The Stranger

February Things to Do: Music

Julianne Bell — Mon, 02 Feb 2026 15:00:00 -0800

The best February music events in Seattle. by Julianne Bell

Want more? Here's everything we recommend this month: Music, Visual Art, Literature, Performance, Film, Food, and This & That.

Jade: That’s Showbiz Baby! Tour

FEB 6

I constantly annoy everyone I know by bragging that I was three years early to knowing about Chappell Roan, so I need you to believe me when I say that former Little Mix singer Jade Thirlwall is going to be a main pop girlie within the next couple of years. She’s already big in the UK and steadily gaining popularity stateside. No one else out there is doing it like her—I mean, who drops a fully art-directed visual album for their solo debut?? There are no skips, either. You can hear touches of all the great pop divas, like Gaga, Madonna, Kylie Minogue, and Diana Ross. The opener, “Angel of My Dreams,” about Jade’s ambivalent relationship to fame, is dreamy, celestial pop goodness reminiscent of “Lucky” by Britney Spears. I also love the track “Before You Break My Heart,” which samples a recording of Jade singing the Supremes’ “Stop! In the Name of Love” as a little girl, and which she says is written from the POV of her “younger self, begging me not to forget her and how far we’ve come.” (Paramount Theatre, 8 pm, all ages) JULIANNE BELL

Robyn Hitchcock

FEB 6

There is only one musician alive who could write a song titled “Tropical Flesh Mandala,” and that magus is 72-year-old Englishman in Nashville Robyn Hitchcock. A veteran psychedelic-rock court jester whom you should take very seriously, he continues to rock unorthodoxly and spin surrealistic yarns of deep mirth and poignancy at an age when most of his peers have declined creatively or dropped out of the game. Had the man with the lightbulb head only released those Soft Boys records—especially 1980’s jangly, neo-retro-psych classic Underwater Moonlight—he’d still be a hall-of-famer. But, of course, Hitchcock’s also built a prolific solo career studded with idiosyncratic gems that extrapolate on the brain-tickling elements of sonic soul mates Syd Barrett and John Lennon. Recent albums such as the earworm-intensive Shufflemania! and the acoustic-guitar-heavy, instrumental Life After Infinity prove that Robyn’s noggin’s still teeming with great, weird ideas. You never quite know which gaggle of tunes you’ll get at a Hitch gig, but you’re always guaranteed transport to more fascinating headspaces—particularly if he dips into 1981’s Black Snake Diamond Röle (hint, hint). (Neptune Theatre, 8 pm, all ages) DAVE SEGAL

Blood Cultures

FEB 11

They’re an anonymous, experimental indie-pop band who rock out on chillwave in hoods. What more do you need? I’m all about bands wearing disguises, and with the Residents out of commission for the moment (sigh), a quartet that tinks and reverbs and chirps along to videos of themselves (or somebody in hoods) lifting weights, shooting guns, making a mess with Chinese takeout, and turning themselves into scarecrows, just might fill dat gap. That was the gist of their video for the “Set It on Fire” single from their 2021 album LUNO, at least. What they’ll do in concert, I have no idea whatsoever, but it’s got to be conceptual. (Neumos,
7 pm, 21+) ANDREW HAMLIN

GZA

FEB 11

The fact that “Does GZA have a degree in physics?” pops up as the top GZA-related query on Google is a fitting testament to the scientific rhymes of the Wu-Tang cofounder and eldest statesman. Though he has appeared as a guest lecturer at Harvard and several other lauded institutions of learning (mostly about the field of life rather than the official study of physics), GZA—aka the Genius—keeps his most heralded published material on wax. His current tour is in celebration of the 30th anniversary of the release of his classic RZA-produced sophomore album, Liquid Swords. The album is an important document in the Wu catalog as it captured the essential Wu formula in amber—RZA’s developing cinematic, hard-knocking East Coast beats, heavy kung-fu samples, stacked guest verses from bandmates—while the group was in the process of taking over the rap world. Seeing a legendary artist perform a classic album, especially with a live band, is always a great opportunity to shout your favorite lines with a bunch of rowdy fans, and who knows, maybe he’ll give us a taste of his long-awaited Dark Matter project. (Nectar Lounge, 8 pm, 21+) TODD HAMM

Cécile McLorin Salvant

FEB 12–13 & 15

Cécile McLorin Salvant has the most exciting voice in contemporary jazz. It’s not just her pitch-perfect voice, which reaches the heights of Edith Piaf, Ella Fitzgerald, Eartha Kitt, and Kate Bush, but the inventiveness with which she flexes her vocals. On her most recent album, Oh Snap, the three-time Grammy Award winner and MacArthur Fellow croons through a dozen short, intimate original songs (plus an a cappella cover of the Commodores’ “Brick House”) that she never intended to see the light of day. Setting out on a personal creative quest to place spontaneity and joy at the heart of her writing process, Salvant tinkered with home recording programs to craft personal songs inspired by the music that soundtracked her childhood in 1990s Miami, from grunge and pop boy bands to classical and folk music. The result of the album is a delightfully chaotic audio journal that will please traditional jazz fans as well as genre rulebreakers like Erykah Badu and Solange. (Jazz Alley, 7:30 pm, all ages) AUDREY VANN

Ghostface Killah

FEB 15

Four days after his brother in Wu, GZA, touches the stage at Nectar, Ghostface Killah—he of many names and statement furs—plays the Crocodile. The silver-tongued storyteller is perhaps the greatest yarn-spinner in rap history; his extensive catalog stretches, of course, back to the Staten Island genesis of Wu-Tang Clan, and with very few breaks, extends to this past summer’s Supreme Clientele 2, which arrived complete with the typically preposterous skits, dicey slang, and tall tales of street corner business ethics you’d expect. It does pay to mention that not all Ghost’s exploits have aged well, and recent reports of homophobia and paternal negligence in relation to his queer son, who happens to be the rapper/singer Infinite Coles, show that he may have carried some of the uglier side of ’90s rap with him into the current day. Here’s hoping he makes an effort to clear things up by showtime. (Crocodile, 7 pm, 21+) TODD HAMM

Julianna Barwick & Mary Lattimore with Tiny Vipers

FEB 17

After touring together for several years, ambient musician/vocalist Julianna Barwick and experimental harpist Mary Lattimore developed a “musical telepathy” that became the basis for their newly released collaborative album, Tragic Magic. The result sounds like what would have been if there were synthesizers in the 18th century, thanks in part to their access to the Philharmonie de Paris’ Musée de la Musique’s instrument collection while recording the album. The duo miraculously recorded the album over just nine days, shortly after the 2025 LA wildfires, and poured their emotions from the tragedy into this meditation on the healing power of improvisation and shared experiences. They will support the album alongside Seattle-based experimental folk musician Tiny Vipers. (Crocodile, 8 pm, 21+) AUDREY VANN

Bitchin Bajas, Geologist

FEB 22

Don’t be deceived by Chicago trio Bitchin Bajas’ goofy name: They’re one of the world’s headiest groups. Evolving out of neo-krautrockers Cave, BB synthesists Cooper Crain and Dan Quinlivan and saxophonist Rob Frye have been enhancing their melodic chops, creating majestic tracks that would sound righteous filling Europe’s most ornate cathedrals. This past October at Neptune Theatre, they outshone their much more celebrated headliners Stereolab in a set that made me feel as if I were on five hits of Owsley. Animal Collective member Geologist (aka Brian Weitz) just released Can I Get a Pack of Camel Lights?, the follow-up to last year’s arcane, abstracted Americana LP, A Shaw Deal, with Sleepy Doug Shaw. The new hurdy-gurdy-powered album’s a mystical avant-rock trip that I dig more than anything his parent group have done. (Sunset Tavern, 8 pm, 21+) DAVE SEGAL

clipping.

FEB 25

clipping. have let it be known that they spend a lot of time thinking about what space sounds like, but it’s their creative process that may capture the idea best: Aside from a few notable exceptions, they use no samples, no presets—they make every sound from scratch. In short, they create in a vacuum. Space also permeates their lyrics and concepts. Octavia Butler and Samuel R. Delany pop up in verses; they have entire albums billed as Afrofuturist space operas. But it’s important to remember the three humanoids amidst the sci-fi poetry: vocalist Daveed Diggs (whom you may remember as ol’ Tommie Jefferson in the original cast of Hamilton), and producers William Hutson and Jonathan Snipes. Hutson and Snipes graft jagged power electronics to the cyberpunk quilt, bold and discordant by design, while Diggs pens horrorcore anthems that he unleashes breathlessly. The result is like a cleaner, more theatrical Death Grips—both of which are equally beautiful and terrifying. Tonight’s show opener, Open Mike Eagle, is also not to be missed. (Showbox, 8 pm, all ages) TODD HAMM

Patty Griffin, Rickie Lee Jones

FEB 26

Patty Griffin is one of the of the most consistently underrated American singer/songwriters in recent decades, boasting shotgun pipes and writing chops that have led Emmylou Harris, Ellis Paul, Kelly Clarkson, Rory Block, Dave Hause, Sugarland, Bette Midler and the Chicks, to cover her. And if you don’t believe them, take the word of Robert Plant, who installed her in his Band of Joy and still comes around to sing backups, notably on her latest album Crown of Roses, a tribute to her late mother. Rickie Lee Jones has a new live album out, Way Up High (Live Boston ’89); she’s looking to consolidate her longer-running position in the firmament. Not that it needs much consolidation—she had a hit on the singles chart with “Chuck E.’s in Love” back in 1979, and in 2012 she sang “Sympathy for the Devil” in the matter-of-fact scratchy diction of Mr. Scratch himself. Not even Jagger managed that. (Moore Theatre, 7:30 pm) ANDREW HAMLIN

säje

FEB 26–MARCH 1

The jazz-vocal quartet säje (rhymes with “beige”), took home two Grammys between 2023 and 2025. They consist of Sara Gazarek, Seattle native and graduate of Roosevelt High’s mighty jazz program; Amanda Taylor, also of our fair city; Johnaye Kendrick, a San Diego native who moved north to teach at Cornish College of the Arts; and Erin Bentlage, who came out from Vermont to teach in Los Angeles. They blend jazz, soul, blues, pop, folk, and Gazarek’s ever-evolving experimental edge, into an elaborate mix emphasizing complex chords and braided vocal parts. They solve problems neatly, too—stuck without a recording studio during the pandemic, they rented an Airbnb and dragged their own gear into it. That’s how they clocked their first Grammy. Excelsior! (Jazz Alley, 7:30 and 9:30 pm, all ages) ANDREW HAMLIN

Jackie O Motherfucker, Abronia, Von Wildenhaus

FEB 27

Way back in the ’00s, Pacific Northwest psychonauts Jackie O Motherfucker were standard-bearers for what venerable British mag The Wire termed “New Weird America”—a hazy axis of US musicians who infused folk and rock with a lysergic looseness and who mutated songforms into third-eye-punching jams. At their best, JOMF boast the opiated tunefulness of Relatively Clean Rivers and the organic, free-range rock sprawl of Amon Düül I. Leader and sole constant Tom Greenwood keeps changing the design of JOMF’s freak flag (as well as personnel), but the colors always astound. Portland’s Abronia have been steadily rising in the underground with five albums of peyote-spiked, Popol Vuh-like soundtrack grandeur, including the new Shapes Unravel (out 2/20 on Cardinal Fuzz/Feeding Tube). Listen to songs such as “Cauldron’s Gold,” “Smoke Fingers,” and “Walker’s Dead Birds,” and feel mountain-sized. Tacoma’s Von Wildenhaus are unpredictable eclecticists whose songs range from chamber-jazz torch songs sung by the alluring vocalist Billie Bloom to anthemic, Grandaddy-esque indie rock to Middle Eastern–inflected electronic pop to the most gorgeous song ever about ketamine. (Add-a-Ball, 8 pm, 21+) DAVE SEGAL

cupcakKe

FEB 27

Get your loved one what they really want this Valentine’s Day: tickets to see cupcakKe. I was introduced to the Chicago rapper in 2018 when she released Ephorize, and was immediately obsessed with the icy percussion that is just as frosty as her blue metallic lipstick on the cover. It belongs in the holy trinity of winter albums alongside Björk’s Vespertine and Whitney Houston’s My Love Is Your Love. On her newest album, The BakKery, cupcakKe serves up a fresh batch of witty, pearl-clutching poetry with memorable tracks like “One of My Bedbugs Ate My Pussy” and the very romantic “Fist Me.” As always, cupcakKe’s magic lies in her ability to pair the most random topics and references with unexpected production styles, such as the silky-smooth “Akeelah,” a city-pop-inspired breakup song with references to the 2006 film Akeelah and the Bee. (Showbox, 8:30 pm, all ages) AUDREY VANN

Esther Rose

MAR 3

I discovered Esther Rose in 2017 when she released her debut, This Time Last Night, an intimate country/folk album that feels like she’s playing for you around a campfire. Now on her fifth studio album, Want, the New Orleans native defies the expectations of what an Esther Rose album can be with bold indie rock arrangements and fuzzed-out guitars. As it’s depicted on the album’s cover, with Rose in a gauzy white cotton dress beside a Rose in a black pleather catsuit, the album balances hard and soft, juxtaposing songs like the Liz Phair–esque track “Ketamine” with the stripped-down piano ballad “Color Wheel.” The album also includes “Scars,” a duet with Seattle-based troubadour Dean Johnson—we love to see it! For this local date, Rose will be joined by fellow New Orleans singer-songwriter Thomas Dollbaum. (Sunset Tavern, 8 pm, 21+) AUDREY VANN

More

The Wayne Horvitz Ensemble Feb 2, 9, 16, 23 and March 2 & 9, Royal Room, 7:30 and 8:30 pm, all ages until 10 pm

The Stylistics Feb 5–8, Jazz Alley, times vary, all ages

Purelink, 'no hup,' Hünter Feb 10, Substation, 7 pm, 21+

Clap Your Hands Say Yeah Feb 11, Woodlawn Hall, 7:30 pm, all ages

Iris Unveiled Feb 12–15, Benaroya Hall, times vary, all ages

Biblioteka, TeZATalks, Acapulco Lips Feb 12, Neumos, 7 pm, 21+

Sudan Archives Feb 14, Neptune Theatre, 8 pm, all ages

Christopher Owens Feb 17, Tractor Tavern, 8 pm, 21+

The Pains of Being Pure at Heart, Living Hour Feb 16, Vera Project, 7 pm, all ages

Cat Power Feb 20, Paramount Theatre, 8 pm, all ages

Lola Kirke Feb 21, Fremont Abbey, 8 pm, all ages

SRJO Presents: The Music of Jimmy Smith and Oliver Nelson Feb 21–22, Benaroya Hall, times vary, all ages

Cardi B: Little Miss Drama Tour Feb 22, Climate Pledge Arena, 7:30 pm, all ages

Joan Shelley Feb 22, Ballard Homestead, 7:30 pm, all ages

Suzanne Vega Feb 22, Neptune Theatre, 7:30 pm, all ages

Neko Case Feb 27, Edmonds Center for the Arts, 7:30 pm, all ages

Early Warnings

St. Vincent Mar 5, Town Hall Seattle, 8 pm, all ages

Toody Cole, Semisoft Mar 6, Tractor Tavern, 8:30 pm, 21+

Blackwater Holylight, Som, Muñeca Mar 10, Neumos, 7 pm, 21+

Indigo De Souza Mar 10, Showbox, 8 pm, all ages

Mt Fog, iroiro, DJ Martin Douglas Mar 12, Tractor Tavern, 8 pm, 21+

Peaches Mar 14, Showbox, 8:30 pm, 21+

Aimee Mann: 22 ½ Lost in Space Anniversary Mar 15, Neptune Theatre, 8 pm, all ages

Conan Gray Mar 16, Climate Pledge Arena, 8 pm

Dirty Three Mar 21, Neumos, 7 pm, 21+

Marissa Nadler Mar 26, Tractor Tavern, 8 pm, 21+

Skullcrusher Mar 30, Barboza, 7 pm, 21+

Eliza McLamb Mar 31, Neumos, 7 pm, all ages

Raye: This Tour May Contain New Music Apr 3, WAMU Theater, 8 pm, all ages

Cass McCombs, Hand Habits Apr 4, Tractor Tavern, 8:30 pm, 21+

Waxahatchee, MJ Lenderman May 3, Paramount Theatre, 7:30 pm, all ages

Florence + the Machine May 12, Climate Pledge Arena, 7:30 pm, all ages

The Last Dinner Party May 22–23, Showbox SoDo, 8 pm, all ages

Stranger Suggests: A Psychosexual NC-17 Sensation, the Beginning of Your Year of Opera, and a Stoic White-Guy Worth Your Time

Julianne Bell — Mon, 12 Jan 2026 12:00:00 -0800

One really great thing to do every day of the week. by Julianne Bell MONDAY 1/12

Collide-O-Scope 16th Anniversary

(FILM) For a whopping 16 years, Collide-O-Scope has been a fixture of Seattle’s underground film and performance scene. It’s an institution that’s evolved alongside our city’s venues and creative spaces, putting in a decade at the (dearly missed) Re-bar, shifting online during the pandemic era, and finding a four-year home at the Crocodile’s recently closed Here-After before landing at its newest venue, the Clock-Out Lounge! For the uninitiated, the 16th-anniversary show is the perfect entry point into the cabaret, the chaos, and the community that have cemented Collide-O-Scope as a resilient part of Seattle nightlife history. (Clock-Out Lounge, 8 pm, 21+) LANGSTON THOMAS

TUESDAY 1/13

Colm Tóibín

(LITERATURE) Celebrated Irish author Colm Tóibín follows in the footsteps of literary giants like Henry James, James Baldwin, and Elizabeth Bishop, writing intensely human stories with unadorned, rhythmic prose. You’re most likely familiar with him through his sixth novel, Brooklyn, a breakout success that was adapted into the Oscar-nominated 2015 film of the same name starring Saoirse Ronan. Brooklyn revolves around young midcentury Irish immigrant Eilis Lace’s struggle to reconcile her past in Ireland with her new life in New York. Tóibín continued the saga with his 2024 sequel, Long Island, which picks up 30 years later as Eilis finds her marriage with her Italian husband Tony in disarray. Join him for this conversation at Town Hall for a glimpse into the mind of what the Boston Globe called “one of the world’s best living literary writers.” (Town Hall Seattle, 7:30 pm) JULIANNE BELL

WEDNESDAY 1/14

Steve Gunn, Jeffrey Silverstein

(MUSIC) It’s understandable if you’ve had your fill of stoic, white-guy guitarists with limited (yet pleasant) vocal ranges. But you should leave a sliver of precious time in your hectic life for Steve Gunn. What he lacks in singing prowess, he makes up for in instrumental expressiveness. Gunn’s a guitarist of rare melodic elegance and deceptive soulfulness, as evidenced by his 2013 breakthrough, Time Off, which found him contending with the legacies of British psych-folk masters such as Michael Chapman and Bert Jansch. Since then, Steve’s kept busy with several collabs (Kim Gordon, Mdou Moctar, Mike Cooper, Natural Information Society, etc.) and solo works, steadily building a fan base, with help via Matador Records’ marketing might. This year, Gunn’s released Daylight Daylight and Music for Writers for the more underground No Quarter and Three Lobed labels. The former thrums with chamber-art-pop splendor; the latter zones out in glowing ambient-drone-fingerpicking space, sans vox. The Triple Door should be a copacetic setting for this music’s understated grandeur. (Triple Door, 7:30 pm, all ages) DAVE SEGAL

THURSDAY 1/15

Fatlesque Fest NW at Triple Door

(PERFORMANCE) Fatlesque Fest NW is back with burlesque that challenges expectations and expands upon what the art form can look like onstage. Rooted in fat liberation and body positivity, the festival showcases performers from across the US, Canada, and the UK, with each night featuring a different cast and its own distinct energy. Headliners Lady Drew Blood and Lady Lola LeStrange anchor the lineup alongside a roster of featured performers serving humor and glamor. Produced by Puckduction, the same team behind Fat Con (also recommended), the fest carries a community- and visibility-first ethos into a bold, high-glam performance space. More than a showcase, Fatlesque Fest NW is a statement that celebrates joy, artistry, and bodies. (Triple Door, 7:30 pm, 18+) LANGSTON THOMAS

FRIDAY 1/16

Monster Rally

(MUSIC) For the past 15 years, Cleveland’s Ted Feighan has created a trove of transportive sound collages as Monster Rally. Envision your mid-century Pan Am touching down for several minutes at a time on a volcanic tiki retreat as imagined by the Loyal Order of Water Buffaloes; a bustling, sand-swept day market bearing bold spices and vibrant fabrics from across the empire; a Los Angeles Chinatown bossa nova jazz joint where the password is an inside joke. Alternately, the great thing about Monster Rally is that most of what your brain conjures when dosed with the sounds, Feighan has already made in visual form—most every release has been coupled with an extraordinary magazine cut-out piece of artwork that matches the escapist, exotically colored sounds he’s made, and his live shows are no different. By trade, a multi-instrumentalist beatmaker in the vein of Dirty Art Club, Teebs, or Madlib on his “Curls” beat shit, Feighan has chosen to open his studio for only the second time to outside vocalists (after his 2015 Foreign Pedestrians collab with Bay Area rapper Jay Stone), and the singles so far have displayed the telltale signs of crossover appeal. (Barboza, 6:30 pm, 21+) TODD HAMM

SATURDAY 1/17

Mourning Sickness: Showgirls

(FILM) What can I say about Paul Verhoeven’s landmark 1995 erotic drama that hasn’t already been said? That I felt like a changed person after watching it for the first time? That it is tacky and absurd to a degree approaching transcendence? That never in my life have I seen anything quite like Gina Gershon flirting with Elizabeth Berkley by talking about eating doggy chow? Whether you love or hate the critically panned movie, I’m willing to bet that you’re probably not indifferent. (I’m solidly in the love camp myself, in case you couldn’t guess.) See the psychosexual NC-17 sensation and its bevy of naked breasts on the big screen—drag queen and self-described “bird-brained bombshell” Monday Mourning will give an introduction to the film, which is part of her “Mourning Sickness” series of camp and cult classics. (Northwest Film Forum, 7:30 pm) JULIANNE BELL

SUNDAY 1/18

Seattle Opera: Daphne

The Seattle Opera presents Daphne at McCaw Hall January 16 and 18. COURTESY OF SEATTLE OPERA

(PERFORMANCE) One of my goals for 2026 is to start frequenting the opera—who’s with me? I want to see Seattleites step out of their Blundstones and Patagonias and into their opera gloves, faux furs, and antique opera glasses for an evening of art and glamour. I’ll be kicking off my Year of Opera with Strauss’s underrated masterpiece, Daphne, inspired by Ovid’s Metamorphoses. Strauss’s take on the Greek myth tells the story of Daphne, a woman who loves nature but has no interest in human romance, who turns into her favorite laurel tree after mourning the death of her suitor. Not only will this whimsical tale be brought to life on stage by the Seattle Opera, but the Seattle Symphony will join, playing the lush, pastoral score. (McCaw Hall, various times, all ages) AUDREY VANN

Prizefight!

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January 23, Pantages Theater (Tacoma)

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Stranger Suggests: Headbanging to Sludge Metal, Jumping into Freezing Water, and Eating Too Much Hot and Melty Cheese

Todd Hamm — Mon, 29 Dec 2025 10:00:00 -0800

One really great thing to do every day of the week. by Todd Hamm MONDAY 12/29

Rosebay Chalet

(CHEESE) For the second year, Hotel 1000 is going full vintage Swiss-alpine fantasy with the Rosebay Chalet. Once entering through the gingerbread-trimmed facade (made of actual gingerbread) and settling into a faux fur-decked fireside lounge, you might just forget you’re in Downtown Seattle. Festive cocktails aren’t the only treat in store here, as the food menu leans into winter comfort with Beecher’s fondue, giant Bavarian pretzels, and French onion soup. Plus, this year offers build-your-own gingerbread chalets, a shotski, board games, and a chairlift photo op watched over by a (reportedly very handsome, albeit fake) St. Bernard. (Rosebay, through Dec 31) LANGSTON THOMAS

TUESDAY 12/30

Eat Clam Chowder at Taproot Cafe & Bar

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(SOUP) Many may not know this, but I'm a clam chowder fan. I'm also very picky about this hearty form of soup. Clam chowder is often done wrong: Too thick or too thin, potatoes too hard or too soft, not enough clams, or the flavor of clams. Once in a while, however, I discover a place that gets all of these elements right, and that place, right now, is Columbia City's Taproot Cafe & Bar. They serve New England Clam Chowder with hickory bacon, steamed potatoes, and a herb emulsion. The bowl comes with a buttermilk roll and a warm feeling that is just perfect for long and cold nights. Heat must not come from the sun but from a stove operated by a cook who knows the secrets of clam chowder. (Taproot Cafe & Bar, open Tues-Sun) CHARLES MUDEDE

WEDNESDAY 12/31

Mudhoney, Student Nurse

(NEW YEAR’S EVE) Perhaps this is an unpopular opinion, but Mudhoney could have retired after releasing their 1988 debut single “Touch Me I’m Sick” and still achieved god-tier status in Seattle’s—and Earth’s—underground-rock scene. The foursome’s signature song swerved into the Stooges’ Fun House and pinched Iggy’s nipples hard, while vomiting into Scott Asheton’s kickdrum. How do you follow up such a monumental first release? Well, Mudhoney have soldiered on for 37 years with the same creative nucleus of Mark Arm and Steve Turner, putting subtle variations on their thunderous garage- and psych- rock templates, augmented by abundant and astringent guitar FX. One key to their greatness is, they’re masculine, not macho. Another key is, they possess humor and self-awareness; so even though their sound hasn’t changed much, they still don’t obviously repeat themselves. The band’s riffs and melodies still sting with the vitality of musicians a third of their ages, and even their last four albums—delivered at five-year intervals—rip musically, while spanking all the right people lyrically. These gr*nge warhorses are still thoroughbreds. (Neptune Theatre, 8 pm, all ages) DAVE SEGAL

Get plenty more New Year's Eve recommendations on EverOut!

THURSDAY 1/1

Polar Bear Plunge

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(BRRRRR) For generations, people around the world have been marking the start of each new year with a startlingly cold polar plunge. The tradition is celebrated in Canada, the Netherlands, England, Scotland—basically anywhere with ice-cold bodies of water and brave souls. Here in Seattle, amateurs and seasoned dunkers alike are invited to ring in 2026 with the annual Polar Bear Plunge on January 1 at Matthews Beach Park. Lifeguards will be on duty, and since there are hundreds of participants all rushing into the water at the same time, it’s a lot harder to wuss out. But if you want to up your chances of spotting seals or an orca or two, check out New Year’s polar plunge events with local groups, including Puget Sound Plungers and Coldwater Collective, who host plunges year-round at Alki, Golden Gardens, Redondo Beach, and more. As an experienced plunger, my advice to you is this: Wear a warm hat, and don’t be afraid to scream, laugh, swear, or cry through the first 30 seconds or so. It really does make a big difference. (Matthews Beach Park, noon, all ages, free) MEGAN SELING

FRIDAY 1/2

Welcome to Paradise: ¡Viva Puerto Rico Libre!

