THURSDAY 5/17

ANDY SMITH
(Baltic Room) Andy Smith is a great DJ. Great in the sense that his sets are some of the most eclectic in hiphop. Great in the sense that he added fire to the already passionate-sounding Portishead and the group's brilliant live performances. Back in '98, he dropped a mix compilation called The Document that not only boasted an impeccable DJ style, but had the balls to mix everything from the Spencer Davis Group to Jeru the Damaja. His sets are unpredictable but fueled to get your ass on the floor and show it a thing or two. His eclecticism is inspiring, and the fact he spins hiphop with a good sense of irony (and is better than half the DJs out there) makes it a worthwhile show for those hungry for a little more than just your average hiphop DJ set. And who knows, he may even bust a sneak peek at a new Portishead track or two. F. VENTURA-PENA

THE MARY JANES, CHRISTY McWILSON, MATT THE ELECTRICIAN
(Tractor Tavern) Mary Janes bandleader Janas Hoyt has the insistent purr of a kitten and the howl of a tomcat denied. Weaving this distinctive voice through a shimmering wall of mandolin, pedal steel, and violin, she summons into being a truly original sound that has the grit of country and the intoxication of trance. The band's debut, The Mary Janes Record, No. 1, and their newest release, Flame, have cast a spell on me and I have high hopes that live on stage they'll be able to conjure up more of this hillbilly witchcraft gumbo with the strange taste I've come to crave. TAMARA PARIS


FRIDAY 5/18

TEEN CTHULU, AKIMBO, ME INFECTO, ANGELDRAG
(University Library) It seems that Northwest hardcore has a terrific ally in our city's libraries, a random, great thing about the city of Seattle. Be sure and take this opportunity to check out local three-piece Akimbo, a heart-on-sleeve hardcore band featuring the charismatic scream and stage presence of Jon Weisnewski (vocals/bass), a hard-working, sweat-breaking player who always loses total control live, throwing agonized, calculated tantrums and otherwise hurling himself about in performances that, while wildly entertaining for the audience, can't possibly be healthy for Weisnewski in the long run. Just look at what's become of Henry Rollins. JEFF DeROCHE

IKE TURNER & THE KINGS OF RHYTHM, TONY COLEMAN BAND
(EMP) The last big rock and roll splash Ike Turner had a hand in was Salt-N-Pepa's 1993 sample of "I'm Blue," used for the violently annoying "Shoop" single that had dumb booty shaking for a good six months or so. As part of its impressive Sun Records series, however, EMP is bringing the 69-year-old Turner to Seattle to perform with his eight-piece Kings of Rhythm. Turner's career really began in the early '50s when he and singer Jackie Brenston recorded "Rocket 88" for Sun Records, establishing Turner's name in the juke-joint circuit, and continued on to see his real success happen in 1959, when he renamed Anna Mae Bullock of Nutbush, Tennessee. From there, the story gets complicated and oft told, mostly from Tina's perspective, but also, more recently, from Ike's, who released an autobiography in 1999 called Taking Back My Name. Damn, Ike, damn.... Apparently Ike is doing just fine, living in San Diego, and very excited about the future of his career. Expect plenty of shaking booty tonight, dumb and smart alike. JEFF DeROCHE

CRITTERS BUGGIN, BACHIR ATTAR, FCS NORTH
(Showbox) WOMAD at the Showbox, featuring Critters Buggin, locals with a wailing horn sound, heavy-hitting bass, and smart, abundantly energetic grooves. From Jajouka (a village in Morocco) comes Bachir Attar (strangely not headlining? And strangely spending like a month in Seattle...) of the Master Musicians of Jajouka, who himself is a master musician, playing a style of music that apparently only his family can play, as one must train from early childhood to learn it. Smart, instrumental drum-bass-keyboard trio FCS North opens, and will probably seem like "Whitey" in comparison to what follows. JEFF DeROCHE

BURNING CINDYS, THE A-FRAMES, BASTINADO, LOPEZ
(Gibson's) After making its recorded debut on Jody Bleyle's Candy-Ass label, a disc that garnered Portland's Thirty Ought Six accolades from critics who compared the group to both Hüsker Dü and Nirvana, the band signed to Mute and then promptly broke up after the release of Hag Seed. That was half a decade ago, and now Thirty Ought Six guitarist Dave Blunk is back with Bastinado, which boasts a similar melodic post-punk sound that relies negligibly on lyrics to relate its emotional impact. KATHLEEN WILSON

