Snackhole/Thursday, April 7
Polydor Records
Starry-eyed Ellie Goulding.
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Jackie Hell has a problem—a dreaded affliction that plagues the homeless and south Capitol Hillbillies who look to the City Market for their $3 worth of daily sustenance. Her problem is fried, phallic, and most deadly when coupled with condiments. Tonight her friends, including Phoebe Fondue and Ronald McFondle, are stepping in to end her dependence on . . . CORN DOGS. This yet-to-be-broadcast A&E episode is set to the promising beats of Seattle's own Secret Shoppers, a danceable electro-duo doing their best to fill the hole in your heart left by the demise of LCD Soundsystem. Which, as wonderful as they are, is completely irrelevant—I had you at "corndog intervention." With Jinks Monsoon, Billy the Fridge, Ade, DJ Nark, Josh Hartvigson. Comet Tavern, 922 E. Pike St., 323-9853. 9 p.m. $7. MA'CHELL DUMA LAVASSAR
THEESatisfaction/Thursday, April 7
No matter your opinion of hip-hop duo THEESatisfaction, there's no denying they've carved quite the unique niche for themselves. Thee Stasia and Cat Satisfaction have embraced their inner nerd-freak in a manner rarely seen in hip-hop. Matching their liquidy marriage of hip-hop and soul-jazz, the two champion science fiction and '60s psychedelia alongside a free-will soul ethos (think Erykah Badu) and a cosmic philosophy not unlike the original black weirdo himself, Sun Ra. Rumors have been swirling about an impending Sub Pop deal, which would be a massive mindfuck. Since the locally monolithic label has historically been at its best when giving shelter to weirdos and outcasts, I sincerely hope Sub Pop flies that freak flag once again. With Helladope, OC Notes. Crocodile, 2200 Second Ave., 441-7416. 8 p.m. $8. BRIAN J. BARR
Jesse Sykes & The Sweet Hereafter/Friday, April 8
In the four years since Jesse Sykes released her most recent full-length, Like, Love, Lust & the Open Halls of the Soul, the local alt-country icon has broken up with her boyfriend/collaborator Phil Wandscher, moved (at least part-time) to Iowa, and seen her contract with Seattle's Barsuk Records expire (at least for now). Tonight, the husky-voiced siren returns to her old stomping grounds with an armload of new tunes from this summer's Marble Son, a record on which Sykes' distinct howl is utilized more as an instrumental brick in the album's wall of country-psychedelia than as a vessel for her prose. Her woolly vocals may have found their true calling. With Mimicking Birds, Eugene Wendell & The Demon Rind. Tractor Tavern, 5213 Ballard Ave., 789-3599. 9:30 p.m. $10. CHRIS KORNELIS
Black Joe Lewis & the Honeybears/Saturday, April 9
"Keep Austin Weird" is the motto of the Texas capital, and the living, breathing motto of Black Joe Lewis. Picking up his first guitar while working at a pawn shop in Austin, Lewis (and his band the Honeybears) blends elements of the gritty soul and blues that made the Delta famous (Bo Diddley and Robert Johnson come to mind) with the unpolished nature of someone still discovering his instrument. Incorporating some weirder influences than expected (when was the last time you heard a soul singer name-drop the Stooges or New York Dolls?), Black Joe Lewis strays from the smooth neo-soul revival path and writes the kind of full-throttle, horns-a-blaring barn-burners that sound just clean enough to be contemporary but are deep-fried in enough crackling stank to sound like unearthed classics from a past decade. With Those Darlins. Crocodile, 2200 Second Ave., 441-7416. 8 p.m. $15. GREGORY FRANKLIN
Keak da Sneak/Sunday, April 10
Mac Dre and E-40 may well be the best-known faces among the Bay Area's synth-heavy, hyphy rap movement, but few have been around as long as Keak da Sneak—credited with shortening "hyperactive" to "hyphy" in the first place. First breaking out with mid-'90s chart-topping group 3XKrazy, the prolific "king of the supa dupa hyphy" has dropped 16 solo albums since 1999, and deep into the Bay's slanguage his barely decipherable, gravelly growl resides somewhere between Petey Pablo and Mystikal. It's not exactly music made for thoughtful discussions of its lyrical complexities, but nothing will better transport you to an Oakland sydeshow or impart the energy of an overcrowded club saturated in Rémy Martin and weed smoke. With Spaceman, Mr. Dog, DJ Darwin. Nectar, 412 N. 36th St., 632-2020. 8 p.m. $10 adv./$15 DOS. NICK FELDMAN
Cults/Monday, April 11
For a while it was a little difficult to get into New York indie-pop duo Cults, guitarist Brian Oblivion and vocalist Madeline Follin. That's not because their music isn't fantastic (it is), but because, well, you can imagine what happens when you search for "cults" on Google. Cults' reputation as a mystery band might soon be defunct, though—the few songs they shared via Bandcamp kicked up enough attention to get them signed to Lily Allen's brand new Columbia Records imprint, In the Name Of, and a debut full-length is scheduled for release this May. That album is almost guaranteed to be one of this summer's biggest hits—Cults' music is a sweet, instantly likable retro throwback to the glory days of '60s pop a la Lesley Gore and the Shangri-La's. The current buzz track, "Go Outside," with its ineffably sunny chorus, is the perfect song for a spring awakening—despite the fact that it creepily samples a speech from Jim Jones. Some of the mystery still remains. With Magic Kids, White Arrows. Crocodile, 2200 Second Ave., 441-7416. 8 p.m. $10. ERIN K. THOMPSON
