Wednesday 5/22

Flying Lotus, Thundercat, Teebs

(Showbox Sodo) See Stranger Suggests and Data Breaker.

Michael Mayer, Chloe Harris

(Barboza) See Data Breaker.

Thursday 5/23

Don't Talk to the Cops!, Katie Kate, Ononos, DJ Riz

(Neumos) See Stranger Suggests.

Rainy Dawg Radio 10th Birthday Bash: Naomi Punk, Futurewife, Keyboard Kid, more

(Sylvan Grove Theater) See Underage.

New Weather, Airport, Brain Fruit, Ecstatic Cosmic Union, DJ Dr. Troy

(Comet) Tonight, New Weather—consisting of the Midget's guitarists/keyboardists/vocalists Amber Rossino and Sean Curley, plus Tomory Dodge—will be road-testing some material from their new self-titled full-length (out October 22 on Brooklyn's Butterscotch Records and mastered by Dave Fridmann). The prevalent mood here is deep, hypnotic, and exploratory—imagine Stereolab if they were sponsored by NASA or Italian horror-film masters Goblin if they were more monomaniacally aerodynamic. New Weather's destined to be one of the most enthralling releases out of our city this year. The rest of the lineup consists of some of the most inspired local acts working right now. Let's just say that this bill is stacked with more goodness than a tower of Moogs. DAVE SEGAL

Cumulus, Sean Nelson, Invisible Shivers

(Tractor) I never gave up on you, Sean Nelson! I knew you still had music in your heart, and since Harvey Danger's last show, I have been waiting for some kind of official release—the time has finally come! Nelson's debut solo record, Make Good Choices, will be out June 4 via Really Records, a newish label cofounded by Jeff Rosenstock of Bomb the Music Industry! Guest musicians on the album include Peter Buck, Chris Walla, Rachel Blumberg, and Dave Depper, and the wonderful, poppy title track was debuted by way of a very cute stop-motion video made by Your Heart Breaks's Clyde Petersen. So, basically, a whole bunch of my favorite musical people have come together to make my pop-loving heart flutter with anticipation, and tonight is the first time we Seattleites get to see the magic happen live. I can hardly wait. MEGAN SELING

Lord Dying, Glose, Tacos!

(Chop Suey) Tacos! is the unlikely name of rambunctious heavy-metal duo Don Stewart (guitars/vocals) and Lupe Flores (drums). The two just wrapped up four days of recording at Matt Bayles's Red Room studio with Chris Common, who's in town working on the upcoming Helms Alee record. Stewart says they don't yet have solid plans for the release, but judging by the strident sounds of their tour CD (tacosband.bandcamp.com), we're in for a fun one. Tonight's a good chance to preview the stuff with the band fresh off four days' worth of tightening things up. GRANT BRISSEY

Friday 5/24

Insane Clown Posse, Moonshine Bandits, Kung Fu Vampire

(El CorazĂłn) See preview.

Magic Mountain High, Joe Bellingham

(1927 Events) See Data Breaker.

Northwest Folklife Festival: Hippies

(Seattle Center) See preview.

Sasquatch! Music Festival: Jherek Bischoff, Erik Blood, Built to Spill, Arctic Monkeys, Japandroids, and many more

(Gorge Amphitheater) On the first day of Sasquatch!, two thousand and thirteen: Nacho Picasso, Telekinesis, Father John Misty, seven tiny tube tops, Vampire Weekend, and the "Thrift Shop" makers themselves. On the second day of Sasquatch!, are we still camping here? Devendra Banhart, Rose Windows, the xx, RA Scion, Michael Kiwanuka, and are lady bands even allowed at the Gorge? On the third day of Sasquatch!, dude, is your friend okay? Twenty screaming preteens, Elvis Costello, Grimes, OCnotes, Torche, Fang Island, and seriously, though, there should be more women. On the fourth day of Sasquatch!, we should have stayed in George, Toro Y Moi, Ariel Pink, Dippin' Dots for breakfast, Death Grips, Twin Shadow, and Azealia had better play "212." EMILY NOKES

Yevtushenko, Sex with Strangers, Triceracorn

(Lo-Fi) I was recently handed a sticker that said nothing more than "Yevtushenko. ROOM FULL OF FUCKS." Well, lemme tell you, because my brain is partially that of a horny 15-year-old boy, I immediately ran for a computer to find out WHERE this room could be and WHAT, in fact, was "a yevtushenko." Instead of being an exotic... well, I'm not going to TELL you what I thought (because then you would tell me my brain is fried from too many years of watching HUMP! The Stranger's amateur porn fest), Seattle's Yevtushenko are a new, unsigned, female-fronted indie-rock band. They list their influences as the Yeah Yeah Yeahs and Florence and the Machine, and listening to them proves this is true. They're good! You should give 'em chance or, rather, "give a fuck." KELLY O

