It may be mid-January, but this week is full of excellent live music to help take your mind off the weather outside. Our critics have picked everything from one of the gatekeepers for the best of 20th century hiphop (Peanut Butter Wolf), to a techno producer whose stripped-down work will make 2018 seem almost clean (Volvox), to the queen of art rock myth-making (St. Vincent). Follow the links below for ticket links and music clips, and find even more on our music calendar.
Get all this and more on the free Stranger Things To Do mobile appâavailable now on the App Store and Google Play.
Jump to: Monday | Tuesday | Wednesday | Thursday | Friday | Saturday | Sunday
MONDAY
Sløtface
They used to be Slutface (still pronounced that way and still the record label name). That gets peopleâs attention. Beyond that, Sløtface are about too-much-coffee power-pop-punk licks, while singer Haley Shea dissects the inside and the outside of, not just a bad party, but their version of the worst party imaginableâno bloodshed, no violation, but no one has any fun. And the video has ape sex. (You suppose they read Love & Rockets?) They also dissect friendship, trust, environmental concerns, and talk about what a cool thing it is to be Nancy Drew, who's the ultimate whistle-blower, because sheâs been around the longest. ANDREW HAMLIN
TUESDAY
Nauticult, Don Forgetti, Vivian, Pinkys Out
I love hiphop. I defend hiphop from the tiresome ârap is crapâ crowd, who still wonât shut up after decades. That said, I despair for most mainstream hiphop. Hey, maybe Iâm old, and white to boot, I just donât think itâs all bling and bitches. Nauticult, white, but not old, bring metal and skittering paranoia to hiphop, guitar and drums and electronic space jams pushing along a surprisingly bottomless (bassless) sonic scheme. Lyrically, well, they move fast, but I can tell they like science fiction, and probably self-improvement as street philosophy. Iâll take that. ANDREW HAMLIN
WEDNESDAY
Cock & Swan: Julian's Sword Album Release Party
Cock & Swan will release an original studio-recorded soundtrack, titled Julian's Sword, to Nicholas Winding Refn's Only God Forgives. Join the band and see the film along with the new score. Brittnie Fuller had this to say about the band, composed of Johnny Goss and Ola Hungerford, in The Stranger: "If you like to absorb sound in lush, intoxicating dream-spells, Seattle electronic pop duo Cock & Swan are certainly worth keeping an ear out for."
Emily Wells, Like a Villain
Texas native Emily Wells is a songwriting treasure, one sadly left high and dry by the Pitchfork-fueled freak-folk gold rush of the early â00s. Rather than rely on cheap air-quotes-quirky aesthetic choices and abrasive vocals, Wells couches her music in a genuine love of experimentation. Her affinity for loop pedals is by now well-documented. Less acclaimed is her ability to put out rock-solid albums on a regular basis. Last yearâs In the Hot is her second record in as many years, and after this small tour, Wells looks to be cranking out a new one. Bless her for that. JOSEPH SCHAFER
Piano Starts Here: The Music of Duke Ellington & Count Basie
Piano Starts Here as a series showcases the work of musical icons who contributed to the knowledge and appreciation of the instrument. This iteration celebrates Duke Ellington and Count Basie, both vast contributors to the American canon of jazz composition and performance. Musicians for the evening will be playing on the Royal Room's Steinway B grand piano.
The Secret Sisters, Smooth Hound Smith
Anything involving Alabama has been a nightmarish wildfire of late, with clownish politicians, religious hubris, and an outpouring of negativity toward the Midwest and South. So I guess it needs to be said that beauty can still be unearthed in that region. Some of that beauty is courtesy of the Secret Sisters, a literal sister duo who have been concocting a sound that is what happens when First Aid Kit grow up on the banks of Muscle Shoals. The Secret Sisters coax their reedy alto voices into ruby dawn harmonies, imbued with the warmest of sentimental energies. Despite their name, thereâs no actual mystery with Secret Sistersâthey clearly developed their vocal tone in their hometown church as children and sanded it till smooth in adulthood. But considering that this countryâs been hurtling downward since its inception, it feels real nice to listen to a simple yet classically beautiful gem like the Secret Sisters, a gem brought to clarity in Americaâs heartland. KIM SELLING
THURSDAY
Acephalix, Scolex, Fetid, Mortiferum
If you like your death metal nasty and caked in a thick layer of crust, this show just might be for you. Acephalix come straight out of the Bay Area playing an old-school death metal reminiscent of bands like Bolt Thrower and Entombed. Their album Decreation was one of the heaviest of 2017 and was picked as one of the top death-metal LPs of the year by websites like Metal Injection and Pitchfork. Go see what the hype is about and show up early for two of the Northwestâs gnarliest, Fetid and Mortiferum. KEVIN DIERS
Alex Skolnick Trio
Previously of well-known thrash metal band Testament, Alex Skolnick has moved on to more in-depth sonic pastures with this trio set on interpreting jazz through a metal lens and vice versa.