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(VISUAL ART) Part art exhibition, part act of resistance, Welcome to Paradise: ¡Viva Puerto Rico Libre! transforms tourism into protest and collective memory into defiance. Curated by Seattle-based Boricua artist Jo Cosme, the show expands on her solo work by featuring over 30 native Boricua artists from across the archipelago to confront colonialism, disaster capitalism, and displacement. Running through January, the exhibition is accompanied by La residencia: no me dejan quedarme aquí, a series of screenings, walk-throughs, and discussions exploring Puerto Rico’s history and ongoing fight for self-determination. (Office of Arts & Culture, various dates through Jan 10, all ages, free) LANGSTON THOMAS

SATURDAY 1/3

High on Fire, King Woman

(MUSIC) Consistency, as a critique of art, may connote poorly, but in a medium like metal, which requires an artist to retain an ungodly amount of thunderous energy to remain true and relevant, long-term consistency is rare. To see a High on Fire show—guitarist/vocalist Matt Pike inevitably bare-chested and imposing, bassist Jeff Matz gray-beardly purveying low-end sludge, and smashing new drummer Coady Willis (who happens to be the same Coady Willis of legendary Northwest outfits the Murder City Devils, Big Business, and occasionally the Melvins)—is to affirm heavy music as the lifeblood of eternal youth. The power trio’s ninth album, 2024’s Cometh the Storm, the first with Willis on kit, carries the same level of fire Pike and co. originally got high on, sounding nothing like you might expect from a group that has earned every right to have gone hoarse and nappy by now. That angle aside, the band still stands in 2025 as a torch-bearer of crunchy sludge metal, continuing to frolic in trippy metal pastures when similar bands of the era like Mastodon sadly could not. (Showbox, 7 pm, all ages) TODD HAMM

SUNDAY 1/4

Catch up on Frieren

(ANIME) Frieren: Beyond Journey’s End starts where most adventure stories end. The demon lord is defeated, the hero’s party disbands, and time moves on. The story follows Frieren, an elf mage who is over one thousand years old, as she reckons with what that victory cost her. How does an immortal process grief when everyone she loves ages and dies? What does a 10-year journey mean when it is only a fraction of your life? Frieren is a quiet, devastating meditation on memory, regret, and learning too late how much people mattered. If anime usually turns you off, trust me: The superb world-building, animation, and storytelling put Frieren in the rare company of must-watch anime like Ghost in the Shell or Akira. The English dub is also shockingly excellent, and I say that as someone who hates dubs. Catch up before season two premieres January 16. Bring tissues. “Frieren, you should treasure the encounters you have. Death isn't the only goodbye in this life.” (Streaming on Netflix and available to rent at Scarecrow Video) CHRISTIAN PARROCO

Stranger Suggests: Seattle's Favorite Holiday Light Display, One of Hip-Hop’s Old-Soul Success Stories, and a True Hockey Rivalry

Julianne Bell — Mon, 15 Dec 2025 13:25:00 -0800

One really great thing to do every day of the week. by Julianne Bell MONDAY 12/15

Vengeance Is Mine

(FILM) The late German-American filmmaker Michael Roemer is primarily known for his landmark films Nothing But a Man (1964) and The Plot Against Harry (1971), but his lesser-known family drama Vengeance Is Mine (1984) could give them a run for their money. On a trip to her family home in Rhode Island, where she hopes to get closure from her traumatic childhood, Jo (Brooke Adams) befriends neighbor Donna (Trish Van Devere) and finds herself ensnared in another domestic conflict altogether. Criterion Collection writes, “Bringing vérité naturalism to a seemingly melodramatic premise, Roemer crafts a miracle of novelistic psychological insight that, as it unspools, reveals ever-greater depths of human understanding.” (The Beacon, various times, through Dec 17) JULIANNE BELL

TUESDAY 12/16

Earl Sweatshirt, Liv.e, Zeloopers, Cletus Strap

(MUSIC) Earl Sweatshirt has been trying to turn the volume down for years. Once a teenage rap prodigy who found cult fame with, and brotherhood in, “the potty mouth posse” Odd Future Wolf Gang Kill Them All, Earl Sweatshirt now stands at age 31 as one of hip-hop’s old-soul success stories. Having just welcomed his second child and given up booze (and ramped up weed), he confidently told The New York Times’ Popcast this summer that his life is “fuckin’ normal, finally.” The recorded discography of Sweatshirt, born Thebe Neruda Kgositsile, documents the life journey of someone who once helped define, then survived to outgrow, a generation of youthful nihilism. But more than a post-nihilist victory lap, his new album, Live Laugh Love, is a bombastic celebration of passion. Gone are the days where each line was an avalanche of syllables that tumbled across the page like a chorus of cracking double-jointed knuckles; today, Sweatshirt raps with a blunted calm that sounds well-earned, but what remains is the vivid imagery and referential depth you have to rewind (gladly) to fully appreciate, proving he’s still one of the best to ever do it. (Showbox SoDo, 8 pm, all ages) TODD HAMM

WEDNESDAY 12/17

Bait Shop Holiday Light Show

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(HOLIDAY) Everyone’s favorite Capitol Hill dive bar is back with its annual holiday light show! Bait Shop always goes whole hog with holiday decorations, and its epic musical light show illuminates every hour on the hour(ish). The staff manually flips the light switches, so be sure to tap into the holiday spirit and tip them extra for their hard work. We love the bar’s seasonal bevvies and details like the decked-out bathrooms, dick-covered wrapping paper, and tiny Santa hats on every animal. (Bait Shop, 4 pm-2 am daily, 21+, free) SHANNON LUBETICH

THURSDAY 12/18

In Tandem: A Trio of Duets

(PERFORMANCE) This evening of performances treats audiences to three different duets, each springing from long-term creative collaborations and exhibiting different choreographic styles. First up is the US premiere of Fable, a work from Bebe Miller with Angie Hauser and Darrell Jones that promises to explore “findings from a 25-year perspective on the contexts of art making through the body over a lifetime, exposing the collision of their internal processes as dance artists, friends, and citizens.” Next, Maurya Kerr, artistic director of the Bay Area-based company tinypistol, will present comet, whom I love, a “duet full of rapture, orbit, intimacy, fury, and presence.” Rachael Lincoln and Leslie Seiters will cap off the night with Fast Craft: Still Unlike Diving, a “study in pause, friction, and the beautiful collapse of certainty” 25 years in the making. (On the Boards, 8 pm, through Dec 20, all ages) JULIANNE BELL

FRIDAY 12/19

Jay Som, Sea Lemon

(MUSIC) Melina Mae Cortez Duterte, better known by her stage name Jay Som, dubs her brand of dreamy, intimate DIY bedroom pop “headphone music,” citing influences as disparate as Carly Rae Jepsen, Phil Elverum, and Alanis Morissette. She’s opened for musicians like Mitski and Japanese Breakfast, and contributed a song to the 2024 film I Saw the TV Glow. After a six-year break from solo music, during which she meticulously trained her technical skills, she’s released her latest album, Belong, which showcases her growth and leans into pop-punk territory with guest vocals from Hayley Williams of Paramore and Jim Adkins of Jimmy Eat World. Don’t miss an opening set from local artist Natalie Lew of Sea Lemon, who takes inspiration from the eerie beauty of the ocean and describes her vibe as “Costco Cocteau Twins.” (Neumos, 8 pm, all ages) JULIANNE BELL

SATURDAY 12/20

The Game Show

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(VISUAL ART) What happens when art plays by its own rules? Or makes up new ones entirely? The Game Show is a two-weekend exhibition exploring this concept and the space between where games become art and art becomes play. Curated from an open call for work back in October, thirty artists now present whimsical, interactive, and delightfully odd projects, including dancers with bubble wrap, octopus roleplay, cardboard hotels built by mathematicians, projections that speak through walls, and, my personal favorite, a claw machine. Inspired by 20th-century philosopher Ludwig Wittgenstein’s idea that rules shift as we play, the show invites visitors to experiment, question, and engage through chance, movement, strategy, and mischief. (Vestibule, through Dec 21, free) LANGSTON THOMAS

SUNDAY 12/21

Seattle Torrent vs. Boston Fleet

Seattle Torrent forward Julia Gosling (#88) and captain Hilary Knight (#21) make a play for the puck in the team's first game on Friday, November 21. BILLIE WINTER

(SPORTS) A lot of energy has been poured into developing a rivalry between the Seattle Torrent and the Vancouver Goldeneyes. I get it. Both clubs made their PWHL debut this year, and the cities are just a few hours apart, making it easy for fans to follow the teams on the road. I’m all for anything that drums up more excitement about women’s hockey. But I say the true Torrent rivals are the Boston Fleet, aka the team that put our Captain Hilary Knight up for grabs during the expansion draft (thanks, dummies!), and was formerly home to our GM, Meghan Turner. Other one-time Mass-holes on the Torrent roster include Alternate Captain Emily Brown, forward Lexie Adzija, and forward Hannah Bilka, who has a goal and two assists in three games. Hopefully, at Sunday’s matinee game, the Torrent can show the Fleet the error of their ways. (Climate Pledge Arena, 2 pm, all ages) MEGAN SELING

Stranger Suggests: A Singer-Songwriter Obsessed with Weddings, One Half of 'Las Culturistas,' and a Holiday Pop-Up Bar that Doesn’t Suck

Julianne Bell — Mon, 01 Dec 2025 13:30:00 -0800

One really great thing to do every day of the week. by Julianne Bell MONDAY 12/1

Anna of the North

(MUSIC) Oslo-based pop singer Anna of the North knows a little something about finding joy in long, dark winters. The artist has been in the music game for a while, from having her 2015 debut single "Sway" remixed by the Chainsmokers to opening for Kygo's European tour and providing guest vocals for tracks on Tyler, the Creator's 2017 album Flower Boy. She's had two songs featured in the To All the Boys Netflix film series; her catchy track "Dream Girl" was also in an iPad commercial, and the 2017 single "Lovers" found new life on TikTok more recently. Her latest music has drifted toward danceable soul-inspired synthpop, promising a ridiculously fun live show. The singer has teased on social media that this could be her last US tour, so don't miss out. (Neumos, 7 pm, all ages) SHANNON LUBETICH

TUESDAY 12/2

A John Waters Christmas

(COMEDY) John Waters is an icon—a pencil-thin moustache, dark sunglasses, a transgressive catalog of films, and an overall dedication to filth. But, on his string of novelty singles on Sub Pop Records (“Jingle Bells” / “It's a Punk Rock Christmas” and "John Waters Covers Little Cindy 'Happy Birthday Jesus'” / “A Pig Latin Visit from St. Nicholas”), Waters has an outlet to transform into new characters and direct himself à la Cindy Sherman. On “Happy Birthday Jesus,” Waters morphs into a little Christian girl from the South speaking directly to Jesus on Christmas night. On his cover of the Singing Dogs’ “Jingle Bells,” he splits into a pack of barking dogs, scaring away unwanted carolers and guests who have overstayed their welcome. I caught up with the legendary filmmaker, actor, writer, and artist ahead of his annual Christmas tour to discuss his upcoming stop in Seattle, his own Christmas traditions, and why he doesn’t want your stupid fruitcake. Gather around the electric chair, children, because the man with the bag has landed! Read the interview here! (The Neptune, 8 pm, all ages) AUDREY VANN

WEDNESDAY 12/3

Jens Lekman, Jordan Patterson

(MUSIC) I fell in love with Swedish musician Jens Lekman’s music the very first time I heard “You Are the Light (by Which I Travel Into This and That)” on KEXP as a teen and soon graduated to listening to a burned CD of his 2004 debut album When I Said I Wanted to Be Your Dog on repeat, becoming fixated on his melodramatic yearning and witty storytelling. The hopeless romantic has since fulfilled the prophecy he set for himself in the early track “If You Ever Need a Stranger (To Sing at Your Wedding),” in which he volunteered himself as a wedding singer: “You think it’s funny / My obsession with the holy matrimony / But I’m just so amazed to witness true love.” Since then, he’s performed at countless weddings, and his seventh album, Songs for Other People’s Weddings, is a narrative concept album inspired by his experience, accompanied by a tie-in novel by author David Levithan. (Neumos, 7 pm, all ages) JULIANNE BELL

THURSDAY 12/4

Megha Majumdar

See author Megha Majumadar at Elliott Bay Book Company Thursday.

(BOOKS) Kolkata-born author Megha Majumdar’s incendiary 2020 debut novel A Burning, which follows the story of an Indian woman who witnesses a terrorist attack on a train, became a New York Times bestseller and was longlisted for the National Book Award that year. Set in the near future of Kolkata, Majumdar’s sophomore novel A Guardian and a Thief tells the intertwining stories of Ma, whose purse containing crucial immigration documents is stolen just before her family’s move to America, and Boomba, the thief who is driven to crime out of his desperation to support his own family. Majumdar will drop by Elliott Bay to discuss her work with local writer Kim Fu, author of Lesser Known Monsters of the 21st Century. (Elliott Bay Book Company, 7 pm, free) JULIANNE BELL

FRIDAY 12/5

Immortal Technique, w/Poison Pen & DJ Static, True II Form, Premium Smoke, DJ Indica Jones

(MUSIC) Felipe Andres Coronel, the Peruvian-bred, Harlem-hardened MC better known as Immortal Technique, is not touring in support of a new album—in fact, the rapper hasn’t released a full-length in roughly 15 years—however, his return to the stage does seem born of the same call to action that led him to release venomous underground-rap classics like Revolutionary Vol. 1 and 2 during the younger Bush presidency. During that time, Tech established himself as the militant mouthpiece of conscious rap, harvesting the revolutionary ethos of bands like Rage Against the Machine and Public Enemy, and cramming it through the meat grinder of the era’s energized battle-rap scene. In more recent years, he has done work counseling prison inmates (of which he was once one), and mentoring young writers, as well as partnering with a nonprofit group to help build an orphanage in Afghanistan. The man walks the walk, and for obvious reasons, there may not be a more appropriate and cathartic time to see an Immortal Technique show that will likely be peppered with political diatribes. We fully recommend you go get an earful. (Nectar Lounge, 8 pm, 21+) TODD HAMM

SATURDAY 12/6

Matt Rogers: Christmas in December

(COMEDY) [Mariah Carey voice] “It’s tiiiime!” Mimi might be the holiday’s reigning queen, but comedian and actor Matt Rogers, cohost of your pop-culture-savvy queer friend’s favorite podcast Las Culturistas, has undoubtedly earned the title of “Pop Prince of Christmas” with his musical comedy TV special and album Have You Heard of Christmas? The hysterical romp features appearances from friends like Bowen Yang and MUNA and is the perfect antidote to Christmas fatigue with its joyfully irreverent take on Yuletide cheer. At his live performance at the Neptune, Rogers will perform songs like “God’s Up to His Tricks!” (in which he calls God a “stupid bitch”), “Lube for the Sleigh,” and “The Hottest Female Up in Whoville.” (Neptune Theatre, 8 pm, all ages) JULIANNE BELL

SUNDAY 12/7

Miracle on 2nd

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(FOOD & DRINK) In 2014, New York bar owner Greg Boehm temporarily transformed his space into a kitschy Christmas wonderland replete with gewgaws and tchotchkes galore. Now, the pop-up has expanded to more than 100 locations all over the world and returns to Belltown’s Rob Roy. Beverages are housed in tacky-tastic vessels, bedecked with fanciful garnishes like peppers and dried pineapple, and christened with cheeky, pop- culture-referencing names like the “Bad Santa,” the “Yippie Ki Yay Mother F****r” (their asterisks, not ours), and the “You’ll Shoot Your Rye Out.” (Rob Roy, 4 pm–2 am, through December 25) JULIANNE BELL

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December Things to Do: Music

Julianne Bell — Mon, 01 Dec 2025 11:55:00 -0800

The best music events in December. by Julianne Bell

Want more? Here's everything we recommend this month: Music, Visual Art, Literature, Performance, Film, and Food.

Jens Lekman, Jordan Patterson

Dec 3

I fell in love with Swedish musician Jens Lekman’s music the very first time I heard “You Are the Light (by Which I Travel Into This and That)” on KEXP as a teen and soon graduated to listening to a burned CD of his 2004 debut album When I Said I Wanted to Be Your Dog on repeat, becoming fixated on his melodramatic yearning and witty storytelling. The hopeless romantic has since fulfilled the prophecy he set for himself in the early track “If You Ever Need a Stranger (To Sing at Your Wedding),” in which he volunteered himself as a wedding singer: “You think it’s funny / My obsession with the holy matrimony / But I’m just so amazed to witness true love.” Since then, he’s performed at countless weddings, and his seventh album, Songs for Other People’s Weddings, is a narrative concept album inspired by his experience, accompanied by a tie-in novel by author David Levithan. (Neumos, 7 pm, all ages) JULIANNE BELL

Rochelle Jordan, Essosa, Parisalexa

Dec 4

Rochelle Jordan’s third full-length album, Through the Wall, has made me more excited about new music than I’ve been in a long time, reminding me of when I first heard luminary breakthrough releases like Solange’s A Seat at the Table, SZA’s Ctrl, or Azealia Banks’s 1991. The album leans into a nostalgic club sound, reminiscent of a ’90s fashion show or incidental music on Sex and the City. On the Kaytranada-produced track “The Boy,” Jordan’s velvety vocals sing a radio-ready hook suitable for Brandy or Aaliyah. My crystal ball says that she will blow up any day now, so don’t miss this intimate show at Barboza. Plus, with openers like London’s Essosa and Seattle’s own Parisalexa, I’m certain that this show will be the dance party of the year. (Barboza, 7 pm, 21+) AUDREY VANN

Immortal Technique, w/Poison Pen & DJ Static, True II Form, Premium Smoke, DJ Indica Jones

Dec 5

Felipe Andres Coronel, the Peruvian-bred, Harlem-hardened MC better known as Immortal Technique, is not touring in support of a new album—in fact, the rapper hasn’t released a full-length in roughly 15 years—however, his return to the stage does seem born of the same call to action that led him to release venomous underground-rap classics like Revolutionary Vol. 1 and 2 during the younger Bush presidency. During that time, Tech established himself as the militant mouthpiece of conscious rap, harvesting the revolutionary ethos of bands like Rage Against the Machine and Public Enemy, and cramming it through the meat grinder of the era’s energized battle-rap scene. In more recent years, he has done work counseling prison inmates (of which he was once one), and mentoring young writers, as well as partnering with a nonprofit group to help build an orphanage in Afghanistan. The man walks the walk, and for obvious reasons, there may not be a more appropriate and cathartic time to see an Immortal Technique show that will likely be peppered with political diatribes. We fully recommend you go get an earful. (Nectar Lounge, 8 pm, 21+) TODD HAMM

Takuya Nakamura, Nick Carroll

Dec 11

Takuya Nakamura is not your typical electronic-music producer. The trumpeter and keyboardist moved from Japan to the US in 1990 to study at the New England Conservatory of Music under innovative jazz composer George Russell. This was a big fucking deal, as Russell’s concepts influenced John Coltrane and Miles Davis’s modal music. Nakamura applied those ideas to his own playing, doing sessions with Quincy Jones, David Byrne, Lee “Scratch” Perry, the GZA, Arto Lindsay, and many other notables. Takuya’s solo output encompasses highly musical takes on jazzy drum ‘n’ bass, ambient, broken beat, and funky techno. Check out recent tracks such as “BonJah” and “Caged Bird Flying” and the Jon Hassell-esque dub-jazz of Mysteries of the Cosmos for examples of his fascinating fusions. Opener Nick Carroll—who used to serve as talent buyer at electronic-music hotbed Kremwerk—is an excellent, eclectic DJ who’s more used to making folks dance for hours at off-the-grid parties than at conventional venues. Trust me, you don’t want to miss his set. (Barboza, 7 pm, 21+) DAVE SEGAL

Mt Fog, Von Wildenhaus, Power Strip

Dec 11

Seattle-born trio Mt Fog uses minimalist electronic sounds and ethereal vocals as a magic wand to “evoke magical spaces, real and imagined.” Their 2024 album, ultraviolet heart machine, gained critical praise due to its whimsical marrying of Björk-style growls with sparkly ’80s synths. Now, the band is back with a new song, “Look Inside,” which they will debut at this single release show along with a snazzy new music video directed by artist Sean Downey with illustrations by Dena Zilber. This show is a must for fans of Cocteau Twins, the Sugarcubes, Kate Bush, Sinéad O’Connor, and Siouxsie & the Banshees. Don’t miss opening sets from cinematic indie-pop outfit Von Wildenhaus and improvisational ambient project Power Strip. (Sunset Tavern, 8 pm, 21+) AUDREY VANN

Modern Nature, Brigid Dawson and the Mother’s Network

Dec 12

There’s a small but important coterie of UK groups who respectfully and deftly emulate the motorik rhythms blueprinted by the OG krautrockers. They include Beak>, Cavern of Anti-Matter, Snapped Ankles, Fujiya & Miyagi, and Th’ Faith Healers. Add Cambridge’s Modern Nature to that clique, although they also embrace the sort of wide-screen, brooding rock that Radiohead have taken to the credit union, albeit with less bombast. Led by Ultimate Painting member Jack Cooper (a serious composer who’s had work performed by Apartment House), Modern Nature also have strains of jazzy folk in their DNA, which should appeal to fans of John Martyn and late-career Talk Talk. On this tour, Modern Nature are supporting The Heat Warps, a wonderfully intimate album that imbues minimalist post-rock with beautiful songcraft—a real rarity these days. The sweet-voiced leader of Brigid Dawson and the Mother’s Network formerly played bass and keyboards with Thee Oh Sees. The band’s brilliant 2020 album Ballet of the Apes hovers in the shivery, nocturnal-rock zone of Brightblack Morning Light, but with more instrumental oomph. (Clock-Out Lounge, 8:30 pm, 21+) DAVE SEGAL

Antibalas, Midpak

Dec 13 & 14

Fela Kuti and Tony Allen may be dead, but their pioneering Afrobeat legacy powers on with more voltage than ever in the 2020s. One of these revolutionary Nigerian musicians’ most skillful disciples, NYC’s Antibalas, have been fanning Fela and Tony’s artistic flames with unmatched fluency and funkiness for a quarter century. The intricate, interlocking polyrhythms, the triumphant horn charts, and the liberatory political lyrics build into perpetual-motion machines that make you think, against all logic, a more just world is possible. Following the departure of long-running singer Duke Amayo after 2020’s Fu Chronicles, Antibalas have returned with the all-instrumental album, Hourglass, which harks back to the group’s first principles, but with greater subtlety. It’s fairly certain that Fela and Tony would bust moves in approval. Opening will be Seattle quartet Midpak, whose serpentine and explosive funk laces African, Latin, and psychedelic elements into potent, party-starting jams. (Hidden Hall, 8 pm, 21+) DAVE SEGAL

Rose City Band, Pearl Charles

Dec 16

Earlier in this century with Wooden Shjips, guitarist/vocalist Ripley Johnson took rock to sky-high places through transcendent repetition. Shortly after with keyboardist Sanae Yamada in Moon Duo, he “helped to forge a cool-browed strain of electronic rock that’s ideal for zipping down the Autobahn at breathtaking speeds,” if I may quote myself. Over the last six years, Johnson’s focused on Rose City Band with some of the mellowest and headiest players in Portland. Deviating from Johnson’s previous projects, they ease the foot off the gas pedal and engage in amiable country rock for people who also dabble with microdosing. Ripley has fashioned an appealing sotto voce singing style (with occasional forays into falsetto) that meshes nicely into the undulating and fluid pedal-steel and faded-denim guitar explorations that dominate RCB recordings. Thankfully, Johnson hasn’t altogether ditched mantric repetition; check out the hypnotic, lysergic “Fear Song” from 2019’s self-titled debut. To reiterate the guiding ethos of my music criticism, the more psychedelic Rose City Band get, the better they sound. So, let’s hope that they enter a reality-altering headspace and get real long gone. (Tractor Tavern, 8 pm, 21+) DAVE SEGAL

Earl Sweatshirt, Liv.e, Zeloopers, Cletus Strap

Dec 16

Earl Sweatshirt has been trying to turn the volume down for years. Once a teenage rap prodigy who found cult fame with, and brotherhood in, “the potty mouth posse” Odd Future Wolf Gang Kill Them All, Earl Sweatshirt now stands at age 31 as one of hip-hop’s old-soul success stories. Having just welcomed his second child and given up booze (and ramped up weed), he confidently told The New York Times’ Popcast this summer that his life is “fuckin’ normal, finally.” The recorded discography of Sweatshirt, born Thebe Neruda Kgositsile, documents the life journey of someone who once helped define, then survived to outgrow, a generation of youthful nihilism. But more than a post-nihilist victory lap, his new album, Live Laugh Love, is a bombastic celebration of passion. Gone are the days where each line was an avalanche of syllables that tumbled across the page like a chorus of cracking double-jointed knuckles; today, Sweatshirt raps with a blunted calm that sounds well-earned, but what remains is the vivid imagery and referential depth you have to rewind (gladly) to fully appreciate, proving he’s still one of the best to ever do it. (Showbox SoDo, 8 pm, all ages) TODD HAMM

Jay Som, Sea Lemon

Dec 19

Melina Mae Cortez Duterte, better known by her stage name Jay Som, dubs her brand of dreamy, intimate DIY bedroom pop “headphone music,” citing influences as disparate as Carly Rae Jepsen, Phil Elverum, and Alanis Morissette. She’s opened for musicians like Mitski and Japanese Breakfast, and contributed a song to the 2024 film I Saw the TV Glow. After a six-year break from solo music, during which she meticulously trained her technical skills, she’s released her latest album, Belong, which showcases her growth and leans into pop-punk territory with guest vocals from Hayley Williams of Paramore and Jim Adkins of Jimmy Eat World. Don’t miss an opening set from local artist Natalie Lew of Sea Lemon, who takes inspiration from the eerie beauty of the ocean and describes her vibe as “Costco Cocteau Twins.” (Neumos, 8 pm, all ages) JULIANNE BELL

Mudhoney, Student Nurse

Dec 31

Perhaps this is an unpopular opinion, but Mudhoney could have retired after releasing their 1988 debut single “Touch Me I’m Sick” and still achieved god-tier status in Seattle’s—and Earth’s—underground-rock scene. The foursome’s signature song swerved into the Stooges’ Fun House and pinched Iggy’s nipples hard, while vomiting into Scott Asheton’s kickdrum. How do you follow up such a monumental first release? Well, Mudhoney have soldiered on for 37 years with the same creative nucleus of Mark Arm and Steve Turner, putting subtle variations on their thunderous garage- and psych- rock templates, augmented by abundant and astringent guitar FX. One key to their greatness is, they’re masculine, not macho. Another key is, they possess humor and self-awareness; so even though their sound hasn’t changed much, they still don’t obviously repeat themselves. The band’s riffs and melodies still sting with the vitality of musicians a third of their ages, and even their last four albums—delivered at five-year intervals—rip musically, while spanking all the right people lyrically. These gr*nge warhorses are still thoroughbreds. (Neptune Theatre, 8 pm, all ages) DAVE SEGAL

High on Fire, King Woman

Jan 3

Consistency, as a critique of art, may connote poorly, but in a medium like metal, which requires an artist to retain an ungodly amount of thunderous energy to remain true and relevant, long-term consistency is rare. To see a High on Fire show—guitarist/vocalist Matt Pike inevitably bare-chested and imposing, bassist Jeff Matz gray-beardly purveying low-end sludge, and smashing new drummer Coady Willis (who happens to be the same Coady Willis of legendary Northwest outfits the Murder City Devils, Big Business, and occasionally the Melvins)—is to affirm heavy music as the lifeblood of eternal youth. The power trio’s ninth album, 2024’s Cometh the Storm, the first with Willis on kit, carries the same level of fire Pike and co. originally got high on, sounding nothing like you might expect from a group that has earned every right to have gone hoarse and nappy by now. That angle aside, the band still stands in 2025 as a torch-bearer of crunchy sludge metal, continuing to frolic in trippy metal pastures when similar bands of the era like Mastodon sadly could not. (Showbox,
7 pm, all ages) TODD HAMM

Steve Gunn, Jeffrey Silverstein

Jan 14

It’s understandable if you’ve had your fill of stoic, white-guy guitarists with limited (yet pleasant) vocal ranges. But you should leave a sliver of precious time in your hectic life for Steve Gunn. What he lacks in singing prowess he makes up for in instrumental expressiveness. Gunn’s a guitarist of rare melodic elegance and deceptive soulfulness, as evidenced by his 2013 breakthrough, Time Off, which found him contending with the legacies of British psych-folk masters such as Michael Chapman and Bert Jansch. Since then, Steve’s kept busy with several collabs (Kim Gordon, Mdou Moctar, Mike Cooper, Natural Information Society, etc.) and solo works, steadily building a fan base, with help via Matador Records’ marketing might. This year, Gunn’s released Daylight Daylight and Music for Writers for the more underground No Quarter and Three Lobed labels. The former thrums with chamber-art-pop splendor; the latter zones out in glowing ambient-drone-fingerpicking space, sans vox. The Triple Door should be a copacetic setting for this music’s understated grandeur. (Triple Door, 7:30 pm, all ages) DAVE SEGAL

Monster Rally

Jan 16

For the past 15 years, Cleveland’s Ted Feighan has created a trove of transportive sound collages as Monster Rally. Envision your mid-century Pan Am touching down for several minutes at a time on a volcanic tiki retreat as imagined by the Loyal Order of Water Buffaloes; a bustling, sand-swept day market bearing bold spices and vibrant fabrics from across the empire; a Los Angeles Chinatown bossa nova jazz joint where the password is an inside joke. Alternately, the great thing about Monster Rally is that most of what your brain conjures when dosed with the sounds, Feighan has already made in visual form—most every release has been coupled with an extraordinary magazine cut-out piece of artwork that matches the escapist, exotically colored sounds he’s made, and his live shows are no different. By trade, a multi-instrumentalist beatmaker in the vein of Dirty Art Club, Teebs, or Madlib on his “Curls” beat shit, Feighan has chosen to open his studio for only the second time to outside vocalists (after his 2015 Foreign Pedestrians collab with Bay Area rapper Jay Stone), and the singles so far have displayed the telltale signs of crossover appeal. (Barboza, 6:30 pm, 21+) TODD HAMM

Yarn/Wire, Yiğit Kolat, Yonatan Ron

Jan 22

The sound of avant-garde classical ensemble Yarn/Wire is in the name—fuzzy, fibrous threads interwoven with scratchy, metallic chords. Founded in NYC back in 2005, the adventurous piano/percussion quartet pushes the boundaries of contemporary music with their annual Currents project, which serves as an incubator for innovative experimental music. While their music can be unconventional, the pianos maintain a sound within the classical music realm that is accessible to the general public—meaning, yes, you can bring your parents or grandparents to this without fearing their judgment or discomfort. This is the relaxing kind of experimental music, not the chaotic kind. (Meany Hall, 7:30 pm, all ages) AUDREY VANN

Cate Le Bon, Frances Chang

Jan 27

I first heard Welsh musician Cate Le Bon after the release of her 2013 album, Mug Museum, and have been an unabashed fan girl ever since. Her signature sound, which I can only describe as angular, self-assured, and surreal, is a bulletproof formula that has yet to produce a bad album. Her seventh release, Michelangelo Dying, is no exception. The album is slow-paced and melancholy, with more shoegaze elements than we’ve ever seen from her before, largely due to the all-consuming heartache Le Bon experienced while making the album. The album reaches its apex on “Ride,” featuring my boyfriend John Cale (of the Velvet Underground), which is a molasses-y duet between the Welsh experimentalists bolstered by layered vocals and echoing saxophones. Singer-songwriter/poet Frances Chang will open. (Neptune Theatre, 8 pm, all ages) AUDREY VANN

More

Pansy, Torch, All Friends Here Dec 3, Tractor Tavern, 8 pm, 21+

19th Annual Tom Waits Tribute Night Dec 6, Conor Byrne Pub, 8 pm, 21+

DJ Mandy Dec 6, Neumos, 10 pm, 21+

Damien Jurado’s December Residency Sundays Dec 7-28, Tractor Tavern, 7:30 pm, 21+

John Prine Christmas with Jenner Fox Band Dec 9, Tractor Tavern, 8 pm, 21+

The Intelligence, Ononos, Dish Pit Dec 10, Chop Suey, 8 pm, 21+

Acapulco Lips, New Age Healers, and iroiro Dec 11, Chop Suey, 8 pm, 21+

Thunderpussy x Mike McCready Dec 11, the Showbox, 8:30 pm, 21+

SMOOCH with Bob Mould and Blondshell Dec 13, the Showbox, 7:30 pm, 21+

Sera Cahoone Band with Carrie Biell Dec 18, Tractor Tavern, 7:30 pm, 21+

Yob with Hell Dec 18, Neumos, 7 pm, 21+

David Benoit Christmas Tribute to Charlie Brown with Courtney Fortune Dec 18-21, Jazz Alley, all ages

Jenny Don’t and the Spurs: Pre-NYE Bash Dec 30, Tractor Tavern, 8 pm, 21+

New Year’s Eve with Kenny G Dec 31, Jazz Alley, 7:30 & 10:30 pm, all ages

Bone Thugs-N-Harmony Jan 9, Crocodile, 6 pm, 21+

Madison Cunningham Jan 10, St. Mark’s Cathedral, 7:30 pm, all ages

The Residents Jan 10, Neptune Theatre, 8 pm, all ages

Seattle Retro Fest Jan 16-17, Crocodile Complex, 6 pm, 21+

Clinton Fearon Jan 17, Nectar Lounge, 8 pm, 21+

Judy Collins Jan 22-25, Jazz Alley, 7:30 pm, all ages

Karl Denson’s Tiny Universe Jan 24, Crocodile, 8 pm, 21+

WAR Jan 29-Feb 1, Jazz Alley, 7:30 pm, all ages

Early Warnings

Robyn Hitchcock Feb 6, Neptune Theatre, 8 pm, all ages

GZA Feb 11, Nectar Lounge, 8 pm, 21+

Sudan Archives Feb 14, Neptune Theatre, 8 pm, all ages

The Pains of Being Pure at Heart and Living Hour Feb 16, Vera Project, 7 pm, all ages

Cat Power Feb 20, Paramount Theatre, 8 pm, all ages

Suzanne Vega Feb 22, 7:30 pm, Neptune Theatre, 7:30 pm, all ages

Cardi B: Little Miss Drama Tour Feb 22, Climate Pledge Arena, 7:30 pm, all ages

Aimee Mann: 22 ½ Lost in Space Anniversary Neptune Theatre, 8 pm, all ages

Marissa Nadler Mar 26, Tractor Tavern, 8 pm, 21+

Skullcrusher Mar 30, Barboza, 7 pm, 21+

Raye: This Tour May Contain New Music Apr 3, WAMU Theater, 8 pm, all ages

Cass McCombs with Hand Habits Apr 4, Tractor Tavern, 8:30 pm, 21+

Waxahatchee with MJ Lenderman May 3, Paramount Theatre, 7:30 pm, all ages

November Things to Do: Music

Julianne Bell — Wed, 12 Nov 2025 04:00:00 -0800

The best music events in November. by Julianne Bell

Want more? Here's everything we recommend this month: Music, Visual Art, Literature, Performance, Film, Food.

