SLUSHY

>>> Friday, May 6

Slushy, featuring Shayne Weeks of the once-again-on-hiatus Makeup Monsters, shares similar sensibilities with the latter. But the light touch that both bands share is given a slightly harder edge with Slushy, as heavier riffs and distortion are layered over that bratty pop-punk. The sound feels somehow fuller - even though they're also a three-piece - and more pointed, with less of a goofy, off-the-cuff vibe. As summer approaches, this kind of music becomes more and more necessary. It sounds like nothing more than driving aimlessly around in a car with friends, finding a sunny piece of grass upon which to sit and drink, and that transition into the evening when people assemble en masse to marvel at the vibrancy of youth and to test that youthful resiliency with entirely too much fun. - Rev. Adam McKinney

[The New Frontier Lounge, with guests, 9 p.m., cover TBA, 301 E. 25th St., Tacoma, 253.572.4020]

VACANT FEVER

>>> Friday, May 6

The aesthetic side of Seattle duo Vacant Fever is just as well-realized as the sun-baked garage rock sounds heard on the band's recent free-to-download album, Heparin & Saline. Their indelible block-lettered logo sears into the mind - have I seen it all over town, or does it just feel like I have? They maintain a tasteful Tumblr blog and website, and even their scanned, hand-drawn lyric sheets have an ineffable beauty to them. But pretty pictures don't mean jack if you can't back them up, and fortunately the pair's contemporary update of millennial rock bands (your Black Rebel Motorcycle Clubs and Black Angels) - who themselves were updating Nuggets-era sounds - plays wonderfully. Heparin & Saline is well-produced and deliberate, with plenty of detail but no wasted space. It's an aesthete's take on traditionally rowdy music. - Jason Baxter

[Northern, with The Celestials, guests, 8 p.m., All Ages, 321 Fourth Ave., Olympia, northernolympia.org]

TIM REYNOLDS TRIO

>>> Saturday, May 7

If there's one thing Tim Reynolds (of the appropriately named Tim Reynolds Trio) can do, it's jam on it. Dude is like best buds from way back with Dave Matthews, after all, which means he's no fan of the two-and-a-half-minute pop song. Nope, this guitarist is all about the improvisation. Playing Colombo, my guess is fans of Reynolds tend to smoke a little weed - but that's neither here nor there. And I'm not going on anything but Reynolds's band, his hair and his penchant for "jamming on it."  Perhaps that's stereotypical of me. Saturday, Reynolds will give fellow jammers and those just waiting for Dave Matthews' annual sandal-fest at the Gorge something to chew on when the Tim Reynolds Trio lights up Jazzbones. It'll probably smell like a skunk in the upstairs bathroom, but - again - that's probably stereotypical. - Matt Driscoll

[Jazzbones, with Danny Barnes, Marcus Eaton, 8 p.m., $15-$18, 2803 Sixth Ave., Tacoma, 253.396.9169]

ACES UP

>>> Saturday, May 7

Aces Up hail from Bonney Lake, and we suppose if any part of Pierce County was going to produce lyrics such as, "I like my trucks like I like my women / Big and beefy with a torqued-out engine / Might take a little while to get her going / But once you got her started man she don't stop a-rollin'," it might as well be Bonney Lake. Aces Up's MySpace describes the band as a "unique blend of blue-collar country and the distinct sounds of the famous Seattle, Washington rock scene." However, we submit that tight, straightforward country rock might be a more apt description. Basically, Aces Up is a summer barbecue with a cooler full of beer - in cans. Can you dig it? - Weekly Volcano

[Hell's Kitchen, with SweetKiss Momma, The Shivering Denizens, John Hamhock and the Rooster Run Band, 9 p.m., $5, 928 Pacific Ave., Tacoma, 253.759.6003]