Wednesday 1/25

Wu-Tang Clan, Black Knights, Reverend Burke, Champagne Champagne

(Showbox Sodo) See preview and My Philosophy.

The Music of Miles Davis: Bobby Previte

(Royal Room) When the Royal Room opened a month or so ago, I was informed by one of its owners, Steve Freeborn (who also co-owns the Rendezvous), that it would be a venue for all kinds of music: rock, funk, alt-country, jazz—you name it. Well and good. But this is my feeling: I want jazz to dominate the mood and substance of the Royal Room. The place feels just right for America's classical music, which is why watching Bobby Previte, an established jazz drummer who has worked extensively with Wayne Horvitz, an established jazz pianist (and also one of the Royal Room's owners), perform the music of Miles Davis is the thing to do tonight. This kind of music, performed by this kind of musician, fits like a hand in a glove in this kind of venue. CHARLES MUDEDE

Thursday 1/26

Erin Jorgensen, Steve Fisk

(On the Boards) See preview.

Dog Shredder, Monogamy Party, Great Falls, Serial Hawk

(Comet) Remember this time last week, when you were losing your mind after being stuck in your igloo of an apartment for days because of all that snow and slush? Tonight you'd be smart to get your ass to the Comet to work out whatever's left of that stir-crazy energy with this killer bill of some of the Northwest's most brutal noisemakers. Bellingham's Dog Shredder really do shred—guitars, not dogs—and they will knock you over with their hurricane of thrashing rock. Their 10-minute jams are relentless, summoning the most wicked side of metal, hardcore, and even a little prog. Openers Serial Hawk are just as vicious, but on a more sludgy, stoner rock tip. Get in the pit. Beat down the walls. You are no longer a rat in a cage. MEGAN SELING

Pierced Arrows, Constant Lovers, Strong Killings, Sick Secrets

(Rendezvous) Headlining this bill are Pierced Arrows, the current outfit of Portland DIY heroes Fred and Toody Cole, who are still tearing down Northwest dive bars with their still Dead Moon–ish, stripped-down rock despite being older than my parents. The equally impressive list of opening acts includes Constant Lovers' pummeling percussive ferocity, Strong Killings' punchy "Tigerstyle" punk, and Sick Secrets' straightforward garage aggression. Add in liberal amounts of cheap beer, and things are sure to get good and rowdy. MIKE RAMOS

Friday 1/27

Fujiya & Miyagi

(Neumos) See Stranger Suggests.

The Fisherman Three, the Black Swans

(Spin Cycle) See Underage.

Black Breath, Scourge Schematic, Leatherhorn, Occult SS

(Comet) See Stranger Suggests and Sound Check.

Doomtree, Sadistik

(Crocodile) Minneapolis's Doomtree collective has been filling a sort of "conscious" punk-influenced rap niche since the early-'00s, a distinctive style that netted them almost as many detractors as fans. In a live setting, their formula is simple: Producers Paper Tiger and Lazerbeak piece beats together on the spot with MPCs and mixing consoles while the group's five very capable MCs (P.O.S., Dessa, Sims, Mike Mictlan, and Cecil Otter) alternate between group and solo cuts. But just like in punk, which has way more in common with hiphop than most people realize, Doomtree's ability to execute this kind of simplicity with such genuine fervor is what it's really all about. MIKE RAMOS See also My Philosophy.

The Maldives, the Horde and the Harem, Elk and Boar

(Tractor) The Horde and the Harem got me through summer and then fall with their sweet harmonies and good cheer. These are my jams because these are my people: Frisbee-playing, bike-riding, beard-growing Seattleites who are earnest and hardworking, and who smile while they're playing instead of bullshit arty scowling. Their bright, multilayered folk pop has soundtracked my grass-stained knees and then my Thanksgiving leftover-eating on the couch, and now they're releasing A Long Midwinter just in time to score my snowball fights (plus the hot toddies afterward), and they're celebrating it tonight. Shout at them to play the songs with trumpets for twice as long, because trumpets fucking rule. ANNA MINARD

Banner Pilot, Broadway Calls, the Hollowpoints, Smoke Jumper

(Funhouse) If you're a fan of those nerdy Aaron Cometbus zines and you like bands like Alkaline Trio, the Lawrence Arms, and the much-revered Jawbreaker, then you'll probably love Minnesota pop-punks Banner Pilot. If you're like me, you probably prefer more boneheaded Ramones-rippers like the Spits and/or grittier street punk with some tinges of political angst in them like Seattle's the Hollowpoints. I forgot about the Hollowpoints. I think I bought one of their albums when they were still on Dirtnap, and I think I may have bought it at the now closed and forever missed Fallout Records. Man, those were the days. Capitol Hill used to be full of young punks. KELLY O

Seattle Modern Orchestra

(PONCHO Concert Hall) Do not carelessly bandy about the word "modern." (Or the words "bandy about," but who can resist?!) For Seattle Modern Orchestra, modern means an attitude or stance toward music history—it's a progressive orchestra, an anti-romantic orchestra, an anti-warhorse-player. The music on this program at Cornish is based on a geological theme (sediment!), but you can read more about that in the program. You'll be hearing the rarely heard Piece No. 2 for small orchestra (1986) by Conlon Nancarrow, the grand master of complex playfulness, plus Eight Lines by Steve Reich (a 1983 piece that's something like the accruing and accruing of his earlier minimalist classic Music for 18 Musicians), and Talea (1986) by Gérard Grisey. JEN GRAVES

Saturday 1/28

Beats Antique, Filastine

(Showbox Sodo) See Data Breaker.

