Staff Picks
With Sunny Day Real Estate’s latest Showbox run still ringing in our ears, the Seattle rock reunions keep coming this fall, with three previously dissolved hometown favorites reassembling this weekend alone.
The upcoming concert calendar ain’t all about nostalgia, however. Here are six local-centric rock shows that belong on your radar.
The Maldives
Once an anchor tenant of the Ballard roots rock scene, the Seattle alt-country stalwarts are reconvening for a rare two-nighter in their old stomping grounds. Back when Seattle (and Ballard specifically) was teeming with twangy, folk-inflected bands that, to a large degree, defined the local rock scene in the late 2000s, the Maldives were the de facto house band at its Ballard home base, the Tractor Tavern. Another staple band from the era — chamber rock ensemble Grand Hallway, featuring the still-ubiquitous Tomo Nakayama — will also reassemble for the Sept. 21 show. The twin gigs from the most Tractor band of all time are part of the beloved venue’s 30th anniversary concert series, which continues later this month when Vancouver, B.C., psych rockers Black Mountain head down for their own two-night stand (Sept. 27-28).
9 p.m. Sept. 20-21; Tractor Tavern, 5213 Ballard Ave. N.W., Seattle; $30, 21-and-older; tractortavern.com
Pretty Girls Make Graves
Another 2000s fixture firing up the amps again, Pretty Girls Make Graves — a name cribbed from a Jack Kerouac quote (via a Smiths song) — reform this fall to play October’s When We Were Young festival in Las Vegas. But before conquering the Sin City emo-nostalgia fest, the Seattle post-hardcore heroes will get the warm fuzzies (and any comeback jitters) out at home with two shows at the illustrious Showbox. With support from Medicine Bows on Sept. 20 and current local rock faves Black Ends — who also play Neumos on Sept. 19 ahead of their anticipated new album due next month — on Sept. 21.
9 p.m. Sept. 20-21; Showbox, 1426 First Ave., Seattle; $35-$40; showboxpresents.com
The Dare
Another homecoming of sorts, Woodinville-reared Harrison Patrick Smith, who performed around the Pacific Northwest as Turtlenecked during the late 2010s, returns to his home state as a New York City disc jockey/nightlife sensation with a new artistic moniker and persona. In 2022, Smith dropped his first single as indie-sleaze revivalist The Dare with “Girls” — a hedonistic dance-punk jam celebrating in-the-club bad girls who do drugs, “hate cops and buy guns,” all delivered with a big ol’ wink.
The underground cool-kids hit caught the ear of Republic Records execs and Charli XCX, who tapped Smith to co-produce her “Brat” bonus track “Guess,” recently remixed with a Billie Eilish cameo that sent it up the charts. Following last summer’s ultra-horny “The Sex” EP, which was equally loved and maligned, Smith released The Dare’s debut album “What’s Wrong with New York?” this month and hit the road, bringing his party-rocking electroclash act on tour.
8 p.m. Sept. 21; Neumos, 925 E. Pike St., Seattle; sold out
R-Day
Georgetown’s beeriest blowout returns to the neighborhood’s industrial streets for the 11th annual event commemorating the relighting of the Rainier brewery “R” sign. As most good parties are, this one’s predicated on good tunes and locally significant alcohol. The tallboys will be a-crackin’ as L.A. psych rockers Allah-Las and ‘70s-steeped punk rock and rollers Sheer Mag headline this free block party, also featuring blistering locals Monsterwatch and DJ Prometheus Brown, aka Geo from Blue Scholars.
4-10 p.m. Sept. 21; Georgetown, 5813 Airport Way S., Seattle; free, 21-plus; rainierbeer.com
Unwound
Fans who missed Unwound’s twin comeback dates at the Showbox last year, two of the Olympia post-hardcore vets’ first shows in more than 20 years, have another crack at catching the South Sound favorites at the venue next month. The Kill Rock Stars label alums’ Showbox dates kicked off a full-blown reunion tour, featuring Jared Warren (Karp, Melvins) filling in for late bassist Vern Rumsey, that carried over into 2024. This time around, Unwound commemorates the 30th anniversary of their seminal sophomore album, “New Plastic Ideas,” on which their angular sound took shape. Opening is yet another reformed band of yore, Montana noise rockers Steel Pole Bath Tub.
8 p.m. Oct. 17; Showbox, 1426 First Ave., Seattle; $40-$45; showboxpresents.com
The Blood Brothers
Perhaps the most highly anticipated reunion of all, The Blood Brothers continue this fall’s post-hardcore comeback trail when the Eastside hellions rise again to celebrate the 20th anniversary reissue of Bush-era scather “Crimes,” their major-label debut. The combustible band with twin vocalists Jordan Blilie and Johnny Whitney became synonymous with the all-ages scene at Redmond’s Old Fire House during its late ‘90s and early 2000s heyday, when Seattle’s teen dance ordinance largely pushed all-ages shows to the burbs. The Blood Brothers, featuring Morgan Henderson of the Fleet Foxes, come home to cap the first leg of a 23-date reunion tour, which marks their first shows in a decade.
8 p.m. Nov. 14-15; Showbox, 1426 First Ave., Seattle; sold out
