Would the Founding Fathers be proud?
Maybe, maybe not.
Over Presidents Day weekend, the alt-rock act the Presidents of the United States of America will play its annual hometown shows at the Showbox at the Market at 7 p.m. Saturday and Sunday.
The Seattle band has cultivated a loyal fan base with its off-center lyrics and high-energy guitar hooks.
The group got big in the mid-1990s thanks to songs like “Peaches,” which is about peaches, and “Lump,” which is about a girl who is, as they lyrics say, “lump.”
Follow-up albums didn’t result in the same kind of multiplatinum success as the group’s debut, but the Presidents didn’t fade away. It most recently scored a regional hit, “Mixed Up S.O.B.,” off its 2008 album, “These Are the Good Times People.”
Tickets are $20 at showboxonline.com or 888-929-7849.
While the Presidents traffic in silly lyrics, Coheed and Cambria have something more epic in mind.
The prog-rock group will headline the Showbox SoDo at 7 p.m. Tuesday, a few weeks after the release of its latest opus, “The Afterman: Descension.”
Like most of its albums, that record tells a story from the Amory Wars, a sci-fi tale crafted by frontman Claudio Sanchez, whose otherworldly lyrics have already spawned a comic book. A movie may be developed from his plotlines.
Sanchez’s elaborate songs have helped his group cultivate a cult audience, which reliably drives its albums into the top 10 on the Billboard 200.
Tickets are $29.50 at showboxonline.com or 888-929-7849.
Another act with a cult following, Eels, will play the Showbox at the Market at 7 p.m. Tuesday.
Eels — which is mostly the work of one man, Mark Oliver Everett — scored a No. 1 rock hit, “Novocaine for the Soul,” in 1996. As far as the Billboard charts are concerned, that was his high water mark.
But the singer has gone on to release album after album, some on major labels, others on indie labels, filled with poppy hooks, quirky self-explorations and occasionally subversive wit.
Eels is now touring behind its latest album, “Wonderful, Glorious.” That record of new songs is available in a deluxe version that includes live tracks from a past Seattle show.
Tickets are $25 at showboxonline.com or 888-929-7849.
The Showbox at the Market also will host two dates by Feed Me, the electronica artist, at 8 p.m. Wednesday and Thursday.
The shows — billed as Feed Me with Teeth — feature an elaborate light show synchronized to the music of UK producer Jon Gooch, who bases his beats in dub step and electro.
Tickets are $24.99 at showboxonline.com or 888-929-7849.
The Residents are coming through town, headlining the Neptune Theatre at 7 p.m. Thursday..
The idiosyncratic rock group is celebrating more than 40 years together, and age has inspired some changes. The Residents, famous for hiding the identities of its members, recently revealed the personas behind its music.
During its anniversary shows, fans can expect to hear music from throughout the group’s decades-long career, along with revealing stories told by lead singer Randy Rose.
Tickets are $27 at stgpresents.org or 877-784-4849.
Finally, Kris Allen, the American Idol winner, headlines the Tractor Tavern at 8 p.m. Sunday.
Allen has arguably been overshadowed by his competitor from that show’s 2009 season, Adam Lambert. Nonetheless, Allen has his fans. His sophomore album, “Thank You, Camellia,” hit No. 26 on the Billboard 200.
Tickets range from $15 to $50 at ticketweb.com.
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