Prong ~ Wednesday, October 7
Courtesy of Big Hassle
This tender moment is brought to you by School of Seven Bells.
Nitin Vadukal
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Throughout their initial run, 1986–97, Prong repeatedly redefined the parameters of metal and, in six landmark albums, subverted the genre's limits in a perpetual search for fresh hybrids that sound remarkably cohesive and vital today. The earliest material by Prong—originally formed by two CBGB employees and a former Swans member—came off as little more than a quick-and-dirty amalgam of thrash and hardcore. But the band's ultimate strength lay in its ability to radically reconfigure the thrash template, yet still retain a definable thrash essence. Moreover, guitarist/bandleader Tommy Victor underlined nuances in the expression of angst that few headbangers have revisited since. For all their vitriol, Prong (unlike the majority of their peers) never came from a place of sheer aggression. Victor's frustrations instead seemed driven by powerlessness, and the band's claustrophobic, cowed, and—by Victor's own description—vulnerable music paradoxically captured the anxiety and danger of urban life without explicitly referencing the gritty environment it was born from. In 2000 Victor revived the band with all new players; now, with a stable lineup more or less intact, Prong verges on recapturing the fiercely enterprising spirit of its classic catalog. With Soulfly, Cattle Decapitation, Mutiny Within. Showbox at the Market, 1426 First Ave., 628-3151. 6:30 p.m. $20 adv./$25 DOS. All ages. SABY REYES-KULKARNI
Nomeansno ~ Thursday, October 8
"Greatest Punk Album of All Time" is about as controversial as declarative statements about music can get, but I have no trouble tossing NOmeansno's 1989 masterpiece, Wrong, into the ring with Never Mind the Bollocks, London Calling, and Ramones. Songs like "The Tower" and "Rags and Bones" haven't lost one iota of their cathartic, cacophonous potency over the years, and the same goes for the musicians who recorded them. After 30 years of existence, NMN remain inexhaustible onstage, and sets are known to surpass the two-hour mark. Though the band tours quite frequently, Seattle stops are mysteriously rare; that they're finally playing a sonically suitable space like Neumos is a treat. With the Pack A.D. Neumos, 925 Pike St., 709-9467. 8 p.m. $13 adv. HANNAH LEVIN
Juliette Lewis ~ Friday, October 9
You can connect Juliette Lewis to the near-criminal negligence of her music career in two steps: She was in Natural Born Killers with Rodney Dangerfield (he played her dad, 'member?), who says he don't get no respect—just as her cat-scratched vocals, debauched lyrics, and Joplin-meets-Cobain stage persona have never received their rightful due. Backed by a new band (she formed the New Romantiques after the Licks broke up earlier this year), her reinvigorated histrionics make the case in favor of the actor-turned-singer trope. Jared Leto hangs gilt-framed platinum albums in the halls of his douche palace, but Lewis only now gets her first headlining American tour? Tell 'em, Rodney. With the Ettes, the American Bang. El Corazon, 109 Eastlake Ave. E., 381-3094. 9:30 p.m. $15 adv./$18 DOS. All ages. ROSE MARTELLI
Trannyshack ~ Friday, October 9
Brace yourselves, party people of Seattle: It's that special time of year again. Though not a federally recognized holiday (yet), this magical night uses more makeup than Halloween, more booze than New Year's Eve, more explosions than the Fourth of July, more glittery sparkle than a Christmas tree, and more tucking, binding, and prep time than a 30-pound Thanksgiving turkey. That's right, kids: It's time for Trannyshack, the San Fran–based tran-o-rama that has now become an international phenomenon with Trannyshack UK. Mistress Heklina and her cast of characters (including our own incomparable Ursula Android and an assortment of some of the Emerald City's classiest ladies) has turned her once-weekly event into revolving nights all over the country, flipping the big old bird to the stereotypical Whitney-synching beauty/drag-queen routine, and exalting in the downtown-and-dirty tradition of Warhol's superstar queens. Chop Suey, 1325 E. Madison St., 324-8000. 9:30 p.m. $12. MA'CHELL DUMA LAVASSAR
Ellom & Serena ~ Friday, October 9
A natural fit if there ever was one, Estonian poet Elo-Mall Toomet (Ellom for short) and local (Port Townsend) cellist/composer Serena Tideman come together for a special one-off performance. Even by experimental standards, Tideman and Toomet share an affinity for the fringe, and one can only imagine that together they'll come up with delightfully edgy results. Both have a flair for turning melodrama into sound portraits of cracked, almost disturbing beauty. In her own words, Toomet plumbs dark emotional spaces in order to draw maps for people to find their way back from them. But both artists also rely on sturdy rhythms and a winking sense of humor to warm the mood a little and keep their work somewhat grounded. In a sense, Tideman makes poetry of her own with the cello, her lines flowing with the lyricism, tension, and punch of well-crafted verse. Having worked with staunchly original acts like Rasputina and Múm, Tideman is uniquely positioned not only to support but to expand upon Toomet's one-of-a-kind vision. Jewelbox, 2322 Second Ave., 441-5823. 7:30 p.m. $7–$11 sliding scale. SABY REYES-KULKARNI
Junior Boys ~ Saturday, October 10
Living in the aftermath of a brilliant single is a tricky corollary of success in the music world. Hot Chip probably felt it after the smashing impact of "Over and Over," Matt and Kim will feel it after "Daylight," and Jeremy Greenspan and Matt Didemus of Junior Boys must have felt it after "In the Morning," the masterfully infectious hit on 2006's So This Is Goodbye. The song's combination of sharp synthesizers, tense percussion, staccato rhythms, and Greenspan's breathy, sexy vocals won over clubgoers and indie kids alike. It was somewhat of a surprise, then, when the duo's follow-up, this spring's Begone Dull Care, seemed to take a step back from all the hype. The record has been criticized for its slower tempos and scrupulous attention to detail rather than reproducing the energetic melodies of the past two albums, and yet it's those careful nuances that make the songs so sleek and impossible to write off. "Work," for example, is an incredibly sensual song featuring surging layers of sound, including a pulsing synth and Greenspan chanting, "Work it, baby, work it." You'll be hypnotized within seconds. With Circlesquare. Chop Suey, 1325 E. Madison St., 324-8000. 8 p.m. $15 adv./$18 DOS. E. THOMPSON
