JONATHAN RICHMAN

Thursday, Dec. 3
Oh, reader, I am all atwitter. Do you want to know why? Good, because I will tell you. Jonathan Richman is coming. He is. He really is. He’s coming to Olympia, and do you know what he’s going to do when he gets here? He will make me and many other audience members cry and swoon and feel like we’re falling in love with everything. Ice cream, mosquitoes, the Velvet Underground, the Abominable Snowman, not doing drugs — these things will become our bestest friends. For just over 25 (!) years, Mr. Richman has been delivering rock n’ roll full of wide-eyed innocence and longing as only he can — with humor and rockabilly and pristine naiveté. If I were you, I’d go to that concert and give this man a big, fat hug. He will hug you back. — Rev. Adam McKinney
[Capitol Theater Backstage, 8 p.m., $8-$10, 206 Fifth Ave. SE, Olympia, 360.754.6670]

PIERCED ARROWS

Thursday, Dec. 3
The Brotherhood is doing it again. The swanky venue is giving over its stage to sleazy rock n’ roll. The red lighting and intimate floor space will invite you to shake a leg, the booze will be provided by loving bartenders and the rock will be provided by the one and only Pierced Arrows. Olympia thrash metal rockers Christian Mistress — a local favorite — will be joining the bill for this free show to celebrate Tara’s birthday. (If you know Tara, this means something to you.) Listening to Pierced Arrows is like having Edward Cullen and Jacob Black in the same room — a ferocious clash of sensitive power. Your ears are like Bella, in love with the complexity and sincerity you feel when surrounded by that power. So much that you just want to be touched by that power. … Oh, shit, did I really just write that? — Nikki Talotta
[The Brotherhood Lounge, 9 p.m., NC, 119 Capitol Way N., Olympia, 360.352.4153]

THE PHARMACY

Thursday, Dec. 3
Like indie rock migrants, unshaven and unforgiving, the Pharmacy bumble about this country of ours prescribing messy amounts of psych-pop-punk like doctors slinging elixirs out of the back of a horse drawn cart to wide eye and hopeful pioneers. Having originated in the Northwest — Seattle, at least according to the records — and having moved to New Orleans via seemingly every stop in between, the Pharmacy is more like a traveling church of distortion and disobedience than your prototypical American Apparel indie band. It suits the Pharmacy well. A three-piece, Stefan Rubicz, Scott Yoder and Brendhan Bowers — the band resides in a cloud of hair and no-alarm-clock-rock — wearing their inspirations on a ragged sleeve and sticking their thumb toward the road. Pick them up if you dare. — Matt Driscoll
[The Den @ urbanXchange, with Baby Birds Don’t Drink Milk, Sugar Beats, 7 p.m., $4-$5, 1934 Pacific Ave., Tacoma, 253.572.2280]

DICK DALE

Thursday, Dec. 10
There is only one Dick Dale, and if you ever have the chance to talk to him he’ll be more than happy to share this with you — his voice booming and in charge, original Boston roots mixing with the California surf vernacular that he’s helped define. Chatting it up with Dale, as he’s usually game for, means a deluge of stories, a deluge of anecdotes, a deluge of self-confidence, and — most importantly — a deluge of insight from a 72-year-old icon, the man who created surf guitar, reinvented the word loud, and stands alone in the realm of rock history — an original in a world of contemporaries. On Thursday, Olympia’s original punk-strut, ‘60s garage fueled, dash of sax band the Dirty Birds will get the chance to see this first hand — if they haven’t already — when Dick Dale plays the Capitol Theater and Jimmi Davies and Co. open things up. Don’t miss this show. — MD
[Capitol Theater, with the Dirty Birds, 8 p.m., $15-$20, 206 Fifth Ave. SE, Olympia, 360.754.6670]