My Parade, Kunt Kuntroll, Slowfast, Miki Foster

(Hollow Earth Radio) See Underage.

Laptop Battle

(Lo-Fi) See Data Breaker.

Naomi Punk, Dude York, Dana Jewell & the Hungry Hearts

(Cairo) Recently in these pages, Jackson Hathorn described the charms of Seattle's Dude York as "obliterated T. Rex guitar rock." That phrase sums up the group's instantaneous infectiousness, with the FCC-baiting "Fuck City" being the finest example of Dude York's undeniable pop chops. With their blown-out fidelity, knack for coloring outside the lines, and general raucousness, Dude York's songs make your lizard brain squirm with glee. Fellow locals Naomi Punk exhibit a bit more refinement than Dude York, but overall they're the ideal, Ty Segall–ian complement to DY's überexuberant rock. Tonight the hooks will just keep on comin'. DAVE SEGAL See also Underage.

Sunday 1/29

Jeremy Jay, the Curious Mystery, Nucular Aminals, Posse

(Comet) Jeremy Jay gives slow, body-swaying melodies, crooning and forlorn "oohs" and "ahhs," all while unfalteringly holding your attention hostage. Jay is promoting his new album, Dream Diary, with a collection of songs that holds true to his history of single guitar and percussion sounds which are often accompanied by ethereal and faraway vocals. Though Jay's music is on the slower side, the beats are crisp and you can't help moving around a little while you listen. Jay is stepping out around the US and Canada with local band the Curious Mystery and Portland-based Nucular Aminals, bands that both complement this airy, trippy pop category. The Curious Mystery are a little darker and a little slower, with some heavier tones, while Nucular Aminals carry some more variety, yet with that same unexplainable, psychedelic, and fantasy feeling. ELENA BUCKLEY

Gift of Gab, the Th3rdz, Luke Rain, the Night Caps

(Nectar) The Th3rdz are Seattle's newest hiphop "supergroup," made up of scene veterans/Oldominion OGs Candidt, JFK, and Xperience. The four or so songs they have available online contain the kind of lyrical acrobatics expected from these seasoned pros, plus primo production from local heatmakers like BeanOne, 10.4 Rog, and Kuddie Fresh. Show up early to see what else the trio has on deck, but stick around to catch Blackalicious's MC-half Gift of Gab's solo headlining set. Let's hope he'll dig into the back catalog to perform maximum cuts from his masterful 2004 Quannum solo release, 4th Dimensional Rocketships Going Up, which was produced entirely by Town legends Jake One and Vitamin D. MIKE RAMOS

Brooklyn Rider

(Town Hall) The last time I saw Brooklyn Rider, Meryl Streep and Michelle Obama were watching them with me (so what if we weren't sitting next to each other?). That was on the televised Kennedy Center Honors show for the lifetime achievement of Yo-Yo Ma, the commonly-to-be-found-smiling cellist who formed an ensemble called the Silk Road Project—which is where the members of Brooklyn Rider met. They're a young string quartet that wants to be more than just an old string quartet; "borderless communication" is the stated goal. And their 2010 concert at Town Hall was some kind of hit. This time they'll do one of Beethoven's late, intense quartets (these are killer pieces of music, and this one is his favorite: Op. 131), Suite for String Quartet from "Bent" by Philip Glass, Kol Nidre by John Zorn, and a work by member player Colin Jacobson. JEN GRAVES

Monday 1/30

Earth Control, Xerxes, Code Orange Kids, White Heat, Tribes

(Redroom) Back when they were known as Owen Hart, Earth Control received a cease-and-desist letter from the Owen Hart Foundation (Owen Hart was a television wrestling star who died on television), which did not like the fact that they had a song called "My Grandma's Fucking a Tranny from Alaska," among other things. Thus, they changed their name to Earth Control (also the name of their first LP). They're still bashing out their self-described "meth metal," which apparently means metal at about four times the speed of normal metal. Blink and it will bowl you right over. GRANT BRISSEY

Tuesday 1/31

Pollens, Seven Colors, the Synthony

(Neumos) See preview.

B. Bravo, Introcut, WD4D, AbsoluteMadman, Suntonio Bandanaz

(Lo-Fi) See Data Breaker.

Seattle Symphony, UW student composers

(Benaroya Hall) In the entire history of forever, according to University of Washington School of Music director Richard Karpen, the Seattle Symphony has never devoted a concert to pieces by UW composition students: This is a first. And it is freaking great—another sign of how new music director Ludovic Morlot comes fresh. The works are by Turkish doctoral student Yiit Kolat, American master's student Josh Archibald-Seiffer (cowriter of a song on the Grammy-winning Monsters, Inc. Scream Factory Favorites album), and American doctoral student Abby Aresty. JEN GRAVES

The Lindseys, So Pitted, Enemy Combatants, Lindsey Rogers

(Comet) A So Pitted song may start out as straightforward and contemporary punk, but then, right before your ears, it'll take a hard left turn into bizarre, intriguing territory. Then it will arrest you and throw you in the back of the car—only, when you get to the police station, it's not a police station but instead a giant, fun-ass party. Kick out the window, motherfucker, this is what you've been waiting for. GRANT BRISSEY