The Wake

First Avenue dominates this week with back to back (to back!) highlighted shows. October seems to be the month for big names at big prices, and I know the economy is basically depression-lite right now, but gas prices are down, hey? Hit your parents up and you might very well be able to afford some of these indie shows in the $14-20 range:

Monday the 13th in the First Avenue Mainroom, Canadian nineteen-piece Broken Social Scene bring their grandiose sound to the stage (touring, sadly, with only eight members - c’mon guys, can’t afford a big enough van?), infecting your ears with their experimental indie-pop stylings; on another end of the indie-pop spectrum, Ben Kweller also plays tonight at the Varisty Theatre. Where would you rather your twenty bucks go? For those with no money, Triple Rock tailors to your punk and drunk ways by having a free listening party for Dillinger Four’s October 14th release Civil War. If you have money, you can buy it, but I’ll bet you probably don’t.

The Mainroom stays Pitchfork-friendly as Tuesday night sees perennial WTF-band Deerhoof, touring behind their latest album Offend Maggie, which was just released on Kill Rock Stars. Deerhoof’s energetic performances and bizarre rhythms and cadences make for an entertaining night of odd music that is sure to delight. Deerhoof play for the comparatively reasonable price of $14. You might as well just camp at First Ave, as the next night are hip-hop pioneers Digable Planets, with local sota-rican Maria Isa and Cash I$. The old-school trio brings that good groove rap music has seemingly forgotten about, infusing jazz, soul, samba, and psychedelic music into their poetry-laden smooth rhymes. In their own words, they be to rap what key be to lock. Shell out 20 bucks and you’re in for a good-vibes old-school rap performance.

Damn, then on Thursday at First Ave (who seem to have completely monopolized this week’s concert highlights), Against Me! tours with Ted Leo and the Pharmacists, and Future of the Left, ushering in their post-post-punk sounds, incorporating pop and hardcore elements without sounding too damn Blink-182y. On Friday, the torch is passed to the old timers, as proto-punk masters Wire scourge the mainstage with their impressive new sound. The band made it’s biggest impact on me with their debut, 1977’s Pink Flag, but, unlike many other punk groups in a similar position, they’ve managed to remain a formidable group and artistically viable. Their latest work, such as the aggressive Read and Burn series and their most recent, Object 47, have showcased what makes the band remain fresh and important, which is what has made them so great in the first place: Their signature sound is not a signature at all, but a lo-fi approach which lends itself to a wide variety of styles and song-writing. Come out and see the long-standing band tear up the stage which will have been trampled by so many others this week.

First Avenue Mainroom (701 1st Ave N):
Monday the 13th: Broken Social Scene with Land of Talk, 8PM, 18+, $20
Tuesday the 14th: Deerhoof with Experimental Dental School and AU, 5:30 PM, all ages, $14
Wednesday the 15th: Digable Planets with Maria Isa and Cash I$, 8PM, 18+, $20
Thursday the 16th: Against Me! with Ted Leo and the Pharmacists and Future of the Left, 5:30 PM, all ages, $22.50
Friday the 17th: Wire, 8PM, 18+, $15