NO. 13 BABY, ALIEN CRIME SYNDICATE, LOADED
(Moore Theatre) Tonight's show is a benefit fundraiser for the families of "Big" Pete Blasi and Oren Henderson, two valued members of the local music community who were recently killed in an auto accident. Performers will include Pixies tribute band No. 13 Baby, Alien Crime Syndicate, and Loaded, which of course features Duff McKagan. The Seattle Theatre Group has donated the Moore Theatre for this event, and every admission dollar will benefit the families of Blasi and Henderson. KATHLEEN WILSON

THE NOW TIME DELEGATION, THE PINKOS, THE WIZARDS OF OZ
(Crocodile) I don't care which way your musical tastes lean--if you miss this show, I promise that you will be royally regretful. A modern revival of soul music may sound risky, but the Now Time Delegation delivers the goods in such a believable, heartfelt package that you'll find yourself searching the group's LP packaging for the Stax Records logo. Austin punk pilgrim Tim Kerr formed the group after the dissolution of the King Sound Quartet, wisely assembling a watertight lineup of musicians highlighted by the rich, graceful vocals of Lisa Kekaula (formerly of the BellRays). Kekaula's voice virtually never falters--she is the genuine article, and just her a cappella would be captivating enough to bring Etta James to tears. Feel free to sin excessively the night before the show, because these kids are preaching a gospel truth capable of redeeming even the dirtiest of jaded souls. HANNAH LEVIN

BLÖÖDHAG, VANDEMONIUM, FREE VERSE
(Sunset Tavern) See Bio Box.

AGHAST VIEW, CENOBITA, NOXIOUS EMOTION
(Catwalk) Brazil is probably the last place you'd expect to give birth to an aggressive techno project like Aghast View, but the duo of Fabricio Viscardi and Guilherme Pires defied their country's sun-drenched, fun-loving reputation and successfully reworked the old European EBM (electronic body music) formula. Incorporating breakbeats, moody-but-melodic electronics, and foreboding vocals on tracks like "Chemical Warfare," the group generated buzz within the cliquish isolation of the goth-industrial underground. The duo's new album, Phaseknox, backs off a bit from Aghast View's apocalyptic aesthetic and indulges in more trancelike synth arrangements and hyperactive dance beats. These guys have never toured the U.S. before, so this is a rare look at one of EBM's more impressive artists. DAVID SLATTON

ROSIE FLORES TRIO, RUTHIE FOSTER
(Tractor Tavern) The self-proclaimed "Rockabilly Filly" is actually a versatile musician who draws on a buffet of roots music for a sound that incorporates Tex-Mex, country-blues, and honky-tonk. Flores was born in Texas and grew up in California. The poles of these two places and their different takes on Americana bookend the restless road she travels. Flores can swing like Bob Wills and perform alongside rockabilly royalty such as Wanda Jackson and Ray Campi with equal authority. Her latest album, Speed of Sound, covers a lot of ground, from the subtle jazz phrasing of "Don't Know If I'm Comin' or Goin'" to "Rock-A-Bye Boogie." She covers Buck Owens and Marshall Crenshaw, and it's her most eclectic album to date. The title track is a hushed heartbreaker about a girl trying to outrun a painful past, which Flores invests with subtle poignance. Live, Flores' expressive voice and good-time tour of the vast branches of roots make for a rollicking show. NATE LIPPENS

FISHBONE, REAL TIME, AKP
(Graceland) This South Central L.A. ska-punk band has been parlaying the same stuff onstage and on record for almost 20 years now, and anyone who stopped to listen before Generation Y started going to shows has moved off. That said, the first two times you see Fishbone live, and the first hundred times you hear the band's eponymous 1986 six-song EP, Fishbone is fantastic. Another sad aspect of the Cold War's end is that no one will ever hear "Party at Ground Zero" with the same beautiful urgency again. "Johnny goes to Connie's house to kiss her goodbye, her daddy says to spend the night/They make love 'til the early morning dawn, 'cause tomorrow Johnny goes to fight." In the Dark Times, Fishbone was there with us. GRANT COGSWELL

MANDONNA, HEMI CUDA, HOT ROD LUNATICS
(Breakroom) Mandonna is a bunch of guys in bad drag playing Madonna covers, beefed up with guitars. Sounds hammy, but potentially hilarious. Yes, all the looks Madonna has adopted during her long-lived career are represented: lingerie-clad boy toy, cone-bra-and-corseted Blond Ambitioness, henna-tattooed and spiritualized Kabbalah-rocker--even the quick-change artist's latest incarnation, cowgirl gangsta. It's not often one gets costume changes at a small rock club. KATHLEEN WILSON

SEAGULL SCREAMING KISS HER KISS HER, PRETTY GIRLS MAKE GRAVES, THE BAD GIRLS, THE MOOOLS
(Graceland) See Stranger Suggests.

