THURSDAY 3/23
PRINCE VS. MICHAEL
(Re-bar) See preview page, 33.
SIREN'S ECHO, dRED.i, SILENT LAMBS PROJECT, SILVER SHADOW D
(Des Amis) See My Philosophy, page 33.
DIALING IN, The NOISETTES
(Rendezvous) Seattle's Dialing In (Reita Piecuch) sent shock waves through the drone underground with her debut CD, Ketalysergicmetha Mother, for esteemed New Zealand label Celebrate Psi Phenomenon, which is run by Birchville Cat Motel's Campbell Kneale. The precocious Dialing In reveals an intuitive affinity for arranging richly textured drones for maximum emotional impact, and a deep knowledge of compelling world-music samples and field recordings (think Sublime Frequencies more than Putumayo). Using radios, keyboards, and pianos, Dialing In layers prickly throngs of haunting drones, immersing you in a sound world swarming with radiant decay. The Noisettes create subliminally disturbing, eerie sci-fi-flick atmospheres through finely calibrated improvisations. DAVE SEGAL
FRIDAY 3/24
POISON THE WELL, FALL OF TROY, HORSE THE BAND, CRITERIA
(El Corazón) Poison the Well underwent a fan-base transfusion in 2002, losing all their hardcore-or-die followers when singer Jeffrey Moreira started crooning his choruses. When the Florida-based band release their fourth full-length this summer, there might be another seismic shift, given that the group describes its new material as "very unpredictable." Poison the Well know from change, having employed 10 bassists before their most recent "seriously, this is the guy" discovery, Ben Brown. Throughout all the personnel turnover and musical metamorphoses, Poison the Well have remained adept at dichotomous dynamics, making their melodies stick before plodding through breakdowns. The group covered the Smashing Pumpkins' soft/loud classic "Soma" on a recent tribute disc, and that song's cathartic latter-half release should mark one of this set list's climaxes. ANDREW MILLER
DJ TAMARA'S B-DAY PARTY: REGGIE WATTS, JACOB LONDON, KRNL.PANIC, DJ FREDDY KING OF PANTS
(Chop Suey) Seattle's own OG DJ Tamara has already, at the near dawn of her third decade, enjoyed an artistic career of astonishing volume and ridiculous diversity. A voraciously busy club DJ, multimedia artist, improvising musician, and lots of other shiz, Tamara has devoted her young life to an insanely passionate embrace of performance and composition in a far-flung swath of modes and settings. Apropos to the hostess's free-range artistic involvements, this night—a massive party in celebration of the DJ's 30th birthday—features modern soul, performance art, mashup DJs, electronic producers, free improvisers, and probably too much more to properly list. Co-headliner Reggie Watts has, like Tamara, managed a musical career that veers from the most pop-wielding, sweaty R&B to all stripes of experimental and improvised music. SAM MICKENS
SATURDAY 3/25
BELLE AND SEBASTIAN, THE NEW PORNOGRAPHERS
(Paramount) See preview, page 33.
THE DC SNIPERS, LIVE FAST DIE, THE SLIP ITS, NUNS WITH GUNS
(Funhouse) The NY bands DC Snipers and Live Fast Die inhabit dives, overpriced efficiencies, and irritable moods that are miles removed from ubiquitous, Interpol-aping, trendy Brooklynite visions. The DC Snipers sling rust-belt rock-n-roll rumblings, slashing them with the gnashing guitars and cheap keys of lo-fi, obscure '70s punk revivalists. Ditto for Live Fast Die: Theirs is an adherence to 1973 Stooges, played for lugubrious laughs. They sport a new drummer every few days, dabble in stupidly naughty lyrics, and are only beginning to tap into their potential (unless you're talking about bar taps). Both bands have recently released cool debuts on the Cali scuzz-punk imprint Deadbeat. ERIC DAVIDSON
ART BRUT, SERENA MANEESH, GIL MANTERA'S PARTY DREAM
(Neumo's) Executing a hit on the genre before the end of its title, Art Brut's Bang Bang Rock & Roll finds the London quintet ripping through a dozen sharp, arty songs about their sharp, arty lives, with a focus on the rich minutia of postmodern life, from the buzz of a new and uncomplicated naked person in your life to mixtapes from your younger brother. On record, at least, the delivery is thrilling—witty as shit, sincere when it suits them, and, more often than not, brilliantly executed. Yeah, there are jokes, but they're good jokes, with the depth of the concept and joy in the doing sending Art Brut far beyond shtick. Key bits continue to crack my shit up like the first time, and I can't wait to see what they have to offer live. DAVID SCHMADER
SUBHUMANS, A GLOBAL THREAT, BORN/DEAD, WORLD/INFERNO FRIENDSHIP SOCIETY
(El Corazón) How are we to cope with all this unending, pointless warfare; those uncaring sonsabitches leading our country; the apathy and/or ignorance pervading our society; and the blurred lines between religion and law? What are we to do? We can start by rocking our pain away at this Subhumans show. Sure, the UK band broke up 21 years ago, but their political, antiwar songs are still relevant today. Plus, they are one of the best bands in the entire history of punk rock, and they're so great live that it hurts. Bonus: short political lectures between each song. Prepare to go home enlightened, and sore. KIM HAYDEN See also Rocka Rolla, page 40.
