Aural Pleasures (12/5 - 12/11)
Tuesday, December 5
>>> Peter Walker at El Corazon. Not to be confused with Paul Walker or Peter Weller, Peter Walker's in town to support Young Gravity, his second album. We have read, though, that Walker evokes another Pete--Yorn. With maybe a bit more bite.
7pm doors; $10. All ages. With Division Day.
Wednesday, December 6
>>> Victrola's own folk chanteuse Molly Rose headlines a singer/songwriter parade of not-yet stars at the Sunset Tavern. Matt Hopper, Kat Jones, and Pablo Trucker join Molly for some from-the-heart musical stylings.
*mp3: Here Come the Lights
9pm; $6.
Thursday, December 7
>>> …And You Will Know Us By The Trail Of Dead at Showbox. If the new material is as lackluster as Austinist says it is, maybe we should just hope for more onstage fussin' and feudin'. With Blood Brothers.
*mp3: Mark David Chapman
7pm doors; $20. All ages.
>>> National Laptop Battle Championship at Chop Suey. This year's laptop battle championship features contestants from 8 cities across the United States, making this the biggest competition yet. Sure, it looks like a bunch of people blogging on stage, but the laptop battles are always an entertaining time.
9pm doors; $8.
Friday, December 8
>>> Nelson Sings Nilsson at Town Hall. 70s singer-songwriter Harry Nilsson has been certifiably rediscovered of late, what with the documentary and the Walkmen recreating one of his albums. Now man-about-town Sean Nelson throws his hat into the ring with the help of a twenty-four piece orchestra and openers "Awesome."
*mp3: Gotta Get Up
8pm sharp; $10 adv/$12 dos - get yer tickets here. All ages.
>>> Guilty Pleasures at the High Dive. Local acts, including Argo, Cantona, Pleasurecraft, Stuporhero, Central Services, Snakebites, X-Ray Eyes, Life in A Blender, and Mike Danner cover all those songs you hate to love in order to raise money for Mercy Corps.
10pm; $7.
Saturday, December 9
>>> Jenny Lewis with the Watson Twins at Key Arena. We always love seeing Jenny Lewis, if only to keep tabs on the haircut du jour, which unfortunately has more misses than hits. We are admittedly shallow, but we've never held that against her, so don't judge us too harshly. With Death Cab For Cutie.
*mp3: Big Guns
7:30pm; $29.50. All ages.
>>> Shim at the High Dive. Shim, a local act with a devoted following, mixes up math rock (repetitive rhythms, heavily distorted drone guitars) with an early-Talking Heads vibe (smart lyrics, new-wavy hooks). CD release party.
*mp3: Epistemologee
10 pm doors, following a live KEXP performance. $6. With The Ruby Doe and Young Sportsmen.
>>> KEXP Yule Benefit at Neumo's. Of course this year's incarnation of KEXP's annual holiday event features more awesome music than you can shake a stick at, with Junior Boys and the temporarily reunited Juno headlining both nights. Saturday's show is 21+ with The Hands, Ghostland Observatory, and the über critically-acclaimed Annuals. Sunday night is all ages in the balcony only with Ted Leo and the über blogged-about Cold War Kids.
8pm doors Saturday, 7pm doors Sunday; $20 - tickets still available for both nights. 21+ Saturday/All ages in the balcony Sunday.
Sunday, December 10
>>> The Duhks at The Tractor. The Duhks come from Canada with a smooth, fierce blend of traditional and contemporary folk-rock and roots music. Plus they're all freakishly good-looking.
*mp3: Migrations
8pm; $15.
Jim Noir image courtesy of thewonderwall
