Wednesday 7/3

The Juan Maclean (DJ set), J-Justice, Introcut

(Barboza) See Data Breaker.

2nd Annual MCA Tribute Dance Party

(Sunset) Y'all know my love for the late, great Beastie Boy MCA is boundless; if you feel the same way, come celebrate! This MCA Tribute Dance Party includes DJs, costume contests, a raffle, and the ever-popular "more." It's $5 to get in, and I can think of few other crowds in the history of time that I'd want to be in the middle of more than the people who would go to a midweek MCA-themed dance party in Ballard. The Facebook page points out that you don't have the work the next day, and says, "If it's gonna be that kinda party..." Awww, man! RIP, MCA. (Also, go look at the picture of a super-young MCA on the Sunset's website! You might cry.) ANNA MINARD

Prince Rama, Ecstatic Cosmic Union, Dionvox

(Rendezvous) It's hard to imagine a pair of sisters in Brooklyn more far out than former Hare Krishna adherents Taraka and Nimai Larson of Prince Rama. After a couple of head-swirling, reverbed-to-heaven, tribal-gothadelic full-lengths (Shadow Temple and Trust Now), Prince Rama issued the dazzling concept album Top Ten Hits of the End of the World (all of these came out on Animal Collective's Paw Tracks label). On Top Ten, Prince Rama assume the personas of 10 different imaginary pop groups that supposedly perished in the apocalypse. They proceed to imbue genres like Arabic pop, cosmic disco, glam rock, grunge, and new wave with a spectral pop spirit. It's a unique idea that tweaks music's nostalgic power, and it's executed with brazen panache. DAVE SEGAL

The Body, Subservient Fuck, Cold Lake, Chronic Tomb

(Black Lodge) It makes complete sense that the Body would sign to experimental-rock label Thrill Jockey. For a doom-metal band, the Portland duo of Chip King and Lee Buford come at the genre from some peculiar angles. My favorite track of theirs, "()"—try shouting for that one at the Black Lodge—combines dank-tomb drones with death-sentence riffs that repeatedly hit with punishing counterpunches for three minutes before a skittery funk rhythm incongruously enters the fray. As the song progresses, the riffs both intensify and decay, and the effect is both hypnotic and entropic. Or check the bizarre guitar tonality that tolls in "Worship." Throughout their catalog, the Body harness their power intelligently to forge music that signifies doom metal without sounding hackneyed or juvenile. Their shelves surely groan with existentialist philosophy tomes. DAVE SEGAL

Red Liquid, Brain Drain, Drunk Dad, Big Black Cloud

(Comet) Jay Reatard (RIP) may have been the critics' darling once he set out on his solo-artist path, but his viciously warped, Memphis-based band the Lost Sounds arguably had a more profound impact on the underground. Who else closed out the last century by combining hook-laden garage rock, synth-driven darkwave, and a flirtation with crust-punk ferocity into a cohesive sound? In 1999, the Lost Sounds had no peers, but the vestiges of their style can be heard in bands like Big Black Cloud. The Portland-by-way-of-the-South trio mixes lo-fi proto-punk, sci-fi weirdness, and gnarly AmRep sludge into a cocktail that would satiate anyone thirsting for Mr. Reatard's more abrasive and enigmatic early work. BRIAN COOK

Eric Burdon and the Animals, Ziggy Marley

(Snoqualmie Casino) These old British garage-soul warhorses played this casino two years ago. That gig must've gone well, even with rough-hewn, septuagenarian frontman Eric Burdon's hamstrung voice. But when you have a catalog as rich with nostalgia-tickling classics like "Don't Bring Me Down," "Spill the Wine," Sky Pilot," "Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood," and "When I Was Young" (now way more poignant 46 years on from its release date), you can get by with tight chops and the leader's accrued respect and charisma. (There are no other original Animals in the current lineup.) DAVE SEGAL

Thursday 7/4

Airport, youryoungbody, Leatherdaddy, Imperials

(Comet) See Data Breaker.

Heatsick, Lee Gamble, NHK'Koyxen, Phine Gage, Phaedrus

(Electric Tea Garden) See Data Breaker.

Friday 7/5

Say Anything, Eisley, H RV RD, I the Mighty

(Showbox at the Market) See Underage.

