THURSDAY 8/4

GRAHAM PARKER, MIKE GENT
(Tractor) See preview, page 39.

JOY WANTS ETERNITY, THE PURRS, HALF LIGHT
(High Dive) As their name might suggest, local act the Purrs are practitioners of pop lullabies—but of the highly stylized variety. Their Richard Ashcroft–dipped Brit-pop bliss is full of aching vocals, reverbed guitar riffs, and balmy shoegazer melodies floating in a similar galactic space as predecessors like Brian Jonestown Massacre or Vue. Tonight marks the CD release show for The Dreams Our Stuff Is Made Of, a disc focused on the second word of that title, offering heavy-lidded, languid songs that leave vapor trails across your brain. JENNIFER MAERZ See also preview, page 45.

VENDETTA RED, BAYSIDE, SCHOOLYARD HEROES, COMMON HEROES
(El Corazón) Schoolyard Heroes recently rang me up with an update on their current six-week-long tour with Vendetta Red. Apparently they've eaten amazing burritos, put about a grand into fixing their overheating van (it was the radiator all along), and met Lil Jon at a ritzy shopping mall in Phoenix. Thanks to some quick thinking, they passed along a copy of their new record, Fantastic Wounds, to the man, so perhaps we could expect a Lil Jon/Schoolyard tour in the future? (Let me see you get low!) For now, catch the Heroes as they make a quick pit stop home before trudging back out on tour again. MEGAN SELING

TRACKER, KARL BLAU
(Sunset) Tracker are a Portland band specializing in texture: ambient, rock, country—all these vibes float in their songs like ether, investing the performance with an air of confident mystery. Their last record, Blankets, is the soundtrack to an illustrated novel, which is perfect. Speaking of perfect, Karl Blau has a rich, limber voice that elevates his simple, pretty folk songs to the stuff of legends. A great bill. SEAN NELSON

FRIDAY 8/5

LESBIAN, GREY, BOOK OF BLACK EARTH, CLOSED CASKET, THE HELM, THE CAT BEES
(Chop Suey) See Live Wire, page 55.

FIRST FRIDAYS: DJ DIRECT, SENTENCES, IISEI, AUDIO POET, J.U.I., GUESTS
(Cranium's) See Underage, page 66.

STEAMING WOLF PENIS, THE SNACKS, STEREOTYPES, THE PISS POOR CHOCOBOS
(Funhouse) Sometimes you want to witness proficient musicians perform thrill-maximizing technical feats that blow your fucking mind. And other nights you'd rather hang with the bands named after animal appendages (and a drummer who dresses in a giant red monster costume and issues forth a steady stream of insults) and junk food (who have been known to throw 7-Eleven treats from the stage) and that's okay, too. JENNIFER MAERZ

SATURDAY 8/6

WHITE STRIPES, SLEATER-KINNEY, THE GREENHORNES
(Gorge Amphitheatre) See preview, page 34 and Stranger Suggests, page 27.

HARVEY DANGER, RAZREZ, GHOST STORIES
(Crocodile) Harvey Danger's shift from zeitgeist-nabbing MTV ubiquity ("Flagpole Sitta") to the less popular, superior King James Version hasn't snuffed the Seattle group's creative fire. For their first show of 2005 (with new drummer Michael Welke and guest keyboardist Rob Knop), Harvey Danger plan to run through their forthcoming, piano-intensive Little by Little. For astute student-of-rock music garlanded with mordant, footnoted (!) lyrics that are destined for future analysis in The Believer, you can't do better than Harvey Danger. DAVE SEGAL

BRANDI CARLILE, TOM BROSSEAU
(Showbox) While she's not so much my thing, it's easy to see why local singer/songwriter Brandi Carlile charts high in both Northwest countdowns and with the national media (she recently did a stint on Last Call with Carson Daly). The 23-year-old was raised in Ravensdale, 50 miles outside of Seattle, where she turned her pastoral upbringing into an appreciation for rural-minded musicians. Her bio claims Carlile spent her childhood seeing how long she could hold a note (as well as how loud and high she could sing), leaving her with an incredibly strong, dynamic voice that's been compared to icons like Roy Orbison and Jeff Buckley. Her earthy, slickly produced, self-titled debut for Columbia takes soft, melodic rock down country roads that will surely lead to mainstream success. JENNIFER MAERZ

