LE TIGRE, CHICKS ON SPEED, TAMMY HART
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BYRDIE, UNEXPECTED ARRIVAL, LIVIO
(I-Spy) According to his debut, Poetic Epidemic, Byrdie has two sides: Dirty Byrdie and Pretty Byrdie. Dirty Byrdie is the swaggering, tough-guy rapper; Pretty Byrdie is the coy, smiling, smooth rapper. This resembles "a little something for the fellas, a little something for the ladies" marketing tactic, but it also resembles a split consciousness in a rapper's performance: A rapper has to be appealing and offensive in one stroke to win over an audience. The last time I saw Byrdie, he seemed to be in Dirty Byrdie mode throughout, and the Pretty Byrdie appeal didn't shine through. Maybe he was in a bad mood. The music of Unexpected Arrival also oscillates between sweetness--almost breezy and gentle at times--and the rapid-fire rhymes of the emcees. BRIAN GOEDDE

CROSBY, STILLS, NASH, & YOUNG
(Tacoma Dome) Can I tell it like it is? Despite the undeniable fact that three of these four men were and are utterly full of shit when it comes to lyrics and dewdrop hippie peaceniking, there's something else undeniable about CSNY (or as the great Colin Quinn once said, "CSN and for the love of God, WHY"): the unstoppable beauty of their deep, rich vocal harmonies. Every so often, after giving up on them once again, I find myself drawn to the well of their celestial singing and soak it up like a plant being watered, and for a (short) while, anyway, I can forgive the stupid lyrics--again, Young is excepted--and the rambling structural pretense of tunes like "Suite: Judy Blue Eyes" in the face of the dense, four-way majesty of the voices. The guiltiest of guilty pleasures, to be sure, you can bet this concert will feature a bunch of old-fart pontification on the evils of war. I bet it'll be gorgeous, too. SEAN NELSON

D-STYLES, MELO-D, CIRCLE OF FIRE, MASSIVE MONKEYS
(I-Spy) See Stranger Suggests.

THE VELVET TEEN, HOURGLASS LAKE, BRAS LUX, DOLOUR
(Old Fire House) The Velvet Teen's new record, Out of the Fierce Parade, opens with a mystical slowness made up of pretty piano chords and a constant stream of crystalline bells, pretty much setting the tone for the heavenly tenor of lead singer Judah Nagler. Barely 21 years old, Nagler is a bit of a child prodigy. His emotional voice is more supple than Jeff Buckley's, but has that same effortless, druggy quality that will give you eight hours of flying dreams if you listen to it before you go to bed. At the same time, Nagler can make huge open-mouthed screams that sound urgent while still maintaining an element of tasteful vibrato. The rest of the instruments--piano, guitar, bass, drums--can be both rocking and angelic, but inevitably revolve around the strength of Nagler's voice and the band's perfect, sort of Brit-poppy (Suede, old Radiohead) major-chord harmonies. The magical, heartfelt sound has even got a bunch of major labels all up in the Velvet Teen's grill. JULIANNE SHEPHERD

DASHBOARD CONFESSIONAL, THE ANNIVERSARY, BEN KWELLER, LEGENDS OF THE RODEO
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RC5, THE POPULAR SHAPES, THE PHARMACY
(Sunset Tavern) The RC5 has been honing its brand of no-frills, high-energy rock and roll for several years, and the band's love of doing so is apparent each time it takes the stage. The band has also persevered through some lineup difficulties: A recent show at Sit & Spin was the best I've seen to date. The song "I Don't Wanna Go Out" is a rip-off of the Pagans' "Haven't Got the Time," but it's still quite good--just like when the Kingsmen made "Big Boy Pete" into the anthem "Jolly Green Giant." The Popular Shapes, featuring ex-members of the Recordbreakers and Weird Science, have created a buzz with their live shows and a recent demo cut at Egg Studios. This clean-cut foursome takes big-forehead Urinals/Wire punk, mixes it with a little pop, and delivers it with a frantic Nation of Ulysses/Match Game 74-style attack. Opening is Vashon Island's the Pharmacy, described as a young garage-punk trio that'll soon be recording with Kurt Bloch. HEATH HEEMSBERGEN

HERBIE HANCOCK: FUTURE 2 FUTURE, THE NEWDEAL
(King Cat Theater) See preview this issue.

