Jessica 6/Wednesday, July 6
Ruvan Wijesooriya
The three of Jessica 6.
Related Content
More About
Jessica 6 is the new project from Hercules & Love Affair's Nomi Ruiz, the transgender performing artist whose diva moan and towering presence were defining features of both the band's fine disco-house debut and their sporadic live shows. The name brings to mind both Prince's once seemingly never-ending supply of assembly-line pop protégés (Vanity 6, Apollonia 6) and Spike Lee's Girl 6, a comedy film about a phone-sex worker (with a score by Prince, coincidentally). Their music recalls classic house and the moodier end of '80s R&B, from the bubbling, bass-pumping "White Horse" and the sleek "Fun Girl" to the slow disco strut of "Good to Go" and the (rather plodding) torch song "Not Anymore," with Ruiz's distinctively melancholy voice taking center stage. They're at their best with the up-tempo numbers, which they emphasize with a full band live. With Jeffrey Jerusalem of YACHT, SPORTS, DJ Nark. Nectar, 412 N. 36th St., 632-2020. 8 p.m. $5. ERIC GRANDY
Erik Blood/Thursday, July 7
Brian Eno, John Cale, Dr. Dre, and Todd Rundgren are just a few music icons who started as band members, became producers, and then went on to achieve solo success. If all these talented guys had been able to produce offspring from a sweaty gang bang, they likely would have created our own Erik Blood, who started as a multi-instrumentalist with the Turn- ons and whose work behind the boards in various capacities can be heard on records by artists as diverse as the Moondoggies and Shabazz Palaces. His upcoming solo record, Penetration, due this fall, musically explores pornography with rich, warm, Britpop-ish tones, with the kind of depth and detail that Sufjan Stevens slathered on our seemingly boring-in-comparison 50 states. With Minirex, Watch It Sparkle, 1-2-1-2. Comet Tavern, 922 E. Pike St., 323-9853. 9 p.m. $6. MA'CHELL DUMA LAVASSAR
Darrius Willrich/Thursday, July 7
It's hard to discuss the music made by Darrius Willrich without the phrase "grown and sexy" sneaking into the conversation, brought on by equal parts slow jams and upbeat love songs—or, as he calls them all, "Sweet Urban Soul." The feel-good singer is a Seattleite through and through: Trained as a jazz pianist at Cornish, his most recent record, Can't Get Enough, was produced and recorded by local hip-hop luminary Vitamin D. And while the instrumentals are of undeniable quality, it's ultimately Willrich's vocals that steal the show. Warm and versatile with audible influences from early Stevie Wonder to Babyface, Willrich is just as likely to get you dancing as to soundtrack the things that go on behind bedroom doors. With Richie Aldente, Reva DeVito. Nectar, 412 N. 36th St., 632-2020. 8 p.m. $5. NICK FELDMAN
The Elected/Friday, July 8
Last year, around the time Jenny Lewis started focusing full-time on her boyfriend project, Jenny and Johnny, her longtime Rilo Kiley compatriot Blake Sennett announced that he was retiring from the music industry. That didn't last long— Sennett's friend and producer Jason Cupp reportedly convinced him to write and record some new songs. The result is the first album from Sennett's side project, The Elected, in five years. Like its predecessors (2004's Me First, 2006's Sun, Sun, Sun), Bury Me in My Rings has a breezy groove buoyed by Sennett's sweet, delicate vocals and soulful, R&B-influenced tracks like "Babyface" and "When I'm Gone." It's solid proof that Sennett belongs in the music-making business. With Whispertown, Lucas Field. Tractor Tavern, 5213 Ballard Ave. N.W., 789-3599. 9:30 p.m. $12 adv./ $14 DOS. ERIN K. THOMPSON
Alison Krauss & Union Station/Friday, July 8
There are not enough superlatives in the English language to describe how good Alison Krauss & Union Station are at performing bluegrass. Krauss is simply the most gifted vocalist—of any genre—in the world, and she's long surrounded herself with the finest collection of pickers money can buy (even before she had the money to buy them). While Union Station could presumably be susceptible to cries of "Too polished!" from those who like their bluegrass dipped in moonshine and molasses, the only way to beat them in a bluegrass competition would be to create the bluegrass equivalent of IBM's Deep Blue, the chess computer which famously defeated the Russian genius Garry Kasparov in 1997. Except in the bluegrass computer's case, it would be called Deep Bluegrass, and Krauss and Union Station would prevail. With Jerry Douglas. Marymoor Park, 6046 W. Lake Sammamish Pkwy. N.E., Redmond. 7 p.m. $45–$65. All ages. MIKE SEELY
Summer Babes/Friday, July 8
If it's an audacious move to name your band after indie royalty Pavement's first great pop song ("Summer Babe"), it's perhaps an equally dicey proposition to go around invoking summertime in a city not exactly known for an excess of the season. Seattle band Summer Babes do both, brazenly, and if they don't manage to resurrect a young Stephen Malkmus or usher in 90-degree days early, they at least dole out sweet, easygoing garage-pop songs. Jeff Albertson of the Lights leads the band on guitar and vocals, singing in a high, keening voice which sometimes seems almost to crack but which always just makes it back around the bend to the melody; he's backed by a second guitar, bass, drums, and keys (the latter played by an actual babe). This will be the band's second summer, but they still come off as a young, scrappy act. With the Pytons, Eastern Grip. Blue Moon Tavern, 712 N.E. 45th St., 675-9116. 10 p.m. $5. ERIC GRANDY
