THURSDAY 1/24

Club Pop!: White Williams, HEALTH, David Wolf, Colby B, Glitterpants

(Chop Suey) Los Angeles ALL-CAPS-busting quartet HEALTH has a slight case of schizophrenia. To wit: The band has two MySpace pages, one for "noise" and another for "disco." The disco page is basically just extra room for their rapidly expanding catalog of remixes (by such acts as Crystal Castles, Curses!, and Narctrax), although their main music page also hosts a couple remixes. What makes HEALTH so appealing for remixing is that they make noise that's as sinuous and groovy as it is discordant. On songs like "Triceratops," the band is alternately, and then simultaneously, muscular and fey, driven by wild percussive frenzy and guitar skronk but surrounded by echoing vocals and synth drones. On "Crimewave" (as much a hit for Crystal Castles as for HEALTH), tribal drumming and bursts of guitar offset subliminally pop vocals. Their live set should be an electrifying clash of sounds. ERIC GRANDY See also album review, page 39.

Mr. Lif, the Perceptionists, Dim Mak, Rudy & the Rhetoric

(Nectar) There have only been, like, three live hiphop albums ever. It's hard for charisma and stage presence—key factors in any good hiphop show—to come across on a CD. Which is why Mr. Lif's live record, recorded at Boston's legendary Middle East nightclub, kicks so much ass. With great crowd interaction, 12-minute freestyles, smart rhymes, and interspersed skits about the record industry, Lif's live act is more variety show than rap show. While Lif can be hit or miss in the studio—Mo' Mega was terrible, I Phantom wasn't—he's a beast onstage. And backed by Akrobatik and Fakts One—the other two-thirds of the Perceptionists—Lif can spit about washing his dreadlocks, or flip a track about a world-ending nuclear holocaust, and either way you'll end up rapping along and nodding your head. JONAH SPANGENTHAL-LEE

Beausoleil with Michael Doucet

(Tractor) Around 250 years ago, a bunch of French frontiersmen lived in Nova Scotia, in Canada. Then—because of a treaty signed in the Netherlands designed to end the War of Spanish Succession—the British took over and exiled the French. A few rebelled, led by Joseph "Beausoleil" Broussard, but they lost, and moped down the East Coast, eventually settling in Louisiana and turning into Cajuns. The band Beausoleil, led by brothers Michael and David Doucet, has been playing that bayou music since 1975, and it's great: more dynamic than rock 'n' roll, more invigorating than bluegrass, more exciting than folk—accordion, fiddle, bass, and guitar, playing blue notes for people who want to drink and dance. I got my first Beausoleil tape when I was 12 years old, and I'm listening to it right now. BRENDAN KILEY

FRIDAY 1/25

Clinton Fearon, Selecta Raiford

(Nectar) Jamaica native Clinton Fearon started his career in the 1970s as the longtime vocalist and bass player for the Gladiators and is also known for his work with Lee Perry's Black Ark Studio and Studio One. He has been a mainstay in the Seattle music scene for years—first with the much-loved Defenders, then later with his current group, the fabulous Boogie Brown Band. Performing his original songs, Fearon's warm singing voice and lively roots-reggae music set the perfect mood for dancing, relaxing, and having fun. GILLIAN ANDERSON

SATURDAY 1/26

On this day in 1955, Eddie Van Halen was born.

SUNDAY 1/27

Grynch, Cancer Rising, GMK, Rubio, DJ Servewon, D.BLACK

(Chop Suey) In 2005, Grynch, a young rapper representing the north part of town, dropped a good debut, This Is What I Do, on a surging hiphop scene. In 2006, he released one track, "That's Hip-Hop," on the worthy Reigncraft series, which demonstrated not only the growth of his hiphop knowledge and vision but the leap he was ready to make from an average rapper to an exceptional one. He made a heroic appearance at the Program in 2007, and the city has been waiting for Grynch to make his next move—tonight he celebrates the release of his new album, My Second Wind, of which the first 50 people through the door tonight will get a free copy. CHARLES MUDEDE See also My Philosophy, page 41.

MONDAY 1/28

Gallows, This Is Hell, Cancer Bats, Vultures United

(Chop Suey) The opening words to Gallows' new record, Orchestra of Wolves, are "Kill the rhythm! Smash the beat! We're gonna party till we're dead on our feet!" and holy shit they fucking mean it. The aural onslaught that ensues thereafter is not hardcore or metal, but really just two-, three-, and four-minute blasts of aggression, Frank Carter's throat-damaging vocals, and guitar parts that want to be AC/DC and Converge at the same time. Anthemic breakdowns like "We're not the same!" will keep the kids in front chanting and happy, but the older dudes will still get cozy in the mosh pit, especially during their cover of Black Flag's "Nervous Breakdown" in which Gallows take a break from their dark side to give it a pretty straightforward, only slightly modernized (in that it's better produced than Black Flag ever was) blistering treatment. MEGAN SELING

TUESDAY 1/29

Liars, No Age, Past Lives

(Showbox at the Market) While Liars and No Age are the obvious draws for tonight's show, local art-punk aficionados will want to show up early for the debut of Past Lives, the new project from former Blood Brothers Jordan Blilie, Morgan Henderson, Mark Gajadhar, and original guitarist Devin Welch. Further up the bill, L.A. duo No Age return to Seattle on the heels of a breakout year in 2007. The band's debut, Weirdo Rippers, was a chaotic mix of punk fits and lo-fi drones, but for such an unevenly charged record, it was surprisingly not divisive, landing them a deal with little-known local label Sub Pop, not to mention an impressive spread in that old punk-rock bible the New Yorker. Liars, in 2007, released their (relatively) straightforward fourth album, Liars, which tempered their spacious noisescapes with fried heavy rock, unexpected breakbeats, and even some unsettlingly displaced surf pop. It was a good year for them, too. ERIC GRANDY

WEDNESDAY 1/30

The Decemberists

(Moore) The other night I was watching a DVD of the Decemberists playing a show in Portland in 2005, although I was only half watching because I was also reading. At the ideal Decemberists concert, you would be able to read during the show. There would be a copy of Moby Dick and a little book light at your seat. It would not be considered rude. The last time I saw live music at the Moore, I left my seat and climbed to the top of the balcony and lay on my back on the concrete behind the very highest row of seats, very close to the ceiling, and felt the 101-year-old building vibrate against my spine. The Moore, Seattle's preeminent site of opulence in decay, is perfect for the Decemberists' antique anxieties. CHRISTOPHER FRIZZELLE

Nada Surf, Port O'Brien

(Triple Door) In 1996, Nada Surf released the extremely catchy song "Popular," which musically explained the "rules" to a successful high-school dating career. "Being attractive is the most important thing there is/If you want to catch the biggest fish in your pond you have to be as attractive as possible/Make sure to keep your hair spotlessly clean/Wash it at least every two weeks/Once, every two weeks." But interested in being more than an alterna-rock one-hit wonder, Nada Surf plowed through the aftermath of their short-lived MTV-star status ("They're that one 'Popular' band, right?") and continued to release records that confidently combined wistful and smart pop with warm indie rock. Their new album, Lucky (to be released on Barsuk February 5), doesn't cover much new territory for the band, but I do very much appreciate the addition of strings in the first single, "See These Bones," which could sound really dramatic and fantastic when played during tonight's all-acoustic set. But unless you were quick enough to grab tickets early, you will never know—the show's sold out. Then again, there's always Craigslist. MEGAN SELING