There are at least two reasons why you should see Apparat this
Friday. The first is Apparat himself, who is following up last
year’s pop-leaning Walls with a full-band tour, yet another
electronic act bringing a more familiar performance aesthetic to their
electronic output (see last year’s Matthew Dear tour and the
more recent [canceled] dates from the Field).
Walls, by Apparat’s own admission, is meant to be played live,
with plenty of guitar and drums naturalizing the electronic
elements, providing crossover appeal without dumbing down the
material.
The second reason is so you can congratulate opening act
Truckasauras on the release of their debut album, Tea
Parties, Guns and Valor, after it spent months sitting on the
shelves ready to go. There’s been no shortage of (well-deserved)
coverage of Truckasauras, and after all of the hype, the album delivers
on the promise of their live show, with all of the measured,
head-nodding Nintendo-core prompting asses to motion even
without the visual accompaniment of WrestleMania footage (a DVD next
time?). In fact, one of the only major problems with the release is the
length—the half-dozen remixes closing the release diminish the
otherwise tight pacing despite how good they are. That’s a minor gripe,
however, as this release will finally get Truckasauras’s music out into
the world, the first step to their living up to their “future of
techno” reputation. Congratulations.
Things are looking good this weekend for house heads as well. First
there’s Gene Lee at Electric Avenue on Friday, celebrating his
own CD release. Lee is one of the most energetic house DJs around,
never appearing bored by his own tracks like many DJs. Despite the
price (free), that’s certain to be low-key compared to the old-school
house night going down Saturday. The lineup is headlined by a pair of
notable locals, with Pappa Tomato (if you don’t know him or his
dance-floor calls of “Come on, Seattle,” know that he loves house
music more than you and everyone you know combined) and Brett
Johnson, who only seems to peek his head out of his studio to play
once every few months. That’d be enough to make a house head happy, but
they’re upping the ante, justifying the $25 cover with an open
bar. Hope there’s a discount for the teetotalers out there.
This weekend I’ll be in beautiful Detroit for Movement: Detroit’s
Electronic Music Festival, one of the largest events of its kind in
North America. I’ll be posting updates and pictures to Line Out, The
Stranger‘s
music and nightlife blog
(www.thestranger
.com/lineout). 
Apparat (with band) and Truckasauras play Neumo’s on Fri May 23,
9 pm doors, $10 adv, 21+.
Gene Lee plays Electric Avenue at CHAC Lower Level on Fri May 23,
10 pm–2 am, free, 21+.
Old School House Night is at Sodo Pop on Sat May 24, 10
pm–4 am, $25, 21+.