WEEKLY VOLCANO STAFF: MORE LIVE THAN YOU >>>

Boxcar Satan
“We always do better at off beat venues,” says Boxcar Satan guitarist and vocalist Sanford Allen. “Weird little venues kind of suit us best. That was the environment we were born in.”

Luckily for Allen and his band, San Antonio’s Boxcar Satan will play Bob’s Java Jive in Tacoma tonight. As far as venues go, it doesn’t get much more offbeat, little or weird than the Jive. Though this will be Boxcar Satan’s first stop in Tacoma in their 15 years as a band, and obviously the band’s first time playing at Bob’s Java Jive, through what he has seen and heard Allen compares the Jive to San Antonio’s famous, now defunct punk club Tacoland â€" a place where Boxcar Satan cut its teeth. “The Java Jive looks like the type of place where we’ll have fun” says Allen.

Boxcar Satan has an eye- and ear-catching mix of old, dusty blues, cowboy murder ballads and straight ahead punk to hang its hat on. â€" Matt Driscoll

[Bob’s Java Jive, Lozen, Boxcar Satan, Mico de Noche, Thursday, Oct. 9, 8 p.m., 2102 S. Tacoma Way, Tacoma, 253.475.9843]

Bill Stains
Since he first broke into the folk scene in 1966, Bill Stains has been compared to Woody Guthrie, and his tunes have been recorded by artists such as Peter, Paul, & Mary, Makem and Clancy, Nanci Griffith, Mason Williams, The Highwaymen, Glen Yarborough, Jerry Jeff Walker and Grandpa Jones. Diversity is a key element to Stains’ appeal as he moves effortlessly between traditional folk and straight-up country ballads. With well over 25 recordings to his credit, he has a posy of material to draw from for his live performances. â€" Tony Engelhart

[Traditions Café, 8 p.m., all ages, $8-$12, 300 Fifth Ave., S.W., Olympia, 360.705.2819]

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