Supersuckers ~ Thursday, September 10
Renata Raksha
Health: not as sad as this photo implies.
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Proclaiming yourself the greatest rock-'n'-roll band in the world isn't quite as bad as elevating yourself above Jesus Christ, but man, that's still a lot of self-generated hype to live up to. It's a title the Supersuckers have been working toward for 20 years, after writing themselves into rock history with songs about the vices commonly associated with rock—sex, drugs, alcohol, and the devil. The 'Suckers have spent the greater part of this year touring Europe and South America in support of last year's well-received Get It Together, an LP that, as always, fuses Eddie Spaghetti's brawny and confident vocals, "Scottzilla" Churilla's relentless drumming, and "Rontrose" Heathman and Dan "Thunder" Bolton's sweet, sweet guitar solos and duels. And while this album's songs are somehow more earnest and grounded than their previous party music, it still has the grandstanding that's become the band's trademark (one of the tracks is titled "I'm a Fucking Genius"). All the Supersuckers ever wanted was to rock your pants off. Just let 'em. With Thee Emergency and the Cold Cold Ground. Neumos, 925 E. Pike St., 709-9467. 8 p.m. $13 adv. E. THOMPSON
Ólöf Arnalds ~ Friday, September 11
Blonde charmer Ólöf Arnalds got her start as a member of the experimental electronic and very Icelandic ensemble múm. Her debut solo album, Við og við, was produced by Sigur Rós' Kjartan Sveinsson, and introduced international audiences to her pretty, old-time lullabies. Arnalds was formally educated in violin and classical singing—and it shows. Her shimmering, operatic voice (think Joanna Newsom without the yowling) is rendered accessible by her quaint and folksy songs, often simply backed by Arnalds' finger-picking on mandolin or guitar. After spending the first part of the year playing shows in New York City with (natch) Björk and Blonde Redhead, Arnalds is venturing to the West Coast for the first time in support of her forthcoming LP, Ókídókí. With People Eating People. The Crocodile, 2200 Second Ave., 441-7416. 8 p.m. $10 adv. E. THOMPSON
Gov't Mule ~ Friday, September 11
Gritty, soulful vocals, a heavy blues thump, loose, lanky funk, swirling psychedelia—that's Gov't Mule. Never a band interested in boxes, the Mule has made a career of doing things just a little bit differently. When Warren Haynes and Allen Woody (then the rhythm section for archetypal Southern rockers the Allman Brothers) joined with drummer Matt Abts, they married the genre-bending roots rock of their former project to the bluesier, psychedelic feel of '60s rockers like Hendrix and Clapton. This enabled Gov't Mule to add new layers of subtlety to the muscularity they'd been practicing. The new band's sound ran the gamut from dirt-floor boogie to mind-bending sonic freakouts, often within a single song. Since Woody's death in 2000, Gov't Mule has soldiered on, proving as stubborn as their namesake. Fortunately, a host of talented guest bassists, from Bootsy Collins to Victor Wooten, have helped that stubbornness pay off.The regular stream of new musical minds brought into the mix has pushed the Mule in surprising directions, bending their sound to encompass everything from reggae to African-inflected world-beat. With Carney. Showbox SoDo, 1700 First Ave. S., 382-7877. 8 p.m. $25 adv./$30 DOS. All ages. NICHOLAS HALL
Artifakt Three-Year Anniversary ~ Saturday, September 12
Dubstep is making a comeback, especially among older refugees from the drum-and-bass era. Like its forebear, dubstep creates big spaces in between big bass, and works against the 4/4 rhythms of disco-inspired house. Jock/producer 12th Planet is a quality practitioner of the sound, and sometimes works on the Flying Lotus tip, welding hip-hop lyrics to his nimble but brutal productions. It's not music for your soul so much as for your heart: You feel it physically rather than spiritually. Anyway, 12th Planet will make a good soundtrack for local arts (visual art and music) collective Artifakt's third-anniversary soiree. Despite certain economic troubles, the band of electronic music- and hip-hop-loving promoters and curators continues to bring quality jocks and artists to its shows, and for that, we salute you. Indeed, Artifakt's celebration features a force of other performers, including Antiserum and Whiskey Pete. Nectar, 412 N. 36th St., 632-2020. 9 p.m. $10 adv. KEVIN CAPP
Bishop/Corsano/Chasny Trio ~ Saturday, September 12
This show should be about as good as it gets, folks. Guitarists Ben Chasny (aka Six Organs of Admittance), Sir Richard Bishop, and drummer Chris Corsano will be pulling on their improv pants to splatter our ears with sound. I've seen Corsano twice before, and I know the guy is capable of creating percussion textures as thick and luminous as Mark Rothko paintings and as wild and smeary as a Jackson Pollock. As guitarists, Chasny creates moods and scenes, while Bishop is more of a linguist. All three are disciplined musicians, which means this will be less a wank-off session and more a rich musical conversation. Sunset Tavern, 5433 Ballard Ave. N.W., 784-4880. 7 p.m. $7. BRIAN J. BARR
Health ~ Saturday, September 12
Contrary to popular opinion, not all noise-based music is created equal. Sure, Los Angeles art-spaz quartet Health sounds—and looks—like it's having a collective seizure onstage, but the band also elevates chaos into a refined, almost symphonic art. And even while Health scrapes your face raw with blasts of funnel-cloud guitars and keyboards, the band's execution betrays the grace that ultimately makes it so exceptional. Don't make the mistake of pigeonholing Health with other, less imaginative purveyors of dance beats and Nintendo-core bleeps. Health does touch on those things, but the strength of its writing—the strength and uniqueness of its identity—refuses easy categorization. With Past Lives, Picture Plane, Pregnant. Vera Project, 305 Harrison St., 374-8372. 7:30 p.m. $11. All ages. SABY REYES-KULKARNI
