FREE WHISKEY

>>> Thursday, Oct. 20

Volcano music scribe Nic Leonard is perhaps better known as Nicatine of Olympia-based rap outfit Free Whiskey. Or, we mean, he's the dude with the mustache. Now are you picturing him? Good. Anyway, Free Whiskey has been gaining steam for a while now [thanks, in no small part, to Nic's mustache and the track "Man's Best Friend (Mustache Song)"], and Thursday the group will release a much anticipated EP, What Am I Going To Tell My Mom?, with a show at the Royal Lounge. Sure, it's a conflict of interests of sorts to promote the show of someone who writes for us, but it's also going to be dope - so we did what we had to do. Free Whiskey for all.  - Matt Driscoll

[The Royal Lounge, with Booz E Collins, 8 p.m., 311 Capitol Way N., Olympia]., Olympia]

THE LOAD LEVELERS

>>> Thursday, Oct. 20

Was it always destined that bluegrass and punk would make such a happy marriage? In hindsight, it seems like a natural fit, but the first person to bring a banjo or washboard into a punk band had to have had such brilliant intuition. The Load Levelers continue in this tradition, slamming together the most recognizable tropes from punk and Southern music into a freakish amalgam that also finds the time to inject some speed metal into the affair. These parts have been privy to the Load Levelers for many years, in various incarnations. The band earned a reputation early on for wild and unpredictable shows. Though it's many years on, I think you can expect to see some pretty crazy shit when they burn through Hell's Kitchen. - Rev. Adam McKinney

[Hell's Kitchen, with Psycho 78, Holley 750, Gold Records, Klondike Kate, 8 p.m., $5, 928 Pacific Ave., Tacoma, 253.759.6003]

BENEFIT FOR BIANCA & JOE

>>> Friday, Oct. 21

Friday's show at Hell's Kitchen is advertised as a benefit for some people named Bianca and Joe. The proceeds will go to help offset their medical costs. I don't have much more information than that, but I'm in. It would be good to do something nice for strangers even if the lineup for this show weren't so bitchin'. Along with the heavy rock of Tummler and Solomon and Sleight of Man, expect the expansive post-rock of Goldwing and - a personal favorite of mine - the bizarro punk jug-band that is Swampy Draws. This show's got just about all of the bases covered, so I dare say you'd be a fool to miss it. Hearing Swampy Draws cover "Hey Ya" would be worth the price of admission. - Rev. AM

[Hell's Kitchen, with Goldwing, Swampy Draws, Sleight of Man, Tummler and Solomon, 8 p.m., $7, 928 Pacific Ave., Tacoma, 253.759.6003]

THE WAREHOUSE PRESENTS I LOW & OTHERS

>>> Saturday, Oct. 22

I Low is the latest persona of Colin Reynolds, a local Tacoman who cut his teeth in the Dear Records community under the name Tree Roots in the Basement. Reynolds later refined his considerable skill for performing in the subways of New York. Initially beginning his musical life emulating indie rock icons like Death Cab for Cutie and Minus the Bear and continuing on through roots rock, I Low has emerged as a composite of all the sights and sounds Reynolds has taken in while busking on the streets or taking the stage. Frequently vulnerable lyrically, the music of I Low trades equal time in downtrodden analog pop and serenely drifting folk. It's unclear where the evolution of Reynolds will end, but it's safe to say that we haven't reached it yet. - Rev. AM

[Metronome Coffee, with Ritchie Young, John Heart Jackie, 8:30pm, $5, 3518 Sixth Ave., Tacoma, 253.301.2375]