Wednesday, Oct. 9
Jacco Gardner lives in its own sealed-off universe, where the year is 1967 and the baroque pop of the Beach Boys and Love tops the charts. Gardner, a 24-year-old Dutchman, fastidiously recreates the music of this era on his debut, Cabinet of Curiosities, an intricate portrait of pop music as period piece. With Parson Red Heads, Ephrata. Barboza, 925 E. Pike St., 709-9951, thebarboza.com. 8 p.m. $10 adv. ANDREW GOSPE
R&B princess Jojo first stepped onto the scene in the early aughts with breakout single “Leave (Get Out),” off her self-titled debut. A ripe 13 years old at the time, the powerhouse vocalist’s rise was cut short when the release of new music was postponed by record-label politics. Luckily, almost 10 years later, Jojo’s still got the chops—and now the life experience to back them up. With Leah LaBelle. The Crocodile, 2200 Second Ave., 441-4618, the crocodile.com. 8 p.m. $14. All ages/bar with ID. KEEGAN PROSSER
Shovels & Rope What started as a way for married couple Michael Trent and Cary Ann Hearst to make a little extra money in their native Charleston, S.C., in 2010 has since become a wave-making folk-rock duo, most recently named Emerging Artists of the Year by the Americana Music Association. With Denver. The Neptune, 1303 N.E. 45th St., 682-1414, stgpresents.org/neptune. 8 p.m. $16.50 adv./$18 DOS. All ages. AZARIA C. PODPLESKY
Disclosure Guy and Howard Lawrence, the brothers who constitute this British production duo, write songs that feel like a whirlwind summary of the past 20 or so years of UK dance music. Traces of house, 2-step, dubstep, and garage are all present, but the Lawrences recontextualize these disparate genres for the stylistic free-for-all of the Internet age. Thankfully, debut LP Settle is more polymath pop record than an electronic-music history lesson, featuring contributions on nearly every song from vocalists like AlunaGeorge, Jessie Ware, and Sam Smith. As a result, the word “accessible” is sometimes used pejoratively to discuss Disclosure’s music, largely by older electronic-music heads who accuse the duo of ripping off sounds it’s too young to remember. This criticism is fair, perhaps, but easily overshadowed by Settle’s deft songwriting and production, which has vaulted the group to sold-out shows halfway across the world like this one. With T. Williams. Showbox SoDo, 1700 First Ave. S., 652-0444, showboxonline.com. 7:30 p.m. SOLD OUT. All ages. AG
Diamond Head While this band might not be a household name, the “Big Four” of thrash metal—Anthrax, Megadeth, Metallica, and Slayer—closed a group show with a cover of its song “Am I Evil?”, a gesture that speaks volumes to Diamond Head’s influence as metal tastemakers, and which should be reason enough to check them out. With Raven. Studio Seven, 110 S. Horton St., 286-1312, studio seven.us. 6:30 p.m. $15/$18 DOS. MICHAEL BERRY
Thursday, Oct. 10
BUDO Following the long tour for his lauded 2008 album 88 Keys & Counting, Seattle MC Grieves went through something of an existential crisis, and, after doing some soul-searching, emerged with the artistically superior and chart-friendly follow-up Together/Apart. Budo was the producer on both those albums, and, it would seem, gleaned some inspiration from his MC’s bold moves. Feeling the itch to get behind the console, the noted multi-instrumentalist sound engineer entered the studio in the spring of 2012 and recorded the album he will be celebrating tonight, The Finger & the Moon. Pulsing with trumpets, strings, and Budo’s own vocals, the album is an artistically adventurous effort, an act of bravery. With Iska Dhaaf, DJ Thig Natural. Barboza, 925 E. Pike St., 709-9951, thebarboza.com. 8 p.m. $10 adv. MARK BAUMGARTEN
