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Seattle Soundbite ~ Thursday, March 19
In celebration of the restaurant industry's long tradition of being the bread-and-butter for struggling artists of all types—particularly musicians—Seattle Soundbite brings the musicians and the fancy food together in the second incarnation of what will hopefully become a longstanding tradition. Basically, some of Seattle's best restaurants will be hanging out at the SODO serving high-class street-vendor-style foods, while musicians with food-service backgrounds entertain the gorging crowd. Sub Pop band The Helio Sequence, the Portland duo of Benjamin Weikel (no doubt one of the happiest-looking drummers in the history of indie rock) and axe-wielding frontman Brandon Summers, headline the affair. Though the band's indie-pop constructions are perfectly pleasant in recorded form (their latest release is called Keep Your Eyes Ahead), onstage the two men manage to conjure more energy than most bands three times their size. Another notable act is the instrumental concept band Bird Show of North America, which plays dynamic songs named after birds while the band's full-time artist, Curtis Poortinga, paints pictures the audience can admire—and purchase for around $20–$40—after the show. With Sue Quigley, Doctor Doctor, and Puget Sound System with Truce. Showbox SODO, 1700 First Ave. S., 652-0444. 6 p.m. $15. SARA BRICKNER
The Academy Is . . . ~ Thursday, March 19
If you trace the evolution of pop music in America, it's pretty easy to discern both a striking continuum and a web of diverging branches. The funny thing is, both the tangential and the linear are ultimately just different faces of the same geometry. As contemporary examples of this phenomenon go, it's hard to find better than The Academy Is.... TAI first appeared at the shiny intersection of emo and pop-punk championed by fellow Chicagoan Pete Wentz. They still toe that line, but have also stripped away some of both genre's more clichéd elements, focusing instead on pure pop songcraft. With their clean sound and glossy production, TAI could travel back in time and pass as pop-radio stars in any decade since the dawn of the rock-and-roll era. While this may point to a lack of originality, it also means that they have tapped into the musical zeitgeist not just of 2009, but of the past 50-or-so years of American musical history. Odd, then, that a band so tied to what has come before is now seen as redefining the same. With This Providence, Evan Taubenfeld. Nectar Lounge, 412 N. 36th St., 632-2020. 7 p.m. $10. All ages. NICHOLAS HALL
Katharine Hepburn's Voice (CD release) ~ Friday, March 20
Shannon Perry and D.W. Burnam's brief electronic contemplations sound a little like what I imagine Ladytron's very first demos might've sounded like: lo-fi, synthesized pop. It's the kind of music that's well-suited for basements and bike shops—the first place I ever encountered the band—but KHV's bouncy little ditties will surely start attracting bigger crowds (and requiring bigger venues than 2020 Cycle) once the band's third full-length, Stand Up, hits stores. The album is 33.5 minutes of bedroom synth-pop songwriting a little like a less-polished, homegrown version of Stars; however, the short songs suggest a punk-rock aesthetic, which is only furthered by the band's DIY approach to packaging and marketing their music. But what I like best about KHV is this: While most electronic pop sounds like it's been made by robots, this band crafts introspective, emotive songs that are 100% flesh-and-blood. With Partman Parthorse, Mad Happy, the Geese, DJ Sam Rousso Soundsystem. Sunset Tavern, 5433 Ballard Ave. N.W., 784-4880. 9 p.m. $8. SARA BRICKNER
Ariel Pink ~ Friday, March 20
Let's rank the top five coolest lo-fi rockers of the past, say, five years: 1) Ariel Pink 2) Kurt Vile 3) Sic Alps 4) Pink Reason and 5) Wavves. It's a real toss-up between Pink and Vile—both are just great. But Ariel is a bit more psychedelic in a Skip Spence/psychotic kind of way. Plus, his tune "west coast calamities," off 2006's House Arrest, contains one of the most audacious lines in recent memory: "I want a chick who puts up with my shit and puts out." Probably the best thing about Pink is the way he's turned into a touring juggernaut. A lot of lo-fi studs suck at live shows, but not this guy. His band Haunted Graffiti are serious punch-the-clock rockers—kind of like the Cruisers, only different. With Duchess Says, Catatonic Youth. El Corazon, 109 Eastlake Ave., 381-3094. 7 p.m. $10 adv./$12 DOS. All ages. JUSTIN F. FARRAR
Eleni Mandell ~ Sunday, March 22
When Los Angeles songstress Eleni Mandell came to the Tractor Tavern in the summer of 2007 for an early-evening show in support of her just-released album Miracle of Five, it seemed as if she had to make her performance extra noirish and moody to compensate for all the distracting sunlight streaming in through the venue's open doors. That won't be a problem this time when she drops by The Triple Door to play songs from her new Artificial Fire, but hopefully she won't throttle down the delicious darkness that makes her such a magnetic performer. Mandell's rootsy pop tunes are packed with cheaters, death, and unrequited love, and she delivers them in a voice that's got shades of Patsy Cline, Chrissie Hynde, and Cat Power in it, backed by a band that adds elegance and bite to her dusky oeuvre. With Kelli Rudick. Triple Door Mainstage, 216 Union St., 838-4333. 7:30 p.m. $14 adv./$16 DOS. All ages. MICHAEL ALAN GOLDBERG