BeyoncĂŠ vs. Gaga vs. Britney vs. Madonna Sing-Along
"The Queen of R&B" (BeyoncĂŠ), the "Queen of Pop" (Madonna), the "Princess of Pop" (Britney Spears), and the "Mother of Monsters" (Madonna) join forces (in digital form) for a sing-along that's "sure to be one of the best nights of your life."
Dismal Fest
Wallow in the mid-winter mire at Dismal Fest, a night of sludgy metal, dark electronica, and experimental noise music from Geist & the Sacred Ensemble, Mudslug, Purest Spiritual Pigs, Uneasy Chairs with Vanessa Skantze, Dosenoffer, and Pipebomb.
An Evening with the Jovino Santos Neto Quinteto
Expect Brazilian-inspired lyricism and invention from Golden Ear-winning local star Jovino Santos Neto and his band, featuring Neto himself on piano, flute, and melodica, Ben Thomas on vibraphone and bandoneon, Chuck Deardorf on bass, Mark Ivester on drums, and Jeff Busch on percussion.
Itzhak Perlman
Grammy- and Emmy-winning violin virtuoso Itzhak Perlman, who's played a concert at the White House to honor Queen Elizabeth II and who received the Presidential Medal of Freedom, will perform an evening set.
Live in the Laser Dome with Michete & Da Qween
Transcendent local rappers Michete and Da Qween will combine their powers in the laser dome, with a full laser show plotting constellations throughout their live sets.
Nacho Picasso, Guests
There are twoânay, threeâthings I love about Nacho Picasso. One, you can tell from his sometimes funny, sometimes perverse (sometimes both at once) rhymes that dude gives zero fucks. Two, he blithely raps about cocaine and other vices, providing an antidote to Seattle's sometimes squeaky-clean rap scene. Three, every time I hear that name, I picture Picasso eating nachos. AMBER CORTES
THURSDAY-FRIDAY
Prokofiev Concerto Festival 1 & 2
In this two-day Prokofiev love fest, Seattle Symphony will take you through the musical life of the great Russian composer. Fittingly, the Symphony invites the extremely young (he's 15), extremely talented (he won First Prize in the 2016 Young Concert Artists International Audition), and extremely local (he lives outside of Seattle) Nathan Lee to play the first (and shortest) piano concerto Prokofiev ever wrote. The next day you can catch the younger (she's 12) but equally talented Yesong Sophie Lee soloing Prokofiev's Violin Concerto No. 2. The highly celebrated pianist Charlie Albright and virtuoso violist William Hagen add some heft to the roster. One of my favorite violin parts happens on day one in Violin Concerto No. 1, but Prokofiev's "Classical" Symphony on day two is worth seeing, too, so I guess you'll just have to go both days. RICH SMITH
St. Vincent
Annie Clark (aka St. Vincent) is a premier badass, an unimpeachably tasteful force of nature, for my short dough one of the most welcome new voices to emerge over the last decade of guitar-based music. Her latest, Octoberâs Masseductionâdescribed by Clark in one interview as at least somewhat autobiographical, and in others as a form of myth-makingâcarries a dark motif of seduction, duh, but also sadness and power, something like a âdominatrix in a mental institution.â Her writing is as unexpectedly bare and skewering as ever, in a way that reminds me of how the best of James Murphyâs songs always do upon first listenâcan I say that? Her production is even more physical and propulsive than usualâaided by TDE producer Sounwave and Kamasi Washington. This is what contemporary radio pop should feel like in a world that was ever visited by David Bowie, whose name gets rightfully invoked a lot in relation to Clark's. LARRY MIZELL JR.
