May Concert Calendar
by Mark Baumgarten, Clint Brownlee, Michael Connelly, Kevin Diers, Rachel Dovey, Katelyn Hacket, Jessica Harbert, Kim Ruehl, Erin Resso and Katie Sauro.
5 Tuesday
Dyme Def
For the first time in our recent memory, the High Dive will be hosting some of the most respected names in Seattle hip-hop not produced by Sabzi. To promote their new anti-mixtape Three Bad Brothaas, Dyme Def is invading the never-before-much-a-hip-hop-club with youthful enthusiasm to flow over beats that are equal parts old-school and astronomic, keeping the art of the sample breathing in the current “heartless” age. (MDM) High Dive
6 Wednesday
Destroyer
The atmosphere will be light, cool, and calm but without true melodic boundries. In support of their newest release from Merge Records, Trouble In Dreams, these British Columbians take their shaky melodies and even shakier croon down south. Daniel Bejar’s gritty and sensitive voice will nearly break into weeping as he leads the band in jittery tunes that simultaneously remind one of the clouds that never seem to the leave and that spring that never seems to show up. (MDM) Crocodile
7 Thursday
Triumph of Lethargy Skinned alive to death, Scout Niblett
Come to witness the charming awkwardness and striking, charged songwriting of opener Scout Niblett, but stick around to see what happens when headliners Triumph of Lethargy Skinned Alive to Death take the stage. This might seem an odd fit for the rootsy confines of the Tractor Tavern, but surely after singular frontman Spencer Moody and his experimental psych-rock outfit have their way, they will rebuild it as a shrine to his tender, torn poetry. (MB) Tractor
8 Friday
Damien Jurado, Laura Gibson
Damien Jurado’s daring, introspective heartbreak songs can rock pretty hard, straddling a line between alt-country and straight-up indie rock, so it’ll be an interesting match when Portland’s Laura Gibson opens the show. Where Jurado’s songs start small and build as big as they can go, Gibson’s gift is in carefully fashioning notes and lyrical imagery between spurts of silence. She will rein you in, winding you around like a kite string before Jurado hops onstage and lets you fly. (KR) Crocodile
9 Saturday
Bassnectar, Gift of Gab
Gift of Gab is no stranger to Seattle, as one of his solo projects was a partnership with esteemed 206 producers Vitamin D and Jake One. The dynamic Blackalicious emcee returns this spring with electronic phenomenon Bassnectar, a bonafide Burning Man veteran who is entirely willing to defy expectations. Bassnectar’s music, itself an amalgamation of a dozen different kinds of music grafted into a signature sound, should complement Gift of Gab’s versatility and give the night a crunchy electronica boost. (KH) Showbox Market
10 Sunday
Blue Turtle Seduction, War Pigeon
It’s billed as a night of global music right in our own backyard, but a word of warning: Don’t come tonight expecting Manu Chao or even Beirut. I’m not saying that’s a bad thing. War Pigeon’s instrumental tunes take a bluesy, funky bent (with bass lines that veer into Seinfeld territory), while the vocal tracks sound like Layne Staley fronting Led Zeppelin. Headlining band Blue Turtle Seduction plays a mash-up of bluegrass, reggae and folk that comes off sounding more Barenaked Ladies than Michael Franti. (Okay, maybe that’s a bad thing.) (KS) Tractor
11 Monday
Flight of the Conchords
After taping the second season of their musical sitcom for HBO, the New Zealand folk-parody duo takes its wonderfully awkward banter to the stage. Expect to hear catchy and quirky tunes—ranging from tragic love songs, un-hip hip hop, and folk-rock anthems—placed in between deadpan humor that is everything but topical and nothing but hilarious. Just don’t call them Australian. Things could get ugly. (MDM) Paramount Through Thursday
12 Tuesday
Thomas Marriott
