Woody Guthrie Tribute Night ~ Wednesday, July 15
Autumn De Wilde
Laura Veirs and friends knew just what to do with this refrigerator box.
Related Content
More About
Any true Washingtonian knows that folksinger Woody Guthrie is an indelible part of state history. Nearly 70 years ago, Guthrie was recruited by the Department of the Interior to write songs about the Columbia River and promote the construction of the Grand Coulee Dam, a massive Depression-era project in eastern Washington. The most lasting result was "Roll On, Columbia, Roll On," now the state's official folk song. Any Woody Guthrie tribute night in Seattle, then, has to include an official cover of this song, which proudly describes the scenic nature of eastern Washington and boasts of the progress the new dam will provide state residents. The most likely Seattle singer to take on that challenge is Nancy K. Dillon. She's a little more country and a little more rock-and-roll than Guthrie, but she sings about the same subjects. She tries to find a sense of place in her songs, as in "Crossing 66," which compares the expanse of a great highway to the rambling nature of a river. Dillon is connected to her subject matter, the same way Guthrie felt the waves of the Columbia with every note. Conor Byrne, 5140 Ballard Ave. N.W., 784-3640. 9 p.m. PAIGE RICHMOND
Magic Slim & the Teardrops ~ Friday, July 17
Unlike a lot of blues artists creeping into their 60s and 70s, Magic Slim records on a fairly consistent basis. Since 2000, the Windy City juke-joint icon has dropped a half-dozen or so full-lengths, including 2008's Midnight Blues. Though he's no spring chicken, the album proves Slim still possesses a more-than-hearty appetite for hard-swinging electric blues. You'd have to, to cover the Hound Dog Taylor standard "Give Me Back My Wig." Over a greasy, dirty, nasty slide guitar, Magic Slim howls at his lady, "Give me back my wig/Honey now let your head go bald/Give me back my wig/Honey now let your head go bald." Personally speaking, I would never date a no-good, misbehaving bald chick, but hey, different strokes for different folks, right? Triple Door, 216 Union St. 838-4333. 8 p.m. $16 adv./$20 DOS. All ages. JUSTIN F. FARRAR
The Metal Shakespeare Company ~ Friday, July 17
It's easy to dismiss the Metal Shakespeare Company as one big joke. There's something inherently hilarious about four 20-something dudes from Portland who dress in Shakespearean costumes and set the Bard's greatest soliloquies to Iron Maiden–style metal. In the band's most recent music video (for "To Bleed or Not to Bleed," their musical version of Hamlet's famous speech to the departed Yorick in Act 3, Scene 1), a character is transformed into a donkey as lead singer Lord Simms serenades a skull and drummer William Sly throws up devil horns between beats. But despite all the kitsch, it's clear that the Metal Shakespeare Company is striving for authenticity. Aside from occasionally beefing up the chorus ("To be or not to be/Who are we that is the question/Matters not, to bleed or not to bleed/For we are metal!"), the songs are written to keep Shakespeare's original language and words intact. Even the band's MySpace page is written in Old English. And for Bard-haters, the MSC is totally, undeniably metal: clean keyboard solos, super-fast guitar riffs, and Lord Simms' Sebastian Bach–style voice would rocketh mightily even without Shakespeare's words. With the Valkyries, Brewtal Thirst. Blue Moon Tavern, 712 N.E. 45th St., 633-6267. 10 p.m. $5. PAIGE RICHMOND
A-Trak ~ Saturday, July 18
"When I was 13, I took my bar mitzvah money and bought myself some turntables and a mixer. I practiced for about 18 hours a day. Then I came out of my basement, packed my lunch, and won a bunch of world championships. Joy!" writes Montreal jock A-Trak on his MySpace bio. We'll forgive dude his "my first Fisher-Price DJ set" origins, boringly similar to all others, because his music is effin' bangin'. No laptop jock he, the turntablist can crate-dig and spin with the best of 'em, and his hip-hop flavored electronic music (usually with rap vocals laid over techno beats) have won him such famous fans as Kanye West (whom A-Trak toured with) and club junkie DJ AM. Despite that Seattle doesn't have a proper, true-blue club for him to rock in, he's coming anyway as part of his "10,000LB Hamburger" tour. With Rye Rye, Treasure Fingers, the Dowlz, & OK Dave. Chop Suey, 1325 E. Madison St., 324-8005. 8 p.m. $13 adv. KEVIN CAPP
Laura Veirs ~ Saturday, July 18
I first happened upon the phenomenal Portland-via-Seattle-via-Colorado songwriter Laura Veirs maybe four years ago, after she'd already released a couple of albums. But 2005's dreamy, quirky, occasionally orchestral-poppy, sometimes biting Year of Meteors grabbed me and didn't let go of my ears (or my CD player) for ages. Her voice struck me: Neither breathy-sweet and sensual nor cracked and desperate, hers is a dry, husky delivery, one that at first encounter seemed a bit glacial. Yet as the album progressed, a gamut of feelings punctured that curtain of detachment. And her lyrics, often referencing the natural world, were remarkable: vivid imagery and the music of language tumbling together in stunning bits of poetry. Veirs' 2007 follow-up, Saltbreakers, was equally alluring, bringing her even more national acclaim, and this impressive recent track record makes me especially excited to hear her forthcoming seventh full-length, July Flame. Veirs hasn't announced a release date yet, but for this show she's assembled an all-new quintet (who'll be bringing strings, balalaika, and exotic percussion to augment the usual guitar-centric setup), and she's promising lots of brand-new material to go with the old tunes that remain as arresting as the first time they burrowed into my head. With the Old Believers, Cataldo. The Crocodile, 2200 Second Ave., 441-7416. 8 p.m. $15 adv. MICHAEL ALAN GOLDBERG