Gothic Tropic, Haunted Horses, Childbirth

(Cairo) LA trio Gothic Tropic make compelling, brightly distorted pop/rock/psych/garage music (they're all over the genre spectrum), with faraway tin-can vocals and instantly likable rambliness. Their four-song EP, Awesome Problems, has been in my ears since I found it recently, but I suspect it's just a teardrop in Gothic Tropic's ocean of coconut-flavored reverb. With Seattle's Haunted Horses (dark space-angst duo) and Childbirth (a newish, hospital-gown-wearing supergroup anchored by the bleeding vocals of Chastity Belt's Julia Shapiro). EMILY NOKES

The West, Us on Roofs, Roaming Herds of Buffalo, Yonder

(Neumos) Look, I don't mean to complain, but I get 800,000 e-mails a day from people who are all "Listen to this, Megan!" But there are only 24 hours in a day, and sometimes a girl just wants to listen to Hop Along for three days straight, so it's hard to get to everything in a timely manner, you know? The West is one of those bands who I've been shoving aside for far too long, despite friends and colleagues insisting I give 'em a listen. This is some good, summery dance music! It's not breaking down any walls, but it re-energized me on a hectic Friday afternoon filled with deadlines. Their album, In Low Light, is available for the low, low price of zero dollars at bandthewest.bandcamp.com. Grab it for the next time you need a midafternoon pick-me-up. MEGAN SELING

Crypts, BLVCK CEILING, Keyboard Kid, Ozma Otacava

(Chop Suey) Leave it to the folks at Actual Pain to bring together a bill consisting of several Washingtonians who excel in the dark electronic arts. Notoriously loved/hated local trio Crypts' industrial "Wolf Eyes meets Christian Death" aggression is the headlining attraction here, but the supporting talent is worth showing up early for. BLVCK CEILING—a guy from Spokane named Dan Ocean—has enough ominous remixes, reworks, and original beats on his Bandcamp page to make up several sets' worth of material (and excuse the overused witch-house-style glyphs in the song titles). Federal Way/#BASEDWORLD resident Keyboard Kid will likely be exploring the darkest Based in the Rain 666/Don't Leave Basedworld chamber of his multifaceted production. Things should get weird. MIKE RAMOS

White Murder, Sioux City Pete & the Beggars, Murder in the Wood

(2 Bit Saloon) Down in Pioneer Square, you've got your Murder in the Wood, and then you've got your White Murder, finally on the same bill. White Murder are a poppy rock quintet from LA with not one, but two lead singers who thrash the stage and sing in unison, their insistent and acidic voices blending into one. An online search didn't actually yield any listening opportunities from Murder in the Wood, but Facebook tells me there are four people in this band and that their name is a reference to crows—not the gruesomeness that pops up when you Google such a name. With Seattle mainstays Sioux City Pete & the Beggars, who put the "mental" back in experimental with their raw, rotten blues/punk. EMILY NOKES

Rodrigo y Gabriela, Michael Franti & Spearhead

(Chateau Ste. Michelle) It's a good thing Rodrigo y Gabriela don't play electric guitars, because acoustic axes are less likely to burst wine bottles and shatter champagne flutes at this winery gig. The duo, who were both born and raised in Mexico, cut their teeth busking on the streets of Dublin, and then summarily took Europe by storm with their amalgamation of flamenco, metal, and just about any genre one could execute on a guitar, really. Rodrigo y Gabriela make up for the lack of electricity with a particularly dexterous and percussive manner of guitar implementation. Still, they're able to meter things back when producers request their work for films like Pirates of the Caribbean and Puss in Boots. As Dave Segal has advised in these pages before, check their reworking of "Stairway to Heaven"; you won't believe your ears. GRANT BRISSEY

Robert Randolph & the Family Band

(Neptune) Anointed by Rolling Stone as one of the 100 greatest guitarists of all time, Robert Randolph is an incredibly fluid and inspired pedal steel player in the funk and soul idioms. (No shots at Randolph, but Rolling Stone goofed by excluding Sonny Sharrock and dozens of others from its pantheon. But I digress.) Randolph and his Family Band are supporting the new Blue Note LP, Lickety Split, and it's a straight-up party album. Randolph may be a master of technique and feeling (he got his start playing pedal steel in the House of God Church), but those qualities are put in service to facilitating good times, not to giving chubbies to Guitar World readers. The flamboyant cover of Ohio Players' 1975 hit "Love Rollercoaster," for one, sees to that. DAVE SEGAL

Saturday 7/6

Fox and the Law, Atomic Bride, Erik Blood

(Chop Suey) Seattle's Fox and the Law sound a wee bit like the Night Beats, if this blues-garage-psych band had a younger, rowdier little brother with crunchier guitar riffs. Also like the Night Beats—who are A+ amazing and just plain HUGE in places like Austin, Texas, and Europe (but not quite so revered in their Seattle home base)—Fox and the Law aren't getting nearly enough local love. They're playing this Chop Suey show and also the upcoming Capitol Hill Block Party. Pay attention, people. These guys are ready to start kicking ass and taking names. KELLY O

Sunday 7/7

Bob Log III

(Crocodile) See Stranger Suggests.

