My Google calendar is loaded with shows I know I’m interested in seeing. Every time a listing catches my eye, I mark the date, and it’s not uncommon to have possibilities lined up five nights out of a given week. Sometimes, though, I just feel like going to a show, even when the calendar stands empty. Tuesday night this feeling led me to the Funhouse.

Even before I stepped under the giant evil clown head and through the front door, I knew I had made the right decision. The sounds of opening band Shot For Shot were drifting through the walls and out to the Fifth Avenue sidewalk, and they made for a pleasant greeting. I hurried to pull out my five bucks and my ID, eager to get inside to hear more.

Shot For Shot claimed this was their first show. That may or may not be true, but I certainly can’t imagine that it is any of the members’ first band. The group’s sound was polished and their stage presence confident, with not a hint of amateurism to be found. The music itself hinted at a wide variety of influences, including rockabilly, blues, and Seventies punk. That’s a lot of musical history for just one band, but it blended seamlessly together into a sound that was classic, yet not derivative.

Next to take the stage were the Stillborn Again Christians. They got clever name points, for sure, but that actually made me suspicious; often when I hear an amusing moniker, I’m afraid the name is going to be all the band’s got going for them. Luckily, I needn’t have worried. Not only did Stillborn Again Christians’ loud, fast punk rock get the crowd revved up, but underneath the noise lurked pleasant melodies and tight playing. And though they seemed to use up most of their naming wit on the band - the songs bore titles such as “New Song,” “Punk Rock Song,” and “Last Song,”* - they had a certain good humor about them overall. “Why isn’t anyone throwing beer on us?” they demanded partway through the set, and then helpfully handed someone a beer. (Now that’s the DIY spirit.)

As the third band, Imperial Legions Of Rome, began to set up, my skeptic alarms went off again. Three of the members wore identical black robes. Now, I don’t have anything inherently against bands in costume, but I feel the getups are often a liability. If they don’t contribute something significant to the show, they’re likely going to distract the audience, and at that point everyone’s really better off without them.

Imperial Legions Of Rome would have been better off without them.

Now, they aren’t a bad band. Lead singer Eric “Spookytoof” Riley has a smooth, confident voice, and “Haunted” is well written and evocative enough to be quite disturbing. I was also impressed by the various genres the group danced through, from classic rock to metal to 70s rock. In the end, though, none of it sparked any lasting interest in me, and I spent most of the show wondering where the whole black robe idea came from. Maybe they could get a little publicity, and a little boost to their stage presence, by appearing on the first rock band edition of What Not To Wear.

*I see from their MySpace page that this is not actually the case. However, I like it that way, and so it will remain thus in my mind.

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1 - The National at Sasquatch - Bus problems made the band miss their planned set time, and they ended up playing on a small stage at the same time tourmates Modest Mouse took the big one. I chose to miss Modest Mouse, and have never questioned that decision for a moment — The National played the show of a lifetime. It was intense, intimate, engrossing, and so good that the crowd demanded an encore, which the band had neither expected nor planned for. Surprised and humbled, they played it anyway.

2 - Monotonix at Bumbershoot - This was the show that famously got shut down after fifteen minutes. While it lasted, it was the most fun I’ve seen people having at a show. Ever.

3 - The Cops at The Showbox - After a busy spring, The Cops played only a few shows this summer, including this one opening for The Long Winters. The rested and refreshed band stormed the stage, started rocking right away, and held that energy through the whole show. Always a good live band, this time The Cops totally killed it. Like, in a good way.

4 - The Shackletons at Bumbershoot - It’s a delightful experience to suddenly and unexpectedly fall in love with a band, and that’s what happened to me with the Shackletons one sunny Labor Day Weekend afternoon. Mark Redding is part preacher, part punk rocker, and somehow it totally works — he had the crowd enraptured. Almost as fun as falling for the band myself was looking around and seeing the rest of the audience doing it, too.

5 - The Constantines at Sugar (Victoria, BC) - The Constantines are a good live band, but I also include this show for sentimental reasons. Seeing your favorite group with the best friend who introduced you to said group makes for a pretty good night indeed.

6 - Mudhoney at Subpop 20 - I think it was about a million degrees outside this day, but it didn’t stop the crowd from slamming and churning and totally surrendering themselves to Mudhoney’s energy and power.

7 - Zeke at the Capitol Hill Block Party - It had been a long, crowded day at the Block Party, and I decided to celebrate the end of it with a few whiskey sours and some punk. I was just liquored up enough to really let loose and jump into the pit, and though I came out of the show with a ruined skirt and two days of muscle soreness, I had the time of my life.

