PLEASEEASAUR, MADE FOR TV MOVIE, THE BADGER KING
(Meow Meow) The Badger King has two egos: One is as a pop band, featuring Dear Nora's Marianna Ritchey singing Shelly Fabares-style pop music. The second is as a poppy rock opera, with dreamy, catchy lines like "beneath a murky lake of silver ginger," that will provide at least as many sing-along hours as Hair, if not rivaling those of Joseph. Whether we'll get the full off-Broadway treatment is still debatable, but the music behind it is still stellar, sing-song pop. JULIANNE SHEPHERD
MAGIC MAGICIANS, THE PLANET THE, NICE NICE
(Blackbird) So, yeah... Magic Magicians features members of Black Heart Procession and 764-HERO, and my patience is wearing thin for side projects. Many great bands go unnoticed on a large scale due to their lack of "ex-members." It makes sense that record labels feel more confident about releasing a record of a new band that includes "so-and-so" from the established group "so-and-so," because the labels know how conservative the college kids tend to be about throwing their cash around. The phrase "ex-members of..." acts as a quality guarantee for the underground rock enthusiast. But how many mediocre side projects need to bore us to tears before we realize that they are just that? A side project. How vain do you have to be to expect an entire crowd of people to pay to watch you purge the emotions you can't fully execute in your "main band"? Pretty vain. Come for the fantastic local-nobody openers on this one; they're well worth your money. DAVID MANNERES
THE WEAKLINGS, THE THUMBS, STARANTULA, TILTWHEEL
(Ash St.) Before Jawbreaker disbanded (1996), Tiltwheel was applying their style of rapidly emotional pop-punk to the test. Sadly, no one seemed to notice; I wasn't aware Tiltwheel was still around. They're tight and punchy and their singer sounds like an old man. Joining DC's catchy Thumbs and the drunk maniacs of The Weaklings. I don't envy whoever has to clean the floor after the show. JAMES SQUEAKY
GRAVITY & HENRY, AMOREE LOVELL, 'TWEEN PLANETS
(Tonic) It's so nice to know that the piano still has a place that's not in a symphony or a 12-year-old's recital (not that I'm dissing those uses of the piano), because it really is such a beautiful instrument. Especially when it's under the fingers of Amoree Lovell, the dark and mysterious, goth-y piano player who plays choppy and dramatic. It's a little random--but not inappropriate--that she's playing with Gravity & Henry, the adorable Portland duo who play chalky pop. And of course, it's all for a good cause--a benefit for the Rock & Roll Camp for Girls. KATIA DUNN
FRIDAY SEPTEMBER 14
DESTINY'S CHILD, NELLY, EVE, 3LW
(Rose Garden) I cannot dis on this tour other than to express dismay at the fact that my R&B superheroes, Destiny's Child, are actually affiliating themselves with fucking MTV (the official title of this tour is the Total Request Live tour). FUCK THAT! How am I supposed to take "Independent Women" seriously if their whole tour is at the mercy of a Viacom affiliate?! Beyonce´, if you're listening, here's what you gotta do: Dump that Dad/Manager of yours, because while he protects you, he is obviously calling the shots, and you would do a lot better independently than under his wing. Remember, while he may be your father, he is still a man controlling your assets. Next thing you know, he'll be trying to give you away, dowry in hand, to Tommy Mottola, and then you'll go crazy and the only kick-backs you'll get from TRL is when they film you pushing a hot dog cart down the streets of New York. After that, you can start your own label--you're bound to do better than schtick-happy Madonna, and then you can record whatever the hell you want without ole Pops telling you who you should be singing with. Beyonce, you must succeed!!! JS
RASHEED WALLACE CELEBRITY BIRTHDAY PARTY
(Crystal) Supposedly, Destiny's Child will be at 'Sheed's soiree. I can't imagine what else will possibly occur, although I like to think it will be similar to the movies, when everyone snorts 25 rails of coke and dances, even after their mascara has run. For $30-50, you can find out. JS
TURN ME LOOSE, MACHINE THAT FLASHES, THE TRIGGERS
(Billy Ray's, free) Machine that Flashes has honed some of the murkiest, droney hardcore in Portland to a blunt point, and after at least six years in existence, you wouldn't expect anything less. Their songs are also incredibly long, which can serve as both a boon and a hindrance. Sometimes, you'll get wrapped up in the intensity of their vicelike guitars; at others, you'll be able to feel the hair in your armpits growing. They are a great outlet for tension, however, and this show is free. JS
MIKE WATT, THE TOM & JERRY SHOW
