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LGBTQ benefit show

Eight astounding and diverse bands unite at Real Art to help a great cause

Power Skeleton create squalls of mind-bending psych-metal, and join seven other bands for a worthy cause. Photo credit: Facebook

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Humans have the capacity for doing a great many things -- good, bad and indifferent. We've all been inundated in our lives with moments of cruelty, both on a large scale, and on a smaller, more insidious one. Our instincts for conflict, exclusionism, and a fear of uniqueness have resulted in so many low points for us as a species that are as stomach-churning to think about as they are dispiritingly predictable. Still, as tempting as it is to focus on the very bad ways in which humans behave, we cannot forget our equally strong abilities to protect our friends and neighbors, to educate, to nurture, and to foster communities that are greater than the sum of their parts.

One of the many fashions in which our warring natures of cruelty and compassion meet is in the continued, baffling bigotry aimed at people in the LGBTQ community. In the past decade, a lot of progress has been made in our country becoming more accepting of those of various gender and sexual identities, but there's so much left to be done, and every inch of this uphill battle can be damaging for those without support. Thankfully, there are youth organizations in Tacoma that advocate for members of the LGBTQ, and Real Art will be holding a benefit show to raise funds for those organizations. The show will feature a dizzying eight bands of various genres, so the following highlights reflect just a taste of the talent coming together for this important cause.

Seattle's own Power Skeleton are credited as being from Freedonia, if that intrigues any of you Marx Brothers fans out there. Their brand of improvised psychedelic metal is a dizzying stew of fuzzy freakouts. To put them in context, Power Skeleton has done live accompaniments to movies like The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari and The Evil Dead. Picture wild screams and descents into madness. Meanwhile, Seattle bedroom pop project Power Strip is awash in seas of atmospheric reverb. Nellie Albertson, the mind behind Power Strip, uses her guitar to create craggy horizons of discordant landscape.

NAUTICULT, a progressive hip-hop trio -- also from Seattle -- create claustrophobic bars that are as nimble as they are anxiety-inducing. Flourishes of rock instrumentation lend a bit of textural interest, heightening their fearsome magnetism. This is not, in any way, laid-back; rather, NAUTICULT's art is in destabilizing torrents of words and jagged physicality. For another drastic pivot, Tacoma's Cape Nowhere taps into the ornate indie rock of the early ‘00s, that period of verbose, confessional songwriting that birthed groups like Death Cab for Cutie. This is to say nothing of the four other groups that will be taking the Real Art stage this Saturday for what will amount to a mammoth show. I can't think of many worthier ways to spend your money than on this abundance of music to help humanity be a little better.

LGBTQ BENEFIT SHOW, w/ Power Strip, Power Skeleton, NAUTICULT, Sweet Creature, Beverly Crusher, Cape Nowhere, Clyde Villain, Heathers Sweater, 6 p.m., Saturday, Sept. 29, $7 ADV, $10 DOS, Real Art Tacoma, 5412 South Tacoma Way, Tacoma, realarttacoma.com

ALSO

Singer-songwriter Bryan John Appleby will be performing at Alma Mater Friday, joined by Tomten and the Silver Dollars. Appleby's widescreen folk-pop is deeply indebted to Brian Wilson's choral pop ambitions. Tomten, meanwhile, mines ‘80s underground for their brand of dream pop, and the Silver Dollars turn to the warm sonic glow of ‘70s country. This bill is all about ear candy, as vibrant and luscious as it gets.

BRYAN JOHN APPLEBY, TOMTEN, THE SILVER DOLLARS, 8 p.m., Friday, Sept. 28, Alma Mater, 1322 S. Fawcett Ave., Tacoma, $12-$17, almamatertacoma.com

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