CALEB KLAUDER, JUNE RUSHING BAND, SHAWN PHILBIN
(Rain Dancer) Formerly a member of Portland's rootsy, tie-dyed-by-fan-association Calobo, Caleb Klauder is making quite a name for himself as a solo artist. His countrified album, Sings Out, features guest appearances by Ian Moore and Old Joe Clark's Mike Coyendall, who lend richness to Klauder's unique, reedy vocals and bluegrass-inspired songs. KATHLEEN WILSON

MECCA NORMAL, THE NEED, C.O.C.O., SPACE BALLERINAS
(Ground Zero Teen Center) Jean Smith and David Lester make up Mecca Normal, a declamatory punk-rock guitar/spoken word duo that is equal parts Smith's scathing, brutal poetry and Lester's scrappy, powerful guitar-playing. Smith gives insightful, destructive commentary, while Lester's guitar bends and bumps violently up against her raw voice. The two are an awesome live spectacle. The Need's histrionics will provide ample momentum for Mecca Normal's caterwaul, and for showgoers looking for the sort of fun that's not actually painful, C.O.C.O.'s smooth, bumping groove should aptly please. The two-piece features drums, bass, and succinct female vocals. While the group would likely cohere better on a bill with a headliner like Luscious Jackson than it does here, the audience will no doubt enjoy the set: C.O.C.O.'s music is more physical than intellectual, less foreground than background. It's the perfect sound to drink and chatter over as one waits for the headliner. JEFF DeROCHE

ICE-T
(Jimmy Z's) From what I remember as the first big single, "I'm Your Pusher," to Body Count's flatulently controversial "Cop Killa," to Perry Farrell's film The Gift, in which Ice-T and Farrell did "Don't call me nigga, whitey/Don't call me whitey, nigga" back and forth, ascending until Ice-T couldn't keep up with the L.A.-metal-vocal stylings of the Jane's Addiction frontman he was performing against, Ice-T spent a great number of years in the spotlight of popular rap culture, as well as on the margins of the punk-rock/metal subculture. He hasn't done anything in a long time (at least nothing I've caught wind of), which explains the gig in Everett, but you can't blame a man for wanting money. Personally, I'd rather see Kool Moe Dee, but I'm just picky like that. JEFF DeROCHE

RICHARD BUCKNER, MASON JENNINGS
(Tractor Tavern) Coming from an excellent school of Texas musicians that includes the likes of Butch Hancock and Jimmie Dale Gilmore, San Francisco-based singer-songwriter Richard Buckner creates an honest, alcoholic cast of characters for songs that are resplendent with literature and melody. In a sad, gorgeous voice, Buckner delivers smart, mature alt-country songs that mine ashen emotional depths and ache for beauty and redemption. This is not hopeless alcoholic music--it's an array of thwarted anthems for hopeful sinners and beautiful losers. JEFF DeROCHE

LUCINDA WILLIAMS, JIM LAUDERDALE
(Pier 62/63) See preview this issue.

CALVIN JOHNSON, MARK ROBINSON, YUME BITSU
(Graceland) See Stranger Suggests.

NINA SIMONE
(Benaroya Hall) See preview this issue.

CHEAP TRICK, HARMONY RILEY
(Showbox) Cheap Trick? All I have to say is you either love them, or you better get the fuck out of this town. I defy you to list a truly great Seattle rock band that doesn't count Cheap Trick as one of the biggest blessings on god's green earth. I also defy you to name one rock-loving adult who hasn't, at one time or another, sung "Surrender" at the top of his or her lungs. This Rockford, Illinois, four-piece may have had its biggest hit with "The Flame," but true fans can let that slide. Cheap Trick is all alright. KATHLEEN WILSON

ADD N TO (X), PLASTIQ PHANTOM, C.O.C.O., MARUMARIE
(Graceland) See preview this issue.

