MOSQUITO HAWK

>>> Friday, Jan. 28

Mosquito Hawk, Olympia's newest supergroup power band, is testing the waters this Friday night at McCoy's. With Jerry Zeigler (Fitz of Depression) tearing up drums, Jon Merithew (C Average) ripping guitar, Olivia Love (Black Bettie) belting out vocals and local Phil Heinze pounding bass, this band will no doubt turn your night into a hell ride of gut-wrenching, hair-raising, badass, mutha lovin' goodness. The band tells me they are all across the board with their sound. From a Venom cover to "Dear Prudence" and even an Italian monk song, "all across the board" sounds like an understatement. Throw in their own songs that Heinze tells me are '70s, punk and metal influenced, and you can't go wrong with seasoned pros like these. - Nikki Talotta

[McCoy's Tavern, Mosquito Hawk, Splinter Cell, Western Hymn, 9 p.m., $3, 418 Fourth Ave., Olympia, 360.352.0696]

FALL FROM GRACE

>>> Saturday, Jan. 29

Fall From Grace is a band that's seen more than most. Even before emerging from the Seattle area music scene - kicking, screaming, thrashing and hand-clapping with the best of them - each member had already overcome odds and dealt with experiences that might have buried most. Then, after winning the Fuse TV Bodog Music Battle of the Bands competition in the middle of the decade, which included a $1 million recording contract with Bodog Music, the band has also dealt with all the crap that comes along with that kind of "success." Today, T-Town ass-kickers and Jet City Fix alums Justin and Ty McDonald have joined the Fall From Grace mix, making the benefit Saturday at Stonegate Pizza all the more intriguing. All money raised will go to benefit the family of Bill Jordan, who passed away far too young last November. - Matt Driscoll

[Stonegate Pizza, with Atomic Outlaws, Plaster, 8 p.m., $5 minimum donation, 5421 South Tacoma Way, Tacoma, 253.473.2255]

THE ARTICHOKE PROJECT

>>> Saturday, Jan. 29

The Artichoke Project seem like pretty stressed out guys. Their songs are spindly monsters that queasily sprint on by, all blurry and confused limbs in unusual places. I suppose their music is best described as progressive rock, but it seems to lack all of the vacant noodling that is a defining element of the genre, with all of their songs clocking in at the sensible three- or four-minute mark. It's as if a progressive rock band had bent and contorted itself into a suitcase, becoming more compact and efficient even as pressure begins to rise and joints redden. And then there are those voices on the recordings - lurking in the background - warning of the government and their experiments in mind control. It's enough to put anyone on edge. - Rev. Adam McKinney

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

NOBUNNY

>>> Wednesday, Feb. 2

Despite the fact that his latest album's called First Blood, Nobunny (aka Justin Champlin) is less Rambo and more rambunctious, capturing on record the same sweaty, libidinous insanity typical of his live shows (where Champlin cavorts around in a freakish bunny mask, American Apparel underwear, stylin' denim jacket and little else). Like fellow California rocker and Goner Records signee Ty Segall, Champlin's all about fusing punk energy with older modes of songwriting, resulting in superheated garage music with a delectable rawness that more than makes up for its lack of innovation (like Segall, Champlin's also a veteran of multiple other underground acts). The playfulness of Nobunny's salty '60s throwbacks (dig the cowbell and sing-along choruses) is offset by a sense of depravity, which is exactly how good rock music should feel. - Jason Baxter

[Northern, with Hari Kari, Dreamdate, 8 p.m., all ages, 321 Fourth Ave., Olympia, northernolympia.org]