ST. BUSHMILL'S CHOIR, STAGGER LEE, ELLIOTT BAY PIPE BAND
(Graceland) Just look at the name and you know what St. Bushmill's Choir is all about: Irish-influenced drinking music, where the crowd gets as involved in the boozy vibe as the band does. Except that St. Bushmill's Choir is more of a punk rock band than a bunch of jig-happy fiddle players (that's not to say there's not a fiddle player among the members, along with an accordion player and a banjo plucker). If you like the Clash and don't mind getting Irish beer splashed on you as enthusiastic fans wave their glasses in the air, St. Bushmill's is your cup of, er, glass of Guinness. KATHLEEN WILSON

BILL FRISELL & GREG LEISZ
(Town Hall) Frisell is one of the most consistently celebrated jazz musicians living in this region. His range of guitar styles--encompassing jazz, blues, country, and rock--has made him the troubadour of Americana. But hey, don't just take it from The Stranger; The New York Times itself has said, "It's hard to find a more fruitful meditation on American music than in the compositions of guitarist Bill Frisell." I mean, that's The New York Times talkin', not no pissant bar rag you picked up off the street. Frisell is joined by longtime compadre Greg Leisz, and the proceeds from tonight's ticket sales go toward Real Change Homeless Empowerment Project, probably the most morally sound organization that puts together a newspaper in both Seattle and New York. BRIAN GOEDDE

MONDAY-FUNDAY: 90 DAY MEN, THE NEW MEXICANS, DJ DAN GALLUCCI
(Graceland) While the piano stands out loud and clear as a lead instrument in 90 Day Men, this is no Ben Folds or Coldplay--90 Day Men blend jazzy influences with post-rock experimental guitar-playing that might make listeners want to lump them in with the Drag City big-head bands. Kindly refrain. The New Mexicans feature the kick-ass drummer who sits behind the kit for Crictor, providing the band with a propulsive bottom end that contrasts nicely with its otherwise inventive, elastic sound. KATHLEEN WILSON

FAUNA FLASH, MICHAEL ANTONIA
(Baltic Room) Austria, and specifically the musical city of Vienna, is the center for the kind of electronica Fauna Flash (a German band) makes. I think it's called "beathead" music, but one could never be sure what to call it as it has no real center or agenda except the steady production of heavy beats, with a percussive propulsion that is as sensual as the beaches of Brazil. The musicians of Fauna Flash (how I wish they called themselves Fauna Flesh) are not bad but they are not as interesting as Kruder & Dorfmeister. To their credit they have worked with Kruder, and I'm certain many Seattleites will enjoy their Nordic commitment to dub-deep grooves. CHARLES MUDEDE

THE AHN TRIO
(Meany Hall) In "On the Fetish Character in Music and the Regression of Listening," Theodor Adorno writes like he's screaming at the top of his lungs about how classical music is pathetic--not because of the music, but because the audience fetishizes everything around the music. The concert hall, the balcony seats, the money to buy the balcony seats, the audience's elegant concert attire, the conductor, the soloists, even the instruments themselves: the shiny black piano, the circa-1650 Viennese violin... everything but the music itself. The members of the Ahn Trio are the ultimate in this trajectory. They are three pretty Korean sisters who present themselves as the attractive components of the performance. The movement to "sex up" classical music (see also Hillary Hahn, Anne-Sophie Mutter) may be funny or even creepy, but hell, why not? People write songs so people will love them, not their songs. The Ahn Trio play Haydn, Musto, and... well, whatever. They're going to be hot shit. BRIAN GOEDDE

ALIEN ANT FARM, ADEMA, FENIX TX, GLASSJAW, EARSHOT
(Moore) When people talk about the shitty state of commercial radio and mainstream modern rock in general, this show is exactly what they're talking about. And even if you feel the urge to fend off the noxious cynicism of such dismissals, it becomes almost impossible--having heard these bands whose rubber-spined pseudopunk makes even the blandest alternative garbage of the '90s sound like the rawest garage trash of the '60s--to disagree. I reserve special disdain for Alien Ant Farm (students of the Bloodhound Gang/Nerf Herder school of zany high jinks) and Fenix, TX (originally named River Fenix, which I guess was some kind of joke). I'd rather eat my own shit for a year than watch even one of these five sets. ERNEST SINGER

HOT ROD CIRCUIT, FURTHER SEEMS FOREVER, VENDETTA RED, SUPER MAGNIFICENT ACTION TRIO
(Graceland) Vendetta Red has grown big, and I hope not too fast. After releasing a demo in 2000, and a full-length last year (White Knuckled Substance), the band has already signed to Epic Records. I recently heard that people are getting tattoos of the scissor design from the cover of White Knuckled Substance. This story already reeks of a future Behind the Music ending. But something tells me Vendetta Red will survive. Just listen to the lyrics--if singer Zach Davidson is anything, he's a survivor. Seeing Vendetta Red live, though, is proof enough that the band won't self-destruct any time soon. Vendetta Red live can easily be compared to At the Drive-In, but there's more synergy with Vendetta Red. Super Magnificent Action Trio can do itself well by taking cues from Vendetta Red. The Action Trio is definitely still a young band, but if lead singer Kyle Ilam is on, the crowd won't be disappointed. BRYAN BINGOLD

