The Black Lips/Thursday, June 16
Universal Motown
The man named Scott: Kid Cudi.
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Imagine a shocking act that involves bodily fluids, and most likely the Black Lips have already done it onstage. The band's infamously bawdy antics have included pissing into their own mouths, cutting themselves and bleeding all over everything, strumming their guitars with their cocks instead of guitar picks, and hocking loogies into the air and catching them in their mouths mid-song. The performances are vulgar, anarchic, and, quite frankly, fun as hell. The Atlanta four-piece is often labeled "art punk" (their new Mark Ronson–produced album Arabia Mountain includes a song about getting trashed at the Louvre), but their live act is a fuzzed-out, balls-to-the-wall throwback to the likes of GG Allin and Iggy Pop. With Cerebral Ballzy, Grave Babies. Neumos, 925 E. Pike St., 709-9467. 8 p.m. $13. KEEGAN HAMILTON
The Fading Collection/Thursday, June 16
Despite a five-year break at the end of the past decade, Seattle trip-pop duo The Fading Collection have a firm grasp on their down-tempo brand of electronica. Amped up by driving, distorted synths and crashing percussion as the concert lineup expands to five, vocalist Sarah McGuinn's filtered vocals and Matt Frickelton's chaotic programming drones and pops at just the right moments—and crisscrossed the city before making its way to MTV programs like The Real World. They're joined by the dark and airy melodies of San Francisco's Rebecca and Ryan Coseboom, a duo rightfully embraced by the likes of KEXP both when they went by Halou and now that they're known as Stripmall Architecture. With Sex Panther. Crocodile, 2200 Second Ave., 441-7416. 8 p.m. $8. NICK FELDMAN
The Mountain Goats/Thursday, June 16
When John Darnielle played a solo set this past February at UW's Meany Hall, the performance harkened back to the singer/songwriter/head Mountain Goat's not-so-distant live-performance past: a performer wowing a crowd with just his guitar and a microphone. Of course, Darnielle expanded the Mountain Goats to a full band several years ago, and it's an ideal configuration. The extra support gives Darnielle the freedom to let loose, the clarity and precision of his lyrics nearly equaled by his frenetic energy—the Mountain Goats recently chose to cover Jawbreaker's 1994 punk classic "Boxcar" when they played the A.V. Club's "Undercover" web series, and the pairing was hardly as incongruous as it might seem. If Darnielle's UW performance was any indication, this show should be nothing less than cathartic. Showbox at the Market, 1426 First Ave., 628-3151. 7 p.m. $20 adv./$22 DOS. All ages. ANDREW GOSPE
Kid Cudi/Friday, June 17
Long a front-runner in the brooding emo-rap that Kanye West tried out via 808s and Heartbreak and Drake spent 2010 tempering to make it big, Mr. Solo Dolo concerned himself even less with pop sensibilities when crafting last fall's Man on the Moon II: The Legend of Mr. Rager—by far his most ominous work. More than ever, Cudi manages to leave distinctly desolate air in his wake, an intoxicating view of the dark side of yourself you just can't forget, clouded by kush smoke. With both a rap mixtape (the follow-up to 2008's A Kid Named Cudi, tentatively titled A Man Named Scott) as well as a rock project (Wizards) on the horizon, it's a curious task to pin down his legacy—but for the time being, few continue to do existentialist hip-hop better. With Chip Tha Ripper. WaMu Theater, 800 Occidental Ave. S., 381-7555. 8 p.m. $37.50. All ages. NICK FELDMAN
Grant Hart/Friday, June 17
Co-frontman Bob Mould basked in the largest share of the glow cast by Minneapolis bedrock punks Hüsker Dü, and has received the most subsequent attention for his solo efforts. However, co-songwriter and drummer Grant Hart was that band's unsung hero, with wistful interludes like "Girl on Heaven Hill" (from 1985's searing New Day Rising) providing a welcome streak of pop wit to their seminal noisy mix. He's also continued to be an adventurous artist, collaborating with the likes of Godspeed You! Black Emperor as well as doing solo work, which he'll showcase tonight. With Cali Giraffes, Event Staph, Detective Agency. Funhouse, 206 Fifth Ave. N., 374-8400. 9 p.m. $10. HANNAH LEVIN
Mark Lanegan/Friday, June 17
When local guitarist Jeff Fielder was hired by silky-sweet Scottish vocalist Isobel Campbell to contribute to her latest project with Mark Lanegan, his life took some dramatic turns for the better. Campbell's starkly contrasting collaborator took an instant liking to Fielder's versatility as a player, and later, after several European tours, to their shared sense of humor as traveling companions. Tonight's show will mark not only the Neptune Theater's maiden voyage as a music venue, but the first time the two men have occupied a Seattle stage without any other musicians. Expect a broad and deep survey of Lanegan's back catalog, including a nod to his grunge-era incarnation within the Screaming Trees. With Sean Wheeler, Zander Schloss.Neptune Theatre, 1303 N.E. 45th St., 682-1414. 9 p.m. $24. All ages. HANNAH LEVIN
Okkervil River/Saturday, June 18
The U District's Neptune Theatre has been transitioning from a movie to a music venue since February, so it's only appropriate that one of its first concerts should feature one of indie rock's most dramatic acts. Okkervil River's new album, I Am Very Far, may not have a theater-inspired name as the Austin band's previous two releases did (2007's The Stage Names and 2008's The Stand Ins), but the drama is readily apparent nonetheless. Recorded wall-of-sound style using an army of studio musicians and produced by Okkervil frontman Will Sheff, the album's dense arrangements make for some of the most theatrical music this side of a certain Grammy-winning group of Canadians (see mid-album highlight "We Need a Myth"). The Neptune may never go back full-time to its silver-screen, film-projector days, but for at least one night it'll be as if the drama never left the building. With Titus Andronicus. Neptune Theatre, 1303 N.E. 45th St., 682-1414. 9 p.m. $20 adv./$22 DOS. All ages. ANDREW GOSPE
