DANDY

>>> Saturday, Jan 21

I know very little about Dandy - except that the band's name is derived from combining the names of the two guys involved, Dan Brownawell and Andy Childs. I also know Dandy makes dance music. The band is dedicated to the task of enabling people to put one foot to one side of another foot, and vice versa and over again. Arms may also be utilized in conjunction with your feet to create a wild, gyrating mass of limbs and goofy grins. Put another way: Dandy makes club music, and having gone through the trouble to handily package several songs on one disc, which they will release for your consumption Saturday night. As album opener "MC5" suggests, Dandy has taken care to "kick out the jams, motherfucker!" - Rev. Adam McKinney

[The New Frontier Lounge, 10 p.m., no cover, 301 E. 25th St, Tacoma, 253.572.6062]

VAGABOND OPERA

>>> Saturday, Jan. 21

Unschooled in the "neo-cabaret" musical genre? Don't fret - just check out Portland's Vagabond Opera - returning to Olympia this Saturday for a performance at the Olympia Ballroom that promises to be mesmerizing. Even more exciting: the show will act as a celebration of the Vagabond Opera's just-released fourth full-length record, as well as the release of local favorites Erev Rav's latest CD - with that band also on the bill. Truly offering music of the world, the six-piece Vagabond Opera reportedly dabbles in sounds spanning the globe - from European cabaret, to Balkan belly dance, to Old World Yiddish theater and beyond. There's a reason this mesmerizing troupe has shared stages with the Decemberists, Pink Martini and Al Franken and the Oregon Symphony. It's because they're awesome. - Matt Driscoll

[The Olympia Ballroom, with Erev Rav, 8 p.m., $15, 116 Legion Way SW, Olympia, brownpapertickets.com]

HALCION HALO

>>> Saturday, Jan. 21

It's hard to separate the music of Halcion Halo from the commanding voice that presides over it. Lead singer Jenson Charnell's voice can sometimes resemble the more mumbling, beat-poet-aspirations of Lou Reed - he never provides any release for the plodding, heavy alt-rock guitars, just ever-rising tension and downtrodden declarations. Musically, Halcion Halo sounds similar to other hard-to-pin-down fixtures of those odd '90s negotiations between alternative rock and heavy metal. Bands like the Afghan Whigs and Queens of the Stone Age can't help but come to mind. But there is a minimalism that reigns at the heart of Halcion Halo - a minimalism that allows for creepy, little, stomping fuzz-bombs like "Someday I'll Learn to Put You Down." It's here where Halcion Halos weird ticks and affectations are most effectively put into sharp focus. - Rev AM

[Dorky's Arcade, with Umber Sleeping, Death By Stars, 9 p.m., $3, 754 Pacific Ave., Tacoma]

THE BLACK SWANS

>>> Thursday, Jan. 26

The Black Swans, in Olympia next Thursday for a show at Olympia's Guest House, is not the type of band that lifts you up with bouncy, hopeful energy. The Black Swans don't dabble in sunshine pop or carefree smiles without caveats. What the Black Swans do deal in - led by the singer Jerry Decicca - is lonesome and morose reality, achieving a package weighted with emotion and sparse comfort. It's hipster country with a healthy splash of despair, and that's something today's tastemakers have been able to get behind. Pitchfork gave the Black Swans' latest record, Don't Blame the Stars, a solid 7.5, while Paste weighed in on the LP with an 8.4. But beyond any of these contemporary accolades, what makes the Black Swans worth your attention is the band's diligence in crating songs that often border on the morose, while managing to avoid coming off like yet another act tugging at heartstrings simply for career gain. - MD

[The Guest House, with Camp Wisdom, The Fishermen Three, 8:30 p.m., 1121 Fourth Ave. W., Olympia]