BOBBLE TIKI: CHEAP BEER AND JARED MEES & THE GROWN CHILDREN >>>

Bobble Tiki knows it’s been a long time, and he apologizes.

No, not for taking last week off. Every few months Bobble Tiki just needs a break before his Tiki head explodes.

Bobble Tiki apologizes because he knows it’s been two months since the last Weekly Volcano-sponsored (supposedly monthly) Lava Show at Bob’s Java Jive â€" and that’s just not right.

Luckily, tonight Lava is back â€" and it’s going to pack one hell of a pop-quirk punch.

On a bill that also features Olympia’s Brotherhood of the Black Squirrel, and Tacoma’s John Walker and the Hitchhikers and the Fun Police, Jared Mees and the Grown Children is the perfect band to hold down the fort â€" or conduct the circus. A Portland-based creation of its namesake, Jared Mees and the Grown Children started as a solo vision of Mees’ in a different place and time, but has morphed into a multidimensional and jangly mix of one part folk two parts pop.

In a world full of melancholy, Jared Mees and his children know better than most how to crack a smile and write one hell of a catchy, Sunday afternoon pop song. Caffeine, Alcohol, Sunshine, Money â€" released in October of ’08, and one of the best authentic pop records last year had to offer â€" is enough to put any doubters on notice.

“To be honest, I’m really happy with how it came out sonically,” says Mees of CASM. “Our live show is differently arranged and performed than the recordings on CASM. I would hope that people would listen to the album and then set aside a bit of room in their brain for the live show to alter how they view us.”

There you go, Tacoma. The challenge is before you. Don’t let Bobble TIki, or especially Jared Mees and the Grown Children down.

See you tonight at the Jive.

[Bob’s Java Jive, Friday, Feb. 20, 8 p.m., 2102 S. Tacoma Way, Tacoma, 253.475.9843]

PHOTO:G*Force Photography