Quick Hits

by INLANDER & r & & r & & lt;span class= & quot;dropcap & quot; & C & lt;/span & onjuring Weezer, Yo La Tengo and Pavement, POINT JUNCTURE, WA hides pure pop songs underneath bursts of loud guitar and swirling atmospheric noise. The Portland band's appeal lies in softly cooed vocals that anchor songs rife with wild and varied twists, giving the impression that P.J.,WA's rudder is a thoughtful, precise emotionalism. The extras -- heavy power chords, screeching feedback, melodic finger-picking, the indefinable haze of homegrown harmonics -- are trappings that allow the band a reach not normally given to indie-pop. There is something druggy going on here, but the effect is applied with such specificity that the aesthetic reads precise, like smart kids arranging pretty trash around altars to verse/chorus/verse song craft. P.J., WA exploits soft/loud dynamics less like the Pixies and more like an emo-rock band, but the edges to their relatively simple puzzle -- from frayed warmth to jarring muscularity -- keep things interesting beyond the point of knee-jerk head banging.


-- ANDREW MATSON





Point Juncture, WA with Johanna Kunin, Andy Combs, and Kaylee Cole at Catarina Winery on Friday, June 27, at 7 pm. $8. Call 328-5069.





& lt;span class= & quot;dropcap & quot; & F & lt;/span & ast becoming Seattle royalty, THE WHORE MOANS are unanimously praised in the city's weekly and daily newspapers, receiving massive radio play on taste-making KEXP 90.3 FM and playing hot tickets around town as part of a new wave of dirty swagger-rock bands. Soaked in blood, sweat and beer, the Whore Moans is the least tame of these, offering the rawest interpretation of "rock & amp; roll spirit" the city has seen since, well... I won't say the band's name. Pulling harmonicas and horns out of nowhere, they add texture to songs that elevate them above mere fashion-forward riff rock, supplying an aesthetic that is Tom Waits-ish. Emphasis on the "ish." What the Whore Moans really bring to the table is explosive, blues-based rock with an animal heart; when they put the lid on things and switch the energy toward sex, the Whore Moans will scare you into submission.


-- ANDREW MATSON





The Whore Moans with Mistress & amp; the Misters and the Mickie Slippers at the Zombie Room on Sunday, July 29 at 9 pm. $5.





& lt;span class= & quot;dropcap & quot; & T & lt;/span & ime was that any and all high-water marks for live hip-hop in Spokane were set inside the walls of the B-Side. Now defunct, the venue was booked and run by Ben Cater, and hosted local hip-hop acts, touring underground up-and-comers, the odd forgotten legend, and even open-mic rap battles. The glue which held the B-Side's live performances together was undoubtedly Spokane's own DJ PARAFYN, who, besides spinning for tons of visiting acts, kept parties rockin' all by his damn self almost every night of the week. It was during the B-Side's storied and glorious run that Parafyn institutionalized himself, making sure that his presence was felt at nearly every single hip-hop happening. The B-Side had an improbable and ultimately unprofitable run, and Cater now books Raw Sushi, but chief among those most unsung in making sure the beat went on: flat-out local legend DJ Parafyn.


-- ANDREW MATSON





Parafyn at Raw on Saturday and Tuesday, July 31, at 10 pm both nights. Free. Call 747-0556.