Concert Calendar
by Mark Baumgarten, Clint Brownlee, Michael Connelly, Kevin Diers, Rachel Dovey, Katelyn Hacket, Jessica Harbert, Kim Ruehl, Erin Resso and Katie Sauro.
17 Monday
Aerosmith
Battered and bruised, Aerosmith continue onward into rock ‘n’ roll infamy. Throat, foot and knee surgeries have done little to stop Steven Tyler or Joe Perry from making the most of the band’s summer tour. Even bassist Tom Hamilton’s battle with throat cancer hasn’t stopped the show. A knock to the head while getting out of his Ferrari has left guitarist Brad Whitford temporarily out of the lineup, though. The only player in the 30-year-old band not suffering some medical setback recently is drummer Joey Kramer. Still, the band will pull out every trick in the book to make for a memorable show. (JA) White River
18 Tuesday
The Cave Singers
Things have been quiet in the Cave Singers’ camp of late, as the Matador-signed band holed up in the studio to record their new album Welcome Joy (out August 18th), the follow-up to 2007’s stellar Invitation Songs. Though clearly situated in the “Seattle scene,” with former members of Pretty Girls Make Graves and Hint Hint, the Singers’ songs depart from the “soft beard” rock of compatriots like Fleet Foxes with tense, at times danceable moments and Pete Quirk’s Blue Ridge Mountains-inflected vocals. (JMG) Easy Street
19 Wednesday
Pete Yorn
This Jersey-born singer-songwriter has held a spot as one of the premier orchestrators of acoustic-based, electrically rendered sensitivity for some time now. Touring on the release of his fourth Columbia studio release, Back and Forth (produced by Bright Eyes’ Mike Mogis), Yorn takes his private stylings with a rock ‘n’ roll band to the Showbox at the Market to bare his soul to Seattle ears. (MDM) Showbox Market Also Thursday
20 Thursday
Thee Makeout Party!
On the surface, Anaheim four-piece Thee Makeout Party! is harmless but fun SoCal power-pop—catchy, jangly and oh so exclamation-pointy! But another sugary Beach Boys cover band this is not. Courtesy of frontman and lyricist Dan Bush, each surf-pop-meets-garage-punk number on the band’s debut album, Play Pretend, is an anthem for heartbroken, lonely teens everywhere—especially those that like to dance away the pain (exclamation point!). (KS) Comet
21 Friday
The Flaming Lips
The Flaming Lips have progressed and grown into a band that seems to be from another planet by approaching live music as a true art form, using light, confetti and props to animate their intensely psychedelic, inventive and playful pop songs. By all accounts, the Lips have surpassed the stigma of a surface-level ‘90s pop band and have developed into something far more talented, refreshing and meaningful. The Lips’ frontman, Wayne Coyne, who seems obsessed with meaning, will help create an amazing performance none will want to miss. (JA) Marymoor Park
22 Saturday
Layne Staley Tribute and Benefit
Ed Kowalczyk of ‘90s spiritual-rock holdover Live headlines the eighth Layne Staley Fund show to “benefit heroin recovery in the Seattle music community.” (The Fund was founded in response to the late Alice in Chains singer’s 2002 smack-fueled demise.) On what would be Staley’s 42nd birthday, vocalist Kowalczyk and Second Coming (featuring former Sweet Water guitarist Dudley Taft and pre-AIC bassist Johnny Bacolas) will surely sandwich jams with recollections of Staley’s undeniable—and uneclipsed—talents. A fitting way to help stomp out addiction. (CB) Showbox Market
23 Sunday
Existereo, Tullie the Rapper, Rheteric Rameriz, JFK
Unless you’re from L.A. or have been paying absurdly close attention to the minute twists and turns of the national underground rap scene, the only reason you will have heard of Existereo is his work with a certain Saturday Knight, Barfly, in a truly kickass group called Candy’s .22. (Look it up immediately on your favorite search engine.) But we have Barfly’s word for it: this show is worth a gamble on some unfamiliar names. (KH) Chop Suey
24 Monday
Project Pitchfork
Germany’s Project Pitchfork has dominated the “electro-goth/scary-ass motherf***ers” scene for well over a decade now. And with the February release of their sixth studio album, Dream, Tiresias!, it doesn’t look like they’ll be exiting our collective consciousness (nor our nightmares) anytime soon. This is the band’s first trip back to the states in years, so come on down to El Corazon, if only for the sheer novelty of it all. (KS) El Corazon
25 Tuesday
The Webelos, Grand Lake, Origami Ghosts
All of the bands on this lineup play honest-to-God pop tunes supported by a flying buttress bricked with charm and talent. As well, it’s a relief that each band depends on their material as opposed to gimmicks for attention and a fanbase. Origami Ghosts boast different shades of folk and pop, Grand Lakes’ progression and rhythm will quicken the tip of the beer glass, and Seattle’s Webelos will take their simple songs and show you that simple, when done right, can be the most complex of affairs. (JA) Comet
26 Wednesday
Bat For Lashes
Like M.I.A. or Bjork, Bat For Lashes mastermind Natasha Khan’s magnetic personality and exotic heritage (hailing from Britain, she lived in Pakistan as a child) gives her a mysterious allure. Backed by members of Yeasayer on her latest record, Two Suns, her international pop could have come straight out of the ‘80s. Khan’s vocals and song style resemble those of Kate Bush, while the dancey synths on single “Daniel” sound like a long-lost Cure classic. (JMG) Neumos
