THE DIRTY BIRDS

>>> Friday, Sept. 10

Olympia's the Dirty Birds are consistently awesome, a musical staple for the thousands of rock-hungry partygoers who need a tight set to rattle their bones and cure their jones. The band's garage punk/surf-a-billy roots branch into states of sophistication and skank with the well-placed hum and hoot of a fantastic saxophonist. Going to a Dirty Birds show inevitably leaves you up late with more beer in your belly than planned, and a reverb of gritty vocals and tasty licks pulsing through your brain. This Friday's show is extra wicked; not only do you get the Dirty Birds, but Tyvek and NoMeansNo will be onstage, connecting synapses with quirky spastic punk, leaving listeners in a heightened state of musical being. - Nikki Talotta

[Capitol Theater, with Tyvek, NoMeansNo, 8 p.m., $8-$10, all ages, 206 Fifth Ave. SE, Olympia, 360.754.6670]

NOMEANSNO

>>> Sunday, Sept. 12

NoMeansNo must really, really like us! After taking the time to scramble our brain parts last year at the old Hell's Kitchen, Sunday they're back to conquer the new downtown HK. If you missed them before, you simply have no excuse this time. Godfathers of math rock, flirters with prog, punk devotees, purveyors of Zappa-esque mind-f***ery, NoMeansNo are true originals in a sea of imitators. They've remained prolific in their 30 years of existence, and show no signs of slowing down or selling out. Side note: When I spoke to NoMeansNo drummer John Wright last year, he supplied me with one of the best quotes I've received from a band. Their songs aren't about "boy meets girl," he said. "They're more like ‘boy wants girl and masturbates excessively.'" Brilliant. - Rev. Adam McKinney

[Hell's Kitchen, with Neutralboy, C.F.A., 8 p.m., $8-$10, 928 Pacific Ave., Tacoma, 253.759.6003]

[Capitol Theater, with Tyvek, The Dirty Birds, Friday, Sept. 10, 8 p.m., $8-$10, all ages, 206 Fifth Ave. SE, Olympia, 360.754.6670]

THE SUNSHINE BUMPERS

>>> Wednesday, Sept. 15

Bellingham quintet the Sunshine Bumpers have a talent for crafting boozy, bluesy rock, and even though most of the band isn't even old enough to drink yet, they admit that they like to get rowdy. Rambunctiousness, of course, goes hand in hand with rock 'n' roll, and, as soulful frontwoman Daisy Deely says, "(the Sunshine Bumpers) are rock ‘n' roll." Formed in 2008 - when the band members were freshmen at Western Washington University - the Sunshine Bumpers got their start at local open mics and house shows, practicing in WWU's party-friendly dorms, where squealing guitar solos and Joplin-esque wails could be easily ignored or adored by the inebriated tenants. While many would peg their sound as old school, Deely prefers to think of the Sunshine Bumpers not as revivalists, but as an inspired merger of old sounds and new tricks. - Jason Baxter

[Bob's Java Jive, 8 p.m., Cover TBA, 2102 S. Tacoma Way, Tacoma, 253.475.9843]

WILLIE NELSON AND FAMILY

>>> Thursday, Sept. 16

Oh, folks. Is there anything better than a high country singer? I submit that there is not. Years of rock stars trashing hotel rooms and getting DUIs and getting their heads stuck in chairs have jaded us to the wonder of the blissfully baked musician, of which Willie Nelson is the very embodiment. The man is upwards of 150 years old and he puts all of your 420-obsessed, absurd-bong-having stoner friends to shame. That he smokes in the aid of mellowing out to some sweet, down-home country tunes in that unmistakably casual and relaxed voice of his is beyond awesome. If you get a chance, try to get him to play "Mountain Dew" - a great, rolling ode to blinding yourself on some good ol' backwoods moonshine. - Rev. AM

[Puyallup Fair Grandstand, 7:30 p.m., $25-$50, 110 Ninth Ave. SW, Puyallup, 253.845.1771]