Get pop-punk shin splints every night this week!
by Stranger Staff
Wednesday 10/9
Disclosure, T.Williams
(Showbox Sodo) See Data Breaker.
Jacco Gardner, Parson Red Heads, Ephrata
(Barboza) Dutch singer/songwriter Jacco Gardner sure has nailed that baroque psych-pop aura made obscurely famous by the likes of the Left Banke, Kaleidoscope (the UK one), the Millennium, and Billy Nicholls. Using flute, strings, harpsichord, and other traditionally non-rock instruments to augment his delicate, attractively morose compositions, Gardner erects a glittering simulacrum of a rarely glimpsed corner of the pop-rock spectrum. It really is pitch-perfect. This year's Cabinet of Curiosities will trigger paisley-shaped tears of joy among those partial to this sort of authentic replication. Seattle quartet Ephrata—featuring the up-and-coming filmmaker Brady Hall of Scrapper fame—create magisterial, heart-fluttering dream pop that'll shiver the neck hairs of Lush and Slowdive fans. DAVE SEGAL
Tjutjuna, Geist and the Sacred Ensemble, Kingdom of the Holy Sun
(Chop Suey) Denver five-piece Tjutjuna have bestowed to us Westerner, one of the most transcendent space-rock releases of the last 10 years—at least. Without an iota of stuffy academicism, they've integrated the formal elements of minimalist composers like Terry Riley and La Monte Young into a celestial, propulsive rock context. As a result, Tjutjuna's tracks take you higher off the mundane plane on which you exist than almost any other groups'. And with "Songer Dance," they've matched Spiritualized at their "Electric Mainline" peak. Seattle's Kingdom of the Holy Sun have taken inspiration from the Doors' "When the Music's Over" and "The End" in order to forge their own serpentine, hashish-dream rock epics. Check out their new, mojo-risin' full-length, Surya's Smile, for proof. DAVE SEGAL
Delorean
(Neumos) Spanish indie dance-pop quartet Delorean's 2010 Subiza was a collection of shimmering, sample-filled grooves as breezy and coastal as Zarautz, the town where the band was formed. One of the only knocks against it was that it sounded a little thin, a little too breezy in some parts. For the band's fourth full-length, Apar (which apparently is a Basque word for froth or foam), they attempt to bolster their formula by ditching the samples for guest vocals, boosting the production values, and slightly darkening the lyrics for a bigger, fuller, and ultimately realer end result. Even with these slight changes, Apar is still the kind of sunny, up-tempo stuff more suited for a Balearic vacation than fall in Seattle, and this Neumos set should offer an escape from the chilly outdoors via blissful dance-floor-ready pop jams. MIKE RAMOS
Thursday 10/10
Marky Ramone's Blitzkrieg with Andrew W.K., Figo
(Neumos) See Sound Check.
Loscil, Minamo, Marcus Fischer
(Chapel Performance Space) See Data Breaker.
Heatwarmer, Slashed Tires, Ursula, Erin Tanner
(Heartland) Slashed Tires is the experimental odd-pop project of one Kenneth Piekarski—former Stranger music intern and all-ages hero—and this show, I'm told, will be the first Slashed Tires set with a backing band (featuring Claire Buss of Peeping Tomboys on bass, Andrew Hall of Dude York on keys, and Peter Richards on guitar/bass). Slashed Tires' recordings range from funked-out, vaguely tropical party grooves to off-kilter loops of space noise, so the live versions with more hands on deck should be something to see. With the epic/awesome wackiness of Heatwarmer, and Ursula, who I've heard might be a talented teen pianist. Artist/musician Erin Tanner will be your puppeteer for the evening. EMILY NOKES
Fucked Up, Terror
(El Corazón) Do not miss this chance to see Fucked Up. Do not. The Toronto-based punk band puts on one of the best, most insane, but also most fun live shows you'll ever experience. Singer Damian Abraham, who's basically a hardcore teddy bear, can't keep his shirt on as he dives from the stage to the crowd over and over again while the band blasts through guitar-driven hardcore songs with a beat faster than the mosh pit's pulse. Go. Get sweaty, crazy, and deliriously happy. MEGAN SELING
Friday 10/11
The Waterboys, Freddie Stevenson
(Neptune Theatre) See Underage.
