Wednesday, May 20

If you want to hear “the bad intentions and poor decisions” of four friends, check out Bad Motivators. They really milk the whole moody, doom-and-gloom surf-rock thing. On an earlier demo you could find song titles such as “Dark Art,” “See You Cry,” “Lonely Ghost,” and “We All Are Ghosts.” On its latest, EP-3PO, the band has given up capital letters like many Tumblr teens. Aside from the opener “i was knockin on your door (last night),” in which the protagonist is a little too whiny, it’s pretty good. With Wolfgang Fuck, BrainDrain. Funhouse, 109 Eastlake Ave. E., 262-0482, elcorazon
seattle.com. 8 p.m. $7. 21 and over. DIANA M. LE

Thursday, May 21

Armed to the teeth with bodacious hip-hop dance anthems, Double Duchess offers an armada of pump-up jammers you can dance to in each dazzling moment of your fancy night on the town. One of the duo’s videos features Kelly Osbourne farting purple smoke and, true to the band name, jumping rope with a gargantuan Rapunzel weave. So it’s that kind of party! With Glitterbang, Gaymous, and DJ Mister Sister. Kremwerk, 1909 Minor Ave., 682-2935. kremwerk.com. 
8 p.m. No cover. 21 and over. WARREN LANGFORD

Friday, May 22

Olympia-born African folk band Mazigazi emphasizes co-existence in its work, and it knows something about the subject; after starting as a family band, the outfit has grown to include nine members. With a blend of Swahili and English lyrics, the music is pretty light and upbeat, and can be almost overwhelming in its positivity. With Corespondents, Hijos de Agueybana. Blue Moon, 712 N.E. 45th St., 675-9116, bluemoonseattle.wordpress.com. 9 p.m. $5. 21 and over. DML

Every year Seattle kicks off the summer fun season, full of events like the Fremont Solstice Fair, the Bite of Seattle, Seafair, the Capitol Hill Block Party, etc., with Northwest Folklife Festival. It’s a beautiful gathering of art, cultural exchange, and of course music. This year’s lineup looks particularly solid, featuring a lot of local sweethearts: Moor Gang, Prom Queen, Ravenna Woods, Tomo Nakayama, Lori Goldston, and Gabriel Teodros, plus DJ sets by KEXP’s Larry Mizell Jr. and Sharlese. You also can’t beat free. Seattle Center, nwfolklife.org. Free. All ages. Fri.–Sun. DML

Sunday, May 24

For the day drinkers among you hardy enough to survive a 9 p.m. hangover: Grave Babies headlines this week’s installment of the Chop Suey $1 beer day party: Kill the Keg. Grave Babies’ glitch-krieg goth can be almost hilariously earnest and grandiose. 
The band started as an inside joke, but upon discovering that it was actually really good at that kind of beat-driven goth rock, it blossomed into a brood-
ing, pierced, and leather-bound butterfly. With So Pitted, Briana Marela, Red Liquid. Chop Suey, 1325 
E. Madison St., 538-0556, chopsuey.com. 3 p.m. $5. 21 and over. WL

What’s VHS Uber Allies Presents:

Class of 19

99 doing on the music calendar, you say? You’d be hard-pressed to find a film with this high a magnitude of punk. Not actual punk-rock music, but Hollywood’s interpretation of punk—you know, mohawks, spikes, chains hanging from everything. The movie is set in Seattle in the future (16 years ago). High schoolers have become so punk that frightened adults build terminator-esque teachers (that of course go murderously haywire) to get a handle on the overwhelmingly punk-rock futuristic teenage hoodlums. “Presented in VHS”—as if there were any other way. The Highline, 210 Broadway E., 328-7837, highlineseattle.com. Free. 7 p.m. 21 and over. WL

Ah, Rain Fest: The Gathering of the Nodruggalos. J/k, please don’t hurt me. It’s Seattle’s best DIY hardcore/punk/metal (mostly straight-edge) alternative to Sasquatch! Sunday’s headliner is legendary New York hardcore band Judge. Legend has it that when the drummer of Youth of Today, Mike “Judge” Ferraro, got sick of people calling them “too militant,” he set out to form the most overtly militant band of all. And Judge was born. But are they militant enough? Go to the show and you be the judge of Judge. Neumos, 925 E. Pike St., 709-9442, neumos.com. 6 p.m. Three-day passes $90. All ages. Fri.–Sun. WL

Monday, May 25

Like many good bands, Listen Lady is named after a Simpsons reference. On its self-titled 7-inch, released last July, the punk band performs songs about a range of topics, from being in love, or limerence, or whatever (“Rain it Down,” “Little Mouse”) to what it’s like to have guys aggressively hitting on you at bars/parties even after you tell them you’re not interested (“Hey Listen”). Come to the show and buy some new Simpsons-themed merch the band just released. With Spokenest, Mommy Long Legs, Slow Code. Victory Lounge, 433 Eastlake Ave. E., 382-4467, victorylounge.com. 9 p.m. $6. 21 and over. DML

Tuesday, May 26

After releasing its fourth studio album, You Are My Sunshine (2008), Christian/alternative rock band Copeland broke up in 2010. The band reunited in 2014 to record and release Ixora, which reached #93 on the U.S. charts. Not bad for a band that’d been out of commission for six years. Paramore even invited them on tour. It’s the least that that hugely popular band could do; its very first show ever was opening for Copeland years ago. With The Weather, Valise. Neumos, 925 E. Pike St., 709-9442, neumos.com. 7 p.m. $20 adv. All ages. DML

Wednesday, May 27

Barry Manilow’s worst-kept secret is that he was a prolific jingle writer. Who could forget “Like a good neighbor, State Farm is there?” Or “I am stuck on Band-Aid brand, ’cause Band-Aid’s stuck on me.” Or my all-time favorite, “Give your face . . . something to smile about . . . With Stridex!” Something tells me we won’t be seeing him perform these diabolical earworms. He’s dubbed this “The Farewell Tour,” so come feast your ears on “Mandy” and “Copacabana” one last time. With Dave Koz. Key Arena, Seattle Center, keyarena.com. 7:30 p.m. $17.75–$125.75. All ages. WL