TRACY + THE PLASTICS, SICK BEES, DISPLAY, KISSKISSKISS,
(Chop Suey) See preview, page 39.
FAITH & DISEASE, EUCLID, JOHN MASSONI
(Tractor) After two years in sunny California, Dara Rosenwasser and Eric Cooley return to Seattle just in time to embrace these gray days with their bittersweet sadcore poetry. Somehow, hearing the melancholy pop of "She's Got a Halo" from F&D's new album, Passport to Kunming, makes this October rain seem sublime. The band's seventh release in the past decade moves with a slow, lo-fi energy; gone are the cello and flute that infused Beneath the Trees with a neoclassical depth. One of the more devastating tracks, "Made of Wood," features Cooley's lone acoustic guitar accompanying Rosenwasser's achingly beautiful voice. With the cerebral folk of Euclid and a solo set by John Massoni (of Maxine and Weather Theatre), this show promises to fill you with enough somber introspection to last the rest of the season. DAVID SLATTON
FRIDAY 10/31
A-FRAMES, THE FITNESS, SINGAPORE SLING, JERKBEAST, DJ TRAIN WRECK
(Graceland, late) See preview, page 43.
ALIEN CRIME SYNDICATE, SCHOOLYARD HEROES, KANE HODDER
(Vera Project) See Underage, page 58, and Stranger Suggests, page 27.
BLUE SKY MILE, 14 DAYS OF TERROR, CEPHIED, TO SEE YOU BROKEN, PROBLEM WITH HEROES, 5 GOOD REASONS, DEAD IN HOLLYWOOD, THE ASSAILANT
(Old Fire House) Of all the various shows, parties, séances, sacrifices, whatever is happening tonight, only a select handful are actually worthy of your time. The Fire House's all-ages Halloween party is one of 'em. Why? Well, for starters, this show has so many bands on the bill that the folks at the Fire House are setting up two stages in order to fit everything in! And a lot of the bands are really good, too--it's a great representation of local up-and-coming acts that you really should start taking note of (I don't want to play favorites, but both Blue Sky Mile and Dead in Hollywood put on one hell of a show). There's indie rock, hardcore, a little bit of metal.... Plus, there will be costume contests. What else do you need? Free candy? MEGAN SELING
BROADCAST, ELECTRELANE, GUESTS
(Chop Suey) Known for making finely crafted electronica when the term was still new, Birmingham, England's Broadcast hinted at what their forthcoming full-length would expand upon when they produced last spring's EP, Pendulum. Released in August, Haha Sound finds Broadcast taking the thought-out deconstruction that has set them apart from many of their peers and followers, and (surprise!) roughing things up a bit, but never so much that it sounds like catch-up. While they always sounded sexy to me, the lapping textures and eerie seductiveness Broadcast have cultivated this time out will put fire in the pants of even the most ragged electroclash devotees. KATHLEEN WILSON
ANTS INVASION, EXPLODING BOYS, BLACK CELEBRATION, DJ MC DAVEY J
(Crocodile) When my friend Curt told me he was starting an Adam Ant cover band called Ants Invasion, I had no idea I'd still be writing about them almost two years later. While I can't stand the notion of an ongoing cover band driving the youthful memories of your favorite songs into the ground, I remain loyal to my friends, so here we are. Also on the bill are two cover bands from Portland--Exploding Boys (Cure tribute) and Black Celebration (Depeche Mode tribute). KATHLEEN WILSON
MEA CULPA, GRAVEYARD SHIFT, THE BLANK-ITS, ELECTRIC BLANKET
(Fun House) Although it'll still be a while before the Fun House can serve food and hard liquor, the new bar in the old Zak's spot is officially open for business tonight--or, at least, you can get in if there's a show. They kick the new space off with a bang, offering a local selection of energetic punk sure to christen the floor with fresh new coats of beer. JENNIFER MAERZ
SATURDAY 11/1
DUB NARCOTIC SOUND SYSTEM BENEFIT: FEATURING LIARBIRD, NIKKI McCLURE, TOBI VAIL, GUESTS
