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MONDAY
Jessica Moss, BenoĂźt Pioulard, Greg Kelley
Jessica Moss can play and write damn near anything she pleases. So Iâm pleased to announce that some of her recent work, such as parts of 2017âs Pools of Light, sounds like two alien races trying to talk to each other for the first time. Sheâs played Arabic music and Balkan music; she's toured with Thee Silver Mt. Zion, Black Ox Orkestar, Geraldine Fibbers, and a few others. She absorbs lessons from all over the world and then makes her own world. At least one. Iâm still counting⊠ANDREW HAMLIN
Protest Fest 2018
Do206 presents this multi-venue, live music-focused festival on Presidents' Day weekend. On Monday, there will be six different shows benefiting nonprofits like Planned Parenthood, Southern Poverty Law Center, ACLU, and the Sierra Club.
Rostam, Joy Again
Rostam Batmanglij, formerly the keyboardist and studio wiz in Vampire Weekend, has become a sought-after producer who bridges the shrinking divide among indie-rock, R&B, and pop. In just the past two years, heâs worked with artists as different as Haim, Frank Ocean, and Walkmen leader Hamilton Leithauser. Now Batmanglij is pulling a Kanye West: transitioning from behind the boards to center stage. Though he doesnât sound like a natural frontmanâhe sings with a coy, marble-mouthed deliveryâhis debut, Half-Light, is a kaleidoscopic outsider-pop record with rich instrumental passages befitting his production prowess. Rostamâs is a welcome new, yet familiar, voice. ANDREW GOSPE
TUESDAY
Black Rebel Motorcycle Club
Black Rebel Motorcycle Club have been tooling around in stoned-desert-rock and smoldering-psych-garage realms since the late 1990s, although their sound has done some mild evolving, with the noise and grit of earlier records transformed by higher production values. The LA trioâs barely contained rock-outs have maintained an aggressive feel, and all those roiling, tripped-out instrumental forays have also remained intact, if becoming more textured and refined over the years. BRMC arrive in town behind their eighth album, 2018's Wrong Creatures, whose standout is the ominous âKing of Bones,â which starts at a thumping creep before picking up the pace to a fuzzed-out charge. LEILANI POLK
Gogol Bordello
Few bands double down on jubilant spectacle as hard as Gogol Bordello. The so-called âg*psy punkâ outfit, consisting of charismatic singer Eugene Hutz and a revolving door of multi-ethnic and international musicians, blends big, simple rock hooks with accordion, violin, and a quirky sense of humor that is equal parts snarky and literary. At first brush it's the Clash for NPR listeners, but deeper listens reveal a strong dedication to George Clinton's funk sound, as well as big Def Leppard-ish hooks. JOSEPH SCHAFER
Mary Timony Plays Helium, Allison Crutchfield
Wild Flag and Helium cofounder Mary Timony is one of the original '90s women of rock. Billed as an "indie rock starlet" more times than most, her fearless axe-slinging, lyric-flinging ways should be respected and acknowledged past industry gender barriers and simply for the excellent pillars of modern music that they are. She'll be joined by the fleshed-out Helium line-up and Allison Crutchfield.
Shame, Dreamdecay, Monsterwatch
As is often the case with young bands aboard the UK music-media-hype train, itâs hard to talk about Shame without mentioning an earlier epoch of dudes with guitars. In the case of the South London quintet, itâs the ever-stylish post-punk of Wire, Gang of Four, and Factory Records. Fortunately, Shame's songs are good enough to gracefully transcend such obvious touchstones. Singer Charlie Steen snarls his wry, self-effacing lyrics like Mark E. Smithâs long-lost son, and the band plays fast and with a sharp sense of dynamics, prone to ratchet up the intensity at a momentâs notice. Iâm loath to ever agree with NME, but these are some lads to watch. ANDREW GOSPE
WEDNESDAY
The Album Leaf, Vakoum
The first album I ever reviewed was a 2003 split EP featuring the Album Leaf and On!Air!Library! At the time, I had little experience with ambient music or post-rock or any non-mainstream sounds. As I listened to those three Album Leaf songs on repeat, I fell in love slowly, gently, and with little fuss, drawn to the musicâs soothing effectâquietly uplifting melodies, measured tempos, and serenely cinematic beauty. LA-by-way-of-San-Diego multi-instrumentalist Jimmy LaValle (of Tristeza) has since transformed his solo project into a full band, his compositions now less minimalist and nuanced and more fast-paced and lush. This tour coincides with the deluxe vinyl Album Leaf reissues LaValle dropped on his new Eastern Glow imprint in December. LEILANI POLK