8 - Phantom Planet at El Corazon - I get the impression that Phantom Planet is not a popular band to like. Whatever. They’re cute, they’re enthusiastic, and they make good music. Also, my husband and I both like them, which is pretty rare. We danced our booties off and went home happy.

9 - Grace Potter and The Nocturnals at Neumos - These guys are some of the most talented musicians touring today, and they just get better and better. They also have a corps of loyal fans who show up at every show excited and ready to have a good time. These elements combined with a good opener and a great setlist (including a cover of Paint It Black) to make the best of the three GPN shows I’ve seen.

10 - Schoolyard Heroes at the Capitol Hill Block Party - I love Schoolyard Heroes. So, I found out that night, do roughly twenty thousand teenagers. And heck, I can’t blame them; this Tacoma threesome is not only musically talented, but obviously loves to perform, and doesn’t mind too much when overenthusiastic fans jump on stage and join in.

Downloadable here next week.

1 - All We Know Is Falling
2 - Unzip Fly to Begin
3 - Ray Charles in Charge
4 - nom-nom-toot
5 - GOZER
6 - Robot Kitten Happy Train
7 - Alarmingly attractive gentlemen
8 - Reptar on Ice
9 - Pornicorn
10 - Interstellar Unicorn Fiasco

Random observation: I found over half of these cool names very near the top of the list, but it took me pages and pages to choose the rest. Does a cool band name actually help you succeed in Rock Band? Or did I just get harder to impress as the search went on?

I’m kind of in love with Thao Nguyen. Her music is charming and delightful, her performances are enthralling, and her personality is, reportedly, both sweet and goofy - the two characteristics I’m most a sucker for. So when I hit Chop Suey for the Hotel Cafe Tour Saturday night, I was mostly there to see her. I knew there were four other artists (Rachel Yamagata, Meiko, Lenka, and Emily Wells) sharing the bill with Thao, but I wasn’t familiar with any of them, and I hoped that at least they wouldn’t annoy me too much.

The Hotel Cafe Tour has been around, in different incarnations, since 2005, but this was the first time I’d caught it. Shows on the tour are structured a little differently than most: at Saturday’s show, each of the artists took turns playing two songs, then came back for another round of three or four songs each. With the backing band remaining consistent, the music was able to proceed continuously for the duration of the evening. In addition, the artists regularly took the stage between their own sets to accompany the other performers. It was quite a change from the four-bands three-breaks format that patrons of Seattle clubs are used to — and the change was a refreshing one.

Gone were the mad rushes to the bar during stage changes, the stretches of awkward milling and repeated-checking-of-phone that those who have come alone use to stave off boredom. The quick and repeated changes of cast and pace kept everyone’s interest with the music, and the bar? Well, they probably didn’t do as well as usual — once the show started, there was rarely a wait to get a drink.

And as for the “hopefully not too boring” ladies on stage? Well, I needn’t have worried. My favorite of the night was Emily Wells, one of the most truly eclectic performers I’ve ever seen. Performing live vocals and violin over prerecorded samples of rock, hip hop, and her own violiln playing, Wells combines at least four genres into something truly delightful. Her voice has a rich, cello-like quality, but also lilts into Bjork-esque upper ranges at times. Wells calls many of her songs “symphones,” and I won’t argue: they’re complex and interlocking enough to warrant the name.

WATCH: Symphony 6: Fair Thee Well & the Requiem Mix (LIVE)

Rachel Yamagata was another pleasant surprise. When she walked on stage, I never would have guessed that the small woman in the shiny gold dress would have a voice like whiskey and cigarettes, a voice that could stop your heart or kick your ass. Yamagata is both entrancing and intimidating; when she sings “Please sir don’t you walk away / Don’t you walk away,” you know you woudn’t dare. Both her voice and appearance remind me of Grace Potter — dare I dream to see these two on the same bill?

WATCH: Rachel Yamagata - be be your love

Finishing the bill were a pair of one-named pop performers, Lenka and Meiko, neither of whom blew me away. There wasn’t anything really wrong with either one, but against the distinctive talents of Thao, Emily Wells, and Rachel Yamagata, Meiko and Lenka’s cute-but-run-of-the-mill pop just didn’t stand out. Conversely, I think these two probably have the best chances of achieving mainstream success.

And Thao? I’m going to take her off to Canada and marry her. On our honeymoon, she’ll teach me to beatbox.

WATCH: Thao and the Get Down Stay Down - “Bag of Hammers”

What’s on your Monday mix?