THURSDAY 12/8
SILENT NIGHT, HOLY SHIT! THE COPS, GUESTS
(Chop Suey) See Stranger Suggests, page21.
JOHN LENNON JAM
(Crocodile) It's clichéd to note how the death of a cultural icon can mark a loss of innocence, but whenever I think of that horrible December morning when John Lennon was killed, I remember how it forever changed the way I listened to radio. Initially, I was thrilled that half a dozen Beatles songs came on in a row, including ones that never played on our little AM station. It wasn't until I heard my Lennon-loving mother sobbing hysterically that I began to digest why "I'm So Tired" was playing alongside "Help." Tonight's show was conceived to honor Lennon on the 25th anniversary of his death and features an impressive array of local musicians, including Modest Mouse's Jeremiah Green and former Radio Nationals guitarists Richard Davidson and Jared Clifton. HANNAH LEVIN
KARL BLAU, NATE ASHLEY, GIFT MACHINE
(SS Marie Antoinette) If this tour of homespun ambassadors from Knw-Yr-Own Records is any indication, Anacortes, Washington, must be a damned friendly place. The Knw-Yr-Own crew of Karl Blau, Nate Ashley, and the Gift Machine retain all the silver linings of '90s-rooted DIY culture while sidestepping most of the undue pretension their K records cousins can get tangled up in. Showgoers can expect a feel-good evening of basement folk, instrument swapping, and inspirational twee sing-alongs. If that can't thaw your cold, winter heart then you're a lost cause, my friend. JOSH BLANCHARD
DECK THE HALL BALL: DEATH CAB FOR CUTIE, HARVEY DANGER, AQUEDUCT, THE SATURDAY KNIGHTS
(Showbox) If anyone's still griping about 107.7 the End not supporting local music, this year's Deck the Hall Ball will certainly shut them up. The show, which sold out in minutes, boasts a "Home for the Holidays" theme and features local superstars Death Cab for Cutie, Harvey Danger, Aqueduct, and the Saturday Knights. And if that's not enough to get you riled up, all the lucky ballgoers get a free copy of Live from the Morning Alternative Vol. 2, which includes in-studio performances from area bands including the Divorce, the Posies, Schoolyard Heroes, the Blood Brothers, and many more. The CD will be available in local record stores Friday, December 9, with all proceeds benefiting the Vera Project, a worthy organization the station has already raised over $35,000 for this year. MEGAN SELING
CHARLIE HUNTER TRIO
(Triple Door) Hunter is the guitarist Zelig. He can adapt to any genre and wrangle compelling tones from his eight-stringed instrument. Although Hunter sometimes succumbs to bland competence and passages that will only please Guitar Player subscribers, he's also capable of stunning outward-bound maneuvers (see the Groundtruther albums). Hunter's latest disc, Earth Tones, aligns him with fellow veteran ax-slingers Earl "Chinna" Smith and Ernest Ranglin. They generate quiet storms of tastefully mellow soul jazz, plus covers of Peter Tosh's "One Foundation" and... a reggaefied version of Edie Brickell's "What I Am." Tonight Hunter appears with saxophonist John Ellis and drummer Derrek Phillips. DAVE SEGAL
FRIDAY 12/9
NO-NECK BLUES BAND
(Gallery 1412) See preview, page 30.
CHARLIE HUNTER TRIO
(Triple Door) See Thursday's preview.
LAPTOP BATTLE CHAMPIONSHIPS 2005
(Chop Suey) See Stranger Suggests, page 21.
