I'm just going to float this idea past you: You know how there are shows "in the round?" You know how that almost seems like a good idea, but in practice it's kind of lame? Well, what if I were to tell you that there's a show coming up in the round, featuring bands performing in the middle of a goddamn skating rink? Yes, you are totally allowed (nay, encouraged!) to put on some rentals and skate backwards in a full 360 degree rotation around a rock band while they wail in the middle.
Now, having said this, would you care who the band was? No you would not! I would see James Blunt and Nickelback collaborate a million times over if it meant I could couple-skate around them while I did it.
Friends, you need not continue wishing and hoping and writing about this in your dream journal, because this show is happening, and the bands are actually good. Unnecessary, I know! But totally awesome!
The show, known as Rock & Roller, will feature local favorites Oh Dear!, Blanco Bronco, Rooftop Warrior and the quickly up-and-coming indie rockers Not From Brooklyn. Incorporating hip-hop beats and some electronic instrumentation into an indie rock mold, Not From Brooklyn have swiftly found an untapped sound in Tacoma, helping them to stand out from the largely punk/garage/metal-leaning bands in town.
Keyboardist Tristan Litke started the band with Josh Thompson in a series of jam sessions. Later on, Thompson's little brother, Tyler, and his friend, Jesse Rohwer, joined the band.
"(Tyler and Jesse) graduated from high school last year, so we decided to go ahead and try the songs out in a studio," says Litke. "The first session went really well, so we started recording - actually, some songs that we still play today."
Look, guys, this show is going to be an epic party. Roller rink music, yes, has a certain place in the heart. But these bands are going to bring it to the next level. And who knows? Maybe one of them will bust out a slow jam for the couple-skate.
[Wheelz Skate Arena, with Blanco Bronco, Oh Dear!, Rooftop Warrior, Friday, July 22, 8 p.m., $7 door, $3 skates, 2101 Mildred St. W., Fircrest, 253.460.7655]