The Luna Moth’s Levi Fuller started Cumulus last year to showcase Northwest bands that are probing musical strategies beyond rock’s song-based conventions. Tonight’s bill—featuring his group along with Joy Wants Eternity, Scriptures, and Paintings for Animals—is the first of a three-night festival at Mars Bar and Funhouse. Expect a cornucopia of exploratory, evocatively textured excursions into rock’s farthest-flung regions from 12 challenging acts. Prepare to go deep. [See Up & Coming, page 60, for more details.] (Mars Bar, 609 Eastlake Ave E, 624-4516. 8:30 pm, $8, 21+.)

Dave Segal is a journalist and DJ living in Seattle. He has been writing about music since 1983. His stuff has appeared in Gale Research’s literary criticism series of reference books, Creem (when...