Friday, Oct. 18
Hunx & His Punx Hunx’s new release, Street Punk, is the brattiest spitwad of an album I’ve heard in a long time. According to the band, the record is apparently intended for “women and gay guys.” Songs like “Everyone’s a Pussy” and “Rat Bag” are beautifully crass thrashers that demand moshery, so make sure you bring your elbow pads. With Wimps, Coconut Coolouts. Chop Suey. 9 p.m. $10 adv./$12 DOS. 21 and over. KS
Macy Gray You know a song is special when listening to it takes you back to the first time you heard it. It was early 2000, and I was a 9-year-old girl awash in the music of Mickey Mouse Club alums, gazing out the window of our sky-blue minivan. Just then, “I Try,” the second single from Gray’s debut On How Life Is, came on, and I recall snapping my head toward the unfamiliar voice, loving that smoky rasp, and thinking “I didn’t know a girl could sound like that.” Gray’s now-iconic vocals struck a lot of people that way; she won a Grammy for “I Try,” and her debut remains her best-selling album. Her latest is Covered, last year’s collection of covers, but it’s On How Life Is that Gray is performing in its entirety on this tour. The album turns 14 this year—14 years since Gray changed the way I think about music. The Crocodile. 8 p.m. $35 adv. All ages. ACP
Shannon Stephens, Fremont Abbey. See our review
here
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The Staxx Brothers Mixing elements of funk, R&B, country, and rock, the Staxx Brothers may very well be one of the most eclectic musical acts in the area. This intimate show will provide a number of opportunities to dance to old favorites as well as hear a few new tunes. With Breaks & Swells. High Dive. 9:30 p.m. $10 adv./$12 DOS. KP
The Avett Brothers This family affair has been making lush, country-inspired folk since 2000, but it’s possible 2013 may be their most prolific yet. In fact, the “brothers”—Seth and Scott Avett and bassist Bob Crawford—actually recorded enough material for two albums (last year’s The Carpenter and the just-released Magpie and the Dandelion) in under 12 months. Course that might have everything to do with Rick Rubin, who’s produced their last three albums, but nevertheless, expect lots of the bros’ trademark tender feelings on display tonight. With Nicholas David. KeyArena. 7:30 p.m. $45. KP
Goblin You likely know these prog-rocking Italians for their classic soundtracks to George A. Romero’s Dawn of the Dead and Dario Argento’s Suspiria. If you’ve ever wanted to feel what it’s like inside a classic ’70s horror film, now’s your chance. It’s almost Halloween, after all. With Secret Chiefs 3. Neumos. 8 p.m. SOLD OUT. 21 and over. KS
Smokey Brights, Tractor. See our review
here
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Saturday, Oct. 19
The Body, Highline. See our feature
here
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Kanye West, Key Arena. See our feature
here
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Sunday, Oct. 20
Chris Cornell Of all the great vocalists to come out of Seattle in the early ’90s, Soundgarden frontman Chris Cornell was hands down the most talented. Sure, Kurt Cobain was enigmatic and could scream like a banshee; Layne Staley was about as versatile as they come; and no one could touch Eddie Vedder for sheer tone; but Cornell remains a vocal acrobat who can hit just about every note known to man. In classic-rock terms, if Kurt was Iggy Pop, Eddie was Jim Morrison, and Layne was Roger Daltrey, that would make Cornell something akin to the offspring of Robert Plant and Freddie Mercury. With a body of work that includes his solo career in addition to his years with Soundgarden and Audioslave, it will be interesting to see how Cornell renders his rockingest material in this solo acoustic setting—much like Vedder did in 2011—but you can bet it’s going to sound great. With Bhi Bhiman. Benaroya Hall. 7:30 p.m. SOLD OUT. CORBIN REIFF
Philip Glass re-upped his “controversial” credentials earlier this year when the Teatro Real, Madrid, premiered The Perfect American, an unflattering (and reportedly somewhat fictionalized) musical account of Walt Disney’s final days, for which Glass wrote the music. The opera has received mixed reviews, but its existence alone is yet another in the long list of confirmations that Glass is the most inventive, influential, and, at 76, nervy composer this country has. This rare performance (part of the Earshot Jazz Festival) will feature the artist on his own, making more bold choices with only a piano to work with. Kirkland Performance Center. 8 p.m. $75. MARK S. BAUMGARTEN
The Bad Plus After coming to our attention 10 years ago for its populist take on jazz (read: playing jazz versions of really popular rock songs), The Bad Plus finally put down the late-American songbook after 2009’s cover-filled album, For All I Care. On two albums since, the trio has thankfully been expanding on its own ideas while pleasingly, on last year’s Made Possible, experimenting with electronic instrumentation. Triple Door. 7 & 9:30 p.m. $25 adv./$12 student. MSB