Ginger Root

Nov 4–5

Once upon a time, Ginger Root’s DIY visionary Cameron Lew told Atwood Magazine he hasn’t considered working with an outside producer because each idea he has “moves so fast that I’m afraid if I lose momentum, then the whole song is going to go away.” Lew’s frantic creative energy is apparent in most everything he puts out. Ginger Root’s most recent full-length, 2024’s SHINBANGUMI, was accompanied by a 20-minute mockumentary about a struggling video producer in 1987 Japan who finds the courage to start his own production company. His live show is no exception. Rounded out by a jumpsuit-clad video-effects specialist wielding a newscast-grade camera for live video mixing, a Ginger Root show is a multimedia delight where every aspect is both unexpected and essential. Lew’s quirky Huntington Beach outfit performs as a quartet (gotta count the cameraman), and if you showed up to Japanese Breakfast’s ZooTunes show in September, for which Ginger Root opened, you already get the draw. Musically, Lew and co. zip between bedroom city pop, goofball soul, and jammy, Mattson 2–esque jazz, all buoyed by Lew’s sketch-comedy banter and nasty electro-slide-whistle riffs. (Crocodile, 8 pm, all ages) TODD HAMM

Triathalon, YUNGMORPHEUS

Nov 5

When Triathalon’s 2014 debut, Lo-Tide, came out, beach-goth rock arrangements and whammy bar surf-guitar work were their calling card, but soon, any coarseness in tone was smoothed out like fine-grain beach sand. By the time 2018’s Online came around, keyboards and a drum machine had entered the chat, and we were left with the suave, breathy, post-chillwave beats we would come to rely on. Their guitars had become seductive garnish, and cinematic postcoital shower vibes were on the menu. Fast forward to 2025, and the only thing remaining in the New York trio’s creative story arc was, you guessed it: existential dread. The band has said their newest effort, Funeral Music, answers the growing question of what sort of vibe their memorial services would put out, and interestingly enough, the tracks find the band leaning back into their more foundational rock and specifically shoegaze impulses. (Barboza, 7 pm, 21+) TODD HAMM

Freakout Festival

Nov 6–9

You may not know most of the lineup, but if you’re agile enough to hit up multiple rooms per night and you Do Your Own Research™, you can discover several new artists—local and foreign—who’ll long-term enrich your life. That’s the magic of Freakout Fest, now in its 13th year. With 70 acts performing at nine venues in Ballard and Fremont, Freakout promises a diversity of sonic adventures. Japanese noise-rockers Melt-Banana are as wild as ever, 32 years on. Portland’s Møtrik honor their name with klassik, ekstatik krautrock accelerations. Switzerland’s L’Eclair—some of whose members moonlight in Zambian rock gods W.I.T.C.H.—elegantly and cinematically funk you up (and down and all around) and will make you feel very sophisticated. Seattle shoegazers glass egg will unveil songs from their new, serenely misty visions & ecstasies album. The industrial-electronic group Chalk will bring their foundation-shaking capabilities all the way from Northern Ireland. My can’t-miss pick is Mexican psych-rock group Diles Que No Me Maten, who purvey an eerie, mysterious strain of post-punk. I could go on, but I don’t want to annoy my editor. [Ed. note: I did in fact let Dave go on—check out his 20 (!) Freakout Festival picks at TheStranger.com.] (Various venues and times, 21+) DAVE SEGAL

ECSC: 20th Rare Soul Weekender with Bernadette Bascom

Nov 7

In the early and mid 1980s—when grunge was merely a sprout in the dirt—Bernadette Bascom, the daughter of civil rights activist Rev. Marion C. Bascom, was keeping R&B and soul flowing through the Pacific Northwest with jams like “I Don’t Wanna Lose Your Love” and “Seattle Sunshine.” This is just a small fraction of what makes Bascom a local legend, along with being a member of funk groups Acapulco Gold and Robbie Hill’s Family Affair, becoming the first artist signed to Stevie Wonder’s Black Bull label, and teaching singing lessons across the region for decades. Long-running DJ collective Emerald City Soul Club will kick off their 20th annual Rare Soul Weekender with a live performance from the local legend, along with DJs spinning heat from their rare vinyl collections. (Black Lodge, 9 pm, 21+) AUDREY VANN

Freddie Gibbs & the Alchemist, Mavi, Sven Wunder

Nov 7

Individually, Freddie Gibbs and the Alchemist are two of the finest remaining practitioners of classic rap orthodoxy. The two have shown that hard-bodied street rhymes (Gibbs) and sample-based, neck-snapping beats (the Alchemist) never really went out of style, it’s just that fewer people were doing them hard enough. The Gary, Indiana–bred emcee is also hilarious. On record, Gibbs is quick to rap about “smashing like mashed potatoes,” and lament forgetting how many kids he has, like he did between songs at his Bumbershoot set last summer. For his part, the Beverly Hills–raised Alan Daniel Maman, aka the Alchemist, has produced for an enormous chunk of the rap pantheon, ranging in style from Action Bronson to Dilated Peoples, Schoolboy Q to Earl Sweatshirt. Of late, his penchant for album-length collabs has resulted in more than a few gems, but most notably, 2020’s Alfredo with Gibbs, which was nominated for Best Rap Album at the following year’s Grammys. This year’s sequel, Alfredo 2, is another notch in the duo’s illustrious win column. (Showbox SoDo, 8:30 pm, all ages) TODD HAMM

Reyna Tropical

Nov 8

Fabiola Reyna has mastered both the agile guitar picking of several vintage Southern Hemisphere subgenres and the art of homage, to turn tragedy into enduring legacy. Originally one half of Reyna Tropical, Reyna suddenly found herself the sole remaining band member when, in 2022, her musical partner Nectali “Sumohair” Díaz died in a scooter accident. After much contemplation, Reyna decided to carry on, keeping the moniker as tribute. Early RT EPs featured equal guitar/vocal songwriting and MPC input in the vein of a sunny Chico Mann/Captain Planet collab, and while Reyna’s 2024 solo debut, Malegría (a fitting mashup of the Spanish words for “bad” and “happiness”), does contain a dose of dance flare à la Bomba Estéreo, the album features her brilliant soukous-inspired, high-register guitar flourishes and lively dance BPM, with moments of more loping chicha tempos, all while honoring the band’s original motto, “Queer love and Afro-Mexico.” (Nectar Lounge, 8 pm, 21+) TODD HAMM

Shudder to Think, Zwei Null Zwei

Nov 8

Shudder to Think made the rare leap from DC punk stronghold Dischord to major label Epic (thanks to an Eddie Vedder endorsement), but it was hard for indie die-hards to be mad at them in those nutty, post-Nevermind ’90s. Bands as weird and audacious as Shudder to Think deserved to get a shot at next-medium-sized-thing status, damn it. Despite the Dischord association, STT were never punk, per se. Rather, they were actually a strange mix of math rock, post-punk, and glam rock, which Craig Wedren then launched skyward with a voice that swooped from delicate falsetto to powerful roar like an American Freddie Mercury. STT really bloomed on 1992’s Get Your Goat, a dazzling collection of songs that swerved unpredictably, flexed impressive guitar muscles, and invented new forms of rock beauty, thanks largely to Wedren’s demonically angelic vibrato. The 1994 Pony Express Record solidified STT’s status as quirky genii; its slanted and enchanted rock left Pavement sounding like flat-footed normies. Seeing a reunited Shudder to Think—one of the featheriest heavy bands that America’s produced—in 2025 seems like an improbable yet necessary dream. (Barboza, 6:30 pm, 21+) DAVE SEGAL

The Saints ’73-’78

Nov 9

Who was the first punk qua punk band? It’s an argument that can last for days, but Australia’s the Saints can legitimately contend for that honor. Although the Ramones’ first LP came out months earlier than the Saints’ 1976 debut single, “(I’m) Stranded”/“No Time,” both groups were germinating their fast and noisy songs synchronously on different continents in ’73 and ’74. Whatever the case, the Saints’ early tunes have aged very well, and new generations of punk-rock lovers still hunger to hear them played live. Ergo, this tour. Mudhoney front man Mark Arm’s replacing the Saints’ late, raw-throated singer Chris Bailey, and though his voice isn’t as adenoidal, Arm has the pipes and agitational energy to do these snarling anthems justice. Thankfully, original guitarist/songwriter Ed Kuepper’s still kicking ass, and he’ll be joined by OG Saints drummer Ivor Hay, ex–Birthday Party/Bad Seeds mensch Mick Harvey, and bassist Peter Oxley. Expect middle-aged folks moshing to the swashbuckling punk nuggets of (I’m) Stranded, Eternally Yours, and Prehistoric Sounds, plus singles from this vital era that have never been performed in North America. (Neptune Theatre, 8 pm, all ages) DAVE SEGAL

Doechii

Nov 10

All hail Doechii the don, Doechii the dean, Doechii supreme, the Swamp Ruler! Unless you’ve been living under a rock for the last two years, I feel confident in assuming that you’re probably already familiar with the Grammy Award–winning rapper, singer, and fashion icon and her insanely brilliant, inventive 2024 mixtape, Alligator Bites Never Heal. In that case, maybe you, too, shed a few tears over her historic Grammys performance, cackled over the sitcom-inspired “Denial Is a River” video, and braved Ticketmaster to secure tickets to the Seattle stop on her Live From the Swamp Tour. The Swamp Princess herself has decreed a school-inspired dress code for the tour and proclaimed that the “runway starts at the venue,” so I suggest treating this assignment like the Met Gala and taking a cue from Doechii’s chic, menswear-inspired personal style—time to start raiding the thrift stores for sweater vests, pleated skirts, blazers, and button-downs! (WAMU Theater, 8 pm, all ages) JULIANNE BELL

Patti Smith

Nov 10

Patti Smith (who will also be in town the night before for a book event) is the punk poet laureate, a National Book Award–winning author, Instagram sensation, and overall national treasure. And, despite her status as an American icon, I am constantly in awe of her down-to-earth personality and approachability. In 2015, during the release of her second memoir, M Train, I caught Patti at a now-demolished U-District cathedral for a reading. To my surprise, the evening was delightfully unstructured, with acoustic songs, stories, and an unmoderated Q&A. Having now seen her on three different occasions, I’ve found that she brings that authentic, inviting energy to every show she plays. Smith will celebrate the 50th anniversary of her debut album, Horses, by playing the album in its entirety. My fingers are crossed that she’ll also perform her first single, “Piss Factory,” which also happens to be my go-to karaoke song. (Paramount Theatre, 8 pm, all ages) AUDREY VANN

David Byrne

Nov 11–13

When Byrne released Who Is the Sky? earlier this year, he posted a full-album listening party on YouTube. “Hello and thank you for listening to my record for the first time,” he said to the screen before the first track, in that David Byrne voice that is somehow awkward and stilted and completely charismatic. “Now, since this is the first time you’ve heard this record, there’s some tips I suggest: Be with someone you love, and cut some onions. Prepare a nice meal, together. Eat it when the record’s over.” He’s a delightful weirdo on stage and on screen, and one of the few boomer white men I still want to give a mic to. He won’t tour forever, so take advantage of this chance to see him. And you may ask yourself, “Well, how did I get here?” (Paramount Theatre, 8 pm, all ages) HANNAH MURPHY WINTER

Neko Case, John Grant

Nov 14

Good things come to those who wait, and for me, that good thing is Neko Case’s first album in seven years, Neon Grey Midnight Green. Between the breezy, Virginia Astley–esque “Winchester Mansion of Sound,” which is an ode to her dearly departed friend/collaborator Dexter Romweber, and the cinematic love song “Wreck,” the album is already in the running to be my favorite of the year. Before I had even heard the full album, I was immediately drawn to its cover, which features Case swathed in green fur beside a fallen chandelier, with a puff of smoke in her hand, evoking the 19th-century surrealist artists Leonor Fini and Leonora Carrington. The album was recorded at her home studio in Vermont—Carnassial Sound—and is her first produced by her alone. Case writes: “I’m proud to say I produced this record. It is my vision. It is my veto power. It is my taste.” She will support the new album alongside singer-songwriter John Grant (formerly of the Czars). (Paramount Theatre, 8 pm, all ages) AUDREY VANN

Seattle Bands Stand With Gaza: Mt Fog, Reverse Death, Westmoreland

Nov 16

Good cause/good bands alert. Seattle’s Mt Fog have morphed from the solo project of vocalist/musician/songwriter Carolyn B. into a trio featuring Afrocop drummer/Select Level keyboardist Andy Sells and bassist Casey Rosebridge. Carolyn’s kaleidoscopic vocals hint at the artful acrobatics of Kate Bush, Björk, and Sinéad O’Connor while the songs on their latest album, 2024’s Ultraviolet Heart Machine, cohere into compelling hybrids of emotion-laden synth-pop and funk. They should be much better known. Led by multi-instrumentalist Daniel Onufer, Reverse Death have become one of my favorite local rock bands, making psychedelic music that’s beautiful, languorous, and suffused with mystery. Their 2022 album, Stretching to Infinity, basks in a tranquil, sacred aura of liquid guitar chime-bliss that’s as devotional as German mystics Popol Vuh. The track title “Floating Delight” telegraphs its effect. The new Reflectors, Vol. 1 showcases Reverse Death’s affinity for gorgeous minimalist psychedelia à la Spiritualized, with hints of a more chill 21st-century Beach Boys. Seattle seldom produces music of this beatific nature, so treasure it, you ingrates. (Tractor Tavern, 7:30 pm, 21+) DAVE SEGAL

Julie Doiron, Black Belt Eagle Scout

Nov 16

Canadian singer-songwriter Julie Doiron is the only person on Earth who wrote a song about a dying grandma so catchy and affecting that it’s a Vivian go-to when a fool passes me the aux cord (Broken Girl is foundational for sad girls everywhere). A former member of the dreamy, punky Eric’s Trip, Doiron is a songwriter’s songwriter who has consistently released interesting folk-ish alternative music for three decades. She’ll share the stage with Black Belt Eagle Scout, or Katherine Paul, the Anacortes-born, Portland-based Indigenous singer-songwriter whose 2023 record The Land, the Water, the Sky, is a beautiful heart-ripper. Recommended for fans of Phil Elverum (Mount Eerie/the Microphones), who is musically and personally connected to both artists. (Vera Project, 7 pm, all ages) VIVIAN McCALL

Shrek Rave

Nov 21

The lords, ladies, and fairy-tale creatures of Far Far Away are gathering for a night of absolute bedlam in Shrek’s Swamp—regardless of his “KEEP OUT OGRE” signs. There will be costumes, a kaleidoscope of Shrek-meme visuals, and an EDM-ified Shrek soundtrack. People will be sipping on swamp juice. What’s in it? Nobody knows, but definitely a fuckton of alcohol. This is the Shrek Rave. Be warned: This is literally a rave. If you go into it thinking it’ll be a fun Shrek costume party like some of us did back in 2023 or whenever this party went on its viral national tour, you may be disappointed. That happened to me. Go expecting a sweaty, bass-thumping party with a pocketful of MDMA in a pair of donkey ears and you’ll have the time of your life. (Crocodile, 10 pm, 21+) NATHALIE GRAHAM

Built to Spill, Papas, Larry Yes

Nov 25–26

Built to Spill is the best thing to come out of Idaho since the potato crop. Doug Martsch has been rocking out Boise-style since ’92. In that sense, they’re a “legacy act.” But good songs never die, and There’s Nothing Wrong With Love and Keep It Like a Secret are timeless because they were never super on trend. Built to Spill always did its own thing. (But if you’re worried the new-ish songs from 2022’s When the Wind Forgets Your Name will ruin your precious nostalgia, even these “new” songs were written a long time ago.) The band is joined by Boise’s Papas and Portland’s Larry Yes, two artists so small that putting them on this bill with indie-rock legends is, like Built to Spill, rad, old-school scene love. (Neptune Theatre, 8 pm, all ages) VIVIAN McCALL

More

Sir Chloe, Venus & the Flytraps Nov 5, Showbox, 8:30 pm, all ages

Tomo Nakayama ‘Ocean’ Album Release Nov 7, Fremont Abbey, 7:30 pm, all ages

Belly: 30th Anniversary of ‘King’ Nov 9, Crocodile, 7 pm, 21+

Herb Alpert & the Tijuana Brass & Other Delights Nov 9, Benaroya Hall, 7:30 pm, all ages

TeZATalks, N3PTUNE, Pussy Willow, and Porcelain Nov 9, Barboza, 7 pm, 21+

‘Avatar: The Last Airbender’ Live in Concert Nov 15, Paramount Theatre, 7 pm, all ages

The Brian Jonestown Massacre, Federale Nov 15, Showbox, 8 pm, 21+

King Princess: The Girl Violence Tour Nov 16, Showbox SoDo, 8 pm, all ages

Boris: ‘Pink’ 20th Anniversary Tour Nov 17, Crocodile, 8 pm, all ages

Donnie Emerson & Nancy Sophia Rabbit Box Nov 19, 8 pm, all ages

Khruangbin Nov 19, Neptune Theatre, 8 pm, all ages

Piano Starts Here Presents: The Music of Sun Ra & Fletcher Henderson Nov 19, Royal Room, 7:30 pm, all ages until 10 pm

An Evening with the Residency in 3-D with Macklemore Nov 20, Showbox, 7:30 pm, all ages

Bryan Adams: Roll with the Punches with Pat Benatar & Neil Giraldo Nov 21, Climate Pledge Arena, 7:30 pm, all ages

Dean Johnson, Theo Lawrence Nov 21, Showbox, 8 pm, 21+

Tei Shi, Harmony Nov 21, Madame Lou’s, 6:30 pm, 21+

Heart, Cheap Trick Nov 23, Climate Pledge Arena, 7 pm, all ages

Oblé Reed, Parisalexa, and Esebree Nov 26, Neumos, 7 pm, all ages

Sarah McLachlan Nov 26, Paramount Theatre, 8 pm, all ages

Deep Sea Diver: Homecoming Concert Nov 28, Paramount Theatre, 8 pm, all ages

Seattle’s Tribute to The Last Waltz Nov 29, Neptune Theatre, 8 pm, all ages

The Mountain Goats Dec 3–4, Neptune Theatre, 8 pm, all ages

Early Warnings

SYML Dec 5, Moore Theatre, 8 pm, all ages

A John Prine Christmas with Jenner Fox Band Dec 9, Tractor Tavern, 8 pm, 21+

Smokey Brights: ‘Dashboard Heat’ Album Release Dec 11, Crocodile, 8 pm, 21+

Thunderpussy with Mike McCready Dec 11, Showbox, 8:30 pm, 21+

Earl Sweatshirt Dec 15, Showbox SoDo, 8 pm, all ages

David Benoit’s Christmas Tribute to Charlie Brown with Courtney Fortune Dec 18–21, Jazz Alley, various times, all ages

Jenny Don’t & the Spurs Pre-NYE Bash Dec 30, Tractor Tavern, 8 pm, 21+

Mudhoney Dec 31, Neptune Theatre, 9 pm, all ages

New Year’s Eve with Kenny G Dec 31, Jazz Alley, various times, all ages

The Residents Jan 10, Neptune Theatre, 8 pm, all ages

Cate Le Bon Jan 27, Neptune Theatre, 8 pm, all ages

Julianna Barwick with Mary Lattimore Feb 17, Crocodile, 8 pm, 21+

Cardi B Feb 22, Climate Pledge Arena, 7:30 pm, all ages

Suzanne Vega Feb 22, Neptune Theatre, 7:30 pm, all ages

October Things to Do: Music

Julianne Bell — Wed, 01 Oct 2025 15:32:00 -0700

The best concerts and dance nights happening in October. by Julianne Bell

Want more? Here's everything we recommend this month: Music, Visual Art, Literature, Performance, Film, Food, This & That.

Laufey, Suki Waterhouse

Oct 4

Icelandic singer-songwriter, composer, producer, and multi-instrumentalist Laufey captured the hearts and minds of a generation with her whimsical, jazzy 2023 album Bewitched, which took home a Grammy for Best Traditional Pop Vocal Album. With her newest album, A Matter of Time, she explores influences from multiple genres and reveals a more complex, vulnerable side: As she told Uproxx, “People expect a pretty façade of girly clothes, fantastical stories, and romantic music. This time, I was interested in seeing how I could draw out the most flawed parts of myself and look at them directly in the mirror.” She’ll be joined on her tour by Brit model turned indie-pop singer Suki Waterhouse. (Climate Pledge Arena, 7:30 pm, all ages) JULIANNE BELL

Lambrini Girls, Edging

Oct 5

Following in the tradition of X-Ray Spex and Huggy Bear, Brighton, England’s Lambrini Girls blow the cobwebs off punk with a hurricane of caustic energy and barbed lyrics about sexism, homophobia, gentrification, police brutality, rich bastards, music-biz nepotism, eating disorders, and frauds. (Their dance-pop anomaly “Cuntology 101” stands with the Slits’ “Typical Girls” in the Funny Feminist Rock Hall of Fame.) Boasting a fan club that includes Iggy Pop and Kathleen Hanna, the Girls have dropped one of the thorniest and most exhilarating albums of 2025, Who Let the Dogs Out. Lilly Macieira busts out filthy and thick basslines (think Daisy Chainsaw) while guitarist Phoebe Lunny cranks out wiry, mosh-pit-inspiring riffs and contributes asbestos-throated vocals. (Crocodile, 8 pm, all ages) DAVE SEGAL

Autechre, Mark Broom

Oct 6

Every Autechre show is a hyperkinetic séance of rhythmic complexity and intense volume. Performing in total darkness without acknowledging the crowd, British abstract-techno innovators Sean Booth and Rob Brown get down to the serious business of submerging their loyal fans (there are no other kind, in my experience) in a shape-shifting torrent of convulsive electronic sorcery. At a typical Autechre gig, hallucinogens are superfluous, as the strangely angled and textured music is more than enough to discombobulate you. Cautionary tale: At a packed 2001 AE set in a bunker at the Detroit’s Electronic Music Festival, I was tripping on ac*d and felt as if I were trapped forever in a fucked-up maze. A friend who was there accurately described the sound as “castanets clacking on a crack-house floor.” It’s amazing that a group this improvisational and abstruse still has substantial drawing power more than 30 years into their existence. An awesome AE live show is one of the few sure things in the music biz and, frankly, the world at large. (Crocodile, 6:30 pm & 10:00 pm, 21+) DAVE SEGAL

Turnstile, Amyl and the Sniffers, Speed, Jane Remover

Oct 7

Since their formation in 2010, the Baltimore-based hardcore punk band Turnstile has grown from hometown darling to mainstream breakout success, racking up multiple Grammy nominations in 2023, headlining festivals, and drawing praise from the likes of Hayley Williams and Dev Hynes. The group counts Bad Brains and Sade among their influences and mixes hardcore with melodic pop structures, resulting in eminently listenable songs with widespread appeal. If you’re still not convinced, the Seattle stop on their Never Enough tour will feature sets from rising digicore artist Jane Remover, Australian hardcore five-piece Speed, and fellow Aussie punks Amyl and the Sniffers. (WAMU Theater, 7 pm, all ages) JULIANNE BELL

Lucinda Williams and Her Band

Oct 9

Lucinda Williams is my favorite songwriter. From early songs like “Sharp Cutting Wings (Song to a Poet)” to the flawless “Side of the Road” and “Fruits of My Labor,” Williams has the rare ability to write a folk song that isn’t simply sad or happy, but ignites the dark, hidden shadows of joy. This is perhaps the clearest on her 1980 sophomore album, Happy Woman Blues, which set a tone for her long legacy of introspective, nuanced songwriting. Williams suffered a stroke back in 2020, which has left her unable to play guitar, but got back on the road just a year later, leaning on her love of playing music and writing to get her through the dark times. During that period, Williams finished her memoir, Don’t Tell Anybody the Secrets I Told You, and her 15th studio album, Stories From a Rock n Roll Heart. The alt-country legend will grace the 5th Avenue Theatre with an evening of stories, songs, and visuals from her nearly 50-year-long musical career. (5th Avenue Theatre, 7:30 pm, all ages) AUDREY VANN

Nation of Language, Westerman

Oct 9–10

When Ian Richard Devaney croons, “Just a reminder, I’m in love,” on Nation of Language’s beautifully sparse 2023 single “Weak in Your Light,” you’d have to be missing a pulse not to feel properly reminded. Buoyed by Devaney’s dramatic new wave vox and braced with shimmering synthesizers, Moog drum tracks, and, let’s be honest, statuesque cheekbones, NoL’s nostalgic, emotion-drenched intellectual pop has grabbed fans from across the Smiths’Future Islands continuum and beyond since 2020’s Introduction, Presence. Now touring in support of their fourth album, the Sub Pop–backed Dance Called Memory, the Brooklyn trio has added a bit more guitar to their arpeggiated analog-synth formula (there’s even strumming!), without losing their sleek, stylish allure. (Showbox, 8 pm, all ages) TODD HAMM

NonSeq: Patricia Wolf, WNDFRM

Oct 11

I was once shopping at a small Portland record store with the golden-hour sun shining through the windows, expensive incense smoke wisping through the air, and delightfully minimal ambient music blasting. Eager to recreate the bliss when I got back to Seattle (but too shy to ask the employee what the record was), I turned to good ol’ Shazam for answers. It turned out to be Patricia Wolf’s 2022 minimalist masterpiece, See-Through. Using field recordings, acoustic, and electronic instruments, Wolf unites the natural and synthetic worlds, creating a meditative and hypnotic experience. As a part of Wayward’s experimental music series, Nonsequitur, Wolf will debut new material on a variety of electronic instruments. She will be joined by sound artist WNDFRM (aka Tim Westcott) and trippy live visuals from video artist Leo Mayberry. (Chapel Performance Space, 8 pm, all ages) AUDREY VANN

Smerz

Oct 13

If the idea of two sweetly harmonizing Norwegian women making nonchalantly brilliant electronic music doesn’t pique your interest, then you should probably reassess your aesthetics. Henriette Motzfeldt and Catharina Stoltenberg have been creating interesting and varied electronica since 2018, like a less flamboyant Björk—although the intimate, orchestral work of France’s Colleen may be a more accurate touchstone. But with this year’s Big city life, Smerz take a graceful leap forward with their songwriting and arranging skills. They exude that irresistible deadpan cool, like Wet Leg, but Smerz come off as more bedroom auteurs than arena-filling entertainers. The title track is rock-ribbed, bass-heavy electro-pop with an oh-so-haunting keyboard melody. The sassy, methodical electroclash of “Roll the dice” sounds like a more understated Peaches. “You got time and I got money” is the lowest-key seduction anthem you’ll hear all year and boasts the excellent line “Baby, can I see you naked? / Even though I love how you dress.” “But I do” is enchanting, slow-motion funk with entrancing vocal harmonies and a killer, subliminal bass line. It’s one of the songs of 2025. (Do you know how many songs have been released this year??) (Hidden Hall, 7:30 pm, 21+) DAVE SEGAL

Ty Segall

Oct 14

California garage-rock chameleon Ty Segall has the kind of pace of musical creation (17 solo studio albums in as many years in addition to an incalculable amount of singles, rarities, side-project band releases and Comedy Central theme songs) that paints a clear picture of a man who is just about that rock-and-roll lifestyle. Acknowledging such compulsions, Segall told the Associated Press last year that he was “trying not to release as much anymore”; however, as this spring’s Possession LP (plus his recent collaborative Freckle album) makes clear, nobody can tell Ty Segall what to do, not even Ty Segall. He has, however, landed in a fairly conventional place. Possessions sees a return to melodic, approachable songwriting that circles influences like Paul McCartney and Kurt Vile more than his more Stooges-like freakout moments. What Segall’s endearing unpredictability on record amounts to is that he’ll have even more variety to keep audiences on their toes at each show on this tour with a full band. (Neumos, 7 pm, all ages) TODD HAMM

Miki Berenyi Trio, Gina Birch and the Unreasonables

Oct 23

If you are a jazz dude and not familiar with this mysterious trio, don’t worry, your ego and masculinity aren’t tarnished! The Miki Berenyi Trio isn’t really a jazz trio at all, but a dream-pop supergroup consisting of Lush’s Miki Berenyi, Moose’s Kevin McKillop, and Aircooled’s Oliver Cherer. The ensemble’s debut, Tripla, is a richly layered kaleidoscope of trip-hop, dance music, shoegaze, and ’90s rock. Berenyi’s immediately recognizable voice meditates on the disrespect of Mother Earth (“8th Deadly Sin”), toxic masculinity (“Big I Am”), and misogyny spread on social media (“Grango”). Although the subject matter is often dark, the album is actually quite joyful. I suspect it will sound amazing live. And don’t you dare miss an opening set from feminist post-punk icon Gina Birch (of the Raincoats) and her new band, the Unreasonables. (Neptune Theatre, 8 pm, all ages) AUDREY VANN

Shonen Knife, the Pack A.D.

