Razrez- Sen Yok

For those of you who have not already cemented your Halloween plans (or do not plan to attend the Sonics show), these shows will all be certifiably bangin'. Everyone and their mom's bar is having a Halloween party; here are just a few of the ones we think you'd enjoy:

Come As You Aren't Battle of the Bands at Skylark Cafe, 8 p.m., FREE

The premise here, as Hannah mentioned in Rocket Queen this week, is that local bands will be coming as different, more popular bands and duking it out. In costume. Here are the bands who'll be playing this year:

Speedmop: Elvis & the Memphis Mafia
Bone Cave Ballet: Duran Duran
Kings of Outlaw Country: The Cramps
M. Bison: The Kinks
Helen Chance: The Yeah Yeah Yeahs
We Wrote The Book On Connectors: The Beastie Boys
H is For Hungry Danelli: Nirvana
Apple War: Queen

Truckasaurus, Copy, Recess, Trashy Trash Dj's, Kadeejah Streets, Suntzu Sound, Kamui, Absolute Madman at Lo-Fi, 9 p.m., $6 in costume, $10 without (so you better come up with something, mofos!)

Whoa. This is one helluva collection of some of Seattle's best hip hop acts (hello, Truckasaurus!), DJs and electronic music masterminds. Rest assured, the Lo-Fi will be teeming with sexy, sweaty, undulating bodies.

Razrez CD release! with Neon Nights, the Valkyries, Man Plus at Comet Tavern, 9 p.m., $7

I can proudly endorse every single band on this bill, but it's supposed to be the CD release for Razrez' electronic weirdo metal album, which, I should add, comes in a badass leather snap case. However, I'd already written up Man Plus by the time I got the CD, since Man Plus isn't playing any shows until next spring:

If you haven't picked up bizarro pop specialist Man Plus' second record yet, The Hungarian Suicide Songbook, you no longer have an excuse, because the band is giving it away for free on their website (www.manplusrocks.com). It's a modgepodge of an album, one that invokes seminal satiri-punk outfit the Dead Milkmen as much as it does electro-nerds the Neptunes. Jared Mills' vocals even sound a little like Milkmen frontman Joe Genaro, but it's the band's satirical approach that really reminds me of the Milkmen. Only that sense of humor is set to electronic guitar-pop music instead of straight-up punk rock. But the punk influence does come out sometimes: Hungarian Suicide track "Kisses Don't Like Me Anymore" contains vocals that are half-spoken, but instead of heavy guitar and pounding drums, Mills' voice is set to synthy keyboard and a few guitar interjections. Since part of Man Plus is heading to Tokyo to hang out and possibly start recording their next album, this will be the band's last Seattle show until spring 2009.

As I've said countless times, the Tall Birds were one of my favorite local bands. But they collapsed too early for them to become a lot of people's favorite. But former Tall Bird (and Catheter) Charles Leo Gebhardt just wrote to inform me that he and Brian Standeford (the other former Tall Bird and Catheter) have a new band featuring the Unnaturally Helpful Dean Whitmore on drums. They call themselves Idle Times (you know...idle times, like what you'll have plenty of now that the rainy season has arrived).

Anyway, Idle Times traffic in murky garage fuzz. Some of the songs have strains of traditional 60s rock, others have a ramped-up swagger like early 70s proto-punk, while others are as chaotic-melodic as early indie rock (and by indie rock, I'm talking Dinosaur Jr. etc, not the Arcade Fire). Speaking of Dinosaur, there are even some spiraling, scorching solos here reminiscent of J. Mascis' rawest work. Judging from these Myspace selections alone, it seems the songs are all clawing their way out of a layer of 90s grunge sludge...which is pure heaven for someone like me, who prefers his music to be unwashed and unshaven.

They have a show lined up, and Leo tells me their first 7" should be available by the time they play.

Idle Times play The Sunset Tavern in Ballard Washington, November 11 @ 10 p.m.

