Aural Pleasures (2/13 - 2/19)

Wednesday, February 14

>>> Sparklehorse at Showbox. Sparklehorse is touring in support of their first effort in five years, with more of the same delicate, pretty songs that made them indie darlings. Jesse Sykes & The Sweet Hereafter open.
* sample: Song Streams available on MySpace
8:00 pm // $17 // 21+.

>>> Miss Mamie Lavona the Exotic Mulatta at Conor Byrne. The last time we saw Miss Mamie she charmed us in entirely new ways. For an ear-to-ear smile and a playful good time, take your sweetheart to Mamie's world.
*Sample tracks on MySpace.
9:00 pm // 21+ // Evening begins with Braniac Beatdown Trivia

>>> Dancing on the Valentine at The Crocodile. Duran Duran songs covered by scads of local bands, including Say Hi to Your Mom, Valu-Pak, Speaker Speaker, and Peter Parker, all to benefit the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society.
8:00 pm // $10 -- to fight disease! // 21+ // tix available at Sonic Boom, the Crocodile, and ticketweb.com

Thursday, February 15

>>> SynthClub at McLeod Residence. SynthClub takes the uber-charismatic Reggie Watts and places him in an electro-funk context, with laptops and synths combining with Watts' voice to create dance music on the fly. This performance will be recorded for future download.
9:00 pm // $5 // 21+

>>> Erin McKeown with Eleni Mendell at The Tractor. Two equally incredible, far-underrated folksingers who’ve decided to go a bit jazzy lately. Both are traveling to promote their impeccable new albums.
* mp3: Melody
8:00 pm // $15 // Tickets also available at Sonic Boom Records.

Friday, February 16

>>> Miho Hatori at The Crocodile. This is what Miho Hatori (of Cibo Matto) says about her music: "Sometimes I feel...if the story is my sun, and I think music is the conscious part - they just look up the sun. I want to follow the laws of nature." Come follow the laws of nature with her.
9:00 pm // $12 // 21+

>>> Low-Budget at Chop Suey. Sing Sing finds its new home at Chop Suey after leaving Havana. For this edition they're bringing out Philadelphia's Low-Budget, who rose to fame as Diplo's partner in Hollertronix.
* mp3: Clip from latest mix
9:00 pm // $5 // 21+

>>> The Fix at Baltic Room. The Fix is a night in Portland that features some of that city's best DJs playing good tunes, regardless of genre. They're bringing the party to the Baltic Room, so let's show our neighbors to the south how Seattle likes to party.
9:00 pm // FREE // 21+

>>> Guitar Ensemble at UW School of Music. Students of Steven Novacek perform guitar duos, trios and quartets by Duarte, Verdon, Hayden, Gnattalli, and Takemitsu.
7:30 pm // $5 // Brechemin Auditorium

>>> Grizzly Bear at Neumo's. Yellow House is a great album (among the best from last year), but it wasn't until we saw Grizzly Bear live that their lovely lo-fi acoustic/electro sound really gelled. The dreamy, old-timey Papercuts open.
*mp3: On a Neck, On a Spit
8pm doors // $10 // 21+, all ages in the balcony

Saturday, February 17

>>> Various at Chop Suey. Ignore the hype over dubstep, the woozy, ominous, bass-driven genre coming out of the UK and come see Various because the group is poised to explode after releasing The World Is Gone, and Seattle is lucky enough to host their stateside debut.
9:00 pm // $10 // 21+

>>> The Waybacks with at The Tractor. San Francisco’s hippy grass-rock jam band bringing their new acoustic vibes to rock Ballard.
* mp3: Ninety-One
6:30 pm // $12 // Tickets also available at Sonic Boom Records.

Sunday, February 18

>>> The Octopus Project at Chop Suey. The Octopus Project are poppy, noisy, and often a bit confusing, but they're always fun - their last release has a three eyed, three armed nun on the cover, which says plenty.
* mp3: Lollipopsichord - Collaboration with Black Moth Super Rainbow
9:00 pm // $8 adv. // 21+

Monday, February 19

>>> Rob Crow at Chop Suey. Rob Crow creates songs that are like peanut butter and jelly - you can vary up the ingredients, but in the end it satisfies just like you know it should.
* mp3: I Hate You, Rob Crow (Single Version)
9:00 pm // $10 // 21+

Sparklehorse photo by La Tête Krançien