THURSDAY 7/7

WRECKED AGAIN
(Viceroy) See Stranger Suggests, page 25 and Music Feature, page 34.

FFEJ, TABLELAND, SYPHILIS SAUNA, INTONARUMORI
(El Corazón) Cross Pollination's concept is brilliant: One act performs a live set and then another act remixes what was just played and spits it back into your earholes–while the original is still fresh in your feeble memory. Tonight CP organizer/"trashtronica" sadist Syphilis Sauna (AKA Patrick Urn) reconstitutes Ffej's trippy analog-synth oscillations while electro-acoustic experimentalist Intonarumori reimagines Tableland's melodic psych rock. If you want in on this action, e-mail Urn at patrickurn@hotmail.com. DAVE SEGAL

FRIDAY 7/8

BART DAVENPORT, JAMES WILLIAM HINDLE, JAN NORBERG
(Sunset, early) See preview page 47.

KUMA, LION FEVER, BELLMER DOLLS, BLACK NITE CRASH
(Chop Suey) See preview, page 43 and Stranger Suggests, page 25.

CHAD VANGAALEN
(Crocodile) Generally speaking, the indie rock scene needs another quirky singer-songwriter about as much as it needs another band with "wolf" or "snake" in its name, but this multi-talented, Calgary-based musician is a highly notable exception to that cynical observation. Possessing a disarming, nearly-seven-feet-tall frame and a wholly unique style, Chad VanGaalen is an extraordinarily gifted composer who knows how to layer effects, tweak his time signatures, and skew his subject matter without letting things get too messy or weighed down. His base structures initially sound as simple as any Lou Barlow yarn, but when he begins lacing them with delicate-yet-erratic electronic beats, haunting notes from his homemade instruments (including hand-whittled saxophones and violins), the songs take on folky-ethereal qualities that will make fans of Do Make Say Think and Godspeed! You Black Emperor swoon. HANNAH LEVIN

MASTER MUSICIANS OF BUKKAKE, GREEN MILK FROM THE PLANET ORANGE, BILL HORIST
(Funhouse) Seattle's Bill Horist is a nice guy—until you put a guitar in his vicinity. Then the amiable façade drops and he visits all sorts of torturous outrages upon it. Thankfully, the resultant emissions sound like the alien yelps of grotesque phantasms—or Robert Fripp in a panic attack. Horist doesn't play the blues, but rather the turquoises and magentas. Master Musicians of Bukkake, on the other claw, goose psychedelic blues rock till it comes spluttering out like a Southeast Asian dance ceremony heard while on opium and rotgut. However, on the local sextet's debut disc, The Visible Sign of the Invisible Order, MMOB tap into a more serious, trance-inducing vein that's no less riveting than their Bacchanalian live spectacle. DAVE SEGAL

TABLET ANNIVERSARY: THE LIGHTS, THE TURN-ONS, THE VELLS
(Neumo's) On its fifth birthday, Tablet magazine celebrates having grown from a newspaper-print rag to a fashion-inclusive little magazine. To help bring the bash along, the publication is hosting something called "Project Tablet Runway," which could either be totally scary or a nice local showcase of Seattle designers. Speaking of local showcases, though, the Lights and the Turn-Ons will be previewing new material from their upcoming records here. JENNIFER MAERZ

SATURDAY 7/9

KRAFT
(Re-bar) See Stranger Suggests, page 25.

CHICAGO BLUES REUNION FEATURING BARRY GOLDBERG, HARVEY MANDEL, NICK GRAVENITES, SAM LAY, TRACY NELSON, AND CORKY SIEGEL
(Triple Door) Holy shit, this band of mofos is some of the sixties' HEAVIEST of the heavies! They're part of the US brand of "blues rock" INVENTION, dig? They also helped to endow us with some "Summer of Love" psychedelic styled rock and roll too! The Chicago Blues Reunion Band, as they're known, feature Mike Bloomfield's buddy the Electric Flag piano plinker Barry Goldberg, ax man Nick Gravenites from Big Brother and the Electric Flag, Mother Earth's country queen Tracy Nelson, the guitarist's guitarist Harvey Mandel, HOWLIN'-motherfucking-WOLF's drummer Sam Lay, and from "Chicago's 'other' blues band" Siegel-Schwall's harp honker Corky Siegel. The only Chicago player missing is Steve Miller! See also Border Radio, page 41. MIKE NIPPER

