UC (FEATURING DANN GALLUCCI & ISAAC BROCK), THE VELLS, PLAN B
(Chop Suey) Luckyhorse Industries is a recurring showcase featuring local artists in sometimes unconventional, alternative formats. Tonight's performers all figure in other bands: Isaac Brock, Dann Gallucci, and members of the Vells make up Modest Mouse's touring unit, and rumors that this show will include some Modest Mouse material have turned out to be true. Plan B features Automaton's James van Leuven, who combine keyboards, samples, loops, visual projections, and even breakdancing for one of Seattle's most charming new acts. Scheduling conflicts, laziness, or just plain being jaded are insufficient reasons for ignoring this event. If you don't kick yourself for not attending this show, I most certainly will. KATHLEEN WILSON

THE EPOXIES, THE CRIPPLES, THE FITNESS, DJ FRANKIE CHAN
(I-Spy) See preview this issue.

BUCKWHEAT ZYDECO, FILE' GUMBO
(EMP) Buckwheat Zydeco is a Louisiana band led by Stanley "Buckwheat" Dural Jr., who plays a piano accordion. Known for lively, interactive performances, the band's music can only be described as a gumbo of styles--Afro-Caribbean, French folk, blues, soul, country, and rock 'n' roll. It's the kind of music that's beloved by those who are into an "original" American sound--meaning it has an earthy and ethnic feel that seems to get to the raw root of American popular music. Admittedly, the sound is a bit too coarse for my tastes, but I do like Louisiana and swamps and spicy alligator stew. CHARLES MUDEDE

DAVID CROSS, ULTRABABYFAT, ARLO
(Showbox) Atlanta's mostly female Ultrababyfat is girl rock in the very best sense of the notion: sassy, fun, smart, outspoken, and not afraid to rock. They don't sound like a bunch of women hung up on using feminism as a motivation to kick ass musically. Ultrababyfat come across as ladies who never conceived that there might be a difference between Angus Young and Joan Jett other than the fact that one sang and one didn't. Locally, Ultrababyfat's match is Visqueen, so ask Kim Warnick if being a woman holds her back and you'll get a laugh as long as the 22-and-still-going career she's enjoyed. Another great fact about Ultrababyfat? Rock*A*Teens' Chris Lopez is a collaborator, and you can't go wrong with a recommendation like that. KATHLEEN WILSON

LONG WINTERS, RADIO NATIONALS, DEER WHISTLE
(Crocodile) See preview this issue.

KMFDM, PIG, KIDNEY THIEVES, 16 VOLTS
(Catwalk) I've loved KMFDM since Nihil, the 1995 album that features their mainstream hit, "Juke Joint Jezebel"--but not because of their flashy shows featuring assorted incendiary devices and PVC-wearing go-go dancers. Not even because of their aggressive mixture of industrial electronics and power guitar that predates bands like Powerman 5000 and Static-X. No, I love these guys mostly for their self-referential anthems--like "Dirty," from their new album Attak, where they chant, "KMFDM!" Ringleader Sascha Konietzko and guitarist Tim Skold briefly broke up the band in 1999, so Attak is a comeback album of sorts, and contributions from Raymond "Pig" Watts, drummer Bill Reiflin, and Lucia Cifarelli make it their most compelling release in a decade. Check out Skold's punk guitar hooks on "Skurk" or Cifarelli's diva vocals on the power-pop gem "Superhero"--they almost make me want to break out the old PVC pants. DAVID SLATTON

THE HIVES, MOONEY SUZUKI, ONE MAN ARMY, THE REIGNING SOUND
(Showbox) I love the Hives, but they're arrogant little boys. Their garaged-shocked punk has gotten more music industry action than Winona Ryder with a bottle of roofies--and the attention's only emboldened the band. The young Swedish rockers are blowing up based on two records, a couple EPs, and incessant NME handjob articles where they don't say much other than purporting to be the best band in the world over and over again. While that's a pretty tall order for a group who released their most recent album, Veni Vidi Vicious, over two years ago, expect to hear a lot more of the Hives' campy vanity now that Warner Brothers is re-releasing the album soon in the states. Even with all the hype, though, the Hives have a lot more than swollen egos to stand on--especially with frontman Howlin' Pelle Almqvist at the mic. The Howler swaggers around on Mick Jagger's coattails, yelping out his songs with snotty enthusiasm. The last time the Hives came through the U.S., I saw them put on two excellent performances--one, a hotshot strut of a live gig at a big venue, and later at a tiny karaoke dive, where Almqvist impressed the dozen of us in attendance with a histrionic cover of "Fever." He may be a vain little bastard, but Almqvist (and the Hives by association) are no charlatans--their energetic performances have yet to find a modern hyperactive equivalent. JENNIFER MAERZ

