THURSDAY 4/10

Club Pop: Past Lives, DJs Colby B and Glitterpants

(Chop Suey) See Underage, page 43.

The Dillinger Escape Plan, the Bled, Heavy Heavy Low Low

(El Corazón) Remember when the Dillinger Escape Plan would hit the stage with a face-melting mix of math, metal, and psychotic noise that tore through your head with the wrath of 100,000 wasps? The band would thrash themselves across the stage, instruments and limbs flying everywhere. There'd be blood, sweat, and fire—it was one of the most intense performances money could buy and they scared the shit out of most people. Oh, how time changes everything. The only remaining original member of the band is Ben Weinman. And a recent performance on Conan O'Brien with weird falsetto backing vocals and no climax, was 100 percent terrible. They're finally approachable enough for the Alternative Press–reading crowd—their new form of crazy is jumping on Conan's desk. Oooh, crazy. MEGAN SELING

The Shackeltons, the Hands, New Faces, Born Anchors

(Neumo's) If there's a band I should hate in this city, it might be the Hands. I'm not a huge fan of the Blakes—their rock-and-roll revival feels contrived to me. The leather jackets, the shaggy hair... it's all a little much. But the Hands, who essentially do the same thing (blast through raucous garage-rock anthems from another era) are so much fucking fun, I can't deny 'em. Their new self-titled record has a few misses (the slick production feels a little hollow), but it has a handful of hits, too—like the song "Praying Hands Will Make Fists (or Be Chopped Off)." MEGAN SELING

Joshua Morrison, the Lovely Sparrows, Debonair

(Tractor) Joshua Morrison grew up in Monroe, Washington, playing guitar and driving into Seattle to see shows. In 2004, Morrison joined the army and served in Iraq, recording his first EP of songs upon his return to Fort Lewis. Morrison plays whisper-soft, emotionally heavy, folk-influenced acoustic rock in the tradition of local singer/songwriters like Rocky Votolato, Dave Bazan, Damien Jurado, and Mat Brooke. His debut album, Home, is a quiet, peaceful affair, sublimating whatever stress or pain Morrison has suffered into calm, reflective ballads of love and homecoming. ERIC GRANDY

FRIDAY 4/11

Iron Lung, Yellow Swans, Sissy Spacek, Blue Sabbath Black Cheer

(Vera Project) See Interrogation, page 35, and Underage, page 43.

Past Lives, Triumph of Lethargy..., Dead Science

(Old Fire House) See Underage, page 43.

Broken Disco: Tittsworth, Copy, Tactic, Jerry Abstract, Nordic Soul

(Chop Suey) See Bug in the Bassbin, page 43.

Wolves in the Throne Room, Priestbird, the Better to See You With

(Comet) Wolves in the Throne Room have ascended to the upper echelon of the American underground black-metal scene over the course of a few short years on the strength of two excellent full-lengths of classic Burzum-inspired guitar-driven soundscapes and their unique and well-articulated philosophy on the importance of black metal as a counterpoint to the soulless and culturally shallow state of our society in the modern age. Not bad for a group of dudes who live on a farm outside of Olympia who used to play in a punk band called the Hoodwinks. Rumor has it that their recent gigs are performed in almost complete darkness, with only a row of candles for illumination. And they get bonus points for not wearing corpse paint. BRIAN COOK

The Avett Brothers, Jessica Lea Mayfield, Jason Webley

(Neumo's) Last year's Avett Brothers album, Emotionalism, was deservedly on a lot of critics' 2007 top 10 lists because it was brave and familiar. The Avetts' emo-as-fuck Americana is bitterly romantic and utterly sincere. The lyrics aren't trite and the minimalist orchestration is pointedly antigloss, both of which fortify the music's palpable honesty. Songs are stories and vocal melodies are belted out fearless and unaffected. Everything about the Avett Brothers, from acoustic instruments (played like the Violent Femmes at maximum rock out) to clear (yet delightfully ragged) brother-perfect harmonies, is heartwarmingly ballsy. MARK DONUTS

Eels

(Showbox at the Market) Recently, Eels frontman Mark Oliver Everett wrote an open letter to the president, inviting him to one of their upcoming shows, hoping to rebuild the bridge that Bush burned when he used the band's album Daisies of the Galaxy as an example of popular music that sends bad messages to kids. "Mr. President, I know that you're a Christian, and Christ taught forgiveness. So in the spirit of forgiveness and fence mending, I'd like to let bygones be bygones and invite you and the First Lady to attend our Washington, D.C., concert," he wrote. As far as I know, the president did not attend. But tonight, imagine Bush standing there next to you while the band play "inappropriate" tunes like "It's a Motherfucker," "Son of a Bitch," and "Old Shit, New Shit," which are all actually thoughtful songs—not the expletive-laced anthems the Republicans seem to think they are. MEGAN SELING

Cat Power

(Showbox Sodo) Cat Power's Chan Marshall no longer walks offstage halfway through her live show. She no longer melts down onstage in tears with her head in her shaking hands. She's collected herself. These days, Chan is all presence and sentience. She's all voice—that hazy and beautifully pained Georgia voice that coats and sifts into your ears then drifts away like skywriting. This tour, Cat Power is focusing on songs from her latest CD of covers called Jukebox. She's also letting her four-piece backing band (featuring John Spencer guitarist Judah Bauer) play all the music so she can concentrate that much more on vocals. That's right, no piano or guitar for Chan. Just vocals and skywriting. And the songs of Joni, Frank, Patsy, and Janis. TRENT MOORMAN