THE ORIGINAL HARMONY RIDGE CREEK DIPPERS
(Tractor Tavern) The last time the Original Harmony Ridge Creek Dippers played in Seattle, at the No Depression anniversary party, my pants were nearly charmed straight off of me by the lovely, talented, and sweetly eccentric Victoria Williams. I remember being convinced that this band, in which Williams takes turns at the helm with her slightly less lovely (but equally talented) husband Marc Olsen, could actually make sunshine if it wanted to. Of course I was given some moonshine that night (an appropriate alcoholic accompaniment for such a band, I think), but that's not why I fell in love. The Creek Dippers make a dynamic, genuinely happy country sound from buckets of talent, gorgeous vocals, and abiding spirit. JEFF DeROCHE

JERRY JEFF WALKER
(Century Ballroom) Jerry Jeff Walker is the clown prince of the original alt-country, the stuff from the middle of Texas, in the middle of the 1970s. With Guy Clark and the late Townes Van Zandt, Walker was one of the first to tear away from Nashville and lay the foundation for outfits like the Tractor and No Depression. Like his contemporaries, he has never made a single great record: 1973's Viva Terlingua comes closest, an electric campfire hootenanny that distills a haunted, aimless pause in the consciousness of the American overmind. Neil Young's work of that time filled this space with poetry; Walker fills it with beer. This is not necessarily a bad thing. He should be declared a national monument. GRANT COGSWELL

MARK EITZEL, DAVID GARZA
(Crocodile) While bitter self-loathing isn't exactly the most appealing of character traits, Mark Eitzel has somehow managed to ingratiate fans for years. To his credit, Eitzel is a strong singer-songwriter upon whom the listener rarely wishes for extra instrumentation to descend--in the vein of contemporaries like Ryan Adams or Elliott Smith, Eitzel began his career with a good band, American Music Club, only to prove himself far more compelling as a solo performer on acoustic guitar. Imagine a sharper, more embittered Joe Cocker, with thoughtful songs set in a bleak, boozy American landscape. JEFF DeROCHE

CHIXDIGGIT, SHUGGIE
(Sit & Spin) Many dismissed this Canadian band as a Green Day wannabe when Chixdiggit recorded for Sub Pop back in the mid-'90s. If you were among the dissenters, I suggest you give Chixdiggit another chance. Few bands possess this kind of just-fuckin'-around vibrancy, and frontman KJ's infectious enthusiasm is an elusive charm that music sorely lacks these days. Shuggie's Andrew McKeag loves '70s rock, and it shows in his band's tireless dedication to the bombastic hooks and arena-worthy choruses the decade is famous for. If you're looking to rock your ass off, tonight's show is for you. KATHLEEN WILSON

GRANT COGSWELL FOR SEATTLE CITY COUNCIL CAFFEINE KICKOFF w/SEAN & JEFF FROM HARVEY DANGER, THE PULSES
(Victrola Coffee & Art) See Stranger Suggests.

ECHO & THE BUNNYMEN, THE ROSENBERGS
(Showbox) Brit-pop is a firmly established genre, so is it not beyond the imagination that there would be a similar movement called Ameripop? The Rosenbergs would like to think so. This Brit band plays sparkling power pop à la Cheap Trick and, more currently, Weezer. Vocal harmonies soar above screaming guitar lines and propulsive drumming, and ex-Talking Head Tina Weymouth even throws in backing vocals on the band's recent release, Mission: You. KATHLEEN WILSON

ALEJANDRO ESCOVEDO, CHRISTY McWILSON BAND, SCOTT McCAUGHEY
(Tractor Tavern) See Stranger Suggests.

PANTERA, SLAYER, STATIC X, MORBID ANGEL, SKRAPE
(Tacoma Dome) The perennially optimistic boys of Slayer have recently released God Hates Us All, their ninth record of hummable children's songs--and their first without the charming presence of producer Rick Rubin. Because original co-headliners the Backstreet Boys were derailed by depression and alcoholism, Slayer has enlisted the harmony-hungry hotties in Pantera and Static X as support for this summer tour. Along with sing-along favorites like "South of Heaven" and "Dead Skin Mask," audiences can look forward to new gems like "God Sent Death" and the soon-to-be-dance-hit "Here Comes the Pain." Rumor has it that the first 666 ticket holders will receive a free decapitated puppy upon entering the sold-out Tacoma Dome, so get there early kids! HANNAH LEVIN