[POP] + SAT, SEPT. 13

It'd be a waste of everyone's valuable time to pretend the biggest item in Tacoma music news this week isn't the arrival of Katy Perry and her Prismatic World Tour. Like, not only is Perry, like, one of the biggest names in Top 40, she's also brought Tegan and Sara along for the ride. A living fireworks display, the artist formerly known as Katheryn Elizabeth Hudson has sold, thus far, like, 11 million albums around the world. The RIAA claims she's the top-selling MP3 artist of all time. She's a gay rights activist, UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador and, most vital of all, the voice of Smurfette. Oh, and for a mere $457, you could snag a "platinum ticket" that'd put you right in the middle of a horde of incredibly spoiled teenage girls. Live a little! {CHRISTIAN CARVAJAL}

KATY PERRY, 7:30 p.m. Saturday, Tacoma Dome, 2727 E. D St., Tacoma, $20.50-$457.96 (!), Ticketmaster.com

[UKE PUNK] + SAT, SEPT. 13

Toucan Sam and the Fruitloops seems like a perverse exercise in buckshot blasts of gimmickry. Made up of a Polyphonic Spree-level assemblage of musicians, the Fruitloops specialize in orchestrated punk rock explosions of popular songs done in ukulele. See where I'm coming from? Still, one can only scoff so much in the face of 15 people armed with ukes and dressed in rainbows and sparkles. It's enough to forgive any sense of calculation on Toucan Sam's part, and they're actually quite impressive musicianship allows everyone to relax and enjoy the novelty of this absurd band. Think of them as the Ukulele Orchestra of Great Britain, but for misfits. Once they pack themselves into the cozy concrete confines of Le Voyeur, one will be hard-pressed not to join in with the goofy spirit of the whole thing. {REV. ADAM MCKINNEY}

TOUCAN SAM AND THE FRUITLOOPS, w/ Jesse Noll, Amy Bleu, Phobos and Deimos, 10 p.m., Le Voyeur, 404 E. Fourth Ave., Olympia, no cover, 360.943.5710

[EMO SPACE PUNK] + TUES, SEPT. 16

There are certain combinations of sounds that would've never occurred to you were possible until someone inexplicably decides to shake things up. Have you ever listened to some good, punky emo and wondered where all the sci-fi sound effects were? Wonder no more! Hailing from Oakland, California, Never Young have oddly decided to plant their feet in the netherworld where space-age wonder and full-throated, anthemic punk meet. The emo designation is theirs, but that shouldn't deter anyone who (perhaps justifiably) has a stigma to the genre. Really, Never Young make blistering punk that dabbles in pop melodicism, and without the whiny vocals that invaded the emo scene. One of the country's most vibrant and fascinating music communities - San Francisco's shaggy cousin - has produced another intriguing original in Never Young. {REV. AM}

NEVER YOUNG, w/ Trout Stream, Whatfunlifewas, 10 p.m., Le Voyeur, 404 E. Fourth Ave., Olympia, 360.943.5710