The demise of the Black Water Café undeniably left a hole in the hip downtown coffee scene. For a long time, one could count on finding  some of the cooler people around town hanging out in the sequestered comfort of Black Water, laptops or sketchbooks open. Once it left ... what? You're gonna hang out at Starbucks?

It will be exciting, then, to see if the relatively new Amocat Café will grow and change as time goes on. As it stands, Amocat is a pretty neat space with nothing but potential. The gradual coolifying of Amocat is about to get a serious bump on Friday when Calvin Johnson's project, the Hive Dwellers, performs. Also on the bill will be solo sets from two of the people behind two of the best bands in Tacoma: Trevor Dickson of the Nightgowns and Spencer Kelly of Basemint.

This show was arranged not only to be awesome, but also to benefit the Goddess of Commerce Gateway Project, of which Amocat owner Morgan Alexander is a big supporter. The project is dedicated to improving the St. Helens Avenue area of downtown Tacoma - really fix it up and make it look nice and function more elegantly. Also, um, there's this statue - of the aforementioned Goddess of Commerce, herself - that the Project is trying to find a home.

"The Amocat show should be a hoot," says Trevor Dickson. "It's an honor to play with the Hive Dwellers, and Spencer's new solo stuff is golden. I'll be playing some ballads on the guitar, and probably singing a couple with my magic karaoke machine."

Spencer Kelly, in addition to performing, was actually responsible for booking this show.

"Morgan Alexander gives off nothing but good vibes at the risk of sounding like a hippie," Spencer tells me. "He seems very positive and community minded, so I was glad to help out. Plus, I'm a sucker for the Goddess of Commerce, or any goddesses for that matter. Except for Aphrodite; she does nothing for me."

Goddess of Commerce Gateway Project benefit

With The Hive Dwellers,
Trevor Dickson, Spencer Kelly
Friday, Nov. 19, 6 p.m., $5
Amocat Café,
625 St. Helens Ave,
Tacoma, 253.228.7271