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MONDAY
The Music of "A Charlie Brown Christmas"
Because the Royal Room does the music of Charlie Brown every year, I every year have to write this love poem to the core tune, 'Christmastime Is Here (Instrumental),' of this masterpiece of American culture. It is, I think, one of the most beautiful pieces of jazz ever composed. Listening to it is like watching falling snow through a window. The room is warm, something is roasting in the oven, and outside, the flakes are falling faintly through the universe and upon the trees, the hedges, the water gutters, the telephone poles, and the rooftops of a thousand apartment buildings. This is where you want to be forever. This is Vince Guaraldi's "Christmastime Is Here (Instrumental)." It opens with a trembling bass, like someone coming out of the cold, stamping their feet, brushing the snow off their shoulders, hanging their winter coat, rubbing and blowing on numb fingers, and entering the living room where there is a window, watching the flakes falling faintly upon all the buildings and the living. CHARLES MUDEDE
TUESDAY
Daedelus, Free the Robots, Mono/Poly
For nearly two decades, Daedelus (né Alfred Darlington) has been plying his post-hiphop electronica within LA's explosive beat scene and beyond, also serving as one of the early DJs behind the legendary Dublab online radio station. Nimbly jumping across seemingly every niche genre in electronic music while retaining his own singular voice, he's a powerhouse live performer whose shows feature him deconstructing and remixing his prolific back catalog on the fly via his entrancing Monome setup. NICK ZURKO
WEDNESDAY
Industrial Revelation Plays Bjork
As 2014 recipients of a Stranger Genius Award, the polymathic jazzers of Industrial Revelation are no stranger to Seattle nor strokes of genius. Like Björk, they need no introduction, but the two votaries havenât quite been introduced in this way. Equitably, their tribute set of Björkâs 1997 Homogenic is the local iconsâ way of giving an unshadowed salute to the female Goliath, avant-pop icon for whom they all share a deep appreciation in an age of so many man-made classics hogging the limelight. Itâs beautifully an art-inspires-art, experimentation-inspires-experimentation kind of tribute. The more aesthetes the merrier. ZACH FRIMMEL
Xavier OmÀr, Iris Temple, pinkcaravan!
Chilled out R&B thriller Xavier OmÀr lent his smooth-as-silk vocals to Hours Spent Loving You, a collaborative album with local favorite Sango, and will bring similarly smoky hits to this nightclub showcase.
WEDNESDAY-FRIDAY
Pedro the Lion, Advance Base
Given his consistently stark narratives and melancholic melodies, David Bazanâs solo career really just seemed like a continuation of Pedro the Lionâs patient and sparse songwriting. Bazanâs recent textural explorations, initiated by the synth-driven Headphones project, were possibly too much of a deviation for a single moniker, though itâs tough to believe that indie-rock fans in the post-Kid A world would get upset about a few keyboards. So the return of the Pedro the Lion means hearing some long-retired classics, though anyone who loved records like Control shouldnât have felt deprived of Bazanâs stark baritone over the last decade. BRIAN COOK
WEDNESDAY-SATURDAY
Seattle Men's Chorus: A Sassy Brassy Holiday
In a landmark holiday event, the Seattle Menâs Chorus will perform tracks of the season that are the sassiest and brassiest, like their own revamped takes on "Joy to the World," "A Super Gay Christmas," and "Let It Snow."
THURSDAY
3rd Annual Kristin Chambers Snow Globe
Now in its third year, the Snow Globe will bring a flurry of holiday spirit with a live soundtrack provided by Kristin Chambers's dulcet tones, and the Mack Grout Trio playing Vince Guaraldi's score from A Charlie Brown Christmas. Get into the rhythm of season's givings by bringing some non-perishable food items for Northwest Harvest.
The Blind Boys of Alabama Christmas Show
Join the Blind Boys of Alabama and Preservation Hall Legacy Horns from New Orleans for a Christmas concert featuring songs from the Talkinâ Christmas! album as well as the band's previous Grammy-winning Christmas recording, Go Tell It on the Mountain, along with some gospel classics.
