Best Music Shows

The 37 Best Music Shows in Seattle This Week: September 3-8, 2019

Pedro the Lion, Mannequin Pussy, and More Music Critics' Picks
September 3, 2019
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Seattle's Pedro the Lion will celebrate their first album release in 15 years at Neumos on Saturday. (Artist photo)

This week, our music critics have picked everything from Philly punks Mannequin Pussy Past Event List to Bon Iver Past Event List to Tycho Past Event List . Follow the links below for ticket links and music clips for all of their picks, and find even more shows on our complete music calendar. Plus, check out our arts & culture critics' picks for the 37 best things to do this week.

Heading to Portland or Tacoma? Check out EverOut to find things to do there and in Seattle, all in one place.


Jump to: Tuesday | Wednesday | Thursday | Friday | Saturday | Sunday

TUESDAY

METAL/PUNK

Black Flag, The Linecutters Past Event List
You can't look back on California's '70s punk rock scene without crediting Black Flag, led by singer and guitarist Greg Ginn, as a major player. They'll come to Seattle to play new material along with the hits (hopefully). They'll be joined by Southwestern ska punks the Linecutters.

ROCK/POP

Bryan Ferry Past Event List
Bryan Ferry and his beautiful teeth will grace Seattle for a night of Roxy Music classics and tracks from his illustrious solo career.

Julia Shapiro, Darren Hanlon Past Event List
Julia Shapiro of Chastity Belt fame is dropping her solo debut, Perfect Version, this summer on Hardly Art. The record arrives about a year after Shapiro took a break from touring due to some health issues and heartbreak. In an interview with the Fader, she said the album just happened: "It didn't really feel like a decision. I started recording stuff in my apartment just for fun. I wanted to learn how to use Ableton." Shapiro's solo songs are definitely a departure from the upbeat, quasi party tunes of Chastity Belt—the lyrics and music are much quieter, intimate, and introspective. JASMYNE KEIMIG

Mannequin Pussy, Destroy Boys, Ellis Past Event List
I feel inside my body when I listen to Mannequin Pussy. The pop-punk power chords and lead singer/guitarist Marisa Dabice’s raw, searing vocal put me there. Despite the chaos of it all, Mannequin Pussy are centering in a way. Fresh off the release of their third full-length, Patience, the Philadelphia quartet’s music can sometimes feel like an anxiety spiral (“Cream”) or the train of thought you have when you’re drunk and at a weird party, like on “Drunk II” (“And everyone says to me / ‘Missy, you're so strong.’ / But what if I don't wanna be?"). It’s punk in its most emotional form. JASMYNE KEIMIG

T-Rextasy, Emma Lee Toyoda Past Event List
With sing-song Siouxsie Sioux vox, surfy guitar riffs, and laid-back drums, New York's T-Rextasy will get you bopping around at this Seattle tour stop with everyone's favorite Seattle soft punk Emma Lee Toyoda.

Tropical Fuck Storm Past Event List
Even though Tropical Fuck Storm are from Melbourne, Australia, lead singer Gareth Liddiard’s voice has a familiar Southern twang. It fits in well with their at times unhinged approach to music-making. Tropical Fuck Storm’s sound is a hearty soup of craggy guitars, slightly off-kilter bass lines, and beguiling vocals. The result is something that finds itself in the crosshairs of punk, art rock, big-dick rock, and psychedelia. It conjures up sandy deserts, acid, and neon green. “You Let My Tyres Down” is a fun house of perverse images and homemade coke references; “Who’s My Eugene?” is a wily, kinda sexy tune about the relationship between Brian Wilson and his therapist. A veritable head fuck. JASMYNE KEIMIG

WEDNESDAY

BLUES/COUNTRY/FOLK

Junior Brown, The Rainieros Past Event List
Long-time blues-country legend Junior Brown will bring his guitar and his stories to Ballard, with support from honky-tonk swingers the Rainieros. It'll be a very good occasion to drink whiskey and feel sad with a bunch of people. 