SATURDAY 4/12

Akimbo, King Brothers, Shellshag, Helms Alee

(Comet) Killer night of music, and perhaps the best place in town to see it—the Comet is a bar that's meant to be destroyed. Not long ago, Monotonix tried to burn the place down. Bands have stripped there, poured beer all over themselves and the audience (thanks again for that, Ben Lashes), fallen to the floor in a rock-inspired seizure, blown fuses and vocal cords... there's something about the Capitol Hill hole that makes performers go crazy. Akimbo don't have the wacky stunts, but they have the sonic sledgehammer that could do some damage to the walls. And Helms Alee are seriously one of the best new bands in the city—the recent addition to Hydra Head's roster are a fantastic dichotomy of unforgiving, heavy rock and shimmering optimism. MEGAN SELING See also Stranger Suggests, page 21.

The Avett Brothers, Jessica Lea Mayfield

(Neumo's) See Friday.

the Old Haunts, Coconut Coolouts, Feral Children, Triclops!

(Vera Project) See Underage, page 43.

RJD2, Dälek, Happy Chichester

(Chop Suey) I'm not gonna lie; I have a hard time getting into a lot of live hiphop acts. But Dälek... holy shit. This is a band who blew the PA at Graceland years ago, a band who have played with Grandmaster Flash, Sonic Youth, and Tool. MC Dälek's rhymes and brooding cadence are impressive in their own right, but when paired with producer Oktopus's walls of dark distorted noise and punishing beats, the result is one of the most intense and innovative sounds in contemporary hiphop. While the departure of turntablist Chang threatened to subtract from the spectacle of Dälek's live show, their most recent album, Abandoned Language, is easily their strongest work to date and will undoubtedly rule on the Chop Suey stage. BRIAN COOK

SUNDAY 4/13

Tift Merritt

(Tractor) With her 2002 debut, Tift Merritt became the next big-voiced starlet to push the early '00s country songstress agenda. She shared billing with bluegrass revivalist Gillian Welch, songwriting powerhouse Patty Griffin, and comeback queen Lucinda Williams, but in spite of fitting in with 'em, Merritt's splash came in more subtle respects. Soul and pop blended into her natural knack for country hooks, and her debut took the No Depression crowd by storm, but for whatever reason, the genre's most likely candidate for crossover CMT success never quite took off. Thankfully, Merritt's latest album title, Another Country, is misleading. The girl's band is still allegiant to her love of soulful country, kicking up organs, horns, and slide guitar in equal measure to power her melty croon and defiant stories of surviving bad love. SAM MACHKOVECH

Willie Will, Illy Wonka, Vehement, Kingzmen, Fame Rilla, Guests

(Chop Suey) Kingzmen are Joe King from Seattle and Spaceman from Portland, two rappers of the "swaggerific" variety on Sportn' Life records who are pretty awesome. Spaceman is the hype man onstage at every Sportn' Life concert with hundreds of blinking electronics on his belt, and Joe King is one of two rappers in town who looks like Urkel (the other being GMK). Always flashy and charismatic, the fun Kingzmen's live show translates surprisingly well on record: Check out explosive mini-hit "Fly Den a Mufucka" at myspace.com/kingzmen206, and when you do, notice Joe and Space call themselves "hell on legz" and "da asteroid." These guys are funny. MARK DONUTS

MONDAY 4/14

Call your mom—she misses you.

TUESDAY 4/15

Elf Power, Flowers Forever, the Tripwires

(High Dive ) See Stranger Suggests, page 21.

WEDNESDAY 4/16

Truckasauras, Sleepy Eyes of Death

(Neumo's) See Bug in the Bassbin, page 43.

Kanye West, Rihanna, N.E.R.D.

(KeyArena) N.E.R.D.'s new single, "Everyone Nose," features Pharrell repeatedly yelling, "ALL THE GIRLS STANDING IN LINE FOR THE BATHROOM!" How could I not think about this song while spending my last two weekends at Yo, Son!? Damn ladies, I feel for you! Most girls I know are able to go to the bathroom supernaturally quick—this joint should be blasted at the skeed-up stall hogs in there 24/7. As for the song itself, it's neither that raunchy rap-rock N.E.R.D. from In Search of... nor is it the '70s-AM-rock N.E.R.D. of Fly or Die. It's more like a Pharrell solo song where he REALLY wants you to know that he likes Spank Rock. In that respect it's successful. And if that sounds like your jam, hey, go for yours. LARRY MIZELL JR.

Blacklisted, Sinking Ships, Shook Ones, Vanguard, Never Looking Back

(Viaduct) Philly's Blacklisted went to a dark, threatening place when writing the songs on their new album, Heavier Than Heaven, Lonelier Than God. With the fast/sludgy/fast "Circuit Breaker" and the just-barely-a-minute blast of sonic destruction "Stations," they're out to give you a heart attack. That it was recorded and engineered by Kurt Ballou (the same man who makes Converge sound so bombastic) only ensures that this record is their most dramatic and blistering ever—the bass is low and heavy, the guitars stab at your face, with the only brightness coming from the occasional (and unsettling) metal nuance. The growling rock-and-roll vocals come from a place deeper than the pit of singer George Kirsch's gut. I'm making it sound really dramatic, I know. But this shit is hard and heavy. MEGAN SELING