MAZARIN, THE DOUBLE, TAPES 'N TAPES, HYPATIA LAKE
(Sunset) On the same night that Belle and Sebastian grace the Paramount Theatre stage, Mazarin, a group whose delicately gorgeous music recalls that Scottish collective's earliest work, returns to the area. Quentin Stoltzfus's chamber-pop project, distinguished by its wistful vocals, tinkling background bells, gingerly acoustic strumming, and prominent tambourine usage, returned from a nearly three-year recording hiatus with last year's We're Already There. At once experimental (instrumental tracks wrap mild feedback fuzz around undulating bass lines, while the other tunes hide erratic clatter behind their hooks) and refreshingly simple (every song contains a must-follow melodic path), Mazarin's material provides a perfect consolation prize for B and S diehards who couldn't score a ticket to Saturday's show. ANDREW MILLER
SUNDAY 3/26
THE O'JAYS, LEROY BELL
(Paramount) The O'Jays, while pretty much totally remembered for mega hit "Love Train," have a monumental place in the history of American soul music as the flagship artists on the '70s-defining record label Philadelphia International. Philly Intl.'s Kenny Gamble and Leon Huff were, like Motown mogul Berry Gordy, multi-limbed entrepreneurs, handling songwriting and production duties for their artists as well as the business end, creating a rich and wholly new musical world with their label. Not the most dramatically charged band in the Philly soul scene (that would be the Delfonics) the O'Jays were nevertheless bound for a hitmaking blaze of glory, as they epitomized the brighter end of the soul spectrum with their glazed harmonies, velvety arrangements, and utterly joyful lyrics. SAM MICKENS
MONDAY 3/27
VETIVER, MICHAEL HURLEY, CURRITUCK CO.
(Crocodile) Bay Area folksters Vetiver have received many a critic's ear of late as one of the few West Coast ambassadors of the "freak-folk" movement, and for the part-time membership of neo-hippie golden boy Devendra Banhart. Upon closer inspection though, there's nothing particularly "freaky" about Vetiver, and dollars to donuts Banhart will be nowhere within a 1,000-mile radius, so we have to recognize the band on their own merits. The group is anchored in the friendly, acoustic ruminations of singer/songwriter Andy Cabic, whose laid-back crooning and restrained string arrangements should soothe the thumping heart of any world-weary city dweller. Vetiver's California-rooted simplicities are not going to drastically change the face of the folk-music world, but they could certainly make it smile. JOSH BLANCHARD See also Border Radio, page 42.
TUESDAY 3/28
AN ALBATROSS, OCTOPUS PROJECT, THE ASSAILANT, DER TRASCH
(Paradox) See Stranger Suggests, page 23.
ARAB STRAP, HIS NAME IS ALIVE, PAGE FRANCE
(Neumo's) See preview, page 35.
WEDNESDAY 3/29
ARCTIC MONKEYS
(Crocodile) See preview, page 39.