THE FLESHTONES, THE KENT 3
(Tractor) The Fleshtones are garage rock vets—and after 25 years together, they could bash out a solid '60s frat stomp in their sleep. On about half of their latest disc, Beachhead, though, it sounds like they might've done just that. But the other handful of songs, produced by ace garage maestro Jim Diamond, not only show the Fleshtones are down with the scene, but prove they can still kick up some sand. Like looking into the eyes of the graying general, you'd be hard-pressed to suggest that the Fleshtones should hang it up. And with their unending determination to keep storming the beach for another volleyball and Ventures party, it'd be useless to try. ERIC DAVIDSON
Charming snakes, the vomiting unicorns, ICEAGE COBRA
(Liquid Lounge) Though attending a show at EMP is about as rock 'n' roll as Pat Boone covering "Crazy Train," tonight's bill is worth braving the sterile environs of the Liquid Lounge. Iceage Cobra recently moved to Seattle from Spokane at the insistence of their supportive friends in local soul-punk peddlers the Emergency, and we should be welcoming them with open arms. They could barely be contained on the stage at High Dive a few weeks ago, causing a nearly-packed house to lose their collective shit over their shamelessly spastic blend of classic rock riffage, '70s soul, and dance-inducing backbeats (buoyed in no small part by the joyfully excessive use of cowbell). Iceage Cobra are still unpolished diamonds, but they'll undoubtedly be bling-worthy soon. HANNAH LEVIN
ROSIE THOMAS, DAVID BAZAN, ESTER DRANG
(Crocodile) Just in time for the holidays, Pedro the Lion's David Bazan is issuing a limited-edition Christmas single on marbled wax. Check out the somber frontman's renditions of "God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen" and "Silent Night"—available only to the first 200 fans who snatch up the record, out now on Suicide Squeeze. There's also a good chance those Xmas covers will be reborn tonight, mixed between tracks of Bazan's melodic indie pop and country folk. JENNIFER MAERZ
SATURDAY 12/10
KANYE WEST W/SPECIAL GUESTS FANTASIA AND KEYSHIA COLE
(Everett Events Center) See preview, page 35.
COLLECTIVE JYRK JAMBOREE W/YELLOW SWANS, GOD (LEIF SUNDSTRUM AND BRYAN EUBANKS), BONUS, AXOLOTL, INCA ORE
(Gallery 1412) See preview, page 38.
LOS STRAITJACKETS & THE WORLD FAMOUS PONTANI SISTERS FEATURING KAISER GEORGE
(Tractor) See preview, page 38.
TWEE, POP FEST: MATH AND PHYSICS CLUB, LILLYDALE, HALF ACRE DAY, THE SALTEENS
(Chop Suey) See Border Radio, page 45.
TWEE, POP FEST: BOAT, CENTRAL SERVICES, TULLYCRAFT, SPEAKER SPEAKER, PARKS & RECREATION, DUTCH ELMS, GUESTS
(Paradox) After an early and all-ages installment at Chop Suey, Skinny Production's Twee, Pop Festival continues with another lineup chock-full of local happy bands. Whether it's the lush sounds of Boat, Speaker Speaker's distorted bounce, or the cute-as-hell harmonies of Tullycraft, this show is more powerful than any antidepressant to chase those winter blues away. MEGAN SELING
SHARON JONES AND THE DAP-KINGS
(Nuemo's) Sharon Jones and the Dap-Kings might be the only group around that bring a genuine soul revue—the kind with a fiercely funky singer and a brassy eight-piece backing band—to smallish venues. On 2005's Naturally, Jones trades verses with Lee Fields on a track that plays like a scorching "Baby It's Cold Outside." Desperate ex Fields claims his car was stolen, and the buses have stopped running, and, well, could he sleep in Jones's bed like old times? Even the sultry tension between the duet leads can't match the call-and-response chemistry between Jones and the Kings during their incendiary concerts. ANDREW MILLER
BLOWFLY, HOT ROLLERS, FE FI FO FUMS
(Funhouse) While his potty mouth gets a bit monotonous on disc, Blowfly's live show is spectacular... or, at least, spectacularly odd. The almost-senior-citizen-aged rapper still revels in the dirtiest pillow talk around, flipping libidinous lines over funky bass lines laid down by a full band. He performs in a caped costume and sports the longest nails known to man—yet he still never fails to get the ladies on board his "booty bus." JENNIFER MAERZ
BOB SCHNEIDER, SUFFRAJETT
(Crocodile) The job description "singer/songwriter who appears on the soundtracks to Sandra Bullock films" conjures images of an earnest sap just begging someone to go Bluto on his acoustic guitar. But Bob Schneider, who walks on the "accessory to a romantic comedy" charge because he was once Bullock's beau, isn't a bland balladeer. This Austin-based wild card prefers stark lyrics about sex and drugs to maudlin material. His sprawling setlists, which often clear the two-hour mark, incorporate everything from country-folk to funk to rugged rock, and he complements his own diverse work with an encyclopedic collection of covers (Grandmaster Flash, Kansas). ANDREW MILLER
SUNDAY 12/11
MY CHEMICAL ROMANCE, INTERNATIONAL NOISE CONSPIRACY, CIRCA SURVIVE
(Premier) See Underage, page 52.
