by music intern Chris Govella

Charles Mudede on why Fatal Lucciauno was booted from Dyme Def's show at the Crocodile:

Fatal is dogged by the fact that, on that night he performed at Chop Suey, a gunman opened fire into the club, killing one man, MC 29-E, and wounding two, Trama and 1st Black Prez—although, according to his manager, DeVon Manier of Sportn' Life Records, Fatal was long gone by the time the bullets started to fly. On Wednesday, April 15, Manier was informed of the Croc's decision, and though disheartened, he was not at all surprised. It was not the first time his artist had been banned from a venue or removed from a lineup. "Since the shooting, it's been tough," he says.

My Bloody Valentine returns to Seattle! Dave Segal reminisces on the band:

From 1987 to 1991, MBV had one of the greatest creative runs in rock history. It rivaled those of the Beatles' 1965 to 1969, the Velvet Underground's 1967 to 1970, Can's 1969 to 1974, and Hüsker Dü's 1984 to 1987. Shields's hot streak was such that even relatively overlooked EP cuts such as "Swallow," "Honey Power," and "Glider" radiated unparalleled brilliance

Check out Up & Coming for previews of this week's performances by artists like Franz Nicolay:

You may know Franz Nicolay as the mustachioed pianist for the Hold Steady. His perfectly groomed lip hair is as iconic as Craig Finn's glasses (and dance moves). As a solo artist (who's partnered up with folks like Demander and the Dresden Dolls), Nicolay tries on a few different hats. On his new record, Major General, he's got everything from anthemic blasts of rock and roll to a quasi lounge number replete with clarinet. The first single, "Jeff Penalty," is one part Hold Steady and one part Against Me! (with perhaps a tinge of Ted Leo).

Buraka Som Sistema's kuduro sound is burning up Data Breaker:

Buraka Som Sistema's debut album proper, Black Diamond (Fabric), flaunts hectic, galloping beats, extreme high and low frequencies (the main sound in "Luanda Lisboa" could be a pitched-up band saw), and declamatory vocals from several male and female vocalists, including M.I.A. on the stomping, carnivalesque "Sound of Kuduro" and grime MC Kano on squiggly, staccato banger "Skank & Move." BSS's sensually thuggish rhythms are accentuated with cowbells, shakers, and hand claps.

Larry Mizell Jr reviews Panic, the new EP by Dyme Def:

Panic, at a mere seven tracks long, is Dyme Def's strongest statement and without a doubt the best work they've yet put in—as it should be. The three MCs have grown even more distinct in voice and style, while at the same time refining their hot-potato pass-offs to a sweet science. Haters should also note that DD are no mere swag panderers, obsessed with flash, work snatching, or ego buffing—Panic finds DD at their most topical, bringing forth some much-needed real talk on the title track: Busy playing golf while they leavin' niggas stranded/Talking about abortion 'cause a young girl pregnant/Find love in the streets 'cause they never felt cherished/And slap they mom and dad for never being good parents.

Casey Catherwood hypes new music by Dan Deacon and his upcoming Vera Project appearance:

Deacon layers high-speed digital drums and shrill synthesized sounds, creating an inhuman electro-pop that sounds as if Daffy Duck, Kid 606, and the guys from Lightning Bolt started a dance band bent on causing riots in warehouses and basements. It's a shame Deacon hasn't played a house show on his past few visits to Seattle—that's what happens when your favorite little band blows up—but his performance this Saturday, April 25, at the Vera Project will be well worth attending. To perform the songs from his celebratory new album, Bromst, Deacon is touring with a massive 14-piece band, incorporating multiple drums, keyboards, marimbas, xylophones, and glockenspiels.

Christopher DeLaurenti on the Ballard Jazz Festival:

Make sure to check out the Hadley Caliman Quintet (Conor Byrne Pub, 9 pm) and Hans Teuber Trio (Egan's Ballard Jam House, 10:30 pm). Caliman unfurls sinewy bop lines that retain an intensely funky feel. Teuber, a saxophonist and flutist, offers a singular, intimate kind of chamber jazz. I'm overdue to hear the Seattle Women's Jazz Orchestra again (Leif Erikson Hall, 8:45 pm), and don't miss the winsome-voiced Kelley Johnson (Bad Albert's 8—11 pm), who coltishly scampers through standards and forgotten chestnuts with ease. Ben Thomas, Cynthia Mullis, Bill Ramsey, and a slew of other fine musicians make the Jazz Walk essential to any jazz lover.

Michaelangelo Matos reviews Yeah Yeah Yeahs' recent SNL performance:

SNL's legendarily wonky sound quality was—for me, not a regular watcher—less an annoyance than a diversion, a way of hearing the song anew. It seemed more urgent somehow, and that had a lot to do with watching Karen O in action. She didn't move nearly as much as she used to—your mid-30s will do that to you. The great surprise for me was that she didn't have to: She basically mimed, totally rooted in '72 Bowie, particularly when she tugged the collar of her studded biker jacket on the line "Put your leather, leather, leather on, on, on, on, on."

There's something about that gesture that really got to me. Maybe because it's so corny on its surface, and here was Karen O, shrewd at archetypes, underselling it, implying, not pushing. And as she vogued along, it struck me how total her vision was, how absolute.

Plus, album reviews on the latest records, including Prefuse 73's Everything She Touched Turned Ampexian, Black Lips' 200 Million Thousand and Papercuts' You Can Have What You Want:

Beach House's Alex Scally contributed his arranging acumen to You Can Have What You Want, and you can hear some of that band's sundown grandeur creeping into Papercuts' compositions. Fans of Grizzly Bear will also snuggle up to Quever's wonderstruck melodies and quavering, little-boy-lost vocal approach. The song "A Peculiar Hallelujah" stands out among the 10 here, both for its exquisitely lovely tune and for its title, which captures the disc's spirit. You can sense Quever striving for elation, but he's too pragmatic and/or innately subdued to go for full-on exultation in his songs; he won't be writing the 21st-century analogue to the Beach Boys' "Good Vibrations" at this rate.

Also: things get a little hairy for Party Crasher! Poster of the Week, New Column! And the Stranger's complete, searchable Music Calendar Listings.