Pat Benatar, Neil Giraldo, Berlin featuring Terri Nunn

(Chateau Ste. Michelle) This show sparked one of the funniest, stupidest conversations I've had in a long time. One of my best friends was asking me, in a loud bar, if I wanted to go see this lineup. Except she kept saying, "Do you want to go see Pat Benatar 'n' Berlin?" I said, "Man, I've always LOVED Pat Benatar, but I don't think I can afford THAT!" She was like, "Sure you can." And I said, "Isn't it expensive to fly there? I mean, Benatar's great and all, but..." It took at least 15 minutes for my friend to realize I thought she was asking me to go see a concert in Berlin. Sweet Jesus. Anyway, Chateau Ste. Michelle is a lovely venue, and it's not far away at all. I will be there—and trying NOT to talk during the show—more like my one of my favorite '80s Berlin songs, "No More Words." KELLY O

A Tribute to the Gits' Mia Zapata: Werebearcat!, Vile Display of Humanity, Greenriver Thrillers

(Comet) Twenty years ago, Mia Zapata, frontwoman of the awesome and righteous punk band the Gits, was beaten, raped, and strangled after leaving the Comet Tavern. Tonight, local bands and musicians—including Christina Cramer of In Cahoots, Werebearcat!, Vile Display of Humanity, Greenriver Thrillers, and more—gather to celebrate her life by covering some of their favorite Gits songs. To further honor Zapata, the $7 cover charge will be donated to Seven Star Women's Kung Fu in the Central District, which teaches martial arts and self-defense to women 13 and older. They offer classes on a sliding-scale basis, and also have scholarships available—check out their schedule at sevenstarwomenskungfu.org, because every woman should be able to get home safely. MEGAN SELING

Jaill, Cosmonauts, Dude York, Chastity Belt

(Heartland) You've surely noticed that the Heartland gallery has been ruling it with their consistently great and interesting musical offerings—mixing rad local talent and out-of-town gems—and this show is no exception. In town are Jaill, an upbeat, indie power-pop band from Milwaukee. Jaill's singer, Vincent Kircher, croons in my favorite kind of boy voice—high and airy with sunny nerdiness (think the dBs or Terrordactyls)—which manages to complement lyrics that are actually about cloudy subjects like depression and breakups. Yay! With excellent up-and-comers (and Walla Walla transplants) Chastity Belt and Dude York, plus the dazed surf rock of Fullerton's Cosmonauts. EMILY NOKES

Stackpole, Vunt Foom, Hal Merrill Quartet

(White Rabbit) This Zero-G concert serves as a reunion for Stackpole, the jazz quartet who have been called "Seattle's Last Exit"—although saxophonist Wally Shoup thinks they're closer in sound to Miles Davis's electric-period groups. Either way, you can't lose, really, and this is big news for local aficionados of fiery, outward-bound jazz. Shoup, guitarist Dennis Rea, drummer Gregg Keplinger, and bassist Geoff Harper are masterly improvisers who revel in surprising dynamics, ranging from tense arabesques of quiet beauty to disciplined, strident chaos with many stops in between. Of the reunion, Shoup says, "We'll be doing what we did 15 years ago, but better!" Stackpole's first gig in over a decade is free—both monetarily and aesthetically. DAVE SEGAL

Monday 7/8

Still recovering from Sunday's Huey Lewis & the News show, eh?

Tuesday 7/9

New Kids on the Block, 98 Degrees, Boyz II Men

(Tacoma Dome) I am this paper's number-one appreciator of '90s nostalgia—okay, I might have to fight Emily Nokes for it—and I have also recently gone to a ridiculously '90s concert out of town, which included Boyz II Men. They wore matching white suits, I kid you not. I am so, so, so glad I went; back when I bought my first Boyz II Men CD, I would never have gone to a concert. Now that I make my own money and have my own transportation, I'm gonna see the shit out of every outdated-but-still-going-strong '90s artist I can find. Why the fuck not? This hilarious R&B boy band party cannot go wrong. Be prepared for the outfits, y'all! ANNA MINARD