The Grizzled Mighty/Wednesday, February 15
Courtesy of Die Antwoord
South African ninjas Die Antwoord.
Raphael Ouellet
Grimes.
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The Grizzled Mighty is a blues-rock duo with a female drummer—Whitney Petty, formerly of Deerhunter—who plays simple, bare-bones beats, and a frontman, Ryan Granger, whose guitar work and vocals are raw and distorted. Anyone who's been paying attention to rock over the past 10 years can tell where this is going, but White Stripes comparisons don't entirely hold up. On their self-titled debut album, The Grizzled Mighty instead recalls the early work of the Black Keys, lacking the pop sensibilities that graced White Stripes songs like "Fell in Love With a Girl" but making up for it with a hard-nosed punk edge. In short, The Grizzled Mighty play gritty, garage-leaning rock—a sound with plenty of referents besides Jack White—and play it well. With Sundries, Mystery Ship. Tractor Tavern, 5231 Ballard Ave. N.W., 789-3599. 9 p.m. $6. ANDREW GOSPE
Phalgeron/Thursday, February 16
When it comes to local black metal, few ensembles are grimmer or more monstrous than Phalgeron. Roaring guitars, earsplitting drums, and dueling black- and death-metal vocals—from Tyler Splurgis and Lane Storli, respectively—coalesce into the Seattle trio's thunderous sound. The metal quotient is maximized tonight as the band is joined by comrades-in-arms Shaded Enmity, Sacrament Ov Impurity, Royalty in Ruins, and Deathbeat. It's sure to be a neck-breaking evening of headbanging and whirlwinds, drenched in the evening's cheapest beer. El Corazon, 109 Eastlake Ave. E., 262-0482. 7:30 p.m. $8 adv./ $10 DOS. All ages. LAURA SWARTZ
Buck 65/Friday, February 17
Nova Scotian Richard Terfry is an unlikely figure in hip-hop. He was raised in a rural setting and heralded as the next great Yankee shortstop before his baseball career was cut short by a shoulder injury. On record, Terfry has always spun his personal experiences into semi-self-referential poetry, and his lyrics frequently touch on both baseball and his former country way of life, accentuated by his mock-cowboy rasp. Now a seasoned veteran on the indie-rap circuit, he most recently released 20 Odd Years, an album which features left-field collaborations from a number of non-hip-hop artists (notably Mister Heavenly/Islands frontman Nick Thorburn); although his delivery is still as stop-start as ever, it's some of his better work. Though his collaborators probably won't all be in tow tonight, his sizable cult following should be, so grab a ticket ahead of time. With Busdriver, Metal Chocolates, Sadistik. Tractor Tavern, 5213 Ballard Ave. N.W., 789-3599. 9:30 p.m. $15. TODD HAMM
Damien Jurado/Friday, February 17
Few artists capture the Pacific Northwest's piercing light, haunting shadows, and brooding, moody stillness as masterfully as Damien Jurado. For 17 years, he's humbly churned out stark but sweeping masterpieces that have rarely risen above a dull roar, but whose ripples can be felt for miles around. On his 10th full-length album, Maraqopa (out Feb. 21), Jurado gracefully slides away from sparse, somber folk arrangements to incorporate lusher, more diverse sounds. Maraqopa finds Jurado expanding his wingspan with quiet confidence, bringing spaced-out psychedelia and the atmospheric ramble of Ennio Morricone's high-lonesome spaghetti-Western soundtracks into his sonic fold. With Gold Leaves, Bryan John Appleby. Neptune, 1303 N.E. 45th St., 877-784-4849. 9 p.m. $15. All ages. GREGORY FRANKLIN
Anvil/Saturday, February 18
I'm not a big sports fan, but when I find myself watching a game, I often root for the underdog. Seeing Anvil! The Story of Anvil, director (and former roadie) Sacha Gervasi's 2009 documentary about a beloved but down-on-their-luck Canadian metal band, extracted a similar emotional response: Here's a group who toured with Bon Jovi, Whitesnake, and the Scorpions in the early '80s and influenced everyone from Metallica to Anthrax, but who despite all their heart, stamina, and big hair never achieved a similar lasting success. Their 14th LP, Juggernaut of Justice, was released last year, and while it hardly captures the one-two punch of 1982's Metal on Metal or 1983's Forged in Fire—widely considered their best—the thought that the band's back on the road, rocking out and making the music they love, brings a bit of mist to the eye. With Vultures 2012, Skelator, Motorthrone, Dominus Sabbata. El Corazon, 109 Eastlake Ave. E., 262-0482. 8:30 p.m. $15 adv./$20 DOS. GWENDOLYN ELLIOTT
Big Head Todd & the Monsters/Saturday, February 18
Big Head Todd recently released a Robert Johnson tribute album, but it's another Johnson—Jack—who owes the bulk of his success to Todd Park Mohr & co. The imposing Korean frontman proved that it was possible to be a collegiate smooth-jam fave without having to send one's guitar into elongated fits of acid-soaked noodling. Along with the Samples and Dave Matthews, Big Head Todd epitomized the safer, fleece-vested sector of the '90s groove-tune scene, leaving the serious degenerates to tour with the Dead and Phish. There once was a time when seeing Big Head Todd play a venue as intimate as the Neptune would have been a real coup. Yet there's no real reason that time can't be now, as "Bittersweet" still sounds more sweet than bitter. With Roger Clyne. Neptune, 1303 N.E. 45th St., 877-784-4849. 9 p.m. $27.50. All ages. MIKE SEELY
The Fresh and Onlys/Sunday, February 19
The Fresh and Onlys are part of a closely connected faction of rock bands burning bright in San Francisco right now that includes Thee Oh Sees, Sonny and the Sunsets, the Sub Pop–signed Kelley Stoltz, and the Hardly Art–signed Sandwitches, all of whom draw influences from raw '60s garage pop and freewheeling psychedelia. The four-piece releases recordings in a prolific stream; their latest is last year's Secret Walls EP, brooding and thickened with walls of reverb. Their music sometimes hints at folk with its loose and languid melodies, but later this year they'll release a new full-length that will break another mold by including what the band's bassist calls "Nashville-tuned guitar[s]." With Disappears, Grave Babies. Chop Suey, 1325 E. Madison St., 324-8005. 8 p.m. $10. ERIN K. THOMPSON
