KAREN

>>> Saturday, June 18

On the song, "The Wind Cries Gary," Karen (the band) nicely sums up just what makes them so appealing; beginning with the stupid-silly song title, and on through the bubblegum bass line, angular guitars and shouty vocals, there is an undeniable, goofy exuberance that permeates the music. The band's punk streak seems to be more of a means to an end than anything else. It's what allows Karen to play pop music with complete, messy abandon, and to leave a series of cluttered dance floors in their wake. Even the name, Karen, is so much of a playful fuck-you in its online obscurity and winking blandness. Karen doesn't really need you to meet them halfway; they just like watching you try. - Rev. Adam McKinney

[Northern, with Georgy, Chung Antique, Total Bros, 9 p.m., all ages, $5, 321 Fourth Ave., Olympia, northernolympia.org]

ELIOT LIPP

>>> Monday, June 20

Though it's only been six months since Eliot Lipp's last triumphant return to Tacoma, we at the Weekly Volcano are happy to promote whenever this successful local-boy-made-good comes back to town. Lipp has been working hard to make a name for himself in the world of electronic music, utilizing a fascination with and loving recreation of old-school synths and instrumentation. His beats and melodies have a delightful dustiness to them - a kind of analog bend that sounds reminiscent of those early vinyl forays into the unexplored world of dance music. For every song that boasts a bumping groove, Lipp balances things with the kind of zoned-out sonic journey that it's hard not to get lost in. New Frontier's bill will also include sets from DJ Hanibal and vaunted rapper Gift of Gab. - Rev. AM

[The New Frontier Lounge, with Gift of Gab, DJ Hanibal, Killaz Wit Kindness, 9 p.m., $10-$15, 301 E. 25th St., Tacoma, 253.572.4020]

STASIS FIELD

>>> Wednesday, June 22

If the recent Olympia Experimental Music Festival left you hungering for more far-out sounds - from seemingly infinite Kraut-psych trip-outs to pensive wetland soundscapes - congratulations, you are both awesome and weird, and you're also in luck, because you won't have to wait long before getting another epidural shot of oddness. Besides the dependably breathtaking Derek M Johnson, this upcoming Northern bill boasts the debut of Stasis Field, a new (and properly psychedelic) collaboration between Midday Veil's Emily Pothast, David Golightly and Timm Mason. Stasis Field, I'm told, will sound less like an offshoot of Midday Veil's cosmically aware slow-motion pyrotechnics, and more like a melding of Pothast and Golightly's Riley-esque Hair and Space Museum and Mason's Mood Organ solo project. Buy the ticket, take the ride. - Jason Baxter

[Northern, with Derek M Johnson, Cabinet of Natural Curiosities, Thee Source Ov Fawnation, 8 p.m., all ages, $8, 321 Fourth Ave., Olympia, northernolympia.org]

... TRAIL OF DEAD

>>> Wednesday, June 22

Before Conrad Keely and Jason Reece moved to Texas and formed rock band ... And You Will Know Us by the Trail of Dead, they hung out in Olympia: Keely out at The Evergreen State College, musing over some genius project, Reece usually downtown, working at The Smithfield Café.  Keely, Reece and the rest of ... Trail of Dead will be back in Olympia on an official West Coast tour, promoting the band's seventh studio album, Tao of the Dead. Tight and psychedelic, heavy and prolific, this four-piece continues to power out jams with dreamy vocals, underlying death riffs and enchanting melodic timing. From appearances on David Lettermen and George Lopez, to high praise in Rolling Stone and Spin magazines, and now mention in the acclaimed Weekly Volcano, ... Trail of Dead have definitely made their mark. - Nikki Talotta

[Capitol Theater, with Ringo Deathstarr, Follow That Bird, Broken Water, 8 p.m., $7 OFS member, $10 GA, 206 Fifth Ave. SE, Olympia, 360.754.6670]