Lucky Peterson with John "Greyhound" Maxwell Past Event List
From child prodigy to legitimate blues veteran, Lucky Peterson has managed to stay on top of the genre for three decades. He'll charm the downtown crowd for a night with his multi-instrumental talents on keys, guitar, bass, drums, trumpet, and vocals, and support from John "Greyhound" Maxwell.

METAL/PUNK

Conflict, Toecutter, Generation Decline Past Event List
One of the UK’s longest-running “peace punk” bands—and friends of Crass and Conflict—are touring the United States!!! They’ve always been an important, archetypal 1980s hardcore band whose songs of freedom and equality—for all living things—are no less relevant today as the stifling noose of the right wing continues to tighten around the planet. Their entire catalog is just so smart and raging. Also set to smash some shit up tonight are Toecutter, a cool local thrash-metal group, and Generation Decline, “whose sound lovingly leans into sweet, classic, late ’80s Raw Power riffage.” MIKE NIPPER

ROCK/POP

Heart, Joan Jett & the Blackhearts, Elle King Past Event List
Witness icons in action with three women who made modern rock what it is today: Ann and Nancy Wilson, and Joan Jett. They'll be joined by up-and-coming country-rock singer-songwriter Elle King.

WEDNESDAY-THURSDAY

The Mountain Goats, Lydia Loveless Past Event List
Staying true to Goths, the 2017 Mountain Goats album starts like a thumping Nick Cave B-side, twisting through the dark uncertainties of every human’s timeline. So, much of the same for frontman and lead lyricist John Darnielle—a new overarching concept with each album, yet the same dedication to plumbing the depths of his own character, as well as the character of each phase of his life, which is what makes it so easy to connect to. There’s an honest power in writing your life as it is, in pulling from favored themes or specific memorial vignettes, and moving in tandem with these thoughts, creating an album per moment. Darnielle is best at this; each new album bids us to follow and experience these songs-as-chapters with him. From “The Portuguese Goth Metal Bands”: “Keep what’s precious, drop what’s not without a second thought”—and move on. KIM SELLING

THURSDAY

DJ

Field Trip 87: Anna Lunoe Past Event List
Australian DJ Anna Lunoe will bring her festival-ready beats (she's performed at Coachella, Lollapalooza, Ultra, TomorrowWorld, and Hard Summer) to the club with additional support from Emuh, Allen Oh, and Night Audit.

EXPERIMENTAL/NOISE

Darsombra, Monster Boob, Fungal Abyss Past Event List
A night of expansive psychedelia awaits you at Lo-Fi. Baltimore duo Darsombra—multi-instrumentalist/visual artist Ann Everton and guitarist/vocalist Brian Daniloski—take rock to celestial and pastoral heights on albums such as 2012’s Climax Community (the 18-minute “Thunder Thighs” is an excellent entry point). On this year’s Transmission, Darsombra carve out some of their most intense and menacing tuneage. Coupled with their retina-bonking visuals, their set should be a revelatory trip. Speaking of trippiness, Seattle’s Fungal Abyss have been facilitating such mental journeys for a decade, playing girthful improvisational rock that magic-mushrooms its way into your pineal gland. The title of their last album, Benevolent Malevolence, sums up Fungal Abyss’s paradoxical panache. DAVE SEGAL

Dave Abramson & Lori Goldston, Robert Millis, Brad Dunn Past Event List
Since breaking away from New Jersey's hardcore metal scene, classically trained percussionist Dave Abramson has settled into a career of experimental and improvisational collaborations with everyone from Eyvind Kang to Wally Shoup. He'll perform tonight with Seattle cellist Lori Goldston. The duo will take the stage after music from R. Millis (Climax Golden Twins) and Brad Dunn. 

