The Gnu Deal/Wednesday, October 26
Piper Ferguson
Triple bill: Bob Forrest, Thelonious Monster, and Bob and the Monster, Thursday at SIFF Cinema.
Cat Stevens
Still Corners.
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The Gnu Deal is the breezy, steezy hip-hop of Eric Graham and Ashton Hemmons, two irrepressible White Center homeboys who rap about Annie's Mac and Cheese, microbrews, and marijuana. A juvenile formula, but the duo does it over a smooth soundtrack of jazzy beats, funky samples, and frequent well-spun nods to their influences—"We like Dougie Fresh/And B-U-T-S/We like tribal music/And Tribe Called Quest/We like Doom/And we MF-rappin'/We like Seals and Crofts/and Led Zeppelin." With plans to record with Shabazz Palaces' Tendai Maraire in the works, these two knuckleheads will surely mature beyond their current repertoire, but you should see them while their rhymes are all about parties, good times, and all that seems infinite about being young. With Mixed Mediums Crew, Greg & Jerome, DJ Seabefore, Graves33, Freezable Germ, Tru iD. Chop Suey, 1325 E. Madison St., 324-8005. 8:30 p.m. $8. GWENDOLYN ELLIOTT
SBTRKT/Wednesday, October 26
Recently, Seattle hip-hop seers Shabazz Palaces appeared on a remix of rising London producer SBTRKT's platinum-gleaming "Wildfire," a track whose nexus of collaborators also includes Little Dragon, Drumma Boy, and Drake. For Shabazz, this marks a rare opening-up of the group's hermetic world (which has thus far also let in Spoek Mathambo, Erik Blood, and Thee Satisfaction); for Seattle audiences, it leaves a handy signpost into SBTRKT's omnivorous bass music. Both artists have a taste for neo-tribal masks and deep, enveloping production, but while Shabazz's tracks are murky, jazz-tweaked hip-hop, SBTRKT's are a more high-polish, club-ready brand of post-dubstep beat science, one that incorporates guest vocalists with ease and which can absorb acts as disparate as M.I.A. and Radiohead into dubby remixes. Expect a lively show, carefully sculpted sound, and just maybe some guest appearances. With New Look, Kid Hops. Neptune, 1303 N.E. 45th St, 682-1414. 8 p.m. $14. All ages. ERIC GRANDY
The War on Drugs/Wednesday, October 26
When Richard Nixon coined the phrase "The War on Drugs" in 1971, he could not possibly have predicted that it would become the name of an indie-rock act from Philadelphia. But nearly four decades after Nixon left office in disgrace, his slogan has taken on another meaning entirely, conjuring inequality, hypocrisy, and futility. The War on Drugs' music isn't really about the epic failure of drug prohibition, but it does feel distinctly dystopian. On their new record Slave Ambient, frontman Adam Granduciel sings about bad dreams, the rattling in his brain, rambling down the freeway, and drifting "past the farms and debris" on his way home, among other things. Alternating between languid melodies and anthemic rock, this music's influences of Wilco and Bruce Springsteen are undeniable, but perhaps Tricky Dick deserves some credit too for sowing the seeds of discontent so many years ago. With Purling Hiss, Carter Tanton. Tractor Tavern, 5213 Ballard Ave N.W., Seattle, 789-3599. 9 p.m. $10. KEEGAN HAMILTON
Spank Rock/Thursday, October 27
DJ/promoter Franki Chan cut his teeth in Seattle, booking fun, scrappy shows at the Graceland (now El Corazon) and debauched after-parties at the infamous Egg Room. He's since relocated to L.A. and stzarted the club night Check Yo Ponytail, and now that night comes to Seattle as a tour featuring four high-profile party monsters: Pictureplane's noisy, lo-fi rave pop manifestos, Big Freedia's queered-up New Orleans bounce music, The Death Set's sneering boom-box-cassette punk rock (and flippantly destructive live show), and the smart-mouthed party rap of Spank Rock, back after several years of relative silence with new album Everything Is Boring and Everyone Is a Fucking Liar. Whatever your dancing agenda—slam, booty, or ironic liquid energy ball—Check Yo Ponytail provides. Neumos, 925 E. Pike St., 709-9442. 8 p.m. $18. ERIC GRANDY
Thelonious Monster/Thursday, October 27
Before Celebrity Rehab's Bob Forrest became a counselor to the stars, he was the frontman of influential L.A. band Thelonious Monster and a heroin addict who went to rehab 20 times. Now his story has been captured in the new documentary, Bob and the Monster, which includes testimonials from friends and students like Courtney Love and Anthony Kiedis, among others. Tonight SIFF is hosting a screening of the doc at SIFF Cinema at the Uptown, along with a Q&A with Forrest and director Keirda Bahruth. And, yes, there will be a rare performance by Thelonious Monster. Bring your opera glasses. If only a fraction of Forrest's Seattle pals make it to the show, it's going to be a good night for star-gawking. SIFF Cinema, 511 Queen Anne Ave. N., 624-6600. 8 p.m. $12–$15. All ages. CHRIS KORNELIS
Flowmotion/Friday, October 28
Flowmotion is a band you simply have to see live to fully understand. In concert, their natural blend of Screaming Trees–like melodi-grunge and Southern twang explodes into a wailing mass of guitar solos and extended funk riffage that you don't necessarily have to be paying full attention to to enjoy, which is good because it's nearly impossible not to get lost in a set's ass-shakeability. That said, this night at the Tractor is a Halloween show for which they will be playing the Beatles' Rubber Soul in its entirety. Crazy? I say ballsy. The band has entertained at countless original shows—even their own festival (see: Summer Meltdown)—so why not get wacky with RS? Bouncier tracks like "The Word" and "I'm Looking Through You" can swing on their own, but it should be interesting to see how they spice things up when the going gets mundane. With Current Swell, Aaron Daniel. Tractor Tavern, 5213 Ballard Ave. N.W., 789-3599. 9:30 p.m. $10 adv./$12 DOS. TODD HAMM
