Music

Dancer and Prancer Now that the polar ice caps are melting at an irreversible rate and all the world’s reindeer will soon be replaced by flamingos, it seems logical that Santa might trade in his sleigh for a surfboard. To soundtrack our globally warmed holidays, Seattle’s own Dancer and Prancer have taken all the holiday classics you love (“Sleigh Ride,” “Jingle Bell Rock,” “Oh, Holy Night,” etc.) and rewritten them as bodacious instrumental surf-rock tunes. It may be winter, but you can never have too much spring reverb. With Gazebos, Ubu Roi. 21 and over. KELTON SEARS Barboza, 925 E. Pike St., Seattle, WA 98122 $8 Wednesday, December 16, 2015, 8pm

Pleather This new duo is the sonic embodiment of the cultural push-pull this city is undergoing. As Capitol Hill culture warriors take up arms over the influx of perceived gentrifying tech workers, Pleather emerges as a mutant hybrid of these two seemingly opposed sides-a band formed by two DIY punk holdouts diving headfirst into the world of electronics, heartily embracing the unknown territory. Andrew McKibben, head of Seattle’s Couple Skate records, and Claire Nelson, former bassist for local shoegaze group FF, got their hands on an ancient sampler and started experimenting with it-fusing “chunks of Web 2.0 audio detritus from YouTube” with the guitar-based, rock-inspired songwriting they were both more familiar with. In an effort to toss out the “personal negativity and retro-obsessed creative culture of their rock scene,” the two decided to pursue this unusual fusion approach to songwriting, and the result sounds as messy and complex as the context it arises from. “Wish U Well,” the single from the cassette the group will release tonight, is a sentimental breakup song that features breathy singing, pretty acoustic melodies, a driving, distorted alt-rock chorus, chintzy drum-machine loops, and lots of bizarre samples of tea kettles steaming, the ocean, and kittens mewing at each other. With USF, Lilac. 21 and over. KELTON SEARS Chop Suey, 1325 E. Madison St., Seattle, WA 98122 $5 Wednesday, December 16, 2015, 8pm

Baauer Do you remember way back to 2013, way before “Hotline Bling” took over as the king of meme pop, when everyone and their mother (actually though, for real) was making “Harlem Shake” videos? “Harlem Shake” was the song that finally convinced Billboard to include YouTube metrics in determining the Hot 100 chart, a decision that made the difference between the song landing at the #1 spot vs. the #15 spot. The song also charted a new course in our Wild West digital-music landscape when its creator, electronic producer Baauer, legally asserted copyright over the onslaught of viral videos it spawned, staking claims over portions of the ad revenue generated by all the thousands of 30-second clips random people across the world made of themselves dancing like Gumby on coke. What has Baauer done since this landmark moment in music history? I have no idea-find out tonight. 21 and over. KELTON SEARS Q Nightclub, 1426 Broadway, Seattle, Washington 98122 $16 Wednesday, December 16, 2015, 9pm

Black Breath Local metal overlords Black Breath (featuring that nice guy with the headband that works at Everyday Music) went for a more classic death-metal feel on its appropriately titled new LP Slaves Beyond Death. Don’t worry, though-the d-beat crust you know and love from these longhairs is here to stay, as is the giant fist that usually adorns its album covers. Lots of fists will likely be swinging around in the air at tonight’s show, so make sure to wear your finest studded leather to fend off any errant blows that might come your way. With Skelator, Sayonara, Convication. 21 and over. KELTON SEARS Neumos, 925 E. Pike St., Seattle, WA 98122 $13 Thursday, December 17, 2015, 8pm

The Flavr Blue The Flavr Blue is efficient. Rather than spending a full-length album exploring something as complex as human attraction, the Seattle trio manages to get from love found to love lost in the course of one EP-the electro-pop group’s latest, Love Notes, released last month. The collection is an evolution for the group, which is fronted by vocalist Hollis Wong-Wear-whom you might remember from Macklemore’s “White Walls.” Single “Majesty” is the band at its best, slow-jam self. With DJ100Proof, Geo. All ages. MARK BAUMGARTEN Chop Suey, 1325 E. Madison St., Seattle, WA 98122 $12 adv./$14 DOS Thursday, December 17, 2015, 8pm

Psychedelic Holiday Freakout The three-day Psychedelic Holiday Freakout festival isn’t necessarily very psychedelic-maybe one of five acts playing each night might be considered such. But don’t let that be an excuse not to trip balls at this seasonal, multi-venue fest, which amazing L.A. shitgaze duo No Age is headlining, along with promising local up-and-comers like the Pavement-worshipping Great Grandpa, the all-American teen pop of Dude York, and the Dionysian glam punk of Steal Shit Do Drugs. Neumos, Barboza, Highline. 21 and over. Fri., Dec. 18-Sun., Dec. 20. KELTON SEARS Various locations, $15 per night Friday, December 18, 2015, 7pm

