Hinson has redeemed himself via three albums of bittersweet country-rock rhapsodies sung in the weathered voice of an old soul in a baby-faced body. In a dark twist, his latest, Micah P. Hinson and the Opera Circuit, was completed while recuperating from emergency back surgery, but now Hinson is up and about, and knocking audiences flat. KURT B. REIGHLEY

WEDNESDAY 11/1

DEVIN THE DUDE, JOSH MARTINEZ, MACKLEMORE
(Chop Suey) See My Philosophy, page 50.

JOAN JETT AND THE BLACKHEARTS, EAGLES OF DEATH METAL, THROW RAG
(Showbox) See Stranger Suggests, page 29 and Rocka Rolla, page 49.