Shonen Knife / Wednesday, September 8
Good Charamel Records
Shonen Knife: Japanese girl-punk power.
E*vax
Electro-bros Ratatat.
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Japan's long-running all-girl trio Shonen Knife is down to one original member, singer/guitarist Naoko Yamano. So no, they're not exactly the same band Kurt Cobain fell in love with over Naoko's bizarre lyrics about bugs, banana fish, jellybeans, ice cream, and chocolate bars, and brought on tour with Nirvana in 1991. Or the one that inspired Sonic Youth, so taken by the band's sweetly punky, spunky power-pop, to headline the 1989 tribute album, Every Band Has a Shonen Knife Who Loves Them. But Shonen's new Free Time sounds almost exactly like their previous output (they are the Ramones of Japan, after all), so everyone but pissy purists will still have a great time tonight. With The Pharmacy, the Purrs. Tractor Tavern, 5213 Ballard Ave. N.W., 789-3599. 8:30 p.m. $15.MICHAEL ALAN GOLDBERG
The Walkmen / Wednesday, September 8
For their sixth studio album, this month's Lisbon, the characteristically cacophonous Walkmen made a conscious effort to scale things back a bit. "We tried for a very bare instrumentation on this," the band's frontman Hamilton Leithauser told me in a recent phone call. "We really turned the reverb down a lot, which for us is a big step." The result is a stripped-down and at times stunningly elegant collection of music—but that's not to say the band's lost any of its raw energy for its upcoming tour, which kicks off tonight. While the tour's focus is Lisbon, Leithauser also promises to keep the band's longtime fans in mind. "We always play 'The Rat,'" he says. "People always want to hear it." With The Helio Sequence. Showbox at the Market, 1426 First Ave., 628-3151. 8 p.m. $18 adv./$20 DOS. All ages.ERIN K. THOMPSON
Magic Kids / Thursday, September 9
Magic Kids' debut album, Memphis, came out just a few weeks ago with not a hint of the country music the title suggests, but rather every possible sunshiny salute to Beach Boys–style swoon-pop. From the hyperactive sugar-high of "Superball" to the diner dance of "Hey Boy," their shameless, childlike energy will close the night on Pop Rocks and soda after chill, somewhat esoteric sets from local boys Beat Connection and ambient electro-orchestra Candy Claws. Vera Project, 305 Harrison St., 956-8372. 7:30 p.m. $9. All ages. MARY PAULINE DIAZ
The Tallest Man on Earth / Thursday, September 9
The Tallest Man on Earth, Swedish troubadour Kristian Matsson, is actually less blessed in stature (only 5'7") than the moniker suggests, but very much so in the gift of songwriting. Two albums deep, nobody's disputing all the Dylan comparisons Matsson's gotten, and that's because he's able to channel Dylan's legacy into his own folksy narrative style instead of just shamelessly imitating it. Matsson's croaking vocals and deft finger-picking lend his songs a sense of melancholy and reminiscence; on his latest record, The Wild Hunt, he uses these tools to paint worlds of glaciers and canyons, wildcats and ghosts in trees, cold skies, and lonely cities. With S. Carey. Neumos, 925 E. Pike St., 709-9467. 8 p.m. $15.ERIN K. THOMPSON
Thee Oh Sees / Thursday, September 9
If there's anything plaguing contemporary art-punk bands who invoke the fuzzy garage-psych sound of the '60s, it's that they tend to sound the same. Blame it on the distortion and static if you want, but the formula's been attempted so often over the past half-century or so that we've pretty much reached the point of redundancy. And yet, San Francisco man-about-town John Dwyer's project Thee Oh Sees manages to churn out crunchy, catchy, retro rock-and-roll songs, the best (read: most accessible) of which avoid the bizarre experimental departures that tend to drag down some of Dwyer's earlier stuff. So what if it's been done before, more or less? It's still great music. If you're new to the band, Help and Master's Bedroom are good places to start. With Tyvek, Love Tan. Crocodile, 2200 Second Ave., 441-7416. 8 p.m. $10.SARA BRICKNER
Crooked Fingers / Friday, September 10
After a 10-year run fronting Chapel Hill indie luminaries Archers of Loaf, Eric Bachmann and the rest of the band stepped away from the limelight at the height of their popularity. Now, having spent just as much time creating music as Crooked Fingers, it would seem Bachmann is pretty comfortable in his own skin. Steadily pushing away from the noisy caterwaul of his previous band, Crooked Fingers has become an increasingly interesting experiment; Bachmann has gone from sparse, tortured troubadour to a worldlier, gypsy-esque feel. Unlike the obscure lyricism that marked a good chunk of the Archers catalog, Bachmann has now fully embraced the storytelling/songwriter role, unapologetically guiding listeners through both bright, golden-tinged days and sinister, india-ink nights. With the Mynabirds, Barton Carroll. Sunset Tavern, 5433 Ballard Ave. N.W., 784-4880. 9 p.m. $10 adv./$12 DOS.GREGORY FRANKLIN
Hounds of the Wild Hunt / Friday, September 10 See Through @ 2.
Menomena / Friday, September 10 See the music lead.
The Smashing Pumpkins / Friday, September 10
On one hand, Billy Corgan is as lame as Courtney Love and Axl Rose for continuing to record and tour under his iconic old band's name when he's the only original member left, surrounded by a gang of hired guns. On the other hand, it's a rough economy right now—ol' baldy can still probably sell tickets to the handful of folks who don't realize Pumpkins 2010 isn't nearly the band they remember and love. If you're not turned off by Billy's recent courting of Jessica Simpson or yet another pretentious album title (Teargarden by Kaleidyscope), or just wanna sing along to the old hits like it's karaoke night, this gig's for you. With Bad City. Showbox SoDo, 1700 First Ave. S., 628-3151. 8 p.m. $40 adv./$45 DOS. All ages.MICHAEL ALAN GOLDBERG