METAL/PUNK

Iron Maiden, The Raven Age Past Event List
Rather than try to convince you to go see Iron Maiden at the Tacoma Dome, I’m just going to list some facts and let you decide for yourself. They recorded their last album, The Book of Souls, while lead singer Bruce Dickinson had throat cancer. That album is now their fifth number-one album in the United Kingdom. Dickinson has since beat said cancer in time to tour. He also piloted Maiden’s private Boeing jet, Ed Force One (named after their zombified mascot), on their 2016 world tour, on which they played for nearly two hours per night. Look, Iron Maiden are the kings of hard rock, and it’s time to kiss the ring. JOSEPH SCHAFER

THURSDAY-SUNDAY

JAZZ

Sérgio Mendes Past Event List
Elder statesman of Brazilian jazz, bossa nova, and funk lite, Sérgio Mendes is a busy septuagenarian (he even earned an Oscar nom in 2012 for best original song as cowriter of “Real in Rio” from the animated film Rio). Without a doubt, you’ve heard “Mas Que Nada,” Mendes’s signature song—if not the fine 1966 original, then the recording he did with Black Eyed Peas in 2006. Or perhaps you’re familiar with the 1983 soft-rock balladry of “Never Gonna Let You Go”? Yep, that’s him. News to you? News to me, too, and I grew up in the 1980s. LEILANI POLK

FRIDAY

FUNK/REGGAE

Morgan Heritage, Jereme Morgan, Two Story Zori Past Event List
Grammy-winning reggae group Morgan Heritage will bring their expertly crafted skills to town with Brooklyn reggae artist Jereme Morgan and multi-membered local outfit Two Story Zori.

UB40 Past Event List
England’s UB40 became a viable franchise by redoing reggae songs, and sometimes non-reggae songs, into catchy, synth-pushed sing-along-easy stuff labeled Labour of Love, volumes 1–4. This is actually very catchy stuff and, yes, moms like it—my mom, anyway. It’s hard to remember that UB40 named themselves after a piece of paperwork to join the dole, or that original singer Ali Campbell bought gear for his mates from a payout he got after being brutally beaten. Following a bitter financial conflict in 2008 that resulted in two competing factions using the name, original member Ali Campbell wants you to know that only this UB40—with fellow OG players Astro and Mickey Virtue—can give you the genuine, feel-good UB40 live experience. I won’t harsh on them. Mom and I still love listening to them in the car. ANDREW HAMLIN

HIP-HOP/RAP

A Tribe Called Quest/Zulu Nation Tribute with DJs Vitamin D and Sean Malik Past Event List
In my opinion, Seattle’s greatest hip-hop producer and DJ is, by far, Vitamin D. Indeed, he is in the top 20 all-time hip-hop producers ever. Without him, there would be no Macklemore; without him, there would be no ground to the Seattle sound. One day, the whole world will discover Vita and realize the full and rich treasure of beats he has produced over the past 30 years. And he has not stopped. He is still spinning, still programming, still producing beats in the town that owes him everything, the 206. This tribute show should be fire. CHARLES MUDEDE

JAZZ

Pink Martini with China Forbes Past Event List
Enjoy the smooth charm of cocktail jazz superstars Pink Martini with powerhouse singer China Forbes on this local tour stop.

ROCK/POP

Bon Iver, Sharon Van Etten Past Event List
Bon Iver makes weirdly beautiful music. It started as the experimental folk project of singer, songwriter, producer, and multi-instrumentalist Justin Vernon. But after his self-produced debut (For Emma, Forever Ago, which feels like it came out forever ago), it’s more a vehicle for his vision elegantly amplified by a full band, in which everyone minus the drummer works shit out on keys and the sound is closer to avant-electro chamber pop than folk. There are moments of lushness peppered with moments of minimalist electronic ambience, all of it marked by Vernon’s far-ranging vocals, which hit low earthy notes, exquisite falsetto highs, and an earnest, urgent tenor in between. Sharon Van Etten adds real value to this bill—the alt folk rock singer-songwriter’s 2019 album Remind Me Tomorrow is a stunner. LEILANI POLK

CAKE, Ben Folds, Tall Heights Past Event List
Hopefully Cake will find new equipment before this Seattle tour stop (they recently had their keyboards and three guitars stolen from their van in Portland). The alt-rock band responsible for such hits as "Short Skirt Long Jacket" and "Rock 'n' Roll Lifestyle" will play with support from Ben Folds and Tall Heights. 

