[ROCK] + SAT, DEC. 7

When I wrote about Bacon Moon, back in 2010, I compared them to Guided By Voices. Much like Robert Pollard's drunken pop music wonder-band, Bacon Moon have a knack for finding indelible pop melodies in the middle of lo-fi rattling. Since that write-up, Bacon Moon have edged further into experimental music, finding progressive rock clashing with major chord Ramones-aping punk. These discordant styles - exploratory rock mingling with four-chord anthems - creates an intriguing mélange of genres that sounds less like compromise than it does of restless tinkering. Bacon Moon is a band that cherishes the new as much as it worships the old. Classic rock posturing shares space with goofy alt-rock noodling, and it somehow all finds room to share together, resulting in the kind of music that makes it hard to place your finger on. {REV. ADAM MCKINNEY}

BACON MOON, w/ Dirty Malkovich, the Deceptives, 9 p.m., Le Voyeur, 404 E. Fourth St., Olympia, no cover, 360.943.0710

[KLEZMER FUNK ROCK] + SAT, DEC. 7

Erev Rav, Weekly Volcano's reader-voted Best Band of 2012, are playing in Olympia for the first time since summer. A few cool changes have taken place: New members include Aaron Wolf on tenor sax from The Brown Edition (another Volcano winner), James Schneider of Hot Club Sandwich on bass and Marchette Dubois on accordion and vocals from Bucharest Drinking Team of Seattle. "This means our fusion continues to receive shots in the arm of great talent - in this case, funk and gypsy swing players," says Daniel Landin, Erev Rav's manager and 12-string extraordinaire. Also on the bill is Fruition, a "jamgrass" band that just spent two months on tour with Greensky and has a fan base that's growing as you read this.  The night will be a cross-genre dance vibe, with tons of talent and high-quality musicians, all coming together on the common ground of wanting to rock your world. {NIKKI MCCOY}

EREV RAV, w/Fruition, 8:30 p.m., The Olympia Ballroom, 116 Legion Way, Olympia, $10, $8 students, 360.259.1589

[SIPPY-CUP ROCK] + SUN, DEC. 8

Generally, music intended for children is perky, chipmunk-y, condescending, cloying and unlistenable for anyone old enough to cut his or her own meat. Most kids' music seems designed to tell ham-handed moral lessons about sharing, being polite, and buying as much Disney-produced plastic material as possible. Enter Kim Archer (cue: needle scratching across Bill Withers's "Use Me"). That's right, kiddies. Tacoma's R&B, soul and funk queen will strum from a doll chair and cause a clap riot. Good Mojo Records has released a full length, all original children's music, Music from Planet Cool, featuring the songwriting and vocal talents of Archer and Ivan Pla. The 10-track CD is an accompaniment to the series of books from Tacoma-based publishers Max ‘n Me Studio called the Magic Friendship Series. "This is a CD that you can put in the car and drive, and enjoy with your kids from beginning to end. There are upbeat and catchy jazz, funk, rock and island songs that each deliver a positive message without the arrangements being ‘dumbed-down"' for the listener," says Archer.  "The end product is something parents will be singing along to as well." Well, Mom and Dad, time to test Archer's theory. Pile the kids into the Family trickster and head to the sweet tastes of Gibson's Frozen Yogurt Shoppe for a Sunday afternoon CD release party (cue: "Kim. Kim. Kim. Kim. Kim.")

MUSIC FROM PLANET COOL CD RELEASE PARTY, 1-2:30 p.m., Gibson's Frozen Yogurt Shoppe, 8 N. Tacoma, Ave., Tacoma, no cover, maxnmestudio.com

[INDIE ROCK] + MON, DEC. 9

The first words I saw describing Historian painted them as a mixture between Arcade Fire's Win Butler and (everyone's dreams') Nick Cave. Those are deeply enticing words, and so I was bound to listen. The truth is, those fantastic descriptors don't quite describe what Historian is all about. That dangerous sexuality of Nick Cave is missing and, while the cacophony of Arcade Fire is present, it never reaches heart-rending heights. Rather, Historian is more reminiscent of Tacoma's Pioneers West, with their wounded animal lead vocals, mixed with the sort of populist guitar rock of Handsome Furs. In any case, what Historian delivers is a tough indie rock, surging with bruised masculinity. However that feels to you when it hits you is how you're liable to describe it. To me, it sounds like fallen men, screaming blindly for help that will never come. {REV. AM}

HISTORIAN, w/guests, 8 p.m., Northern, 414 ½ Legion Way, cover tba, Olympia

See Also

Calendar: Arts and Entertainment

Calendar: Music and Nightlife