Amanda Colbenson
Phosphorescent’s Matthew Houck enjoys fine dining at least as much as Willie Nelson.
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Clues ~ Wednesday, March 4
It's hard to fathom the influence MySpace has as a promotional tool in the music world. On an average day, Fleet Foxes' page is visited 19,000 times. Meanwhile, Lily Allen's music is played 255,000 times. Per day.But despite the obvious benefits of this formidable promotional tool, Montreal-based pop band Clues have chosen to avoid all social networking sites—MySpace, Facebook...any of it. Given that the relatively new band includes members of the Unicorns and Arcade Fire, two of Montreal's best pop bands in recent years, one has to assume they're using this dearth of information as a marketing gimmick in itself—drop a few rumors on the Internet, play some unadvertised shows, and let the music blogs buzz in anticipation.They have one song available online and an album out on Constellation Records, home of other off-kilter rock bands Tindersticks, Thee Silver Mt. Zion, Do Make Say Think, and Seattle's own Dead Science. In other words, to recommend Clues is to rely almost exclusively on its members' musical reputations. Clues member Brendan Reed describes the band as the type of project best suited for "weird house shows, home recordings, and toys for instruments." The only way to know what the band's really like, though, is to head to the show and see for yourself. With City Center, Iji, the Camellias. Vera Project, Seattle Center, Warren Ave. N. and Republican St., 956-8372. 7:30 p.m. $9. All ages. ERIK NEUMANN
Donavon Frankenreiter ~ Wednesday, March 4
Donavon Frankenreiter is a surfer-turned-musician who mines the early-'70s folk-blues-soul-pop vein—a niche market that has become quite the fad these days, thanks to retro guys like Ray LaMontagne and Marc Broussard. If this overlooked genre has a designated godfather, it would be Stephen Stills, whom Frankenreiter seems most influenced by. He's got the sandy voice, the worn denim, the acoustic guitar, and the nostalgic warmth, but they're mixed with the soulfully nonchalant delivery of Boz Scaggs and Curtis Mayfield. His latest album, Pass It Around, is full of all the feel-good melodies—songs about relishing happiness and wanting happiness for others ("Life, Love, & Laughter," "Sing a Song"). But it breaks away from the Jack Johnson–ish monotony of his past work by diving even further into the 1970s via bold, full-band production. This is due in no small part to the presence of My Morning Jacket producer Joe Chiccarelli—a guy who knows a thing or two about making the past sound fresh again. With Gary Jules. Neumos, 925 E. Pike St., 709-9467. 8 p.m. $18. BRIAN J. BARR
Brujeria ~ Thursday, March 5
Brujeria released its debut album Matando Güeros in 1993, before the advent of widespread Internet information dissemination. So when the group's label Roadrunner characterized its members as "Satanic, murderous drug dealers" and bilingual fans translated the violent lyrics ("Matando Güeros" = "Killing Whites," a title reinforced by an album cover depicting a decapitated head held by an off-camera hand), listeners naturally regarded this masked band with fear and awe. Eventually researchers pulled down Brujeria's bandanas, figuratively speaking, and the realization that these guys weren't witchcraft-practicing criminals (and some weren't even Mexican) disillusioned those who wanted to believe that real, exotic metal evil exists. For others, the musicians' prestigious identities more than offset the lost mystique. The death-grind outfit's current lineup includes Carcass' Jeffrey Walker ("El Cynico," on bass), Napalm Death's Shane Embury ("Hongo," on guitar), and former Cradle of Filth drummer Adrian Erlandsson ("Podrido"). Little is known about Juan Brujo, but recent performances have confirmed this ferociously guttural singer is in fact human, not a grizzly trained to growl in Spanish. With Skarp, Owen Hart, Super Happy Story Time Land. El Corazon, 109 Eastlake Ave., 381-3094. 8 p.m. $18 adv./$22 DOS. All ages. ANDREW MILLER
Pure Country Gold ~ Friday, March 6
According to the band's history, Portland's Pure Country Gold was conceived as a much bigger band. When Jake Welliver and Patrick Foss—the band's only members—first starting writing their super-fast, blues-influenced punk songs, they envisioned a multimember revue to perform them. Foss even attempted to write for a horn section. But that larger backing band never really materialized, and the duo developed the sound Pure Country Gold is now known for: scratchy guitars high on reverb, dangerously loud drums, and throaty vocals. (The closest thing to a horn is the occasional harmonica.) The result is a sound so intense, so without constraint, that it's hard to believe only two men are responsible for it. Songs like "Setting Sun," from the band's self-titled EP, are deafeningly energetic. You can imagine two friends on stage, one beating the shit out of a drum kit, the other attempting a frantic pogo while playing the guitar—and all the while, the audience is dancing and shaking to Pure Country Gold's songs. With F-Holes, The Pack A.D., Aurora Roarers. Funhouse, 206 Fifth Ave. N., 374-8400. 9:30 p.m. $7. PAIGE RICHMOND
SXSW Send-Off Party ~ Friday, March 6
South by Southwest's ability to make or break the fledgling artists who descend upon Austin in the hopes of hooking up with a piece of that fame pie exceeds that of any other music festival in the country. It stands alone as a testing ground for the entire music industry—the place where popular hometown bands take their first significant stab at going national, pulling out all the stops in the hopes of making the right impression on the multitudes of music critics and A&R reps in the audience. Unfortunately, because it's geared toward industry folks, SXSW is just as well-known for its steep entry cost; for a lot of us, that golden ticket costs as much as a month's rent. So if SXSW isn't in the cards for you this year, the Seattle SXSW send-off show is kinda like an abridged version of the South by Southwest day party. You may not get to stumble around Austin drunk on free beer for five solid days, but at least you can get drunk at the Tractor and show some love for some of the Seattle music scene's Most Likely to Succeed. Though all the bands on this bill happen to be excellent, I'd bet money that of the four—Hey Marseilles, Champagne Champagne, Battle Hymns, and New Faces—New Faces' youthful, approachable pop will be the sound to charm the music-industry establishment. Hey, maybe I should start a betting pool—then at least the lucky winner can spend the cash on a ticket to SXSW next year. Tractor Tavern, 5213 Ballard Ave. N.W., 789-3599. 9 p.m. $8. SARA BRICKNER