Oct 25

Is there any band cooler than Shonen Knife? The answer is no. Formed in Osaka, Japan, in 1981 by two college friends and their younger sister, the band was named after a knife marketed to boys, and the trio began writing pop-punk songs about candy, animals, and consumerism. They’ve had some lineup changes throughout the years, but the current touring band consists of founding sisters Naoko and Atsuko Yamano and drummer Risa Kawano (who has been with the band since 2011). Just take it from noted Shonen Knife fanboy Kurt Cobain, who once said, “When I finally got to see them live, I was transformed into a hysterical 9-year-old girl at a Beatles concert.” They will be joined by British garage-rock duo the Pack A.D. for two consecutive shows. The late show sold out quickly, so don’t sleep on these tickets! (Tractor Tavern, 4:30 pm & 8:30 pm, 21+) AUDREY VANN

Makaya McCraven

Oct 26

Chicago-based drummer Makaya McCraven’s riotous Earshot 2022 gig at Nectar had the crowd going as wild as a Sun Ra keyboard solo. A key figure in the current jazz resurgence as part of the crucial International Anthem label, McCraven shows a keen appreciation for the music’s ’60s/’70s avant-garde while adding his own distinctive spin with inventive post-production editing and electronic enhancements. His newest output consists of four EPs that will be collected under the title Off the Record (available on physical formats October 10 and digitally October 31). These tracks spawned from live improvisations over the years and then were chopped and spiced [sic] into the fascinating pieces you hear on record. Each EP has its own personality and personnel. Hidden Out! features some of McCraven’s most athletic, powerful drumming. The funky “Battleships” slinks in the vein of Mr. Ra’s “Twin Stars of Thence,” with spidery guitar filigree by Jeff Parker. The People’s Mixtape offers polyrhythmic avant-funk that should appeal to open-minded hip-hop fans. PopUp Shop’s serpentine post-bop jams could’ve earned Blue Note’s stamp of approval back in the day. The jaggedly rhythmic and electronics-laced Techno Logic, with cornetist Ben LaMar Gay and tubaist Theon Cross, represents Makaya’s most experimental material. Fortuitously, this studio magic translates to the stage. (Madame Lou’s, 6 pm & 9:30 pm, 21+) DAVE SEGAL

Cut Chemist, Edan, DJ Indica Jones

Oct 30

If the thought of witnessing extraordinary hip-hop skills in the flesh still tingles your brainbox, get your ass to Nectar for Cut Chemist and Edan. Cut (aka Lucas MacFadden) has shone as a producer for vibrant, old-school rap crew Jurassic 5 and Latin funk ensemble Ozomatli, lacing their tracks with endless permutations of head-nodding beats and golden melodic snippets. He’s also maintained an inspirational side hustle as one of the world’s most technically adept and broad-minded DJs/turntablists; his sets trading off eclectic deep cuts on 45 with DJ Shadow are essential lessons in multidimensional dopeness and genius mixing. East Coaster Edan is an MC/DJ/producer with a grip of CC collabs to his name. His clever/crude rhymes and fast-twitch flows match his beatmaking élan, as exemplified by 2000’s Primitive Plus and 2005’s psych-rap classic Beauty and the Beat. I’m not sure what form their performances will take here, but whatever the case, your hands will likely spend a lot of time in the air. (Nectar Lounge, 8 pm, 21+) DAVE SEGAL

Lael Neale, Guy Blakeslee

Nov 3

In her bio, singer-songwriter Lael Neale writes that she loves “not listening to music”—and it shows (in the best way). Employing drum machines, power chords, and a Suzuki Omnichord, Neale creates a singular sound that’s all her own: equal parts dream pop, classic country, and gospel. Her latest album, Altogether Stranger, sounds like an ’80s private press record that would eventually land a coveted Light in the Attic reissue (IYKYK). Neale will support the album after a set from LA-based experimental artist Guy Blakeslee. (Sunset Tavern, 8 pm, 21+) AUDREY VANN

More

Loudon Wainwright III Oct 1, Vashon Center for the Arts, 7:30 pm, all ages

Tate McRae: Miss Possessive Tour Oct 2–3, Climate Pledge Arena, 7:30 pm, all ages

Jembaa Groove Oct 3, Baba Yaga, 7 pm, 21+

Racoma, Adeline Hotel, Jackie West Oct 6, Tractor Tavern, 7:30 pm, 21+

Pup, Jeff Rosenstock, Ekko Astral Oct 7, Showbox SoDo, 7:30 pm, all ages

Playboi Carti Oct 8, Climate Pledge Arena, 7 pm, all ages

JUL!ET, Avery Cochrane, Camille Cano, DJ Shayrosay Oct 9, Barboza, 7 pm, all ages

Acid Mothers Temple, the Macks, Kinski Oct 10, Clock-Out Lounge, 8:30 pm, 21+

The Beta Band: The Three EPs Tour Oct 14, Showbox, 8:30 pm, all ages

The Tubs Oct 14, The Vera Project, 7 pm, all ages

Miki Yamanaka Trio, George Colligan, Zyanna Oct 15, Baba Yaga, 7 pm, 21+

Garbage, Starcrawler Oct 15, Paramount Theatre, 8 pm, all ages

Dua Lipa: Radical Optimism Tour Oct 15–16, Climate Pledge Arena, 7:30 pm, all ages

Planned Parenthood Benefit Show: Star Anna, Caspian Coberly, Stoneyard Oct 16, Tractor Tavern, 7:30 pm, 21+

Frankie Cosmos Oct 17, Crocodile, 6 pm, all ages

KAYTRANADA x JUSTICE TOUR Oct 17, Climate Pledge Arena, 7 pm, all ages

Madrona Fest: Black Belt Eagle Scout, Nathan Salami Rose Joe Louis, Flanafi Oct 18, Madame Lou’s, 6:30 pm, 21+

Evans Fox, and More Oct 18, Key Peninsula Civic Center, 12 pm, all ages

Stereolab, Bitchin Bajas Oct 18, Neptune Theatre, 8 pm, all ages

Hand Habits Oct 21, Tractor Tavern, 8 pm, 21+

Linda from Work, Bearaxe, Bexley Oct 22, Neumos, 7 pm, 21+

Lorde: Ultrasound Tour Oct 22, Climate Pledge Arena, 7 pm, all ages

NonSeq: Cat Toren’s Human Kind, Every Shade of Green Oct 23, Chapel Performance Space, 8 pm, all ages

Arooj Aftab Oct 24, The Great Hall, 8 pm, all ages

Sombr Oct 24, WAMU Theater, 8 pm, all ages

Destroyer: Dan’s Boogie Tour Oct 25, Crocodile, 6 pm, 21+

Rat City Recon Oct 25, Southgate Roller Rink, 4 pm, 21+

Seattle Rock Orchestra Performs David Bowie Oct 25, Moore Theatre, 7:30 pm, all ages

Durand Jones & the Indications Oct 29, Showbox SoDo, 8 pm, all ages

Glitterfox, Salt Lick Oct 30, Tractor Tavern, 8 pm, 21+

The Decemberists with the Seattle Symphony Nov 1, Benaroya Hall, 8 pm, all ages

Early Warnings

Freakout Festival: Melt-Banana, Liz Cooper, Wine Lips, and more Nov 6–9, various locations, 21+

Soul Nite Weekender Presents: Bernadette Bascom Nov 7, Black Lodge, 9 pm, 21+

Belly: 30th Anniversary of King Nov 9, Crocodile, 6 pm, 21+

Herb Alpert & The Tijuana Brass & Other Delights Nov 9, Benaroya Hall, 7:30 pm, all ages

Patti Smith: Horses 50th Anniversary Tour Nov 10, Paramount Theatre, 8 pm, all ages

David Byrne Nov 11–13, Paramount Theatre, 8 pm, all ages

Doechii Nov 10, WAMU Theater, 8 pm, all ages

Neko Case Nov 14, Paramount Theatre, 8 pm, all ages

King Princess: The Girl Violence Tour Nov 16, Showbox SoDo, 8 pm, all ages

Heart Nov 23, Climate Pledge Arena, 7 pm, all ages

Lola Young Dec 2, WAMU Theater, 8 pm, all ages

The Mountain Goats Dec 3–4, Neptune Theatre, 8 pm, all ages

Stranger Suggests: A Gay Male Pinterest Mom, a Ridiculously Prolific Rapper, and Zambia’s Beatles

Julianne Bell — Mon, 08 Sep 2025 13:47:00 -0700

One really great thing to do every day of the week. by Julianne Bell MONDAY 9/8

W.I.T.C.H., Sonny & the Sunsets

(MUSIC) In the 1970s, W.I.T.C.H. were something like Zambia’s Beatles, though their leader, Emmanuel Chanda, sang like Mick Jagger’s African brother. With their name initialized from We Intend To Cause Havoc, the band spearheaded the Zamrock movement, which reimagined Anglo-American garage-rock and psychedelia to intriguing African specs. (The Now-Again label has led the 21st-century revival with loads of key reissues and comps featuring Zambia’s major rock artists.) Boasting a deep catalog of hooky, mood-elevating rock with occasional funk and Afrobeat undertones, W.I.T.C.H still bring the heat, as their vibrant 2022 set at the Crocodile proved. Their current lineup’s filled out with long-running keyboardist Patrick Mwondela and some superb European acolytes who channel that magical Zamrock feel. They’ll be supporting the band’s new album, Sogolo, which reveals a shocking burst of creative energy, reflected in the songs’ more muscular, funky rhythms and heavier and freakier guitar riffs, while also embracing more traditional native styles and adding women vocalists. (Tractor Tavern, 8 pm, 21+) DAVE SEGAL

TUESDAY 9/9

A Conversation with Dan Pelosi: 'Let’s Party'

See Dan Pelosi at SIFF Cinema Uptown on Tuesday, September 9. JOHNNY MILLER

(FOOD/BOOKS) Self-described “Italian meatball” and “gay male Pinterest mom” Dan Pelosi, aka GrossyPelosi, has attracted hordes of fans on social media with his cheerful, funny take on hospitality and comfort food. He’s now following up his New York Times–bestselling debut cookbook, Let’s Eat with his new cookbook, Let’s Party, which contains celebration-worthy recipes for everything from raisin-walnut-baked French toast to lamb chops with tangy apricot sauce. You’ll also learn how to replicate his annual holiday cookie party and glean bits of Italian American slang from his dad. Dan will drop by SIFF Uptown for a conversation with his husband, Gus Heagerty, plus a Q&A and signing. (SIFF Cinema Uptown, 7–8:30 pm) JULIANNE BELL

WEDNESDAY 9/10

L.A. Noir

(FILM) In my opinion, noir films are meant to be watched in fall. I think SIFF must agree with me, because they’ve programmed Los Angeles–set noir films throughout September, October, and November. The film series kicks off with the sci-fi-tinged 1955 classic Kiss Me Deadly, starring the always captivating Maxine Cooper (of Autumn Leaves and What Ever Happened to Baby Jane?). I am also excited to see Robert Altman’s adaptation of Raymond Chandler’s The Long Goodbye and the prequel to Chinatown, The Two Jakes, directed by and starring Jack Nicholson. The moodiness of these films will suit your fall blues. The gorgeous LA sets will remind you that the sun exists. (SIFF Cinema Uptown, various times) AUDREY VANN

THURSDAY 9/11

San Cha: 'Inebria Me'

(PERFORMANCE) In 2019, Los Angeles-based composer, musician, and performance artist San Cha released her concept album La Luz de la Esperanza, which draws inspiration from traditional Mexican ranchera folk songs and the lush, larger-than-life melodrama of telenovelas to tell the story of Dolores, a beautiful, impoverished girl who weds the aristocratic Salvador, only to realize she has become ensnared in an abusive marriage. The genderless ghost Esperanza, who represents hope and empowerment, grants Dolores the strength to escape her toxic circumstances. Luckily for us, San Cha has adapted her album into a full-fledged experimental opera, which will feature a live score melding “ranchera, cumbia, mariachi, punk, classical, and electro” and dazzling drag-influenced performances. It promises to be an opulent, cathartic experience that you won’t soon forget. (On the Boards, 8 pm) JULIANNE BELL

FRIDAY 9/12

A Conversation with R. F. Kuang

R. F. Kuang will be at Town Hall on Friday, September 12. AUTHOR PHOTO BY JOHN PACKMAN

(BOOKS) Bestselling novelist R. F. Kuang has earned countless accolades for her political Chinese fantasy trilogy “The Poppy War,” her alternate-history Oxford epic Babel: Or the Necessity of Violence, and most recently, 2023’s biting, unputdownable satire Yellowface. The latter skewered the racial politics of the publishing industry and has been optioned for a TV miniseries with horror icon Karyn Kusama (Jennifer’s Body, Yellowjackets) attached to direct. Now, Kuang is returning to the academic themes of her earlier works with her highly anticipated sixth novel Katabasis, an Inferno-esque fantasy about two rival grad students who must team up to rescue the soul of their advisor from the depths of literal Hell (so he can write them letters of recommendation, of course!). (Town Hall, 7:30 pm) JULIANNE BELL

SATURDAY 9/13

Black & Loud Fest

(MUSIC) Black & Loud Fest emerged from the minds of Seattle frontmen Cameron Lavi-Jones (of King Youngblood) and Anthony Briscoe (of Down North), who noticed a lack of Black-fronted bands on music festival bills. Even though the festival has grown year after year, its mission has remained the same: to highlight alternative Black artists and showcase their contributions to American music and culture throughout history. This year, trailblazing hard-rock band Living Colour will headline the festival with throwback jams like “Cult of Personality,” “Love Rears Its Ugly Head,” and my personal favorite, “Glamour Boys.” Other highlights from the lineup include Cyril Neville (of the Neville Brothers), local post-punk outfit Black Ends, and R&B singer-songwriter Parisalexa, who, I’m shocked to say, hasn’t broken into the mainstream yet. (The Crocodile, 7 pm, 21+) AUDREY VANN

SUNDAY 9/14

LaRussell

(MUSIC) LaRussell is as much a community movement as he is a 30-year-old rap power cell from Vallejo, CA. His posi-hustle flow and tireless studio/tour/repeat work ethic built his brand, and his numerous collectivist initiatives to give platforms (through his Good Compenny business) to fellow artists have endeared him to millions now beyond the Bay. Most importantly, though, in LR’s case: skill matches grind. His ridiculously prolific catalogue of solo releases (this summer’s Good Ethika was his seventh full-length of 2025 already) is a rap sheet of punchy brag-rhymes and street wisdom, and whether it’s on record with Wiz Khalifa, Lil Jon, Snoop Dogg, or fellow North Bay legend E-40, his features always seems to pop. In typical community-first fashion, pay-what-you-can LaRussell shows have become daytime bastions (doors at 1 p.m.) for the whole family to cut loose, this time with a full band and choir. Bring Grandma, let the kids run wild and cuss on stage (he’ll let them), and, as the man says, “Make hip-hop fun again.” (Nectar Lounge, 1 pm, all ages) TODD HAMM

September Things to Do: Music

Julianne Bell — Tue, 02 Sep 2025 04:00:00 -0700

The best concerts and dance nights happening in September. by Julianne Bell

Want more? Here's everything we recommend this month: Music, Visual Art, Literature, Performance, Film, Food, This & That.

Marina

Sept 6

The year was 2015, I was a recent college graduate navigating the perils and pitfalls of my early 20s, and Marina Lambrini Diamandis, better known at the time by her stage name Marina and the Diamonds, was the reigning queen of Tumblr. The rainbow-tinged, disco-inspired cover of her album Froot was all over my dashboard, and I immediately became enamored with Marina’s husky, dramatic pop diva vocals and sugary synths. I’ve been a fan—excuse me, a “Diamond”—ever since. Diamandis, who goes mononymously by Marina these days, has released delightfully campy, danceable singles like “Butterfly” and “Cuntissimo” in the last year. She’ll be joined on her Princess of Power tour by the irresistible alt-hip-hop duo Coco & Clair Clair. (Showbox SoDo, 7:30 pm, all ages) JULIANNE BELL

TOPS

Sept 6

TOPS are back, and praise be. Their 2020 album, I Feel Alive, feels like a pandemic lifetime ago, and the recently dropped Bury the Key feels appropriately resurrective. But as zombie-friendly as the ’70s horror-chic album artwork is, TOPS can’t brood for long. Lead single “Annihilation” may sound bleak in title, but babe, the sexed-up synth chords say otherwise. Album centerpiece “Falling on My Sword,” on the other hand, is an epic rocking counterpoint to their previous nostalgia-heavy, low-distortion, bendy-string guitar jams that made you want to dance with your cat on a sunny day (also a good thing!). TOPS were last seen in Seattle opening for Soccer Mommy at the Moore, a show that found the Québécois quartet dancing in the balcony after their set and making a lifelong fan of my wife, well earning them a headlining set down the street. (The Crocodile, 6 pm, all ages) TODD HAMM

W.I.T.C.H., Sonny & the Sunsets

September 8

In the 1970s, W.I.T.C.H. were something like Zambia’s Beatles, though their leader, Emmanuel Chanda, sang like Mick Jagger’s African brother. With their name initialized from We Intend To Cause Havoc, the band spearheaded the Zamrock movement, which reimagined Anglo-American garage-rock and psychedelia to intriguing African specs. (The Now-Again label has led the 21st-century revival with loads of key reissues and comps featuring Zambia’s major rock artists.) Boasting a deep catalog of hooky, mood-elevating rock with occasional funk and Afrobeat undertones, W.I.T.C.H still bring the heat, as their vibrant 2022 set at the Crocodile proved. Their current lineup’s filled out with long-running keyboardist Patrick Mwondela and some superb European acolytes who channel that magical Zamrock feel. They’ll be supporting the band’s new album, Sogolo, which reveals a shocking burst of creative energy, reflected in the songs’ more muscular, funky rhythms and heavier and freakier guitar riffs, while also embracing more traditional native styles and adding women vocalists. (Tractor Tavern, 8 pm, 21+) DAVE SEGAL

Orcutt Shelley Miller, Diminished Men

September 10

Well, this sure feels like a supergroup. Hairy Pussy guitarist Bill Orcutt, Sonic Youth drummer Steve Shelley, and Comets on Fire/Howlin Rain guitarist-vocalist Ethan Miller have carved a potent legacy of avant-rock and smart noise sculpting over the last 40 years. (Miller plays bass here.) But even this late in their respective careers, the trio still has the instrumental juice to keep you wired. The opener from their forthcoming self-titled debut album, “A Star Is Born,” is a molten, methodical jam that encompasses war and peace in perfect harmony. Throughout the record’s five tracks, Shelley creates deep pockets as Orcutt unspools his repertoire of cranky and serene leads and Miller finesses the low end with krautrockin’ pizzazz. “Unsafe at Any Speed” recalls the swarming complexity of peak Amon Düül II, which is not something you hear every decade. Miller’s helical bass line on the psychedelic zenith “Four-Door Charger” will make your eyes roll around their sockets in ecstasy. “A Long Island Wedding” goes even harder. Damn. It kills me that I’ll be out of town for this show. (Tractor Tavern, 7:30 pm, 21+) DAVE SEGAL

Black & Loud Fest

Sept 13

Black & Loud Fest emerged from the minds of Seattle frontmen Cameron Lavi-Jones (of King Youngblood) and Anthony Briscoe (of Down North), who noticed a lack of Black-fronted bands on music festival bills. Even though the festival has grown year after year, its mission has remained the same: to highlight alternative Black artists and showcase their contributions to American music and culture throughout history. This year, trailblazing hard-rock band Living Colour will headline the festival with throwback jams like “Cult of Personality,” “Love Rears Its Ugly Head,” and my personal favorite, “Glamour Boys.” Other highlights from the lineup include Cyril Neville (of the Neville Brothers), local post-punk outfit Black Ends, and R&B singer-songwriter Parisalexa, who, I’m shocked to say, hasn’t broken into the mainstream yet. (The Crocodile, 7 pm, 21+) AUDREY VANN

LaRussell

Sept 14

LaRussell is as much a community movement as he is a 30-year-old rap power cell from Vallejo, CA. His posi-hustle flow and tireless studio/tour/repeat work ethic built his brand, and his numerous collectivist initiatives to give platforms (through his Good Compenny business) to fellow artists have endeared him to millions now beyond the Bay. Most importantly, though, in LR’s case: skill matches grind. His ridiculously prolific catalogue of solo releases (this summer’s Good Ethika was his seventh full-length of 2025 already) is a rap sheet of punchy brag-rhymes and street wisdom, and whether it’s on record with Wiz Khalifa, Lil Jon, Snoop Dogg, or fellow North Bay legend E-40, his features always seems to pop. In typical community-first fashion, pay-what-you-can LaRussell shows have become daytime bastions (doors at 1 p.m.) for the whole family to cut loose, this time with a full band and choir. Bring Grandma, let the kids run wild and cuss on stage (he’ll let them), and, as the man says, “Make hip-hop fun again.” (Nectar Lounge, 1 pm, all ages) TODD HAMM

FACS, Vulture Feather

September 19

Chicago fosters smart, wiry post-punk bands like Ivy League colleges breed corrupt lawmakers. Another case in point: FACS, who’ve been grinding since 2017. Formed from the remains of the solid Kranky Records group Disappears, FACS—drummer Noah Leger, guitarist Brian Case, and bassist Jonathan van Herik—converted me into a fan with a devastating set at 2018’s Capitol Hill Block Party. In a Slog review of that performance, I wrote, “Their brutal, rust-belt rock songs are stripped down and ready for conflict, chronically on the verge of exploding; that they don’t just adds to the music’s potency.” Seven years later, FACS are touring behind the new Wish Defense LP (the last record engineered by the late Steve Albini), which finds the band burrowing deeper into their dub roots and writing songs that are more vertical and vortical than linear and driving. The sound will still ripple your veins, though, and these dudes are merciless onstage, so come on and feel the klang. (Baba Yaga, 8 pm, 21+) DAVE SEGAL

Anika, Lauren Early, Coral Grief

September 23

British/German singer-guitarist Anika’s entry into the music biz came when Geoff Barrow was looking for a “weird singer” for his then-new band Beak>. He hit the jackpot with Anika, who wields one of the starkest deadpan deliveries in today’s scene. (Her timbre resembles Nico’s and Ari Up’s, but Anika has better pitch control.) With Barrow producing, Anika cut her self-titled debut in 2010, a wonderfully skewed set of dubby post-punk charmers, including perhaps the most interesting Yoko Ono and Bob Dylan covers ever (“Yang Yang” and “Masters of War,” respectively). Anika’s love of horror films has colored her compositions, as have the grim science and educational issues she’s covered as a journalist under her real name, Annika Henderson. The new album, Abyss, is Anika’s most rock-oriented record yet, inspired shockingly by gr*nge and Hole’s Celebrity Skin. Formerly rife with tension, Anika’s music—fleshed out by her Exploded View bandmate Martin Thulin—here feels cathartic, as she elegantly rages against what her LP title portends. (Vera Project, 7 pm, all ages) DAVE SEGAL

Judy Collins

Sept 27

After deep-diving into the catalogs of legendary songstresses like Joan Baez, Joni Mitchell, and Carole King, I finally found my way to the discography of Judy Collins. I was already aware of her iconic voice, but I didn’t realize she explored so many different genres. Her music isn’t straightforward vocal pop, but swims around trad-folk, country, disco, and jazz, incorporating the occasional experimental flourish (such as the ethereal ocean sounds in “Farewell to Tarwathie.”) Collins has released and collaborated on over 50 albums in her lifetime, with additional career successes as an author, filmmaker, social activist, guitar designer, and record label founder. She’s also been gigging for over 50 years, so show up and make this stop in Edmonds a memorable one for her. (Edmonds Center for the Arts, 7:30 pm) AUDREY VANN

Magdalena Bay

Sept 29

Los Angeles–based couple Mica Tenenbaum and Matthew Lewin, who first met in high school, are better known as the dreamy, synthy alt-pop duo Magdalena Bay. They’ve built a cult following with their surreal Y2K aesthetic, addictive hooks, and otherworldly vocals, and their 2024 sophomore studio album, Imaginal Disk, achieved widespread critical acclaim. The record tells the fictional story of a character named True who has a CD-shaped object implanted in her forehead by an alien doctor in order to become an upgraded version of herself, unintentionally creating a doppelgänger named Ghost in the process—you know, normal, everyday stuff! Catch them on their Imaginal Mystery Tour, with an opening set by oceanic electronica artist Oxis. (Showbox SoDo, 8 pm, all ages) JULIANNE BELL

More

Neil Young and the Chrome Hearts: Love Earth Tour Sept 4, Chateau Ste. Michelle, 7 pm, all ages

Scott Yoder, Mt Fog, Erica Rose & the Ragged School Sept 5, Clock-Out Lounge, 9 pm, 21+

Osees Sept 5–6, Neumos, times and age ranges vary

BADBADNOTGOOD Sept 5, Showbox, 7:30 pm, 21+

Jon Batiste Plays America: The Big Money Tour Sept 10–11, Chateau Ste. Michelle, 7 pm, all ages

Sabbath Worship: Celebrating the Music of Black Sabbath Sept 12, Clock-Out Lounge, 8:30 pm, 21+

Gimme Gimme Disco Fest Sept 13, Pier 62, 6 pm, 21+

Jackson Browne Sept 12–13, Chateau Ste. Michelle, 5 pm, all ages

Viagra Boys Sept 12–13, Showbox SoDo, 8:30 pm, all ages

The Psychedelic Furs, Gary Numan Sept 13, Showbox, 8 pm, 21+

Modest Mouse Presents: Psychic Salamander Festival Sept 13–14, Remlinger Farms, 12:30 pm, all ages

Aminé: Tour De Dance Sept 16, WAMU Theater, 8 pm, all ages

Band of Horses with Iron & Wine Sept 18, Marymoor Park, 7 pm, all ages

HAIM, Dora Jar Sept 18, WAMU Theater, 7:30 pm, all ages

Grandaddy Sept 18, Neptune Theatre, 7 pm, all ages

CocteauFest Sept 20, Chop Suey, 7 pm, 21+

Billy Idol with Joan Jett & The Blackhearts Sept 20, Climate Pledge Arena, 7:30 pm, all ages

Mac DeMarco Sept 23, Paramount Theatre, 7:30 pm, all ages

Sparks: Mad! Tour Sept 24, Moore Theatre, 8 pm, all ages

Princess Nokia & Big Freedia Sept 27, Pier 62, 6:30 pm, all ages

Early Warnings

Loudon Wainwright III Oct 1, Vashon Center for the Arts, 7:30 pm, all ages

Tate McRae: Miss Possessive Tour Oct 2–3, Climate Pledge Arena, 7:30 pm, all ages

Laufey: A Matter of Time Oct 4, Climate Pledge Arena, 7:30 pm, all ages

Pup, Jeff Rosenstock, Ekko Astral Oct 7, Showbox SoDo, 7:30 pm, all ages

Turnstile: The Never Enough Tour Oct 7, WaMu Theater, 7 pm, all ages

Acid Mothers Temple, the Macks, Kinski Oct 10, Clock-Out Lounge, 8:30 pm, 21+

Dua Lipa: Radical Optimism Tour Oct 15–16, Climate Pledge Arena, 7:30 pm, all ages

Garbage, Starcrawler Oct 15, Paramount Theatre, 8 pm, all ages

Frankie Cosmos Oct 17, The Crocodile, 6 pm, all ages

Stereolab, Bitchin Bajas Oct 18, Neptune Theatre, 7 pm, all ages

Hand Habits Oct 21, Tractor Tavern, 8 pm, 21+

Lorde: Ultrasound Tour Oct 22, Climate Pledge Arena, 7 pm, all ages

Destroyer: Dan’s Boogie Tour Oct 25, The Crocodile, 6 pm, 21+

Shonen Knife, the Pack A.D. Oct 25, Tractor Tavern, 8:30 pm, 21+

Freakout Festival: Melt-Banana, Liz Cooper, Wine Lips, and more Nov 6–9, various locations, 21+

Soul Nite Weekender Presents: Bernadette Bascom Nov 7, Black Lodge, 9 pm, 21+

Belly: 30th Anniversary of King Nov 9, The Crocodile, 6 pm, 21+

Patti Smith: Horses 50th Anniversary Tour Nov 10, Paramount Theatre, 8 pm, all ages

Doechii Nov 10, WaMu Theater, 8 pm, all ages

David Byrne Nov 11–13, Paramount Theatre, 6:30 pm, all ages

Neko Case Nov 14, Paramount Theatre, 7 pm, all ages

King Princess: The Girl Violence Tour Nov 16, Showbox SoDo, 8 pm, all ages

Heart Nov 23, Climate Pledge Arena, 7 pm, all ages

Lola Young Dec 2, WAMU Theater, 7 pm, all ages

The Mountain Goats Dec 3–4, Neptune Theatre, all ages

September Things to Do: Film

Todd Hamm — Tue, 02 Sep 2025 04:00:00 -0700

The best film events and screenings happening this month. by Todd Hamm

Want more? Here's everything we recommend this month: Music, Visual Art, Literature, Performance, Film, Food, This & That.