Hypnotikon: Seattle Psych Fest: CAVE, Lumerians, Midday Veil, Fungal Abyss, Tokyoidaho, Ecstatic Cosmic Union
(Triple Door) Many modern-day aural explorers flagrantly take cues from the krautrock bands of the '60s and '70s, but few bands manage to retrace those transdimensional journeys quite like Chicago's CAVE. Harnessing Neu!'s compacted and deliberate grooves, Irmin Schmidt's hallucinatory keyboard treatments, and Amon Düül II's playfully sinister psychedelia, CAVE skillfully pay homage to a bunch of German acid-heads who managed to make music that, even 40 years later, still sounds like it's channeled from the future. Oakland's Lumerians are similarly adept at capturing the hypnotic power of Köln and Düsseldorf's finest exports, while also culling from the best of British post-punk, Italian prog, and Nigerian Afrobeat. While tonight's two top acts follow in the path of visionaries from across the Atlantic, the entire lineup's sights are ultimately set on territories more cosmic than international. BRIAN COOK See also Stranger Suggests.
Quintron and Miss Pussycat, ZZZ, the Trashies
(Tractor) When people travel to Seattle, Washington (to BALLARD, even!), all the way from New Orleans, Louisiana, you should do yourself a kindness and go and see them perform. Quintron and Miss Pussycat's hard-to-define brand of "swamp-tech"—their weirdo-electro-dance-rock-soul-boogie (that usually comes complete with a puppet show)—is in a nutty world of its own. They're the kind of band that can make sense in either an art museum or strip club. Oh, and did I mention there's a puppet show? KELLY O
Saturday 10/12
Sleigh Bells, Doldrums
(Showbox at the Market) See Underage.
Hypnotikon: Seattle Psych Fest: Silver Apples, Cloudland Canyon, Night Beats, Jetman Jet Team, Brain Fruit, Karnak Temples
(Triple Door) The second night of this inaugural festival features proto-electronic-rock legends Silver Apples, whose first two vastly influential late-'60s albums abound with weirdly catchy, sample-worthy, analog-synth peregrinations. Leader Simeon's inventive, hippie-fried oscillator manipulations and poignantly fragile vocals continue to evoke a uniquely moving man/machine interface. Cloudland Canyon have transitioned from drone connoisseurs to krautrock worshippers to high-flying shoegaze rockers to kosmische-disco sun-touchers—a magnificent metamorphosis. The rest of the lineup's packed with homegrown talent: Night Beats' wired garage-psych, Jetman Jet Team's freewheeling krautgaze, Brain Fruit's interstellar improvisations, and Karnak Temples' arboreal guitar soliloquies. (Disclosure: I helped to curate this event.) DAVE SEGAL See also Stranger Suggests.
Nik Turner's Space Ritual, Master Musicians of Bukkake, Hedersleben
(Chop Suey) From 1969 to 1976, Nik Turner played a crucial role in helping Britain's Hawkwind to become one of the catalysts of space rock. A saxophonist, vocalist, and percussionist, Turner wrote or cowrote some of Hawkwind's most thrilling songs, including "Brainstorm," "Master of the Universe," "You Shouldn't Do That," and "D-Rider." Now 73, he's shown a propensity for introducing trance-inducing riffs and artful chaos into tracks, stretching them into bizarre shapes while retaining their essential "rockness." Recent footage of his large Space Ritual group reveals that Turner and his seven cohorts are pretty much keeping Hawkwind's science-fictional sonic and lyrical nature in rude health. DAVE SEGAL
Orange Goblin, Holy Grail, Lazer/Wulf
(Highline) Riffs on riffs on riffs on riffs. Expect nothing less from UK groove gods Orange Goblin. For 18 years now, these lords of sleaze have been releasing heavy yet catchy stoner rock with a cosmic flare. Their latest effort, A Eulogy for the Damned, is no exception, as it proved the Goblin can still rage after five years away from the studio. It's that kind of band where preshow bong hits are a requirement. Support comes from Holy Grail, a cheese-tastic power-metal band from California that obviously overdosed at a young age on Iron Maiden and Judas Priest singles. KEVIN DIERS
Sunday 10/13
Hypnotikon's over. Might as well go to church.
