Jay Reatard, Wednesday, August 26: Overly serious artists do not employ the surname Reatard. That understanding should prepare you for Jay ReatardaE™s sneering, infectiously uptempo poppy punk with a glorious dose of juvenile exuberance. His latest LP, Watch me Fall, sets the mood with the Buzzcocks-esque bravado of aEœAin’t Gonna Save Me,aE which plays downbeat lyrics against manically upbeat instrumentation, focusing on strummy guitars and breakneck drumming. aEœAll is lost / There is no hopeaE asserts Reatard, but he somehow leaves you with a grin. It’s like one big aEœfuck itaE moment of emotional abandon. The album is studded with similarly bi-polar shards of candy-coated arsenic. Depressive song-writing is certainly nothing new for Reatard, but it takes on an added level of impact when he channels his ennui through the scat-chorus and kiwi-pop sensibilities of aEœWoundedaE, rather than through his usual screaming and feedback haze, almost charming you as he gleefully admonishes aEœwe are standing stillaE. The album is immediately arresting, imminently enjoyable, and surprisingly cathartic. It would be hard to find a more mood-affecting record capable of leaving you a manic-depressive bundle of nerves twitching for more. Easy Street Records, 20 W. Mercer. 691-3279. 7 p.m. Free. All ages. Note by NICHOLAS HALL

The Pretenders, Thursday, August 27: Even Chrissie Hynde admits that The Pretenders feels a little like a tribute band given the number of lineup changes the groupaE™s faced over the years. As frontwoman and the only constant member over the last three decades, Hynde essentially is the Pretenders. But ainaE™t nothing wrong with that. The bandaE™s new album, Break Up the Concrete, contains more twang and rockabilly than their aE˜80s material, but songs like aEœBoots of Chinese PlasticaE and aEœLoveaE™s a MysteryaE manage to evoke familiarity, thanks to HyndeaE™s trademark bay, and the 57-year-old sounds as ballsy now as she did a 20-something declaring her sexual prowess on aEœBrass in Pocket.aE In rock naE™ roll, where few aging females survive, let alone thrive, thataE™s special. With Cat Power, Juliette Lewis. Marymoor Park, 6046 W. Lake Sammamish Pkwy. N.E. 205-3661. 6 p.m. $45-$65. All ages. Note by ERIKA HOBART

Stanley Jordan Trio, Thursday, August 26 aE“ Sunday, August 30: Known for his delicate sound as much as for his trademark right-hand tapping technique, guitarist Stanley Jordan has nonetheless pushed hard against being pigeonholed throughout his 25-year career. Jordan will probably always be regarded by the general public as a virtuosic smooth-jazz guitarist, but watching him with his trio helps provide a broader context for his strong exploratory drive. Jordan has in a sense been penalized for pulling off what so few virtuoso-level players do, which is translate prodigious skills into listenable music aE“ while still highlighting those skills. He has applied said skills to classical, pop, Brazilian, Indian, and other styles, but his latest album, State of Nature, actually uses disharmony as a starting point. A plea for humankind to re-align with the natural world, the album also sees Jordan return to his piano roots. But don’t worry aE“ he still does the double-fisting, two-guitars-at-once thing during the show. After all these years, it still hasn’t gotten old. Dimitriou’s Jazz Alley, 2033 Sixth Ave. 441-9729. Thurs., 7:30 and 9:30 p.m. Fri-Sat., 8 p.m. and 10 p.m. Sun., 7:30 p.m. $23.50. All ages. Note by SABY REYES-KULKARNI

Avett Brothers, Friday, August 28: Since 2000, the fraternal duo of Seth and Scott Avett have lead their folk-rock group with the earnest delivery of a classic Southern rock band with an eye for pretty girls, except these guys have softer hearts and a collective ear for both down-home roots and unhinged punk energy. After several years of extensive touring and putting out nearly a dozen well-received studio albums (and several live releases), the brothers caught the attention of legendary sonic guru Rick Rubin, who not only signed them to his Columbia Records imprint label, American Recordings, but got behind the boards for their latest release, I and Love and You, which drops later this month. Tonight they are perfectly paired with openers Heartless Bastards, an Ohio-based, guitar-driven trio that consistently deliver engrossing, impassioned live performances. Paramount Theatre, 911 Pine St. 467-5510. 8 p.m. $25 adv., $30 dos. All ages. Note by HANNAH LEVIN

Jucifer, Friday, August 28: While their moniker conjures images of what Satan might prefer to drink for breakfast, Jucifer’s sonic presence is a veritable smorgasbord of delicious and confounding sounds. Frontwoman Amber Valentine wields as much versatility in her elastic vocal presence as she does in her wall-of-sound guitar playing, vacillating naturally between sweet whisper and primal scream. Drummer Edgar Livengood, ValentineaE™s husband and constant touring companion, is as tasteful as he is powerful, backing his super vixen with equal parts style and substance. Jucifer alone is reason to head to El Corazon, but the local support on the bill is also phenomenal and includes math-y metal mavens Lesbian, doom-driven stoner sludge courtesy of Sod Hauler and unapologetically classic shredding via Plaster. Lube up your ears, kids, this is gonna be one beautifully brutal orgy of rock. With Ubik, Sod Hauler. El Corazon, 109 Eastlake Ave. E. 381-3094. 8 p.m. $10 adv., $12 dos. Note by HANNAH LEVIN