‘The Florida Project’

Sept 3

The September installment of the SIFF Movie Club brings a screening of the 2017 indie cut The Florida Project. Sean Baker’s affecting humanist depiction of central Florida strip mall heartland has become a bit of a cult classic, and for good reason; those who found Baker’s award-sweeping Anora lacking in subtlety and resolve will find the opposite here. The film follows Moonee (Brooklynn Prince), a joy-seeking 6-year-old, as she befriends a rotating cast of long-term motel residents, the only constants being her exotic dancer mom (Bria Vinaite) and hotel manager Bobby (Willem Dafoe), the latter of whose goal of being taken seriously is often undercut by a paternalist affection for his tenants. As a character, the neon purple motel stands out as a glaring metaphor for an unmoored life at the hands of economic uncertainty. It’s up to Bobby to hold things together, his unwashed traits not able to shine elsewhere, but in a chaotic environment that swallows others, he is allowed to emerge, while flawed, as a protector of virtue. (SIFF Cinema Uptown, 6 pm, all ages) TODD HAMM

‘Vampyr’ (1932) with Live Score by Lori Goldston

Sept 4

This event combines three of my favorite things: early horror movies, solo cello, and unsettling contemporary art. Local experimental cellist Lori Goldston—known for her solo ambient work, as well as her collaborations with PNW rock bands like Earth and Nirvana—will perform a live original score to Carl Dreyer’s eerie 1932 masterwork Vampyr. The silent film is a classic vampire tale that follows a young occult enthusiast as he gets entangled in dark forces and forbidding living shadows. This screening will accompany the Frye’s current exhibit, Jamie Wyeth’s Unsettled, and I predict that Goldston’s tense strings will echo beautifully through the gallery walls. Plus, the hauntedness of the whole thing is a great way to get in the mood for dark and rainy autumn. (Frye Art Museum, 6 pm) AUDREY VANN

L.A. Noir

Sept 10–Nov 12

In my opinion, noir films are meant to be watched in fall. I think SIFF must agree with me, because they’ve programmed Los Angeles–set noir films throughout September, October, and November. The film series kicks off with the sci-fi-tinged 1955 classic Kiss Me Deadly, starring the always captivating Maxine Cooper (of Autumn Leaves and What Ever Happened to Baby Jane?). I am also excited to see Robert Altman’s adaptation of Raymond Chandler’s The Long Goodbye and the prequel to Chinatown, The Two Jakes, directed by and starring Jack Nicholson. The moodiness of these films will suit your fall blues. The gorgeous LA sets will remind you that the sun exists. (SIFF Cinema Uptown, various times) AUDREY VANN

‘Death Becomes Her’

Sept 16

Sabrina Carpenter’s “Taste” music video, in which she and Jenna Ortega attempt to murder each other over a mostly inconsequential man before deciding to ditch him and make out instead, owes its kitschy, catty theatrics to the 1992 cult classic Death Becomes Her. Director Robert Zemeckis’s campy dark comedy follows the shallow actress Madeline Ashton (Meryl Streep) and jilted writer Helen Sharp (Goldie Hawn), who compete for the plastic surgeon Ernest Menville (Bruce Willis) and become obsessed with attaining eternal youth. The film has enjoyed a resurgence as of late, thanks in part to the “Taste” video and a Tony Award–winning musical adaptation. Keep your eyes peeled for Isabella Rossellini, looking the hottest anyone has ever looked in her scene-stealing role as the immortal socialite Lisle Von Rhuman. (Here-After, 7:30 pm, 21+) JULIANNE BELL

More

Jaws: 50th Anniversary (New 4K Restoration) Through Sept 4, SIFF Downtown, various times

SEA-Nordic Film Festival Sept 5–7, Majestic Bay Theatre, various times

Star Wars: The Ultimate Cinematic Marathon Sept 5–18, SIFF Downtown, various times

Flow in Concert with the Seattle Symphony Sept 10, Benaroya Hall, 7:30 pm, all ages

Twilight in Concert Sept 13, Paramount Theatre, 2 pm and 7:30 pm, all ages

2025 SIFF Marquee Gala Sept 18, Fremont Studios, 6:30 pm

Local Sightings Film Festival Sept 19–28, Northwest Film Forum, various times

Silent Movie Mondays: The Last Laugh Sept 29, Paramount Theatre, 7 pm, all ages

Re-Animator 40th Anniversary Screening Sept 30, Neptune Theatre, 8 pm, all ages

Early Warnings

Airplane! Unreleased Director’s Cut Screening and Q&A Oct 3, Paramount Theatre, 8 pm, all ages

20th Tasveer Film Festival & Market Oct 8–12, Tasveer Film Center, various times

Seattle Latino Film Festival Oct 10–18, various locations, various times

Ghost Almanac with a Live Score by Montopolis Oct 12, Here-After, 7:30 pm, 21+

SIFF DocFest Oct 16–23, SIFF Uptown & Downtown, various times

Twin Peaks: A Conversation with the Stars Oct 19, Neptune Theatre, 7 pm, all ages

The Rocky Horror Picture Show: 50th Anniversary Oct 28, Paramount Theatre, 7:30 pm

Stranger Suggests: Free Burgers, D&D-Loving Drag Queens, and a Horror Classic with a Live, Haunting Cello Soundtrack

Julianne Bell — Fri, 29 Aug 2025 13:15:00 -0700

One really great thing to do every day of the week. by Julianne Bell

We're posting next week's Stranger Suggests a few days early, since Monday, September 1, is a holiday. Go do something fun!

MONDAY 9/1

Lil Woody’s Free Burger

(FOOD) As is yearly tradition, the ever-popular local burger joint Li'l Woody's will dispense free burgers for Labor Day. Note that "extras cost extra," so you'll have to pony up if you want additional toppings like house-made queso, a fried egg, pickled fig jam, or an onion ring, but it's still a great deal. The "labor of love" will be available at Capitol Hill, Ballard, White Center, and Green Lake locations from 2–5 p.m. and there a one burger per person limit. (Multiple Lil Woody’s locations, 2–5 p.m.) JULIANNE BELL

TUESDAY 9/2

Wet Leg

(MUSIC) Wet Leg burst onto the indie rock scene in 2022 with a debut self-titled album packed with guitar riffs and tongue-in-cheek lyrics. They were initially slated to play the Sunset Tavern for their first Seattle show that year, but it sold out almost immediately and was moved to the Crocodile, which also sold out lightning fast (and fucking rocked). This time around, the British band plays two nights at the Paramount after putting out their sophomore album moisturizer in July, which they wrote by asking themselves the question, "Is this going to be fun to play live?" The shows are supported by fellow female-fronted experimental rock trio Mary in the Junkyard, once again proving that women can go toe-to-toe with men in the indie rock scene (or, in my opinion, take the lead). (Paramount Theatre, 7:30 pm, all ages) SHANNON LUBETICH

WEDNESDAY 9/3

‘The Florida Project’

(FILM) The September installment of the SIFF Movie Club brings a screening of the 2017 indie cut The Florida Project. Sean Baker’s affecting humanist depiction of central Florida strip mall heartland has become a bit of a cult classic, and for good reason; those who found Baker’s award-sweeping Anora lacking in subtlety and resolve will find the opposite here. The film follows Moonee (Brooklynn Prince), a joy-seeking 6-year-old, as she befriends a rotating cast of long-term motel residents, the only constants being her exotic dancer mom (Bria Vinaite) and hotel manager Bobby (Willem Dafoe), the latter of whose goal of being taken seriously is often undercut by a paternalist affection for his tenants. As a character, the neon purple motel stands out as a glaring metaphor for an unmoored life at the hands of economic uncertainty. It’s up to Bobby to hold things together, his unwashed traits not able to shine elsewhere, but in a chaotic environment that swallows others, he is allowed to emerge, while flawed, as a protector of virtue. (SIFF Cinema Uptown, 6 pm, all ages) TODD HAMM

THURSDAY 9/4

‘Vampyr’ with Lori Goldston

(FILM/MUSIC) This event combines three of my favorite things: early horror movies, solo cello, and unsettling contemporary art. Local experimental cellist Lori Goldston—known for her solo ambient work, as well as her collaborations with PNW rock bands like Earth and Nirvana—will perform a live original score to Carl Dreyer’s eerie 1932 masterwork Vampyr. The silent film is a classic vampire tale that follows a young occult enthusiast as he gets entangled in dark forces and forbidding living shadows. This screening will accompany the Frye’s current exhibit, Jamie Wyeth’s Unsettled, and I predict that Goldston’s tense strings will echo beautifully through the gallery walls. Plus, the hauntedness of the whole thing is a great way to get in the mood for dark and rainy autumn. (Frye Art Museum, 6 pm) AUDREY VANN

FRIDAY 9/5

‘Hells Canyon’

See 'Hells Canyon' at 12th Avenue Art Sept 5–21. RICH RYAN

(THEATER) In award-winning actor, playwright, and screenwriter Keiko Green’s comedic horror-thriller Hells Canyon, five friends, including the seven-months-pregnant protagonist Ariel Lim, gather in a remote cabin in the woods in Eastern Oregon. What could possibly go wrong? A lot, it turns out: long-simmering resentments bubbling to the surface, tensions ratcheting up in the close quarters, and a sinister force that’s attempting to break through the front door to swallow them all. The play references the real-life history of 1887’s tragic “Snake River Massacre,” in which 34 Chinese gold miners were murdered by a gang of seven white men in Hells Canyon, Oregon. Its themes of racism, trauma, and the exploitation of non-white bodies prompted Minnesota Public Radio to liken its world premiere in Minneapolis last year to “the films of Jordan Peele, especially Get Out,” so don’t miss its West Coast debut produced by Washington Ensemble Theatre and directed by Amber Tanaka. (12th Avenue Arts, times vary) JULIANNE BELL

SATURDAY 9/6

Shout Your Abortion’s 10th Birthday Bash

(PARTY) CW: This entire blurb is a giant conflict of interest. But if you trust me, I think this event and this cause are relevant (and fun!) enough to legitimately put in these pages. If you don’t trust me, then move those eyeballs along. All right, before I returned to The Stranger, I was Shout Your Abortion’s Creative Director. SYA founder Amelia Bonow has been a close friend and neighbor since before she got pregnant and had the abortion heard ’round the World Wide Web (via viral tweet), sparking a grassroots movement that has been helping people find “thoughtful, impactful ways to normalize abortion and support access” for the last 10 years. To celebrate the milestone, this party will feature music (DJs Larry Mizell Jr., Stas THEE Boss, and JusMoni), fashion (SYA x Prairie Underground x Free Witch Quarterly), screen printing (Ink Knife Press), musical fortune-telling (Corey J. Brewer), tarot (Lisa Prank and Bree McKenna), tattoos, cake, and more. Yes, I am in community with all of these people, if not in bands with them. A final reveal: I just illustrated a beautiful children’s book called Abortion Is Everything (written by Bonow and Rachel Kessler) that will be debuting at the party. All proceeds support the work of SYA. (Washington Hall, 7–11 pm, sliding scale, all ages) EMILY NOKES

SUNDAY 9/7

Dungeons and Drag Queens

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(DRAG) For years, troupes across Middle-earth have been marrying high fantasy with high heels in the hit comedy drag show Dungeons and Drag Queens. Now, fans can experience it live at Emerald City Comedy Club, where Dungeon Master Paul Curry and improvisational musician Carson Cutter guide three queens through a brand-new D&D adventure packed with danger, snark, and audience participation. Grab a drink and get ready for some high-rolling hilarity! (Emerald City Comedy Club, 1 pm, 21+) LANGSTON THOMAS

The 36 Best Music Shows in Seattle This Week: June 10-16, 2019

Kim Selling — Sun, 09 Jun 2019 16:00:00 -0700

The Stranger's music critics' picks for the week. by Kim Selling

This week, our music critics have picked everything from Father John Misty to Patty Griffin to Hoop. Follow the links below for ticket links and music clips for all of their picks, and find even more shows on our complete music calendar. Plus, check out our arts' critics' picks for the 50 best things to do this week.

Found something you like and don't want to forget about it later? Click "Save Event" on any of the linked events below to add it to your own private list.

In the Spotlight: Hannah Kendall
Seattle Symphony presents the US premiere of The Spark Catchers, a luminescent number from British (and millennial!!) composer Hannah Kendall. The composition conveys such a strong sense of narrative and action-adventure drama that it could be the soundtrack to a lost scene from Star Wars. The piece, commissioned by the BBC, has been getting good reviews. “Confident,” says Classical Source. "Rhythmically incisive," says the Guardian. Stick around after the show to check out the symphony's new innovative space, and also to talk shop about chamber music with Kendall. RICH SMITH

ROCK/POP

Cowboy Junkies
The first time I ever heard Cowboy Junkies was on a dirty, beer-stained couch at the radio station I used to help run in college. My friend and I were supposed to be studying, but we ended up just lying around listening to music. She put on their cover of Velvet Underground’s “Sweet Jane,” which seemed to fit every mood I could ever have at 21—melancholy, meditative, cautious, ready to yield to the good things in life. Like the rest of the band’s work. Cowboy Junkies are now celebrating 30 years together as a band. Cheers to that.JASMYNE KEIMIG

The Cult
Punters love the Cult, and they rightly should expect this night to be filled with the Brit band’s rock swaggery. That said, their popularity always surprises me. Back in the 1980s, even with lots of radio play, they were almost immediately dumped into the also-rans file as their pop ascension was stymied by a first single riff in “Love Removal Machine” seemingly copped from the Stones’ “Start Me Up,” and then by the arrival of GnR. That was then, though, ’cause now it’s easy to hear how they evolved from new romantics into heshers who, on balance, are way better than most other ’80s hair bands. MIKE NIPPER

TUESDAY CLASSICAL

In the Spotlight: Bolcom, Jolley, Poteat & Hausmann
Seattle supports a pretty robust scene of local symphonic composers. Seattle Symphony has plucked out a few of the major players—William Bolcom, Jérémy Jolley, Ben Hausmann, and Angelique Poteat—and given them the room for the night. Bolcom's piece is a fun ragtime jam, Poteat's Ripples of Possibilities features meditative and warbly clarinets that break into madness, Hausmann's Sonnet for Eternal Loveliness is just sort of pleasant and at its best occasionally sounds like Vince Guaraldi's A Charlie Brown Christmas, and Jolley's (contro-)clessidra I & IV combines electronic instruments with regular ones and basically sounds like it looks. RICH SMITH

ROCK/POP

Connan Mockasin, Molly Lewis
Lovable, experimental, "fake jazz" genius Connan Mockasin writes funny, sweet, psychedelic pop and lounge songs about romantic yearning ("Forever Dolphin Love"), magic ("Faking Jazz Together"), and the real-life encumbrances of modern sexuality ("Charlotte’s Thong"). Both his production style—he recorded his second album Carmel in a Tokyo hotel room—and his subject material speak to a deep internal world, spritzed with humor. Mockasin’s Jassbusters was one of my favorite records of last year, and the Genius page which sought to log the lyrics of "Charlotte’s Thong" is a piece of art. Who among us can say what happened to Charlotte’s thong? SUZETTE SMITH

Father John Misty, Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit, Jade Bird
Father John Misty is a perfectly perfunctory performer. When I saw him at Sub Pop’s 30th Anniversary Party last summer, he hit every note, every dance move, every guitar strum exactly as he should. But it was still hard to connect with him behind those shades. It was like he was performing in his sleep. Well, what do performers owe their audiences, anyway? FJM released the pretty good God’s Favorite Customer last June, which was a decidedly less preachy effort than his third album, 2017’s Pure Comedy. God’s Favorite Customer found FJM just as down, just as out, just as witty, just as self-centered as he’s ever been—like we like him. JASMYNE KEIMIG

NPR Music's Tiny Desk Contest on the Road
Join KEXP and NPR Music staff for live performances by 2019 Tiny Desk Contest winner and Alaskan singer-songwriter Quinn Christopherson (who, endearingly, didn't own his own guitar until after he received the indie honor) and additional guests.

TUESDAY-WEDNESDAY BLUES/COUNTRY/FOLK

Rickie Lee Jones
Rickie Lee Jones sang “Sympathy for the Devil” (prerecorded) as I read how Trump’s (first) travel ban got definitively thumped by the courts: That night, her manifestation of pure evil/ego—toting its crimes in a failing rasp, a boast its only potency—left me reduced to a toothless pile of wrinkles camped out by the shitter in Joe’s Bar & Grill. Madeleine Peyroux gives us a healthy, sensible Billie Holiday—bit of a creak, but sweetness at the bottom in each note. Her “Desperados Under the Eaves” turns melancholy with elegance, a move that angers “alcoholic purists” out there on YouTube—but I say some people fade (alcoholically) with melancholy elegance. Wrong. Horrible. But sometimes people disappear (slowly) into air-conditioner hum. ANDREW HAMLIN

WEDNESDAY BLUES/COUNTRY/FOLK

SOAK., Fenne Lily
Northern Ireland's Bridie Monds-Watson, who plays indie-folk as SOAK., will come through town on the heels of her introspective 14-track sophomore album, Grim Town. She'll be joined by Fenne Lily.

CLASSICAL

Rain City Symphony Spring Concert
In their annual springtime concert, Rain City Symphony will perform orchestral works by Paul Dukas, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, and Jules Massenet.

EXPERIMENTAL/NOISE

The Art Gray Noizz Quintet, the Tom Price Desert Classic
Any band boasting former members of Lubricated Goat and Live Skull will get my attention. So it’s pleasing to report that the Art Gray Noizz Quintet live up to expectations. The Brooklyn brutes’ recent “A Call to You”/“Won't Say It to My Face” single pummels, whooshes, and oscillates like Hawkwind on a tequila bender. It’s pugilistic rock with gravel-voiced singing that aspires to space, but it’s too busy kicking your ass to achieve stellar liftoff. (Key detail: The drummer's name is Bloody Rich.) And that resultant friction is what makes the music so compelling. DAVE SEGAL

JAZZ

Moveable Mirror: Rudresh Mahanthappa, Eric Revis, Dave King
Rudresh Mahanthappa is an American saxophonist who combines the Carnatic music of his Southern Indian heritage with jazz, funk, hip-hop, and other Western genres. He brings a hybridized vigor to these styles, blowing magniloquent gusts of high-energy virtuosity, his mad fluency reminiscent of Sonny Rollins. So it's not surprising that Mahanthappa and his Moveable Mirror trio with drummer Dave King (the Bad Plus) and bassist Eric Revis will interpret Rollins’s 1958 Blue Note LP, A Night at the Village Vanguard, as well as his own galvanizing and spiritual compositions. Mahanthappa has played with Jack DeJohnette, Vijay Iyer, and Steve Lehman, among others, so you know he's the real deal. This is destined to be one of the best Jazz Alley bookings of 2019. DAVE SEGAL

ROCK/POP

Nick Murphy
Now performing under his given name after years as Chet Faker, Nick Murphy has a new album out. And boy is he ready to tour supporting it. Run Fast Sleep Naked wasn’t as warmly received as the stuff under his now-retired moniker. Chet Faker was a bit more bedroomy. Chet Faker was an Australian dude trying his hand at both soul and electronica. Chet Faker covered “No Diggity.” This new non-Chet era of Murphy’s career often finds him singing over an orchestra with a strange, faux Americana earnestness about him. In any case, go forth and cross your fingers he’ll hit you with some “Birthday Card” at his live performance. JASMYNE KEIMIG

THURSDAY ROCK/POP

Rob Thomas, Abby Anderson
Relive the most earnest moments and deeply alt sounds of the '90s and '00s with slick Matchbox 20 frontman Rob Thomas and opener Abby Anderson on their Chip Tooth tour.

THURSDAY-SUNDAY BLUES/COUNTRY/FOLK

John Mayall Band with Carolyn Wonderland, Greg Rzab and Jay Davenport
I know lots of folks like to deride any and all strictly blues aspects of ROCK. Y'all, I understand, it didn't take long after blues relocated to the city then went hippie for things to turn a little stock-sounding and "bar" band-ish, but John Mayall was an early groundbreaker (pun intended). He is a piece in the puzzle of our rock 'n' roll history. In fact, HUNDREDS (okay, not hundreds, but a handful) of them who’d become rock GODS passed through his group, the Bluesbreakers: Eric Clapton, Peter Green, Mick Taylor, Mark Almond, and Harvey Mandel! And all the while, Mayall held true to his singular, narrow vision: Play them blues and play 'em RIGHT! Now, he's 84 years old and still going strong! MIKE NIPPER

FRIDAY FUNK/REGGAE

Eldridge Gravy & the Court Supreme, Black Cherry Crush, High Pulp
High Pulp have been building a low-key buzz for a minute—but for no good reason, I hadn't listened to them until this month. My bad. The Seattle 10-piece generate complicated, feel-great instrumentals that should please fans of early Santana, folks into expansive funk and fusion, and jam-band aficionados. High Pulp’s party music inspires communal, celebratory sensations without the sweaty-handed corniness that often accompanies this approach. A couple of listens to their 2018 album Bad Juice will convince you they’re one of the most interesting acts in town. It makes perfect sense that High Pulp are opening for fellow big-band party-starters Eldridge Gravy. DAVE SEGAL

The Heavy
You know the Heavy from their 2006 single “How You Like Me Now?” Even though it only peaked at No. 122 on the Billboard 200, that track was tapped everywhere—commercials (Kia Sorento SUV), films and trailers and closing credits (The Transporter Refueled, Horrible Bosses, The Fighter), video games (Borderlands 2, Forza Horizon 2), TV shows (Community, Suits), TV theme songs (Intentional Talk on MLB Network), and sporting events (it’s Radim Vrbata’s personalized goal song, and it plays whenever he scores during Vancouver Canucks home games). The UK group hasn’t strayed far from making hard-ass-shaking rock heavily dosed with crunchy funk and neo-soul, and they land in town behind their fifth and latest album full of it, Sons. LEILANI POLK

ROCK/POP

Gretchen Grimm, Solitaire, Abbey Blackwell, The Zig Zag Lady
Four women from local bands will go solo: The Zig Zag Lady Sound Experience (Erica Miller of Casual Hex and Big Bite) Gretchen Grimm (of Chastity Belt and Woo Girls), Abbey Blackwell, and Solitaire (Candace Harter of Darto).

Mudhoney, The Fucking Eagles, The Drove
When I think about Mudhoney, I always think about Citizen Dick. Matt Dillon’s fictional band in the 1992 grunge rom-com Singles parodies the Mudhoney hit “Touch Me I’m Sick” with a song called “Touch Me I’m Dick.” There’s a reason Cameron Crowe chose that song to poke fun at: Mudhoney are Sub Pop’s flagship band, and that 1988 single remains a fiery, headbanging classic. And so does the band. While so many groups associated with that six-letter G word have gone the way of Dillon’s long locks, Mudhoney have continued to shred with sinister distortion, Mark Arm’s piercing vocal howl, and plenty of feedback that never diminishes with each new album. Unlike Crowe’s film, Mudhoney aren’t a charmingly dorky time capsule—they’re a band that’s remained effortlessly cool and still totally rocks. ROBIN EDWARDS

Summer Cannibals, Blushh, Dreamdecay
Here's Sean Nelson with an endorsement: "There's no delicate way to say it: Summer Cannibals fucking rule. They play with the punishing urgency of young Superchunk, songs full of power and abandon but also set alight by excellent pop instincts and shrewd songwriting. Their third album, Full of It, has been a mainstay since its 2016 release, and their live shows are exciting in a way rock bands often don't even bother aspiring to anymore. Too bad for those losers." See them after opening sets from Shab Ferdowsi's fuzzy pop project Blushh and local punks Dreamdecay.

W Music Spotlight: La Fonda
Join local indie dream-pop sextet La Fonda for some dreamy jams full of '60s "surf-esque" guitars and swoony synths.

FRIDAY-SATURDAY ELECTRONIC

Paradiso Festival
Paradiso is the PNW's premier festival of WUB-WUB-WUB, colloquially known as brostep, also called EDM, which is short for "electronic dance music" (you're welcome, grandpa). Headliners include Benny Benassi, Alison Wonderland, Kaskade, Elephante, and Skrillex. Trust that glow sticks will be wielded, hearts broken, and vape pens smoked.

SATURDAY BLUES/COUNTRY/FOLK

Patty Griffin
Chances are you've already heard the music of Patty Griffin. Her songs have been recorded by Emmylou Harris, Willie Nelson, Dixie Chicks, even Bette Midler. But you haven't really, truly experienced Griffin until you hear her perform her own stellar originals. And her fifth album, Children Running Through, is a perfect place to start, showcasing a voice as strong and versatile as her compositional chops. Griffin waxes jazzy on the opening "You'll Remember," lets loose with a fiery blues/gospel number on "Up the Mountain (MLK Song)"—which no less a personage, the King of Rock 'n' Soul Solomon Burke, recently cut, too—and whips through the kiss-off ditty "Getting Ready" with hell-raising fervor. She's every bit as gifted as any of her A-list patrons, and deserves just as much public recognition. KURT B. REIGHLEY

Massive Monkees Day
Massive Monkees Day is a true Seattle institution that is both entertaining and drenched in positivity. The focal point of this breakdancing holiday arranged by Seattle’s legendary B-boy/B-girl crew Massive Monkees is the Pro Breaking Tour–sanctioned battle royale, which this year has moved to the Showbox. The world-class dancers (who will be traveling from all over North America, Asia, and Europe to compete) and the DJs who accompany them create an impressive musical/athletic spectacle, and the familial vibe that has helped to keep the breaking community intact runs strong throughout. TODD HAMM

JAZZ

Seattle Repertory Jazz Orchestra—Ray Charles: I Can't Stop Lovin' You
Witness the massive legacy of Ray Charles with this performance by the Seattle Repertory Jazz Orchestra of Charles classics and rare big band scores played on the road by the Ray Charles Orchestra.

METAL/PUNK

Yungblud, Saint PHNX
If I were walking down the street in 2007 and someone was blasting Yungblud’s “Loner” out of their car, I wouldn’t have batted an eye. The artist otherwise known as Dominic Harrison sounds so ska-meets-suburban-brat-from-the-UK that he almost transcends time. And before you ask, yes, Yungblud does love Arctic Monkeys. Despite the rather exhausting image he puts out, Yungblud fancies himself a socially conscious singer. A cut off his latest studio album, 21st Century, called “Machine Gun (F**k the NRA)” is a comment on his feelings about gun culture in the US. He swings mainstream pop as well, appearing on “11 Minutes” alongside trashy pop mainstay Halsey and Travis Barker (?). Yungblud is supported by Glaswegian fraternal pop duo Saint PHNX. JASMYNE KEIMIG

ROCK/POP

The Middle Ages, Seablite, Neutrals
While my “editorial focus” IS on tonight’s kick-ass bill, I gotta holler: If you ain’t been down to Southgate Roller Rink yet, turn up early and get an hour of skating in. Cool? Okay, I can't simplify headliner Seablite's SOUND by calling them anything obvious, ’cause they play a kind of melodic, thickly atmospheric sweetness framed by delicate paisley-pop nods and sideswiped by a slight shoegaze fixation. Um, they’re just cool—so, kids, dose accordingly. Also kicking up dust tonight will be local punks Middle Ages and, from Oakland, Neutrals, a smart UK-style punk group. MIKE NIPPER

SUNDAY BLUES/COUNTRY/FOLK

Indigo Girls, Sera Cahoone
Amy Ray and Emily Saliers are still Indigo Girls (the band's approaching 34!) and still folk-rockin'. They'll perform on the bucolic north meadow of the Woodland Park Zoo as a part of the annual summer concert series, ZooTunes.

