MATT DRISCOLL: I DEFY, DO YOU? >>>

I Defy needs a beer. The song that has become the band’s anthem â€" the appropriately titled “I Need a Beer” â€" sums that fact up succinctly. It really leaves no room for confusion, actually. Besides the beer, though, all I Defy really needs is a few chords, the vocal ranting of legendary Tacoman and I Defy frontman Jason McKibbin, and the hard-charging beat of drummer Ben Nix. I Defy â€" as any rock band worth their weight in PBR has managed to do â€" has distilled punk rock to its essence. A band with an extensive history and plenty of Tacoma stories to tell, I Defy now â€" without frills or pretense â€" shoots that essence all over anyone brave enough to stand close enough to listen. Friday night at Hell’s Kitchen seems like the perfect evening to spend with the band.

[Hell’s Kitchen, with The Blackout Kings, One Last Look, God Made Me The Raven, and Walk The Plank, Friday, Nov. 28, 9 p.m., $5, 3829 Sixth Ave., Tacoma, 253.759.6003]

LINK: Jason McKibbin is also in a movie