THURSDAY-SUNDAY
War
LA funk/soul ensemble War have split into two camps: One goes by the name the Lowrider Band, while original lead singer and keyboardist Lonnie Jordan has retained the War moniker. Itâs not an optimal state of affairs, but Warâs hit-laden 1970s catalog is so potent and redolent of greasily groovy good times and carefree summers (except for the ominous âFour Cornered Room,â which I consider one of Warâs peaks) that you can be assured no matter which unit is playing them, theyâre going to transport you to a better, warmer place. So, great timing for War to do a four-night run in mid-January. DAVE SEGAL
FRIDAY
The 2nd Annual Dolly Parton Birthday Party Tribute Show
I guess Iâm biased in writing this because Dolly Parton is my mom, so I love her regardless of what she does, but yâall should head out to Conor Byrne for this show and make it into a real DollyParlooza. Some local musicians are taking over her birthday for a night of covers and tribute acts with what had better be a metric fuck-ton of rhinestones, Aqua Net, and fringed candy-pink nubuck. In case you were somehow unaware, Parton is a true national treasure, a sparkling gem, a legit role model for working womxn, and an enduring voice for classic Americana and down-home pop, who will, I hope, continue to strum a lap harp on her lilac fountain cloud formation forever and ever and wonât ever die because I honestly wouldnât be able to take that shit. KIM SELLING
Peanut Butter Wolf, DJ Swervewon, Supreme La Rock
Peanut Butter Wolf (Chris Manak) is a top-notch entertainer behind the decks, but he's perhaps better known as head of the excellent Stones Throw label than as a producer or DJ. That'll happen when you release music by artists like J Dilla, Madlib, Dâm-Funk, Stark Reality, and James Pants. But PBW is also the first disc jockey I ever saw sync up his tracks to videos of said tracks, which took DJing to a decidedly more fascinating level. Wolf's unerring ear for deep funk and party-igniting jams of myriad genres ensures that any live appearance by him will become a hedonistic free-for-all. DAVE SEGAL
Red Ribbon, Sea Moss, Guayaba, Amenta Abioto
Sink into a mid-winter night of surrealist rock, pop, and cosmic soul with sets by Red Ribbon, Sea Moss, Guayaba, and Amenta Abioto.
Research: Volvox, Strategy, Aos
Hailing from Brooklyn by way of Boston and Buffalo, Volvox is making her Seattle debut, but it feels like her stripped-back techno must have been here before. She reps the all-female Discwoman collective, a kindred spirit to crews like TUF (whose Aos takes the opening slot), while holding down residencies at Big Apple hot spots like Bossa Nova Civic Club, an analogue to our beloved Kremwerk. Strategy is a Cascadian electronic music institution from Portland. The multi-instrumentalist, programmer, and former Kranky Records artist has been making a wide range of beats and bloops, from ambient to house to experimental sound art, since 1999. Either one could headline a Friday night, but for the minds behind Research to put both on one bill is a double treat. GREG SCRUGGS
Tiny Vipers, Panabrite, Pink Void
Tiny Vipers, as I first encountered her, was a singer-songwriter of the most plaintive variety, with soft, steely compassion streaming out of every pore. In the years since her 2007 album Hands Across the Void, she has banked hard toward the realm of experimental electronica, trading her dark cave of folksy sentiments for a gauzy structure of synth work, built like a honeycomb of operatic whispers. Each hexagon of this new space in 2017âs Laughter holds a different piece of sentimental information about the emotional labor Tiny Vipers has done to get to this point. Itâs a weird trip, but itâs worth taking to get to know her better. KIM SELLING
FRIDAY-SUNDAY
Seattle Chamber Music Society Winter Festival
The Seattle Chamber Music Society will present its winter season program with a two-weekend festival of six concerts flanked by free pre-concert recitals. Twenty acclaimed musicians are featured this year, including internationally renowned soloists, principals with major US orchestras, and top competition winners.
SATURDAY
The Black Tones, Duke Evers, The White Tears & Pearl Dragon Is Dead, B r a c k e t s
Started by twin siblings, Seattle-based Black Tones describe their music as "a goody bag of BLUES, PUNK, and BLACK POWER." They'll be joined by local rock and hiphop talents Duke Evers, The White Tears & Pearl Dragon Is Dead, and B r a c k e t s.
Ceschi Ramos, Sammus, hERON
I just got hip to Philly-based MC Sammusâdaughter of professors, former teacher, Cornell PhD student. This is where Iâm supposed to say, âShe has a pedigree uncommon to most rappers,â but shit, she has a pedigree uncommon to most musicians. Sheâs also one of the few Black faces among the nerdcore-rap landscape, lending welcome representation for Black women in a blindingly monocultural sector of the gameâand one of the few in that scene fresh enough to make an appearance on âHymnal,â off one of 2017's best rap records, Open Mike Eagleâs Brick Body Kids Still Daydream. (OME might be the official nerdcore gateway drug, having worked with her and MC Frontalot.) And yes, Sammus named herself after Samus Aran, hero of Nintendoâs Metroid, whose big reveal (itâs a girl!) felt revolutionary in eight-bit 1986. Once you play on âJUSTIN BAILEYâ mode, itâs hard to go back. LARRY MIZELL JR.
