Wednesday 5/25

You smell like you could use a break.

Thursday 5/26

Sophisticated Mama: DJ Sad Bastard, DJ Nitty Gritty

(Havana) See Stranger Suggests.

Voltage Control: Burdfur Is Green Feathers, Electrosect, the Naturebot

(Living Room) See Data Breaker.

One Night Relief Aid Benefit for Japan: State of the Artist, Truckasauras, Metal Chocolates, dj100proof

(Neumos) See Data Breaker.

Death by Steamship, So Pitted, Lindseys, Mutiny Mutiny

(Funhouse) A cursory Googling of Lindseys will not reveal much. Even if you include the name of their recent album on ggnzla Records, Trauma Quean, you get nada. The tinny, scratchy punk rock contained within isn't much more enlightening—jangly, hazy guitar parts mash up against taut drumming, while the vocals sound like they're being sung by an evil and smart-assed Muppet (for real). GRANT BRISSEY

Pre–Rain Fest 100 for Haiti Benefit: Outspoken, Alpha & Omega, Burn Your Life Down, Olde Ghost, Marrow, Cynarae

(Vera) If you're one of the many hardcore kids who were unable to snag a three-day Rain Fest pass before they sold out in just over 72 hours (!), or you just want to jump-start the weekend festivities, the Vera Project has you covered. But who's benefiting from this benefit? As previously reported on Line Out, after returning from the aftermath of the catastrophic earthquake that shook Haiti just over a year ago, former Trial vocalist/juggler/motivational speaker/overall badass Greg Bennick founded 100 for Haiti, a humanitarian project with the goal of directly supporting and funding the ongoing reconstruction of their devastated nation. That's who. If you dig the crossover thrashy hardcore style of NYC legends Cro-Mags, chances are you'll be able to dig on LA buzz band Alpha & Omega. Heads from the '90s might recognize the name Outspoken, as the SoCal hardcore band has reunited (sorta), bringing its signature melodies to the Northwest with an almost completely new lineup. For something a little crustier, show up early to rage with Marrow. Moshin' for a cause. KEVIN DIERS

Friday 5/27

Sasquatch! Music Festival

(Gorge) See preview.

Northwest Folklife Festival: Wheedle's Groove, Corespondents, Led to Sea, Thaddillac, the Bad Things, and more

(Seattle Center) See preview.

Grayskul, Continental Soldiers, Fly Moon Royalty

(Crocodile) If I hear anyone say one more time that Shabazz Palaces are the only "really" good hiphop that's ever "really" come out of Seattle, I'm gonna lose my shit. Seriously? I mean, Shabazz are amazing-incredible-phenomenal. But you sound "really" ill-informed. There's so much more. Do you remember the Oldominion crew? Never heard Grayskul's Deadlivers, don't know who Onry Ozzborn or JFK are? You really should seek these guys out—and start with this show. And since Ozzborn's been busy with Dark Time Sunshine and JFK with his solo album (which was released last summer), seeing them together again as Grayskul is a don't-miss opportunity. KELLY O See also My Philosophy.

Yarn Owl, Chapter, the Young Lions

(Columbia City Theater) Hailing from the Eastern Washington town of Pullman, rock-folk-pop quartet Yarn Owl sound like a burst of sunlight fighting—and winning—its way through breaking clouds. Their new full-length, the relaxed Montaña y Caballo, was recorded in a barn outside of Moscow, Idaho, and its brawny yet gentle charm is highlighted in tunes like album opener "Go" and the album's de facto title track, "Embrace Our Place (Montaña y Caballo)." Yarn Owl have a Northwest rock pedigree—bassist Tim Meinig once drummed for Band of Horses—and their songs are vocal- and guitar-driven in equal amounts, sounding at times like a plugged-in Fleet Foxes. With the joyful Montaña, Yarn Owl have instantly leaped forward as one of the most competent, confident bands in the Northwest, and their guilelessly bright, lush sound should be turning more ears than ever before. NED LANNAMANN

Saturday 5/28

Sasquatch! Music Festival

(Gorge) See preview.

Rain Fest

(Neumos) See preview and Underage.

Northwest Folklife Festival

(Seattle Center) See preview.

Punk Life Festival: Partman Parthorse, Monogamy Party, Poop Attack!, Mother's Anger

(Funhouse) Because Memorial Day weekend needs yet another music festival (no, it does not), the Funhouse presents its annual Punk Life Festival. Actually, despite the heavily saturated festival market, this is a good thing! In the beginning, Punk Life appeared to be a loud, snotty "fuck you" to all the hippies rushing toward the drum circles at the Seattle Center's Folklife, but over time, Punk Life has become its own notable event (though Folklife has actually gotten more accessible this year, too, see page 41). Today's installment of Punk Life is the best, with Partman Parthorse, Monogamy Party, and Poop Attack! all on one bill for only $7 (with no extra camping fees required). MEGAN SELING

Rye Wolves, Dwellers, Dog Shredder, Aerial Ruin, Same-Sex Dictator

(Josephine) Maybe you don't want to sit in the Sasquatch! sunshine and listen to Iron & Wine, Bright Eyes, or Death Cab for Cutie this fine Saturday. Maybe you'd like to kick off this Memorial Day weekend by memorializing all those soldiers who died for this country with an aural assault on your ears. Maybe you want to stand right in front of the speakers during Same-Sex Dictator right on through till Rye Wolves and let these singers do their angry, hardcore-esque growl-n-scream right into your eardrums, with no earplugs, creating a buzzy, mild tinnitus that'll last at least until Monday. Let freedom ring! KELLY O

Altered States of Funk Presents: A Tribute to Parliament-Funkadelic

(Tractor) Few American bands deserve a tribute more than Parliament-Funkadelic. George Clinton's long-running, sprawling ensemble has been responsible for more inspirational funk-soul jams than anybody this side of James Brown. And, as this scribbler noted in a recent issue of The Stranger, Funkadelic's "One Nation Under a Groove" needs to become the United States' new anthem, posthaste. Seattle's Altered States of Funk understand the gravity and levity of the situation. They promise to give you the funk, the whole funk, and nothing but the funk. DAVE SEGAL

Sunday 5/29

Sasquatch! Music Festival

(Gorge) See preview.

