The Bugs

The problem with Portland garage-punk rock band the Bugs has nothing to do with their music— it's that almost no one outside the city knows who they are. Good old Stumptown pumps out great garage bands like insects reproduce—by the hundreds— but even though they've been around for almost a decade, the Bugs emulate their tiny namesakes, purposely flying under the radar to avoid the clinical inspection, capture, and figurative squishing that national recognition and big record deals can invite. No, the Bugs prefer to lurk in the cracks and crevasses of the Portland underground, playing perfect punk rock party tunes at house shows and small clubs while sporadically releasing albums on tiny PDX label Hovercraft. Only those in the know get to appreciate the Bugs' balls-out, spastic guitar jams and occasional forays into slower, acoustic territory— and the few wise souls I manage to convince to attend this show will find themselves boogieing down at the best party in all Seattle. With Thee Headliners, the Bill Collectors, Oblio Duo + the Archers. Funhouse, 206 Fifth Ave. N., 374-8400. 9:30 p.m., $5.
Thu., June 19, 9:30 p.m., 2008