Groove Family Records Showcase Past Event List
Grungy, Strokes-esque pop-rockers Roxbury will headline with support from clean-production alt group Fine Lines, honey-smooth soul outfit Stucky Jackson & the Boys, and Family Worship Center.

Jenn Champion, Falon Sierra Past Event List
So it looks like Jenn Champion has gotten around to using her real name, after some stretches as “S” and “Jenn Ghetto.” The new album from the former Carissa’s Wierd singer uses her name and the title Single Rider. I dig the single "O.M.D. (I’m All Over It)," because the video playfully spoofs Olivia Newton-John’s video for "Physical," and musically it feels cheerfully lost in the past, and I can’t even say which part of which past, just a wistful, looking-back sort of thing that you’d expect at 2:30 a.m. on a console radio by your bed. That stuff never goes out of style—or time. ANDREW HAMLIN

Peach Kelli Pop, Small Crush Past Event List
Allie Hanson heads Peach Kelli Pop, a Canadian-American band that boasts a slew of garage-rock, saccharine attitude, and a whole lotta fun. Hailing from Ottawa, Peach Kelli Pop are on their way to a venue near you for their autumn tour, which will transform your night into a celebration of girlhood, no matter what age you are, thankfully. I’m 25 and still need my Sailor Moon and Hello Kitty, which Peach Kelli Pop get, but they also understand the feeling of wanting to cut up the little shits who won’t let you enjoy the nice things we have left in this world: “It’s my best life! Hello Kitty Knife!” SOPHIA STEPHENS

SOUL/R&B

Raveena Aurora Past Event List
Mashing up Bollywood and other musical traditions of her South Asian heritage with contemporary R&B, Raveena Aurora will bring her impossibly smooth jams to Columbia City.

FRIDAY-SUNDAY

BLUES/COUNTRY/FOLK

Sweet Dreams: The Music of Patsy Cline Past Event List
On what would be the 87th birthday of legendary country singer/sad girl Patsy Cline, revel in your perpetual state of heartbreak with local artists V. Contreras, Star Anna, Miller Campbell, Jennifer Hopper, and others at this tribute show.

SATURDAY

DJ

Cosmic Fantasy Past Event List
Embody an otherworldly being (the organizers say, "Think of it as dressing up as your own video game avatar, and your avatar is ready to dance") and swirl around to Italo disco, funk, and '80s synth with DJs Cat, Rlynow, and Gold Chisme at this queer, femme-centric party. Local queen Kylie Mooncakes will perform throughout the night.

ROCK/POP

50th Anniversary of "The Band" // Janis Joplin – I Got Dem Ol' Kozmic Blues Again Mama! Past Event List
Put on a lot of bracelets and whip your hair around—it's the 50th anniversary of Janis Joplin and the Band's seminal album Music from Big Pink, featuring such hits as "I Shall Be Released," "Tears of Rage," and "Long Black Veil." Melissa Montalto, Paul Matthew Moore, Abbey Blackwell, Wayne Horvitz, Eric Eagle, and Collin Higgins will resurrect your favorites at this tribute show.

Chris Isaak Past Event List
Chris Isaak is not quite Roy Orbison, but he is now ten years older than Orbison ever was, which shocks me, anyway. Isaak’s rockabilly growl resembles Orbison’s more playful teddy-bear style—but again like Orbison, he sails high notes across shimmering backings, creating a virtual beachscape so smooth and so eerie, you have to get in your car and drive, just to give it some rubber-tire roughage. Easy to say Isaak’s style never escapes stylization, but I disagree. Maybe it’s because I spent so much time on those lamentations in my MTV days. And I never learned to drive. ANDREW HAMLIN