Jazz trumpeter Thomas Marriott hits yet another high water mark with the release of Flexicon, his fourth in a string of super clean and ever more engaging CDs on Seattle’s Origin label. Joining Marriott on Flexicon and on the Triple Door main stage are cream-of-the-crop jazz players Mark Taylor, on alto and soprano sax; Bill Anschel, on piano and Rhodes; and the lyrical and accomplished Jeff Johnson on bass. Tonight, Origin founder John Bishop sits in on drums for label partner Matt Jorgenson, who also appears on the disc. Marriott is an enormously talented instrumentalist, whose remarkable career is unfolding in full view of the Seattle public—from his early days as a star of the Garfield and UW jazz programs to winning the prestigious Carmine Caruso competition, the subsequent move to New York, and dues-paying tours with notables like Maynard Ferguson. Marriott’s assiduous work and obvious love of the jazz canon continue to accrue, with discernibly finer chops and higher level of class every time out, and no end in sight. (JG) Triple Door
The Vaselines
In July of last year, the Vaselines stole the show at Sub Pop’s 20th anniversary festival with its simple and sweet psych-inspired indie pop. The short-lived Glasgow band only released one proper album, Dum-Dum, but it had enough resonance for the two primary members, Eugene Kelly and Frances McKee, to earn kudos from Kurt Cobain, who called them his “most favorite songwriters in the whole world.” (MB) Neumos
13 Wednesday
Lonely, Dear
Emil Svanangen brings his Swedish brand of electro-pop to the States to caress our ears with sweet whispering tunes that are almost as cute and cuddly as he is, with his falsetto singing, eclectic pop arrangements, and undeniably contagious hook-heavy melodies that can be epic in one instance and calmly reflective the next. This is feel-good music that will cure anyone (who still has a job) of the mid-week blues. (MDM) Crocodile
14 Thursday
Betsy Olson, Sera Cahoone
Betsy Olson, who is currently recording a small collection of sweet and smooth blues tunes, will be joined by a professional lady of folk-driven reflections and Sub Pop artist in Sera Cahoone. Both artists possess similar vocals that are both authoritative and kind, but they play music that on first listen may not naturally coincide. It will be their mission to show the Tractor audience that such an assumption is absolutely incorrect. (MDM) Tractor
15 Friday
Taylor Swift
Unlike many girls her age thrust into a punishing spotlight, Taylor Swift has made a point of keeping her songs grounded in the real life of an average 19-year-old. As the accolades pour in and the expectations pile up, she may have a way to go before she’s granted total access to the hearts and minds of discriminating music fans. With her Nashville dues paid and a collection of songs that earned her the Academy of Country Music’s coveted Album of the Year award, she’s off to an honest start. Still, the crowd at this show is likely to be full more of enthusiastic teens than their opinionated parents. (KR) Key Arena
Broken Disco 2.0
No one without a broken hip will be able to stay put for this once-a-monthly electronica extravaganza atop of Capitol Hill’s in the Chop Suey bar and (for this Friday night) dance club. DJ and performer detail were unavailable before press time, but with one look at past artists (Truckasaurus, Smash TV, Kooky Scientist) will move any disco-doubter to trust the collective of promoters and DJs who puts on this event to deliver danceable fun. (MDM) Chop Suey
16 Saturday
Obits, The Lights, Catatonic Youth
When badass San Diego punkers Hot Snakes broke up, most of the band formed the ultra-successful Night Marchers (together with members of Rocket from the Crypt). But Hot Snakes frontman Rick Froberg, who set off on his own after the breakup, has found quite a bit of success himself. His new band, Obits, has signed to Sub Pop, released a scorching full-length record, and toured relentlessly, playing in front of exponentially growing crowds. The Brooklyn four-piece’s debut, though rife with gritty punk, shows Froberg has graduated from the frenetic sound of his youth to a more mature, melodic sound. (KS) Neumos
17 Sunday
The SPU Jazz Ensemble
The swing-heavy SPU jazz ensemble has been graduating musicians since 1999. Hailing from the school with a mission to “Engage the Culture and Change the World,” the band puts its music to good use through benefit concerts, like its shows for Impact Kids and World War II vets. The band’s quality has been lauded within the “SPU Bubble,” but it hasn’t garnered too much press outside the school’s brick confines as of yet. But with an excellent music department and the blistering SPU Gospel Choir as its siblings, this ensemble may be another group to watch in 2009. (RD) Triple Door
18 Monday
Booker T.
