SYNTHS, BLEEPS, AND BLIPS: Naw, we're not talking about party politics. We're talking about the bright, accessible electronica of Ratatat, and about how you should have bought tickets months ago for their sold-out concert tonight. Ratatat's eponymous debut and their '06 release Classics get regular and beloved play in Seattlest's living room; we haven't heard LP3, but it's probably just as perfect to put on if you want to dance a little while you make......

HAPPY HOUR!: The Seattlest crew is clambering out of our darkened basements, adjusting our sun-starved eyes to the light of day, and exposing ourselves to our readers by showing up to the first ever Seattlest happy hour at Moe Bar, tonight from five to eight. Come, meet (and get hit on) by your favorite Seattlest contributor, share your feelings with us about how much you hate our reviews, or just plain use it as an......

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......

Boy George was all set to play the Showbox July 20th, until The Man brought the hammer down. The U.S. State Department denied the Culture Club frontman a visa, so now his entire North American summer tour (running from July 11th in Las Vegas to August 23rd in Dallas) may have to be scuttled. The tour isn't officially cancelled just yet, but things aren't looking good. According to Boy George's manager: At the moment, Boy......

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......

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......

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......

It may not feel like summer in Seattle, but tomorrow afternoon is The End's Summer Camp II at Marymoor Park. It's a mix of the good (Nada Surf, MGMT), the bad (Flogging Molly, Pennywise), and the emo-ey (Armor for Sleep). Meanwhile, all weekend long Noise for the Needy marches on, raising money for Urban Rest Stop. Come tomorrow night, it's Matt and Kim, YACHT, and local band Feral Children at Neumo's. Here's a clip of......

If you're not spending this weekend SIFFing or Sasquatching or otherwise out of town for the three-day weekend, there's plenty of live music for those who spend the holiday in Seattle. Tonight, instrumental Chicago rockers Pelican play the Showbox SoDo. No need to stay for headliners Thrice, just these guys: Or if you like your rock with more synthesizers, head to Nectar for the Presets.......

LIVE MUSIC: If you're looking to start your weekend a day early, why not head to the Showbox Downtown for Minus the Bear. Fresh off the hottness of Coachella, the band's back in town to rock you hard. 8 p.m. // Showbox Downtown // $17.50 adv, $20 dos // all ages ART & WINE: Personally, we can think of no better pairing than art and wine, when it comes to nights out. The Frye will......

Getting business out of the way up front: Some band called the B-52s played the Showbox last night. Happy-go-lucky new-wavy retro-styled pop music had the place jumping. And yes, they closed with "Rock Lobster," a song which had, apparently, been utterly forgotten until it was referenced on Family Guy. Stupid kids; we weep for the future. But let's talk about the fun little surprise last night that was the opener, Eagle Seagull, an Omaha pop......

You'd never know by listening to Pearl Jam records that lead guitar player Mike McCready might have been in excruciating pain or at risk of losing his bowels at any moment in the studio. Seeing the band live at a large venue like KeyArena probably wouldn't clue you in, either. McCready doesn't play as if he suffers from an inflammatory bowel disease. He's all over the place—running, jumping, and flailing with his guitar. Seeing the......

As much as Ray LaMontagne blew us away his last time through town, even more enduring is the memory of David Ford's opening performance. Ford opens again tomorrow night at the Showbox, supporting his new Songs for the Road album. We love his previous album title: I Sincerely Apologise for All the Trouble I've Caused—a clue that this British singer/songwriter's music can be melancholy and reflective, yet sometimes surprisingly uplifting, like in "Cheer Up (You......

If you're not a Pearl Jam fan, you don't suffer from Crohn's disease or ulcerative colitis, and you aren't familiar with England's hard-rockin' UFO, chances are you don't know about PJ guitarist Mike McCready's tribute band, Flight to Mars. You should. Not because McCready is one of the planet's greatest guitar players. (Ever.) And not because Flight to Mars' covers—"Rock Bottom," "Too Hot to Handle," "Lights Out," etc.—rock harder and sound better than UFO's......

We were quite surprised last week when we found out that The Eels had sold out the Showbox at the Market for their Friday appearance. Perhaps we've been living under a rock; as far as we were concerned, The Eels were nothing more than a one-hit wonder from the mid-1990s, when their single "Novocaine for the Soul", off of 1996's Beautiful Freak, starting climbing the modern rock charts. There were a couple tasty follow-ups, like......

JOBS: What with all the layoffs recently (wow, there's a lead-in good for any occasion), you may want to hot-foot it down to the Seattle Weekly job fair at EMP. If nothing else, go to pick up a free Zipcar membership so you can get to interviews on time and in style. Recruiters will include the Auburn Regional Medical Center, UPS, Clearwire, Seattle Goodwill, Tect Aerospace, Seattle Peace Corps, Solid Ground, City of Everett,......

Head to the Showbox this weekend for Ghostland Observatory tonight and tomorrow night. We've seen the Austin duo thrice before, and we can guarantee their yelpy dance-rock is much better live than in the recorded form (and much better in a packed and sweaty room like the Showbox than a spacious outdoor venue). Also two days in a row: local epic shoegazers Voyager One, who have a free listening party for new album Afterhours In......

