Music
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Vats Vats is three cool people from Seattle: Gabriel, Sarah, and JJ. So cool that they just released a VHS tape. Their music is moody, dreamy, and groovy. They’ll send off basement-show vibes wherever they play, and that’s my favorite thing about them. Vats follows Naomi Punk’s social-media stance, with only a very primitive Internet presence. It’s frustrating, but you gotta respect it-mostly you just gotta dance to it. With Roses, Moaning, Gang Cult. 21 and over. DIANA M. LE Chop Suey, 1325 E. Madison St., Seattle, WA 98122 $8 Wednesday, April 29, 2015, 8pm
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Bloodlust Nothing says “Springtime!” like Pony’s gothic boogy-woogy Bloodlust. Get ready to meander backward in a haze whilst lackadaisically pulling imaginary ectoplasmic taffy from the ether. Bloodlust is welcoming a brand-new resident DJ (Al Nino) to this monthly night, so get hyped. But not too hyped, my dear night child, for this is a nocturne of glam gloom jams. 21 and over. WARREN LANGFORD Pony, 1221 E. Madison St. Free Wednesday, April 29, 2015, 9 – 10pm
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Crater This show brought to you by: filling voids with . . . voids. Hear me out! Basement club Kremwerk embodies the spirit of dance culture this town has been seriously lacking for the past eight years or so, filling that local electro-hole in your life. On that same note, Crater fills a very similar space, which is weird for a band with such a concave moniker. In a town lousy with silly punk bands (I love you, but the market is saturated) it’s so goddamn satisfying to get hit with a little sincerity. VOIDS, AMIRIGHT?! With Hosannas, Tokyoidaho, DJAO. 21 and over. WL Kremwerk, 1809 Minor Ave # 10, Seattle, Washington 98101 $7 Thursday, April 30, 2015, 8pm
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Richard Cheese & Lounge Against the Machine What’s tongue-in-cheek lounge act Richard Cheese & Lounge Against the Machine covering in the name of “humor” these days? Its version of Disturbed’s “Down With the Sickness” was pretty funny during a zombie-killing montage in the remake of Dawn of the Dead, but that was forever ago, and I feel like I might not find this shtick hysterical any more, especially after the downfall of Big Nu Metal. Lounge acts also remind me of fedoras. Fedoras are not funny. With iPod in a Chair. 21 and over. WL The Showbox, 1426 First Ave., Seattle, WA 98101 $32-$95 Thursday, April 30, 2015, 8pm
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NW Folklife Prefest Party Folklife is a great place to let your granola flag fly every year. When you think Folklife, you don’t typically think hip-hop or jazz, although both genres are totally American folk music even though no dusty acoustic guitars are involved. This year, the NW Folklife Prefest Party includes performances by Porter Ray, Gabriel Teodros, and Industrial Revelation, with KEXP’s Street Sounds DJ, Larry Mizell Jr, as the host. If this is any indication of this year’s festival lineup, we’re in good hands. All ages. DML The Crocodile, 2200 Second Ave., Seattle WA 98121 $10 Friday, May 1, 2015, 8pm
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Young Fathers Kayus Bankole, Graham Hastings, and Alloysious Massaquoi met in Edinburgh at an all-ages hip hop show when they were 14, choosing the name Young Fathers because all three have their fathers’ names. The group won the UK’s 2014 Mercury Prize for its debut studio album, Dead. Following that was the controversially titled White Men Are Black Men Too, which, whether you agree or not, can spur productive discussion. The album pairs raw and heavy subject matter with catchy melodies. Massaquoi explains that it’s the hip-hop group’s “interpretation of what a pop album should be.” With Mas Ysa, Murder Vibes. All ages. DML Neumos, 925 E. Pike St., Seattle, WA 98122 $15 adv. Sunday, May 3, 2015, 8pm
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Tomten Local ragamuffins Tomten have a new(ish) record called The Farewell Party. You ever put a random tape in your Teddy Ruxpin (that weird animatronic teddy bear that played cassettes)? Well, The Farewell Party would be perfect for that. Lead singer Brian Noyes-Watkins is a suspiciously lovable presence, and nothing can stop Tomten’s almost unsettling positivity. It would pair well with any movie montage featuring a young couple in the park, eating snowcones, falling in love, etc. I almost started skipping just thinking about it. 21 and over. WL Barboza, 925 E. Pike St., Seattle, WA 98122 $6 adv./$8 DOS Monday, May 4, 2015, 8pm
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14th Annual More Music with Sheila E. Sheila E. joins as Music Director during this celebration of the 14th year of this youth music program. The Moore, 1932 Second Ave., Seattle, WA 98101 $15 Friday, May 8, 2015, 6:30pm