Booker T. just released the funk-a-licious collaboration Potato Hole with Neil Young and the Drive-By Truckers after 20 years as a solo artist. The complex, mellifluous blues tracks are as layered as the album’s name, a reference to the “potato holes” dug in the dirt floors of slave cabins to keep vegetables cool. For Booker T., however, the title simply stands for “a funky place or joint where people go to groove to the music.” (RD) Triple Door
19 Tuesday
Modeselektor, Apparat
Both hailing from the world’s capitol of Techno, Berlin, Modeselektor and Apparat stand at the top of the heap of chunky, genre-skittering electronica producers working today. Modeselektor’s bass-heavy beats are aimed more at getting the dance floor bouncing than Apparat’s poppier, more melodic fare, but the combination of the two (performing as the aptly named Moderat) should leave us shaking our booties to the best of both worlds. (ER) Neumos
20 Wednesday
The Yoshida Brothers
Standing on stage, clad in traditional Japanese garb and feverishly shredding their shamisens like Lenny Kaye on crack (okay, bad example), the Yoshida Brothers are really something to see. Ryoichiro and Kenichi Yoshida compose an East-meets-West hybrid of traditional Japanese music, folk, blues, and rock ’n’ roll, playing with a fierce tenacity on ancient three-stringed guitar-like instruments (shamisens). Already stars in their homecountry, the brothers are gaining popularity in the U.S. and beyond. (KS) Triple Door
21 Thursday
Lady Sovereign
She said it herself: British grime rapper Lady Sovereign is hard to feel ambivalent about. You’re either into her aggressive, strident style, or you can’t stand it. She’s worked with artists like the Streets, opened for Gwen Stefani, and managed to charm Def Jam into signing her for awhile. Whatever you may think about Lady Sovereign’s palatability as a rapper, her chutzpah and refusal to allow herself to be turned into a toothless sex symbol in a tough, male-dominated genre have both marked her as someone to watch. (KH) Crocodile
22 Friday
The Melvins, Green River
To celebrate 25 years of grinding out superb sludge-metal and avant-noise, the Melvins will play possibly their most straightforward album, 1993’s Houdini, in its entirety. Contemporary eardrum-busters Green River will support—ensuring at least one band will play “Leech,” a song Green River donated to the Melvins in 1986. The Melvins’ punishing core duo of Buzz Osborne (guitar, vocals) and Dale Crover (drums) will be joined by the eclectic Trevor Dunn on bass. Somewhere, Melvins superfan Kurt Cobain will be grinning. (CB) Showbox Market Also Saturday
23 Saturday
Goodness, The Valley
Before she was queen of the Northwest singer-songwriter scene, Carrie Akre fronted mid-’90s rock outfit Goodness. The beloved and much-mourned band reunites for one-off shows now and again, and this time it’s for a good cause: to raise money for the Dutchman and Calleye recording studios, which were destroyed by a fire back in January. Goodness headlines this raucous benefit show, flanked by fuzzed-out rockers the Valley and Akre’s grunge compatriot (and ex‐Lazy Susan frontwoman) Kim Virant, among others. (KS) Tractor
24 Sunday
Baked Beans & Beauty Queens
Tonight the musical kind of talent comes out in support of the rolling kind of talent as a lineup of loud-mouthed rootsy artists play for their favorite tool-wielding Rat City Roller Girls, the Sockitt Wenches. The BBQ starts at 6pm, but the real heat doesn’t arrive until rockabilly rabble-rouser James Hunnicutt takes the stage with his Revolvers. (MB) HWY 99
26 Tuesday
Fischerspooner
