Wednesday 9/19
Cool Nutz, DubbleOO, DJ Fatboy, Cheezealeo, Clemm Rishad, Chillest Illest
(Nectar) See My Philosophy.
Orgone, Polyrhythmics
(Crocodile) When you crave a rambunctious yet deft mix of funk, soul, and Afrobeat, California ensemble Orgone have the instrumental and vocal firepower to satisfy. They're one of those big bands with intricately interlocking parts moving in dazzling synchronicity to rival the greats: James Brown and the JB's, Parliament-Funkadelic, Fela Kuti's Africa 70 units. Seattle octet Polyrhythmics sound like stylistic soul mates to Orgone, and they should provide ideal accompaniment with their own bold brass flourishes and slinky groove machinations. DAVE SEGAL
Anthrax, Testament, Death Angel
(Showbox at the Market) Thrashers, look alive! This is Anthrax's tour in support of their first new album in eight years, Worship Music, which was recorded with golden-era (and, in my opinion, the BEST EVER) Anthrax singer Joey Belladonna. Belladonna has been missing for more than two decades. And Anthrax sound like Anthrax again! I wish this were the same lineup as Belladonna's first homecoming, back in June 2010, when the band played Poland—sharing a stage with Slayer, Metallica, and Megadeth. Talk about reunions! The Big Four of thrash metal reunited in one fat, nostalgic ode to the 1980s. Testament and Death Angel are nothing to scoff at, though. I'm gonna dig through my drawer filled with faded, musty-smelling T-shirts; I'm sure I still have Anthrax, Testament, and Death Angel tees. It's gonna be hard deciding which one to dust off and wear. KELLY O
Thursday 9/20
Andy C, Downlink, Armanni Reign, Aaron Simpson
(Showbox at the Market) See Data Breaker.
Seattle Symphony: Morlot Conducts Pines of Rome
(Benaroya Hall) Along with the 1924 symphony poem by Italian composer Ottorino Respighi comes Berlioz's Roman Carnival Overture, Czech 20th-century composer Bohuslav Martinu's sixth and final symphony, and Nuages and FĂŞtes from Debussy's Nocturnes. Through September 22. JEN GRAVES
Don't Talk to the Cops!, ShowYouSuck, Jarv Dee, Keyboard Kid & Darwin, Ronnie Voice
(Vera) I know you like fun. And Don't Talk to the Cops! are FUN in ALL CAPS. A sweet blend of hipÂhop, pop, and Pop Rocks, their live show includes synchronized dance moves, regular dance moves, and songs about nerds, puke parties, and big-ass heads. AND they regularly have friends and family dropping by for guest appearances. Speaking of family—Ronnie Voice is DTTTC! frontman djblesÂOne's cousin. I confirmed this fact by yelling in Ronnie's ear at Bumbershoot while DTTTC! were on the stage. "ARE YOU HIS COUSIN?" Yes. And they started Mash Hall together, which is where DTTTC! came from, which is what got us into this Pop Rocks situation in the first place. (Thanks, Ronnie! Sorry for the yelling!) Also: Chicago MC ShowYouSuck has an album called One Man Pizza Party/Mo Slices Mo Problems. I am so into that. EMILY NOKES See also My Philosophy.
Friday 9/21
The Evaporators, the Primate 5, the Tranzmitors, Zack Static Sect, Thee Goblins
(Funhouse) See Stranger Suggests.
Onry Ozzborn with Rob Castro, Wolf Hotel, Mr. Hill, JFK, Smoke, Gash, BISHOP I, Destro, Azrael, Lojique, the AudioDose Crew
(Columbia City Theater) See My Philosophy.
Shift Dubstep: Stenchman
(Contour) See Data Breaker.
