Tuesday, February 6

>>> Spanish classical guitarist Pepe Romero at Benaroya Hall. The flying-fingered flamenco phenomenon, knighted by the King of Spain, plays several of his father's compositions and one of his own, plus other Spanish works.
* video: Recuerdos de la Alhambra
7:30 pm // $29-$61 // Cheap seats are in the rear orchestra section.

>>> From the North at High Dive. Seattle rock music history comes full circle in a way with From the North, the reincarnation of early 80s glam group Malfunkshun. (That band begat Mother Love Bone which, following frontman Andy Wood’s death, begat Pearl Jam.) Original members Kevin Wood (axe) and Regan Hagar (drums) are back, with funky smooth Shawn Smith handling vocals. This is their debut; expect Andy-penned songs and some new stuff. Yeah, it leans toward metal, but let that fucking flannel flag fly.
*Sample tracks on MySpace.
9:00 pm // $6

Wednesday, February 7

>>> Dosh at Chop Suey. Part of the underground eclectic hip-hop collective Anticon, drummer Martin Dosh weaves together aspects of pop, jazz, electro, and prog rock into his nuanced compositions with help from his friends in Tapes N Tapes and Andrew Bird.
*mp3: Um, Circles and Squares
10:00 pm // $8

Thursday, February 8

>>> The Cave Singers at the Crocodile. One of their MySpace friends commented, "If I was a hang glider I would listen to your music while hang gliding." Um, okay. We might agree with that. Either way, these guys make good down-home music and their guitarist is ex-PGMG.
*Sample tracks on MySpace.
9:00 pm // $7 // 21+

Friday, February 9

>>> Birds and Batteries join Bird Show of North America, Prosser, and Mike Dumovich at the Comet. Like down-tempo indie singer/songwriter shows with instrumental post-rock flavoring? Right, who doesn't!
* mp3: Code Orange
9:00 pm // $6 // 21+

>>> The Starlings at Eddie's Trackside Bar & Grill. Yeah, Monroe's a bit of a haul, but if you're in the mood for some local Americana/roots music, this is the place to be. We know it's hard to leave the bubble sometimes, but it's only a half-hour drive up 522.
*Sample tracks on MySpace.
9:00 pm // Map here

Saturday, February 10

>>> Los Amigos Invisibles at Neumos . We have to admit we're pretty skeptical of bands that play live house music (isn't it just disco at that point?). That said, Los Amigos Invisibles have had production help from the legendary Louie Vega and if he says they're cheese-free, who are we to argue?
* mp3: Streaming Audio available on their site.
9:00 pm // $15 // 21+

Sunday, February 11

>>> Merle Haggard and Neko Case at The Paramount. One of the giants of traditional country music, Merle Haggard, is joined by local hero and goddess of alt.country, Neko Case. Probably one of the only shows this year worth the near-$50 price tag.
7:30 pm // $44.50-$49.50 (plus fees)

Monday, February 12

>>> Camera Obscura at Neumo's. These Glaswegian popsters pick up where Belle and Sebastian dropped off, with glimmering pop that's upbeat even when it's sad. It's a Merge Records double-header, with former Superchunk member/label founder Mac McCaughan opening with his band Portastatic.
*mp3: Lloyd, I'm Ready to Be Heartbroken
9:00 pm // $12 // All ages in the balcony

Merle Haggard photo by Dean on Flickr