Converge, Sumac, Cult Leader
Over the last couple decades, Bostonâs Converge have grown from a fierce, unconventional metallic hardcore band with a devoted cult following to an often imitated and forever evolving force in the world of underground noise. Their unique blend of punk, emotive hardcore, and thrashing, in-your-face metal allows them to tour alongside huge bands like Mastodon and Dethklok and to headline their own more intimate shows, such as this one. A word of advice, though: If youâre standing near the front, wear a helmet. Converge tend to inspire the wildest of stage-divers to get vertical. KEVIN DIERS
The Mynabirds, Lenore
Since 2009, Laura Burhenn has commanded Saddle Creekâs synth-pop outfit the Mynabirds and delivered a vanguard of viable inertia year after year. From her debut to her 2013 âNew Revolutionariesâ TED Talk to 2017âs fourth full-length Be Here Now, she wears a SJW-clad suit and she wears it well. Hailing from LA, Burhenn and her band are bringing their ballad-tinged rock to shout at the dark and make sure their voices donât burn out. Joining them are the timbre-rich Portland duo Lenore, whose mesmerizing witch-folk conjures beautiful melodies like that of Feist singing at a Stevie Nicks concert. ZACH FRIMMEL
Sam Lachow
The ambitious MC/producer/video-maker Sam Lachowâat one time this paper's youngest freelancerâis really making his mark and his name around town, and has been since the Garfield graduate was in the good-time bro-rap crew Shankbone. LARRY MIZELL JR.
Smokey Brights, Sleeping Lessons, Tellers
Go to this set. Do it. Do it for Smokey Brights, who are the kind of crackly and warm guitar-driven rock that you already know and love, even if youâve never heard it. Itâs that warm blanket that you throw over your head to avoid dealing with your uncleâs off-color rants about refugees. Do it for yourself. KATHLEEN TARRANT
Smokey Robinson
My mother was in town over the holidays for a ridiculous amount of time, and one night over dinner she asked what I was working on. I told her I needed to write up a thing about Smokey Robinsonâs upcoming show, and she and my sister immediately cooed in unison: âSmokey, our favorite!â Thereâs no other appropriate reaction to this man. You either love him with your whole heart, deeply appreciate his foundational influence and industry-altering contributions to soul and pop, and generally melt for his lilting honeyed tones, or you know nothing about anything. Openly cherish this national treasure while heâs still around. You never what 2018 has in store for our favorites. KIM SELLING
Susanna's Secret: A BDSM Opera
Mount Analogue and Operamuse will present an opera that will get you hot under the collar, Susanna's Secret, starring Samantha Gorham and Darrell Jordan of Seattle Opera. Susanna is a kinky woman with a clueless husband who must take her pleasure with a mute butler. The costumes are created by quirky locals Mary Anne Carter and Colleen Louise Barry; the set and garments will be available to see in the gallery from Thursday through Sunday for the duration of the opera's run. Let this be your first, spicy taste of contemporary opera.
SUNDAY
Bushwick Book Club: Evan Peterson's The PrEP Diaries
Local artists and musicians will perform original music inspired by and based on Seattle author, journalist, and horror critic Evan Peterson's critically acclaimed memoir The PrEP Diaries.
Ladysmith Black Mambazo
Ladysmith Black Mambazo have a whole bunch of guys singing bass. Thatâs the secret to their success. Okay, Paul Simon âfoundâ them, and thatâs been the secret to their success in what we loosely term âthe West.â By 1986, though, when Ladysmith Black Mambazo recorded and performed with Simon, they already had more than 20 albums in their native South Africa. Now they have more than 50 albums. They never stop touring, and theyâve outlasted the racist apartheid system under which the older members grew up. Theyâre still ambassadors to South African culture. And they make people happyâboldly, unironically, and enthusiastically. I just finished hearing more terrible news about you-know-who, ugh. We need happy like we need fucking food and air right now. Respect. ANDREW HAMLIN
Get all this and more on the free Stranger Things To Do mobile appâavailable now on the App Store and Google Play.
