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Thursday, October 12
Dark Star Orchestra
What Grateful Dead show do you wish you could have attended? Missoula, Mont., 5/13/73, when the band predated Sonic Youth with buzzsaw jazz guitar fury? Or Syracuse, N.Y., 1970, when they strummed out a sublime set of traditional ballads and now-classic originals like "Friend of the Devil"? Ken Kesey put it best when he branded the Grateful Dead "alchemists." More than any other band, the Dead had the ability to transcend all musical boundaries . . . the select nights they were on. Those shows abound and have been obsessively archived for your listening pleasure. But if you weren't at the shows, you probably aren't satisfied by listening to your old bootleg, which was taped by some sketchy butane-huffer and horribly muffled by tape hiss. Luckily, Dark Star Orchestra is around to summon the live Dead experience for you. Most times they re-create entire shows, often working within the framework of the original setlist and letting the jams flow as the Dead would. You never know which show they'll perform, which is part of the fun. Then again, there's the possibility they'll play a really shitty show. Like that night in Pittsburgh, June of '95, right before Jerry died, and it rained like hell and Phil sang "Box of Rain" out of tune. Now, that's a night we don't need to relive. BRIAN J. BARR
Showbox, 8 p.m. $20 adv./$22
Friday, October 13
The Blood Brothers
Seattleites are so musically spoiled, it's easy to forget that some of the most creative bands are right under our noses, until you notice (if you do) Blood Brothers vocalist Jordan Blilie at the crosswalk, or bassist Morgan Henderson tooling around on his bike. The mild-mannered public personas of these dudes—along with vocalist Johnny Whitney, guitarist Cody Votolato, and drummer Mark Gajadhar—offer little clue to the gale-force racket they've become known for making. Since forming nearly a decade ago and reaching critical success with 2003's spazztastic Burn, Piano Island, Burn!, their fan base of underage rebels has changed imperceptibly—likely a result of loyalty to Redmond's all-ages scene, where the group came up. Their second release for V2, Young Machetes, was produced by Crimes' John Goodmanson and Fugazi's Guy Picciotto (who also worked on the latest Gossip disc), and delivers more four-alarm intensity, furious shrieks, and crazily inventive wordplay. From "1,2,3,4 Guitars": "Let's sling our rain slicks over February's fantastic antlers sprouting from the foreheads of world famous romancers." The Blood Brothers' enduring existence drives home two of the greatest arguments for living in Seattle—a nurturing music community and the highest literacy rate going. Even if apeshit deconstruction is the word of the day. Tickets are available at the door, or get one free at Easy Street, Sonic Boom, and Tower with a Machetes preorder. RACHEL SHIMP Old Redmond Firehouse, 16510 N.E. 79th St., 425-556-2370, Redmond, 8 p.m. All ages
Bob Dylan
By now, you've probably heard of Bob Dylan, aka The Single Most Important Musical Artist of the Last Half of the 20th Century. Too much hyperbole for you? How about this; Dylan's live show is unlike anything you've ever seen! While folks will no doubt talk about how his voice has withered to a permanent Oh Mercy–style croak and wheeze, and how his jazzier arrangement of "Like a Rolling Stone" makes for a disappointing encore, they won't forget about how freakin' weird the Man is onstage. On his last roll through the Northwest, he spent the entire time hunched like an old crow over the electric piano, emerging only to walk jauntily around the stage as if he were mulling what to play next. At the end of the show, he said nothing except "Thank you friends," and when he lined up his band to take a bow, they didn't take a bow at all, but instead stood nervously and awkwardly for a really long time until Dylan led them off. While his contemporaries (the Rolling Stones, Paul McCartney) have become predictable machines, Dylan's weirdness continues. Oh, and his latest album, Modern Times, went No. 1 on Billboard's charts. Not bad for an old weirdo. BRIAN J. BARR KeyArena, 7:30 p.m. $39.50–$67.50
Ladytron + CSS
Known for their coolly calculated stage presence and equally icy, synthesized sonics, Ladytron have remained a good bet for live electronica that will make you move. For all the posturing these beautiful, jet-setting geniuses (bandmember Mira Aroyo has a Ph.D. in molecular genetics) could stage, they don't take themselves too seriously—a trait that allowed them to persevere through the electroclash storm. It can be argued that some of their best tracks were made during that period, though, including 604's "The Way That I Found You" and Light & Magic's "Seventeen," but the rock-laced Witching Hour, released last year, showed a band bravely evolved. There's no way they won't play the hits, as this tour supports Extended Play, a collection of that album's remixes and B-sides, which their notoriously sampling free stance likely prohibits re-creating live. The foursome's vintage Korgs will offset CSS's new-wave disco punk rawk to sparkling effect. The Sub Pop band from São Paulo recently wowed a packed Neumo's crowd with energy, style, and sass to spare. Their coquettish riffs on art snobbery and bombastic, amateurish glee will take the edge off Ladytron's somewhat brooding vibe—yin, meet yang. Now dance! RACHEL SHIMP Showbox, 8 p.m. $18 adv. All ages
Saturday, October 14