GRANDMASTER FLASH
(Last Supper Club) This man is largely responsible for "The Message," "White Lines," and "The Adventures of Grandmaster Flash on the Wheels of Steel," and therefore probably has helped your slack ass to get down on the dance floor more than once. As one of hiphop's foundation builders, Flash has earned the right to wax (ha) didactic during his DJ gigs. When I saw him last year, he frequently stopped his set to explain the nuts and bolts of mixing the vinyl he was spinning. That's fine in theory, but bunk in practice: Folks just wanna hear killer tracks expertly mixed and some judicious scratching. And we don't want to experience Phil Collins's "In the Air Tonight" again, if we can help it. Thanks, Mr. Flash. DAVE SEGAL

GOGOL BORDELLO, SHOPLIFTING
(Neumo's) Listening to N.Y.-via-all-over-the-world gypsy punks Gogol Bordello is like absorbing a particularly raucous night at an Eastern European dive bar attracting international rabble-rousers. Their Balkan beats, hard-rock riffs, and multilingual (English, Spanish, Ukrainian, Italian) lyrics slam- and swing-dance with accordions, dub effects, and the gruff, celebratory delivery of frontman Eugene Hutz—who makes every chorus sound like a revelatory drinker's sing-along. The band's new Steve Albini-produced album, Gypsy Punks: Underdog World Strike, lives up to the title, throwing a grand bash where intercontinental music collaborates, collides, and, most importantly, carouses together under the umbrella of Gogol's colorful, theatrical display. JENNIFER MAERZ

BUNNYGRUNT, TULLYCRAFT, BLUE CHECKERED RECORD PLAYER
(Sunset, early all ages) For all the accompanying press they received about twee-this and cuddlecore-that, you'd think Bunnygrunt got up onstage and did nothing but frolic with their lily baskets and hand out extremely small Hello Kitty erasers. But did they? Hell, no—they actually rocked in a razor sharp way that just hid behind coy little poses and awkward glances. Sure the choruses were all wispy monotones, but when the jangle kicked in, it was with authority and you knew then that these kids were really subversive punks with a fetish for English pop sounds. That most definitely rings true in the band's current incarnation—these one-time shamble-pop pin-ups have now grown up and turned their self-aware simplicity into blisteringly precise art-pop. Rejoice accordingly. See also Underage, page 61. JON PRUETT

LINK WRAY
(Tractor) Link Wray has the distinction of creating an instrumental that was banned from radio. For that alone, this guitar pioneer deserves everyone's utmost respect. "Rumble" still sounds lean and dangerous 47 years after its release, as iconic a testament to youthful badassitude as Marlon Brando's swagger or James Dean's sneer. Some call Wray the inventor of the power chord, but his sound is more about glower than power; it's more subliminally threatening than it is bludgeoning. The man who inspired Pete Townshend to play guitar also foreshadowed the Kinks, the Yardbirds, and 13th Floor Elevators with his raw-boned, jangling tone, and concise, memorable riffs. Wray's music was one of the few bright spots during the early '60s, a particularly tepid time for rock. Dude's 76 now, but if he's aged as well as his songs, we're in for a treat. DAVE SEGAL

WARPED TOUR: FALL OUT BOY, TRANSPLANTS, MY CHEMICAL ROMANCE, MXPX, THE ALL-AMERICAN REJECTS, THRICE, ATREYU, AND MANY MORE
(The Gorge) Vans Warped Tour is the NASCAR of skate culture and fifth-wave emo (even the water is branded), and New Jersey is its motherland. Long the domain of downtrodden brokenhearted boy-punks, the Garden State's most profitable exports include the headliners' gaping-mouthed, coiffed harmonies (Fall Out Boy), hulking chords, and death fixations, either with their ex-girlfriends (Fall Out Boy) or themselves (My Chemical Romance; Fall Out Boy, again—in the same song!). FOB are unlikely emo for the rich rap set; they're represented by Def Jam impresario Jay-Z who reportedly escorted Beyoncé to the FOB show in NYC. Transplants are the first rock band ever to be chopped and screwed thanks to Houston rapper/producer/diamond-grill manufacturer Paul Wall. (And if you prefer boom-bap Wheaties to the sizzurp avant-garde, check the hiphop stage; headliner OneBeLo is excellent.) Like rap, Warped is manned to the gills; to see a woman onstage, you might have to visit the girl ghetto, AKA the Shira Girl Sidestage, where Last to Fall, Jerra, and the Dead X's headline. Bring sunscreen, extra red eyeliner, and deep, deep pockets—cause My Chemical Romance's tattered riffs kinda rule, and you might want to buy a MCR-brand combination beer cozy/grip tape/Swiss Army Knife. JULIANNE SHEPHERD

SUNDAY 7/10

CHICAGO BLUES REUNION FEATURING BARRY GOLDBERG, HARVEY MANDEL, NICK GRAVENITES, SAM LAY, TRACY NELSON AND CORKY SIEGEL
(Triple Door) See Saturday's preview.

