[AVANT-POP] + SAT, JULY 26

One of the things that tends to deter me from music with the "experimental" label is that it too frequently has a tendency to spiral out into free jazz journeys with no end in sight. My roots are too entrenched in pop construction for me to have much patience for 20-minute explorations. Toyboat Toyboat Toyboat never feel like they're noodling. Their avant-pop ditties are high on unorthodox instrumentation and off-the-wall ideas, but it all feels like it's in its right place. Of particular interest is the inclusion of a member who plays the Quintron, which is a rare synthesizer that functions off of exposure to light. It's propulsive, screwy music that lets things get experimental while always reassuring you that a sure, crazy hand is behind it all. {REV. ADAM MCKINNEY}

TOYBOAT TOYBOAT TOYBOAT, w/ Power Skeleton, Trueno, Tummler and Solomon, Rexx, 8 p.m., Bob's Java Jive, 2102 South Tacoma Way, Tacoma, $5, 253.475.9843

[R&B] + SAT, JULY 26

Grab a date; Saturday's show at Jezebels will be historic. Early 1990s R&B harmonizers Shai rolls into Olympia. Not only does this show mark a significant visit from the platinum-selling crooners, but also a going-away party of sorts, as Jezebels - formerly The Mint and Barcode - will be shutting its doors after a decade on Fourth Avenue. Jezebels has been a part of the bedrock for hip-hop, rap and other urban shows, most popularly known for its famous dollar wells Wednesday nights, that left all competition in the surrounding 20 miles floundering and confused about what to do. Reportedly the venue will re-open as a live rock music venue, and rock a party that will surely be memorable with Shai singing and DJ Drastic spinning. And the number of live hip-hop venues continues to dwindle. {JOSE GUTIERREZ}

SHAI, 9 p.m., Jezebels, 414 Fourth Ave. E., Olympia, $20, 360.915.6503

[ROCKABILLY] + WED, JULY 30

There are times when our music picks write themselves, which is helpful as some of us drink. This is one of those welcome moments, because Jazzbones is having one stunner of a week. It begins with crooners Color Me Badd Saturday the 26th - hell, yes, they still wanna sex you up! - followed Sunday by Georgia rapper Warren Anderson Mathis, better known as Bubba Sparxxx. Sparxxx's country-flavored hitsss include "Heat It Up" and "Ms. New Booty," which, it grieves me to report, is not about a feminist pirate. Save room on your musical plate, though, for Igor & The Red Elvises, a mind-blowing rockabilly combo whose members hail from former Soviet states (or, in one case, the Minnesota gulag) but met in California. I've seen these ex-Russkies performing live; and in Soviet Russia, apparently, guitar plays you! Boom! That clever joke was called a Russian reversal. Uh-huh. You just learned something about comedy, comrade. Now go try some kick-ass Russian rockabilly. {CHRISTIAN CARVAJAL}

IGOR & THE RED ELVISES, w/Psycho 78, 8 p.m., Jazzbones, 2803 Sixth Ave., Tacoma, $9.99(!), 253.396.9169

[FOLK-POP] + TUES, JULY 29

Stephen Steinbrink's most recent album, Arranged Waves, was released through Melodic Records, based in Manchester, England. Judging by Steinbrink's music, Manchester has changed a lot since the raucous and experimental days of the '80s. A record label called Melodic is the perfect avenue to find Steinbrink, whose music is pristinely recorded, gorgeously melancholy folk-pop. Immaculate harmonies and chiming guitars bridge the gaps between Beatles-esque pop, CSNY's tuneful folk and the Shins' serenely modern drift. Steinbrink has been at it for a while and, while his experience as a studio engineer certainly comes across on his album, his abilities as a singer and performer shine through in equal measure. There's a stately reserve to the music of Stephen Steinbrink that lends it a classic feeling, and the feeling of an instant classic. {REV. AM}

STEPHEN STEINBRINK, w/ Whales Wailing, Johanna Warren, 8 p.m., Northern, 414 ½ E. Fourth Ave., Olympia, $5, olympiaallages.org