Father John Misty
(Neumos) Folky, folky, okie-dokie! Father John Misty is Joshua Tillman, who was once one of the Fleet Foxes and has toured with the haunting Jesse Sykes and the earnest and melancholy Damien Jurado. His songs are like theirs—that slow, solemn, Northwest indie-folk thing that polarizes people's aesthetic sensibilities. You may recognize Misty's most famous chorus—a slow-sounding "Jeeee-EE-ee-sus Christ, girl"—which is all over the radio these days. BRENDAN KILEY
Gucci Mane, Cheezealeo
(Showbox Sodo) Atlanta trap pioneer Gucci Mane was released from his latest prison sentence in December, and he made the most of his freedom by releasing two superb mixtapes—Trap Back and I'm Up—in 2012. Though the aggressive, percussive, Southern trap rap/production style has been co-opted into mainstream popularity to the point of near exhaustion, Gucci has been in the Trap House since 2005, and there's still plenty of room for his wacky, mush-mouthed, alpha-rapper flow. The subject matter is nothing new—kush, lean, bricks, and bitches—but it's the small things like calling your girlfriend a "penis-eater" and making matter-of-fact boasts like "I keep that white girl like a white man" that make Gucci Mane one of the genre's modern-day greats. MIKE RAMOS
Young Fresh Fellows, Richard M. Nixon, the Needful Longings
(Sunset) Fuck you, Energizer Bunny, the Young Fresh Fellows are the new mascot for everything long lasting—the band (founded in 1981!) just released their 13th (!!) studio album, Tiempo de Lujo. Not only is the band—currently including Scott McCaughey, Kurt Bloch, Jim Sangster, and Tad Hutchison—everlasting, but they're also reassuringly consistent. After all these years, YFF still churn out fuzzy, garagey pop songs that won't change the world, but they will stick in your brains for days. MEGAN SELING
Saturday 9/22
Police Teeth, Animal Lover, Special Explosion
(Black Lodge) See Underage.
Young Occult Fiction, Uda Ox, Legato Bop, Alex's Hand
(Ground Zero) See Underage.
100% Silk Tour: Strategy, Polonaise, Leech, Secret Colors
(Cairo) See Data Breaker.
Genius Awards: Seattle Rock Orchestra
(Moore) Tonight at the Moore, one of the three nominees—cellist Lori Goldston, hiphop duo THEESatisfaction, and the psych-rock freaks Master Musicians of Bukkake—will be named the winner of the 2012 Genius Award for music. But all three will experience the glory of having their music performed in sweeping new arrangements by the Seattle Rock Orchestra, which will also supply interstitial music throughout the ceremony. DAVID SCHMADER
The Shins, Washed Out
(Paramount) There are many reasons, all of them absurd, for why I spent several years refusing to appreciate the Shins. "They're too whimsical." "They make me think of that fucking horrible Garden State movie." "They're my ex-boyfriend's favorite band, and he made me go see them when I didn't want to and then broke up with me." Wah, wah, wah, I'm such a baby. The spell was broken earlier this year when they released "Simple Song," their first new material in at least five years—it made my heart leap. It's a wonderfully hopeful pop gem, and a gateway song, it turns out, as it has caused me to go back into the Shins catalog to relisten and appreciate their wistful, dreamy offerings. MEGAN SELING
Slug Guts, Telemesser, Partman Parthorse, Dull Knife
(Funhouse) Well, well, well, it has been a minute since Partman Parthorse hypnotized showgoers with their stripped down (literally naked), steamy, primal punk. Probably because Gary "golden yoga god" Smith and his lovely wife, Lisa, were busy making a baby. I can't promise that their baby has joined the band yet, but I bet he's already a more accomplished yogi than most of Seattle. Also playing are Telemesser (Mad Max–core industrial brain puzzle), Dull Knife (skritchy scratchy drone zone), and Slug Guts (sauntering Australian grit punk). Come for the music, stay for Gary's bare butt. EMILY NOKES
Brent Amaker and the Rodeo, the Fox and the Law, NighTrain
(Columbia City Theater) Brent Amaker once told me, over a glass of bourbon at West Seattle's gem of a cocktail lounge hidden inside the Maharaja restaurant on California Avenue, that he really loves Seattle punks the Briefs. "Why do you love them so much?" I asked. "Because they really believe in the music they make. They look the part and they live the life." While the Briefs are almost purely UK punk à la 1977, Amaker and his Rodeo tend to blur genre lines, they're mostly classic country but with an attitude that's more akin to the Briefs. Country boys and punk rockers have made peace since the days of long ago—since the Sex Pistols played Randy's Rodeo bar in San Antonio, starting a full-blown riot. In 2012, we have a black president and cowboys are free to be who they wanna be. KELLY O
Sunday 9/23
Sunday Tea Dance: Riz Rollins
(Q) Q is Capitol Hill's new dance emporium, and Sunday afternoon is when the venue is lorded over by the one and only DJ Riz Rollins, whose REVIVAL! is a weekly daytime tea dance devoted to soul, disco, EDM, and anything else that gets Seattle dancing in the daytime. Dancing starts at 3 pm, $3 cover, with weekly drink specials and the mood-enhancing magic of Riz. DAVID SCHMADER See also The Homosexual Agenda.
