Today and Tonight: Kids and Animals at Hard Rock, And The Wiremen at the Comet

Rain Peasley

Kids and Animals. Hard Rock Cafe, 116 Pike St., 204-2233. 2 p.m. $5. All ages. If there's a poster-band for the all ages scene in Seattle, Kids & Animals is it. They have a Modest Mouse-meets-Okkervil River sound and have already self-released an album last year that found heavy rotation on KEXP. Songs like "Solstice"--with harmonic, choral vocals balanced with noisy, busy instrumentals--sound like the creation of someone who has been around the scene for years. But the members of Kids & Animals are still kids, with an energy that appeals best to young fans who put more emphasis on the way music feels than how it sounds. The band's live shows are chaotic but lack polish. With more practice--and maybe a little age--singer and guitarist Adam Gaciarz will truly earn the Built to Spill comparisons he's already received. PAIGE RICHMOND

And The Wiremen, with Suicide Jack, Eric Apoe. Comet Tavern, 922 E. Pike St., 323-9853. 8 p.m. $8. NYC-based And The Wiremen's take on sleepy, warm, indie jazz manages to mesh 1920s Berlin, the East Village of 1960, Southern blues, Latin Carnival rhythms and the eclectic vibe of modern day Brooklyn, making for some fresh, interesting music for audiophiles with grown-up taste. Front man Lynn Wright's vocals are as across the board as his influences, sometimes invoking the likes of Leonard Cohen, Jeff Buckley and post-Zeppelin Robert Plant. ATW's signature track, "Sleep," with its bittersweet romantic nature and melancholy horns, conjures up images of rain-drenched, black-and-white breakup scenes, perfect for those who love some "hurts-so-good" musical heartache. MA'CHELL DUMA LAVASSAR