EDISON ORANGE

>>> Friday, July 30

Edison Orange's "Flour Shortage" starts out sounding sort of like Pixies if they made bubblegum pop - that ba-ba-ba-bass, stiffly rhythmic guitar and thudding drums sounding brighter than Black Francis probably would've liked. About a minute in, a certain No Doubt flavor (including horns) kicks in, and Edison Orange's mission statement is made pretty clear. This is about alternative music, man, not that lame indie pap. This is the music the badass girl would blare from her car stereo in the '90s teen movie. It is the kind of music that Janeane "Evian is ‘naïve' backwards" Garofalo would like, well, anytime. Sometimes it gets loud, but there's a sweet underbelly to Edison Orange that begs to be adored by a teenage badass - if one still exists. - Rev. Adam McKinney

[Le Voyeur, 10 p.m., 21+, no cover, 404 Fourth Ave. E., Olympia, 360.943.5710]

LEVATOR

>>> Saturday, July 31

Levator (pronounced like "elevator" without the "e") is an integral member of the Northwest's hearty-but-underappreciated psych/shoegaze/experimental crowd, and their plaintive, achingly pretty songs are just one example of that scene's baffling diversity. With the incorporation of Psychedelic Fur-sy tenor sax and a healthy dose of shameless ballad grandeur, Levator has distinguished themselves admirably by weaving plush, multi-layered soundscapes to cushion Sky Lynn's airy, ethereal vocals. This is a band inspired more by the graceful, placid promise of early shoegaze recordings (The Jesus and Mary Chain, MBV, Slowdive, etc.) than by those bands' comparatively ferocious, ear-‘sploding live presence. It's unlikely that Levator will batter your ears, but they just may break your heart. - Jason Baxter

[Bob's Java Jive, with They Rise, We Die, Brotherhood of the Black Squirrel, 8:30 p.m., $5, 2102 S. Tacoma Way, Tacoma, 253.475.9843]

FINAL VIADUCT SHOW

>>> Saturday, July 31

It could accurately be called the end of an era. On Saturday, Tacoma's Viaduct all ages venue - which has been a regionally known epicenter for hardcore music and hardcore youth - will hold its final show ever, bringing Shook Ones, Make Do and Mend, Hostage Calm and a bunch of other scream-happy ragers to the stage. "There were five owners of the Viaduct," club employee Jeremy Bushnell told the Volcano earlier this month. "On a monthly basis, they were paying anywhere between 50 and around 300 bucks out-of-pocket to keep the place open. It got to the point where they couldn't do it anymore. ... The beginning of this year, around January or February, is when they were really getting to the point when they were like, ‘We might have to think about doing something else.'" Unfortunately, that time is upon us.  Though we do hear there's already a new tenant lined up for the space, and the plan is for another all ages venue focusing on reggae and hip-hop. That'd be nice, but any way you slice it - losing the Viaduct sucks. - Matt Driscoll

[The Viaduct, Final show with Shook Ones, Make Do And Mend, Hostage Calm, Cowardice, Oblivion, Wreck, Cool Runnings, Power, Sixes, Open Fire!, Swinglow, Saturday, July 31, Cover TBA, 5412 South Tacoma Way, Tacoma, 253.226.1820]

REVENGERS

>>> Saturday, July 31

Scraps on the Badlands - it's an evocative name, bringing to mind dusty, forlorn, almost uninhabitable stretches of nothingness, and also (in many ways) Tacoma. This makes sense, considering Revengers, a band spawned by the Biznautics and T-Town itself, and who dropped Scraps on the Badlands late last year, basically ARE Tacoma ... or damn close to it. An album crafted amidst both triumphs and horrible tragedies (producer Tom Pfaeffle died the summer prior to its official release, and Danny "D-Child" Cline - formerly of the Biznautics and fellow T-Town hip-hop act Nasty Left - lost his battle with cancer not long before its release), Scraps on the Badlands is a lyrical, profoundly artistic and haunting ode to the city that spawned it. "That's a lot of what our record is about, is standing your ground in the face of hardship and not getting beaten up by the world," Revengers' Dale Coleman said at the time of the record's release. The fight continues. - MD

[Doyle's Public House, with guests, 9:30 p.m., no cover, 208 Saint Helens Ave., Tacoma, 253.272.7468]