We didn't go to a single concert at the Showbox last year. Ok, so we saw Obama at the SoDo, but that's not nearly the same thing, even though there were bands preceding the politics. It's most unusual for us to have a Showbox-free year, that's for sure. But along with that Gutter Twins show in March, there're a few more events on the Showbox calendar that are worth buying tickets for in advance......

For a guy who's nearly tone deaf, Eddie Argos has done pretty well for himself in the world of rock music. When his band Art Brut broke a couple years ago, their sound--spoken-word lyrics over choppy punk rhythms and AC/DC-inspired riffs--stood out in the London indie scene, amongst Britpop redux bands like Babyshambles and Bloc Party. Their debut album, Bang, Bang, Rock & Roll was a Pitchfork and KEXP fave, and the first time......

While you are now officially unable to see Hootie and the Blowfish this weekend in Roslyn, WA (get well soon, Hoots), next week offers a great show at the High Dive. And it's on a Wednesday night, so you don't have to contend with the mongrel hordes and/or white-capped frat boys that inhabit the Fremont environs every weekend. Magic Bullets formed in San Francisco a couple years ago, and the sextet's first album a......

Call Rumsfeld! The United Kingdom is exporting weapons of mass distortion to the U.S.! [Insert laugh-track] Hovering between #7 and #10 on the Sonic Boom Top Seller lists is the debut album, “Everything Is,” by Nine Black Alps. (Easy Street is nearly a week late in posting their list, so who knows what’s going on over there.) Hailing from Manchester, England, Nine Black Alps traveled to Los Angeles to record with producer Rob Schnapf......