Fischerspooner’s “Emerge” was a certifiable dance hit when the spacey-yet-driven punk electronica single hit New York City around the turn of the 21st century. Following up on its popular debut with a second album that secured the duo a place in critics’ hearts and the populace’s minds with songs like the defiant “Never Win,” Fischerspooner got really hot and then somehow faded from the forefront for awhile. Will its third album, due early this month, bring the pair back into the limelight? (KH) Showbox Market
27 Wednesday
The Deers, Great Northern, Eulogies
The title track from Montreal’s own the Dears’ newest album, Missile, begins as a lonely, back-alley reflection but ends with new-wave guitars and blaring harmonies and drums. Playing with California’s Great Northern and labelmates Eulogies, this night at the Crocodile will be filled with pop tunes that are vaguely gritty, mostly brief, and very well played. (MDM) Crocodile
28 Thursday
Seattle Symphony
Joshua Roman returns to the Seattle Symphony to play the world premiere of David Stock’s cello concerto. A year ago, Roman left the Seattle Symphony to pursue a solo career. Nevertheless, he has remained an active presence in Seattle’s musical community. The concert is also marked by James DePriest’s return to the Seattle Symphony podium. DePriest has long been a Northwest favorite because of his ties to the Oregon Symphony. DePriest will lead the orchestra in Stock’s cello concerto, but also in Sergei Rachmaninov’s final composition, the Symphonic Dances. Completed in 1940, the Dances demonstrate the composer’s fondness for big, lush melodies and his comfort with romantic composition techniques that had fallen out of favor by the 1940s. But the piece’s shifting harmonies, Rite of Spring-like rhythms, and Prokofiev grotesqueries show that Rachmaninov was conscious of the musical evolution occurring around him. (ZC) Benaroya Hall Also Saturday
Grayskul
Bluegrass, when best utilized, allows its practitioner to sing songs of life and death and the sin in between while sounding positively pleased. The banjo lines roll along as the blood spills and the bass hops while the crack whore skips to the other side of the tracks for a score. This is what the Devil Makes Three does perfectly, when the trio urges its sinful, hoppin’ congregation by imploring, “If you’re gonna do wrong, do wrong right.” You best listen. (MB) Nectar
29 Friday
Chain and The Gang, Hive Dwellers, Wallpaper
Along with other infamously independent K Records bands, High Dwellers, and Wallpaper, the Washington, D.C., groove band Chain and the Gang brings anti-everything music to the Seattle’s all ages hole-in-the-Seattle-Center venue. Their newest album, Down With Liberty…Up With Chains, is a fresh serving of hip lounge jazz-rock and free-form funk, all led by a funky bass that is as deep as a Rumi poem—or our national debt. (MDM) Vera
30 Saturday
Her Space Holiday, City Light
Back in 2003, Her Space Holiday helped usher in the bevy of indie rockers gone electronic with its album The Young Machines. Marc Bianchi’s detached vocal delivery of highly acerbic lyricism paired with bloopy bubble-gum electro-pop was a potent combo that definitely left a mark on the ‘indie-tronica’ scene of the day. In 2009, HSH’s latest effort falls back to more traditional rock instrumentation, but the result remains surprisingly similar. (ER) Chop Suey
31 Sunday
Relient K
Of the torrent of Christian punk-ish pop rock that flooded teenage ears around the turn of the century, Reliant K was one of the more tolerable bands to gain recognition. The band was more than just tolerable, in fact: Some of its songs are downright easy to love, no matter your take on the divine. The four-person group combines close harmonies, kicky drums, and endless lyrical puns to make playful but sincere pop that is undeniably difficult to forget about. (KH) Neumos