THE GOURDS
(Tractor) If you're an enthusiast of KEXP's entertaining roots shows--The Roadhouse or Swingin' Doors--then you already know that this Texas blue-billy, rock-grass band is a hybrid hoot on the airwaves. On record after record, they've whomped up a tasty, eclectic stew by taking the sweet bits of blues and country and flavoring them with a heapin' helpin' of savory punk and hip-hop sauce. These genre-defying good ole boys seem just as thrilled turning Snoop Dogg's "Gin and Juice" on its dready head as they are cranking out their own clever creations like "Everbody's Missing the Sun," a stirring anthem for a disgruntled workforce worldwide. Now, I've never actually seen this Austin favorite make magic in the flesh, but I'm guessing that they've been honing their strange skill-set in juke joints long before "cow-punk" got stuck with the sissified moniker "alt-country." Smart money's calling this blue-trash band a must-see. TAMARA PARIS

ELF POWER, THE MINUS FIVE, MASTERS OF THE HEMISPHERE
(Crocodile) Elf Power is another of those Elephant 6 Recording Company associates where the bands vaguely sound alike but make for entirely separate listening experiences. Blend a little Neutral Milk Hotel with some Apples in Stereo and Of Montreal and you've got the Athens band. Take Elf Power's obvious appreciation for the Beatles and you've got the reason why Scott McCaughey's Minus 5 is a perfect match on this bill. Of course Peter Buck is also a member of Minus 5, which makes this an all-Georgia bill--pop lovers Masters of the Hemisphere are from Buck's hometown as well. KATHLEEN WILSON

STEPHEN MALKMUS & THE JICKS, THE PLANET THE
(Graceland) You've already heard Steve Malkmus--Portland's fancy hairdo man with the classic rock guitar solos, the Pavement history, and the voice that sounds like possessed indie-rock rapping. So get ready to be mind-humped by the Planet The, another Portland act whose boggling, jittery, situationist interplay is second only to the boys' skillz on their instruments. Straddling classic- and prog-rock power with an extreme sense of the absurd, the Planet The's tempered drumming balances the total madness between wicked back-to-back guitar/keytar solos that pop and beep like the inside of a C64. If that isn't enough, Charlie Salas' belted voice alternately rings out and whimpers like a kitten, pushing every boundary and button--you'll get so far past hilarity, you might start feeling creepy about the situation--and it is AWESOME. There's no irony or deliberately retro/fake bullshit (hello, Trans Am), nor do they think they are the hottest shit ever (ahem... Yes). It's just incredible music, incredible performance, and if you're lucky, they'll do a Bruce Springsteen cover that will leave you feeling as if you've just been molested. JULIANNE SHEPHERD

THE STUCK-UPS, THE SPITS, THE TRIGGERS, THE PIST-UNS
(Industrial Café) The first time I saw the Spits was in August of '96 at Misuzi's, when my old band was on tour and we played there with them. They were bad, and I remember one of them dancing spastically with a chair during our equally awful set. Three years later I moved to Seattle and found that not only were the Spits still playing, but they were actually great. One thing that hasn't changed, though, is the chaos at their shows. They stole the night at the recent Dirtnap records showcase at the Crocodile, both with their super-catchy Banana Splits-on-PCP new wave/punk sound and their stage antics, featuring a fluid-spurting head brandished by drum-basher Wayne Dragonwyck and an enormous bunny-man that jumped into the crowd with firecrackers strapped to his crotch. HEATH HEEMSBERGEN

PURUSA, IAN MOORE, LAPDOG
(Sunset) When was the last time something truly knocked your socks off--made you shake your head and question where you'd been hiding out? Ian Moore is probably better known outside the Northwest, but not for long. One of our fine city's quiet transplants (from Austin--it's safe to bet he came for the music, not the weather), Moore has been amassing a steady following around town. Though he's known in certain circles as a "guitar hero," he's a stellar songwriter AND he's blessed with an absolutely stunning voice--the kind that can send shivers down your spine at 50 paces. At the moment, he might be one of Seattle's greatest underrated treasures, and that's a crying shame because he's an outstanding performer (thanks to years and years on the road) in addition to everything else. Highly recommended. BARBARA MITCHELL

MIRAH, CALVIN JOHNSON, C.O.C.O., THE BLOW
(Theater Off Jackson) See preview this issue.