The Golden Road Performs Live Dead '69 & Aoxomoxoa with Electric Circus
The headiest Grateful Dead fans often recommend that novices start with Live/Dead as an intro to the transcendent splendors of the San Francisco band's unwieldy catalog. Indeed, that LP was my gateway drug into the Dead, and it greased my path into Jerry Garcia and company's extemporaneous exercises in lysergic-rock ascension. Believe the hyperbole about Live/Dead's peak, âDark Star.â As for Aoxomoxoa, just saying the title is a psychedelic experience. Hearing some of Seattle's most skillful and enlightened musicians interpret its skewed Americana and floppy-limbed rock live should be jaw-droppingâespecially the form-shattering nightmare of âWhat's Become of the Baby.â DAVE SEGAL
Sue Ann Harkey, Blessed Blood, Jason McGill
In 1989, guitarist/composer Sue Ann Harkey released The Ancient Past and the Ancient Future Are Both Seconds Away on a tiny indie label. Not many people heard it upon initial release, including me. Twenty-eight years later, I bought a used copy of it because the cover looked interesting and it featured avant-garde Seattle trumpeter Lesli Dalaba. Turns out, The Ancient Past is a masterpiece of politically astute art songs (sung in the deep range of Annette Peacock and Dagmar Krause), minimalist composition, and unconventional tone exploration. Beside working in Seattleâs tech industry for many years, Harkeyâs created much interesting music since cutting that under-recognized landmark, often in collaboration with English electronic musician Alexander Deacon. Donât miss this rare concert by an overlooked genius. DAVE SEGAL
ZXC, Rene Najera, Dravier, DJ Houseplants
Tonight, Seattle producer Zachary Croft (aka ZXC) celebrates the release of his Jungle Gym Records EP, [UDG 0.17] âZXCââa title whose cryptic, math-y nerdiness nods to IDM immortals like Aphex Twin and Autechre. While ZXC isn't quite in that league (yet), the tracks here display poignant melodies, subliminal pulsations, and understated beats that hint at underwater raves (theyâre in your futureâmark my words, climate-change deniers). Jungle Gym proprietor Dravier purveys both pacific ambient miasmas that flirt with the more sublime realms of new age and beautiful, shimmering techno that splashes in the golden mean between the revered Kompakt and Chain Reaction labels. DAVE SEGAL
FRIDAY
Emma Lee Toyoda, Fine, the Carols, Breach
First things first: Southgate Roller Rink is an old-school Seattle gem that should be cared for and enjoyed as much as possible. Second, this is an excellent lineup if what you care about is singing loudly about all the feelings youâve ever had, which is one of my (and Iâm sure your) main hobbies. My favorite on the bill, the Carols, just released their Honestly, Itâs the Carols EP, which is full of nuggets of Modern Loversâesque power-pop nostalgia, shivering shrieks of satisfaction, and a rising feeling of sharp-elbowed and black-eyed rebellion. KIM SELLING
KEXP Yule Benefit: Shabazz Palaces, the True Loves, Falon Sierra
Since they emerged from clouds of mystery with two extraordinary EPs, Afrofuturists Shabazz Palaces have done their own damn thing, like enshrouding their Sub Pop debut in a velvet cover (take that, Bee Gees!). This year, Ishmael Butler and Tendai Maraire upped the ante with twin concept albums Quazarz: Born on a Gangster Star and Quazarz vs. the Jealous Machinesâthe latter with its own comic book. In their most Sun Raâlike move yet, they spin the tale of a cosmic traveler seeking the real among the fake. Clear some space out so you can space out and support a good cause. KATHY FENNESSY
WEEED, Arrington de Dionyso, Diminished Men
If youâve ever seen any of these bands, itâs a tripâeach in their own warped, psychedelic way. Bainbridge Islandâs WEEED are a guided meditation interrupted with chaos, Olympiaâs Arrington de Dionyso is a gamelan sĂ©ance and guttural trance, and Seattleâs Diminished Men offer a lesson on surfy avant-rock taught in the Ripperâs Lounge. Each of these Pacific Northwest powerhouses could soundtrack scenes from a David Lynch or Jim Jarmusch film with their eyes closed and their hands tied behind their backs. A cocktail of these three elixirs will certainly detox a rough week and get you drunk on local magic. ZACH FRIMMEL
Wintergaze 2017
Seagaze, one of Seattle's many annual psych rock festivals, will host their wintertime iteration with live sets by Fotoform, Vibrissae, Blackpool Astronomy, and more.