Unsilent Night Caroling with a twist: Download a preselected app or electronic track (from ontheboards.org), play it on your sonic device of choice, and join the 45-minute procession “as we become a roving surround-sound stereo system” spreading dreamy ambient music throughout LQA. Devised, and the music tracks created, by Greenwich Village musician Phil Kline in 1992, it’s an experience now organized in cities around the world. It’ll start and end at On the Boards. GAVIN BORCHERT Various locations, Free Saturday, December 19, 2015, 5 – 6pm

Psychedelic Holiday Freakout The three-day Psychedelic Holiday Freakout festival isn’t necessarily very psychedelic-maybe one of five acts playing each night might be considered such. But don’t let that be an excuse not to trip balls at this seasonal, multi-venue fest, which amazing L.A. shitgaze duo No Age is headlining, along with promising local up-and-comers like the Pavement-worshipping Great Grandpa, the all-American teen pop of Dude York, and the Dionysian glam punk of Steal Shit Do Drugs. Neumos, Barboza, Highline. 21 and over. Fri., Dec. 18-Sun., Dec. 20. KELTON SEARS Various locations, $15 per night Saturday, December 19, 2015, 7pm

Merso Portland’s chugging, sludgy Gaytheist is something of the flagship group of Seattle’s hard rocking Good to Die Records, but tonight’s show serves as the label debut for the newest kids on the roster, Seattle’s freshly signed Merso (formerly Leatherdaddy). While the group maintains the label’s abrasive vibe, Merso is the most post-rock act Good to Die has signed thus far. Nimbly dancing among soft melodic interludes, mathy drum breaks, and crushing gut-rumbler riffs, Merso’s got a little bit of something for everyone. Apparently, its new record, out in 2016, is inspired by Alan Moore’s turn at writing the Swamp Thing comic, so expect things to get a little . . . swampy tonight. With VHS, Old Iron. Sunset Tavern. 8 p.m. $8. 21 and over. KELTON SEARS Sunset Tavern, 5433 Ballard Ave., Seattle WA $8 Saturday, December 19, 2015, 8pm

Smokey Brights/Cataldo/Planes on Paper If you’d like to close out 2015 with a bill of bands who are preparing for big things in 2016, this is your bill. It’s been a year since Smokey Brights released its first proper full-length album, Taste for Blood, a conversely bright and hazy kind of pop record that impresses with its balance of tender and sinister and begs for a sophomore effort. Cataldo is preparing for the follow-up to the transformative 2014 release Gilded Oldies, which found lead man Eric Anderson stepping out from behind his guitar and infusing his balladry with some bass. He should have some new material in tow. Planes on Paper hasn’t made its big splash yet, but a debut full-length of the group’s otherworldly folk duets is rumored to be in the works.  21 and over. MARK BAUMGARTEN Tractor Tavern, 5213 Ballard Ave. N.W., Seattle, WA 98107 $10 Saturday, December 19, 2015, 9pm

Briana Marela Winter is the perfect season to finally dive into the crystalline universe of local vocal-looper Briana Marela. Her latest album, All Around Us, recorded in Reykjavik with Sigur Ros producer Alex Somers, swirls, plinks, and shimmers like a gentle dusting of snow observed from your bedroom window. Marela will be soundtracking today’s ArtAche market at Chop Suey, where you can peruse for last-minute locally crafted gifts for your punky loved ones. Also, make sure to check out Hollow Earth Radio host and Rare Air regular DJ Explorateur’s radiant electronic and ambient mixes as you shop. Way better than whatever they’re probably playing on the PA over at Pacific Place. 21 and over. KELTON SEARS Chop Suey, 1325 E. Madison St., Seattle, WA 98122 Free Sunday, December 20, 2015, 1 – 6pm

Psychedelic Holiday Freakout The three-day Psychedelic Holiday Freakout festival isn’t necessarily very psychedelic-maybe one of five acts playing each night might be considered such. But don’t let that be an excuse not to trip balls at this seasonal, multi-venue fest, which amazing L.A. shitgaze duo No Age is headlining, along with promising local up-and-comers like the Pavement-worshipping Great Grandpa, the all-American teen pop of Dude York, and the Dionysian glam punk of Steal Shit Do Drugs. Neumos, Barboza, Highline. 21 and over. Fri., Dec. 18-Sun., Dec. 20. KELTON SEARS Various locations, $15 per night Sunday, December 20, 2015, 7pm

David Bazan Christmas is an appropriate time to see David Bazan. The Seattle indie rocker, after all, has fashioned a deep catalogue out of the kinds of philosophical and theological questions that arise when one is, say, forced to spend a week with family, alcohol, and the ghosts of a religious youth. So bring your questions about the virgin birth, and Bazan will actually answer them between his deeply melancholic-and achingly excellent-pop songs. Perhaps he will even give us all the gift of some new material, since he hasn’t released a full-length since 2011’s Strange Negotiations. At the very least, let’s hope he plays his transcendent cover of the Killers’ “Read My Mind,” which was released as a part of Polyvinyl’s Singles Series earlier this month. With Andy Fitts. Tractor Tavern. 8 p.m. $20. 21 and over. MARK BAUMGARTEN Tractor Tavern, 5213 Ballard Ave. N.W., Seattle, WA 98107 $20 Sunday, December 20, 2015, 8pm