CLASSICAL

Kishi Bashi, Takenobu
The fourth and latest album from Kaoru Ishibashi (professionally known as Kishi Bashi) is bright, poignant, heartfelt, and infused with a sense of hope, even during its more melancholy moments. From the breezy, acoustic-guitar-picked opening of "Penny Rabbit and Summer Bear" with its Harry Nilsson "Everybody's Talkin'" feel, to the sweeping symphonics and forlorn beauty of "Summer of '42," to the twangy fiddle-rousing banjo-plucked closer "Annie, Heart Thief of the Sea," Omoiyari is a stunner that remains uplifting despite its bleak inspiration: the WWII internment of Japanese Americans. Omoiyari is a bit of a departure from Kishi Bashi's previous efforts, folkier while conversely more finely composed and orchestrated. Instead of mostly producing the entire album himself, the Berklee-trained musician (who sings and plays violin primarily, but also guitar and keys) brought on a band (including frequent collaborator Tall Tall Trees on bass and banjo) and some chamber players to back him up. It's also more political, though the parallels between what happened then versus what's happening now are examined more deeply and thoroughly in accompanying documentary Omoiyari: A Songfilm by Kishi Bashi, due out sometime next year. LEILANI POLK

Steve Hackman's Harder, Better, Faster, Stravinsky
Composer and producer Steve Hackman will lay out the full spectrum of Stravinsky to Kanye in this pop-classical mash-up concert that matches composers with chart-toppers.

Mama's Thirsty: A Queer Lady Hangout Pride Edition!
For this installment of a series highlighting womxn- and queer-fronted music acts in Seattle, hosted by Caela Bailey as always, enjoy a live set by Guayaba with burlesque by "2018 Queen of Oregon" Nox Falls, lap dances by "the gorgeous Kiki and friends," and DJ sets by PepTalk.

JAZZ

ROCK/POP

Duff McKagan, Shooter Jennings
Ex-Guns N' Roses bassist and beloved PNW resident Duff McKagan will hit the stage with his backing band alongside a support set by Shooter Jennings.

Hoop, Fell Runner, Baby Jessica
Former Stranger contributor Robin Edwards wrote: "When I first saw Hoop, all that kept running through my head was a constant stream of 'Wow, I love this band.' Caitlin Roberts, Leena Joshi, and Pamela Santiago trade off singing on the dreamiest friendship-bracelet pop songs, full of tender harmonies and magical guitar lines and introspective lyrics that tug gently on my most sensitive heartstrings." Tonight, they'll perform with LA-based experimental rockers Fell Runner and local rock trio Baby Jessica.

SOUL/R&B

Stephanie Anne Johnson & The Highdogs, The Junebugs
Tacoma-bred R&B/soul artist Stephanie Anne Johnson (who was featured on the 2013 season of The Voice) will be backed by her band and welcomed with an opening set from down-tempo indie rockers Junebugs.

Adventurous R&B/Rap Diva SassyBlack Taps Into "Upbeat Heartbreak" on New Black Swing

Todd Hamm — Wed, 21 Jun 2017 04:00:00 -0700

SassyBlack's new album offers a distinctive, queer take on New Jack Swing by Todd Hamm

"They call me Sassy, Ms. Black if ya nasty." —"Watching You"

SassyBlack wants to take you on a trip on her latest album, New Black Swing (out June 23). Maybe not down memory lane, but through a living exhibition of the mechanics of a gone but not forgotten era of R&B. Running from the mid-1980s through the early 1990s, new jack swing, the stylistic reference point for New Black Swing, stepped away from the softer love-ballad vibes of the early 1980s (think 1983 Lionel Richie or early New Edition), thickened the sexual overtones, and added the aggressive hiphop percussion that American dance floors of the time craved (think 1986 Janet Jackson or late-1980s Bell Biv DeVoe and Bobby Brown).

A themed album like New Black Swing—which follows up SassyBlack's No More Weak Dates (2016) and Personal Sunlight (2015) in her post-THEESatisfaction catalog—actually seems like a natural distillation of her previously varied sound. As a producer, SassyBlack (whose real name is Catherine Harris-White) has always favored beats that sound inspired by the pre-Ableton era: echoey air-snares, synth bass, lo-fi aesthetic. In terms of production, the concept behind New Black Swing seems to focus, rather than limit, her expression.

"I've always been a fan of R&B, and new jack swing, so I just wanted to find some time to dive into an album I've always wanted to do," Harris-White says in a phone interview. The fondness shows, as a number of the tracks are spot-on new jack swing emulation (see especially "What We Gonna Do" and "Games"); in fact, they should be considered proud additions to the canon. Harris-White says she went through a period of intense close-listening to albums by artists like Bobby Brown, Janet Jackson, Vanessa Williams, Karen White, Jody Watley, and Michael Jackson. (In an aside, Harris-White insists that Jackson's Dangerous is definitely a new jack swing album, saying, "I don't think people realize it is, but Teddy Riley produced quite a bit of that.") The overall effect of New Black Swing is partially a tribute to the genre, but as a whole, the contemporary rhythmic construction and unmistakable vocal stylings make the album a distinctly SassyBlack product.

Though Harris-White is well-known as a singer, she decided that if she was going to do the new jack swing shtick justice, she would have to rap as well—so she did just that. "I felt like the songs would have been missing something had I not rapped," she says. "It felt good... I do rap, but I took a break from it to focus on my singing. Plus, the songs I was making didn't really ask for a rap, but [this time] it just felt right, and it felt cool to come back to it and feel stronger as a rapper than I did before."

The process of writing the lyrics, she says, was all about getting into the R&B mind state. A prototypical R&B jam may deal with love or loss, but there should be nuance and internal conflict. "It's heartbreak, but it's kind of upbeat heartbreak. It's like, 'You left me, but I guess that's just how it goes, do do do'—and then scatting, and then it's on to the next." She adds: "I feel like a lot of R&B albums revolve around that: what's about to go down or what you're gonna get if you fall in love with me."

10 Things You Should Take a Chance On at Bumbershoot

Todd Hamm — Tue, 30 Aug 2016 04:00:00 -0700

10 Things You Should Take a Chance On at Bumbershoot by Todd Hamm

See The Stranger's complete guide to Bumbershoot.

Once the only major arts and culture festival in the city, Bumbershoot is now one of many mass gatherings in our neck of the woods. Though it has musical rivals in Sasquatch! and the Capitol Hill Block Party, and there are strong contenders in both the food (Bite of Seattle) and multidisciplinary art exhibit (Folklife, Seattle Art Fair, and Out of Sight) games, this (sometimes) sunny three-day music and arts fair distinguishes itself from the festival pack by bringing all these forms together under one needle.

The 46th annual Bumbershoot lineup is full of acts worthy of filling your schedule, at and below the headliner level. You already know to go see Anderson .Paak, Fetty Wap, Tame Impala—and locally, Erik Blood, DoNormaal, and Chastity Belt. Here's a short list of artists with whom you may not be so familiar but who are worth your time.

Kamasi Washington

Sun, 8 pm, Starbucks Stage

Cue up Kendrick Lamar's crushing To Pimp a Butterfly interlude "For Free?" and you can feel the power of the man behind the saxophone that sets the track off. With his best-known role playing on the biggest rap album of last year, Kamasi Washington piqued the interest of a legion of non-jazz fans and set the stage for the release of his ambitious triple-disc album The Epic just two months later. The Epic is an era-spanning jazz masterpiece, combining agreeable classic jazz standard melody with well-spaced vocal accompaniment and free jazz freak-outs. Washington's musical vision truly holds something for everyone.

Lewis Del Mar

Fri, 4:30 pm, Main Stage

This New York City duo combines acoustic and studio production techniques to pull their songs together, with moments of pounding anthem-building sliced by high-passion verses and field recordings. They are left of center enough to stand out, but they have a kind of clean crossover quality that will probably land them on bigger stages in the not-so-distant future.

So Pitted

Sun, 3 pm, Fisher Green

A song name like "Pay Attention to Me," from this year's Sub Pop release Neo, couldn't be more fitting for this group of Seattle noisemakers. Loud, grinding sections smash into each other between the beginning and end of each track, often tripping into thickets of feedback before they conclude. For all the chaos, though, So Pitted's songs are deeply pleasing, both for their primal smash-your-neighbor energy and their challenging thinking punk's discord.

Bob Moses

Fri, 4:30 pm, Fisher Green

The vocal house duo that records under the name of a famous 20th-century New York urban planner makes music for the now. Augmenting their cruise-control dance-floor rhythms with hybrid electronic and acoustic arrangements, they create spacious nocturnal environments to dance and dream to. Fans of laid-back house, but also minimalist pop in the vein of the XX, should land here.

Manatee Commune

Sat, 4:10 pm, KEXP; Sun, 4:30 pm, KeyArena

You are going to be inundated with big, bulky, beat-heavy electronic music at this year's Bumbershoot, so you might as well pick and choose your electronic acts wisely. Bellingham producer/multi-instrumentalist Manatee Commune makes thought-provoking studio laboratory music in the vein of acts like Beat Connection, but he pulls all kinds of percussion and non-computer elements into the fold: chimes, guitar, violin, etc.

White Denim

Sat, 8:20 pm, Starbucks Stage

Austin's White Denim are all over the place in the best way. From messy, lo-fi garage punk to lanky psych jams, the band has excelled in most areas it has dabbled in. What all their experimenting has in common is a fervent energy. They take each song as an opportunity to run a thread to its logical conclusion and tumble down rabbit holes and around corners at full bore. Songs twist and mutilate before hitting their wall, but they never lose the listener along the way. It's simple pleasure meets spacey ambition.

Robert Lashley

Sun, 7:30 pm, Center Theater

To say Robert Lashley, a 2016 Stranger Genius Award nominee, reads his works is an understatement—he performs them, hurling each line of poetry into the air before letting it rain down on the audience. His 2014 collection, The Homeboy Songs, delves into his upbringing in rough early-1990s Tacoma. Lashley's work, and perspective, is not to be ignored.

Ron Funches

Sat, 7 pm, Bagley Wright Theater; Sun 5 pm, Bagley Wright Theater

Though Ron Funches has become reasonably well-known after his appearances on NBC's Undateable, Comedy Central, and network late-night shows, comedy still plays the undercard at most festivals, so he merits a mention here. Funches plays the part of curious, huggable friend who miiiight also be a murderous psychopath. It's a fantastic combination that makes his sets fucking hilarious.

Seattle Process with Brett Hamil

Sat, 4 pm, Vera Project

Brett Hamil is a local comedian and freelance writer who's made a budding career of addressing local government and race and gender politics. And hey, what's funnier than our local attempts at "politics" and our refusal to address race and gender inequality?! Tell me about it. Have a laugh, have a thought or two, even, as we all experience a special edition of his monthly local-politics-focused but comedy-minded live show.

B-EATs

Fri–Sun

Food and drink is a logical accompaniment to good music, and this is your chance to more than sample a wide variety of hot Seattle eateries under one tent. You know, between Shishkaberry's binges. Each day boasts a different combination of food in a sit-down dinner format from new and well-known places like Matt's in the Market, Radiator Whiskey, Gracia, Bok a Bok Korean Fried Chicken, Little Uncle, and Pike Place Fish.

Grace Love's Autobiographical Musical Debuts Tomorrow Night at Vera

Todd Hamm — Fri, 26 Feb 2016 13:21:00 -0800

by Todd Hamm

Grace Love, making art out of turmoil

Grace Love is singing in her car as she drives to one of the last rehearsals for her first theatrical production, Sex, Drugs, Rock & Soul, this Saturday at the Vera Project. From the other end of the line, I hear her struggling with the phone pairing device in her car and cursing technology between notes, which is no surprise for someone whose last album (with her band the True Loves) was recorded directly to tape. After a minute or so, the device kicks on, and Love opens up about putting her life on stage.

“Like 10 years ago, it started as a journal entry, and then it progressed from there,” she says. “It had characters and everything, but now it’s this one-woman show of me telling a little part of my life after my mom had passed, and kind of diving head-first into music.”

After conducting an open call on social media in November, and receiving offers from musicians in her circle to donate their time, she put together an extended monologue of a show that will be bolstered by a full choir and backing band.

The music included in the play is material she wrote at some of her darkest times, before moving to Seattle, before forming the True Loves, before she was being asked to perform at this year’s Sasquatch! music festival. “Way back when I was strugglin’,” she says—sings actually.

The play follows the arc of Love’s life through her twenties. When Love’s mother, Nadine, died of a heart attack at age 48, she left a 20-year old Grace in a state of turmoil. Love found herself having to deal with personal issues, from her bisexuality, to her religious upbringing, to addiction, without the support she had relied on. She decided to leave Tacoma, where she had spent much of her life, and headed east, eventually landing in New York. After falling on hard times, she wound up homeless, and began to put her struggles on paper.

Love may be the subject of her own play, but the night is all about the memory of her late mother. Now on the edge of 30, Love hopes to put the money from ticket sales toward the start-up costs for her own restaurant, a soul food joint she plans to grace with her mother’s name. Her hope is to employ at-risk youth and give them skills they can use to not only survive, but thrive in the arts community with the help of her venture’s nonprofit branch, Nadine’s House.

She also hopes her story of loss, personal discovery, and triumph, is one others can find strength in, but she says there is also a cathartic element to the performance.

“Yeah, [people can] definitely relate to [it], but then it was also kind of selfish for me because I was like so ready to let go of this,” she says. “It’s kind of a crutch in the sense of emotionally not letting me be honest with myself . . . and I think I can just tell this story and I get to let it go. I get to release myself from this energy that literally held me back for such a long time. It kind of made it hard for me to be honest with myself and blocked a lot of blessings—I don’t want to say blessings because I’m not a religious person—but yeah, it blocked a lot of blessings because I was too wrapped up in what people thought about me, and not what I thought about myself.”

Sasquatch! Music Festival: Four Days of Music, Heat, and Crowd-Friendly Mayhem

Todd Hamm — Tue, 26 May 2015 17:57:33 -0700

by Todd Hamm

Sleater-Kinney played to a sparse crowd. Brooklyn Benjestorf

Four days of festival makes for a marathon, but I held up pretty well. (Especially since I'm 100 in festival years.) Follow my journey through the Gorge, as I take you along on the ride that was Sasquatch! Music Festival 2015:

FRIDAY

Around 8:30, the clouds found us again at the Gorge, darkening the sky, and pelted the Action Bronson audience with big ol' raindrops for most of the set.

Bronson brought the thunder, bellowing his lines from the stage and the grass, chucking bags of weed to his fans, aggressively dishing out high fives, and yelling random stuff like “I wanna put my fucking head through the wall," and ”This makes me wanna crash the fucking Jeep!”

Bronson, the burly former chef, was the highlight of a decent succession of rap acts that began with the young New York revivalist Bishop Nehru on the Yeti stage, and sandwiched in Virginian oddball GoldLink in the El Chupacabra tent. Although GoldLink has found creative ways to use his voice on record, the "future bounce" production behind him was really more interesting than his rhymes. Nehru was the more captivating of the two undercards; his lyrical style and 18-year-old energy played much better than the action in the tent.

Then I drank a thousand beers and saw Sleater-Kinney rock to a less-than-full crowd.

This could have something to do with the fact that their set overlapped slightly with Australia's immensely popular Flume, whose thumping, sparkly, vocal-tweaked beats have the kind of propulsion to draw late-night fans from all over the grounds.

SATURDAY

If somebody had been selling shade on Saturday, they could have made a pretty penny. It was hot as Capitol Hill real estate out there, and Seattle bleak-wave synth-rockers Murder Vibes were powering through their Uranus stage set clad head-to-toe in black. “Perfect for hot weather,” they said. The vocals were up too high, but it only magnified the angst in singer Pete Hanks's breathy vocals. (Hanks gave an especially dramatic performance on a cover of Garbage's “Special.”) The easy-tempo’d show was just what the tired-looking, early afternoon crowd needed.

Later on in the afternoon, I found fellow Seattleite Vox Mod head-banging behind the decks and charging up the El Chupacabra crowd. Weaving heavy melodies through dense bodies of hard techno and blissful digital latticework, Mod's jams were well received by the modest assemblage.

Chromeo—the crowd-friendly hit. Brooklyn Benjestorf

The big guns on Saturday were Chromeo, Perfume Genius, and Father John Misty. Montreal's glammed-out funk duo Chromeo was the fan favorite of the day, giving a full main-stage audience a full helping of joyful, jumbotron butt-wiggles and sexy-hot talk box grooves. Their fine-tuned novelty-funk was made for the big stage.

Words seem to creep out of Perfume Genius’s Mike Hadreas by sheer necessity, relieving the pressure built up by his life experience, while his slithery, loose-bodied dance moves ease the tension. He plays the tracks with utmost sincerity, making them soft to the touch, but heavy to hold.

Father John Misty (aka Josh Tillman) is able to move between witty folk crooner and spazzed-out Morrison ringer like no one else I can think of. From the subtle hip-shaking as he belted out the gospel-tinged hit "Only Son of the Ladiesman," to wild writhing on his back as he blurted, "Awwww yeeeaahhh motherfucker!" while his band rocked out behind him on the Bigfoot stage, it was the FJM experience at its best.

SUNDAY

One of the first acts I saw Sunday was the buzzed-about UK band Temples. Their sound—a sand-swept, vintage psychedelia—is pleasant enough to enjoy in a sunny, carefree environment, but there wasn't much to grab on to. From the vaguely poetic lyrics to the rehashed ’60s songwriting, it didn't stick with me.

I moved over to the bass-drop tent to see Glasgow beat man Rustie, and found myself in the midst of a pretty H.A.M. party. He's proven a rare breed of producer and competent album-format composer who can also play to the sweltering masses on the festival circuit. In many cases, he piles on the bass at rather predictable times (I wonder what's going to happen after this massive synth buildup!), but between those drops Rustie is an innovator who finds creative ways to make people move.

Lana Del Rey was my next big stop. Sound and image-wise, not a lot has changed for LDR. She's still puts off a somber vibe, and still presents herself like a reluctant hometown beauty queen in a fancy white dress. She covered Leonard Cohen's "Chelsea Hotel #2," and it became clear that there’s a lucrative country career in her future if she wants it. Even when shifting genres, there's not a lot of unpredictability in LDR's style—slow-paced, sunken-voiced, faux-vintage—but she commanded the stage well.

James Blake spun between a couple different keyboards from his seat on the right side of the Bigfoot stage, singing his trembly ballads late into Sunday night. The bass was insane, like wobbly bass-lava gurgling beneath the drunken jazz piano and dub rhythms.

MONDAY

If you were able to hang in there till Monday, you earned yourself the great lineup. My day started with THEESatisfaction on the Bigfoot stage, pulling off their fabulous, synchronized dance moves. They performed a rad remix of "Bisexual," pulled Porter Ray to the stage for "EarthEE," and sounded great, all with OC Notes cuing tracks. Porter Ray, the fresh-faced Sub Pop signee, put on a pro-level show himself. This shouldn't come as a surprise to anyone who's heard his GLD series of EPs, or, more recently, his stellar Fundamentals tape. The Seattle emcee is the real deal and will more than likely earn an upgrade to bigger stages as his music finds wider release.

Between catching snippets of sets by local acts Grynch, DJAO, and HELMS ALEE, I saw ScHoolboy Q tear up the main stage something fierce. Coming out to "Gangsta," Q had the place jumping for real. Some of his rhymes still make me feel dirtier than a row of campground Honey Buckets (See: "What They Want") but regardless, his set was one of the weekend’s highlights.

Ryan Adams was hilariously mocking an audience member when I stopped by the main stage later on. After somebody had (allegedly) yelled out a song request, he went off: "I heard you! 'Summer of '69!' Now everybody around you doesn't have to kick your ass. You're just a prick, that's all you are, a little man." Then he made a small shape with his fingers to represent how insignificant the guy was. He wasn't making a lot of sense, but it was pretty funny.

Run the Jewels worked what's become a predictably great best-buddies act on the Bigfoot stage. The two traded extra-tough bars while El-P notably toted a liter of Tito’s.

Lamar stayed away from 'To Pimp a Butterfly' tracks and stuck to audience-pleasers. Brooklyn Benjestorf

Then it was time for Compton good kid Kendrick Lamar to close out the whole show. He had the obligatory festival full-band, and played a ton of his hits, even pulling up a pair of audience members to rap a verse of "m.A.A.d city." It was a glitzy, fan-centric show, and went down smooth. Truthfully, though, I would have been even more stoked if he had appeared alone on stage without the backing band. It was still pretty amazing to see him in the flesh, and it put a nice bow on the festival before I made my break for the ocean.

Breakdance Crew Them Team Celebrates 10 Years of Preserving Northwest B-boy Culture

Todd Hamm — Wed, 06 May 2015 04:00:00 -0700

Local Breakdance Crew Them Team Celebrates 10 Years of Preserving Northwest B-boy Culture by Todd Hamm

"Mash Hall love family thicker than blood." MC Ronnie Voice laid down those words 20 years ago on "Straight Outta West Coast," the first song created by the hiphop group that would come to be known as Mash Hall. The line has become something of a mantra (not to mention at least one pair of forearm tattoos) for the loose collective of creative friends and associates that has been ringing bells in breakdancing and rap circles across the region.

Voice and his cousin Kip Fox (better known as djblesOne) came of age in the 1990s, living up and down the West Coast, from Los Angeles and Oakland to Portland and Seattle, making music about their core interests: rapping, B-boying, DJing, and writing graffiti. The name of their group is a reference to this cultural mash-up, which Mash Hall strives to translate into music as danceable as dancehall... without sounding anything like dancehall.

Them Team is the breakdancing counterpart of the Mash Hall project, an outgrowth of the collective and a stand-alone phenomenon; the groups often perform together and share Fox/djblesOne as a founding member. As the footprint of Seattle hiphop continues to deepen, Mash Hall and its associates—especially sister group Don't Talk to the Cops!—have gained an increasing national profile while their local prominence remains strong. But it's not like that for breakdancing. Whereas hiphop has only become more and more central to mass culture over the 30-plus years of its existence, breaking made a big, brief splash and was subsequently relegated to the fringes, forced to snatch legitimacy from the jaws of novelty and nostalgia.

Fox says the desire to preserve the legacy of breaking was a major component of the decision to form Them Team in the first place. "Originally," he tells me over coffee, "it was kind of to protect, and to have outside people show respect to, what we were doing."

Having come of age in the '90s, when breaking was already seen by many as something that died in the '80s, or was inextricably tied to gang culture, Fox was used to his interests being downplayed and disregarded by event organizers. After moving to Seattle in the early 2000s and finding work on the club circuit, he decided to try to make the road better for dancers from the front and back ends.

"The dancers were getting treated like sideshows," Fox remembers. It awakened in him a protective instinct. "That was one of the things in forming Them Team: If these guys ever needed someone to talk to promoters or anyone in a business way, or to ask advice like 'Is this good or am I getting taken advantage of? What should I be getting here?' I was always available for them to help, because I don't want to see people being taken advantage of."

That sense of looking out for his fellow travelers—the love family thicker than blood aspect—has been the key element of Fox's approach to B-boy cultural preservation.

"[Fox] wanted to gather some of his closest friends in Seattle," explains music producer and Art of Movement B-boy crew member Chase "Cha Cha" Malone, "the younger people that he thought had potential, and bring them together and make a team that represented his brand of Mash Hall. Hence: the M Team, the Mash Team."

Fox has since become something of a cultural ambassador/consultant, brokering agreements with companies like Red Bull, Starbucks, and Sub Pop among other corporations that seek to use breakdancers in promotional campaigns. His mediation has proven beneficial both to the dancers, for whom he helps negotiate deals, and to the clients, whom he nudges away from the clichéd framing devices that often go along with representations of B-boy culture by outsiders.

"Like, get the boom boxes out of the background, and don't make them wear Adidas suits and fat gold chains," he says. "All this bullshit nobody does. That's all '80s stuff, and some of those kids weren't even born in that era... nobody needs or cares for these big outside companies to make them look corny. At this point, if you don't know or respect what we're doing, we're not messing with you."

Them Team has now been around for 10 years. Fox will celebrate the decade-long run Saturday at an all-day, all-ages party and break battle with the rest of the Them Team crew: B-boys Thesis, Tim the Pit, Cha Cha, Chico, Juse Boogey, Roc, Mango, Junior, and Dial Tone. But as much as the anniversary is cause for revelry, it's also an important part of the ongoing campaign to reestablish the legitimacy of breakdancing as a popular form.

To that end, Fox and his business/life partner, Megan "Emecks" Xaybanha, purchased a pair of billboards to advertise the party (and the accomplishment that occasions it), one at the corner of Madison and 16th on Capitol Hill, the other at 45th and Roosevelt in the U-District. Them Team's 10-year anniversary party is one of only two certified Pro Breaking Tour events to hit Seattle this year—the long-running annual Massive Monkees Day fell last month. And while billboards are a familiar signifier of showbiz ambition, they also represent a very different significance within the community they're addressing, and even within the crew they're advertising.

"Stuff like that gives us B-boys, especially B-boys who don't have that much but have a lot to offer, that gives us hope," says Them Team member and world champion solo B-boy battler Thias "Thesis" Lopez. Seeing those billboards "gives us the inspiration and motivation that we can actually create something out of ourselves. Bles is pretty much the outlook on that. He's pretty much the guy who's doing that the most in Seattle. It's always inspiring to talk to him, he always shows his respect to people, and he always has something—an idea for them that they can possibly do to better themselves."

Album Reviews

Todd Hamm — Wed, 03 Dec 2014 04:00:00 -0800

Oh dag, we reviewed some albums! The newest from Heldon, Screens, and Cooly G by Todd Hamm

HELDON

Allez-Téia

(Superior Viaduct)

Throughout the 1970s, the French progressive group Heldon released seven great-to-essential albums. Their 1975 sophomore album, Allez-Téia, captures Heldon during a phase when they were more about lofty hovering ambience than the infernal propulsion and dystopian nightmare visions that would mark their last few full-lengths. Throughout Allez-Téia's seven tracks, there exists a scintillating contrast between otherworldly synths and Mellotron and earthy acoustic and electric guitars. "In the Wake of King Fripp" is a gorgeous tapestry of those instruments paying tribute to Heldon leader Richard Pinhas's foremost influence: King Crimson guitarist Robert Fripp. Pinhas and Georges Grunblatt capture the Frippian muse in its most majestic and serene state, in the vein of Fripp's classic ambient LP with Brian Eno, Evening Star (which also came out in '75). "Aphanisis" features guest Alain Renaud and Grunblatt on acoustic guitars, their exquisitely filigreed melodies spangling and frolicking with delicate panache. It's ideal for Sunday morning contemplation. Dedicated to Fripp and Eno, "Omar Diop Blondin" tips another plectrum toward Evening Star, as Alain Bellaiche and Pinhas duet on guitars: One growls in gentle agony, the other undulates with a mesmerizing oceanic drag. "St-Mikael Samstag Am Abends" exemplifies the album's dichotomy: It begins with gaseous space-ship emissions droning into infinity and then segues into a tintinnabulating guitar part that recalls Creedence Clearwater Revival's "Born on the Bayou," of all things. With their motor-revving bass tones and manic pressure-cooker vibes, "Moebius" and "Fluence" hint at Heldon's late-era mental machine music. "Michel Ettori" closes Allez-Téia with a gilded pastoral folk ramble on acoustic guitars, lulling you into a stoned reverie. It's the kind of thing modern players like Steve Gunn and Ryley Walker aspire to. Today's musicians are still catching up to Heldon. DAVE SEGAL

SCREENS

The Hooded Pink Falcon

(Self-Released)

Like Russell Wilson, Screens are a dual threat. On The Hooded Pink Falcon EP, the West Seattle band shows it can play both easy-listening electro-pop and experimental space-funk at the same damn time. They accomplish this feat by sending pillowy digital effects to orbit around their soft vocal melodies, hitting the bass thrusters, and gliding to Groove Central Station.

Individually, the musicians are excellent role players: effective in their restraint, yet slyly technical—all the while, singer Allison Tulloss sneaks in near-epic-length poetry (opener "Netherlandia" clocks in at almost 500 words on the lyric sheet), sometimes sung in her wispy, low-key soprano, sometimes rolled out in cleverly devised robot raps. Wacky-great lyrics like "Replace your favorite picture from childhood/With pseudo-genetic/Grown-up synthesis" ("Machine") and supplementary background effects coat their more terrestrial rock numbers in space dust, pushing them well past ordinary.

It's their freakiest numbers that shimmer the most, though. "Dexify"—which involves drummer Doug Port taking the mic to say "Paris, France, in your pants," among other things, in a delightfully creepy falsetto—soars to trippy heights. Also lobbying for top jam is "Night Controller," which could anchor the soundtrack of a Dazed and Confused redux if the film ended with Mitch Kramer dropping acid at junior prom. TODD HAMM

COOLY G

Wait 'Til Night

(Hyperdub)

Look here: Cooly G is trying to get laid. After the romantic trials and tribulations outlined in the UK bass maven's funky debut, Playin' Me, G's done playing around and ready to seal the fucking deal. Largely abandoning the UK garage-/house-influenced sound of Playin,' Wait 'Til Night comes off as her attempt at a futuristic R&B crossover album. Sadly, the album as a whole fails to fulfill the promise of either dance-floor dominance or bedroom bona fides: For a sex record, it comes off a bit (excuse me) limp.

Some of the problem may lie in the sequencing. Cooly G's decided to frontload the album in a bad way: Kicking it off are no less than a half-dozen cuts with little to differentiate them, all cookie-cutter come-ons and formless song structures, a half-baked run that confuses lack of forward momentum for foreplay.

Thankfully, beginning with "A Quick Question," things begin to take on a more discernible shape. Instead of languid pads and shiftless rhythms, Cooly outfits the latter tracks with inky black bass, Timbaland-referencing strings, and Rhodes keyboards. Her lyrics, too, gain a newfound forwardness, recalling Tricky at his paranoiac, ambiguously dangerous/erotic best.