Bob Dylan Tribute Night: Garth Reeves, Kevin Murphy, Fredd Luongo, Ian Moore, Kim Virant, more

(Sunset) In honor of Bob Dylan's 72nd birthday, a whole bunch of local musicians—including Garth Reeves, Kevin Murphy, Fredd Luongo of the Swearengens, Ian Moore, and Kim Virant—light up the Sunset with a show devoted to the beyond-amazing Dylan songbook. I imagine there will be the requisite standards—"Knocking on Heaven's Door" is practically mandatory for cover bands—but here's hoping they get into some weird stuff. (I don't mean lesser-known "Sign on the Window" stuff. I mean weird-ass "Wiggle Wiggle" stuff.) DAVID SCHMADER

Rain Fest 2013: Bouncing Souls, Shook Ones, the Mongoloids, CodeXRed, more

(Neumos) For years now, Rain Fest has been offering fans of punk and hardcore a Memorial Day weekend alternative to the generally less punk and hardcore Folklife and Sasquatch! festivities. Tonight's the first night of the three-day festival (and the night I'm most stoked for) with New Jersey pop punks the Bouncing Souls ("We are the true believers!"), Bellingham's Dan Yemin–obsessed Shook Ones, straight-edgers the Mongoloids, and many more. Rain Fest continues through Sunday (and don't miss the Hysterics on Saturday!)—you can see each day's lineup at neumos.com. The mosh pits will be frantic and sweaty. There will be no banjos; there will be no porkpie hats. MEGAN SELING

Lori Goldston

(Chapel Performance Space) The fantastic, phantasmagoric, anti-suburbanite 2012 Stranger Genius Award winner in music. JEN GRAVES

Dragging an Ox Through Water, Huge Rock, Marcus Price, Pill Wonder

(Cairo) Brian Mumford's Dragging an Ox Through Water is not your little brother's Americana outfit. The Portland folk freak of nature sounds like he's more enamored of Arthur Russell than Gram Parsons, as he upends rustic folk-rock tropes with unexpected structural fissures and injects textural oddities that blast away the form's ho-hum-iness. He also sings like a bedridden Tim Rutili (of Califone), which may be a taste you can acquire. Marcus Price makes unpredictable, disorienting electronic music that obeys no allegiance to any scenes or conventions, which is why he's one of my favorites in the region. Huge Rock is a new collab between the Numbs and Secret Colors, which portends strange and wonderful things. DAVE SEGAL

Fonzarelli, Half-Breed

(Cafe Racer) At times, Half-Breed sound like a rough sketch for stadium pop. Like if they had big production money behind them, their sound could be huge and super slick. Which makes the contrast all the better when these delightful pop songs are filtered and presented in the lo-fi/K Records aesthetic while still simultaneously lending themselves to a larger sound. The upbeat, queercore, guitar/drum duo gave an impressive show to a lot of first-time listeners during their slot at this year's 'Mo-Wave festival and gained a bunch of new fans. Plus, it's always fun to see an on-the-rise Capitol Hill band like Half-Breed play the flourishing U-District DIY music scene at Cafe Racer. BREE MCKENNA

Saturday 5/25

Insane Clown Posse, Moonshine Bandits, Kung Fu Vampire

(El CorazĂłn) See preview.

Northwest Folklife Festival: Fiddles

(Seattle Center) See preview.

Sasquatch! Music Festival: Sigur RĂłs, Surfer Blood, Knowmads, Andrew Bird, and many more

(Gorge Amphitheater) See Friday.

Miles Davis Birthday Tribute: Thomas Marriott, Cuong Vu, George Colligan, Mark Taylor, Matt Jorgensen

(Tula's) Thomas Marriott (a prolific local jazz trumpeter who has won several awards), Cuong Vu (a Saigon-born, American-raised jazz trumpeter), Mark Taylor (a popular local jazz saxophonist), George Colligan (a New York–based jazz pianist), and Matt Jorgensen (a local jazz drummer who has worked with Marriott) come together tonight to celebrate the birthday of one of the greatest musicians and heroes of the 20th century, Miles Davis. If you've read my criticism, you know that I'm not a fan of his late work, work after his second quintet, the work he electrified [i.e., his best work —Dave Segal]. But altogether, my feelings for Davis's style, mode, and thinking are some of the deepest feelings I have. Consequently, I can't help feeling strongly about the different stages of Davis's career. If you feel mildly about Miles, then you've never really heard his music. Tonight will be a special night. CHARLES MUDEDE

