Head Like a Kite & Daydream Vacation/Friday, March 16
Only a handful of musicians in town are fluent in the exotic language of dance pop. A true sound architect, Dave Einmo has not only mastered the craft on record, he basically teaches the class every time he steps onstage, be it with established dance/hip-hop project Head Like a Kite or lighter new venture Daydream Vacation (with bandmate Asya de Saavedra, of Smoosh). Tonight will be an all-inclusive Einmo affair, as the producer/vocalist/guitarist has booked his two projects as co-headliners, which will provide not only an extended opportunity to “wild out” on the dance floor, but also to catch a sneak peek of DV’s upcoming album Dare Seize the Fire (out this June). Expect cameos, live instrumentation, lineup mixing, wardrobe changes, antics. With NighTraiN, SPORTS. The Crocodile, 2200 Second Ave., 441-4618. 8 p.m. $10. TODD HAMM
Lucky 2012 w/Calvin Harris/Friday, March 16
Setting aside the mild cognitive dissonance of a St. Patrick’s Day–themed big-room rave being headlined by a Scottish producer (close enough?), there’s plenty about Calvin Harris’ unlikely rise to international stardom that’s slightly puzzling. He arrived late to the electro-clash party with 2007’s I Invented Disco (not true—I checked Wikipedia), a claim he backed up with electro-pop novelties that misremembered the ’80s and boasted of his acquisitive way with women, and with the truly inviting “Merrymaking at My Place” (the Mr. Oizo remix is tops). He parlayed that and follow-up Ready for the Weekend into production work for Kylie Minogue, LMFAO, and Rihanna, for whom he produced the #1-charting, chintzy-carnival-organ trance-pop of “We Found Love.” In a moment when pop and rave are the most mixed up they’ve been since, say, C+C MusicFactory, Harris makes for a legit star. Lucky him. With ATB, Flux Pavilion, Porter Robinson, Hardwell, Manufactured Superstars, dirtyphonics, Ed Rush & Optical, Goldie, Adventure Club, Crizzly. WaMu Theater, 800 Occidental Ave. S., 628-0888. 7:30 p.m. $45–$100. All ages. ERIC GRANDY
***EDITOR’S PICK
The Raincoats/Friday, March 16
Ladies will rule Chop Suey tonight: Influential London post-punk band the Raincoats, a favorite of both Kurt Cobain and 10 Things I Hate About You‘s punk feminist Kat Stratford, hasn’t released an album in 16 years, but after Jeff Mangum asked them to play his curated version of All Tomorrow’s Parties this year, the girls decided to follow up the festival with five U.S. shows. Seattle is one of the lucky cities they’ll hit. Another fabulous all-girl trio, the Kill Rock Stars–signed lo-fi outfit Grass Widow, will open, along with some of Seattle’s best DIY rockers, M. Women. Andrew McKibben, who provides M. Women’s shadowy guitar riffs, will be the sole male onstage tonight. What a lucky guy! Chop Suey, 1325 E. Madison St., 324-8005. 8 p.m. $16. ERIN K. THOMPSON
The Pretty Reckless/Saturday, March 17
A dramatic pop-punk act fronted by former child actress and Gossip Girl nymph Taylor Momsen, The Pretty Reckless should be pretty awful. Amazingly, they’re not. Momsen’s voice is astonishingly deep and mature in light of her girlish blonde appearance, and the band sounds like an amalgam of Evanescence, Avril Lavigne, Hole, and Green Day. Sure, Momsy’s raccoon eye makeup and gothy lingerie is a bit much, her “edge” seems more than a little put-on, and no new musical ground is being broken here. But by not being horrible, The Pretty Reckless triumphs mightily. With The Parlor Mob, The Hollywood Kills. El Corazon, 109 Eastlake Ave. E., 381-3094. 8 p.m. $15 adv./$18 DOS. All ages. MIKE SEELY
Vetiver/Saturday, March 17
It’s easy to tab Vetiver as your basic folk-rock group, but, as with their music, the reality is a bit more complicated than it first appears. The San Francisco–based five-piece is part of a growing number of groups (Kurt Vile, The War on Drugs, and to a lesser degree, Woods) who mix traditional elements of Americana—slide guitar and wide-open, mid-tempo songs—with loads of effects pedals and layers of atmosphere. The band’s latest album, 2011’s The Errant Charm, is an exercise in both songwriting and subtlety; the lushness of the music beautifully complements singer/guitarist Andy Cabic’s subdued melodies. While it’s understandable to think this wouldn’t be a particularly exciting group to see live, Columbia City Theater is one of the best-sounding venues in town, so all the band’s nuances will get a chance to shine. With Gold Leaves, Cumulus. Columbia City Theater, 4918 Rainier Ave. S., 723-0088. 9 p.m. $10. ANDREW GOSPE