(Dante's) As the bassist for the Minutemen, Mike Watt played scales that were jazz-accented. In the 4/4 and four-square world of hardcore, that made him and guitarist/vocalist D. Boon more than any typical hard-and-fast trio. The band played with evangelical fervor, with its earliest songs clocking in at under a minute, hence the name. Of the dozen records The Minutemen made in its five-year life span, Double Nickels On The Dime is a masterpiece, mixing highly personalized leftism with raw power. After Boon's 1985 death in a van accident, Watt soldiered on with fIREHOSE and then released his album Ball-Hog or Tugboat? featuring a rotating cast of vocalists. With 1997's Contemplating The Engine Room, Watt created a record that was part abstract self-portrait and part concept album. It gave a glimpse into the blue-collar ethos that has driven him since the early '80s. NATE LIPPENS
TSOL, ONE MAN ARMY, THE BRIEFS
(Meow Meow) Like any show featuring men in their 40s playing loud, fast music about girls, the undead, and the evils of authority, this show is a real wild card. Distortion pedals and gray hair aren't exactly cookies and cream, and the notion of watching a guy old enough to be your grandfather pogo-ing and bearing down on a Les Paul is a little scary. But if the Buzzcocks, who are even older, can carry it off, then perhaps TSOL can. And if you're into American punk rock, and think the Dead Kennedys wrote the entire book on it, then this show could widen your understanding of who's responsible for Green Day, even if the band does seem awfully arthritic. One Man Army, whose music is a love letter to bands like TSOL, and Seattle's The Briefs open the show. MICHAEL SHILLING
THE REAL PILLS, THE GET DOWN SYNDROME, PRIMATE 5
(Blackbird) Apes. Love 'em? Hate 'em? Fantasize about them? Well, here's your chance to see crazy Seattle boys Primate 5 dress up as Apes and play some exceptionally tolerable surf/garage punk. Their music isn't all that typical, with their oddly titled song "Ape, Ape, Ape" breaking down at one point into what seems like a bluegrassy jam. Their singer is damn good too, which is a requirement if a weird theme band expects to be taken seriously at all. KS
SATURDAY SEPTEMBER 15
THE INTIMA, THE DISAPPEARER, STEVE KRAMP
(Stumptown, 8 pm) After holing up in their practice space for what seems like 67 years, The Intima is finally back, hopefully playing new songs. Then again, I'm fine with the old ones--a hope chest full of addictive, modular guitars, drums, violins, and staccato vocals that flex a natural capacity to compel. They are gorgeous mad gypsies who'll remind you that art is a powerful tool for subversion; when you experience their mix of punk rock with so much beauty, you will know what I mean. JS
PUNK FEST STARRING POISON IDEA, THE SPITS, ALL OUT, THE SPEDS, THE TRIGGERS, THE FLIP TOPS, THE KNOW IT ALLS, MORE
(Meow Meow, 2 pm) A full, all-ages day of local punk, for the lovers of the loud, the fast, and the brave. Think '77 punk, not '82, at least in ideals--this is a cache of pure decadence, complete with blown amps and snarling. And, in the case of Poison Idea, maybe a little self-inflicted bleeding. JS
THE RETURN OF VICTIMS FAMILY WITH 400 BLOWS, THE BARFEEDERS AND LOPEZ
(Satyricon) There is nothing pretty or nice about the Barfeeders' over-the-top, potty-humor lyrics. In most respects, they're a generic drug-addled punk band, but they have a "We don't care about anything" approach that keeps me from writing them off. They'll be joining the technically proficient Victim's Family, who are so old, the only drugs they take these days is their heart medicine. SQUEAKY
KING BLACK ACID, THE STANDARD
(Ohm) King Black Acid's music is like an emotional wormhole. An onslaught of guitar, percussion, and keyboard, when the KBA noise comes together it punches its way through your chest and churns everything around. In fact, it takes considerable depth and vision to not get swallowed whole by Daniel Riddle's master plan. You remember that scene in Terminator II, where the nuclear bomb pretty much wipes everything out in a sea of white? That is King Black Acid. Who knew that psychedelic grooving was what Oppenheimer had in mind? JSR
JIM WHITE, CROOKED FINGERS
(Dante's) See Music pg 17
BLACK EYED PEAS, RES, DJ BLES
(Crystal) LA's Black Eyed Peas has the right attitudes, looks, and politics, but the band is not great. There is no explanation for this. I have tried to like Black Eyed Peas, but whenever I play the group's CDs, it's like listening to a glass of water: I feel nothing. That is all I can say about them, so allow me to use the remainder of this space to recall an all but forgotten hiphop band, Three Times Dope. Back in the late-'80s, Three Times Dope had an excellent hit song called "Funky Dividends." It involves a hard working rapper and his ungrateful girlfriend. He tells her that she's spending way too much of his hard-earned money, and that their love should go deeper than his bank account. But she absolutely rejects his honest reasoning, more or less saying "no romance without finance." Three Times Dope had three other hit songs, but none as impressive as "Funky Dividends." CHARLES MUDEDE
