[Wednesday, December 31] Denver quartet DeVotchKa aE“ led by frontman Nick Urata aE“ has been at the forefront of this decadeaE™s neo-Balkan movement, what with all of their accordions, sousaphones, bouzoukis and Gypsy melodies. Still, the band has cross-pollinated that with some other sounds; UrataaE™s suave, melancholy croon sometimes has his group sounding like Morrissey or Bryan Ferry on a tour of Hungarian villages. And on this yearaE™s A Mad & Faithful Telling, the bandaE™s fifth album, DeVotchka incorporates sounds from the hills of Spain, the banks of the Seine, and wedding halls in Tel Aviv. With Norfolk & Western, DJ Kid Hops. Showbox at the Market, 1426 First Ave., 8 p.m., $35 adv., $40 dos.

[Wednesday, December 31] Ghostland Observatory describes their sound not as music, but as an agreement between two friends to fulfill their individual musical desires. This understanding should also be shared amongst friends when attempting to come to a mutual decision on what band to see for New Years. Obviously, the larger the group, the harder to satisfy each individual need aE“ but this is exactly why Ghostland Observatory at the WaMu Theatre is the ideal ticket to ring in 2009. Showbox SODO, 1700 1st Ave. S., 652-0444. 9 p.m., $35 adv., $40 dos. All ages.

[Friday, January 2] Portland's Johnny Ragel brings the term One Man Show to a whole new level. His might play electronica with sampled beats laid over instrumental tracks but Ragel aE” who performs under the name Boy Eats Drum Machine aE” isn't the sort of DJ who sits idly behind his turntables, occasionally touching his hand to his headphones. Instead, he bounces around an elaborate musical set-up, banging on a drum, shaking a tambourine and even playing his saxophone. The result: BEDM sounds like a jazz-electronic fusion on record and looks like a well-synchronized dance on stage. With No Fi Soul Rebellion, Onry Ozzborn and the Gigantics, Mad Rad. Comet Tavern, 922 E. Pike St., 323-9853. 9 p.m., $6.

[Friday, January 2] Much like a boyfriend who looks like a girlfriend, the refrain aEœHeavenaE™s so far from a place like thisaE bears a striking resemblance to the aEœSomebody Told MeaE lyric aEœHeaven ainaE™t close in a place like this.aE But Emeralds infuse the line with road-weary swarthiness and dark romanticism, exactly the vibe the Killers have spent several albums trying to capture. Musically, Emeralds touchstones include Hawkwind and Blue Cheer, but the Seattle sextet never ventures so far into the fuzzy psychedelic vortex that it obscures its hooks or muffles its raucousness. With Winters, Blood Hot Beat, Sunday Night Blackout, the Get Off, DJ Fentar, DJ Jaret. Chop Suey, 1325 E. Madison St., 324-8000. 9 p.m., $5.

[Saturday, January 3] There's not much of a guiding principle at El Corazon's Something Wicked This Way Comes showcase. In short, six bands from Washington and Canada will play full cover sets of metal, punk and hardcore songs, all written by bigger name bands that saw their heyday before the turn of the 21st century. There's some serious Northwest love in the line-up: Mukilteo prog rockers Fall of Troy are covering songs by Botch, the gone-but-not-forgotten Tacoma mathrock outfit. But the some of the acts being covered aE” KISS, Jawbreaker and the Misfits aE” have little in common with each other musically, aside from the fact that they rock super hard. El Corazon, 109 Eastlake Ave. E., 381-3094. 9 p.m. $15 adv., $20 dos.

[Saturday, January 3 and Sunday, January 4] For nearly three years now, Dweezil Zappa has been fulfilling his destiny: To keep the music of Frank Zappa, his legendary musician/composer father, alive by playing it himself. After holing up for a couple of years to learn some of the elder ZappaaE™s sprawling, famously complicated, bewildering and exhilarating back catalog, DweezilaE™s been touring with a six-piece band thataE™s featured various members of FrankaE™s old band (this leg stars Zappa in New York-era singer-guitarist Ray White). Triple Door Mainstage, 216 Union Street, 838-4333.