>>> Friday, April 19

HANDS IN

The first time I saw Hands In, it was in a basement in South Tacoma. All I knew about what I was going to see was that it was a one-man band from Portland. In practice, Hands In is made up of one guy, a series of pre-programmed beats and melodies, and a guitar - nothing that should be much to write home about. But, the energy that's imbued in the music of Hands In is undeniable. Expect pop songs that have been crafted as tight, spirited, and effortlessly catchy, leaning in equal reverence toward jumpy post-punk and singer-songwriter journaling. Leaving that basement, I took with me a Hands In cassette EP. Popping it into my stereo at home, the sounds coming out of the unmarked cassette could be easily mistaken for a relic found buried at a yard sale - a document of a long-forgotten soloist. - Rev. Adam McKinney

HARMON TAPROOM, W/ NOT FROM BROOKLYN, ROWHOUSE, 9 P.M., $5, 204 ST. HELENS, TACOMA, 253.212.2725

>>> Friday, April 19-Sunday, 21

BLEAK OUTLOOK VOLUME 1

Before Tacoma's semi-longstanding, all-ages venue The Redroom closes its door for good April 27, Bleak Outlook Volume 1 will blow open doors and minds this weekend with a three-day fest that includes two kickin' shows at The Redroom and one at Fifth Dimension.

Bleak Outlook? Is this about the fate of all-ages in Tacoma? Maybe it's just a weather prediction. Whatever the bleak outlook is, nobody's taking it lying down. In fact it will be quite the opposite. Take a gander at the bands on the bill. The majority are in-your-face rockaholics who never cease to rattle any complacency right out of you. Transient, Sidetracked, Same Sex Dictator, Mahnhammer, Hirsute Corpse and Carrion Cathartid rock Friday night. Saturday packs it just as hard with Earth Control, Bone Sickness, Thaco Thomnak, Oops I Stepped In Some Christ and Burn Pile. And Sunday at Fifth Dimension tops it off with Tweakbird, (fresh off touring with Melvins and Tool,) Lozen and Tacos. - Nikki McCoy

THE REDROOM, FRIDAY, APRIL 19, 7 P.M., $8, SATURDAY, APRIL 20, 8 P.M., $5, 2313 TACOMA AVE. S., TACOMA; FIFTH DIMENSION, SUNDAY, APRIL 21, 8 P.M., $5, 3806 E. B ST., TACOMA

>>> Wednesday, April 24

SABRINA CHAP

When you build your act and your music around theatricality, you quickly realize after making a few recordings that there is eventually no place to go but bigger and bigger. More hooks, more color, more eccentricity. Sabrina Chap has backed herself against this wall, but she continues to imbue her music with as much flair as one can muster. On her recent release, We Are the Parade, she brings on a cavalcade of talented guest performers, including members of Ava Luna, Polyphonic Spree, and all manner of horns, accordions and strings. It's all a very produced affair, and the musical theater exuberance of such an endeavor naturally spills over into her live performance. In the end, Sabrina Chap is the ringmaster in the center of an absurd circus - a conductor at the feet of a cartoon orchestra. - Rev. AM

LE VOYEUR, W/ ROMANTEEK, 10 P.M., NO COVER, 404 E. FOURTH AVE., OLYMPIA, 360.943.5710