Princess Nokia, Suzi Analogue
Princess Nokia is the early-2000s cell-phone-inspired moniker of Destiny Frasqueri. After dabbling in some other projects in the early 2010s, Frasqueri settled on Princess Nokia in 2014, using it as an alter ego to channel the multidimensional aspects of herself. Princess Nokia raps about her experiences growing up in New Yorkâsheâs confrontational and totally unafraid to say how sheâs feeling (check âTomboyâ and âBrujasâ). She released her debut EP 1992 twice last year, self-releasing her collection of fiery verses in January, and then as a deluxe album with eight new tracks, including her indulgent rhymes and impenetrable knocks on Rough Trade Records in September. ANNA KAPLAN
Real Estate, Bedouine
What sets the Jersey boys in Real Estate apart from the anonymous masses of kinda disaffected, sorta heartbroken white dudes with chiming guitars and pretty voices is that these guys know how to build an actual tune. In fact, theyâve crafted two albums of immaculately rendered jangle-pop and were poised for a hat trick with the release of their third, Atlas, in March 2014. Every song is like the Platonic ideal of an indie-rock anthem: condensed, addictive nuggets of melody and atmosphere, technically adept and never over-staying their welcome. Meanwhile, Martin Courtneyâs lyrics create a sort of Rorschach test for your emotions; theyâre vague enough to score a breakup or acceptance into law school. Sure, itâs polite, but damned if they donât crank out some head-noddingly, toe-tappingly catchy music. KYLE FLECK
The Soliloquies of Roberta Flack & Donny Hathaway
This series of evening performances will serve to celebrate the legendary musical collaboration of Roberta Flack and Donny Hathaway (1945-1979), who recorded a duet album entitled Roberta Flack & Donny Hathaway in 1972. Their expressive work will be revisited by local musicians alongside a cadre of local singers.
THURSDAY
Live in the Laser Dome: Fungal Abyss and Afrocop
Real recognize real. Two of the cityâs foremost improvisers of sound will come together tonight to create an experience absolutely bloated with awesomeness. Plus, there will be lasers. The similar off-the-cuff approach favored by the bands makes the billing seem logical, but itâs their dissonance that will make the show an electric, beginning-to-end attraction. Just the thought of Afrocopâs eerie jazz freak-outs bleeding into Fungal Abyssâs colossal spirit-quest metal is enough to get oneâs serotonin pumping. Come for the raw musical adventurism and sheer unpredictable brilliance, and stay for the lasers. TODD HAMM
Mostly Other People Do the Killing
Mostly Other People Do the Killing have subtracted down to a trio for this newest outing, Paint, which takes inspiration from the color wheel, one hue to one tune. Realistically, though, these people like to rip shit up, personnel and numbers be sheep-dipped. Moppa Elliott on bass, pianist Ron Stabinsky, and drummer Kevin Shea spent the opening minutes of the opening number trying to trip each other over the peekaboo beat, in the best tradition of usually unreleased musical pranks. Later, they âsettle downâ into avant-garde trio jazz. But a bunch who will re-create Kind of Blue down to the last cymbal brush might be capable of anything. ANDREW HAMLIN
Mr. Pickles Thrash-Tacular with Exodus and Municipal Waste
Adult Swim is currently dragging their street team around the country to promote the upcoming new season of their animated series Mr. Pickles. Partnering with the grime-heavy dog house aesthetic of the show, metal bands Exodus and Municipal Waste will headline this "thrash-tastic" 13-city tour.
Twista, Zion I, Gift of Gab
Chicago legend Twista was called Tung Twista when he hit the scene in the early 1990s, with all the color-blocked goofball positivity of the era. But it was 1997âs celebrated but underrated Adrenaline Rush, a no-brakes Midwest gangsta scripture, that was his thesis statement, forever defining the deadly-smooth aesthetic heâd later take to platinum via a couple of perfect Kanye collaborations. Those squealing G-funk synths and Twistaâs blinding-fast delivery lent equally well to war-ready anthems and fly-player shit in true Chicago fashion. His and the Bone Thugsâ uncompromising, irrepressible style helped carry forward the passionate spirit 2Pac had exemplifiedâand marked the Midwest as a hotbed of hardcore innovation, influencing heads from inner city blocks to the burbs. LARRY MIZELL JR.
