MATT DRISCOLL: TRY A DOSE OF THE TOUGHTIMES >>>

You know how people sometimes say blues is for old folks? Yeah, well f*** that noise. The Toughtimes defy such thought. Created in 2000 by cousins Nick Santos-Carter and Anthony Estrada, The Toughtimes breathes life into a genre many believe has already seen its best days. Reaching a younger crowd with the blues isn’t always easy â€" unless, of course, you call it rock and roll, but The Toughtimes have found a way. “Young folks and grown folks alike dig the hell out of what we’re doing,” Estrada once told me (and by “once told me” I mean told me in an interview about a year ago). “It seems like people are shocked at first by the sound that our raggedy three-piece band is putting out, but after the initial shock, it seems like butts start moving and feet get to tappin’.” Check out The Toughtimes tonight in between Irish Car Bombs at Doyle’s.

[Doyle’s Public House, 9 p.m., no cover, 208 St. Helens Ave., Tacoma 253.272.7468]

PHOTO: Myspace/Paul Uhl