Road trip! The seventh annual What the Heck Fest is taking place all weekend at venues in Anacortes. Mt. Eerie is but one of the many bands set to perform. If you're staying here in town, tonight loud-ass two-piece Middle Class Rut plays King Cobra, along with Burning Brides.......

NOT BURLESQUE: Columbia City Theater is a really great room to watch singer-songwriters do their thing. Tonight, the room will host a CD release party for the exquisitely talented Shenandoah Davis, featuring special guest Molly Rose, and others. Grab a drink and kick back in the old Vaudeville theater for a night of introspective, arty songwriting. 8 p.m. // Columbia City Theater // $10 I FEEL THE NEED, THE NEED FOR SPEED: Pacific Science Center's......

Last week, we headed out to Smith to catch up with local singer/songwriter Molly Rose, to chat about her work, learn about her purpose in life, and come back here to tell you people all about it so that you'd feel inspired to head to Columbia City Theater for her show this Thursday night. It was happy hour. We took a booth in the back of the room because, despite the spectacular noise discrimination on......

Tonight, the banjos will be taking over Benaroya Hall. We think there's a banjo joke in there somewhere, but it's too early on a Monday morning to come up with it. Instead, we'll just sell you on the legendary Earl Scruggs, who's responsible for that three-finger picking style Seattlest prefers when attacking the famously untunable instrument. We caught Scruggs at the IBMA awards last year, and we can vouch for the fact that he's still......

Here's the whole story: Wednesday night we went to Neumo's to hear We Are Scientists (WAS). There. That's not a good story? Ah, okay, okay, we'll...we'll punch it up. More first act? We Are Scientists are not scientists (Ha! Misdirection!) but are two guys called Keith Murray (guitar, lead vocals) and Chris Cain (bass guitar, backing vocals), and then there's two other guys, a drummer and a keyboard fellow. (We're tempted to go on and......

While this weekend is mostly dominated by all that Sub Pop hooha (and once again, kids, 520's closed, so take alternate routes), there's still a few shows besides those that Katelyn already mentioned. Tonight, head to Ballard for the roots and Americana of Portland's Scotland Barr and the Slow Drags at the Sunset. Tomorrow afternoon (1-3pm), break out your best eyewear for Lisa Loeb's appearance at the downtown Barnes and Noble.......

BAND OF BROTHER AUTHORS: Elliott Bay Books is hosting a reading tonight by brother authors Leif and Lin Enger. According to the listing, "Both are home-state Minnesotans, both still live there, and both have the land of 10,000 lakes as the setting for their new books." 7:30 p.m. // Elliott Bay Books // Free GIRLS SINGING NIGHT: From Tucson, Ariz., Courtney Robbins' music calls to mind Erin McKeown and Eilen Jewell. If you're looking for......

If you're planning on hitting up Sub Pop's three-day 20th anniversary celebration, you best be getting those tickets now. Friday's comedy extravaganza at the Moore (featuring funnymen David Cross, Patton Oswalt, Eugene Mirman, and Todd Barry) just sold out, and tix to Saturday's event at Marymoor Park are long gone. That leaves you with two options for Sub Pop-related revelry this weekend: the Gutter Twins and Brothers of the Sonic Cloth at the Showbox Saturday......

Ratatat is a dance band. A melodic, guitar-driven, videogame soundtrack dance band, but a dance band all the same. It took a while, but last night at a sweaty sold-out Neumo’s, the New York electro-rockers had asses shaking and all the kids jumping around. On the eve of their third album’s release, multi-instrumentalist Evan Mast and guitarist Mike Stroud (along with some guy and his damn big fro) kicked off their US tour with......

The Shins at last year's Bumbershoot, courtesy of Seattlest Flickr user Andrew G. Davis MSN has listed 15 of the best cities and festivals for music lovers, citing Bumbershoot as the reason they clocked Seattle in at the number two spot. We come in behind only Memphis, ahead of Chicago, Tokyo, London, Vienna, and Los Angeles. New York City was number 9, Nashville made the cut at number 12, and New Orleans—arguably the best place......

