ARTIFAKT

>>> Friday, April 22

Well hot shit. Literally. The regular art-meets-music-meets-socializing-meets- (usually) booze phenomenon that is Artifakt has finally made it to Hell's Kitchen - throwing some flames on the show flyer for good measure. Those who know art in this town know about Artifakt and the cats behind it, so it should come as no surprise that Friday's Artifakt get-together at Hell's Kitchen will be a total who's who of the T-Town arts scene. Even better, expect performances from the Gritty City Sirens burlesque troop, music from Pioneers West, Elbow Coulee, Stoned Evergreen Traveler and DJ Slow, live body art and featured artists Laura Eklund, James Hume, James Tucker and Julie Luke. Tacoma is an arts town. Be a part of it. - Bobble Tiki

[Hell's Kitchen, with Pioneers West, Elbow Coulee, Stoned Evergreen Traveler, DJ Slow, 8 p.m., $5, 928 Pacific Ave., Tacoma, 253.759.6003]

LA GUNS

>>> Friday, April 22

LA Guns will be around long after the rest of us are dead. The band is like a hair metal cockroach, somehow able to survive anything - nuclear Armageddon, plague, famine and, apparently, changing tastes. LA Guns made it big in the '80s, and has managed to live on despite a vastly different musical landscape today (not to mention the departure of Tracii Guns in the early oughts). This fact proves a number of things, not the least of which are that acid-washed jeans and Aqua Net may never go completely out of style in the minds of some. LA Guns will take the stage at Backstage Bar and Grill in Tacoma Friday. There's probably eyeliner on the band's rider. - Matt Driscoll

[Backstage Bar & Grill, with Prophits of Addiction and Dreams Jaded, 9 p.m., $10, 6409 Sixth Ave., Tacoma, 253.223.2373]

OLY ARTS WALK MUSIC

>>> Friday, April 22-Saturday, April 23

"Music is a big part of the vitality of Arts Walk," says City of Olympia Arts and Events Program Manager Stephanie Johnson. And she's right. Olympia loves to musically participate in Arts Walk. Every venue has a lineup this weekend, like the Hard Way with Glass Elevator and Fight for Change at Le Voyeur Friday, and the Blackberry Bushes, the Tilted Stilts and the Oly Mountain Boys at The Eastside Club Saturday. Also on Saturday, Northern welcomes Eleanor Murray, Camp Wisdom, Bob Schwenkler and Sunshine & Irony. Even places that aren't designated venues tear it up, like Phantom City Records, where Milk Music and Brilliant Colors will be rocking records off the shelf. "It's going to be cool, there's so many people going downtown," says Ben Trodgon, who booked the Phantom show. Oldschool Pizzeria, whose "stage" is their parking lot, has an entire weekend of rock planned, including legendary band Chief on Friday night. Brown Edition will be at 4th Ave. Tavern Saturday night. And if you want to go outside the rock box, there's tons of Gypsy jazz, reggae, traditional, folk and Experimental Youth Harp on the tasty music menu Arts Walk XLII has prepared. - Nikki Talotta

[Downtown Olympia, Friday 5-10 p.m., Saturday noon to 8 p.m., free, for more information, go to artswalkolympia.com]

BABY GRAMPS

>>> Saturday, April 23

Baby Gramps looks just like he sounds. His appearance is a more or less spot-on indication of the noises that soon follow when he picks up an old gee-tar and starts a-singing. A long, scraggly white beard, some spectacles, a low-brimmed hat, and when he opens his mouth, the strangest sounds fall out. Throat-singing, it's called, this kind of guttural croak - and it's Baby Gramps's most effective tool in transforming these old folk songs, labor songs and sea shanties into something that feels real. Twee anachronism fades, and all that remains is the pungent punch of that voice. Knowing about how long Baby Gramps has been busking on Seattle streets - somewhere close to 50 years - it's hard to really question the sights that beard has seen. - Rev. Adam McKinney

[Bob's Java Jive, with Dr. Calamari, Acrophelia, 9 p.m., cover TBA, 2102 S. Tacoma Way, Tacoma, 253.475.9843]