The WIG : it’s a blog! it’s an indie PR firm! it’s a concert promoter! It fits all heads. It’s all of these things wrapped up in a local package devoted to bringing high quality music to your attention all around town. This weekend they celebrate their fourth birthday with four shows on two sides of the great state of Washington.

The pre-party starts tonight at the Comet. For six ‘bucks you’ll have the pleasure of seeing a Blondie tribute band called Blackie, along with support from Paris Spleen, Misterss & the Misters, and Oh Man!. On Friday, the WIG takes Fremont, bringing up Birdmonster all the way up from California on a bill with Seattle’s own Shim & Das Llamas, and Portland’s Hockey. The next night, the bands speed across the mountains, trade headlining spots, and do the whole thing all over again (twice!) in Spokane.

Is it a betrayal of local music to admit that the act that I’m most looking forward to out of all of these wonderful bands is the one coming from furthest afield? So be it. This is what I wrote about Birdmonster the last time I saw them, at CMJ in New York a couple years ago:

Soon it’s a full-on guitar explosion accented by killer cowboy booted dance moves. The guys are in near constant motion, dancing alone or with each other, throwing themselves to the ground for maximum guitar intensity, and working up a sweat singing. Peter Arcuni expounds on the pleasure of being a blogger band. It’s a triumphant finish to a busy CMJ for the band as well as for all of the people who turned out for the show. To close, they bust out a couple of oldies (”Night”), debate over the finale (compromising by playing both “Geneva” and “Spaceman”). With no apparent green room to hide in, they huddle at the back of the stage to prepare for an encore. It’s incredibly cute, and their set is a definite highlight of the marathon. [mb_nyc]

The promise of seeing that kind of performance is exactly the sort of thing that might lure me to make the trek to Fremont.

(full lineup, and a whole lot of myspace links, after the cut:)

Thursday, 27 March: Blackie, Paris Spleen, Mistress & the Misters, Oh Man!. 9 pm, $6 [The Comet]

Friday, 28 March: SHIM, Das Llamas, Birdmonster, Hockey. 9pm, $7 [the High Dive]

Saturday, 29 March: Cyrus Fell Down , Birdmonster, SHIM, Das Llamas. 5 pm (all ages), $6 [the Blvd] Saturday, 29 March: Hockey, SHIM, Birdmonster,Das Llamas. 9 pm (21+), $6 [the Blvd]