Who: The Cops, The Blind Shake, Police Teeth
Where: Sunset Tavern
When: Thursday, October 30

Police Teeth

Blind Shake

I didn't get to catch Police Teeth at REVERBfest, where they played for Audioasis, and I was pretty impressed by their loud, fast music (could a band named "Police Teeth" play anything but punk rock?), as well as the band's energy, even if the crowd's energy didn't really match it. That didn't change all night, possibly because everyone was saving themselves for Halloween. Which also might've been why, even though the show got started late-- around 9:30-- it was over before midnight. Which was sort of disappointing, because between Hannah's hearty endorsement in Rocket Queen this week and what I've heard from other friends of mine, The Blind Shake is a mesmerizing live act.

Not to mention Monotonix, the Saturday Knights, Kay Kay & His Weathered Underground, Vince Mira & the Roy Kay Trio, People's Republic of Komedy AND DJ Cherry Canoe. It's gonna be a party. Do not wear silk or anything fragile, as Monotonix may spray beer on your clothing and then you will be sad.

The show takes place at the Paramount Theatre; doors are at 7 p.m., and the show starts at 8.

Here's what you must do to enter: visit this webpage, and register using that nifty little box directly on the right side of the page that says "Seattle Weekly Insiders" if you have not already done so. This will also give you information on other free stuff we give away. Which we do often. And I plan to tell you about it on this blog right here. But you can't be too careful when it comes to free shit.

The kicker: you must enter to win by Tuesday, November 4, aka Election Day. That is in less than a week (praise everyone else's Gods, the end to all the suspense is finally in reach). If you enter, add contests@seattleweekly.com to your safe senders list so you actually, you know, can find out you won, because you will be notified by e-mail. Good luck, everyone!

Esta muy dificil not to heart the Lucinda Williams of Australia, but as Easy Street Records comptroller Jesse Flores notes, Kasey Chambers' last two records hardly measured up to her first pair. Which is why it's heartening to see Flores, in a glowing review posted on Easy Street's blog, call her latest album, Rattlin' Bones (a collection of duets with new hubby and fellow outback crooner Shane Nichols that was released stateside on October 14), "one of the greatest records I have ever heard." Read Jesse's full review here.

The Blind Shake

Perhaps we can interest you in a few of these shows:

The Cops, Police Teeth, the Blind Shake at Sunset Tavern, 9 p.m., $8

Minnesotans the Blind Shake manufacture a sort of noise-steeped, trippy dance punk that might be favorably compared to local darlings Partman Parthorse (whose CD release show ya'll should check out tomorrow). As for the locals on the bill, radical sweeties the Cops and jokesters Police Teeth...well, if you want punk rock without any annoying prefixes to detract from the experience, here it is. Ya'll better dance!

Magnetic Morning, Drew Andrews, Black Nite Crash at Chop Suey, 8 p.m., $10

Michael Alan Goldberg, ladies 'n gents:

With all apologies to Velvet Revolver and, uh, Damn Yankees, here's a rock supergroup you can really get excited about. Magnetic Morning includes singer-guitarist Adam Franklin (Swervedriver), drummer Sam Fogarino (Interpol), and multi-instrumentalist Jimmy LaValle (The Album Leaf, Tristeza). Franklin and Fogarino first came together two years ago, after being introduced by mutual friend Jack Rabid -- founder of long-running music magazine The Big Takeover and a tireless champion of both artists' careers -- and the music quickly started flowing. At times, Magnetic Morning unleashes the blurry, cinemascopic guitar fury of Swervedriver, but there's just as much reliance on bright, psych-poppy melodies and delicate atmospherics. Ultimately, it's a majestic, dreamy, lovely sound that virtually anybody -- not just fans of the principals' more renowned outfits -- can get behind.

Ok, it's Pitchfork TV...but anyway. You might've already heard about this, but what you might not know is that the first episode is up. If you're not familiar with Les Savy Fav and Tim Harrington, all you need to know is that the guy has a whole lotta personality, from feeding fruit to his audiences to giving them haircuts. Go watch it here.