DOVES, ELBOW
(Graceland) Manchester's the Doves play the kind of spacey mood jams that made Brit poppers swoon for bands like the Verve, the Charlatans, and Ride in the '90s. The band's debut album, Lost Souls, was a huge hit in the U.K. and their recently released follow-up, The Last Broadcast, has already shot to #1 overseas. Broadcast is an excellent record for anyone who loves lush U.K. dream pop--where every song is drenched in gorgeous effects that expand into grander musical landscapes, and with none of that Thom York caterwauling in the vocals. The album gently floats from beginning to end, riding vapor trails of warm melodies along the way. The Doves begin their U.S. tour here in Seattle, and live they're no shoegazers, amplifying their neo-psychedelic sound to fill out whatever venue they're reigning over. JENNIFER MAERZ

TRAGEDY, AMDI PETERSEN'S ARME
(Theater Off Jackson) Amdi Petersen is a Danish guy who led the Tvind political cult and screwed a bunch of people out of money so he could live in a six-million-dollar penthouse in Florida. Though he is currently awaiting trial in an L.A. prison, he sounds like an asshole. Luckily, Amdi Petersen will not be joining us tonight; in his stead is Danish band Amdi Petersen's Arme, reputed to be a nuts, old-school-style hardcore band. They're playing with Tragedy, which contains members of revered crustcore band His Hero Is Gone. They play totally intense, really frigging good, sharply angry hardcore with bitchin' guitar parts, where the oodling/screaming/distortion makes them sound even smarter and catapults the band to "legendary" category. If you like hardcore that sounds artful and even sort of pretty as it drills into your brain, Tragedy is the band for you. JULIANNE SHEPHERD

LUNA, SONIC BOOM
(Showbox) There's slow and then there's boring slow. Damon and Naomi: boring slow. Luna: slow, but still able to convey a passion that keeps the knees from buckling and the eyes from rolling back in the head. Perhaps Luna's Dean Wareham was the soul of Galaxie 500? (A bit of trivia: The boy part of Ultrababyfat is also a member of Luna. See May 30.) Sonic Boom, a.k.a. Pete Kember, was the bleepier, bloopier side of Spacemen 3, which also included Spiritualized's Jason Pierce. Listening to his heady, inventive compositions is like witnessing a science project in the works. You see the components come together and the determination in Kember's face as he twists and tweaks all kinds of melody out of passionless-looking machinery. KATHLEEN WILSON

BEING SPIKE JONZE: A COVERS NIGHT w/THE DIVORCE, SUPER MAGNIFICENT ACTION TRIO, PETER PARKER, THE LASHES, PROSTHETIC MUSIC, POPSTAR ASSASSINS, THE NEW MEXICANS, VERONA
(Crocodile) In case you missed it in last week's It's My Party, allow me to do a bit of cut-and-pasting: Originally, this event was set to feature local bands playing the songs of artists whose videos were directed by Spike Jonze. Videos would be projected on a screen while bands such as the Divorce, the Lashes, Super Magnificent Action Trio, and others played in front. However, Jonze said ixnay to the idea and forbade his videos to be shown at the Croc. So now the bands will still play the songs, but SIFF or other creative outlets will provide the visuals. Here's a short list of who's covering what--SMAT: "Feel the Pain"; "Divine Hammer." The Divorce: "It's Oh So Quiet"; "Sabotage." Popstar Assassins: "Crush with Eyeliner"; "Shady Lane"; "Car Song." Peter Parker: "Cannonball"; "California." The Lashes: "Buddy Holly"; "Sweater Song." KATHLEEN WILSON

STARFLYER 59, THE PROM, SUPINE TO SPIT
(Paradox) I just got a copy of Starflyer 59's latest album, Leave Here a Stranger, and I must say, after a listen and a half, it doesn't do too much for me. It's not terrible, just not exciting. But with a discography boasting something like seven full-length albums, I'm sure the Paradox will be packed with fans regardless of what I have to say. The Prom, on the other hand, I can say a lot of good things about. I love that band. Their sweet lyrics and vocals, their piano, bass, and drum simplicity... it's all just so innocent and so swoonable. And tonight, let's hope they share some of their new material with us because I hear their second full-length album (to be released on Barsuk) isn't that far off from being released. MEGAN SELING