Monday 10/14
Earshot Jazz Festival
(Various venues) See Stranger Suggests. Runs through Nov 17.
Thee Oh Sees, OBN Ills, The Blind Shake
(Crocodile) There's something comforting in the prolific pile of gnarly wonder that is Thee Oh Sees—their new albums roll out on John Dwyer's freaky conveyor belt at a pace that puts most bands to shame; each slab of springy, WOO!-heavy, chugging reverb is as consistently enjoyable as the last. Thee Oh Sees' "sound" ranges from sharp garage catchiness to paranoid layers of psychedelic thrash (with the sweetest ghostly backup vocals you ever did hear), and a gruesome easiness ties them all together. On tour with Stones-washed punks OBN Ills and left-brained garage rockers the Blind Shake. Dance until your head falls off. EMILY NOKES
Coliseum, Red Hare, Heiress, Deadkill
(Highline) If you're already going to tonight's show to see Coliseum, here's a tip: Show up on time to see Deadkill. I know, I know, they're the first act on a four-band bill and the Highline stopped serving their BBQ nuggs, so why would you get there early? Because Deadkill fuckin' slay, dudes, that's why. Their punk rock is blistering and snotty, and their songs usually last no more than three minutes (sometimes less than two). Plus, singer Bryan Krieger has the best crazy eyes in all of Seattle. When he stares into the crowd and spits out, "Oh, God help you," you'll be wondering if, in fact, you really should start hoping there's some kind of higher power on your side. MEGAN SELING
Tuesday 10/15
Holy Ghost!, Midnight Magic
(Neumos) See Data Breaker.
Crystal Stilts, Zachary Cale, the Woolen Men
(Barboza) Crystal Stilts live in New York City and record for Sacred Bones, which makes them ripe fodder for a VICE magazine feature and sneering accusations of being a "hipster" band. And one can imagine hearing Crystal Stilts brooding heavy-liddedly over the PA of an Urban Outfitters. They're like a less dull and annoying Interpol, cheekily channeling monochrome UK groups like Joy Division, Jesus and Mary Chain, and Felt for people who weren't alive during those bands' heydays. (Crystal Stilts' 2011 album title, In Love with Oblivion, perfectly captures JD and JAMC's gestalts.) The Stilts are supporting their new album, Nature Noir, loaded with more of Brad Hargett's lugubrious-guy vocals and slightly brighter guitar textures. There's even one freaky tune ("Darken the Door") that's in waltz time. DAVE SEGAL
Emerson String Quartet
(Meany Hall) The mighty Emerson has had its first roster change in 34 years: the departure of cellist David Finckel, replaced by Paul Watkins. The quartet earned a double standing ovation in Washington, DC, in May, with Watkins onstage, and Pulitzer-winning critic Philip Kennicott wrote in the Washington Post that the Emerson is still, as always, pretty much "the professor at the party who refuses to dance": "They will never smother the music with love, but they always treat it and the audience with profound respect." UW prof and favorite Seattle pianist Craig Sheppard will join them for Shostakovich's Piano Quintet in G minor. JEN GRAVES
Real Friends, Mixtapes, Forever Came Calling, Pentimento
(Vera) Three things you must do before leaving the house for tonight's Mixtapes show: (1) Warm up your pogo muscles. Stretch your calves, do a couple of quick sprints. You don't want to get pop-punk shin splints while bouncing along. (2) Do plenty of vocal warm-ups, too. You'll most certainly be singing along to Mixtapes' undeniably catchy harmonies, and your pogo-pit neighbors would really appreciate it if you at least tried being on key. (3) Make sure you invite your crush! When the band launches into "Cheapness," grab their hand, rush the stage, and make eye contact while Maura Weaver sings "The world doesn't give a damn/But now I find that comforting/We'll dance while the rest of them sleep." Guaranteed postshow make-out sessions! MEGAN SELING
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