It may be April Fool's Day on Thursday, but the show at Chop Suey that night is no joke: With our severely bitten and mangled economy, real critters be hurting along with the rest of us "neuvo-hobos" on and off the dole. So two bands with awesome pedigrees and scary pet names, Animals At Night and Terri Tarantula, are throwing a benefit for the King County Animal Shelter. (Also on the bill is The Quit, and I really can't come up with any cheesy tie-in jokes about them opening.)

Seriously, services at the KCAS are supposed to transfer to "private contractors" on June 30th because we are out of government money to take care of all the ex-domestic beasts and wild things that scamper through and around Seattle. All proceeds will be going to the Shelter, which provides loving care till people can adopt the dogs and cats and kitties and puppies and etc. that will make your lives so much more joyful and meaningful (hint). New pets become available every day, and the Shelter makes it easy to take a new dear one home.

Whatever your views on privatization are, it's always good to support this cause, with so many unwanted animals roaming about and discovered by KCAS all the time. As for the show itself, Animals At Night is Graig Markel's soulful, simmering techno-soul project that packed The Comet to the brim a few weeks ago. Markel has played everything from gritty folk to roiling punk, and AAN's new release is available as both a download and a sweetly designed vinyl.

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I suggest checking out an evening of up-and-coming local pop bands playing tonight, February 29th at the Comet, including a brand cute new band crush of mine, The Quit.

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