Seattle's in the middle of a couple very busy weeks of shows right now around Coachella and before Sasquatch, and all the action can take its toll on your dedicated nightlife columnist. I went out every night but Tuesday last week, taking in Klaxons, Soulwax, Yacht, the Blakes, A Touch of Class, Parts & Labor, Erase Errata, and Adult., and by Sunday, April 29, I was seriously ready to relax.
Not that those weren't mostly great shows. It's just exhausting trying to dance and drink and rock out that much in one week. Seattle should always be so lucky as to have that problem.
The highlight of the week was undoubtedly Belgian dance-rock outfit Soulwax. The group's plane ran late on Wednesday, April 25, but when they finally took the stage at Chop Suey, it was more than worth the wait. The group launched immediately into their rock cover of Daft Punk's "Teachers," and the crowd—already warmed up by DJs Dave P and JDH—got to work. The band mixed the rest of their fantastic Nite Versions album, switching the order of the tracks, and they capped off their set with some awesome live covers of Tiga, Justice, and others. Their live setup was a totally overwhelming assault of huge drums, scathingly modulated synths, samples, and the occasional shouted lyric. Songs swelled and peaked every few minutes, the crowd threw up devil horns and jumped around, and the whole place felt like a perfect combination of rock show and rave. I realize I've been writing a lot lately about the intersections between dance music and rock (Klaxons, LCD Soundsystem, !!!, et al.), but that's just where the most exciting music is being made right now.
Parts & Labor and Erase Errata explored those crossroads at Chop Suey on Saturday, April 28, mixing in bits of noise and postpunk as well. Brooklyn trio Parts & Labor sound something like a cross between Lightning Bolt and fellow New York noisesters Aa—a hopeful mess of weird synth blips, thrashed drumming, pulsating bass, and aerial vocals. Fragile moments of quiet, highlighted by those vocals, relieved the band's otherwise busy racket, and gave their set a kind of dramatic tension. San Francisco's Erase Errata were fantastic as always, playing mostly material from their excellent recent record, Nightlife, with singer Jenny Hoyston ad-libbing and deconstructing lyrics over their tense instrumental exchanges. I can't stay mad at Adult., but their new material is a disappointment, and their live show was like one long, hostile sneer.
After all that action, Sunday, April 29's Slow Ride at the War Room was a welcome reprieve. DJs El Toro and HMA played smooth AM hits, yacht rock, and disco—the hardest sounds were from Paul McCartney's mind-blowing disaster "Temporary Secretary." Reduced to just the front bar area, the War Room feels relaxed and personal, a totally pleasant place to grab a cocktail and watch Flash Gordon. At Havana's Fresh Produce—the weekly that showcases a different producer's catalog each night (that night: a double bill of Ice Cube and Public Enemy)—the beats and breakdancing were a little more action than I'd planned for my Sunday-night cool-down, but I guess I can relax when I'm dead—or at least after Sasquatch. 