Electro-Pop: Matmos released their new record, Supreme Balloon, to acclaim back on May 6. The Baltimore-based pop/electronica duo have moved away from the conceptual electronic compositions of their earlier work and deliver a record of "cosmic pop" deliciousness. Check out the song "Rainbow Flag" [mp3] here, and check out the band down at the Triple Door tonight. 8 p.m. // 216 Union St. // $20 (+ don't forget about the Triple Door's seating policy) Guilty......

TAKE OFF YOUR SHIRT: Thursday night at R Place = Amateur Strip Show. Head out, show us what you've got, and maybe you'll walk away $200 richer. Second and third place prizes are $100 and $50, respectively. Then, once you've won, buy everyone in the room a round of drinks, and then stick around for a dance party courtesy of DJ Flo'w. After all, no work tomorrow, right? 9 p.m. // R Place // Free......

HAVE SOME FAITH: George Michael wrote songs that informed the sexuality of millions of young girls around the world—songs that went on to become gay anthems, long before he came out. The 25Live Tour promises to be the hottest, funnest, gayest, screamy-est concert Key Arena has seen all year. Wave to this Seattlest who will be sitting in the second row. 8 p.m. // Key Arena, Seattle Center // $49.40-$250 A BIG NIGHT OUT: Columbia......

Tonight, Das Llamas celebrate their new album Class Wars: K-12 at the Comet. The local rock fourpiece stomp out a little bit of everything, from synthy no-wave punk to dirty electro rock, offering up "a platypus of sound that is a new noise in a new era." Tonight is also the second of three shows (in three nights) for the CD release of Sounds from the Seattle Underground, care of the good folks at NadaMucho.......

You Can't Stop Me Now" by Bobby Digital/RZA, or: why we were excited about the show. Seattlest only caught the second half of RZA's performance on Tuesday, thanks to a confusing and upsetting encounter with Showbox SoDo security regarding someone else's can of PBR on the floor. We heard the strains of "Long Time Coming," our favorite track from the just-dropped Digi Snacks, from outside the barn venue while we argued to clear our......

While their live shows the past few years have oscillated between sublime hit and disappointing miss, there's no denying the impressiveness of Built To Spill's back catalog. Central to their discography is 1997's Perfect From Now On, their major label (Warner Bros.) debut, and an album we listened to *a lot* in college. With its noodly, hypnotic guitar epics, catchy anti-pop melodies, and downright biting lyrics, Perfect From Now On was destined to be......

POLITICALLY CRAFTY: If you're a Washingtonian for Obama and you love arts and crafts, you'll love making buttons for Obama. The buttons you make will be passed out locally at voter registration and special events, and in communities as far away as West Virginia. Make a difference with a small piece of metal. 6 p.m. - 9 p.m. // Vivace Espresso // 901 East Denny Way // FREE JOB HUNTING/LIFE SEARCHING: Richard Bolles, author......

The word on the Web is that another Seattle venue has been sold. The club on the auction block this time? Chop Suey, apparently sold to a yet-to-be-named Japanese company. Hannah Levin and Reverb were the first to report the story after Miss Levin ran into Chop Suey's booker Pete Greenberg on a Ballard bike ride last night. Greenberg, who was also the booker at the dearly beloved and departed Crocodile, must be feeling......

Not only has Tim O'Brien worked with everyone under the sun, anything associated with him is bound to be not only good but highly praised by fans and critics alike. He doesn't just play roots music, he lives it. He understands why it's there and, when he plays it, it's more to honor the artform than it is to draw attention to his mad skills (which, by the way, he has). No doubt when he......

It's hard to believe, but the Dandy Warhols' sixth studio full-length (and the first on their own label) Earth To The Dandy Warhols will be out this August. The tongue-in-cheek Portland alt-rock band plays the Showbox SoDo tonight. Not sure if it would be a better or worse show if longtime frenemies Brian Jonestown Massacre crashed the gig. As far as we can tell, there's still tix available to tonight's Kultur Shock show at Chop......