DOC MARTIN
(I-Spy) Doc Martin is given godlike reverence in house music circles. He's a powerful player on the national circuit, having spent years making a name for himself first in San Francisco and then within the Los Angeles club/rave scene. He has also logged time as a buyer cum proprietor of the L.A. record store Beat Non Stop, and has released various popular mix CDs. His specialties are deep house and trance sets that, when spoken of among clubgoers/ravers/dancers, receive heavenly appraisal. Tonight, expect nothing less of the deity, for this promises to be one of the more noteworthy house sets Seattle has seen in some time. F. VENTURA-PENA

THE TURN-ONS, THE GIMMICKS, STAGGER LEE
(Sit & Spin) Stagger Lee is a local band straight out of the '70s in the best of ways: long hair, shrugging posture, leather jackets, and a cherry van. Stoned-out, riff-laden, and bottom-heavy come to mind here. Pine Street rock at its grooviest. KATHLEEN WILSON

ZEKE, HOG MOLLY, THE CHERRY BOMBS
(Crocodile) Move over Hell's Belles, as another all-girl group steps into the tribute ring with this salute to the band that gave the world Joan Jett (and Lita Ford, for better or worse--it ain't no big thang): the Runaways. KATHLEEN WILSON

TRACHTENBURG FAMILY SLIDESHOW PLAYERS, THE CHRIS AND TAD SHOW, MOONBABIES
(Sunset Tavern) The Trachtenburg Family Slideshow Players are a family musical revue comprising catchy pop, childlike creativity, and image after hilarious image of boring trips, unfortunate fashions, and oblique historical references. "OPNAD Contribution Study Comittee Report--June 1977," for example, is a mini rock opera in six parts, presenting in unwavering detail the results of a marketing report conducted for the burgeoning McDonald's hamburger syndicate. And when the act hits a snag, as it often does, the amount of charm generated by a fidgety, warble-voiced guitarist/keyboardist, his slide-projectionist wife, and their precocious daughter is enough to see them through. JASON PAGANO


SATURDAY 5/19

KENT 3, GLORY HOLES, GET DOWN SYNDROME
(Sit & Spin) This is the best kind of garage rock. It's not the tamer, original Nuggets and Pebbles 1966 brand (Seeds, Pretty Things, the Nervous Breakdowns) and it's not the campy 1977 garage revival version either (Dead Boys, Ramones). Seattle's fantastic, noisy three-piece the Get Down Syndrome plays that perfect acid-rock-garage sound perfected by Blue Cheer and the Stooges circa 1969-'70: bent-up electric-guitar strings winding through a lovely mess of trashy riffs and trash-can drums. And you believe every second! JOSH FEIT

THE LIVING END, TSUNAMI BOMB, TIGHT BROS FROM WAY BACK WHEN
(Showbox) Take even a passing listen to Roll On, the latest album from Australia's the Living End, and it's obvious that this trio is going to blow the roof off the Showbox when it takes the stage tonight. Snotty, energetic, and highly contagious, the album bristles with more youthful energy than a classroom of kindergartners amped on Sugar Smacks, and when jaded industry folks cough up words like "fucking killer" to describe the band's live show, you know you're in for a treat. The Living End will be opening for Green Day and appearing on the Warped Tour later this year, so catch the band now, while it's still safe. BARBARA MITCHELL

DEE DEE RAMONE, CITY GIRLS' BOY, THE FUCKING CHACHIS
(Ballard Firehouse) It's too bad for the Fucking Chachis and the Fucking Champs that both bands are playing in town within the same week. As for Dee Dee, legendary bass player for the Ramones, solo artist, and author of the autobiography Poison Heart: Surviving the Ramones--think of tonight's show as the musical version of the book. JEFF DeROCHE