White Fang, Friday, Aug. 28: Last yearaE™s Pure Evil may have seen a proper release thanks to PortlandaE™s Marriage Records, but White FangaE™s sound remains steeped in the homemade hiss of their CD-R and cassette past. In fact, the quartet of grinning Portland teens casts off its trashy two-minute treasures with such beery punk harmonies and itchy hardcore thrashing that itaE™s tough to imagine them adopting a drop of polish. It may be brashly lo-fi, but Pure Evil casts its net wider in places, with the occasional frazzled trumpet line or ska-flirting guitar lick, and even some tangles of country and a pair of instrumentals. ThereaE™s a great sloshing chorus to aEœGreen BeanzaE aE“ aEœAnd I will sing until the day I dieaE aE“ and even better is the ludicrously catchy album opener aEœBreakfast.aE Imagine an unholy blend of DexyaE™s Midnight Runners and 7 Seconds, only late for class and with bedhead. With Mad Rad, Breakfast Mountain, Chk Minus, and Dash Exp. Comet Tavern, 922 E. Pike St. 322-9272. 9 p.m. $8. Note by DOUG WALLEN

Harvey Danger, Friday, August 28 and Saturday, August 29: There’s not enough space here to pseudo-intellectually parse through what Harvey Danger aE“ officially disbanding after this weekend aE“ did or never did mean to this town’s music scene in the 1990s. So let’s move right along to why you should still try to snag a ticket. Harvey Danger’s enjoyed fruitful collaborations with a number of more-now bands you love, Seattle-based and beyond aE“ Death Cab, the Long Winters, Nada Surf, the Decemberists aE“ so the surprise-guest list just might make for a you hadda be there moment in the fandom narrative of your life. Harvey Danger’s third and final album, Little By Little… is pretty good, largely unheralded and deserving of a posthumous sales bump. Most importantly, it will be admitted here for those who won’t admit it themselves: Flagpole Sitta is an awesome, perfect song that induces happy-pop head-banging so potently, it’s like a drug. Go ahead and get your one last fix. With (bands). Friday at Vera Project, 305 Harrison St. 956-8372. 7:30 p.m. $13. All ages. Saturday at The Crocodile, 2200 Second Ave. 441-7416. 5 p.m. aEœquiet set.aE 8 p.m. show sold out. $20. Note by ROSE MARTELLI

Sex Church, Saturday, August 29: IaE™m starting to get the feelings things are about to go boom in Vancouver. Every few weeks, another baby band barrels its way South with a fresh take on bleak, bombastic post-punk sound. Though their respective sounds differ, they are all tied together by a dark, bass-heavy thread, a fondness for distortion and the otherworldly influence of Ian Curtis. TonightaE™s bill contains two such bands: Sex Church and the Defektors, whose approach filters their scene through a Buzzcocks Brita. When combined with likes of other BC contemporaries Twin Crystals (stony psych punks), and the amazingly listenable Modern Creatures (think Siouxsie Sioux backed by Sonic Youth) this bill is made up of a slew of talented kids poised to get their sound and style pillaged by the mainstream. With Coconut Coolouts, Sister Wife. Funhouse, 206 Fifth Ave. N. 374-8400. 9:30 p.m. $6. Note by MAaE™CHELL DUMA LAVASSAR

Busdriver, Sunday, August 30: One of underground hip-hopaE™s more challenging artists, Los Angeles rapper BusdriveraE™s flow is both instinctive and adroit, filled with lightning-fast runs, dazzling flashes of poetry, and impressive vocal shapeshifting. He leaps from impish, sing-songy elocution to a half-speed, haunted croon, to a manic attack thataE™s strangely reminiscent of Mr. Bungle-era Mike Patton, believe it or not. Marry that to peculiar imagery, confusing allusions, odd couplets, illogical tangents, and experimental production, and youaE™ve got the aural equivalent to a David Lynch flick: Beautiful and, at times, utterly baffling. A graduate of the acclaimed Project Blowed hip-hop collective (which also counts Aceyalone, Abstract Rude, and Pigeon John among its many alumni), Bus just dropped his ninth LP, Jhelli Beam, which sonically is his most ambitious, and most rewarding, album yet. With Abstract Rude, Open Mike Eagle. Chop Suey, 1325 E. Madison St. 324-8000. 8 p.m. $10 adv., $12 dos. Note by MICHAEL ALAN GOLDBERG

Tim Easton, Sunday, August 30: ItaE™s nice to have friends in high places aE“ especially if those friends are Lucinda Williams, Tim EastonaE™s mentor, or the guys from Wilco, whoaE™ve played on one of EastonaE™s records as his backing band. And with the release of his latest New West record, Porcupine, Easton himself can take his place among alt-country royalty. But EastonaE™s latest record, Porcupine, has Easton, a Midwesterner who relocated to Joshua Tree, California, returning to his earlier and punchier rock and roll sound. The album is still a pretty diverse collection of tunes, from the swinging rockabilly of aEœBurgundy RedaE to the soulful slide guitars on aEœYoung GirlsaE and the smooth pop sound of aEœSeventh Wheel.aE EastonaE™s dusky, creaking vocals, similar to those of M. Ward, are perfect for relaying his occasionally tender and introspective lyrics, as on aEœBroke My Heart,aE where he sings, aEœThereaE™s only two things left in this world: love, and the lack thereof.aE With Kate Tucker. Tractor Tavern, 5213 Ballard Ave. N.W. 789-3599. 9 p.m. $10. Note by E. THOMPSON