MONDAY 7/11

PRECIOUS MOMENTS
(Re-bar) See Stranger Suggests, page 25.

BLITZEN TRAPPER, FALCONHAWK, MASON & THE LEVITATIONS
(Sunset) Portland's Blitzen Trapper have more than talent alone. They also possess a quirky knack for merging traditionally nonmergeable sounds and making it work. Country twang melds with spacey electronics, classic indie-rock vocals (think Stephen Malkmus meets Isaac Brock) and R&B grooves. With a punk-rock sort of defiance to rules, the band has stumbled upon an inventive way to make indie rock interesting again; their recently released second album, Field Rexx, is an endearingly sloppy concoction of dreary alt-country, folk-y stomping, quirky tinkering, and dreamy lyrics. You'll hear a synth gurgle there, indie rock discordance here, and Beck-esque manipulations further over there. JENNY TATONE

BASKERVILLES, KEY NOTE SPEAKER, ELEPHANTS
(Chop Suey) With songs about dancing with Kate Moss and free shows in Battery Park, New York's Baskervilles take their position as storytellers very literally. Their songs read like part facetious gossip column, part Live Journal posting, as strangers go bump in the night at various hipster hotspots. Musically, the band comes off like Calvin Johnson fronting an airy new-wave/twee synth-pop band, with female backing vocals lighting up the occasionally monotone main delivery. In the end Baskervilles land somewhere between Belle & Sebastian and the Swirlies, but with far less daydreaminess infused in their style. JENNIFER MAERZ

TUESDAY 7/12

LUKE TEMPLE, Tim Seely
(Crocodile) See preview, page 41.

LAURA CANTRELL
(Triple Door) See preview, page 45.

WEDNESDAY 7/13

DMC Regional Turntable Championships
(Chop Suey) If you're wondering how best to celebrate my birthday tonight, lemme make a suggestion: check out the DMC (Dance Music Community) regionals. Then you'll know who the tightest turntable techs are in your postal code. Not an event suited for dancing (unless you're offbeat like a motherfucker), the showcase is rather a display of dexterity and innovation in the art of DJing—which as Boom Bap Project proudly acknowledges is "the backbone of hiphop." LARRY MIZELL JR.

CORROSION OF CONFORMITY, FU MANCHU, ALABAMA THUNDERPUSSY, WEEDEATER
(Neumo's) When Corrosion of Conformity's Pepper Keenan sings, "I once was blind/but now I see," it's an allusion-packed phrase. The line echoes Black Sabbath's "Snowblind" and name-checks Blind, the pivotal 2001 release on which the North Carolina natives outgrew thrash's two-minute time frame while maintaining its intensity throughout sprawling Southern rock tunes. More importantly, though, it's a religious reference, one of many on this year's surprisingly spiritual effort In the Arms of God. Keenan designates sacred ground ("you're on holy land"), speaks in divine first person ("choose me or choose eternal flame") and, on the title track, bellows "God" as if on his knees in the Garden of Gethsemane. The band plays with passion, moving from mystical melodies to mammoth riffs and punctuating choruses with percussive pyrotechnics. ANDREW MILLER

MORE

LUCERO, THE HONORARY TITLE, THE GLASS: Thurs July 14, El Corazón

KINGS OF LEON, SECRET MACHINES, SHOUT OUT LOUDS: Sat July 16, Moore

THE GO! TEAM: Mon July 18, Neumo's

KINSKI, MASTER MUSICIANS OF BUKKAKE, CHARMING SNAKES: Sat July 23, Crocodile

LKALINE TRIO, RISE AGAINST, DEATH BY STEREO: Sun July 24, Showbox

SOUNDS OF THE UNDERGROUND—GWAR, LAMB OF GOD, MADBALL, UNEARTH, EVERY TIME I DIE, GUESTS: Mon July 25, Qwest Field

MÖTLEY CRÜE, SUM 41, THE EXIES, SILVERTIDE: Sat July 30, White River Amphitheatre

HOT HOT HEAT, EISLEY: Wed Aug 3, Showbox

BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN: Thurs Aug 11, KeyArena

COLDPLAY: Tues Aug 16, White River Amphitheatre

LIZ PHAIR: Tues Aug 16, Crocodile

SUICIDE MACHINES, LOST CITY ANGELS, BULLETS TO BROADWAY: Thurs Aug 18, El Corazón

DINOSAUR JR.: Sat Aug 20, Showbox

OASIS, JET, KASABIAN: Fri Sept 9, Everett Events Center

NINE INCH NAILS, QUEENS OF THE STONE AGE, AUTOLUX: Fri Sept 23, KeyArena