Har Mar Superstar, aka Sean Tillmann, has been having a banner year. First came the April release of his fifth album, Bye Bye 17, then a summer run with the Yeah Yeah Yeahs. Perhaps most notably, Minneapolis mayor R.T. Rybak named September 20 Har Mar Superstar Day in the R&B singer’s hometown. Belated celebration, anyone? With Furniture Girls, Hidden Lake. Chop Suey, 1325 E. Madison St., 324-8005, chopsuey.com. 8 p.m. $10 adv./$13 DOS. All ages. ACP
Dublin-based LITTLE GREEN CARS is a magical quintet of 20-somethings who create an insanely intimate feeling wherever it plays the indie folk pop it made popular on its debut album, Absolute Zero. Check out “Harper Lee” and “The John Wayne” to get a taste of what to expect tonight. With Kris Orlowski. The Crocodile. 8 p.m. $10 adv. ALICIA W. PRICE
The last time I saw Langhorne Slim, he was conducting a burn-it-down hootenanny at a Veterans of Foreign Wars post in Bozeman, Montana. He plays a style of country expressly made to whip an audience into a fury—not to mention himself, as he’s given to being the hardest-stomping man in the hall as he rips through his sets. After that Montana show, I downloaded one of his albums, but rarely listen to it. What Slim gives you live can’t be captured; it’s fleeting and beautiful, and, most important, communal. With Johnny Fritz. The Neptune. 8 p.m. $16.50 adv./$18 DOS. DANIEL PERSON
Sturgill Simpson A throwback to the outlaw country of Waylon Jennings and Willie Nelson, Simpson’s latest LP, High Top Mountain, is equal parts ode to his birthplace (Kentucky) and deeply personal journey through his past. Most refreshingly, it’s a record nearly devoid of the typical Nashville establishment sheen. Sunset Tavern, 5433 Ballard Ave., 784-4880, sunsettavern.com. 9 p.m. $10. CORBIN REIFF
Friday, Oct. 11
Gift of Gab On the classic Blackalicious track “Alphabet Aerobics,” Gift of Gab observes that “artificial amateurs aren’t at all amazing.” Fortunately for us, the rapper, whose real name is Timothy Parker, raps with a verbal virtuosity that will “intimidate in an instant” those imitators who idolize him. With the Good Husbands, the Hooky’s, and Vursatyl. Nectar Lounge, 412 N. 36th St., 632-2020. 8 p.m. $10. MB
The Waterboys Any band that presumes to set the words of W.B. Yeats to music is sure to draw weary green-eyed glances. Yet with An Appointment With Mr. Yeats, the Waterboys have produced a tasteful album that honors both the great Irish poet and the band’s own 30-year run as some of the smartest musicians in rock. Their Celtic roots are on full display, understandably, but they don’t forget to weave plenty of rock goodies into the tunes to reward those of us not familiar with Yeats. With Freddie Stevenson. The Neptune. 9 p.m. $35. DP
Overseas Will Johnson is a man who loves a good collaboration. Known most endearingly as the leader of excellent Denton indie-rock outfit Centro-matic, Johnson has played with Monsters of Folk, Jay Farrar, and Jim James in the Woody Guthrie archival project, New Multitudes, and even recorded a split album with the late (and great) Jason Molina. But it was in the church choir that Johnson’s strained whisper-tenor first tangled with the voices of other folks. Perhaps it is this liturgical background that makes him such a fitting companion to David Bazan, the former Pedro the Lion leader who has made a musical career by singing beautifully brutal songs about his struggles with belief (along with a few songs about infidelity and booze for good measure). Whatever the reason, the two introspective artists, along with Matt and Bubba Kadane, have found common cause in Overseas. The band’s debut self-titled full-length is a meditative piece of indie pop that will both please and frustrate fans. It is pleasing because both Bazan and Johnson have logged some strong new songs here, but it frustrates because their talents don’t often enough blend into something new. The exception is “Came With the Frame,” which features Bazan singing over a warped and melancholy wooziness that he’s never achieved on his own. With Radar Bros, Chris Brokaw. Neumos. 8 p.m. $15 adv. MB