If Lil Wayne is to be taken at his word, the rapper played a hands-on role in the birth of his son last week at a Cincinnati hospital. The same hospital, it turns out, where pro bono SW photographer Lil Scoop was born.

A smallish photo of Shudder to Think

There are ten, count 'em, TEN pairs being given away. And if were planning on going, but have no ticket to the show, that means you'll save $22 if you win. Here are the instructions:

Email giveaways@showboxonline.com with "SHUDDER TO THINK" in the subject line and your full name in the text of the email to win a pair of tickets. Winners will be notified by 2 p.m. today, so hurry up and get those suckers in!

If you'd like to know more about Shudder to Think, here's our illustrious Michael Alan Goldberg on the band and its reunion:

Though I'd probably be more excited if two other Dischord Records-affiliated bands -- Fugazi and/or Jawbox -- were to get back together, the recent reunion of erstwhile D.C. post-punk/art-pop quartet Shudder to Think is certainly nothing to sniff at. It took me a little bit to really get into Shudder, mainly due to singer Craig Wedren's sorta glammy look and uber-dramatic falsetto bleat (the definition of an acquired taste), but I loved the band's biting, churning guitar-centric grooves and oddly formed melodies, and I was fully converted after one of their especially transcendent live shows in '92, while they were touring behind that year's Get Your Goat -- still my favorite Shudder disc, though many prefer 1994's Pony Express Record. The band called it quits when guitarist Nathan Larson departed in 1998, but got back together late last year with a slightly retooled lineup. No word if they're planning to record new songs, but live, you'll get a healthy dose of the classics and all the associated brilliant weirdness, and hopefully some of that old intensity, too.

Who: Lykke Li
Where: Neumos
When: Wed., October 29, 2008

In case you haven't heard of her, Lykke Li (pronounced Lick-ee Lee) is the latest Swedish indie-pop act to attempt a stateside crossover. Admittedly, it’s easy to be cynical about every cute new female singer-songwriter flooding the genre. But I'm absolutely in love with her debut album Youth Novels. It's full of introspective—and totally sexual—lyrics set to a complementary background of sparse instrumentation and gentle beats.

She was here a couple months ago and I missed the show, so it's nice to see she's still furiously making the rounds to promote the album. She's not too well-known yet. I saw Li meandering outside Neumos puffing on cigarettes a couple hours prior to going onstage unrecognized by passerbyers. "Hey Lykke!" I shouted (subtlety is not my strong suit.) "Hah-lo!" she replied in a totally cute Swedish accent. For a moment I considered giving up men and asking her on a date.

I was surprised with how packed Neumos was when we get inside. People were crammed in wall to wall. Loads of hipsters. Last night actually marked my first visit to Neumos and I was unaware that at hipster-heavy shows there exists a cardinal rule: don’t fucking move. You apparently aren’t supposed to dance and you sure as hell aren’t supposed to make your way through the crowd to go to the bathroom or get a better view. You get loads of dirty looks. I felt like a criminal. Lighten up! Swedes always make the catchiest damn music! ! Enjoy it! I get bored standing like a statue during a live performance.

Anyway. Li exudes this delightful quirky vibe and has loads of good set material. In songs like her gorgeous breakthrough hit “Little Bit,” she laments her vulnerability in a hapless relationship: “For you I keep my legs apart/And forget about my tainted heart/And I will never ever be the first to say it’s still a game over.” She performed a flawless rendition of the song that initially got people buzzing about her music. Li also did a lot of bizarre frenetic moving around to songs like, fittingly “Dance Dance Dance” and “I’m Good, I’m Gone.”

The guy in front of me nodded approvingly. “She’s just like Stevie Nicks,” he announced. Huh? Were we at the same show? Li was a solid enough performer, but she’s still got to polish up her act and better command the stage—something that will surely come the more touring she does. She’s only 22 after all.