>>> Friday, March 1

LA LUZ

The world is awash with bands that are tagged as heavy reverb. Despite, or maybe because of this trend, there tends to be many derivatives of the genre. Seattle's La Luz avoids the tag. La Luz is the newest project from versatile artist Shanna Cleveland. The visual artist and guitarist behind bands such as Curious Mystery leads this quartet that includes former Curious Mystery member Marian La-Pino. Formed last summer, the band has become one of the latest additions to the fun, lo-fi DIY label Burger Records - although the band has a long association through past ensembles with Olympia's K Records. La Luz is able to craft songs that feature catchy, upbeat, surfy interludes, combined with a dream-pop sensibility that features multi-part harmonies, which sets them above a lot of its contemporaries. Such an airy, garage-born entity is perfect for a setting such as Northern, where the band will play Friday with fellow K companions Angelo Spencer and the Calvin Johnson led group, the Hive Dwellers. - Timothy Grisham

NORTHERN, W/ANGELO SPENCER ET LES HAUTS SOMMETS & THE HIVE DWELLERS, 9 P.M., ALL-AGES, $5, 414 1/3 LEGION WAY, OLYMPIA

>>> Saturday, March 2

WEREBEARCAT!

Werebearcat! self-identifies as an "elixerous mating of rockpop rapswagger jazzxuberance." Is the band joking? Well, yeah, and no. The band is as right on with its own description as I could be, but the thing is that, even still, Werebearcat! seems like it is always joking. Everything it does is so righteous and gleefully over-the-top. When the band refers to its swagger, it's really more of a slash-and-burn energy that runs roughshod over unexpected audiences, bouncing back and forth from doom-y post-punk to electro-pop goofiness. Sharing the stage with them on Saturday will be local synth-rockers Death By Stars, the moody loops of Ever-So-Android and Olympia's lively Elbow Coulee. It'll be a night of retinas scorched by LED lights and brain cells pummeled into pixels by the monumental blast of synthesizers. - Rev. Adam McCkinney

THE NEW FRONTIER LOUNGE, W/ DEATH BY STARS, EVER-SO-ANDROID, ELBOW COULEE, DJ MELODICA, 8 P.M., $5, 301 E. 25TH ST., TACOMA, 253.572.4020

>>> Saturday, March 2

BROWN AND LUCENO

Guitarist and self-proclaimed man about town Vince Brown teams up with bassist Steve Luceno to celebrate a jazz duo that rolled like a winning pair of dice: bassist Ron Carter and guitarist Jim Hall. The duo recorded and released three live dates during the late '70s and early '80s, ignoring the genre's path toward pop, disco and fusion. A review of Hall and Carter on jazz.com states, "This is chamber jazz of the highest order. Carter takes the opening melody statement and spins it out with a lazy elegance. Hall follows with a tasty solo that moves from smart single note lines to succinct chords. Then he shifts into a four-to-the-bar accompaniment to Carter's melodic improvisation." Brown and Luceno will channel the talented jazz legends, filling Swing Wine Bar's cozy space with the musical conversation between Hall and Carter, a fragile duet. Reservations recommended. - Nikki McCoy

SWING WINE BAR, JAZZ TRIBUTE: VINCE BROWN AND STEVE LUCENO PLAY RON CARTER AND JIM HALL, SATURDAY, MARCH 2, 9-11 P.M., NO COVER, 825 COLUMBIA ST., OLYMPIA, 360.357.9464

>>> Saturday, March 2

BOATS

Kill Rock Stars artists Boats hail from Canada (Winnipeg, to be exact), home of all things bright, bubbly and indie pop these days, and Boats are no exception. With its barrage of hook-laden, buzzing pop gems, and lead singer's helium-enriched lead vocals of Mat Klachefsky, comparisons to Passion Pit will be hard to avoid. But no matter. The songs found on Boats' latest LP, A Fairway Full of Miners, are so irresistibly ebullient that it's almost impossible to take in all at once. So much energy found in one place, which can result in an overwhelming delirium. Blazing through these songs is like going into warp drive and marveling at all the wondrous colors and patterns as they fly fast your eyes. It's indie pop at its lightest and finest. - Rev. AM

NORTHERN, W/ FABULOUS DOWNEY BROTHERS, DOCTOR SLEEP, HUMBLE CUB, 9 P.M., COVER TBA, 414 1/2 LEGION WAY, OLYMPIA