Gwar After a petition to have them play at the 2015 Super Bowl logged more than 40,000 signatures, the nearly 30-year-old thrash-metal jokesters finally endorsed the idea as well. And they don’t even need a wardrobe malfunction to haul out body parts—even if they’re foam and shooting gallons of fake blood. With Whitechapel, Iron Reagan, A Band of Orcs. Showbox SoDo. 7:30 p.m. $18 adv./$20 DOS. All ages. DAVE LAKE
Hypnotikon: Seattle Psych Fest Seattle has been experiencing a recent resurgence of incredible psych-influenced bands, perhaps in part due to the excellent mushrooms growing in the Northwest’s fertile, loamy soil. Whatever it is, some smart people decided to gather local acts like Midday Veil, Fungal Abyss, and Night Beats and pair them with third-eye-opening national bands like Lumerians and Cave for a stacked two-day festival of psychedelic goodness. Explorers of the mind, and those looking to destroy their ego, have the option of buying a one- or two-day pass to the festival, which feature different lineups with overlapping DJ sets and visuals from artists like Christian Peterson, formerly of Seattle branding agency Dumb Eyes, responsible for churning out many of the trippy visuals and images for Shabazz Palaces. Through Sat., Oct. 12. Triple Door, 216 Union St., 838-4333, thetripledoor.net. 8 p.m. $25 for one day, $40 for both. All ages. KELTON SEARS
Saturday, Oct. 12
Sleigh Bells In popular rock ’n’ roll lore, the image of the nagging old person beating on the ceiling with a broom while shouting “WOULD YOU KIDS TURN THAT MUSIC DOWN?” has become something of an archetype. Bothering old folks with loud music has long been foundational to the soul of rock. If that imagined old person were to attend a Sleigh Bells concert, his head would likely violently explode into a thousand bloody pieces, splattering the gleeful, leather-clad fans. This is because Sleigh Bells are, bar none, one of the loudest bands ever. They are comically loud. The duo is rumored to have explored multiple studios before recording their previous album, Reign of Terror, in a quest to find equipment that could get the gain cranked the highest—something they didn’t slack on with their new record, Bitter Rivals, either. Sleigh Bells, in their relentless search for True Shred Guitar, are truly doing God’s work. With Doldrums. Showbox at the Market, 1426 First Ave., 628-3151, showboxpresents.com. 8 p.m. $24 adv./$26 DOS. All ages. KS
PROM QUEEN Seattle-based singer Celene Ramadan first caught our eye with her electrically charged performance at last year’s Reverb Fest; she has continued to impress us with her lush yet edgy ’60s-inspired pop ever since. For this intimate lounge show, Ramadan will deliver a new batch of pleasantly messy pop rock for all the lovers (and killers, too). Vito’s, 927 Ninth Ave., 397-4053, vitosseattle.com. 9:30 p.m. Free. 21 and over. KP
Zeke When Zeke released its first single, “West Seattle Acid Party,” the band’s hardcore guitar punk was somewhat out of vogue with the predominant fraught soft/loud sound of the early ’90s. Perhaps because of that, the band has remained largely, and pleasantly, unchanged since, even continuing to package its blistering sound with the fitting imagery of combusting, screeching hot rods. Tonight the high-octane band celebrates 20 years on a bill with 30-year-old North Carolina punk group Antiseen. El Corazon, 109 Eastlake Ave. E., 262-0482. 8 p.m. $10 adv./$15 DOS. MB
Sunday, Oct. 13