Avi Buffalo

(Barboza) These normal-looking, nature-loving humans are a band backing up frontman Avi Zahner-Isenberg, and their sound is of the now. Cue up their first single, "What's In It For," and hear the dulcet tones of the current indie era—aaaahs and a tambourine and some surfy guitar, oooooohhhh, ambiguous feelings. They're signed to Sub Pop and opened for Modest Mouse; they look earnest and sweet in their videos. They seem to meet approval everywhere. Their 2011 single "How Come?" whisper-whine-sings over layers of pleasant organ and guitar. My skirt, it hath not been blown up—but boy, if you want to put a band in a time capsule to explain now to your kids in 10 or 20 years, Avi Buffalo would be a solid choice. ANNA MINARD

Sunday 5/26

Northwest Folklife Festival: Barefoot Children

(Seattle Center) See preview.

Sasquatch! Music Festival: Earl Sweatshirtn FangIsland, Sean Nelson, Grimes, and many more

(Gorge Amphitheater) See Sound Check interview with Primus and Friday.

Houses, D33J

(Barboza) Houses make that kind of maudlin, tinkling pop with a glaze of electronic frosting and mournful vocals that Hollywood filmmakers think connotes poignancy. I counter that it sounds very dull and frigid. Houses' new album, A Quiet Darkness, comes off—brace yourselves, pun haters—as overly domesticated. Much better is the music of fellow LA dweller D33J (Djavan Santos). His tracks sound like the iciest specimens of the Low End Theory style of avant-hiphop. His Tide Songs EP cryogenically freezes the beat science of J Dilla for 2013 specs. It's very cool. DAVE SEGAL

Slashed Tires, Angelo Spencer, Schwervon!, Abductee

(Chop Suey) Several of The Stranger's music interns have gone on to create impressive work in the field after leaving our clutches. Some examples: Scott Goodwin (Operative, Polonaise), Chris Aldrich (Ctrl_Alt_Dlt), Kaleb Gubernick (Chance Random, the Knowgooders), and some dude named Robin Peck­nold (Fleet Foxes). Kenneth Piekarski (aka Slashed Tires) joins that illustrious litany with his debut release, Alarm Clock. Over its nine songs, Slashed Tires forges a skeletal, dub-inflected strain of funky rock that recalls Ike Yard, Maximum Joy, Tussle, and Seattle's own Flexions. A couple of tracks—"Mirror" and "Exhibit"—even evoke the blissfully cyclical minimalism of Terry Riley. Very few musicians in the area are exploring this rich vein of sonic territory, and Slashed Tires does it with a deft touch. DAVE SEGAL

Monday 5/27

Joan Jett

(Snoqualmie Casino) See Stranger Suggests.

Northwest Folklife Festival: Spanging

(Seattle Center) See preview.

Sasquatch! Music Festival: the Lumineers, Cake, the Postal Service, Steve Akoi, Death Grips, Azealia Banks, and many more

(Gorge Amphitheater) See letters to the Postal Service and Friday.

Billy Martin and Wil Blades

(Royal Room) Billy Martin you know as the drummer of Medeski Martin & Wood, one of the baddest avant-soul-jazz trios ever. His loose-limbed funkiness and percussive adventurousness rank highly among the all-time greats. Organist Wil Blades has played with Dr. Lonnie Smith, John Lee Hooker, Idris Muhammad, and other important figures. Together, they're natural conspirators in unstoppable groove manufacturing. Martin and Blades find endless ways to boggle your mind with their provocative compositional brilliancies. YouTube their live-from-New-York-City performance of "Toe Thumb" for proof of the disciplined voodoo they conjure with the greatest of expertise. DAVE SEGAL

Tuesday 5/28

Kylesa, Blood Ceremony, White Hills, Lazer/Wulf

(Chop Suey) The heshers below the Mason-Dixon Line dominate their northern metal compatriots. Part of their success lies in the regional formula: Southern bands like Mastodon, Baroness, and Pallbearer all share a punk-rock rawness and lack of affectation with hefty hat-tips to their metal forefathers of the '70s and '80s. And, more importantly, they share a knack for a tasteful, melodic hook. While not as widely known as the aforementioned bands, Kylesa deserve credit for fine-tuning the Southern recipe. Even prior to their 2002 self-titled debut, members of Kylesa were blending crusty hardcore with slow-hand sludge in Damad. And much like the recent works of the bigger-name acts in Southern metal, Kylesa's newest album, Ultraviolet, veers even further into the palatable rock world. Maybe the South will in fact rise again. BRIAN COOK