SCIENCE WITH A TWIST: We've always had fun at the Pacific Science Center's monthly events for adults. If you enjoy science and drinking, you can't get much better than this. This month's event is focused around their new exhibit, Speed, and a drink they're calling the "Turbo Charger." Win tickets to the new Batman movie, watch a speed-themed movie on the IMAX screen, and eat and drink to your heart's content. 6 p.m. Happy Hour,......

The amusing story of how we wound up at the Showbox Saturday night to see the Old 97s begins with a plan hatched amongst friends far too late at night (and after far too many drinks). And, what with the constant internet access you get with the iPhone, we wound up with tix to the show, while everyone else turned out to be spread between Las Vegas and Palm Springs last weekend. And thus......

Love it or hate it, there's no denying the commercial success of Kidz Bop. A big hit with the kids, as well as their parents, the family-friendly Kidz Bop series has sold 10.5 million CDs in the past seven years, no small feat in the dying music industry. And to think, all they're doing is taking pop songs (sometimes current, sometimes retro) and adding incredibly chipper kids' vocals to the mix. Now Kidz Bop is......

These New Puritans hail from the UK, and despite having a strong album in Beat Pyramid, they've managed to avoid being burdened by the usual praise of the UK press, leaving Seattlest much more receptive to their post-punk wares when the CD finally reached our desk. It seems these days every other band is post-something, so tossing those descriptions out the window, what makes These New Puritans stand out is the overwhelming urgency evident on......

For a brief moment last night, it was summer in Seattle. Inside the sold-out Ting Tings show at Chop Suey, it was hot and humid. The house was packed with young people drinking, dancing, and carousing. The music was pounding, and the gays were in full effect—all the trademark signs of summer. And then, about half an hour later, it was over. Anni Rossi kicked off the show with an abbreviated twenty-minute opening set.......

We’re not sure how we first stumbled upon Jude and his music, but we have a vague recollection of hearing him on the radio as a guest DJ while we passed through Seattle on a business trip in the late '90s. An amazing song set made us think "this guy really knows music," and when we picked up his 430 N. Harper Ave., we were hooked from the first lyrics: Tortilla chips Are on my......

Just announced: New Kids on the Block are playing the Tacoma Dome this fall. Saturday, November 22nd. Be there if you dare. Then: And now: If you just can't live without seeing NKOTB as grown-ass men, tickets ($29.50-$77.50) go on sale at 10am this Saturday via Live Nation and Ticketmaster. May God have mercy on our souls.......

Stairwell Sisters have joined the slowly growing community of all-girl old-timey bands, and recently released their third album, Get Off Your Money. They do much better when they tackle the traditional fiddle tunes, but their originals do the genre plenty of justice. They’ll be joined at the Tractor tonight by local old-timey heroes the Tallboys. The Seattle branch of the famed Paul Green School of Rock opened in January. Now, the inaugural class of talented......

REALLY GOOD DOCUMENTARY: Here's yet another reason that SIFF has won the loyalty of Seattle's filmgoers, They Killed Sister Dorothy, a terse, refreshingly un-preachy documentary that attempts to unravel the mystery behind the murder of an American nun in the Brazilian rainforest. 4:30 p.m. // Harvard Exit // $9-11 SUPPORTING LOCAL GROWERS: Sometimes you want fresh basil in the middle of the week. Unlike most of the farmers markets in Seattle, the Colombia City farmers......

Some lucky ducks went to Sasquatch this weekend, and others went to Folklife. We, on the other hand, stuck very close to home: on our couch, with a painfully twisted and inflamed ankle. This happened because on Saturday, instead of celebrating international "Urban Indian"-themed arts and music at the Seattle Center, we went to a BBQ in Northgate. That night, we did the traditional Memorial consumption of short ribs and okra (seriously! Okra!! Big......