Ying Yang Twins/Sunday, March 18
Long before the likes of LMFAO came along, the Ying Yang Twins were cranking out the crunkest of party-rock anthems. Atlanta natives Kaine and D-Roc (not actually twins, just two dudes) were featured on a slew of early 2000s club bangers, including Lil Jon’s “Get Low” and Britney Spears’ “(I Got That) Boom Boom,” along with their own strip-club anthems like “Salt Shaker” and “Wait (The Whisper Song).” On Sunday the duo will resurrect the Dirty South in the classiest way possible: a black-and-white ball. Tuxes are optional, but twerking will be mandatory. With DJ Kun Luv, Vennum the Star, Shorte, Prano tha Don, Quincy, Skuntdunanna, LaMar Trenton. Nectar, 412 N. 36th St., 632-2020. 8 p.m. $15 adv./$20 DOS/$30 VIP. KEEGAN HAMILTON
Robert Schwartzman/Monday, March 19
Robert Schwartzman is a man of many hats: a member of the Coppola dynasty, a son of Talia “Yo, Adrian” Shire, an occasional actor whose most famous role was a teenage Anne Hathaway’s boyfriend in The Princess Diaries, and frontman of the poppiest of all pop-rock bands, Rooney, who peaked around 2003 after playing “I’m Shakin'” on The O.C. but are still making music together. Schwartzman’s also become something of an activist after befriending a Tibetan Buddhist monk, and all the profits from his 2011 solo album, Double Capricorn, are going straight to the Tibetan Healing Fund, which provides medical care to women and children in rural Tibet. Double Capricorn is a giddy electro-pop affair that should gel easily with stalwart Rooney fans. So should the catchy sounds of Schwartzman’s current tour co-headliner, The Relationship—another moonlighting project from a pop-rocker, Brian Bell of Weezer. With BellaMaine. Vera Project, 305 Harrison St., 956-8372. 7:30 p.m. $9. All ages. ERIN K. THOMPSON
Magnetic Fields/Monday, March 19–Tuesday, March 20
“Andrew in Drag,” the lead single of Magnetic Fields’ new album Love at the Bottom of the Sea, might be the single best song Stephin Merritt has written in years—it’s certainly the closest thing they’ve done in some time to 1999’s landmark 69 Love Songs. (In an interview with New York‘s Vulture blog, Merritt has welcomed the comparison, referring to 69 Love Songs as a “calling card” he’d be happy to be known for the rest of his life.) Sadly, it’s also the album’s best song by far, its sprightly verses and high, arching chorus as much of a feint as a dude in a dress. Elsewhere is the familiar mix of arch synth-pop, maudlin ballads, and too-clever off-Broadway musical numbers, crackling with electric noise this time around but too often failing to carry a jolt. Still, they’re famously cranky live! With Holcombe Waller (Monday), Bachelorette (Tuesday). The Neptune, 1303 N.E. 45th St., 877-784-4849. 8 p.m. $30 adv./$32 DOS. All ages. ERIC GRANDY
Lady Antebellum/Tuesday, March 20
The two-guys-and-a-girl trio Lady Antebellum seems as though it’s been genetically engineered to robotically churn out soft-rock hit after soft-rock hit for the country charts. As with the likes of Taylor Swift, Rascal Flatts, or Keith Urban, they are polished to the point that those who prefer their twang trucked in on a gravel road will be instantly repulsed. But while main male crooner Charles Kelley (brother of Josh, aka Mr. Katherine Heigl) comes off as sort of a ‘bag, it’s impossible not to be charmed by Hillary Scott, who boasts a voice too true to be dismissed as saccharin and a figure far too full to have been plucked from a lipstick ad and Auto-Tuned for the masses. With Darius “Hootie” Rucker, Thompson Square. KeyArena, 305 Harrison St., 684-7200. 7 p.m. $24–$76.50. All ages. MIKE SEELY