Pedro the Lion, Spirit Award Past Event List
Seattle band Pedro the Lion are touring in support of their new album, Phoenix, their first release in 15 years (after frontman David Bazan took some time to create music as a solo artist). The new record parses Bazan’s childhood in, you guessed it, Phoenix. It plays like big-dick-quasi-emo-indie-rock. It’s an obnoxious description on my end, but fitting—the animating emotions are melancholy and nostalgia, with Bazan’s craggy voice lancing through it all. Songs like “Quietest Friend” are almost hard to take seriously (Bazan rehashes a bullying incident from fifth grade). But you know what? It’s great to crack open a shower beer to. Being a kid is rough. JASMYNE KEIMIG

Spesh, the National Honor Society, New Age Healers Past Event List
Recently, on my weekly pilgrimage from Capitol Hill to Scarecrow Video, my walking partner and I stopped on the University Bridge to look at the boats. It was warm out and the white sun sparkled on the dark water. That’s what Spesh sounds like to me: all fuzz, warmth, and shimmer. Though their style leans Anglophilic, immediately recalling bands like the Stone Roses and Happy Mondays, their shoegaze moments reflect the Pacific Northwest, too. “Teflon”—which vibrates with guitar and emotion—was “inspired by the drab rainy weather” of January in Seattle, when the song was written. See? All that shimmer just for you. JASMYNE KEIMIG

Tony Bennett, Antonia Bennett Past Event List
Tony Bennett may be in his '90s, but that's not stopping the man behind "I Left My Heart in San Francisco" from embarking on another tour. He'll perform jazz and pop standards in Seattle with his daughter, Antonia.

SOUL/R&B

SassyBlack, LIV Past Event List
The artist sometimes known as Catherine Harris-White used to rap with Shabazz Palaces and later as half of THEESatisfaction. Now she's mostly singing, one chilled-out but sly observer from the back of the bar, nursing one drink as humanity struts, flexes, sometimes belly flops up in the front. Listen closer, though, and she finds a way to relate through that distance, to herself—then outward, again, wondering what she might mean to someone else, confident and a little scared by turns. Inviting conversation and compromise, but never a doormat. Agreeably and wittily, she relates how life flows behind doors and windows open, closed, stuck, painted shut. Implying reasonable discourse may now seem unrealistic. Such never stops her. ANDREW HAMLIN

SATURDAY-SUNDAY

ROCK/POP

Death Cab for Cutie, Car Seat Headrest Past Event List
Full disclosure: I am writing about Death Cab for Cutie out of Moral Obligation. They are great, sure, but I have very little in the way of personal feelings about the Ben Gibbard–led alt-rock band. There is something inherently gray and rainy about their music, which might be because they are from around these parts (well, Bellingham really), or maybe it’s because I know they are from around these parts. They make some poignant ballads. Some barn burners. Some dark Radiohead-flavored odes. This weekend’s two-night stand in Redmond is ostensibly a hometown run, still supporting 2018’s Thank You for Today but also the super fresh (just-released) The Blue EP. LEILANI POLK

SUNDAY

ELECTRONIC

Tycho, Poolside Past Event List
I was always pretty indifferent to Tycho, the electro-music project of Scott Hansen—his particular sort of chillwave, ambient, downtempo sound just didn’t do it for me. But with this year’s Weather, I had a rather exciting change of heart. There’s something warm and organic and effortless about it, something that reminds me of Air, or Boards of Canada at their most lush. Plus, breathy dulcet guest vocals from Hannah Cottrell, aka Saint Sinner, on five of the eight tracks adds an element of sweet mystery. She’ll be joining him on the road, too, along with his full band. Support from Poolside, like a fresh breath of post-disco air, breezy and easy hit-the-spot sounds that are easy to sway and groove to, with falsetto vocals adding the perfect layer of creaminess. Expect an exquisitely laid-back evening. LEILANI POLK

SOUL/R&B

Patti Labelle & the Pointer Sisters Past Event List
Incomparable soul sensation and lifetime humanitarian Patti LaBelle will make a rare appearance live in concert with support from the Pointer Sisters.

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