Unfortunately, it's a case of too little, too late. It's a shame, because there are hints of a hauntingly original take on modern pop music here. Cooly G's left with a choice: go all in on her pop leanings or return to the club sound that garnered her so much attention in the first place. Turns out, waiting truly is the hardest part. KYLE FLECK

The Drums Play "Perfectly Wrong" and "Comically Bad"—and They Headline Neumos Tonight

Todd Hamm — Thu, 09 Oct 2014 15:15:42 -0700

by Todd Hamm

The Drums
Jacob Graham (left) and Jonny Pierce.

"We're not classically trained musicians; we don't know how to play chords on a guitar," says Jacob Graham, cofounder of stylish Brooklyn band the Drums—a band that totally has a couple guitar chords on its new album, Encyclopedia. Their touring guitarist was hired to provide the "flowery" multi-string work, explains Graham over the phone on an off day from Detroit, but some of it was "kind of meant to sound bad. Like almost comically bad at times."

"Me and Jonny [are] just picking away until something happens, and then we're able to—with modern technology—just do a thousand takes until it sounds right, or perfectly wrong or whatever."

As professional music-makers, the Drums, who headline Neumos on Thursday night, have never relied on technical wondery to get their point across; they sail past most tech-rockers on a boat built of sleek aesthetic, cutting melodies, and an infatuation with gloomy lyricism. Singer Jonny Pierce can carve a dirge into the back of a helium-light pop song, either with scalpel-scrawled musings like "They might hate you, but I love you, and they can go kill themselves" (from "Let Me," which is a song about the tribulations of the Russian LGBT community), or the simple wordless vocal harmonies that are at once gorgeous and hopelessly sad.

"I think we just like that contrast, and to us, that's something that makes it interesting," says Graham. "We've always been drawn to really sad music, and any sort of art. We always think the saddest thing is the most beautiful thing."

That interplay, coupled with their nostalgia-soaked lo-fi production, bought them online buzz and critical praise in 2009 with the release of their Summertime! EP, and continued to build in 2010 with their imaginative self-titled debut. They toured relentlessly, causing tension within the group, and ended with the departure of guitarist Adam Kessler. The Drums powered on regardless, and wrote what may be their masterwork, 2011's Portamento, mostly on the road. For a band that could seemingly crank out music that spoke to everyone with minimal effort, the subsequent four-year break between the release of that album and their newest was out of character, to say the least, but one Graham says was necessary to the health of the band.

"We always knew that we'd make another record," he says. "We were kind of on tour for a solid three and a half years, and all that recording and releasing stuff. It felt like when that came to an end like, 'Whoa, you need to stop for a second or this next record won't be any good.' So that's what we did. Everything always felt so rushed…and we wanted to make a record we could really take our time on, and that's what we did. We spent a long time making Encyclopedia, and we're really happy we were able to do that."

Though the striking minimalist songwriting of the early days can still be heard at their core, the songs on Encyclopedia have been expertly dressed with more creative (though still mainly analog) effects than ever, and take turns you would have never expected from the band who made the simple-pleasure cult hit "Let's Go Surfing." This was no accident.

"Everything we've ever released up until Encyclopedia was so consistent, you know; we spent so long establishing our sound, and we felt like we really established it," says Graham. "So we thought it would be fun to bend all those rules we'd set up and finally expound upon that sound we'd established. Our idea with Encyclopedia was to not be totally consistent throughout."

Ballard's Macefield Music Festival Hits a Growth Spurt

Todd Hamm — Wed, 01 Oct 2014 04:00:00 -0700

Macefield Music Festival Hits a Growth Spurt by Todd Hamm

Last October, it took a passionate group of Ballard-area promoters, venue owners, and personalities to sweep the Macefield Music Festival together from the scattered ashes of Seattle Weekly's sixth-annual Reverb Music Festival after the publication officially canceled it just over a month before it was scheduled to take place. The result was a rebranded and rebooked all-day musical celebration that was exciting, and well-attended enough, to bring it back for a second year. This time, the festival grounds will include eight stages (over last year's three), which will play host to nearly 80 bands—a massive undertaking that resembles the ambitious bookings of Reverbs past.

The similarity is no mistake—festival booker Kwab Copeland is a carryover from the fest's previous incarnation and a firm believer in maintaining the musical tradition of the neighborhood. "Over the last 20 years, Ballard has maintained a vibrant music scene, mainly through the efforts of folks at the Tractor, the Sunset, Conor Byrne, etc." Copeland explains via e-mail. "But then you go back to the years of the Backstage, and then back even further to Ballard as a rough fishing village, and music has always played a part. Edith Macefield, who we named the festival after, was a musician in Ballard (she played the clarinet and the saxophone) long before she made the famous decision not to sell her house [to developers]."

Copeland and his team have also tacked on a few comedy acts to the billing (fingers crossed John Keister will put on a Ballard driving clinic!), all-ages indoor and outdoor stages, and the Macefield Market, a two-day pop-up market that features a poster exhibition, record swap, and trade show, with clothing and crafts vendors, plus a beer-and-drink garden.

But the bands! See as many as you can, of course, but here are a few you should officially not miss (in chronological order):

UGLYFRANK

(Friday, 7:15 pm, Tractor Tavern)

Like the rest of his ILLFIGHTYOU fam, Tacoma's UGLYFRANK is a breathless advocate for reckless behavior when he touches the mic. Filling every inch of his chosen West Coast–style beats with rapid-fire, multi-peak lines, FRANK's vocals are fuel that can ignite any room.

INLY

(Friday, 9 pm, Sunset Tavern)

An eclectic hometown six-piece, Inly lay gorgeous folk-style singing in the vein of Radiation City over soft piano and percussion. Slow psychobilly/surf guitar and muted horns augment the tender mix.

THE SONICS

(Friday, 8 pm, KEXP Main Stage)

Tacoma garage-rock pioneers the Sonics remind us that Grit City has been rolling tough since back in the day. Not only did they know how to rock catchy lyrics and riff progressions as well as the Kinks, but singer Gerry Roslie wailed like a beast, which not everybody had the guts to do in the early 1960s. Earn a couple of Northwest rock history points on this one.

BIG BUSINESS

(Friday, 11:30 pm, Tractor Tavern)

All the smashing and bellowing you'd expect from the Murder City Devils drummer and Karp bassist/vocalist, but throw in the fact that the two also play with the Melvins, and you're already sold. The LA-based band's 2014 album, Battlefields Forever, is the first on their own Gold Metal Records imprint, and it's a collection of big, bad, sinister guitar lines, Viking-strength vocals, and burning long-form songwriting.

SAGE

(Friday, 11:45 pm, Conor Byrne)

Sage is a band I'm surprised didn't take off during the early-/mid-'90s (and so is their bio writer, who boldly quoth, "Sage is one of the most unfairly overlooked bands in Seattle music history"). The Seattle three-piece had all the technical prowess, pained grunge vocals, freak-funk-flecked bass, and loud-soft versatility to grab any major-label A&R's ears in those fruitful days. Their inventive rocktail could very well have been too complex for the masses back then, but it might be perfect for today.

THEESATISFACTION

(Saturday, 11:30 pm, Tractor Tavern)

The hypercreative Stasia Irons and Catherine Harris-White thrive in the vocal-jazz-meets-hiphop sweet spot they've created for themselves. Their live set is all about style, and whether you've seen them kick their flavor over those rolling samples and gently knocking beats before or not, it'll be worth the trip. My bet is you'll hear a new jam or two, as well.

HELMS ALEE

(Saturday, 11:45 pm, Sunset Tavern)

Each part of Helms Alee's attack is impressive: Ben Verellen's twisted guitar lines and relentless howl coupled with Dana James's counterbalanced singing and bass harmonies, with the drumming of Hozoji Matheson-Margullis, who puts on a show all her own behind the kit. This will be the most badass way to close out your Saturday.

Little Dragon Played a Tantrum-Free Set at the Showbox Last Night

Todd Hamm — Fri, 29 Aug 2014 15:59:32 -0700

by Todd Hamm

Todd Hamm

While listening to Sweden's Little Dragon play an in-studio performance on KEXP yesterday, I learned that their name was a reference to the tantrums that lead singer Yukimi Nagano used to throw in the studio. She is a spark plug—or was; Nagano's part of the band's sold-out show at the Showbox last night was marked by some mild #stunting, but was a little on the chill side considering the nature of their moniker. The set was virtually dragon-free.

LD isn't a solo project (it's a quartet rounded out by keyboardists Fredrik Wallin and Håkan Wirenstrand, and drummer Erik Bodin), but the group played up Nagano's entrance with a couple minutes of introductory instrumental before she strutted on stage in a shiny silver dress with matching jacket. Someone in the audience yelled "We love you!" to Nagano at this point. People cheered every time she danced, or picked up the tambourine, or paused between verses. If she and the rest of the band would have taken the opportunity to let loose a bit more, they really could have pushed the night into party mode, but they kept things moving well enough, and made an otherwise enjoyable show of their blissful brand of low-key dance.

Things finally picked up about two-thirds of the way through the set when they came to an unexpected crescendo at the end of "Ritual Union," and rode that energy well through to the end of their regularly scheduled program. Then, after coming back out for an encore, they finished up with a song that sounded like it sampled "Le Gibet" from Maurice Ravel's Gaspard De La Nuit, which was fine by me.

Forever Relevant Local Music: Jarv Dee's "Guns Around"

Todd Hamm — Tue, 12 Aug 2014 15:29:08 -0700

by Todd Hamm

See, it's not about violence, or no gang-bangin', or none of that shit. It's about self-protection, you know, self determination. I mean, I got the right to stay alive by any means necessary. We out here every day not knowin' who may mean us harm, and it's not like the police is gonna protect us. I mean, shit, they'd rather pull us over, break in our homes, beat us down, shoot us in cold blood— on camera, or in public or in private. Shit, they probably get away with that shit, and the city got they back. So I guess, like, we just got our own.

You could certainly extract a pertinent message from Jarv Dee's new single, "Guns Around," but Jarv mainly does it for you in the monologue (above). Still, the song and the accompanying video form the real-life-meets-art statement that gives the message its weight. The semi-satirical saturation of household firearms (on the couch, in the fridge), parodies the arsenal stock-piling, second amendment-clutching sect, and generally warns evildoers (of all types) simultaneously.

Jarv and director Eric Miller have captured the mounting tension in current American culture quite poignantly, but beyond that, it's an extremely dope rap track, which by the way, is off of Jarv's long-awaited album Moor Bible: Book of Jarv. Local producer Raised Byy Wolves brought some heat here (pun intended) as usual, and Jarv's Moor Gang bro Cam the Mac tacks on a great verse. In music and message, it's some heavy stuff.

Sub Pop Signs Seattle MC Porter Ray

Todd Hamm — Fri, 01 Aug 2014 12:56:00 -0700

by Todd Hamm

Hometown pluckers of talent Sub Pop announced today its signing of Seattle MC Porter Ray. To play catch-up, listen to one of Ray's finest free albums, Blk Gld here, while you read Andrew Matson's profile of the man here, then go see him open for his Sub Pop A&R Ishmael Butler and Shabazz Palaces tonight at Neumos, for their Lese Majesty album release show (which you should be at anyway).

Porter is young, lyrically and stylistically gifted and surprisingly tall— all things that will make him a valuable addition to the Sub Pop team. His official label debut is due out next year, but in the meantime, stream another free offering, Fundamentals below. Press release after the jump.<a href="http://porterray.bandcamp.com/album/fundamentals">Fundamentals by Porter Ray</a>

Sub Pop is pleased to welcome Seattle MC Porter Ray to the roster, who’ll release his label debut in 2015. In the interim, you can now listen to his just-released Fundamentals mixtape now through porterray.bandcamp.com.

Porter Ray has earned praise from outlets in Seattle for his three self-released efforts – BLK GLD LP (May 2013); WHT GLD and RSE GLD EP’s (October 2013) – and his live performances. The prolific and ascendant MC caught the attention of Ishmael Butler, Shabazz Palaces founder and member of Sub Pop’s A&R team, who brought Ray to the label.

On a related note, Porter Ray will support labelmates Shabazz Palaces tonight, Friday, August 1st with a hometown show at Neumos.

2014 Seafair Powwow Cancelled

Todd Hamm — Tue, 15 Jul 2014 14:01:48 -0700

by Todd Hamm

Susan Hamm (my mom!)

Over the weekend, the United Indians of All Tribes Foundation announced via their website that their annual Seafair Powwow would not take place this year. Apparently the result of budgetary shortfall, the last-minute cancellation (it was scheduled to take place this coming weekend) marks the second time in three years that the plug has had to be pulled on the festivities.

Held during the Seafair season at the Daybreak Star Indian Cultural Center in Discovery Park, the Powwow "averages 400 - 600 dancers in full regalia, 25 drum groups, and 10,000 spectators which come to celebrate the richness of the Native American culture," according to Seafair's website. If there is a silver lining, it's that the Powwow was able to bounce back in 2013 after a experiencing a similar situation in 2012, and the UIATF sounds optimistic about a return in 2015.

Full press release and a video made by Pearl Dragon of Champagne Champagne and our own Kelly O from the 2007 Powwow after the jump.

To: United Indians Community

From: UIATF Board and Staff

Re: 2014 Seafair Indian Days Powwow Cancelled

Dear Friends,

On behalf of the UIATF Board and staff, we regret to inform our United Indians community that the 2014 Seafair Powwow will not be held this year. After careful consideration of many factors we have determined that United Indians does not have the capacity or resources to host the event this year.

This past year we have been addressing our challenging financial situation and we have worked hard to stabilize our operations and their budgets. We still have to manage our cash flow carefully. Our staff capacity is about one half of what it was last year when we still had our Head Start Program. We feel that stretching our limited resources now could put the United Indians programs at risk again.

We express our deep appreciation and gratitude to the community members who stepped forward with a generous and positive offer to help with the organizing of the Powwow. Their passion for our culture and creativity are inspiring. Although we won't be having the Powwow this year, we look forward to working on future events with these volunteers and other community members. We are hopeful that next year we will be in a stronger financial position to resume hosting this culturally important event for our community.

We have taken great pride in organizing our Seafair Powwow. It is truly our gift to the community. We take this responsibility seriously and we will soon begin planning for the 2015 Seafair Powwow. We hope to see many of you on the powwow highway.

Sincerely,

The Board and Staff of United Indians Of All Tribes Foundation (UIATF)

For Your Consideration: Fred Durst's New Short Film, The Truth

Todd Hamm — Thu, 10 Jul 2014 15:12:29 -0700

by Todd Hamm

Look, you probably owned a Limp Bizkit CD. Maybe you were thirteen and your ears were blinded by hormones and angst; or maybe your little brother's friend left a copy in the backseat of your Corolla, so you just held on to it in case he wanted it back, but then you accidentally listened to it a thousand times and bought a red Yankees hat. Or maybe—actually those are the only two possibilities, but it's okay! Just put it behind you. Accept your Limp Bizkit-pocked past and instead focus your energy on better, more wholesome things… like this short film that Fred Durst just released. It's pretty fantastic. In it, Bizkit's enduring, trend-blending, 43-year-old rap-rock Mount Rushmore-ian Durst plays an evangelical preacher (ingeniously named Evan Jealous), who hits people with chairs in order to show them The Truth. In addition, Bizkit guitarist Wes Borland plays an excellent romance-novel fan named Kevin. You're welcome.

Free Local Rap Tapes: Key Nyata's Cosmic Dad, and Avatar Darko's Soviet Goonion 3

Todd Hamm — Tue, 01 Jul 2014 15:35:55 -0700

by Todd Hamm

Garfield High alum Key Nyata follows a string of successful albums/mixtapes (check Two Phonkey, and The Shadowed Diamond for a taste) with his new 12-track internet tape, Cosmic Dad. On this, the first official release on his Children of the Stars imprint, Key acts as an engineer of style, giving much of the stage to the like-minded emcees and producers he's now chosen to run with ("Graduated from the Klan now I'm takin' off," he says on "B.O.S."). Rising Moor Gang reps Mackned and SneakGuapo (who's quickly become one of my favorite local spitters) give standout performances, as do producers S.A.T. Beats and PartyTrash...

Key's monotone, emotion-drained vocals blend in with the subterranean scenery a bit more than they have in the past, but but his choice in beats and lyrical co-conspirators capitalize enough on his creative goals to make it worth a listen.

It baffles me how an artist can continuously elevate his game and avoid widespread notoriety in the way Avatar Darko has. I know it shouldn't—I mean talent is usually valued in the mainstream at a fraction of the price of monotony—but his brand of trap seems as marketable, and frankly better than that of the similarly styled name brand operators on the national stage. Regardless, Av's newest, Soviet Goonion 3, is without question, some next level Darko product. Over time, he's mastered the kind of cadences his ultra-slamming beat require—from murderous drawl to anxiety-fueled double time—which are reliably sourced from the top tier of the spice cabinet. His lyrics are twisted allusions to his Seattle/California life, and stinging commentary fresh off the pavement. One of my favorite passages: "I'm a healthy fiend, she a selfie queen/L.A. just a sunny place full of shady people who sell dreams." Get that.

Great Falls Does It Raw: A Seattle Trio Uses Their Insane Live Shows to Work Out Their New Album

Todd Hamm — Sat, 21 Jun 2014 15:40:00 -0700

by Todd Hamm

Invisible Hour
GREAT FALLS

A band called Teeph, in from Chico, California, are packing up their gear after playing an intense set at the Kraken in the University District. Before them, heavy fuzz duo Noise-a-Tron had blown the show open with their wall of feedback and distorted melody. People are visibly exhausted.

"I don't wanna play," jokes Demian Johnston, leaning against a table by the bar. His band Great Falls is headlining. Johnston and bassist Shane Mehling talk through the logistics of stringing hammocks across the stage and taking naps for the audience. Sleep as performance art. Ten minutes later, though, they've taken the stage, and Johnston is screaming the skin off his lungs while Mehling hurls himself into the crowd, bass and all, as they break into "Wound Instructions"—a scorching track from the band's magnificently brutal 2013 full-length Accidents Grotesque...

Great Falls Does It Raw

Todd Hamm — Wed, 18 Jun 2014 04:00:00 -0700

Great Falls Forge a New Album in the Flames of Their Insane Live Shows by Todd Hamm

As the crowd pulls itself out of its stupor, gleefully pushing Mehling around in front of the stage, the trio (rounded out by drummer Phil Petrocelli) plays a mix of older tracks and new material from an album they haven't even recorded yet. This as-yet-unnamed full-length is entirely written—they're using a string of June and July dates to fine-tune their parts before laying them down for good in the studio with longtime producer Jeff McNulty this August. The rawness of the songs only accentuates their punishing live presentation, making for some of their best shows to date.

"[Playing live] helps me work out stuff," explains Johnston, the band's guitarist/vocalist. "I've got the lines, and I sorta know how I want to do them, but things always change live. And sometimes—maybe because I'm out of breath or something—I'll deliver something slightly different, and in the back of my head, I'll say, 'That was awesome, I should remember how I did that.' Writing in the bubble is fine, but you play [new songs] in front of people, and you realize there are little things that could be more effective," he adds. "So hopefully we can play most of the record at shows at least once before we end up recording."

Great Falls' songs seem to have a mind of their own when thrown in the blender with the band's almost unparalleled live energy. Mehling's near-psychotic "stage" presence (he often finds himself on the floor, getting personal with the audience) is legendary, and his back-and-forth rocking to begin each set has become a warning flare to signal the band's unruly intentions. Johnston speed-picks contortionist riffs with an ice-cold calm and then shatters the air with his piercing scream. Petrocelli is deceptively hard-hitting, working a massive eight-cymbal kit with unbelievable precision.

Great Falls have slowly gained a following with local hard-rock fans, but Johnston and Mehling have been lighting up stages like this since they played together in early-2000s hardcore band Playing Enemy. When that band broke up, the two went on to form Hemingway—a two-person noise project with a drum machine—which morphed into Great Falls. Shortly thereafter, they added Jesu/Black Noise Cannon drummer Petrocelli, who had been popping up at their shows.

"I think when we were done with Playing Enemy, Demian and I had some pretty grand ideas of wanting to do stuff that was... softer, and keyboard-oriented, and that was fine," remembers Mehling. "But especially by the time Phil joined the band, it was the idea that this is the sort of music we're happiest playing... The other stuff is great to listen to, but if I'm going to get up on stage and play something, I don't want to play something that's not really aggressive."

As a three-piece, they started playing heavy rock that resembles hardcore or grindcore's churning riffs and forceful vocals, but is also stretched over mathy structures and accented by industrial moods (aided by Petrocelli's pistonlike splash cymbals) with flecks of jazz influence. Over the course of two full-length albums and a handful of demos and shorter split projects, their abstract visions and unconventional musical phrasing—coupled with a very relatable aggression in their sound and lyrics—has made them one of the most continually exciting bands in town. Their recently released metal cover of the "Battle Theme from RoboCop" is an awesome example of their willingness to experiment behind the scenes. But don't call it jamming.

"We don't really do that," says Petrocelli. "I think jamming is intrinsically a laying-back activity, and what we do is definitely a leaning-forward thing. I think jamming is the opposite of focus, and what we do really well is focus on things. In the new stuff—and even on the last record—when we were writing, everything's focused on supporting the riff. Maybe not in the Matt Pike sense of it—but support it, and lean into it, and do something totally fucked up that we're excited about."

Taking a Trip: Noel Brass Jr.'s "Chromatic Skies" Video

Todd Hamm — Mon, 16 Jun 2014 14:54:46 -0700

by Todd Hamm

For Seattle pianist/ambient electronic-music producer Noel Brass, Jr., turning visions into moving swaths of sound is an everyday business. But the favor is not always returned. The Afrocop keyboardist's solo music video debut, for the Soundcloud-released track "Chromatic Skies," is quite a beautiful first foray. The sounds creep in and out of the frame, like some welcome auditory hallucinations, matched perfectly by director Todd Michael Johnson's creatively edited nature shots. For a collection of sounds that can be challenging to wrap one's head around (in a good way), the visuals are an excellent tour guide. The one glimpse (besides the musician himself) of civilization we are shown is shot through a fence, as we observe society from what must be outsider's perspective. Toward the end, we are shown a group of twitching trees from below to quite horrifying effect. Then, the sky and the clouds take over, possibly to symbolize death at the hands of nature, or possibly just to carry your imagination away.

Of Note: Death Grips Just Released an Album with Björk

Todd Hamm — Mon, 09 Jun 2014 12:35:15 -0700

by Todd Hamm

It happened last night around 9 p.m., previously unannounced: a YouTube link posted to their Facebook page in traditional Death Grips fashion. The Sacramento rapcore rebels released a surprise album called niggas on the moon, which features vocal contributions from Björk, and according to the band, is part of a double album called the powers that b.

Side note: These guerilla marketing/release tactics are not only awesome, but extremely effective (see also: My Blood Valentine). They are simultaneously able to act (sincerely) like hype is for poseurs, and be ironically good at cultivating it.

The album itself is a typically great jolt of adrenaline, with heat from the production kit of Zach Hill, and the yelling of such reality check shit as "Oh YEAH, I should be worried/Oh YEAH, I'm temporary" (cc André 3000) by MC Ride (Stefan Burnett). Björk's parts are mostly just tweaked bits woven into the chaotic mix, but her mere involvement in the project is successful synergism. After trunk-rattling opener "Up My Sleeve," my favorite track so far is "Say Hey Kid," which contains some twisted social commentary I'm still decoding. What say ye, friends?

Sasquatch! Sunday: Queens of the Stone Age Go With the Flow

Todd Hamm — Tue, 27 May 2014 05:45:41 -0700

by Todd Hamm

Josh Bis
Queens of the Stone Age

Palm Desert stoner-rock icons Queens of the Stone Age have weathered the kind of storms most bands never come out of. Major lineup changes, legal trouble, and near-death experiences have been shrugged off and worked around on the way to compiling one of the most thorough catalogues in contemporary rock.

The driving force remains guitarist/songwriter/lone original member Josh Homme. At five members, it's hard to say today's QOTSA is a streamlined version of its star-studded Songs for the Deaf-era roster, but the success of the band has never ridden more squarely on the shoulders of Homme as is does now. On their most recent album, last year's ...Like Clockwork, Homme took some of his recent personal trials, and grated them into some utterly gripping material.

The band put a few of those songs on display Sunday night at the Gorge, during their Sasquatch! main stage-closing set, but it was mainly a hit parade, and a couple of their selections ("I Sat by the Ocean," "In My Head") are kind of their B-list jams in my opinion. This is perhaps the festival-appropriate approach—give casual fans something to bite on—but next time they come through town, I'll be ready to hear some deeper cuts. They also didn't take up their entire set time. Though they played for over an hour, they left 15-20 minutes empty at the end of their allotted time (room for those deep cuts!).

There were many positives, of course. Bassist Michael Shuman has turned into an animal on stage, screaming backup vocals and thrashing around, he's become a worthy successor to former Queens madman Nick Oliveri (though his role on record is less pronounced). Notably tall new drummer Jon Theodore played ferociously, and nailed a solo during an extended take on finale "Song for the Dead." Homme's banter was on-point as always, and by and large, they played like studs.

My jabs are that of a long-time fan who's seen them a ton of times, and loves to be surprised. If I would have seen this set a few years ago, I would have been floored, but then again, I basically did.

The Babies of Sasquatch!

Todd Hamm — Sun, 25 May 2014 20:13:27 -0700

by Todd Hamm

Zack and February Moon

One thing I've noticed at this year's Sasquatch, is the strong baby contingent. People have real babies here, rocking out, having a great baby time. I have a couple of kids back at home in Seattle, and as parents do, I decided to ask these people about their kids, get some helpful tips for toting young children around on such a hectic weekend, and find out if the young'ns were having a good time. HERE ARE THEIR STORIES:

Parent: Zack
Baby: February Moon
From: Capitol Hill
Age: February is 15 months old

Zack: "We were worried about how she'd take it, but she's liking it. There's enough room so we can avoid super loud music if we need to. Other than that, there's such a variety of bands that you can see cool mellow stuff that she likes."

Stranger: She's having a good time, though?
Absolutely. It's all eye candy, you know. She loves watching people.

Good job Zack and February Moon!

NEXT BABY:

Parents: Manna and Clint
Baby: Phoenix
From: Minneapolis
Age: Phoenix is almost two

Manna and Clint were working at the Tread Light handmade footwear booth. They make all the shoes. Phoenix is naked, wearing sunglasses, dancing to Dude York in the grass outside of their booth. They travel around selling shoes at music festivals. Phoenix went to her first concert when she was seven weeks old. She is a seasoned festival veteran, and appeared to be having a great time.

NEXT BABY:

Parent: ?
Baby: Holly
Age: Two

The last baby I questioned was named Holly. Holly and her mom are from Victoria, B.C. They are camping, but sprung for the premier level to make it easier. It's Holly's second Sasquatch!. They had just enjoyed Cold War Kids, and were excited to see Rodriguez. Holly's mom recommended ear protection. Good call!

Sasquatch! Sunday: Tacocat Wins Over Daytime Crowd

Todd Hamm — Sun, 25 May 2014 16:28:39 -0700

by Todd Hamm

Todd Hamm
Tacocat

So Tacocat just got off the Yeti stage, and kinda killed it, you guys. Tcat drew a great crowd for being the first act of the day—a crowd, I might add, that knew most every word. Men, women and dancing crabs jumped and sang (enthusiastically!) along to songs about periods and urinary tract infections. It takes a hefty set of ovaries to write songs like that, and to see them go over so well on a not-only-Seattle crowd is really fun, and frankly good for everybody. The call and response on "Hey Girl" was especially loud, and a definite highlight. Emily's yelling, and the rowdy-ass energy of the song really showed them getting their rockstar on. Oh, and there was a bubble machine. #Swag.

Also: massive shout-out to the sound person who cued up Miley Cyrus' "Party in the U.S.A." directly after their set, which turned the end-of-set gear round-up into a mega hot dance party.

Todd Hamm
Tacocat

Sasquatch! Saturday: Washed Out, Chastity Belt, and Happy Crowds

Todd Hamm — Sun, 25 May 2014 15:16:24 -0700

by Todd Hamm

Josh Bis
Washed Out

Sorry to rant a bit yesterday, but only because the general vibe of the day was anything but negative. For me, the positive feels were most apparent during Washed Out's hazy electro-band set, and Chastity Belt's smile-filled dusk performance. During those sets, people were getting lost in the moment, and gave the impression they were legitimately loving life. The only time the mood really broke was during Tyler, the Creator's late night set, as he growled through "Bitch Suck Dick," etc., which may have been effective if its semi-satirical context was more apparent, but you get the impression he gets off on the shock, and doesn't care enough to explain his intent, or soothe the burn in people's ears.

During the day, Washed Out main man Ernest Greene was on a mission to elevate the crowd's chill. Dressed in an ultra-crisp button-up and shades, I felt like we were floating along on his musical yacht. At one point, Greene urged us to sing along, and I had to laugh when he jumped right back into his hushed, stretched-out singing style which makes his lyrics extremely hard to make out. Given the setting, the words felt somewhat superfluous anyway, so the music and the friendly tone of his voice were more than sufficient to hold the vibe.

Chastity Belt's set shortly afterword on the quaint Narwhal stage felt like a living room show. Everyone was on great terms with the band, and with each other. Laughs were shared during their sillier songs, and people swayed together lovingly during "Seattle Party." I think they were having fun.

Josh Bis
Chastity Belt

Hey Stupid People: Sasquatch! Edition

Todd Hamm — Sun, 25 May 2014 08:00:06 -0700

by Todd Hamm

Todd Hamm
Dude.

