Friday, Nov. 29

A Tribute to Lou Reed and the Velvet Underground As has been oft-repeated since Lou Reed passed away late last month, the prolific songwriter once said, “One chord is fine. Two chords are pushing it. Three chords and you’re into jazz.” Those are the words of a poet who understands that feeling can always trump form. Playing Reed’s music, then, shouldn’t be too difficult for the artists gathering tonight to perform the songs that Reed first gave life to as a member of the Velvet Underground and in his uncompromising solo career. What will be difficult is facing the death of an iconic artist. Fortunately, Reed wrote some songs for just such an occasion. With Hounds of the Wild Hunt, Gibraltar, Bigfoot Wallace, Ruler, Invisible Shivers, Kevin Sur, Robert Deeble, Rob Femurs. Columbia City Theater. 8 p.m. $6 adv./
$8 DOS. MARK S. BAUMGARTEN

Nacho Picasso, Crocodile. Read our preview

here

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Black Joe Lewis For its latest album, August’s Electric Slave, this Austin-based musician and his band may have dropped “& the Honeybears” from its name, but it’s kept the bluesy, horn-heavy grooves featured on their debut album, 2009’s Tell ’Em What Your Name Is!, and 2011’s Scandalous and added a bit of punk-rock attitude. With Radkey, Think No Think. The Neptune. 9 p.m. $20 adv./$22 DOS. All ages. AZARIA C. PODPLESKY

No Rey As much as Seattle Weekly would love to take credit for its success (frontman Alejandro Garcia was our accommodating cover man a few years back), this multinational group, comprising members originally from Columbia, England, and Detroit, has a sound that speaks for itself. Think Rusted Root with a Latin flair. The five-piece releases its new LP, Untie Your Arms, tonight. With the Country Lips, the Swearengens, Aaron McDonnell & The Gospel Plow. Sunset Tavern. 10:30 p.m. $8. GWENDOLYN ELLIOTT

Saturday, Nov. 30

Ball of Wax Every three months, Levi Fuller tasks a cadre of inventive songwriters to compose and perform songs based on a different theme. Often Fuller must dream up the theme, but this go-round the universe delivered it. For the 34th installment of the Ball of Wax Audio Quarterly, he naturally asked musicians to write songs in ¾ time. They obliged, and the result is a stylistically diverse, time-signature-static collection from the likes of Virgin of the Birds, Sun Tunnels, Emiko Blalock, Bret Phillips’s Whole Halves, and Joshua Morrison’s St. Kilda. Some of these artists will join Fuller on stage tonight. Bring your waltzing partner. Conor Byrne. 8:30 p.m. $7 (includes copy of Ball of Wax #34). MSB

The Dickies There wouldn’t be a Blink-182 or Green Day without the Dickies, who formed in 1977 and were one of the first bands to integrate melody, humor, and pop-culture references into punk rock. They were also the first California punk band to sign to a major label. That was 35 years ago, and the Dickies are still at it. With Dreadful Children, Go Like Hell, P.R.O.B.L.E.M.S., Poorsport. El Corazon. 8 p.m. $13 adv./
$15 DOS. DAVE LAKE

Movember Benefit Congrats! After a month of dealing with what I imagine to be a very itchy face (or itchy legs, ladies), you’ve survived Movember, the month-long no-shave movement (and global charity) meant to draw attention to men’s-health issues and raise funds for men’s-health programs. Celebrate the end of a hairy month (and show off that sweet beard) at this Movember event. With Vacant Seas, Oddeven, Sailor Mouth, Cutlass Supreme. The Highline. 9 p.m. $10 suggested donation. ACP

Benefit for La Luz The best thing about the local music community is that it’s just that: a community. One that celebrates the highs and comforts you through the lows, values that have recently been on display to a heartening degree. When surf-rock group La Luz was in a nasty car accident earlier this month (luckily, none of the four members were too severely injured—although their van and gear is another story), the city’s musicians and fans rallied, showing support any way they could: A donation jar was set up at the Neumos show the band had to cancel; rapper RA Scion donated all the proceeds from his album-release party to the girls; and Hardly Art, La Luz’s label, set up a PayPal account for them. And DJ Sharlese Metcalf and friends are lending a hand with this benefit show. JewelBox Theater. 8 p.m. $10 suggested donation. 21 and over. ACP

Nothing against The Cave Singers, but opening band Pollens is the act to see on this bill. If you haven’t heard this band before, it’s a less-pretentious Dirty Projectors: six people clapping, bongoing, and harmonizing their way through songs whose time signatures are wild tangles of prime numbers. And while I’m probably not supposed to say it, the girls are total babes. The Neptune. 9 p.m. $20. All ages, bar with I.D. DANIEL PERSON

When Sandrider opened for Ty Segall a couple of months ago, Segall headbanged furiously in the audience and threw up the devil horns more than once. The band’s new album, Godhead, is the most rock-and-roll thing to come out of Seattle in a while, so prepare to get your face melted by the band’s Soundgarden-indebted shred. With Constant Lovers, Dust Moth. Neumos. 8 p.m. $10. 21 and over. KS

The Redwood Plan To see Lesli Wood perform with her band, The Redwood Plan, at Bumbershoot this past September was to see a performer in mid-stride. Clad in black beneath the blazing sun, Plan churned out driving, melodic post-punk songs from its latest, Green Light Go, while its leader, with her shock of bright red hair, pumped her knees and arms incessantly, bouncing in time to the beat. Tonight is the final chance to catch the band in this phase before it burrows under and starts working on new material. With The West, Black Swede. Sunset Tavern. 10 p.m. $8. MSB

Sunday, Dec. 1

24-year-old rapper/producer Iamsu! (aka Sudan Williams) has a firm grasp on the culture of his generation. His song “Hipster Girls,” off his latest mixtape, Kilt II, pays homage to the Los Angeles–bound, Urban Outfitters–frequenting girls on Instagram and Tumblr (those who tie flannels around their waist and are friends with promoters all over town), all in Su’s laid-back flow. With Sage the Gemini. Showbox at the Market. 8 p.m. $20 adv./$22 DOS. All ages. ACP

KC and the Sunshine Band This is a proper way to kick off a celebration of 40 years of American disco. Started in 1973 as a hybrid of R&B and Junkanoo street music, KC and the Sunshine Band flourished in the mid-’70s with songs like “Get Down Tonight” and “(That’s the Way) I Like It.” But when the disco ball stopped turning, so did the records made by KC and his dance-floor cohorts, including tonight’s other act, the Village People. Their sounds should be well-preserved. Snoqualmie Casino. 7 p.m. $40.55–$83.60 adv. MSB

Freedy Johnston He may make records at a slow-ish pace these days (his last album of new material came out in 2010), but his touring schedule is far from sluggish. The “Bad Reputation” singer is a tremendous troubadour, and the Tractor is the perfect venue for his intimate tales of complicated characters. With Barton Carroll. Tractor Tavern. 7 p.m. $12. 21 and over. DL