ELIOT LIPP

>>> Thursday, Dec. 30

One of Tacoma's most successful musical sons will be performing Thursday evening at The New Frontier Lounge. Eliot Lipp is one of the most looked-to artists in contemporary electronic music. Known for his unique take on hip-hop and house, Lipp has paid dues in underground scenes in almost every primary market in the U.S., Europe and Asia, and has released albums on multiple cutting edge labels. His sound is a blend of ‘90s hip-hop and house, ‘70s funk fusion and classic electro. Lipp's unique sound and worldwide tours have established him as one of the barometers for the revival of electronic music in the United States. The show will be opened by local party boys City Hall (EvergreenOne, Todd Sykes and DJ Hanibal) and "special guests." This show was announced pretty late, but if Tacoma knows what's what it will be a packed-out frenzy. Look for this to be a very late contender for show of the year.  - Zach Powers

[The New Frontier Lounge, with City Hall, 9 p.m., 301 E. 25th St., Tacoma, 253.572.4020]

DEATH FIRST

>>> Saturday, Jan. 1

Hardcore music, like American icon and "World's Oldest Teenager" Dick Clark, will probably never die. Wherever there are angsty, cloistered youth - and the South Sound, just like practically everywhere else, has no shortage - there will be an appetite and audience for bands as forceful and furious as White Wards. No strangers to all-ages hotspot Northern, WW will be performing with Sixes, Hysterics and alt-rockers Death First, who hail from nearby Buckley, Wash. Death First's affected vocals and snarling guitar histrionics sound native to the post-millennial FM rock era (shades of mid-career Queens of the Stone Age), and their shrieking choruses and oodles of cooing back-up vocals should make for a keen counterpoint to White Ward's sustained fervor. Time for the city's "angry, young, and poor" to break out their studded belts and pin-smothered denim jackets.  - Jason Baxter 

[Northern, with White Ward, Sixes, Hysterics, 8 p.m., all ages, 321 Fourth Ave., Olympia, northernolympia.org]

MOLLY HAMILTON

>>> Saturday, Jan. 1

Experienced inhabitants of the Tacoma music scene may recognize Molly Hamilton as a SOTA alumna, and former member of the loose music collective known as Dear Records, where she recorded as Haircuts. Himilton - along with people like Paul Daly (of Greenfield and Fashion) and Colin Reynolds (of Tree Roots in the Basement and, now, I Low) - was active during a particularly fertile time for music in Tacoma. And, like many ex-Dear Records members, she eventually fled Washington for New York. While there, she joined up with a psychedelic rock-leaning band called Widowspeak, which was a substantial departure from the somber, minimalist music she made in Tacoma. She returns for a solo show on Saturday, and it'll be interesting to see how the big city has affected her solo material. - Rev. Adam McKinney

[The New Frontier Lounge, with Tarek Wegner, Spencer Kelley, Medicine Breath, 9 p.m., cover TBA, 301 E. 25th St., Tacoma, 253.572.4020]

CORPUS CALLOSUM

>>> Saturday, Jan. 1

Corpus Callosum are a seven-piece traveling sideshow. Their music is made using arcane and unusual instruments like wine glasses and Stylophones, and it sways and hums in a style similar to fellow anachronistic acts like Beirut and DeVotchKa. The show is rounded out by their emphasis on performance. Puppets, stilt walking, cardboard sets - it adds up to a dizzying interpretation of a school recital, a talent show, a carnival. Do you ever see those vouchers with the elephants and clowns and red balls adorned with stars and regret always missing the circus when it unceremoniously blows through town? Here is your chance to experience that eerie magic before Corpus Callosum pack it in and leave for yet another town, more eyes and ears to be met with wonder. - Rev. AM

[The Den @ urbanXchange, 7 p.m., donations accepted, 1932 Pacific Ave, Tacoma]