Magnetic Fields
Thursday, Nov. 11
Aladdin Theatre, 3017 S.E. Milwaukie Ave.
$22, all ages
Oh my God, I can die a happy man now. I’ve been waiting so long to witness the brilliance of Stephin
Merritt and the Magnetic Fields that I was beginning to lose hope for my chances. Do you doubt that Merritt is the best lyricist ever? Then you are stupid. Don’t come to this show. Sometimes I feel bad that he’s so heartbroken and neurotic, but then I realize that if he weren’t, he probably wouldn’t have written so many amazing songs. -Nathan McKee
Les Savy Fav, Smoke and Smoke, Cobra High
Wednesday, Nov. 10
Meow Meow, 320 S.E. Second Ave.
$10, all ages
Every time I’ve seen Les Savy Fav has been memorable and amazing and I doubt the possibility that this will be an exception. Come on down to the Meow Meow and watch Tim dress up like a pirate, read from his diary, climb up a girder or just prance around like a hairy fat man in revealing clothing. Cobra High rocked when they lived here. Let’s see what three years in Seattle has done to them. -NM
Death Cab for Cutie, Pretty Girls Make Graves
Wednesday, Nov. 10
Crystal Ballroom, 1332 W. Burnside St.
$17, all ages
Ben Gibbard and company bring their indie-pop show to the Crystal Ballroom tonight. There will be fawning teenage girls, the middle-aged men who love them, curious Postal Service fans and far too much argyle.
Sure, they owe their melodic hooks to Elliott Smith and Built to Spill. But Death Cab makes freshman dorm-room indie-rock for the twenty-first century, and you’ve got to love them for it! -Leathan Graves-Highsmith
Kayo Dot, Dorien
Wednesday, Nov. 10
Berbati’s Pan, 10 S.W. Third Ave.
$10, 21+
Kayo Dot plays the kind of metal I always wished I could make. They use heavy guitars, beautifully composed melody to create landscapes that extend well beyond your average loud/soft act. Imagine Godspeed You Black Emperor without the political affiliations and in balance with nature. Then you have Kayo Dot.
Dorien, of Sumerland fame sounds like the bastard child of Peter Murphy and Black Tape For a Blue Girl – in a good way. -Choncy Jones