(Midnight Sun, Olympia) A note to young independent musicians: With the way things are going these days, you can use all the friends you can get. I don't know about you, but in the last year or so I've begun counting my meager blessings--fingers crossed that I won't become the next lightning rod for the current wealth of inconceivable misfortune the gods have bestowed us with. Most recently, the fine Olympians of Dub Narcotic Sound System--namely, Chris Sutton, Heather Dunn, and K Records founder Calvin Johnson--were involved in a brutal van accident that left two members hospitalized for several days. Luckily, the Dubs have spent a career being real friendly-like, and are now reaping the rewards in a series of benefit shows (more in the coming weeks) to help cover their mounting doctor bills. ZAC PENNINGTON
FISHBONE, KING'S X, ORIZON
(Ballard Firehouse) In a now-forgotten early hiphop song, "Play That Beat (Mr. DJ)" by MC G.L.O.B.E., there is a line that, against a rather sad, synthetic string arrangement, goes something like this: "punk, rock, new wave, and soul... rock and roll, calypso, reggae, rhythm and blues, master mix those number one tunes." MC G.L.O.B.E. may easily have ended that line with this: "Fishbone plays all of those wonderful tunes." Based in Los Angeles, and once close friends with the Red Hot Chili Peppers, Fishbone had their moment from the mid-'80s to the early '90s, with their commercial peak in 1988 with the album Truth and Soul--it featured their excellent rendition of Curtis Mayfield's "Freddie's Dead" (I recall watching them perform that song on Soul Train, though my memory could be mixed up). High energy, lots of fun, all in your face--these are a few things that Fishbone are. CHARLES MUDEDE
SIMON & GARFUNKEL
(KeyArena) Bookends is 35 years old. A definitive appraisal of youthful alienation in a decade of heaping competition, Paul Simon's plaintive discontent was never more clearly felt than in Simon & Garfunkel's seamless masterpiece of time's ravages. It's funny to think, then, that three decades later, the duo return to reminisce with all of the relevance of the Old Friends they'll be harmonizing about. Simon & Garfunkel have long become my soundtrack to the seasons, to my failed relationships, and to all of my nostalgic inclinations--and in spite of the fact that they are easily counted among my very favorite things in all of the world, I can't convince myself to pay the cover ($135.50 before service charges) just to see those caricatures realized. I suggest you save a couple of decimal points and rent The Graduate in protest. ZAC PENNINGTON
GAS HUFFER, THE GODDAMN GENTLEMEN, ROTTEN APPLES
(Fun House) Young girls have years of cigarette smoking ahead of them before they can even come close to Rotten Apples frontwoman Dejha Colantuono's husky delivery. (And really, I'd say get on the patch now anyway, because Colantuono comes from a musical family. That smoky aura is in her blood more than in a pair of blackened lungs.) At the same time sweet as a welcomed come-on and prickly as a kick out of bed when the sun comes up, this woman can say more in a couple of lines than most singers can in an entire album. The rest of the band is equally moody in their delivery, but they keep most of the music on the up-and-up, scuffing their power pop with a bit of punk snarl. JENNIFER MAERZ
PETE YORN, JUKEBOX JUNKIES, MINIBAR, NADINE, HAPPILY EVER AFTER
(Crocodile) If you ever wanted to make a case that rock critics might not actually listen to the music they review, you couldn't pick a much better example than the one-two punch of Pete Yorn and Minibar. While there's nothing extremely wrong with either, there's certainly nothing to justify the buckets of ink that have been spilled praising their talents. We're talking aggressive mediocrity. New, more intense shades of beige. Middle of the freaking road. However, you might not entirely cure your insomnia with a ticket to this show, since the audiences for these cheekbone-rockers are a new breed of rabid fan. And beware--they travel in packs... BARBARA MITCHELL
BEULAH, JOHN VANDERSLICE, JEN WOOD
(Graceland) Things are a little less grand on Beulah's latest release, Yoko, but that's not to say the album's any less crashing than the San Francisco band's earlier string-and-brass-engorged albums. The lyrics on Yoko are darker than usual, and the guitars are edgier, but the songs still shine bright with sunny pop. "Me and Jesus Don't Talk Anymore" shines among the group's newest collection of sparkling jewels. KATHLEEN WILSON
SUNDAY 11/2
CARISSA'S WIERD, THE SIX PARTS SEVEN, SUMMER HYMNS (EARLY SHOW ONLY)
(Crocodile) See preview, page 43, and Stranger Suggests, page 27.
