Feral Children (CD release) ~ Wednesday, January 27
Chona Kasinger
Kids and Animals need water, too.
Courtesy of Whalebones
Whalebones return as a trio. Finally.
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See Rocket Queen. With John Atkins, Jabon. Neumos, 925 E. Pike St., 709-9442. 8 p.m. $8.
The Ax ~ Thursday, January 28
It can't be easy to share a bill with hard and heavy Portland duo the Ax, especially if you're obliged to play after them. The Ax make big, growling, edgy rock delivered with minimalist perfection. It's transfixing, but trying to follow them with something better—or even just as good—is no easy task. Guitarist/lead vocalist Chris Pierce is über-charismatic, but even if he rocked outin glitter-dipped tighty-whities, he'd still be outshined by powerhouse drummer Adam Jelsing, who plays big, with a sick, easy precision that could carry the show all on its own. With Death by Steamship, Shadow People, Chinese. Funhouse, 206 Fifth Ave. N., 374-8400. 9:30 p.m. $5. MA'CHELL DUMA LAVASSAR
Kids and Animals ~ Thursday, January 28
If all the songs on this Seattle band's self-titled debut EP sound familiar, there's good reason: Kids & Animals owes some credit to a handful of bands that gained popularity in the past decade. "46th Street" has the super-electric guitars and chanted, near-shouted vocals that have beome Modest Mouse's trademark. "Solstice" possesses the same meandering yet symphonic quality as Okkervil River's songs. Even the opening guitars on "Blind Spots" mimic The Bends–era Radiohead. On the one hand, this means the band members borrow heavily from their influences; on the other, it means these five guys must be incredibly talented to pull it off. All the bands Kids & Animals draw from—Arcade Fire is on that list, too—are known both for pop sensibility and technical precision, two qualities this little band has in spades. The result sounds innovative and interesting but still approachable, giving Kids & Animals a chance to make it just as big as the bands they admire. With Skeletons With Flesh on Them, the Purrs, Royal Bear. Crocodile, 2200 Second Ave., 441-7416. 8 p.m. $8 adv./$10 DOS. PAIGE RICHMOND
Seattle Helping Haiti ~ Thursday, January 28
Every time the subject of MxPx comes up, I tell the same story: My freshman-year roommate at the University of Idaho (Go Vandals! Vote Palin!) was a kid from Minnesota named Rudy who exercised by lifting my box of laundry detergent and slept wearing an eye guard to keep the light out. From the first time he took off his shirt, I knew he was an MxPx fan. He had their trademark image tattooed on his shoulder. I told him I'd gone to high school in Bremerton. He told me he'd made a pilgrimage there. MxPx never attained universal stardom, but their fans are among music's most devout. And if frontman Mike Herrera—performing tonight along with the Maldives, Vince Mira, and Sweet Water—wants to help raise some serious coin at tonight's benefit for earthquake victims in Haiti, he'll contribute to the silent auction a guided tour of Bremerton, complete with green eggs and ham at Hi Lo's 15th Street Café, a jar of Harvey's Hot Buttered Rum mix, and a walk through his studio, Monkey Trench. You won't be able to stop the bidding. Moore Theatre, 1932 Second Ave., 443-1744. 8 p.m. $15. All ages. CHRIS KORNELIS
Tower of Power ~ Thursday, January 28 through Sunday, January 31
It makes perfect sense to assume that any band that's been around for more than 40 years is past its prime, so there's no logical explanation for how Tower of Power sounds so tight and invigorating this late in the game. Much of the Tower's fine form these days can be attributed to drummer Dave Garibaldi, a veteran of the group's early-'70s heyday who rejoined in 1998 and brought back his inimitable groove. But by no means is Garibaldi solely responsible. An awe-inspiring juggernaut, the horn section has the presence and bearing of a well-oiled jumbo jet—elegant, built for soaring, but above all powerful and large. Bandleader Emilio Castillo has not only preserved but improved upon the Tower's signature rat-a-tat-TAT rhythms. What started as a funky soul-fusion group has aged into nothing less than a peerless orchestra making an ever-deepening impact on music history. Dimitriou's Jazz Alley, 2033 Sixth Ave., 441-9729. 7:30 & 10 p.m. Thurs.–Sat., 7:30 p.m. Sun. All ages. $40. SABY REYES-KULKARNI
Kool Keith ~ Friday, January 29
Dismayingly, America still seems to prefer its black entertainers to be goofy and depraved. The elephant in the room about figures like Blowfly, Wesley Willis, and Kool Keith is that their extravagant strangeness ultimately reassures white listeners of their superiority. It may be more unconscious, even good-natured, these days, but the nervous laughter and free pass widely extended to Keith provide damning evidence. Still, he may have hit nauseating lows on his 1997 album Sex Style, but musically speaking it's unfair to put him in the same category as the more despicably obscene Blowfly or the genuinely schizophrenic, one-trick Willis. Bona fide artistic inspiration runs deep throughout Keith's body of work, and however much he plays up his own peculiarities, his delivery remains one of rap's most distinctive. In the end, his awkward, almost anti-rhythmic flow makes its own warped kind of sense. With KutMasta Kurt, Foreign Objects, Sonny Bonoho. Neumos, 925 E. Pike St., 709-9442. 8 p.m. $15 adv. SABY REYES-KULKARNI
