LIVE MUSIC TONIGHT IN THE SOUTH SOUND >>>

4th Ave Ale House Olympia - Downtown. Elbow Coulee CD Release Party. 21+. 9 pm.

Beyond the Bridge Cafe Tacoma - Sixth Avenue. The Phoenix Show, featuring The Black Sails. All Ages. 8 pm. $15.

Big Wheel Steakhouse and Lounge Tacoma - Parkland. BND. 21+. 9 pm.

Beyond the Bridge Cafe Tacoma - Sixth Avenue. The Phoenix Show, featuring The Black Sails. All Ages. 8 pm. $15.

Bob's Java Jive Tacoma - Central. 41 Miles. 21+. 8 pm.

Doyle's Public House Tacoma - Stadium District. SweetKiss Momma. 21+. 9:30 pm. NC.

FuSE @ Point Defiance Cafe & Casino Ruston. Tatoosh. All Ages. 8 pm. NC.

Hell's Kitchen Tacoma - Downtown. Hands Of Toil, Blanco Bronco, Tallest Tree, They Rise We Die. 21+. 9 pm. NC.

• It's appropriate that the name of Seattle post-rock five-piece They Rise, We Die is meant to have tidal connotations (when I profiled them in the Volcano's pages back in July, they corrected my assumption that the name might have something to do with zombies). After all, post-rock is all about lapping, surging and crashing waves of sound - the nodding back-and-forth of crescendo and diminuendo. It's a type of playing (made famous by formative inspirations like Mogwai and Talk Talk) that They Rise, We Die have already mastered in their 10 months playing together. If you want an inside scoop, dig this: They Rise, We Die's secret weapon (apart from the combined might of three guitars) is the Red Threat distortion pedal, manufactured by founding member Tristan McNabb's Smart People Effects Company. And did I mention this show is free? - Jason Baxter

The Hub Tacoma - Stadium District. Kim Archer Band. 21+. 9 pm. NC.

Jazzbones Tacoma - Sixth Avenue. Artifack Art & Hip Hop Show, with Mad Rad, Champagne Champagne, City Hall, DJ Hannibal, featured artists Jeremy Gregory, James Tucker, Liana Blair. 21+. 8 pm. $5-$8.

• It's been a tumultuous year and a half for Seattle party-rap provocateurs Mad Rad. The hard-living quartet recently came out the other end of a much-publicized career rehab (masterminded by former über-manager Kerri Harrop) that saw them distance themselves from scandalous headlines, and, with impressive velocity, rise from being blacklisted at seven Seattle venues to playing the mainstage at the packed-to-bursting 2010 Capitol Hill Block Party. Talking about Mad Rad at this point is a little like talking about Robert Downey Jr. (I'm thinking of Matthew Klam's probing 2008 GQ profile of the durable actor) - any discussion of their current success needs to be contextualized against their past struggles and indiscretions. (It remains to be seen if the release of Mad Rad's sophomore effort, The Youth Die Young, helps turn these Teflon troublemakers into Iron Men). Click here for the short version. – JB
  

Little Creek Casino Shelton. Becki Sue & Her Big Rockin' Daddies. 21+. 9 pm. NC.

Mandolin Cafe Tacoma - Central. Abi Grace. All Ages. 6 pm. NC. Brian Ellefson. All Ages. 8:30 pm. NC.

O'Callahan's Pub & Grill Key Peninsula. Tim Hall Band. 21+. 8 pm. NC.

Rocket Records Tacoma - Sixth Avenue. Purdy Spit, Los Guy (now Foxhole Whores). All ages. 3 pm. NC.

SAX Restaurant and Lounge Tacoma - Sixth Ave. Voxxy Vallejo, Angela Jossy. 8 pm. $5.

The Spar Tacoma - Old Town. Trace. 21+. 8 pm. NC.

Stonegate Pizza Tacoma - South. Harmonious Funk. 21+. 9 pm. $5.

Traditions Cafe and World Folk Art Olympia - Downtown. Ramsey, Collins & Nicholsen. All Ages. 8 pm. $8-$12.

LINK: More live music tonight in the South Sound