An outdoor festival complaint in the vein of Dave Segal's quiet show rant here, I'd like to say: Hey stupid people! Stop leaving piles of your backpacks on the ground in front of the stage. Tons of people are trying to watch the show, and you totally suck for making us trip over your useless-ass backpacks. I have been wearing a backpack all day, and haven't once felt it necessary to inconvenience everybody and make them obstacle-course over it out of laziness; it has remained on my back during all crowded shows. So to sum things up: stop it, you suck.

Also, this guy in a feaux-native headdress is dumb:

Todd Hamm

C'mon, son.

Gifted Gab, Mogwai, and More at Sasquatch

Todd Hamm — Sat, 24 May 2014 14:14:32 -0700

by Todd Hamm

Todd Hamm
Henry

Here's a rapid-fire rundown of my Firday. Today's write-ups will be of a more distinct, band-band variety, but it all happened so fast when we got here! Plus the internet was totally hating yesterday. So here it is:

As Mr. Ramos remarked, entering through the festival gates, and walking into Chance the Rapper's set was a surprisingly positive experience; like stepping into a cool swimming pool after sweating through our tent setup. It was a great start to the day, and what I hadn't felt 100% on his records (mainly getting past his voice), I was pretty sold on here. It was undoubtedly the Chicago rapper's energy that filled in the gaps for me and his yelling disguised his vocals quite a bit anyway. +1.

Todd Hamm
Gifted Gab

The Narwhal stage changed names since last time I hit Sasquatch!, but the premise still seems the same: local band-heavy booking, especially hip hop. Seattle's Gifted Gab was among the locals who graced this stage Friday evening, and pulled a respectable crowd. Gabby brought in a rotating cast of Moor Gang hype-men/guest emcees including Cam the Mac and Jarv Dee, and confidently kicked jams from her recent Girl Rap release. She cued up a mix of jams as an interlude from like-minded '90s favorites like Queen Latifah, Lady of Rage, and Salt-N-Pepa, which was a fun segment, and the crowd hung with her the whole time.

Next, I caught half of a set of music by Scotland Sub Pop reps Mogwai before I moved down to grab my prime Outkast spots on the floor of the amphitheater. I've liked their more recent releases in passing, and I still really want to try their scotch, but their live set didn't grab me. The live performance made their predictable reliance on slow build-ups even more pronounced, and the songs they chose for the first part of their set mostly all hammered different variations on five-ish-note melodies into our heads. I think seeing Russian Circles live a few times has cranked up my expectations for instrumental bands. They were a lot like Explosions in the Sky live: good background music for a sunset, but after a while, who wants to go to a background music concert?

Outkast hit the stage about 15 minutes after their slotted 10:40 start time—which really isn't bad for such a big name—and from the get-go, it was everything I had hoped for. Jumping right into "B.O.B.," and "Gasoline Dreams" from their 2000 smash Stankonia. They moved through a bunch of radio singles, getting some of their hits out of the way to make room for deep cuts and older material. The ATLiens touched on most of their catalogue, giving almost equal weight to each of their albums (save for the soundtrack to the semi-major motion picture Idlewild, which is alright) during their 25-song set.

The boundary-pushing yin to Big Boi's ultra-dope trad-rap yang, Andre 3000 was wearing a platinum wig and all-black body suit with the words "EVERYTHING IS TEMPORARY" printed on the front. A tag hung on his side that read "SOLD OUT" on one side, and "FOR SALE" on the other, meeting any potential accusations of tour-as-cash-grab with the priceless sales tag.

The most unexpected moment, for me, came when they busted out the UGK track "Int'l Players Anthem (I Choose You)." Fucking right, guys. Another high point in a set that was stuck on high, was "Da Art of Storytellin'," which I was half hoping they would project a hologram Slick Rick on their giant transparent fabric projection cube for, but it was dope anyway. They skipped their verses on "Spottieottiedopaliscious," but had a purple velour pajama-ed Sleepy Brown come out and sing through, which kept the vibe of the song live. Also "Elevators" happened. I had basically been waiting for that moment for a decade-and-a-half. Shit was kind of life-changing.

Performance-wise, they were spot-on prime-era, and the added modern twists (like outfits, setting, and radtacular banter["This song's about two scandalous freaks"—"Da Art of Storytellin'") kept them hovering well above static reunion nostalgia level. What a perfect way to end Friday. Check that one off the list.

First Impressions of Samsquanch

Todd Hamm — Sat, 24 May 2014 10:33:39 -0700

by Todd Hamm

So, we got to Sasquatch. At first, I was like:

And then Dr. Steve Brule showed up. Phew. Hi Steve! This should be great!

todd hamm
For your health!

Sasquatch! Warm Up: Radiation City's Cameron Spies Talks Basketball, Hummingbirds, and New Music

Todd Hamm — Thu, 22 May 2014 13:14:22 -0700

by Todd Hamm

radiationcity.net
Radiation City (spy Spies far right)

Portland quintet Radiation City makes folky soul rock with doo-wop vertebrae. They do a very good job at it, and for the past few years, they've been touring the country making the Northwest proud. They happen to be playing Sasquatch! this weekend, and as such, we thought we'd get in touch, and shake some knowledge out of them—about music, basketball, broken arms, and even hummingbirds. We caught up with guitarist Cameron Spies over the phone at his home, in the early stages of a laundry run.

Stranger: Where are you now?
We're at home. We're just actually about to go to the laundromat and do some laundry, because our washing machine is broken. It's really exciting stuff.

Did your washing machine meet the same fate as the keyboard (piano) in your music video?
We have a series of home appliance destruction videos we're gonna put out this year.

Have you guys been on tour recently?
We actually haven't…we've done a few one-off things. We went up to Everett last weekend for the Fisherman's Village Festival.

How was that?
Amazing, actually. I don't know if I'm getting crotchety, or what, but I'm loving these small festivals that have great lower-to-mid-level bands, as opposed to the big headliners. I feel like the music's better, and people who are there are there to see the music. It's just cooler stuff, better vibes.

Have you ever been to the Gorge before?
I've been to Sasquatch! three times as a fan.

Are you all Portland natives?
Two of us are from Portland—born and bred—and another of us, Lizzy [Ellison], went to high school here, but was born in the Midwest. Patti [King]'s from the Midwest, and Matt [Rafferty]'s from Olympia.
<a href="http://radiationcity.bandcamp.com/album/animals-in-the-median">Animals In The Median by Radiation City</a>

Are you basketball fans? You have a heck of a basketball team down there.
Yeah, we were pretty stoked about the playoffs, aside from the San Antonio series, but it was a good start considering how shitty we've been for so long.

I feel like a lot of people from Seattle kind of adopted the Portland team, and directed their love of the Sonics toward the Blazers.
Right. I was growing up in the '90s, where the Sonics and the Blazers had a heated rivalry, and during that time, I was always a Seahawks fan, because we didn't have a football team here in Portland. So I feel that, adopting another city's team.

Going on that: There are five members in your band, just like on the court.
We're like a basketball team.

If you could liken your role in the band to a position on the court, what would it be?
Man, that's a really good question. I would say maybe a shooting guard, or maybe more like a power forward [laughs].

So either way, you're scoring.
Yeah, I'm gonna get really cocky, and say I'm the [LaMarcus Aldridge] of this band.

Do you guys have a good sixth man ever? Someone who comes through in the clutch?
We sure do, and in fact, he's going to be playing drums for us this weekend at Sasquatch!, because our drummer broke his arm.

No way.
Yeah, but the crazy thing is, Randy, who's our regular drummer, broke his arm, but we have a Doug Fir show tonight, and he's playing tonight, and tomorrow night. He's still playing drums. Go figure, but he's definitely not at full power at this point. So Riley [Geare] will be playing drums for us on Saturday. Riley is an amazing drummer, he plays in Unknown Mortal Orchestra, so it will be fun. He's also a just delight to have on tour.

That is an interesting story. How did your regular drummer break his arm?
Playing basketball, actually. It's come full circle.

I saw you guys when you came through Seattle a couple times ago. It was last year at the Tractor.
That was a great show.

It was a fun show. There was an encore and everything. What's changed about the set since then?
I think that we were probably playing a couple—I think that was before our album release of Animals in the Median…it's all a haze, man. I think we were playing a couple new songs, but not a full set of new songs. This next set, we're actually going to be playing four brand new songs that haven't been recorded yet. Testing them out on the audience.

Anybody else at Sasquatch you're excited to see live?
Outkast, obviously. I've never seen Outkast play live. Kind of like seeing the Beatles. The Beatles of rap.

Any records you've heard lately that are pretty urgent, that have been on your mind lately?
Yeah, I really dig the War on Drugs record. That's probably no surprise; I think that thing is going all over the place. I recently heard this band, Oliver Wilde—I think it's just one dude—but he's got this textural dissonant sample-y background, and this hushed indie-pop aesthetic over the top, which I think is really cool. What else? We were listening to the La Luz record a little bit on the way back [from the show]. We recently caught—just to blow up Seattle a little bit—sets by Kairos and the Comettes, and both sets were incredible. I'm really excited for those two bands.

Where does the doo-wop-y influence come from? It's one of those strong points that you guys fall back on a lot.
That comes from listening to oldies, especially Lizzy; listening to oldies was her go-to station growing up. When oldies [radio stations] were actually playing oldies, not stuff from the '80s—

And making us all feel super old.
Yeah. That's kind of where it comes from, and our parents' record collections, just kind of crate digging.

[silence]

Hello? You still there?
Yeah, there's a hummingbird like two feet away from me right now.

Wow.
Just absorbing the nature.

You have that kind of command.
Yeah, I do [laughs]. I'm like Cinderella in the Disney movie.

You can do it all. I'll let you get back to nature.

Radiation City plays Sasquatch Saturday at 2 p.m. on the Yeti stage.

The Sunset Hill Rain City Video Now Sells Used Vinyl

Todd Hamm — Mon, 12 May 2014 14:39:06 -0700

by Todd Hamm

Todd Hamm

In the northwest quadrant of Ye Olde Ballard, nestled all cozy-like in the sleepy Sunset Hill neighborhood, stands Rain City Video. Originally one of a small family of locations (there was one in Fremont where the Backdoor at Roxy's is now, and the original one was attached to the Shell gas station on Market St. & 8th Ave NW until it closed last month) the Sunset Hill Rain City has been a kickass video-rental spot for around 20 years.

Anyway, they sell vinyl now. And nicknacks. Said the friendly clerk behind the counter: "The owner had a bunch of antique merchandise...[we'll carry] anything that has to do with entertainment." I spotted a xylophone, a bunch of guitars, a music box, and a whole load of other cool stuff arranged fashionably in their northern room. Record titles ranged from Led Zeppelin and Leon Russell, to the Top Gun Soundtrack, and beyond. Prices varied a bit, so check those stickers.

It will be interesting to see if they'll be able to pull people up the hill from the somewhat nearby Bop Street/Sonic Boom corridor. What with their knowledgeable staff, and corner location, I think they've got a good shot at it. Best of luck guys!

Where Snakes Dare to Fly: Shabazz Palaces Snake Fan Fiction

Todd Hamm — Thu, 08 May 2014 12:11:03 -0700

by Todd Hamm

PATRICK O'BRIEN-SMITH

Snake 1 was a badass, by all accounts. He came highly recommended from the agency for his tight curls and on-the-mark tongue flicks. You can't teach that. Snake 2 knew that, and felt honored—and a little self-conscious—to get the call.

Snake 2 hadn't proven himself in a real way yet. He'd nailed that Samuel L. Jackson scene a few years back, sure, but had been picky with his roles since, and his agent had rightly grown frustrated with his lack of drive to stay relevant.

This was it.

When Snake 2 heard the phone ring, he had literally been tail deep on a field mouse, and had to cough it up to answer. Oh well, he'd have to skip a few meals to make weight for the shoot anyway. He'd heard Skake 1's name kicked around in film school as a rising talent on the Nat Geo circuit, and even brushed scales with him on the set of a Dodge commercial when they were miscast as vipers (they both had to laugh) early in his career, but he had never felt like he was a legitimate peer until now.

He did a couple lines to celebrate.

On the day of the shoot, he showed up early, but waited in his car for a few minutes so he didn't appear too anxious. The cold floor was a shock when he slithered in, but he'd just done a sizable bump to keep his focus sharp, so he hardly even noticed the discomfort. Snake 1 was already in place, milling around the quarter-operated horse-ride machine.

"It's weird, that thing," said Snake 1. "I just rode that horse for fun, but in real life, it'd scare the fuck out of me."

"Totally," said Snake 2, trying to sound natural.

The actor in a green jacket had laid out the fake leashes for the snake-as-pet arrangement. Yeah right, guy, he thought. I'll let you have this one 'cause it pays right. There was music playing—some kind of spacey avant-rap—and it was weirding him out. He couldn't hold his spot for the camera, plus, was that fucking horse looking at him? Just before his panic reached critical mass, the photog said she had it. The third shot, she said, was the one.

"Nice work," said Snake 1. "I thought you were gonna lose it, but that tension played well." Snake 2 smirked with like he had planned it all along, and even though the cold tile was noticeably slowing down his blood flow, he never felt so damn alive.

Be More Transparent: Learning Lessons From an Asshole Like Donald Sterling

Todd Hamm — Fri, 02 May 2014 14:28:58 -0700

by Todd Hamm

"[I]n this day and age when you're in the public eye you've got to be damn careful — if that's your position and that's unfortunately where you're at — you better be damn careful what you say, even in the privacy of your own home."

Photo of Donald Sterling by s_bukley/Shutterstock

Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban made the above statements in response to the now-infamous, race-fueled conversation that (HAVE YOU HEARD??) took place between fellow NBA owner/slimy old bigot Donald Sterling, and his girlfriend, V. Stiviano. Cuban's sentiment is admirable in one sense: STOP SPYING ON OUR SHIT OBAMA!; but its (only slightly) more coded sentiment is, in my mind, more troubling: You're free to feel however you want, just be sure to put on a good show when you're in front of people.

This line of thinking accomplishes nothing. The result is—and has been for a long time—the creation of a world of actors. A block like this between backstage behavior and the performance we give the public not only creates a troubling internal duality, but creates a facade that discourages conversation.

Closeted racist millionaires are welcome punching bags (I'm all for kicking Sterling out of the league, by the way) in the rare instances they get caught in the act of…being their horrible selves, but it's the rest of the population that does the bulk of the progress-stifling. Burning a villain like Sterling is satisfying on a social survivalist level, meaning we jump at the opportunity to pawn our current and past transgressions off on a monster like him, in part because by default we land on moral high ground. Our problem is mistaking situational high ground for an absolute marker of morality.

Like the government, everyone should be more transparent with regards to their reasoning. We're mostly all "good people" on a fundamental level, but simply because you weren't recently recorded repeating that new racist joke you laughed at in the break room, doesn't mean you're not deserving of a little scrutiny—if not from the media, then from yourself.

Good people are capable of being assholes in certain situations, just like douchefaces like Sterling are capable of remembering somebody's birthday every now and then. Recognizing our shortcomings early on, and being open about the lessons we learn when dissect our motives, rather than internalizing them and hoping nobody sees them, is what is going to move us forward as a nation as much as banning some old dickhead from some basketball games.

"Let’s use this tawdry incident to remind ourselves of the old saying: “Eternal vigilance is the price of freedom.” Instead of being content to punish Sterling and go back to sleep, we need to be inspired to vigilantly seek out, expose, and eliminate racism at its first signs."
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar

Seattle Rapper Dave B Scores with "He Got Game"

Todd Hamm — Mon, 21 Apr 2014 18:43:45 -0700

by Todd Hamm

The new track from rising young Seattleite Dave B touches on the surface themes of love and basketball, but it's the insider imagery that makes it great. "I was in cornrows, doin' slow suicides, who am I thinkin' that I am?/I just felt a part of somethin' put my pride inside the rim," he raps in the first verse. Throughout the song, he references the physical pain of running drills, and the confusion sports adds to a young person's identity quest.

"J.V. was cool, but varsity took the fun out/partially partin' ways with that part of me, doin' drugs now." In addition to the obvious allusion to Spike Lee's 1998 classic, the song's narrative blends personal experience and sports culture in a way that makes me think of Sherman Alexie's fantastic story "The Only Traffic Signal on the Reservation Doesn't Flash Red Anymore," as told by the stumbling local basketball star Julius (in a different cultural context of course). It also brought me back to my high school athletic career, during which gaining the attention of college recruiters and chugging tall cans seemed equally important. Both real and #sportslife suffers in this scenario, but who's setting these expectations? This is the question Dave B sets out to answer, and he does so by breaking free of the cycle entirely, and following his own passions.

"He Got Game" was produced by Justo of the Physics with help from Seattle's Kam Boogie, and is from Dave's upcoming School Daze project, which drops May 6.

National Rock-port: New Music/Video From Tera Melos, Mastodon

Todd Hamm — Thu, 17 Apr 2014 18:05:09 -0700

by Todd Hamm

Earlier today, Sacramento rockers Tera Melos released a music video for their song "Slimed" from one of my favorite releases of last year, X'ed Out. It really makes no sense at all, and it is totally radical. Does the water symbolize their creative energy? What cow and dragon characters are they wearing on their heads? Are Tim and Eric behind the masks? Seems like something they'd be into. My favorite part is obviously toward the end, when the two guys submerge themselves and walk through the pool so it looks like the puppet/masks are walking on water. Also, it's one of TM's most rocking songs. Stay weird, guys!

~~~~\m/ \m/ \m/ \m/ \m/~~~~
Also today, the world got a taste of the next album from Atlanta stoner-metal gods Mastodon—called Once More Around the Sun—when the single "High Road" went live on the internet. I can't figure out how to embed the dang thing, so stream it on their website for now.

My take after a few listens is that the lead-in, riffs, and verse vocals are awesome and crunchy, but, to quote one Soundcloud commenter, I'm "Not feeling the chorus." SPIN says drummer Brann Dailor is responsible for the singing on those arena-rock parts, and given his songwriting history with the band, I'm not surprised. His voice, and overall taste for things beyond the kit are traditionally just too clean and uplifting to match the rest of the band's grit. The guitar on the bridge is also a more simplistic play off the root than we're used to from such visionaries, and it doesn't do much for the track. I guess my expectations are pretty damn high for these dudes.

Barry Uhl Has a Colony of Misfits Inside His Brain

Todd Hamm — Sun, 13 Apr 2014 14:10:00 -0700

by Todd Hamm

Barry Uhl is a multimedia master of misfortune.

Strange things happen on Wretched Knob. People mutate, turn invisible, and encounter the kind of elaborate deaths you'd think Chuck Palahniuk was responsible for. It's a small town of outcasts and tolerated evildoers stuck in time, teetering on the edge of a cliff on a thumb-shaped protrusion in the middle of nowhere, held to the earth by the gravity of Barry Uhl's imagination alone.

A Seattle-based writer and multi-instrumentalist who's played regularly with Damien Jurado and Shelby Earl and arranged for the Seattle Rock Orchestra, Uhl (pronounced "yule") self-released his debut solo album, An Account of the Happenings at Wretched Knob, this month. The 32-minute collection of songs, pressed to vinyl, delves into the lives of the fictional town's inhabitants, and an attached book of poetry and ink sketches, also by Uhl, digs even further into their world. As a package, it's a short and sweet coffee-table-sized book with thick black-and-white pages filled with fascinating illustrations of curious-looking but realistically drawn people in various states of mental detachment and physical disfigurement. There are letters to family members written in rhyme, tales of spell-casting maidens and medical experiments that follow the town from its foundation to the perpetual state of misfortune it finds itself in.

Vox Mod's Irene Barbaric-Featuring "Flight Of Fancy" is the First Audio/Visual Treat From The Great Oscillator

Todd Hamm — Fri, 11 Apr 2014 15:57:23 -0700

by Todd Hamm

When Seattle sight/sound artist Vox Mod teamed up with XVIII Eyes singer Irene Barbaric last year to record "Life Forms" (for Mod's fantastic Syn-Æsthetic album), the result was one of the most engulfing electro-pop songs of the year. Soon after, the song's trippy video elevated the Mod/Barbaric experience to the point where their creative dynamic was practically begging to be further explored. Fast forward a year, and the duo have come together once again to create "Flight Of Fancy," the first single from Mod's highly anticipated follow-up The Great Oscillator. Like "Life Forms," the track comes with a creative video. Mod has hand-drawn the visuals, which move from Barbaric's disembodied, singing, rainbow-colored head, to all manners of animated creatures, and mind-warping figures.

The album itself will be released April 29th, with a release show at Chop Suey May 2nd.

Helms Alee Share New Song "Punchy Stabby" From Split 12" With Young Widows

Todd Hamm — Thu, 10 Apr 2014 15:15:51 -0700

by Todd Hamm

The Seattle/Tacoma band's massive-sounding records hold some of the best heavy music in the region, and their sawtooth-tough live shows kick ass wherever they touch down. HA, along with tour mates on their upcoming East Coast run, Louisville, Kentucky's Young Widows, have announced the June 3rd release of a split 12" on L.A.'s Sargent House label, on which each band will have three songs. The first taste from HA's side is "Punchy Stabby," a(n almost) two-minute burst of itchy riffage that sets guitarist Ben Verellen and bassist Dana James' harmonized picking between drummer Hozoji Margullis' stabby snare and cymbal line. The trio's patented crisp vocal arrangement sets it off from there. The 12" will be available exclusively on tour until its June release in stores, so if you're back east, feel free to spring for a copy.

Barry Uhl Has a Colony of Misfits Inside His Brain

Todd Hamm — Wed, 09 Apr 2014 04:00:00 -0700

Barry Uhl Has a Colony of Misfits Inside His Brain by Todd Hamm

A Seattle-based writer and multi-instrumentalist who's played regularly with Damien Jurado and Shelby Earl and arranged for the Seattle Rock Orchestra, Uhl (pronounced "yule") self-released his debut solo album, An Account of the Happenings at Wretched Knob, this month. The 32-minute collection of songs, pressed to vinyl, delves into the lives of the fictional town's inhabitants, and an attached book of poetry and ink sketches, also by Uhl, digs even further into their world. As a package, it's a short and sweet coffee-table-sized book with thick black-and-white pages filled with fascinating illustrations of curious-looking but realistically drawn people in various states of mental detachment and physical disfigurement. There are letters to family members written in rhyme, tales of spell-casting maidens and medical experiments that follow the town from its foundation to the perpetual state of misfortune it finds itself in.

"Everybody knew they needed to get somewhere, and they somehow—through whatever it is in the universe that pulls people to certain places and makes them desire certain things—wound up finding that [place]," explains Uhl of his characters. "That's kind of how it always goes, though, it always declines. [People] start out with this utopian idea, like 'Let's start our own thing, and get away from all our problems,' and slowly, those problems you're trying to escape start seeping in—it affects everyone around you, and things gets darker... and it just gets out of control. Also, the people who are going there aren't exactly healthy—mentally or physically—so it kind of all works off of itself. It's a weird little colony of misfits."

The universe pulled Uhl to a number of different places before he landed in Seattle to stay. He spent his junior-high years in Aberdeen, Washington, after moving from Redding, California, in the late '80s. Working around musically cautious parents, Uhl got his first taste of rock music there, recording and re-listening to a friend's late-night, secular-rock-featuring show on a Christian radio station (until the station caught on and fired him).

When he was a teenager, Uhl's family moved to Seattle, where he befriended, among other musicians, freshly minted Pedro the Lion frontman David Bazan. Later, he would make several more stops before returning (Jackson Hole, Wyoming, then Moscow, Idaho, where he earned a musical composition and theory degree from the University of Idaho), but he had found his home in Seattle: "I always wanted to be here," he recalls. "This is where I discovered music, and that it was possible to do it, and not just think about it or just sit in your bedroom and play it."

As much as concept albums may glaze over the ears of some, Wretched Knob is such a complete vision—so thoroughly inventive in its various respects—that it succeeds beyond expectation. Much like the music he released last year under the name Cloud War, the music on Wretched Knob draws inspiration from disparate sources like '60s psych rock, ragtime, Tom Waits, and post-dance MGMT. The aesthetic is old-timey and vaguely steampunk, which Uhl acknowledges, but he says it wasn't an inspiration—the music might sound natural coming from an orchestrion in a Wretched Knob public house (if one exists). Recorded at contributing musician Jeremy Wingfield's house, the sound quality is phenomenal. The booming drums and fuzzed guitar marry beautifully with banjo, harpsichord, and flute (played by Uhl's wife) over subtle studio effects. The songs have strong melody and are entirely enjoyable separate from the album's plot, though the squiggly yarn he spins with his lyrics adds flavor like a clear-voiced Shel Silverstein.

Of the twisted micro-plots that paint a picture of the town, Uhl says it's only the tip of the iceberg: "I wanted to leave it kind of open, so if somebody wanted to get into it, and try to actually figure out what's going on in these little stories, there can be backstory," he says. "I have a lot of backstory written out. I don't know what to do with it, but I do have it. I just wrote it all down because I wanted to know."

It took five years to make it from brain to wax/page. Busy playing with other musicians, he pushed the idea to the back of his mind until last year, when his desire to figure out what happened to his characters (which turned out to mostly involve death) turned into a consuming creative block of sorts. He needed closure as much as they did. "Eventually, it got to the point where I couldn't make anything else until I had finished this," he says. "It's kind of a weird thing, that mental block you put on yourself when you know something's not completely finished.

"The music, the writing, the drawing, they all three needed to happen, 'cause they were all part of this thing," he continues. "It was never 'Oh, I'll write a few songs'—it was all meant to happen at once. It was supposed to be this way from the very beginning."

Barry Uhl's record-release show will be held at the Tractor Tavern on April 23.

Craft Spells Had to Come Back to Seattle to Make Their Best Music to Date

Todd Hamm — Fri, 04 Apr 2014 12:38:57 -0700

by Todd Hamm

Justin Vellesteros rode in on the indie rock crest of the chillwave... wave back in 2011, when his project Craft Spells released its debut album, Idle Labor, on hip Brooklyn indie label Captured Tracks. Equal parts sunscreen and mascara, IL seized the moment, and earned CS a national following. An EP and a move to the Bay Area later, Vellesteros has returned (figuratively, and he actually came back to record in Seattle) with "Breaking The Angle Against The Tide," the first offering from from CS's second LP, Nausea. After the time off, the band (filled out by Seattle musicians Javier Suarez and Andy Lum) sounds crisp, and the production (handled by Seattleite Dylan Wall) is clean and clear, giving the stage back to Vellesteros, who's words had previously been cloaked in reverb and talk box effects. The soft breakdowns and string accompaniment back the song's vocal harmonies beautifully here, in what could very well point toward Craft Spells' best material to date. Stay tuned.

New Rap Releases From Vitamin D, UGLY FRANK, and Pete Marriott

Todd Hamm — Mon, 31 Mar 2014 12:36:42 -0700

by Todd Hamm

<a href="http://tallhomeyvitamind.bandcamp.com/album/bornday-2">Bornday 2 by Vitamin D</a>
It was a spring day way back in 2010 when Seattle's Vitamin D decided to drop his Born Day EP off on the internet. Largely recorded on his b-day that year, it was a gift no one really expected from the extraordinarily smooth producer/emcee, but one we were glad to receive. Has the local rap legend had a birthday since then? Perhaps—though he still sounds young and spry as ever—but they've passed by without new musical fare. Now four years later, he's finally followed up BD with Bornday 2, another stoney collection of jams with the glorious lyrical irreverence his group Stahi Bros' brought to the dub-sack-stuffed stocking that was Chrismas Trees, and all the soul and funk crosshatching of Born Day's first installment.

"Thirty-Two Ouncer" is probably my favorite of the bunch so far ("32-ounce super sip/always talkin' 'bout who you with), but it's a tight mid-length album packed with cuts disguised as a free-time jam session.

UGLY FRANK sounds like he's out to ruffle some feathers with his new BOBBY HILL EP. Not that he hasn't been spitting corrosive bars for some time with his Tacoma outfit ILLFIGHTYOU, but he's out to show and prove on this one. Firing off slurs and obscenities like he's checking them off a list, FRANK sets out to damage the egos of "Puss ni**as," "b*tches," "fa**ots," "slut hoes"—I mean, you name it—with equal force. His spite-loaded turret spraying generally outward, delivering hate to the masses in bulk, rather than anyone in particular. His deranged stress-unloading mechanism: talk first, think later. The twist there is that FRANK's clearly taken his time chopping up his cadences with fresh wordplay, leaving his verses harsh yet polished. Take it for what you will, but in a musical context, it sounds crisp and shocked with energy. FRANK cuts through the bass rumbles and hi-hat ticks with a growl, yes, but you can almost hear the smile on his face. Damn.

The EvergreenOne-featuring "90" undercuts his group's venomous cult-hit "92" by about two give-a-fuck notches, and "LEFT OVA" packs odd syllables like loaded weapons in a suitcase. Fear not: FRANK has your daily slap-in-the-face covered.

<a href="http://petemarriott.bandcamp.com/album/realhiphop-2">#REALHIPHOP by Pete Marriott</a>
Pete Marriott is a transplanted Brooklyn producer with a fondness for the past. Though an album name like #REALHIPHOP might cue a few rolled eyes in 2014, the 13-track album is actually very listenable, and has some interesting backstory. He's lifted the guest verses—a mix of new rhymes, and rhymes he personally recorded in the late '80s/early '90s in New York—from their original four-track format (only the new ones were digital housed), and set them over his updated true-school beats in a seamless manner, suspended in time, for those with a taste for old school beats and raps. Check out the cool video for "100 PROOF" below.