NIGHT OF THE LIVING TRIBUTE BANDS

>>>Saturday, Oct. 30

What do L7, Iron Maiden, Pat Benatar, Aerosmith, Heart, Dinosaur Jr. and Patti Smith have in common? Well, besides all having lived their fair share of the rock ‘n‘ roll dream, they're all being covered at this year's Night of the Living Dead Tribute Concert. Olympia heavy hitters like Jon Merithew (C-Average), Olivia Love (Black Betty, Rodeo Kill), Ryan Von Bargen (Chief, Fitz of Depression) and many other local badasses will be tearing up the stage at the Capitol Theater in downtown Olympia. Come in costume for a discount! There will be raffles, a costume contest and prizes! Calling all zombies, slutty nurses and Michael Jacksons to celebrate this coming together in the true Halloween spirit of resurrection, bad makeup and general mayhem. - Nikki Talotta

[Capitol Theater, 8 p.m., $5 w/costume, $8 w/out, all ages, 21+ beer garden, 206 Fifth Ave. SE, Olympia, 360.754.6670]

DEAD MAN'S FEAST

>>>Saturday, Oct. 30

Alright, alright, I admit it: I know basically nothing about house music. Looking at the poster for Dead Man's Feast, the New Frontier's house music-filled Halloween show, I ticked down the list of genres on tap for the evening. Drum and Bass, sure. Dubstep, OK. Wait, what in the world is "European folk glitch"? Looking at house subgenres makes me feel oddly old. Well, as it turns out, European folk glitch is the style of a DJ named Dizzy Dave, and it sounds like, er, house music with a maybe a lighter touch. Which is fine! Fans of house music will undoubtedly have a great time raving it up in the very un-techno-like surroundings of the New Frontier's deep, wooden interior. Should be an interesting confluence of people on Halloween Eve. - Rev. Adam McKinney

[The New Frontier Lounge, with D:FI, Habit, Big Chuck, Dizzy the Clown, Dyonysys, Rosie Cheex, 9 p.m., $5, 301 E. 25th St., Tacoma, 253.572.4020]

THE SPRINGBOARDS

>>>Saturday, Oct. 30

Is it ever safe to assume that a band is messing around? This is not to say the music isn't good or valid, but just that it's delivered in a sort of tossed-off, casual manner that seems to say, "Hey, we're having fun." The Springboards seem to embody this spirit of fooling around. A drummer, a guitarist and a singer that divides his time between frantic raps and slinky intonations are all that make up the Springboards, but they somehow manage to wrangle all the energy three people can generate into a seething ball of headlong momentum and sweaty fun. All the fun that they're having is actually infectious. - Rev. AM

[Bob's Java Jive, with Klondike Kate Band, 9 p.m., cover TBA, 2102 S. Tacoma Way, Tacoma, 253.475.9843]

TENDER FOREVER

>>>Tuesday, Nov. 2

Lyrics are typically secondary in electronic and dance music, but Melanie Valera's intonations on No Snare, her latest as Tender Forever, are not only emotionally resonant, but a critical part of the listening experience. While the electro-acoustic percussion on No Snare booms, chirps and rattles exultingly, it's Valera's ersatz Carly Simon-isms ("this song is not for you and is meant to be/ just a piece of something nice that you won't get to see") that really stick in the mind. No Snare is a cathartic, impeccably-produced dance record (dig the bass, claps and drum fills on "Only the Sounds You Made") that's easier to commiserate with than to boogie along to, but that's not a bad thing by any stretch of the imagination. To paraphrase Bruce Lee in Enter the Dragon, "you need emotional content" - tender sentiments and rockin' beats. - Jason Baxter

[Northern, with Pete Burr, Ghost Feet, 8 p.m., all-ages, 321 Fourth Ave., Olympia, northernolympia.org]