Bonnie Raitt In her 42 years as a musician, Bonnie Raitt has seen and done it all. From the highs of rock stardom (with songs like “I Can’t Make You Love Me” and “Something to Talk About,” iconic tunes that helped her earn countless Grammy nominations and multiple wins) to dark days (drug and alcohol problems and being dropped from her label while recording an album), the road hasn’t always been easy for the 63-year-old blues-rock singer. Ever resilient, the fiery-haired Californian released her 19th album, Slipstream, last year, her first since 2005. It earned Raitt her 10th Grammy, and, according to Billboard, was the best-selling blues album of 2012. Yes, after more than four decades, Raitt doesn’t show any signs of stopping—and indicated as much after being inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2000: “[Music’s] the thing that still drives me most, and it always will. I’m never gonna get enough.” With Marc Cohn. Benaroya Hall, 200 University St., 215-4747, seattlesymphony.org. 8 p.m. $50.50–$104.50. All ages. ACP
K.O.E. For those who enjoy a little face paint with their rap, this showcase (short for “Klowns Over Everything”) seems like a good bet. Unexpectedly, headliner MotaMouth Jones borrows more from G-funk and trap than from Juggalo-friendly horrorcore rap, and the 11-act lineup is similarly a stylistic grab bag. Various artists. Nectar Lounge. 7 p.m. $5 adv./$8 DOS. AG
Monday, Oct. 14
Palma Violets In the recent tradition of bands like the Libertines, Bloc Party, and the Vaccines, Palma Violets are a brash, young, retro-leaning band that’s been heavily talked up by the hype-crazy British music press. Their pop-friendly garage trappings warrant at least some of the buzz. With Skaters. Neumos. 8 p.m. $15 adv. AG
Classical Revolution Loosen your tie and have a beer while enjoying some chamber music. Soprano Natalie Lerch and pianist Guinevere Saenger present music inspired by Alice in Wonderland, and the Bella Sala Trio with guest Brandon Vance (fiddle) play Borodin’s String Quartet no. 2, Vance’s “Kantor Caprice,” and fiddle tunes. The Royal Room, 5000 Rainier Ave. S., 906-9920, theroyalroomseattle.com. No cover. 8 p.m. MB
Tuesday, Oct. 15
Crystal Stilts’ sepia-toned psych-pop has evolved in terms of fidelity since the Brooklyn group formed in 2003, but much of their sound has stayed the same: Brad Hargett’s half-mumbled baritone vocals, Kyle Forester’s serpentine organ lines, and Keegan Cooke’s driving, post-punk drums. Nature Noir is
their third full-length and first on Sacred Bones. With Zachary Cale, The Woolen Men. Barboza. 8 p.m. $10 adv. AG
The Pretty Reckless Touring in advance of its upcoming sophomore release Going to Hell, this New York–based rock outfit is sure to have some sweaty tricks up its sleeve for this headlining tour. And while the four-piece is likely best known for being fronted by Gossip Girl’s “Little J,” they’ve actually got the punk-rock chops to back it up— even if they’re a bit too angsty. With Heaven’s Basement, Louna. El Corazon, 109 Eastlake Ave., 381-3094, elcorazonseattle.com. 8 p.m. $15–$50. All ages/bar with ID. KP
With their ’80s disco vibes, HOLY GHOST! fills the room with poppy vocals and peppy beats. Their second album, Dynamics, is filled with tunes to get you ready to face anything—but if you listen to just one song, check out the dance-ready vibe of “Wait and See.” With Midnight Magic, DJ Nark. Neumos. 8 p.m. $18 adv. 21 and over. AP
Jack Johnson Recently on vacation, I found myself on a beach in Thailand. Buff, shirtless bros were everywhere drinking cheap mai tais served by scraggly beach-side bartenders who’d clearly decided their life’s work was to look as much like Captain Jack Sparrow as they could. In the background, “Banana Pancakes” was playing on a boom box. This, I suspect, is exactly how Jack Johnson pictured it all happening. With Bahamas. The Paramount, 911 Pine St., 682-4837, stgpresents.com. 6:30 p.m. $70. All ages. KS