As previously mentioned, tonight's Wig Bash at the High Dive, as well as the second, final, and sold-out performance of Nada Surf at the Showbox. Also sold out: Springsteen at Key Arena Saturday. But never fear, there's still other options out there, like Golem at Nectar tomorrow night. We don't know much about them, but we've heard that the six-piece klezmer band play "Eastern European drinking songs" and that they're "fun as hell." That's enough......

MUSIC: The question of the day is whether to hear Jens Lekman at Neumos or a re-formed The Cult. It's six of one, half-dozen of the other, isn't it? But since The Cult show is sold out, you're better off dropping by Neumos for Swedish indie pop. His new album, says Pitchfork, spans "the baroque pop of Scott Walker, the upbeat rhythms and bright harmonies of Northern soul, and the beach-party disco of fellow......

Try as they might Tuesday, Great Northern couldn't bring much levity to a heavy night at the Showbox. Their fuzzy, bordering-on-pop sound was like the prologue of a bad dream—when you know something bad's coming, but for the moment, things are truly swell. In this case, badness (in the coolest sense of the word) was the looming presence of Mark Lanegan and Greg Dulli: The Gutter Twins. While the place was still pretty well-lit, Rachel......

Sometimes we'd rather experience a new (or new-ish) band's sound in person, rather than be tipped off by their recorded work. So we haven't listened to Great Northern's streaming songs, played their (first) 2007 album, or let fly The Gutter Twins' online teaser. (We didn't even listen to that live Twins clip; sorry if the sound sucks.) Tomorrow night, when the former opens for the latter, we expect to experience true aural pleasure. Great......

What with his recent Into the Wild success, it's not a huge surprise that Eddie Vedder's embarking on his first solo tour—announced today—up and down the West coast. What is surprising is that he's not playing Seattle. Where Eddie is playing: Apr-02 The Centre Vancouver, BC Apr-05 SC Civic Aud. Santa Cruz, CA Apr-07 Zellerbach Th. Berkeley, CA Apr-10 Arlington Th. Santa Barb, CA Apr-12 Wiltern Th. Los Angeles, CA Apr-13 Wiltern Th. Los......

Being a Chicago guy originally, this Seattlest is definitely a little biased towards this jamband from the windy city (via South Bend, IN). Umphrey's has managed to fill a little bit of the hole left in our musical soul when those four guys from Vermont decided to call it quits a few years ago. These guys can rock your ass off, pull out some sweet, tight jams and they work incredibly well together. In......

Paul Weller may be MIA, but the rest of his first band play the Moore tonight under the moniker From the Jam. Or head to the Showbox to pump your fists with Cinder Road and Tesla. Actually, this show (along with the tour's upcoming dates in Portland, Spokane, and Boise) has just been postponed, due to inclement weather and road closures. Tonight's sold-out show has already been rescheduled to Sunday, March 9th at Showbox SoDo.......

Some comments from Jack's October post about the Liars/Interpol show: "The Liars were the worst band I've ever seen." - courtneyj "The Liars were a horrible assault on my senses. I'm all for experimental but it's a fine line between avant-garde and just plain annoying." - MSandison Not entirely encouraging words, but we don't care. Liars' eponymous 2007 album was our introduction to the band (and made our list of best releases of the year),......

Pre-sales suck for the people who get screwed on tix because they didn't know the code. For all you punk and post-punk lovin' kids out there jonesing for tickets, check out below; the pre-sale end tomorrow (Thurs., Jan. 17) at 10 pm: For tickets to X at the Showbox at the Market on Mon., March 31, follow the link and fill in the code: theend For tickets to The Cult down at the Showbox at......

Last week, Seattlest lamented the four-year absence of a live-in-person-on-a-Seattle-stage Mark Lanegan. Yesterday, we found new tour dates on the Gutter Twins’ (Lanegan’s latest project) Sub Pop page. And guess what? The Twins—Lanegan and Greg Dulli—will actually play Seattle during their "Maiden Voyage" tour. It'll be the Showbox (original)—site of Lanegan's last full-set appearance—on March 4, the date the duo's first album, Saturnalia, hits the bins. Score. Thanks for reading your record contract Seattlest,......

Despite what you may have heard the past few days--scuttlebutt about the sale of the Showbox Market and subsequent consolidation of venues at the SoDo location--it turns out that the original (and best) Showbox is staying right where it is, thankyouverymuch. Says Chad Queirolo, Talent Buyer/Manager for both Showboxes: It used to be once a year an especially virulent rumor that the Showbox lease would end in March. This has been happening for at......

It was four years ago that we'd started falling in love with the woman who would one day be our wife. It was about that same time that she'd lent us an album called Night Songs by a band called Stars. And if memory serves us with any amount of clarity, our devoted attention to that album became one of the many things which cemented our infatuation with this woman. Night Songs (Stars' first LP)......

Melbourne-based quartet The Drones are a little bit country, a little bit blues, and a lotta bit rock 'n' roll. And check it out, they've got one of the most eclectic list of influences we've ever seen: Van Morrison or Dylan or Suicide or Bad Brains or Nina Simone or Black Flag or the Scientists or Ornette Coleman or Thelonius Monk or (australian)X or Townes Van Zandt or John Lee Hooker or Karen Dalton......