SCHOOLYARD HEROES, NIGHTMARE OF YOU, BURNING ARMADA
(El Corazón) Considering their name alone, Nightmare of You sound like they could tour with Hawthorne Heights or some other overhyped screamo band. But really, Nightmare of You are a bold, '80s influenced indie rock act with smooth dance beats and a vocalist who stands up to the Smoking Popes' Josh Caterer. Come to think of it, Nightmare of You are very reminiscent of the Smoking Popes, minus that grungy film that covered rock in the '90s. MEGAN SELING
MONDAY 12/12
MF DOOM, MOKA ONLY, ONE BE LO, GUESTS
(Chop Suey) See preview, page 32.
TUESDAY 12/13
MF DOOM, MOKA ONLY, ONE BE LO, GUESTS
(Chop Suey) See preview, page 32.
CALVIN JOHNSON, TENDER FOREVER, FRENCH TOAST
(S.S. Marie Antoinette) Imagine some label head sat down Chan Marshall and said, "Yeah, we'd like you to forget about that whole dirge-y Cat Power thing for a while and make a fun lo-fi electronic record." The result would likely sound something like Tender Forever's The Soft and the Hardcore. One-woman-band Melanie Valera has a voice that rivals Marshall in wistful melancholia, but keen pop sensibilities also come to the forefront on her K debut; a playfully arranged recording by Calvin Johnson gives even the record's mopiest moments (the self-conscious "Rad") a sense of whimsy. Joining her on the bill, Johnson pretty much sounds like a sharp version of his quirky self on the current offering, Before the Dream Faded, which will drastically juxtapose D.C.-hardcore lineage rockers French Toast. JOHN VETTESE
WEDNESDAY 12/14
black eyes and neckties
(Nuemo's) See Live Wire, page 40.
DAVID KRAKAUER'S KLEZMER MADNESS
(Triple Door) Klezmer—foot-stompingly celebratory, secular Jewish music that dates back to the 15th century—is remarkably elastic, amenable to garage-punky rave-ups, jazzy embellishments, or even speed-metal adaptations. Now with clarinetist David Krakauer's collab with Jewish beatmaker Socalled (along with his own unit, Klezmer Madness!), Bubbemeises: Lies My Gramma Told Me, hiphop joins the litany of genres donning klezmer finery. It's a weird fusion, to be sure, but klezmer's inherent ebullience and high-end floweriness often meshes well with hiphop's low-end rhythmic business. And even when it doesn't, the ensuing cognitive dissonance still makes for lively, head-scratching listening. DAVE SEGAL
KORBY LENKER
(Chop Suey) With his brand-new album, King of Hearts, rising regional country artist Korby Lenker slaps a royal flush down on the table with a polite yet cheeky grin. Read 'em and weep, boys. And smile, and tap your toes. And hit repeat on the CD player. Lenker is a canny lad, crafting hooks strong enough for the Tim McGraw/Kenny Chesney set, while simultaneously campaigning for a better world, where Dre and Snoop pop-up on CMT, and Jerry Falwell boozes it up "like a Kennedy"; hell, he even slips an inside joke about the dissolution of Uncle Tupelo into a potential hit single (the rocking opener "Billygoat"). This 11-track set is loaded with standouts—particularly the autobiographical, bluegrass-tinged "Cedars of Lebanon"—that could leave a first-time listener sitting in the driveway, keys still in the ignition, just waiting to hear who performed that last song they heard on the radio. KURT B. REIGHLEY
AS I LAY DYING, NORMA JEAN, MADBALL: Fri Dec 16, El Corazón
STRANGERCROMBIE HOLIDAY BLOWOUT— WHEEDLE'S GROOVE, BAND OF HORSES, FRUIT BATS, COMMON MARKET, DINA MARTINA: Fri Dec 16, Showbox
WAXWING, SLENDER MEANS, NEON BLONDE: Fri Dec 16, Vera Project
SUPER DELUXE, THE PALE PACIFIC, THE LONELY H: Sat Dec 17, Crocodile
SLEATER-KINNEY, STEPHEN MALKMUS & THE JICKS, QUASI: Thurs Dec 29, Showbox
VENDETTA RED, THE DIVORCE, EUPHORIETTE, YOUNG SPORTSMEN: Thurs Jan 5, Neumos
THE ADVANTAGE, GUESTS: Fri Jan 6, the Paradox
REEL BIG FISH, GOLDFINGER, ZEBRAHEAD: Sat Jan 7, Showbox
COLIN MELOY, LAURA VEIRS, THE TORTURED SOULS: Wed Jan 18, Showbox
THE BLOOD BROTHERS, MINUS THE BEAR, THESE ARMS ARE SNAKES, CRYSTAL SKULLS: Sat Jan 28, Showbox
BOB MOULD: Wed Feb 15, Neumos
