Tonight's recommended show begins early, at 7:30 pm. Getting to the show on time is well worth it.

The Sutures are up first and are easily my favorite young band in town. Singer/guitarist Marika has an unforgettable, delicate voice and is an accomplished songwriter, surrounded by top-notch musicians. They're all teenagers but still know their way around a catchy pop-rock song better than most bands in their 20s or 30s. I loved their set at Folklife and am anxious to see the band again.

I don't think there's a band in Seattle that I've had more fun listening and watching over the past few years than the Catch. ITunes even tells me that their 2005 record Get Cool has three of the ten most played songs on my iPod. Since that record was released, the band has gone through a significant lineup change, with Garrett Lunceford (of the Divorce – whose presence has already made two great bands even better) and Justin Harcus (of the Pale Pacific) making up the new-ish rhythm section. The band has been moving away from the bubblegum-y pop, and for the better. It still maintains the catchy (*groan*) songwriting. 

By the time this preview is finished, I'll have linked to three articles I've written about bands on this bill. As Catch frontwoman Carly Nicklaus sings, "this would all make sense if it was all about me." Moving on…

The Mooney Suzuki have been around for about 10 years and have been a pretty consistent rock band. The band is in town to promote a new record that's said to be a "return to garage rock" after a disappointing 2005 album Alive and Amplified. I don't know. I haven't heard it yet; but "return to garage rock" probably means that no one was willing to shell out the money for production from The Matrix again. Hell, Avril Lavigne fired The Matrix because they cast a negative shadow on her rock credibility.

But the Mooney Suzuki does know how to rock. As I wrote last time the band played in Seattle, "[the] set was a fast-paced 50 minutes of almost non-stop rock and/or roll. Recalling a classic rock sound with a punk edge (imagine equal parts the Who and the New York Dolls), the Mooney Suzuki were thoroughly entertaining."

There's a fourth band on the bill called The Photo Atlas. I don't know much about 'em (and haven't written anything that I could self-indulgently link to). After this show, the band  joins the Warped Tour for a few weeks, whatever that means. Even if their set sucks, you're still getting more than your $10 worth from the other three bands.