AIMEE MANN, KATHLEEN EDWARDS
(South Lake Union Park) On her latest album The Forgotten Arm, Aimee Mann has perfected her classic pop songcraft to the point of near-narcotic pleasure. The dozen songs are loosely a concept album about a boxer with a drug problem, his girlfriend, and their very dysfunctional relationship. But it's open-ended enough (and mostly sung in the first-person; Mann slips completely inside her characters) that any conceit falls away, leaving only people with skins as thin as velum. Gorgeous. NATE LIPPENS

RADIO NATIONALS, GRAND CHAMPEEN, TWO COW GARAGE
(Sunset) I hereby nominate the Radio Nationals as Seattle's most underappreciated local band. Basically, if you enjoy early Wilco or current Drive-By Truckers, you'll be very pleased. Quality ingredients include bar rockin' yet mournful guitar lines, in-the-pocket drumming, and a collective, uncanny knack for charming in-between-song banter. What's more, aside from equally unheralded artists like Rusty Willoughby and Ian Moore, no local male vocalist breaks my heart quite like Nationals' frontman Jared Clifton—the kid is wicked talented. Just to seal the deal, this bill also includes Grand Champeen, an Austin favorite that regularly leave jaws dropping in their wake. Highly recommended. HANNAH LEVIN

SUNDAY 8/7

HUGH MASEKELA
(Triple Door) See preview, page 40.

THE MYRIAD, KOUFAX, LIMBECK, THE BEAUTIFUL MISTAKE, KISSING TIGERS
(El Corazón) The Myriad are some moody mothers, let me tell you. Their full-length, You Can't Trust a Ladder, showcases everything from low-key dance vibes to overwhelming orchestras of heavy guitar and soaring, emotional vocals. Sure it's somewhat safe and romantic, and at times it could fit perfectly the more climactic moments of a dramatic WB show. But overall they're not nearly that studied, maintaining a bit of an edge that's reminiscent of everything from Radiohead to darker '80s new wave. MEGAN SELING

MONDAY 8/8

HANK WILLIAMS III, JB BEVERLY & THE WAYWARD DRIFTERS
(Crocodile) It seemed like a given that by now, Hank III would be a full-blown country superstar phenomenon, but it's to his credit that he hasn't been sucked into the CMT morass. He's still working hard, playing straight-down-the-middle cowpunk that rocks super hard. And unlike certain other c&w legend offspring (no names, please), he's neither sucking up to the establishment nor plowing the hipster furrow. He's just keeping his head down and kicking ass. That's outlaw. SEAN NELSON

AVRIL LAVIGNE, GAVIN DEGRAW, BUTCH WALKER
(White River Amphitheatre) Avril Lavigne, it seems, thinks she's rebellious and, well, still very punk rock. But honey, you can't be some righteous punk rocker when your first record was released on Atlantic and you party in Hollywood with Lindsay Lohan and Paris Hilton, okay? We ain't fooled. Accept what you are—a teen pop queen à la Britney—'cause the songs are catchy and that'll get you far enough. And for the record, marrying that pseudo-punk lead singer of Sum 41 ain't gonna get ya any cred either! MEGAN SELING

TUESDAY 8/9

THE PONYS, THE OCCASION, MISS ALEX WHITE
(Crocodile) The Ponys rode out of Chicago in 2004 with a debut grounded in au courant cool: '80s earmarks (Echo & the Bunnymen–like reverb melodrama, singer Jered Gummere's Robert Smith howl) and garage rock revamp (trashy tempos, jangly guitars). But androgynous backup vocals and a Phil Spector–ish echo wash over everything didn't allow for easy trend-tagging. Their sophomore slab, Celebration Castle (In the Red), has mostly axed the echo, which saps a little mystery, but lets the band's songwriting shine. Merseybeat stomps like "Today" and "Discoteca" crackle with syncopated beats. And the dual guitar churning makes for a fine Velvet Underground–cum—Feelies–cum–Wedding Present evolutionary link. ERIC DAVIDSON

WEDNESDAY 8/10

TENNIS PRO, HOCKEY NIGHT, MATTHEW SHAW
(Crocodile) See preview, page 34.

