seattle
saturday 26
Jake Shimabukuro
If you've been underestimating the ukulele as an overdone hipster accessory, you need to check out the charming and talented Jake Shimabukuro. The Hawaiian ukulele virtuoso and composer makes the tiny four-stringed instrument do things you never knew it could. A recoding of his cover of "While My Guitar Gently Weeps" in Central Park in 2006 was one of YouTube's first viral videos, and he has since toured the world, collaborating with everyone from Jimmy Buffet and Ziggy Marley to Yo-Yo Ma and Cindi Lauper. His quick finger work and diverse range of genres has landed him at the top of the Billboard international music charts as well as performing for Queen Elizabeth II alongside the likes of Bette Midler and Lady Gaga. 8 pm. Paramount Theatre. $21.25-$41.25.
monday 28
The Pizza Underground with Toby Goodshank (Moldy Peaches)
What's better than Velvet Underground cover bands, child stars, and all pizza everything? When those three things combine to create the Macaulay Culkin-fronted anti-folk band The Pizza Underground. The actor of Home Alone fame plays kazoo and sings for the comedy band, which takes a Weird Al approach (if the parodist had been obsessed with pizza) to Velvet Underground songs. The result is both brilliant and ridiculous—really, who doesn't want to "Take a Bite of the Wild Slice"?—sort of like the band's first release, out on cassette with a download card. 8 pm, Chop Suey. $12-$15.
portland
saturday 26
Blitzen Trapper Benefit Concert
Alt-country rockers Blitzen Trapper play a rare acoustic set to benefit the students of St. Andrew Nativity School—Portland's only tuition-free private middle school for low-income students. The Marmoset Music Special Acoustic Show starts with a silent auction at 7 pm. and moves into the music at 10 pm. The first 50 people in the door get a free copy of the band's 2013 album "VII." Warm fuzzies all around. 7 pm. Marmoset Music. $50.
thursday 1
Warpaint with James Supercave
Warpaint is infectiously danceable, lyrically engaging, and refreshingly playful. While many of the LA-based indie band's songs are born out of jam sessions, they aren't a jam band, per se. Still, their lush melodies that drift through time signatures, shifting effortlessly from ethereal and contemplative to upfront and aggressive leave plenty of spaces to get lost in. There's something for every mood here. Fresh off a gig at Coachella, Warpaint performs in Portland in support of its recently released self-titled album. 8 pm. Wonder Ballroom. $18-$20.
