Fear Before
Sunday, July 12
Michael Rubenstein
Girl in a Coma perfects the game face.
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Even armed with a clever, roll-off-the-tongue band name like Fear Before the March of Flames, and snappy song titles such as "Hey Kid. I'm a Computer. Stop All the Downloading," it was only a matter of time before this Denver metalcore outfit had to cease hiding behind its wit and grow a heart. Which is exactly what the band did by its third album, The Always Open Mouth. Sure, songs about doing lines of coke out of a partygoing coed's exploded rib cage certainly have their place, but Fear Before's crunching assault hits harder now that the band (which shortened its name in time for last year's self-titled fourth album) has let its guard down enough to reveal earnest concern as the source of its agitation. Alongside peers like Between the Buried and Me, Fear Before has demonstrated a mind-boggling knack for evolution that has, over just a few albums, profoundly transcended the more genre-typical approach of overstimulating the senses. With Oceana, Memphis May Fire, Of Machines, This Time Next Year. Chop Suey, 1325 E. Madison St., 324-8000. 7 p.m. $12 adv. All ages. SABY REYES-KULKARNI
Indian Jewelry
Monday, July 13
No doubt Texas combo Indian Jewelry makes intoxicating recordings: Relentlessly severe post-punk and menacing drone-rock are occasionally shot through with crosscutting electronic noise, tribal drumming, and No Wave horn skronk. The band's attention-grabbing compositions reference Suicide, the Velvet Underground, Throbbing Gristle, early Butthole Surfers, and Swans, among others. But to see them live is a life-altering experience: I recently witnessed them play a sub–street–level record store in Philly, pitch-black save for a couple of strobe lights that slow-motioned the two-guy, two-girl ensemble as they unleashed a primal, hypnotic noise-groove assault. It felt like being swallowed by a whale, in the best possible way. With Psychic Ills, Backward Masks. Funhouse, 206 Fifth Ave N., 374-8400. 9:30 p.m. $7. MICHAEL ALAN GOLDBERG
The Handsome Family
Tuesday, July 14
It's easy to play the Gothic-country card when discussing the Handsome Family, given Brett Sparks' tar-like singing and his wife Rennie's knack for tragic lyrics that often linger on murder ballads. In a nod to the couple's 20th wedding anniversary, however, the Sparks have turned their keen attention to love songs on their recent eighth album, Honey Moon. It suits them, and within the usual heightened-Americana vibe, there's a renewed reverence for lost classics befitting a long-running band that actually knows who Jim Reeves and the Mills Brothers are. "My Friend" is set to a late-night organ crawl, "When You Whispered" manages yet another heartsick duet in a long line of them, and most memorably, "Darling My Darling" ekes emotional resonance out of bizarre lyrics about the mating rituals of insects. Whether performing as a duo or a larger ensemble, the Handsome Family are, now more than ever, an underrated musical institution that feels like a secret shared in hushed tones. With Daniel Knox. Tractor Tavern, 5213 Ballard Ave. N.W., 789-3599. 9 p.m. $12 adv./$15 DOS. DOUG WALLEN
Men
Tuesday, July 14
Contrary to popular belief, Le Tigre has not broken up—they're simply on a long-ass sabbatical, as leader Kathleen Hanna explained in a MySpace blog post this spring, and the trio has reportedly been in the studio with none other than Christina Aguilera within the past month (can't wait to hear that collaboration). Still, it might be a while before Le Tigre reactivates; in the meantime, you should enjoy Men, the equally feminist and sociopolitical disco-pop/electro-rock outfit formed in 2007 by Hanna's bandmates JD Samson and Johanna Fateman that sometimes comes across like an even more LGBT-friendly New Order. Of late, the Men's live configuration has been Samson plus Michael O'Neill and Ginger Brooks Takahashi, while Fateman's taken a more behind-the-scenes (i.e., she's not really touring these days) writing/production role. Regardless, when Men take charge, it's bound to be a hell of a party. Chop Suey, 1325 E. Madison St., 324-8000. 8 p.m. $10 adv./$12 DOS. MICHAEL ALAN GOLDBERG