THURSDAY-SUNDAY
Joey Alexander Trio
In my review of Don Cheadle's recently released biopic of Miles Davis, Miles Ahead, I complained that it was very disappointing to see one of the most brilliant American musicians "characterized as a gangster and not an intellectual." My point is that the mastery of jazz takes years upon years (what I call aristocratic time), which is why the 15-year-old jazz pianist Joey Alexander is so freaky. How did he pack into himself so much information in such a short amount of time? But one of the things that jazz does is transform musicians into intellectuals. An intellectual is simply someone who has absorbed a large body of knowledgeâsuch a body is jazz. CHARLES MUDEDE
FRIDAY
A Benefit Show for Patrice Thomas
Kent resident Patrice Thomas recently lost two of her young children to senseless gun violence. TEB and Distinction Music Management have partnered to support Patrice in her time of need and throw this show featuring local hiphop and electro-soul talents from which all proceeds will go straight to Patrice. Enjoy live sets from alluring rapper Taylar Elizza Beth, alongside Astro King Phoenix, DoNormaal, Stas THEE Boss, GOODSTEPH, and Noo.
Grails, Daniel Higgs
If you like your psych-rock grave, ritualistic, and exotic, you ought to get your augmented brain to Barboza tonight. Grails have a large canon full of intense, exploratory jams that, at their best, sound like scores for films that are too unmarketable to get made. Their latest LP, Chalice Hymnal, ushers in subdued vocals and a lighter, more melodic strain of rock that doesnât thrill me as much as albums like Burning Off Impurities and Black Tar Prophecies did, but itâs still a solid effort. Grailsâ live lineup will be augmented by Zombiâs Tony Paterra on synth and Grouper collaborator Ilyas Ahmed. Former Lungfish vocalist Daniel Higgsâs solo career has slithered down some odd back roads, including mesmerizing jaw-harp solo improvisations, loner folkadelia, spiritual oratory backed by harmonium drones and banjo, and other esoteric peregrinations. DAVE SEGAL
Miguel, SiR, Nonchalant Savant
Miguel is a truly smooth R&B thriller, with pop smarts and massive genre-crossover abilities. He'll be joined by SiR and Nonchalant Savant on his War & Leisure Tour, named after his fourth studio album.
Miles Electric Band
The early 1970s, when Miles Davis shifted gears to electric and his style underwent an unsettling metamorphosisâpissing off all those trad-jazz fans while cracking open the minds of the rest and pouring in urgent, chugging, tribal, acid-washed sounds, with uncut improvisationâthatâs my favorite Miles Davis period. It was no longer just jazz and it wasnât really rock (though it was influenced deeply by it), but some sort of seething beast prowling between the two. The 11-member Miles Electric Band revisit that eraâs repertoire, and includes alums from those days (band leader and drummer nephew of Davis, Vince Wilburn Jr., pianists John Beasley and Robert Irving III, tabla player Badal Roy, guitarist Blackbyrd McKnight, and percussionist Munyungo Jackson), joined by bassist Darryl Jones, percussionist Mino Cinelu, saxophonist Antoine Roney, and turntablist DJ Logic. LEILANI POLK
No Age, Flesh World
Part of what makes No Age worthwhile is the nonchalant way they convey passionâas if they just rolled out of bed, plugged in their instruments, turned on their recording gear, and let it rip... like weirdos. It helps that No Age's Randy Randall and Dean Spunt follow in the tradition of popwise punks like the Buzzcocks, Wire, HĂŒsker DĂŒ, and Superchunk, whose truckloads of timeless songs locate the golden mean between tart tunefulness and taut noise. Formerly with Sub Pop, No Age returned from a few-year hiatus with the Snares Like a Haircut album on Drag City. They bear no surprises, except maybe for the title track's phantasmal, Loveless-like interlude, but why mess with a winning formula of overdriven ebullience? DAVE SEGAL
Raica, Kevin Greenspon, Ross Fish, The Animals At Night
RaicaâFurther Records co-owner Chloe Harrisâis the rare electronic musician who can be counted on to surprise and impress in live contexts. Iâve seen Raica play at least 10 times in the last few years, and she always adds new dimensions to her hardware-oriented live performances. DAVE SEGAL
Ryan Caraveo
Slightly brotastic but not egregiously so, Caraveo puts words together in a fashion that sounds confident and cool. LARRY MIZELL JR.
Tom Brosseau, Tomo Nakayama, Shelley Short
If you're a fan of intellectual folk- and chamber-influenced pop music wrought from expansive human emotion, this is the only bill for you. Enjoy live sets from renowned singer-songwriters Tom Brousseau, Tomo Nakayama, and Shelley Short.
