[INDIE POP] + FRI, JULY 18

Lately, I've been spending too much time thinking about the preponderance of math rock influences in local indie rock. I think I first noticed it during the last batch of Makeup Monster shows. Something changed in the SOTA music scene, and - as near as I can tell - it stems from art school students getting bored with the typical garage pop/slacker rock paradigm that had begun to spread over the culture of house shows and all-ages noise-fests. Wow, Laura (comma included) is the latest example of bands mostly delivering the same sort of breezy indie pop while also taking time to inject it with jarring shifts in time signatures and halting uses of stop/start dynamics. In all, it's a handy way to get your band noticed, if you find a way to throw curveballs at listeners who are used to getting lulled by summer songs. {REV. ADAM MCKINNEY}

WOW, LAURA, w/ iji, guests, 8 p.m., Half Pint Pizza Pub, 2710 Sixth Ave., Tacoma, cover tba, 253.272.2531

[NEW WAVE] + FRI, JULY 18

Allow me to set a scene. Having just departed Algebra II, I hustle to Starcade IV, the blinking, bleeping console-game paradise across the street from Fortuna High. Lunch will be a burger and rings from Pam's mom-and-pop burger shoppe around the corner. First, however, I have an appointment with Pole Position II and Atari's vector-graphics Star Wars. I need all the quarters I can save from my lawn-mowing job, so I'm grateful to class-skipping seniors for hogging the jukebox. Imagine the keytar-y pop music playing on that jukebox: "Whip It," "What I Like About You," "Safety Dance" and you're-goddamn-right "Don't Stop Believin'." You just imagined a chunk of the Spazmatics' set list, so grab your skinny tie, brush up your Robot, and pull up your Members Only jacket sleeves. It's time for one of the hottest '80s cover bands in the country. They are so choice. {CHRISTIAN CARVAJAL}

SPAZMATICS, w/ Mr. Pink, 8 p.m. Jazzbones, 2803 Sixth Ave., Tacoma, $8, 253.396.9169

[HIP-HOP] + SAT, JULY 19

For the past couple of years, Olympia has doubled its role as a capitol, not only housing the state's government affairs, but also the capitol of hip-hop battles. From The Go Hard Or Go Home series, to the We Out Here Showcases and, in the past year, For MCs By MCs, the MC-battle scene rules The 360. Speaking of MCs By MCs, Saturday marks its first anniversary at the Olympia Ballroom, with what is expected to be a "destination spot" (George W. Bush Voice). The celebration will feature The Real Life Click and Heretic The Heathen (founder/director of FMBM) plus battles Patron vs. Steez, Fatality vs. Diagnostic and Azariel Levvi vs. DL Murray (Beat Battle), among other challenges. Hip-hop will be in the building; you might want to be there too REAL HEDZ. {JOSE GUTIERREZ}

THE FOUNDATION, For MCs By MCs One Year Anniversary, 8 p.m., all ages, The Olympia Ballroom, 116 Legion Way SE, Olympia, $5

[ROOTSY FOLK-ROCK] + SUN, JULY 20

What might have come across as a bit of cheeky, gimmickry with the Cave Singers, has coalesced into an easy and natural product. Combining members of punk bands like Pretty Girls Make Graves and Murder City Devils into a folk-rock band (right at the apex of Seattle's neo-folk inundation, mind you) surely must have struck some as a stunt, but the band's seventh year on the scene shows them settling into a welcome groove. The Cave Singer's most recent album, Naomi, reveals a band coming into their own, exploring what makes them stand out from the glut of similarly rootsy indie bands that have spent the last few years choking the scene. As always, though, rhythm and sly R&B remain constants with their music. Their tour finds them breezing through The New Frontier for a rare Sunday show, so it'd behoove you to catch them. {REV. AM}

THE CAVE SINGERS, w/ No Grave, 8 p.m., The New Frontier Lounge, 301 E. 25th St., Tacoma, $16 advance $20 door, 253.572.4020