RYAN ADAMS & THE CARDINALS
(Moore Theatre) See preview, page 36.

BEEHIVE, SABA, LIBRARY SCIENCE, THE EPOCHS
(Chop Suey) As white dudes playing dub go, Library Science haven't quite ascended to the level of Jah Wobble, Twilight Circus, or Bill Laswell, but the Seattle quartet are on course to reach that lofty state. They excel live, where they get wilder with the psychedelic effects compared to their relatively restrained High Life Honey album. Judging from their self-titled 2003 CD, Saba play functional, song-oriented electronica that never really elevates beyond pleasant background music you can imagine wafting through a Borders store. It's possible with the addition of laptop producer Sean Horton, Saba have maneuvered their sound into more interesting areas. DAVE SEGAL

THE MOB LAW, THE THIEVES
(High Dive) Although they possess a slick, arena-ready sound, Oxford's the Thieves are heading to the slightly smaller confines of the High Dive tonight. Which just means the unbridled rock enthusiasm of their set of Who-meets-Oasis with a kick will be ultimately more tangible in a place where drinks are cheaper than stadium prices and anyone can grab errant guitar picks. JENNIFER MAERZ

ALISON KRAUSS & UNION STATION
(Marymoor Park, Redmond) Alison Krauss has the dulcet voice of a perfect songbird, which has made her into something of the good girl of country music. That's why it's so pleasurable whenever she wanders into darker territory (which isn't frequent enough for my tastes). Her radio fare and albums display her prowess as a singer, but live is the way to experience her true charisma. She's such a talented fiddler and an ensemble player—her interactions with her band are half the fun—that it dispels any easy categorization of her as simply having a pretty voice. NATE LIPPENS

VIOLENT FEMMES, COLIN MELOY (OF THE DECEMBERISTS)
(Woodland Park Zoo) While it will be sort of creepy and sad to hear a grown-up Violent Femmes play songs about puberty and take-out-the-trash adolescent rage to a summer crowd of mortgaged homeowners, the level of irony should be nice. "Add It Up," "Blister in the Sun," and "American Music" are overplayed greatness of course, and the group could never escape the arch, odd, somehow ecstatic Wisconsin-acoustic fidget punk of their early '80s debut. Which nobody, not even the band itself, has been able to capture since. They're a spent force. But a unique force. And one of the few groups of people on the planet able to sing about masturbation in a zoo. GUY FAWKES

MORE

BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN:Thurs Aug 11, KeyArena

OZZFEST—BLACK SABBATH, IRON MAIDEN, MUDVAYNE, SHADOWS FALL, AND MANY MORE: Thurs Aug 11, White River Amphitheatre

THE BLOOD BROTHERS, THE GOSSIP, GET HUSTLE, ATHLETIC AUTOMATON: Fri Aug 12, Showbox

COLDPLAY: Tues Aug 16, White River Amphitheatre

LIZ PHAIR, MAT KEARNEY: Tues Aug 16, Crocodile

CKY, FIREBALL MINISTRY, THE KNIVES: Wed Aug 17, El Corazón

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

DINOSAUR JR., LOVE AS LAUGHTER, ALASKA!: Sat Aug 20, Showbox

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

BLACK REBEL MOTORCYCLE CLUB: Wed Sept 14, Neumo's

XIU XIU: Tues Sept 20, Neumo's

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

THE QUEERS, THE INDEPENDENTS: Sun Sept 25, El Corazón

SIGUR ROS, AMINA: Wed Sept 28, Paramount

TRIAL (REUNION SHOW), THE WARRIORS, DEAD UNKNOWN, THIS TIME TOMORROW: Sun Oct 9, Neumo's