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:)

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menomena, photo by photo by Alicia J. Rose (via myspace)

A few things that your friends at Metroblogging Seattle are excited about for this weekend. Fun game: see if you can guess who suggested each item!
Friday

• Portland’s loopy experimentalists, Menomena, join local heroes S and Siberian for a remarkably strong indierock billing. [crocodile]
• More artwalking: it’s first Friday in Belltown.
• Carbon Leaf is from Richmond, Virginia. What would happen if you took the Dropkick Murphys and made them less punk and more cuddly? They’d be the perfect bar band for Mountain listeners, of course. [themoore]
• Down the road at the is George Clinton and Parlaiment Funkadelic. Every person should see P-Funk before they die. [showbox]
• I’m not even sure what this means, but it sounds like a piratey good time. There’s a WISHBONE breaking competition at Mission in West Seattle at 8 PM! All entry fees for wishbone breaking and all Captain Morgan sales for the night go to 826 Seattle! This is possibly the first time that spiced rum has done anything good for anyone. [mission]

Saturday

• Seattle Center’s Center House will be overrun with competitive Yo-Yo maniacs in the Pacific NW Yo-Yo Championship. One competition is for throwing a set number of tricks and another for freestyle presentation set to music [!!!], with divisions by age. [northwestyoyo]
• the Sea Navy teams up with Department of Energy, Spanish for 100, and the Mona Rebels for another poppy weekend in the intimate setting of the Comet Tavern. [myspace]
• Amazing classical pianist Andre Watts plays Brahms’ Second Piano Concerto with the Seattle Symphony.

Sunday

• National day of guacamole! Bears vs. Colts, the gross national product of several small nations spent on advertising, and a halftime show made famous by wardrobe malfunctions. Find a large television, lots of snacks, and clever ways to wager on the proceedings.

Friday

• Did you miss Regina Spektor last night ^[seattlest] at the Moore? She’s playing a free show tonight at the LQA Easy Street Records store. [easystreet]
• Michelle Orange went to Italy in search of her ancestors and a series of delightful dispatches came back [mcsweeneys]. Now the letters are collected in a handsome package called the Sicily Papers [$]. She reads from them tonight at the University Bookstore along with Stephen Elliott and other writer pals. [ubookstore]
• Husband and wife rock duo Viva Voce pair up with Silversun Pickups, who can’t seem to get enough of this town. [crocodile]

Saturday

• You’re running out of time and vintage/thrift stores are bound to be picked over; so get out there and buy a Halloweeen costume.
• This is the last weekend for the fantastic Washington State Corn Maze. Twelve acres of corn are intersected by four and a half miles of actual “roads” with “towns” and “cities” and “landmarks”. After picking up trivia while tromping through the state’s highway system, stick around for fresh baked goods, a massive pumpkin patch, a cute overload petting zoo, and then watch real pigs act out the story of the Three Little Pigs. Pretty much the best autumn activity ever. [thefarm]

Sunday

• Scare yuppie shoppers by walking Zombie-style through University Village [upcoming]
• The band names keep changing, but Tim Kinsella continues to make oddly compelling and accessible free-jazz fusion projects. This time it’s Make Believe drawing you to the new and improved Comet. Now with modest cover charges! [comet]

What are you doing this weekend and where did you get your sexy costume?