This year's Noise for the Needy festival starts tonight! We're so excited for the five day fest. The organizers have really put together a slew of great bills from now until Sunday.

Tonight's batch of shows kick off the festivities with a bang. I have a hard time choosing between tonight's two shows:

Neumos
Slender Means
Fences
New Faces
Red Sea Sharks
8PM | 21+ | $10

The Comet
Coulter
This is a Process of a Still Life
Safer
Skeletons With Flesh On Them
9PM | 21+ | $7

No one can deny the power of Slender Means and New Faces {tonight's Neumos NftN show}. Both bands have been imaginary favorites for sometime.  Slender Means' song "I Could Be Cruel" was on most everyone's imaginary best of mix tapes a few years back. The New Faces were #1 on our 2008 Best of the Northwest Readers Poll! And that's not just because of songs like "Impulse" – they kill it on stage.

At The Comet tonight, is a great bill which includes Coulter and Skeletons With Flesh On Them. I LOVE the new Coulter album. It's got vocal tendencies of Morrissey, humility of ballboy and the sweetness of Rhett Miller.  Seeing the songs live will be a true treat. The added bonus of Skeletons With Flesh On Them, who have also released a splendid album this year, will fill night with pop goodness. IG staffer, Andrew Boe even imaginarily interview Mr. Skeleton (or is that Mr. Flesh?) to get an inside scoop.

So whichever way you choose it, you'll be set… but you really should hit one of these shows. The bands are good and the cause is great!

I couldn't find any videos of songs from Coulter's new album, but here's an old fav:

And a stellar Slender Means song: "Painless Life."