THE WEEKLY VOLCANO RECOMMENDS THESE LIVE SHOWS TONIGHT >>>

Beyond the Bridge Cafe Tacoma - Sixth Avenue. Vicci Martinez. A live performance combining movement, story and dance with local musician Vicci Martinez. All Ages. 8-10 pm. $15.

Capitol Theater Olympia - Downtown. What You Got Fest Backstage Show, with Out Numbered, Borderline Obsessive, Hail, Apache Chief, SeaCats, Makeup Monsters. All Ages. 8 pm. $5-$8.

• More than ever, the power to coordinate and organize youth-centered events is being put in the hands of young go-getters themselves (the Redmond Fire House, WhAAM up in Bellingham, et al.). The Olympia Film Society's seventh annual What You Got? Festival aims to provide local kids with a 48-hour arts festival of their own - like a "Bumbershoot Jr.," only with much better bands. The weekend roster isn't some mixed bag of good artists and crappy ones - there are great performers on deck, including no-fi thrashers Apache Chief, sugary-sweet Kelso quintet Seacats and remarkable Tacoma duo Makeup Monsters (whose relative youth seems underscored by the fact that their sound inspires a nostalgia for millennial rock acts). The festival will host workshops on a range of topics, including video editing, DJing and how to make comic books. The main attractions, however, will be screenings of youth-produced films, and performances by fresh-faced area bands. - Jason Baxter

Cedarwood Dome Milton. Flash Fridays, with Doom Of Babylon, DJ Vinnymac. 21+. 8 pm.

The Den Tacoma - Downtown. Sumner Brothers, Run From Cover. All ages. 8 p.m.

• Bobble Tiki has the scoop on this show here.
  

Doyle's Public House Tacoma - Stadium District. Where Sails Meet Rails, Sordid Sentinels. 21+. 9 pm. NC.

Firecreek Alehouse Lacey. Becki Sue & Her Big Rockin' Daddies. 21+. 8 pm. NC.

Harbor Greens/Forza Wine Bar Gig Harbor. Jennifer Lind. 21+. 7 pm. NC.

Hell's Kitchen Tacoma - Downtown. Midnight Salvage Co., Dreams Jaded, No Make, Bone Flower, Howler. 21+. 9 pm. NC.

Jazzbones Tacoma - Sixth Avenue. Heartless (Heart tribute). 21+. 8 pm. $6.

Le Voyeur Café and Lounge Olympia - Downtown. Ghost Power, The Shots, Dragados. 21+. 9 pm. $5.

Mandolin Cafe Tacoma - Central. Jaded Optimists. All Ages. 8:30 pm. NC.

The New Frontier Lounge Tacoma - Dome District. Humble Cub, Check Please, Tallest Tree, Sad Mr. Robert Another Coward of Love. 21+. 9 pm.

• I wrote sometime back that one of my favorite Tacoma love songs was "Commitment Chant" by Alexander and the Optimistics, AKA local artist Sean Alexander. A simple line, repeated over and over atop a chugging beat box, it kind of perfectly summed up the fear and sadness that come with loving someone with all of your being. "Commitment Chant" is hard to find, his other songs impossible to find. I think Alexander likes it that way. Abandoning his old moniker in favor of Sad Mr. Robert Another Coward of Love, Alexander will be offering a rare performance at The New Frontier on Friday. His voice is warbly, cracked and soulful; his lyrics are strange and intimate. On stage, I anticipate a beautiful train wreck. - Rev. Adam McKinney

Northern Olympia - Downtown. Deakin, Prince Rama, Jabon. All Ages. 8 pm.

Salty's at Redondo Beach Des Moines. Cory Wilds Band. 21+. 8 pm. NC.

SideBar Bistro Tacoma - Downtown. Saxophonist Michael Hershman. All Ages. 6-9 pm. NC.

The Swiss Tacoma - Downtown. DoctorfunK. 21+. 8 pm. $8.

Temple Theatre Tacoma - Stadium District. Soul Fest featuring Silk, H-Town, Chico Debarge, Candyman. 8 p.m. $40-$60.

• There is such a thing as a once-in-a-lifetime concert, packed with show-stopping artists. If ever one of these shows has hit the Puget Sound area - Soul Fest is it. Hailing from the early- and mid-1990s (what I would argue was the last era of soul music), several R&B crooners and an MC come to Tacoma and the Temple Theatre this Friday. Known for songs that inspire love, lust and panty-droppin', Atlanta's famed quintet, Silk (of "Freak Me" fame) headlines. They are joined by H-Town (Houston's own "Knockin' Da Boots" boys); the infamous and brilliant R&B writer/singer Chico Debarge; and another boot-knocker from the early-1990s, Candyman. – Jose Gutierrez Jr.
  

LINK: More live music tonight in the South Sound