PUKESNAKE

>>> Friday, Jan. 13

So the band's called Pukesnake, and they craft songs with names like "Bird Funeral" and "Rainbow in the Toilet." I wish I could just give you that information and let you disseminate it however you wish, but I'm required to tell you a little bit more. Pukesnake is some kind of strange amalgam of heavy blues rock, psychedelia, screaming vocals and elements of weirdo alt-rock groups like Primus and Ween. Pukesnake is liberated to sing about nonsense with an absurd amount of commitment. Long-term exposure to Pukesnake may result in disorientation, blurred vision, loss of appetite, ringing of the ears and atypically vivid dreams and/or nightmares. Also, sweat. Later on in the evening, Umber Sleeping, Ten Suns and Argonaut will come along to pick you up off the floor. - Rev. Adam McKinney

[Hell's Kitchen, with Argonaut, Umber Sleeping, Ten Suns, 9 p.m., $5, 928 Pacific Ave., Tacoma, 253.759.6003]

AARON DANIEL

>>> Friday, Jan. 13

I've raved about Aaron Daniel before. I've trumpeted his skill and uber-unique style. I've urged one and all to see the mastery of Daniel and his "One Man Banned" live and in person. Friday at Olympia's Royal Lounge, you'll get another chance to do just that - and those searching for something out of the musical box would be well advised to take note. Building intricate jams with beatbox and acoustic guitar backbones - utilizing foot controlled loop pedals - Daniel comes to the stage as only a single dude, but typically leaves seen more as a phenomena. Guitar solos, stomping beats, holy-crap vocals - Daniel has all of it in his bag of tricks. Daniel tells the Weekly Volcano that he's incorporated an electric guitar into the show and folks can expect a bevy of new material as well. He heads out on a national tour in April, so catch Daniel in Oly Friday if you know what's good for you. - Matt Driscoll

[The Royal Lounge, 7:30 p.m., 311 Capitol Way N, Olympia, 360.705.0760]

BIG EYES

>>> Monday, Jan. 16

How absurdly catchy is Big Eyes? Thanks for asking. VERY. The band is VERY catchy. Something about the driving guitars and the rough female vocals make Big Eyes something more than just a run of the mill, good garage rock act. Elements of the Breeders and even the Ramones run through the music of Big Eyes, but the band somehow manages to sound quintessentially like itself. I listened to all of Big Eyes' available music in one go, without realizing, and came out the other side exhilarated and a little exhausted - like I had been put through the wringer. There's too much power in those hooks, too much weight in those chunky riffs. It's slashing and burning of the sweetest variety. I defy you not to move a little bit to the choppy hook in "Since You Left." - Rev. AM

[Tahoma Tea and Co., with Si Si Si, Up All Night, the Wild Ones, 7 p.m., $3, 1932 Pacific Ave., Tacoma, 253.722.9987]

WOLVES IN THE THRONE ROOM

>>> Thursday, Jan. 19

Like a crow that is dark, intelligent and resourceful - schooling its children in the ways of life, so do Wolves in the Throne Room school their listeners in the ways of earthy black metal. Sometimes ambient, sometimes thunderous, always with radical environmentalism in mind, Wolves will remind you of the very roots and rock and flesh to which we all belong. An alpha and omega, if you will, of everything black metal, Scandinavian, doom and crust. They throw an amazing, angry and skilled respect to all things elemental through their use of voice, thrash and drums. This is the band's last stop in a mini-tour that took them to Canada and as they settle home, like a murder of crows settling upon a tree, let the Wolves settle into your being. - Nikki Talotta

[Capitol Theater, with Master Musicians of Bukkake, Broken Water, Vradiaze, 8:30 p.m., $8-$10, 206 Fifth Ave. SE, Olympia, 360.754.6670]