MADBALL, ZAO, REMEMBERING NEVER, THE BANNER, SCARLET
(El Corazón) Laser-precise riffs, versatile vocals, and colossal percussion aren't enough to separate an ambitious metalcore act from its peers, so Scarlet turned its small-venue shows into arena-sized spectacles. On its 2004 tour, the group used glowing columns to spell out its name in assorted patterns. To supplement selections from January's excellent This Was Always Meant to Fall Apart, Scarlet promises another illuminative extravaganza, plus live re-creations of the album's entrancing electronic effects. Hauling high-tech equipment in frequently unattended vans carries risks, and despite the limited practical applications of stealing light-up letters, Scarlet has weathered several robberies. Thieves probably won't come anywhere near the venue if they catch a glimpse of Madball's members, whose brutally efficient hardcore is even more intimidating than their appearance. ANDREW MILLER
GOGOL BORDELLO
(Neumo's) The hardest-touring band in show business, Gogol Bordello, come through town once again in support of last year's Gypsy Punks Underdog World Strike. At a party after one of their recent Seattle engagements, frontman Eugene Hutz, with multiple bottles in hand, was heard to exclaim, "I am an alcoholic! I am a bitch for alcohol!" How many other Whitney Biennial–minted, largely grant-money-fueled artists get down to this degree one can only speculate, but what is certain is that Gogol Bordello's rough-stitched gypsy punk and sweatboxing performances are tailor-made for debased revelry. They are unrepentant party starters, slaves to the rhythm, bitches for alcohol. SAM MICKENS
SIX FEET UNDER, SWORN ENEMY, ANIMOSITY, THINE EYES BLEED, ONLY HUMAN
(Studio Seven) Thine Eyes Bleed face music's most demanding fan base when they open for Slayer on the Unholy Alliance tour this summer, and it's always best to catch a fledgling metal group in the weeks and months before that trial by fire. It's like talking to a tattooed tough awaiting his first prison sentence: He's trying to harden himself for unspeakable abuse, but there's still a gleam of terror in his steely eyes. Even the fact that bassist John Araya is the Slayer singer's sibling wouldn't protect this young act from spectator savagery if concertgoers deemed their songs insufficiently evil. However, turbulent thrash tracks such as "Corpse You Up" should satisfy followers of Araya's brother's band as well as Six Feet Under's bloodthirsty, blast-beat junkies. ANDREW MILLER
THE BATS OF BELFRY, SILVER SUNSHINE
(War Room) For those of you (like myself), who have sadly drained their sources for feel-good '60s psych-rock dry, there may only be two options left. Build a time machine or go check out Silver Sunshine when they hit Seattle this week. The boys in this San Diego quartet graze in vibrant, Floyd-fertilized pastures, complete with astral guitar wailings, mellotron flourishes, and pulsing Merseybeat rhythms. Well-crafted songs, tight harmonies, huge psychedelic tones, paisley shirts; Silver Sunshine have it all nailed. Naysayers might pooh-pooh them as a gimmick group, but fuck, man, rock music gasped its last breath of cultural significance 10 years ago and you know it! Why not have a little fun with the corpse? JOSH BLANCHARD
THURSDAY, MINUS THE BEAR, THE NUMBER 12 LOOKS LIKE YOU, WE'RE ALL BROKEN: Sat April 1, El Corazón
MATCHBOOK ROMANCE, THE EARLY NOVEMBER, CHIODOS, AMBER PACIFIC, WE ARE THE FURY: Sat April 1, Showbox
DEFTONES, THRICE, ATREYU, AS I LAY DYING, GUESTS: Sun April 2, Everett Events Center
THE GOSSIP, THE PANTHERS, MON FRERE, THE EMERGENCY: Wed April 5, Neumo's
FALL OUT BOY, ALL-AMERICAN REJECTS, HAWTHORNE HEIGHTS, FROM FIRST TO LAST, THE HUSH SOUND: Sat April 8, Tacoma Dome
MATES OF STATE: Thurs April 20, Neumo's
PAINT IT BLACK, THE LOVED ONES, SHOOK ONES, SINKING SHIPS: Sat April 22, the Paradox
PINBACK, THE JADE SHADER: Sun April 23, Showbox
HARD FI, THE RAKES, GUESTS: Mon April 24, Chop Suey
TV ON THE RADIO, CELEBRATION: Fri May 5, Showbox
SICK OF IT ALL, STRETCH ARM STRONG, GUESTS: Tues May 23, El Corazón
MOGWAI: Tues May 23, Showbox
MINISTRY, REVOLTING COCKS, SPYDER BABY: Sun May 28, Showbox