Wobbly and the Weatherman: Monitress
Founding Negativland member and instrument-inventor the Weatherman (aka David Wills) joins forces with Wobbly (Jon Leidecker) for what should be a stinging rebuke to the season's cloying holiday music. Both musicians have long track records of creating music of extraordinary strangeness. Negativland's status as cultural subversives and sonic pranksters is as unimpeachable as that of the Residents, while Wobbly's discography teems with electronic peculiarities, including Familiar, legendary Cluster/Harmonia synth sorcerer Dieter Moebius's final collaboration with Tim Story. What a sublime, discombobulating way to go out... Wobbly and the Weatherman promise an evening of âfake electronics, microphone-activated iPhone apps, local baby room monitor interceptions, and endlessly awkward questions for Alexa.â DAVE SEGAL
FRIDAY-SATURDAY
A Hip-Hop Holiday Special: Sir Mix-A-Lot and Guests
So, I saw some shit my man Charles Mudede wrote about this, remarking that Sir Mix-A-Lot did not ârap like Ice Cube and Chuck Dââand thatâs mostly true, in that he wasnât known as a pro-black, anti-government rapper (even though he did make âNational Anthemâ and âOne Timeâs Got No Caseâ). But because itâs been rarely mentioned, I think itâs important to highlight what Mix did share with Cube and Chuck: a powerful rapping style that requires actual wind and staminaâintestinal fortitude, if you will. And I only bring this shit up because ALL OF YOU are wasting everybodyâs time at karaoke, trying and failing to sing âBaby Got Back.â It might be a corny novelty hit, but if you donât have an MCâs grasp of breath control and flow, youâre just standing there like a dumbass, giggling while the prompt says âI PULL UP QUICK TO GET WITâ âEM.â Stop it, do not pass go, do not call 1-800-MIX-A-LOT. Stick to Weezer. LARRY MIZELL JR.
Macklemore
A young Ben Haggertyâs greatest triumphs once came in the form of thoughtful social observations and personal conscience mining. More recently, a veteran Macklemore has struggled to find a side of himself he hasnât explored yet on record, having already written definitive statements on many of the social justice and personal issues that concern him. Between anthem-chasing and extolling the joys of fatherhood on his latest album, Gemini, Seattleâs most famous rapper lands a hit with the Offset-featuring, horn-blasted âWilly Wonka.â Moments like these are sparse, but a good moment is a good moment, and it should fortify his Billboard-chart-hit-parade set nicely. TODD HAMM
SATURDAY
Hyphy
Oh boyâNeumos is doing a hyphy night? âTell Me When to Go,â sort of the mainstream-hit-that-was-the-death-knell of what is commonly thought of as the hyphy movement, did come out 11 years ago. It used to be 20 years before the generational nostalgia cash-in started, but seeing as we passed the event horizon of this black-hole-to-hell-itself some time ago, everything is strictly get-it-while-you-can. Now, I tend to think of hyphy less as a particular slice of time and set of songs than an evolving dimension of the Bay Area rap scene, one known for fierce innovation and trendsetting originality. Something tells me that this is going to be more of a Bay Area rap night rather than an exclusively stunna-shaded, cereal-mascot-teeâd-up hyphy night. Which is great, because the Yay has created one of the worldâs all-time greatest musical subcultures, from Short to HBK. (Play some fucking Turf Talk!) Just, please, no G-Eazy. Have some fuckinâ respect. LARRY MIZELL JR.
SUNDAY
14th Annual Blue Moon Christmas Pageant
I donât go in the Blue Moon. It frightens me, that burnt sticky of every surface, and we wonât talk about the bathrooms. That being said, people sans friends and/or family, have a right to chug and whoop away this most stressful of seasons. The Moon provides and abides. The Best Band from Earth boast post-pop synths, sinister intonations, and 15 or so of their friends giving the finger to the camera. Spank Williams applies her creaky voice to liquor-and-drugs country. The Eclectic Cloggers clog! Unironically! ANDREW HAMLIN
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