Turning sweet (and savage) 16 this year, Anglo-German electro-acoustic improv trio Konk Pack combines the skill and vision of three world-class improvisers. Tim Hodgkinson (ex-Henry Cow, Friendly British Invasion in Search of the Soviet Shamans) mans clarinet, electronics and lap-steel; renowned improviser Thomas Lehn conjures on EMS Synthi A and DK keyboards/sequencer; and English percussionist Roger Turner—who’s collaborated with artists ranging from Fred Frith to Cecil Taylor—manhandles the drum set. If this all sounds a bit maximal and visceral, that’s probably because it is. Experience Konk Pack, along with local trumpet-tuba act Clucas/Weaver Duo, at Spirit Abuse (1103 Fourth Street NW) on Friday, Oct. 18. The recital begins at 8pm, and admission is $10.
Four Up Near And Far-Psych
Ghost Box Orchestra
Bostonian psych-rock quintet Ghost Box Orchestra’s 2010 debut album, The Only Light On, honed in on a Western, surf-inflected cactus-rock sound. On their latest full-length, Vanished, the fivesome explores Eastern idioms, swirl, shimmer and slither, birthing shoegazey space rock infused with church keys and all manner of post-rock psychedelia influence. New or old, the grainy desert psych-rock of GBO is pretty stellar, and Burqueños can catch the band live on Friday, Oct. 18 at Zendo (413 Second Street SW). Local psych-pop outfit You and post-rock/doom/psych foursome Pepper Griswald open. The all-ages coffeehouse/gallery gig sparks up at 8pm, and a $5 donation is requested.
Four Up Outer Limits Fest
Michael Stearns
Earwaves, Dwight Loop’s long-running radio show exploring the history of electronic and experimental music, finds a new home on SomaFM. The program’s broadcast originated on KUNM-FM 89.9 from 1979 to 1986 and called KSFR-FM 101.1 home for five years, starting in 1990. Moving with the times, the show now streams via listener-funded, noncommercial internet station SomaFM. Celebrating 34 years of electronic, electro-acoustic, performance art, spoken word, art-rock and other mutant aural art forms, Earwaves hosts an all-ages festival on Saturday, Oct. 19 at Lumenscape Studios (601 Frontage Road) in Budaghers, N.M. Highlights of the jam-packed fest include performances by Michael Stearns, Martian Funk Ensemble, Rampant Egos, SpaceBrane, Raven Chacon and Larry Goodell. Video art and sound installations add to the out-of-this-world vibe. The gathering begins at 4pm and ends around 2am, and tickets are $10. For more info, visit bit.ly/ewavefest.
Four Up Zzz, Miss P And Q
zZz
NOLA swamp-tech guru Quintron and Miss Pussycat is the natural headliner at this gig; their American popularity and Halloween-adjacent, 9th Ward electronics and theatrics are bound to generate plenty of buzz, but tour mates zZz are equally swoon-worthy. Hailing from Amsterdam, Björn Ottenheim and Daan Schinkel purvey a self-described “space echo-soaked mix of ’50s R&B, drone and electro.” Evoking No Wave, proto-punk, psych-rock, gothabilly and synthpop in relatively equal measure, zZz is one to watch. … and listen to. Sway to zZz, Quintron and Miss Pussycat and rarefied local “minimetalindierock” twosome Pancakes! on Wednesday, Oct. 23, at Sister (409 Central NW). This 21-plus, costume-friendly concert swings from the chandeliers at 9pm, and admission will run you a fiver. Enjoy spooky, swampy vinyl platters between sets courtesy of DJ Bea and Alibi alum DJ Cassyle.