SATURDAY
Corridor
Welcome to Corridor, the third annual festival of music, light, and sound presented by Elevator, with artists responsible for visual installation, performance, and movement to cover all bases of creative tangibility. Sound artists include MHYSA, Yu Su, ASDFS, C Spencer Yeh, Chloe Alexandra, Ellen Phan, 'nohup,' and Lushloss. Visual artists presenting light works include Cameron Shafii & Alex Boschenstein, and Anisa Jackson & Mel Carter. Visual artists presenting movement works so far include Matt Drews and Dead Thoroughbred.
WHY?, Florist
At this point, it almost goes without saying that Yoni Wolf isnât your average rapper. The Cincinnati native rose to prominence in the late 1990s/early â00s backpack-rap scene as part of cLOUDDEAD, along with Doseone and Odd Nosdam, cofounders of outrĂ© rap label Anticon. While Why? had been Wolfâs stage name since 1997, in 2004 he made the unprecedented move of turning his MC handle into the name of an indie-rock band that has remained popular for more than a decade. Part of Why?âs popularity can be attributed to the fact that thereâs really no other band out there like themârap-rock this is not. Rather, Whyâs dexterous, sing-songy flow proved the perfect counterpart to Wolfâs bandmate and brother Matt Meldonâs imaginative, folk-friendly, and prog-inspired instrumentation, which has earned them fans more into Bob Dylan than Biz Markie. NICK ZURKO
SATURDAY-SUNDAY
Burger A-Go-Go 2018: The Coathangers, Death Valley Girls, the Flytraps, Feels, Dengue Fever, Winter, Summer Twins, Patsy's Rats
Fullerton, California's Burger Records has become one of the arbiters of garage-rock quality in this century. It's a heavy responsibility, but the label has done a solid job sifting through the deluge to spotlight superior purveyors of a subgenre that's more than 50 years oldâwith an ear toward female empowerment, too. With its emphasis on raw, noisy songs with punchy riffs, libidinous energy, and often unhinged emotional tenor, garage rock is easy to do mediocrely... and, at this late date, difficult to leverage into excellence. Thankfully, the Coathangers, Dengue Fever, Death Valley Girls, the Flytraps, Roya, Winter, and Feels combine interesting songwriting with gripping passion, keeping this grizzled musical style vital against the odds. DAVE SEGAL
SUNDAY
Carla Bruni
If you only know her as the First Lady of France, you'll be pleased to find out that in addition to that title, Carla Bruni is a widely celebrated Italian-French singer-songwriter and model. Her trademark smokey coo is currently on display in her latest album French Touch.
Kikagaku Moyo, FEED
For a Japanese band, Kikagaku Moyo sure play Seattle frequently. No complaints, because KMâs brand of psych-rock currently stands as some of the most nourishing around. Their impressive stylistic rangeâinterstellar meandering, pastoral bliss, combustible bombast, sacred processionalsâassures that no record or live show will drag. Kikagaku Moyoâwhose name translates as âGeometric Patternsââcover the psych spectrum with a cool-headed authority. Theyâre touring in support of their most recent release, Stone Garden, which further bolsters the group's status as world leaders in keeping psychedeliaâs legacy relevant. DAVE SEGAL
Margo Price, Blank Range
On the far end of the country spectrum, Margo Price's album, Midwest Farmer's Daughter (out on Jack White's Third Man Records) recalls no one so much as Waylon Jennings just before the outlaw bit done got outta hand, with a suave voice and sticky melodies over a positively filthy groove. And yes, it really does make you feel all right. SEAN NELSON
Rachel Barton Pine: Testament
When you think of 18th century English people in powder wigs dancing their extremely organized dances in rococo rooms, the music you have in your head is the "partitas" part of Bach's Complete Sonatas and Partitas for Solo Violin. The sound of their sadness on the balcony thereafter is the "sonatas" part. Something about the stripped-down nature of a solo violin allows you to feel in your bones the mathematical precision and elegance that distinguishes Bach's work, and nobody brings that out better than Rachel Barton Pine. RICH SMITH
Snarky Puppy, Banda Magda
Grammy-winning jazz-fusion ensemble Snarky Puppy, whose many members qualify as solo heavy-hitters in their own right, are known for taking their jams to the next level, cornering the genres of funk, world, and soul, all with a jazzy filter. KIM SELLING
Y La Bamba, Corespondents, Moon Palace
Playful yet enigmatically complex Portland act Y La Bamba make their way through rock, pop, folk, and world music in English and Spanish. They'll be joined by Corespondents and Moon Palace.
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