Jucifer, Witchburn, Mendozza
(El Corazón) Some bands whose membership includes married couples sound like Fleetwood Mac, Sonny & Cher, and/or ABBA. Others, like Jucifer—a wife named Amber Valentine who sings and plays guitar, and a husband named Edgar Livengood who bangs on the drums—sound more like the Melvins and L7 if they had married and had a baby. The baby is moody and dark. Some may even say the baby sounds like "doom." Oh, and the baby is very loud. So loud, in fact, you ought to remember your earplugs, or you might be the one who starts crying. KELLY O
Ringo Deathstarr, Black Nite Crash, Vibragun, Jetman Jet Team
(Comet) The name Ringo Deathstarr does not inspire confidence that said band will be a source of quality music. But, thankfully, these Texans will shatter your skepticism toward goofy handles. Let's not beat around the bush, though: Ringo Deathstarr have a mighty My Bloody Valentine fetish. The swoonsome male/female vocal interplay and distorted-guitar siroccos of Isn't Anything and Loveless course through the veins of Ringo Deathstarr's music, but as homages go, it's uncanny and damn satisfying—especially if those MBV albums totally shifted the axis of your reality, as they did mine. Ringo Deathstarr are touring in support of Mauve, which abounds with swerving, love-buzzing shoegaze rock. DAVE SEGAL
Obituary, Broken Hope, Decrepit Birth, Jungle Rot, Encrust, Phalgereon
(Studio Seven) Obituary may not have the mainstream recognition of a band like Cannibal Corpse, but they're just as important in the grand scheme of the evolution of metal. As some of the founding fathers of American death metal, Florida's Obituary can be credited with forever sticking to their guns. While bands like Entombed and Carcass were dosing their blast beats with hints of melody, these four dudes kept things simple with meat-and-potatoes old-school death metal full of mosh-worthy riffs. For this tour, they are sticking to their first three records—their best material by far. This should be a truly brutal treat. KEVIN DIERS
Monday 9/24
Tegan and Sara, SPEAK
(Neptune) See Sound Check.
Riff Raff, Slow Dance, Billy the Fridge, Peta Tosh
(Nectar) See My Philosophy.
Tuesday 9/25
Furthur
(WaMu Theater) Witness the power of the Grateful Dead brand: In 2012, more than three decades after the San Francisco band's heyday, two of their members—bassist Phil Lesh and guitarist Bob Weir, leaders of the band Furthur—can play a massive venue like WaMu Theater, and charge more than $60 for the privilege. Lesh and Weir are undeniably great, fluid players and deeply conversant with the vernacular of psychedelic-jam peregrinatin'. They'll have fellow outward-bound travelers keyboardist Jeff Chimenti (RatDog), drummer Joe Russo (Benevento/Russo Duo, Trey Anastasio), and guitarist John Kadlecik (Dark Star Orchestra) in tow, so get your head right and hope they tackle "Dark Star" and "King Solomon's Marbles." DAVE SEGAL
Roach Gigz, Main Attrakionz
(Crocodile) San Francisco's Roach Gigz, headlining this tour bill for the release of his official debut, Bugged Out, excels at "gassin" on traditional-sounding Bay Area slaps. But Oakland's Main Attrakionz represent a newer, cloudier, post-#based discipline of Bay rap with their musical/philosophical combination of old-school street knowledge and new-age consciousness. The self-proclaimed "Best Duo Ever" spits life lessons, observations and stoned meditations with everyman earnestness over everything from classic, cruising West Coast grooves to spacey, futuristic electronic production. Between their numerous independently released mixtapes and EPs, last year's excellent 808s & Dark Grapes 2, and upcoming Young One release Bossalinis & Fooliyones, Main Attrakionz are one of the most talented, hardworking, consistent groups in today's overpopulated rap/hiphop climate. MIKE RAMOS See also My Philosophy.
Menace Ruine, Ash Borer, Servile Sect, A Story of Rats
(Funhouse) Early North American black metal struggled to find an identity in the wake of Northern Europe's burgeoning underground phenomenon. Something just didn't translate correctly in the first wave of New World attempts at the icy, tornadic sound created by antisocial Scandinavian teenagers. But things have changed since the heyday of early Burzum and Darkthrone, and North American black metal has come into its own, largely due to bands like Menace Ruine challenging the old paradigms. While the Montreal duo employ staple black-metal ingredients like torrents of washy distortion, sinister and sorrowful melodies, and hypnotic doses of repetition, they ultimately thrive on the power of singer Geneviève's haunting neo-folk vocals and instrumentalist S.'s forays into martial ambient realms. BRIAN COOK
