CELEBRATE BOAT-BASED SEATTLE MUSIC SHOWS WITH A WHOLE RAFT OF LOCAL TALENT

(Chop Suey) If there's one thing Seattle loves, it's an independently produced show in which musicians are interviewed on a boat. One such show, Clyde Petersen's Boating with Clyde, will be setting up shop at this year’s Bumbershoot. The other such show, Bobbi Rich's Hangin Tuff, is gearing up for its second season of interviewing musicians on a hot-tub boat, and tonight's Chop Suey show is a benefit for Hangin Tuff's forthcoming season, while simultaneously being a release party for the brand-new EP by Thunderpussy, the anti-demure Seattle quartet who'll perform tonight alongside Lozen, Dusty Lips, and Unprotected Sax. DAVID SCHMADER
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FREE THE ROBOTS' SCI-FIDELIC BEATS

(Barboza) “Sci-Fidelity,” a cut off Free the Robots’ stunning Ctrl Alt Delete album for Alpha Pup, pretty much captures his music’s essence in one neat phrase. Sure, a lot of musicians take inspiration from science fiction and space-age/comic-book effluvia, but Free the Robots (aka Chris Alfaro, Santa Ana, California’s finest producer) forges those familiar raw materials into potent laser beams of kitsch-free, bass-heavy productions that sound like a more fun-spirited Flying Lotus. Steeped in jazz, funk, hiphop, weird early electronic music, prog, and psych rock, Free the Robots disperses his eclectic influences into eventful, equilibrium-upending tracks that put him in the upper echelon of Low End Theory-affiliated artists. DAVE SEGAL
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TV GIRL'S WITTY, WELL-WROUGHT POP

(Sunset) When I first heard TV Girl's "If You Want It" in 2011, I was immediately taken with how hiphop-informed their indie pop was—the big, stomping drums, the sleigh bell (no Sleigh Bells), the sweet Todd Rundgren sample. The wry tale of a never-ending drunken hookup/breakup cycle was told with such wit and economy, that it too appealed to my MC sensibilities. (They were even briefly signed to Heems of Das Racist's Greedhead label, just like Don't Talk to the Cops! were—I was stoked about this.) I'd bet money that chief TV Girl Brad Petering has done his fair share of freestyling on the low—or not; either way, he's secretly one of the best pop songwriters around. Go listen to "Anjela" off of their newest and best, French Exit, then go to this, their first Seattle show. Break. With Brothertiger and USF. LARRY MIZELL JR.
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JOHN MAYALL PLAYS THE BLUES, AND HE PLAYS 'EM RIGHT

(Jazz Alley) I know lots of folks like to deride any and all strictly blues aspects of ROCK. Y'all, I understand, it didn't take long after blues relocated to the city then went hippie for things to turn a little stock-sounding and "bar" band-ish, but John Mayall was an early groundbreaker (pun intended). He is a piece in the puzzle of our rock 'n' roll history. In fact, HUNDREDS, okay, not hundreds, but a handful of them who’d become rock GODS passed through his group, the Bluesbreakers: Eric Clapton, Peter Green, Mick Taylor, Mark Almond, and Harvey Mandel! And all the while Mayall held true to his singular, narrow vision: play them blues and play 'em RIGHT! Now, he's 80 years old and still going strong! MIKE NIPPER
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And here's all our recommended music events—tonight, tomorrow, this weekend, and beyond!