TERENCE BLANCHARD QUINTET, MONK FELLOWS SEPTET
(Jazz Alley) Even if you've never heard of Terence Blanchard, you've heard his music. He scored Spike Lee's Malcolm X and Jungle Fever, and also played trumpet on Mo' Better Blues and Do the Right Thing. Blanchard is a lot like Wynton Marsalis. They both serve their jazz straight-up. They both grew up in New Orleans, both toot the same horn, and they both paid their dues in Art Blakely's Jazz Messengers, one of the greatest jazz bands of all time. Recently Blanchard has taken to working with kids in this mostly dead medium (the Monk Fellows Septet, opening each set, features some of them). He's even hired local teenage prodigy Aaron Parks to play piano. This is a kid who's only 19 and already has four albums out on (get this) a label dedicated to him and only him. Parks went to the UW when he was like 14, and is currently living in NYC with a shitload of awards in his pocket. (Damn!) I could take or leave Blanchard, but I'll definitely be at this show to check out Parks, who's rumored to be almost through puberty. They all play the Jazz Alley Tuesday through Sunday, March 19-24. KREG HASEGAWA

WANDA JACKSON, THE DONETTES
(Tractor Tavern) Wanda Jackson is one of those half-forgotten legends whose name sparks a dumbfounded look on many people's faces. Didn't she record a bunch of smutty R&B songs? No, that's Millie Jackson. Wanda Jackson is the Queen of Rockabilly, and that's not hyperbole. She was discovered in a country-western version of the Lana Turner-at-the-drugstore-counter story. She was just in high school when she was first asked by country singer Hank Thompson to record with his band the Brazo Valley Boys, after he had heard her on an Oklahoma City radio show in 1954. Encouraged by her father and the examples of Tex Spade Cooley and Bob Wills Jackson, she developed her talent, and by the end of the decade she had catapulted to stardom as America's major rockabilly and country star. Jackson first toured in 1955 with Elvis Presley, who encouraged her to sing rockabilly. She went on to tour extensively and record hits like "Fujiyama Mama" and "Let's Have a Party." In 1995, Rosie Flores asked Jackson to tour with her in support of her Rockabilly Filly album, returning her to nightclub appearances for the first time in over a decade. This intimate show is a great chance to see a woman who blazed a trail without ever seeming to know it, and has continued to play with passion and intensity. Think of her as rockabilly's Elaine Stritch. NATE LIPPENS

CALIFONE, MIGHTY FLASHLIGHT, TERROR SHEETS
(Graceland) This might be one perfect bill, start to (probably) long finish. Terror Sheets are one of Seattle's brightest new bands, blending chiming, childlike keyboards and guitar with singer Joe Syverson's softly sung, heart-rendingly observant lyrics. Mighty Flashlight features Silver Jews, Royal Trux, Will Oldham, and Smog contributor Mike Fellows on acoustic guitar. Souped-up Red Red Meat players Califone blend country and bluegrass with rock and a bit of the hippie shit (Tortoise-style) for a pretty, expansive, and often loooong live set. KATHLEEN WILSON

BEN FOLDS, THE DIVINE COMEDY
(Moore) Ben Folds gets a bad rap, but he's got the hooks, and smart lyrics to back them up. It should be good to see him like this (sans rock-band trappings), if only to prove that his past conceits were in the service of good music. Ditto the Divine Comedy, who is a pleasure in any form, but especially acoustic, I reckon. SEAN NELSON

NO DOUBT, THE FAINT
(Paramount) Because the Faint is one of the most exciting bands alive, wrapping a lusty new-wave synth dance imperative around the largely sexless aesthetic of indie rock, it's tempting to think of the band's selection as opener for the big-time arena glitz of ska-arrivistes-cum-MTV-panderers No Doubt a victory. And if the Faint only reaches one heretofore clueless teen a night, it may well be, but it's sad to think of such a good band playing its heart out to a house-lights-up Paramount as the aforementioned teens file in, talk, and generally wait for their first glimpse of Gwen Stefani's belly button. To the kids: Honor the headliner's musical request--"Don't Speak." SEAN NELSON