KnowMads/Friday, January 4

KnowMads is a highly productive local group with growing potential. Its producer, Jester, a classically styled, sample-based beatmaker who’s got solid work with town staples Grynch and La under his belt, serves as the crew’s backbone. MCs Tom “Pepe” and Tom “Cheef” Wilson are positive-minded lyricists who are quickly developing, though their verses aren’t yet packed with the kind of fire that collaborators like Chev and La bring to the table. Their heads are in the right places, though, and the group as a whole is on the come-up, so you might as well get familiar now. With Camila Recchio, David Dalla G, the Realists. Vera Project, 305 Harrison St., 956-8372. 7:30 p.m. $13. All ages. TODD HAMM

Grieves/Saturday, January 5

The skinny on this show is that it’s a fundraiser for Minneapolis artist P.O.S. (Rhymesayers/Doomtree), who reportedly needs a new kidney. Sick jokes aside, P.O.S. is one of the illest ever to emerge from the bustling Midwest rap burg, and he certainly deserves a functioning kidney like the rest of us, so feel good about bringing your money/organs to the show. The headliner is Seattle resident (and Rhymesayers roster-mate) Grieves, one of the rare artists in the often-hyperliteral rap field who takes poetic detours through his backlog of emotional highs and lows without sounding too cheesy or preachy. Over time he’s become the perfect compliment to (longtime producer) Budo’s striking arrangements, in the process carving a healthy spot for himself in the indie-rap consciousness. With Grayskul, Sadistik, Th3rdz. The Crocodile, 2200 Second Ave., 441-4618. 8 p.m. $12. All ages. TODD HAMM

Neurosis/Saturday, January 5

Now is the winter of our discontent, indeed. I’m not sure if this is the greatest metal club booking ever, or a covert plan to “accidentally” demolish the Showbox to make way for condos, but the sludgy, low-end rumble emitted by Neurosis alone is capable of shaking downtown to its core. Few bands are as revered and influential as these road-weary Oakland post-metal pioneers. Their influence can certainly be heard in tonight’s three openers: Seattle metal-makers Black Breath, who absolutely slayed it at 2012’s Capitol Hill Block Party; Portland’s acidic Stoneburner; and Portland-via-Memphis hardcore innovators Tragedy. It is also worth noting that this hairball sausage fest is brought to you by the very rockin’ ladies at Infinite Productions and Seek and Destroy. Showbox at the Market, 1426 First Ave., 628-3151. 8 p.m. $26.50 adv./$31.50 DOS. All ages. MA’CHELL DUMA LAVASSAR

The Washover Fans/Saturday, January 5

While rockers nostalgic for the glory days of grunge understandably lament the softening of Seattle’s sound, a fine New Year’s resolution would be for everyone to simply get over it: Seattle’s heartfelt acoustic roots scene is here to stay, and it’s deep and formidable. Rather than grousing about how Head & the Heart sidewoman Charity Rose Thielen’s harmonies resemble Donna Jean Godchaux’s at their most atonal, it’s better for everyone if vastly more talented females like the Washover Fans’ Gillian Tart are showered with accolades instead. Tart instantly recalls another Gillian (Welch); if anything, she’s underutilized in this satisfying quartet. With Rory James & The Majestic, The Colt Kraft Band. Columbia City Theater, 4916 Rainier Ave. S., 722-3009. 9 p.m. $8. MIKE SEELY

***EDITOR’S PICKKEXP Audioasis/Saturday, January 5

The headliner for this month’s installment of Audioasis—a benefit for Food Lifeline, a nonprofit dedicated to feeding the hungry in western Washington—is Don’t Talk to the Cops!, the popular local dance and hip-hop trio whose fire-starting tunes can be pretty take-it-or-leave-it, depending on how much the phrase “party rap” appeals to you. The rest of the bill, however, features a super-strong lineup of three of Seattle’s best and brightest young rock bands: Wimps, a cheeky punk outfit fronted by Rachel Ratner that’s gearing up to release its first LP, Repeat, on the new local label End of Time Records (read a review on page 30); post-rock quartet Stephanie, whose convulsive debut album, One Glove, was one of the city’s most distinctive releases of 2012; and Dude York, a propulsive trio led by hyperactive, deviant frontman Peter Richards, whose forthcoming album should be one of 2013’s punchiest records. Sunset Tavern, 5433 Ballard Ave. N.W., 784-4880. 10 p.m. $7 adv./$8 DOS. ERIN K. THOMPSON