THRONES

>>> Friday, Feb. 26

My friend's band once bought a baby blue Ford conversion van that previously belonged to Thrones, a.k.a. Joe Preston. Inside was tour garbage, flat tires and a picture of Preston lounging on a saggy couch, orange ‘70s afghan thrown across his lap, a peaceful looking cat snuggled up against him. He must have been resting up from years of hard rocking with his band mate - a drum machine. Preston has an impressive resume, playing with The Melvins, Earth, C Average, and High On Fire, to name just a few. Before Preston's European tour, Thrones will be joining Christian Mistress and Two Ton Boa at Olympia's all age's venue, Northern. Now is your chance to grab your 17-year-old cousin and blow his mind with some of the best, tripped-out heavy rock the Northwest has to offer. - Nikki Talotta

[Northern, with Two Ton Boa, Christian Mistress, 9 p.m., all ages, $7, 321 Fourth Ave., Olympia, www.northernolympia.org]

TAJ MAHAL

>>> Saturday, Feb. 27

The promotional posters for the Taj Mahal Trio's upcoming show at the Capitol Theater in Oly call Taj a "Grammy winning blues master." Truer words have never been spoken. Of course, the Grammy award is a verifiable, checkable, Google-able fact - but the "blues master" part, I suppose, is open to opinion. Does a guy with nearly 40 years in music, countless accomplishments, and shared stages with Clapton, B.B. King, John Lee Hooker, Miles Davis, Jimi Hendrix, Bob Dylan and Bob Marley qualify as a "blues master"? I'd venture to say yes - but I also think Taj Mahal goes further. It's not just the blues here, folks; Taj Mahal is a true master of music. Period. From blues to funk to gospel to jazz to the Caribbean and back to American roots - Taj bathes in all of it masterfully. - Matt Driscoll

[The Capitol Theater, 8 p.m., all ages, $35, 206 E. Fifth Ave., Olympia, olympiafilmsociety.org]

L'ORCHIDEE D'HAWAI

>>> Monday, March 1

L'Orchidée d'Hawaï is a French band, and, as such, it's hard to tell when they're kidding. Their songs bounce back and forth from surf rock, to spacey jams, to Japanese pop. You know what? They really seem into Asian culture. One song - "Bangkok 1997" - is precisely what I would expect to hear if I was to take a time machine to 1985 and travel the Orient in a flashy pantsuit - montage-style, of course. But I digress. With L'Orchidée d'Hawaï I don't know what I'm hearing. The band never seems to sing, only bringing in guest vocalists like Karl Blau. Another confusion: Is it weird that this band reminds me of a surf rock version of the Wu Tang Clan? Needless to say, you should see them at the Northern and return to me with your findings. - Rev. Adam McKinney

[Northern, with Arrington De Dionyso, Angelo Spencer, Malaikat Dan Singa, 9 p.m., all ages, $5, 321 Fourth Ave., Olympia, olympiaallages.org]

SOK AND THE FAGGOTS

>>> Tuesday, March 2

Have you seen Hated? It's the great documentary about the completely incomprehensible G.G. Allin, and it features such notorious performances as the one where he unbelievably gets to perform at NYU and responds by inserting a banana into his ass onstage and throwing chairs at the audience. Who knows why followers of G.G. Allin would exist, but they do. Just ask Sok and the Faggots. I don't know if the band's shows feature banana enemas, but they probably want you to think they do. Sok songs generally err on the side of doing terrible things to corpses, the wonder of substance abuse, and what a slut your mother is. If you attend their show, you're bound to get some sort of fluid thrown at you. You've been warned. - Rev. AM

[Hell's Kitchen, with Oops I Stepped in Some Christ, I Defy, The Punch Drunks, 9 p.m., no cover, 928 Pacific Ave., Tacoma, 253.759.6003]