It's a new week, which means it's time for a new installment of Bobble Tiki's South Sound music news and notes column. Without further ado, let's get rolling ...

Ah, Super Bowl week. In Bobble Tiki's humble opinion, there's no finer time of year. It brings back memories ... vague, hazy memories ... many of which involve Las Vegas, drinks the size of saxophone cases, a bunch of silly prop bets, and - ultimately - the loss of a sizeable chunk of money. Sweet nostalgia. Bobble Tiki will never forget the time Doug Williams cost him a down payment on a 1987 Monte Carlo SS.

But that was Bobble Tiki's youth. These days, and - really - for the last decade or more, Bobble Tiki has celebrated Super Sunday in a much more civilized fashion - like most other red-blooded Americans, most of whom chuckle whenever they see a Bud Light bottle in a football helmet (bring back the goddamn Bud Bowl!). Bobble Tiki loads up on deli meats early in the day, transitions into the Wheat Thins and Cheez Whiz mid morning, moves onto something substantial like delivery pizza or a serious bean dip by afternoon (all while drinking heavily, mind you), and by kickoff - just as planned - Bobble Tiki couldn't possibly move from the couch if he wanted to - glued in place, and ready for ALL the action... even the babies investing with E-Trade and all that shit.

But before Super Sunday, there's a whole weekend of live local music staring you in the face. Here's one sure bet:

Mom's Rocket will play Hell's Kitchen on Saturday.

Believe it or not, the Volcano's Matt Driscoll originally turned Bobble Tiki on to Mom's Rocket, a band hailing from Olympia, Wash., but about as unapologetically rock (no art about it) as you can get. In an awesome way. At the time of Bobble Tiki's introduction, Mom's Rocket was the "house band" for KJR 950 AM, a sports-talk station. Naturally, they also happened to be big sports fans. Something tells Bobble Tiki they'll be pulling for the Packers on Sunday, like all good Hawk fans. Driscoll interviewed bassist Randy Keller at the time ...

A high octane mix of all that's quintessential about true, blue, good ol' fashion rock, Mom's Rocket not only has a sexually suggestive moniker, but they lay down the chugging chords without much regard for flavor-of-the-month indie gimmicks or skinny boys in ass-tight pants. ...

"We usually have good crowds to play for. People are still people, and we are generally well received," says Mom's Rocket bassist Randy Keller. "We honestly don't care about specific genre. We are not trying to be anything specific. We just write what we feel like at the time...

"I'm a sports nut, and when I am in my car I listen to sports radio. I really wanted to be the KJR house band so I entered us in the contest. We made the initial cut down to three bands. There was a ‘Rock-off' show and we were selected. The station has been really nice to us, and they treat us like celebrities - and this is sort of cool," says Keller. "I haven't worked them for any tickets yet, but I will try." 

Hell's Kitchen, Mom's Rocket with From the Sea, Gebular, Tangent, Plastic Joe, 9 p.m., $5, 928 Pacific Ave., Tacoma, 253.759.6003

OTHER WORTHY SUGGESTIONS

Hella Sunshine plays the New Frontier Lounge Friday night. Bobble Tiki doesn't know much about the band, aside from two facts.

Number one: Bobble Tiki really likes the idea of "hella sunshine," even if the band's available music does sound a bit darker in vibe than Bobble Tiki's last island retreat.

Number two: The Hella Sunshine Facebook page claims they're here to "rock your socks."

 Either they got lost mid-sentence, or this is one band that focuses somewhere completely different ...specifically your socks. Bobble Tiki respects that. Quevelo is also on the bill - one that's got to be worth checking out.

The New Frontier Lounge, Hella Sunshine with Quevelo, Killer Kanary, 9 p.m., cover tba, 301 E. 25th Street, Tacoma, 253.572.4020