COBRA HIGH, BIRDY NUM NUM, THE MARQUIS DE SUAVE
(Blackbird) If Birdy Num Num had been around in 1965, the Kinks would never have had to write "Where Have All The Good Guys Gone?" Mining the deepest furrows of power pop from both the '60 and '70s, this band--lead by Disc Jockey Gregarious, whose poodle mop makes him look like he's stepped right off a Badfinger album cover--rocks without pretension, rolls without gathering moss, and generally tears the stage apart with guitar riffage the likes of which haven't been heard since Gerry's pacemaker wound down. Conversely, Cobra High is to be avoided. The aptly named band has an adolescent artiness that is positively poisonous. JAMIE S. RICH
DADA BALL STARRING MACHA, DJ SMALL CHANGE, BLACK ANGEL, SPECIAL GUESTS
(2050 NW Front Ave) If you want to spend $30-35 to attend one of the most anti-Dada "Dadaist" happenings on the face of the earth, you might be a big Macha fan. The Athens, GA band's last album, released in 1999, took New York-style art rock and filtered it through all they saw on their trip to Indonesia. In theory, they're an interesting band, sampling Eastern-sounding bells; friends who saw them with Bedhead in New York last year, however, testified to their utter boredom during their set. But if you're willing to pay $30 to see them play at a party that will be at least 50 percent wealthy art patrons dressing "wacky" to be "arty," you probably won't be bored no matter what they do. That is okay; unconditional love is beautiful. JS
SUNDAY SEPTEMBER 16
ZEN GUERILLA, THE NATRONS, LAST OF THE JUANITAS
(Blackbird) Zen Guerilla plays straight-up, driving rock and roll. Some of their songs are really awesome, with Stevie Ray Vaughan-quality guitar riffs and a serious fucking drum beating and... others are pretty typical bar rock. But nobody's perfect all the time. On their latest CD, the singer starts to sound a little like Bobcat Goldthwait (in a charming way), which made me chuckle, because Bobcat is so fucking weird. But anyway, rock fans, these guys are talented and balls-out--so go. KS
THEY MIGHT BE GIANTS
(Crystal) Non-believers be damned. The best proof of the pop art genius of TMBG is their recent stand of shows in their hometown of NYC, in which the two Johns (Flansburgh and Linnell), tipping the hat to the purist contingent of their fan base, opened for themselves as a They Might Be Giants cover band that refused to play anything post-Lincoln. Something for everyone, indeed. I don't think they're doing that here, but just the fact that they ever did it makes me want to go to this show. Forever. SEAN NELSON
TUESDAY SEPTEMBER 18
VIRGO B-DAY BASH STARRING INSECURIOUS, FRANK FURTER & THE HOT DOGS, DJ BRICOLAGE SELECTOR, CHUCKASAURUS, MORE
(Berbati's) If you haven't gotten the chance to see Cyndi Lauper cover band Insecurious, it's time to make the time. With a phenomenal vocal delivery worthy of the Cyn herself (complete with faux Long Island accent), an '80s punk back-up band, and lots of tulle and chiffon, you'll be hard-pressed not to get swept up in the moment. JS
BURNING AIRLINES, RIVAL SCHOOLS, ACTIONSLACKS
(Meow Meow) J. Robbins' band, Burning Airlines. The kids love 'em. See My What a Busy Week pg 13
WEDNESDAY SEPTEMBER 19
THE BUILDING PRESS, NERVOUS KNEES, TRAIL VS. RUSSIA
(Ash Street) Seattle's Building Press boasts guitars that calculate atonally and melodically through the bog of mathrock, occasionally inflicting some distortion damage. They're mostly instrumental, with a bit of boy-screaming, and though they're not musically phenomenal enough to make their style all that challenging, they're definitely rocking enough to occupy your Wednesday. Or at least, they were last summer when I saw them. They'll probably be better now. Norfolk & Western's Adam Selzer, aka Nervous Knees, opens. JS
GOING TO SEATTLE?
Fri 9/14: Crooked Fingers (Crocodile); Belle & Sebastian (Paramount Theater)
Sat 9/15: Mike Watt (Crocodile); Silent Lambs Project (EMP)
Sun 9/16: Paul Revere & the Raiders (Puyallup Fair)
Tues 9/18: Acid Mothers Temple (Crocodile)
For more info, visit www.thestranger.com
New Releases Sept 18: Tori Amos, Art Ensemble of Chicago*, Bis*, Boilermaker, Brothomstates, Court and Spark*, Curve, Alio Die/Amelia Cuni, Icey, Dntel, Drag City Supersession, Foetus, Richie Hawtin, Jay-Z, Kingsbury Manx, Live, Lofty Pillars, Mankind Liberation Front, Melochrome, Milemarker, Mistreaters, Murry the Hump, Nerves, Tara Jane O'Neil*, Owen, Pole*, Pullman, Remy Zero, Marc Ribot, River City High, Irmin Schmidt & Kumo*, Sex Mob*, S.I. Futures, Simian, (Smog)*, Spacewürm, Spokane (Azusa Plane)*, Sybarite, Superchunk, Telefon Tel Aviv, Therapy?, Paul Van Dyk, Vandermark Five*, Vue, David S. Ware Quartet*
* Potentially neat. Dates could change.