SUNDAY 5/20

KILL SADIE, KENTUCKY PISTOL, THE LIGHT HEAVYWEIGHTS, HOMO ERADICUS
(Graceland) This evening--a CD-release show for Kill Sadie--is a kind of roster of the junior league of Seattle hardcore (in a scene that contains wonders such as Botch and the Blood Brothers, that is no insult). Funny music is hard to pull off. There's the Frogs, Tenacious D, Ween, and the funniest hardcore band I have ever seen (in fact, the only funny one), Homo Eradicus. Vocalist Dylan Sharp is a clown with a delightful gift for the offhand remark, an incongruously Satanic roar, and the balls to perform stunts that will make a chiropractor rich some day--all delivered with a puckish stage presence so seductive he can reduce you to tears of laughter with one look. The music is basic loud-and-fast, honestly delivered. GRANT COGSWELL

LOADED, COMBOVER, BAD APPLES
(Showbox) This benefit show features former Guns N' Roses bassist (and Fastbacks drummer) Duff McKagan's new band, Loaded, as well as Austin, Texas' Bad Apples, an all-girl group that rocks as hard as G N' R did in its pre-Axl's-botched-hair-plug days. KATHLEEN WILSON


MONDAY 5/21

MARTIN SEXTON
(Crocodile) See preview this issue.

THE FUCKING CHAMPS, DRUNK HORSE, THE LAST OF THE JUANITAS, C-AVERAGE
(Graceland) Not for the sensitive of ear, this bill features four bands that specialize in loud, guitar-driven rock. Portland's Last of the Juanitas mines the post-punk of the early '90s, an absolute right given the fact that the band is a direct descendant of Drive Like Jehu. Drunk Horse plays '70s-influenced stoner rock (not to be confused with psychedelia), while Olympia's C-Average blends prog and metal for a delightfully gut-rumbling, ear-shredding listening experience. See Stranger Suggests. KATHLEEN WILSON


TUESDAY 5/22

EC8OR, THE BLOOD BROTHERS, ORGUSS THE FOE HAMMER, PRETTY GIRLS MAKE GRAVES, THE RED LIGHT STING, AUDIO ASSASSINS
(Graceland) This night of sonic antagonism culminates with Germany's EC8OR, heir to the post-techno apocalypse first envisioned by its Digital Hardcore label-boss and Atari Teenage Riot frontman, Alec Empire. Leading this nihilistic rave is programmer Patric Catani, whose bone-jarring beats, thrash guitar, and furious electronic fuzz eventually blur into exquisitely painful white noise. The agony is further aggravated by the ranting testimonials of punk diva Gina D'Orio. But like some twisted Zen exercise, if you can transcend the assault on your nervous system, ecstatic release awaits you on the other side. DAVID SLATTON

C.O.C.O., THE MICROPHONES, MIRAH
(Crocodile) C.O.C.O is an organic drum and bass duo featuring Chris Sutton (Dub Narcotic Sound System's bass player) on drums and vocals, and Olivia Ness on bass and vocals. The group is very danceable, and soulful to the extent that soul/R&B seems to be where its interests and influences lie. The resulting sound of C.O.C.O. is like a stripped-down Luscious Jackson--fun, mid-tempo, and a bit too cool to be genuinely exciting. The Microphones will probably be the most gratifying band on the bill, creating layers of experimental, psychedelic pop that feature accordion, xylophone, organ, and breezy, harmonized vocals. Opener Mirah Yom Tov Zeitlyn, a singer/songwriter so sweet and talented you either want to hug her or vomit, will get the crowd sugared up nicely. JEFF DeROCHE


WEDNESDAY 5/23

THE HONOR SYSTEM, POLECAT, THE DUTCH FLAT, BUNKBED
(Paradox) See preview this issue.

PEDRO THE LION, THE PROM, SUPINE TO SIT
(Crocodile) This will be a fine show to see on a Wednesday night. Actually, the Crocodile should put out folding chairs to enhance Pedro the Lion's static folkiness and the Prom's whimsical piano pop. Pedro the Lion is much better on record, where the band's introspective, folk-based sound isn't required to shoulder the burden of filling up a crowded showroom. The Prom, on the other hand, is great both live and recorded--a spirited band of talented players that might be called equal parts Ben Folds Five, Joe Jackson, and Joel Phelps. JEFF DeROCHE