THE BLED, GIVE UP THE GHOST, FAIRWEATHER, DAUGHTERS!
(Old Fire House) You've bought the Locust T-shirts, bumper stickers, coke mirrors, belt buckles, and, most importantly, CDs. You've checked out Racebannon and An Albatross and like the way their grindcore insect noise eats through your brain like rabid termites. So what's next? Daughters!, a Providence, Rhode Island, band with little patience for songs that last any longer than pipe-bomb explosions. The white static surrounding their hivelike riffs is electric enough to fry an entire colony of indie rockers, as their latest release, Canada Songs, can attest. Splattercore has a new punk Jackson Pollock. JENNIFER MAERZ
THEY MIGHT BE GIANTS
(EMP Sky Church) Smitten from their very first college-radio single in 1986, "Don't Let's Start," I've always been fond of They Might Be Giants and their smartypants kids'-songs-for-grownups. It's a good thing, however, that the Massachusetts collective put out an album of kids' songs in 2002, because (as I learned the hard way) when a four-year-old sings to her parents certain lines from the aforementioned single--"No one in the world ever gets what they want and that is beautiful/Everybody dies frustrated and sad and that is beautiful"--the nanny gets in trouble. The first of two sets played by TMBG tonight features songs off their new bedtime book and CD, Bed Bed Bed, featuring the parent-acceptable tune, "Happy Doesn't Have to Have an Ending." KATHLEEN WILSON
MONDAY 11/3
MICHELLE SHOCKED
(Triple Door) See Drunk by Noon, page 51.
JR EWING, PANTHERS, AKIMBO
(Graceland) See preview, page 41.
MOJAVE 3, SID HILLMAN
(Chop Suey) See Some Candy Talking, page 81.
TUESDAY 11/4
THE AMERICAN ANALOG SET, THE LADYBUG TRANSISTOR, ESTER DRANG
(Graceland) From Brooklyn, with quiet '60s psychedelia and the elder-statesmen presence of the Divine Comedy, the Ladybug Transistor have worked well for fans who look for comfortably dated light pop without the looped-up sugar high that has kept a lot of the Elephant 6 bands from becoming anything worth talking about over the last few years. Their self-titled latest album was recorded in Arizona, and it's the closest they've ever come to bringing us over to their side--like '99 alt-country written by hippies in generational acid comedown. The night's also topped off by the American Analog Set, who are the afternoon-whiskey Yo La Tengo of pasture-blown Southern-sun indie rock, so that'd be the smell of promise in the air. GUY FAWKES
WEDNESDAY 11/5
COBRA HIGH, EX MODELS, DANCE DISASTER MOVEMENT, A.S.T., DJ CHERRY CANOE
(Graceland) See Live Wire, page 47.
APPARAT, ELLEN ALLIEN
(Chop Suey) It might not constitute a protest song in the traditional sense, but Ellen Allien's "Wish"--a stripped-down mix of acoustic-guitar snippets over skittish beats, and the repeated mantra, "Need a planet without cars and wars/No wars, no cars/I wish it could be true"--offers a unique glimmer of solace and inspiration in this terrifying world. But don't pigeonhole her as the Joan Baez of the rave set. For over a decade, this Berlin native has been amassing an impressive reputation as a DJ, promoter, label owner, and artist. Her latest full-length, Berlinette (on her own BPitch imprint) is a masterpiece of minimal techno with funky accents, and, via her beguiling vocals, she often accomplishes the near impossible: making German sound seductive. KURT B. REIGHLEY
