Last Friday, before X-Ray Press took the stage at Chop Suey, we ran into an acquaintance who described them as "math rock, circa 1994." After their set, another friend described them as "intellectual" musicians. Both are fair assessments: we wouldn't credit it as "original," but "skillful"? Hell yeah. Jumping between jerky time signatures, with a jagged, frequently dissonant guitar opposite thundering bass-lines and fuzzy keyboard melodies, X-Ray Press got down old-skool Don Cab-style. And then......

Dengue Fever falls uncomfortably somewhere between Gogol Bordello and Beirut in the musical spectrum: unlike Gogol Bordello, this really isn't traditional music, nor are the band members--mostly indie rockers from LA--as diverse or international as Eugene Hutz's crew; but unlike Beirut, Zach Condon's Balkan brass band, Dengue Fever does have itself anchored to its musical pedigree: lead singer Chhom Nimol. Nimol comes from a family of successful Cambodian wedding singers. She moved to the......

When the Crocodile Cafe abruptly closed down a month ago, we turned to a friend of ours looking for the inside scoop. Kultur Shock guitarist Val Kiossovski was bar manager down for quite a while (he's now running his own place in Lower Queen Anne, Solo, one of our favorite hangouts), so we figured if anyone knew, he would. Unfortunately, he was busy with problems of his own: rescheduling his band's show. Kultur Shock......

Our first taste of the 2007 Bumbershoot lineup leaves us hungry for so much more. The full-flavored list of cross-genre musical artists scheduled to perform at the 2007 Bumbershoot includes: The Shins, Wu-Tang Clan, Panic! At The Disco, Crowded House, Lupe Fiasco, Steve Earle, DeVotchKa, Devendra Banhart, Gogol Bordello, Kill Hannah, Norma Jean, Plain White T's, The Gourds, Lyrics Born, Roky Erickson & The Explosives, The Holmes Brothers, The Avett Brothers, Yungchen Lhamo, Allison......

The first time we saw Kultur Shock, they were opening for Gogol Bordello at Neumo's, and we have to admit, we'd never heard of them. It was an all-ages show, so we were drinking our fill in the Bad Juju lounge next door, until the insane sounds of the band dragged us away from our beers. Quickly we came to regret missing the first half of their set. Kultur Shock is self-described "Balkan punk rock......

Seattlest serves up musical jambalaya for the masses… Delicious! Monday 27th: >>Listening Party at Easy Street Records! First chance to hear The Flaming Lips’ At War With The Mystics and Built To Spill’s You In Reverse, have some drinks and win some prizes! Drink and appetizer specials on hand of course! And who knows, maybe you'll see a bunny or two... 6-8pm, all ages welcome, 21+ over in the bar >>Metric at The Showbox… Intense,......

In all the annals of music, it's hard to imagine anymore specific a genre than "gypsy punk." But that's just the sort of cabaret-esque insanity that Gogol Bordello brings to their shows. The band's story is as strange as their music and stage shows. Frontman Eugene Hutz is a Ukrainian refugee displaced as a child in the wake of the Chernobyl disaster. After bouncing through various European countries, he wound up in Vermont. As an......