Northwest Folklife Festival

(Seattle Center) See preview.

Benefit for Disabled Veterans: Casey Ruff, Rachel Mae, the Smoke Brothers, the Resets

(Sunset) You know how you're reading this while sitting in a nice bar or pizza joint or on a comfortable, fully functional toilet, instead of in a totalitarian gulag? Thank a veteran. Tonight, the Sunset makes it easy for all us indebted citizens to show some love, with a nightlong benefit for disabled veterans, featuring a solid lineup of acts straddling the Americana/alt-country/plain-old-country divide. DAVID SCHMADER

Doom, Deathraid, Oroku, Massgrave

(Chop Suey) In decades past, this show would've gone down in a warehouse space on the edge of town. Kids covered in Profane Existence patches would swill 40s in the parking lot with their dogs. The door price would be an optional donation of $5. A skinhead would show up and try to start shit, only to be beaten with a folding chair and given the boot. The PA would be inadequate, with only enough mics for vocals, which would feed back constantly. Some folks might lament that this show is happening in an actual nightclub. But after nearly 25 years of defining the crust-punk sound, Doom deserve to play a show where the cops don't show up and shut everything down after the opening band's set. BRIAN COOK

Monday 5/30

Sasquatch! Music Festival

(Gorge) See preview.

Northwest Folklife Festival

(Seattle Center) See preview.

Black Monday Presents a Tribute to Echo & the Bunnymen and the Church: I Die Every Day, Below Blackstar, Happy Death Men, Blackpool Astronomy, Chrome Injury, Motorik, Black Night Crash, Blue Light Curtain, Sweet Chariot, Vinca Minor

(Sunset) Several local acts congregate tonight to celebrate in song the greatness of England's Echo & the Bunnymen and Australia's the Church. Both groups experienced their heydays in the 1980s, a decade in which they pumped out dozens of memorable songs that rocked psychedelically and often with mellifluous grandiosity. Although neither band saw huge commercial success in the United States, they both accrued large-ish, slavishly devoted fan bases—with these Seattle musicians among the most fervid. Come hear a load of quality locals do it clean in an unguarded moment. DAVE SEGAL

Barcelona, Holcombe Waller, Jenny O.

(Chop Suey) Are you a hopeless romantic looking for a new musical crush? If you're not familiar with local band Barcelona, you should be. The band's cinematic Brit pop is soaring and swoonworthy, emotional, dynamic, and gorgeous. And speaking of gorgeous, let's talk about Portland's Holcombe Waller, whose angelic, androgynous voice and tastefully theatrical tunes have drawn comparisons to Antony and Jeff Buckley. His new album, Into the Dark Unknown, is stunning—a wonderfully nuanced affair that touches on life's messy emotions in the most subtle and beautiful ways. Naked and vulnerable, fierce and resolute, it's one of the year's best records. If your heart and soul are in need of a jump-start, tonight's show is a no-brainer. BARBARA MITCHELL

Tuesday 5/31

Stop Biting: Julie C, WD4D, Sho Nuph, B Girl, Introcut

(Lo-Fi) See Data Breaker.

Damon & Naomi, Amor de Dias, Trespassers William

(Tractor) British singer-songwriter-guitarist Alasdair MacLean breathes delicate sonic beauty. As leader of the Clientele, he's helmed six albums awash with subdued pop charmers, each LP a classic of hushed, autumnal splendor. MacLean's new project with Pipas singer Lupe Núñez-Fernández, Amor de Dias, is a subtly different endeavor, but the outcome is similar: You get chills all over. Nuanced bossa-nova rhythms gently nudge things along on Amor de Dias' Street of the Love of Days, but Clientele fans will lurve this stuff. Damon & Naomi traffic in similar realms of melancholy, flower-petal-soft ballads, although electric guitarist Michio Kurihara occasionally adds ascending, baroque embellishments. Their latest full-length, False Beats and True Hearts, proves that these ex–Galaxie 500 vets haven't lost any of their chamber-pop wiles. DAVE SEGAL

Allen Toussaint

(Jazz Alley) A world without Allen Toussaint would be a wretched place. This New Orleans legend produced Labelle's "Lady Marmalade" and the Meters' "Cissy Strut," arranged horns for Sandy Denny, Paul Simon, and the Band, and did practically everything but sing on a significant number of Irma Thomas's early sides for Minit. Hell, without Toussaint, The Dating Game wouldn't be etched on our collective consciousness; its theme, "A Taste of Honey," is just one of the many pop standards he's composed. His own recordings span the gamut from 1972's Life, Love and Faith to The River in Reverse, a 2006 post-Katrina pairing with Elvis Costello. The 73-year-old is a funky, fluid pianist and one of the great gentlemen of show business, a dude so suave he makes Bryan Ferry look like some punk kid. KURT B. REIGHLEY