TOO SLIM AND THE TAILDRAGGERS

>>> Friday, Oct. 1

Take the modern alt-country blues sound of Drive-By Truckers, throw in the fun loving attitude and riff-blues-rock of ZZ Top, mix them all together and you get close to the vibe of Too Slim and the Taildraggers. This is real, down and dirty rock and roll - a delightful jumble of virtuosic slide guitar work from frontman Tim "Too Slim" Langford and the revamped rock sound of the Taildraggers. The band's vibe blends power-chord-driven, fun-loving nasty grooves with a new, indie-rock songwriting vibe. And it works.

Don't worry, though, Too Slim and crew definitely infuse plenty of blues and Americana into their work. You dig? - Paul Schrag

[Jazzbones, 8 p.m., $8-$10, 2803 Sixth Ave., Tacoma, 253.396.9169]

RHYTHM & BREWS GRAND OPENING

>>> Friday, Oct. 1

If the hype has yet to reach you, let us gladly be the first the draw your attention to Rhythm & Brews, Tacoma's newest nightclub and local music venue, opening this weekend in the space that Juno and The Garage once called home. Yes, someone's trying it again in that fateful Market Street locale. But this time it's Gary Grape doing the bulk of the musical booking, the familiar name behind the South Sound Blues Association and lots of other local music-centric community organizing. Though we've seen venues come and go in the spot Grape is trying to resurrect for this town, we're hopeful Rhythm & Brews will have some staying power. Grape's wife, Maia Santell, and her wonderful backing band, House Blend, will officially christen Rhythm & Brews' grand opening Friday night. Saturday, the South Sound Blues Association's 2010 International Blues Challenge winner, Blues Redemption, takes the stage. Next weekend promises Little Bill and the Bluenotes and also Billy Roy Danger and the Rectifiers. It's quite a start, with hopefully much more to come. - Weekly Volcano

[Rhythm & Brews, Maia Santell and House Blend, 8:30 p.m., all ages until 10:30 p.m., No cover, 933 Market St., Tacoma, 253.627.0137]

GNAR AT THE BAR AFTER PARTY

>>> Saturday, Oct. 2

What is the preferable way to cleanse one's palette following an exhilarating skateboarding competition? If you grabbed a pen and wrote "a concert that features punk, reggae and hip-hop bands" in the margin of this week's paper, then you, sir, would be correct. You will be pleased to know O'Malley's was two steps ahead of you.  They assembled the likes of Mighty High, CFA and City Hall for an after party designed to rock the Vans off the skate punks gathered during the day for the Oktobersesh Gnar at the Bar all-ages skateboard competition - to be held in the lot beside O'Malley's starting at 2 p.m. Saturday. The after party kicks off at 7 p.m. and includes City Hall, who most will know better as EvergreenOne and Todd Sykes. The laid-back and cleverly Tacoma-centric rap duo who will be working in total yin/yang opposition to CFA's down and dirty punk rock, possibly resulting in auditory whiplash. - Rev. Adam McKinney

[O'Malley's Irish Pub, City Hall, Mash Hall, Mighty High, CFA, Walk the Plank, 7 p.m., 21+, no cover, 2403 Sixth Ave., Tacoma, 253.627.9403]

WHEELIES

>>> Saturday, Oct. 2

Local quartet Wheelies' indie rock combines equal parts depravity and delicacy; they can sing about getting wasted while sounding angelic, only to eventually tumble into Murder City Devils-esque explosions of musical furor. But besides being slippery players, they're also straight-shootin' dudes with a sound that juxtaposes very pretty guitar and synth melodies against rawness and blue-collar screaming. "I guess in some ways, we think about everything, but it always comes together really naturally," says frontman Patrick Doherty. "The other three guys in the band are just really creative people. Somebody will just have one small idea for a song - a drum beat, a melody, a phrase, whatever - and we'll just freestyle from there. The one thing we really try and do is actually write songs, you know? It might be a little different every time you play it live, but there's definitely a solid backbone to it, and everyone's on the same page." - Jason Baxter

[The New Frontier Lounge, with Pioneers West, Blanco Bronco, 9 p.m., cover TBA, 301 E. 25th, Tacoma, 253.572.402]