Friday, Dec. 6
Basia Bulat, Barboza. See our preview here.
Light in the Attic Store Opening, Ballard. See our preview here.
Psychedelic Holiday Freakout, Capitol Hill. See our write up here.
Pleasantly without pretense, And And And is best known for the annual band-vs.-band three-on-three “rigsketball” tournament it hosts each summer in Portland, using a hoop affixed to the roof of its tour van. The band is just as ingenious musically, playing a triumphant kind of discordant slacker pop anchored by mohawked drummer Bim Ditson, burnished with Ryan Wiggins’ trumpet, and made oh-so-human by Nathan Baumgartner’s pleading yowl. With Brite Lines, & Yet. Crocodile. 8 p.m. $10 adv./$12 DOS. MARK S. BAUMGARTEN
Pearl Jam To close their North American Lighting Bolt tour, Vedder, Gossard, Cameron, McCready, and Ament are playing their first Seattle show since September 2009, also at KeyArena. Expect a typical Pearl Jam show, which continues to mean: Expect the unexpected. With Mudhoney. KeyArena. 7:30 p.m. SOLD OUT. CORBIN REIFF
El Ten Eleven is one of the few bands that can tell a story without lyrics. On its latest album, Transitions, the experimental-rock duo of Kristian Dunn and Tim Fogarty express joy (No One Died This Time!”), gratitude (“Thanks Bill”), admiration for a city (“Yellow Bridges”), and more, all while not saying a word. With Slow Magic. Neumos. 8 p.m. $15. All ages. ACP
Bam Margera Experience Not content to let Johnny Knoxville and Bad Grandpa get all the attention this holiday season, Jackass alum Bam Margera is hitting the road with some of the dudes from metal group CKY—namely his brother Jess and bassist Matty J—and fronting a cover band called F$*kface Unstoppable for an evening of mayhem and covers of songs by Turbonegro, The Bloodhound Gang, and others. With Wilson, December in Red, No Buffer, Tatarus. Studio Seven. 6:30 p.m. $18 adv./$20 DOS/$40 VIP. DAVE LAKE
Saturday, Dec. 7
Witchburn is a local, ‘’70s-style heavy-rock band with a penchant for “Southern-fried” jams and Janis Joplin vocals. Song titles like “Whiskey on My Breath” and “The Hunted” might help paint the picture for you. The unyielding riffage and “soulful” howling can descend into cornball territory quick, but if you like your rock thoroughly classic and untainted, Witchburn is the band for you. With The Heroine. El Corazon. 9 p.m. $8 adv./$10 DOS. 21 and over. KELTON SEARS
Lesbian’s latest Randall Dunn–produced album, Forestelevision, is a ’shroomed-out journey through a dark wilderness as knotty as the roots and branches it’s inspired by. The record’s single 44-minute track hops from prog to doom to sludge without warning, perfect for metal heads with ADD. This show is a benefit for New Moon Goat Sanctuary. With Wounded Giant, Eye of Nix. The Highline. 9 p.m. $10. 21 and over. KS
The chances of a Dismemberment Plan reunion seemed unlikely. The groove-literate, emotionally available D.C. indie-rock band collapsed under the weight of its own ambition around the turn of the millennium. Its members seemingly moved on, first to other music projects and then to real good jobs—most notably drummer Joe Easley, who’s spent the past six years programming robots for NASA. Frontman Travis Morrison in particular seemed done with music after Pitchfork shat all over his experimental 2004 solo debut (released on Seattle’s Barsuk Records), famously giving it a 0.0 rating. Then something happened. The band members got older and wiser and decided that making great records does not need to make life miserable. Last month, the band released a new album, Uncanney Valley, that picks up where its last, Changes, left off a dozen years ago. Word is that the band has been tuning up on a lot of tracks from the indie-rock classic Emergency & I. The members, though, will largely display what they’ve experienced in the years since the break-up, and not just in song. Easley, for example, has used his robot-programming skills to design the band’s lighting system. With Telekinesis. The Neptune. 9 p.m. $26.50 adv. MSB
The Black Crowes Despite not having had much commercial success in the past 20 years, this Atlanta rock band, anchored by brothers Chris and Rich Robinson, has remained a popular touring attraction. Most of the bands that had a few big hits in the early ’90s couldn’t today fill the Paramount—a testament to the Crowes’ Stones-influenced blues-rock, which has aged more gracefully than material by, say, Spin Doctors. In fact, it’s almost because of the band’s decidedly noncommercial leanings that they’ve managed to succeed. In 1990, sounding like the Faces was a lot more hip. Guns N’ Roses were huge, as was Aerosmith, and the Crowes fit perfectly alongside them. Though their retro rock ’n’ roll hasn’t evolved much since, it hasn’t needed to. With most young rock bands competing for space in the blogosphere and a placement in Girls, the Crowes have chased aging rock fans instead—a decision that’s currently paying dividends. The Paramount. 8 p.m. $31.75–$45.75. DL
The Builders and the Butchers skipped Seattle on the summer tour for its fifth full-length album, Western Medicine. Not cool. When they do play, the Portland quintet rarely disappoints in concert, maintaining a tension between the darkness of its death folk—inspired on this latest by the brilliantly morose work of novelist Cormac McCarthy—and the liveliness of its energetic stage show. Cheer loud and clap along, lest they forsake us again. With Smokey Brights, Historian. Sunset Tavern. 9:30 p.m. $12 adv./$15 DOS. MSB
The Boston-born, Brooklyn-based American Authors and their single “Best Day of My Life” have been hard to ignore lately. The song’s plucky guitars and group vocals—featured in commercials, movie trailers, and constantly on the airwaves—hint that the group will have a few more hits on its hands soon enough. With The Royal Concept, MisterWives. The Vera Project. 8 p.m. $12 adv./$14 DOS. All ages. ACP
Sunday, Dec. 8
Don’t go see Lee Ranaldo and the Dust expecting to hear the indie guitar god plow through Sonic Youth’s greatest hits. Rather, he’ll be playing songs from his 10th solo LP, Last Night on Earth, a less noisy endeavor, though he will be joined by Sonic Youth drummer Steve Shelley. Barboza. 8 p.m. $15. DL
Jeff Tweedy The Wilco frontman and Uncle Tupelo alum is back for one of his semi-regular solo acoustic shows. With more than 400 songs from his back catalog to pick through, it will be interesting to see what sort of magic Tweedy and his guitar will offer, and if he’ll collaborate with the opener, Northwest fixture, Scott McCaughey. The Moore. 8 p.m. $32.50–$42.50. CR
Kate Lynne Logan & The Ghost Runners Local singer/songwriter Kate Lynne Logan released her full-length, Awakening, in August 2012, and has been playing shows in support of it for the better part of 2013. Here she’ll deliver her relatable folk-pop arrangements with the help of a full band. With Sammy Witness and The Reassignment, The Michael Carlos Band. Tractor Tavern. 8 p.m. $8. 21 and over. KP
