THURSDAY, SEPT. 8, 2011 >>>

1. Upstairs Downstairs play the kind of breezy folk-pop that seems to have gotten lost in the self-important shuffle in the years after Belle and Sebastian began evaporating from public view. They perform with Check Please at 8 p.m. inside The New Frontier Lounge. Discover what Weekly Volcano scribe Rev. Adam McKinney digs about Upstairs Downstairs here.

2. So, you want to tell your story. OK, write. Go on. Don't worry about it being smooth.  Just write. Right? Right. Buy yourself a black beret and head right on down to your local friendly coffee shop for some existential inspiration. That should help you write. Can't go to a coffee shop? Don't drink coffee? You're LDS? Well, you, my friend, have a problem. But there is a way you can get your story out there. StoryCorps - a national nonprofit organization dedicated to recording, preserving, and sharing the stories of Americans from all backgrounds and beliefs - invites you to enter its Airstream RV parked at the Museum of Glass to tell your story. Reserve your recording session at 1.800.850.4406.

3. Singer-songerwriter Kelly McRae sold all her crap in Brooklyn, jumped in a VW Bus and is touring the country playing house shows, coffee houses and the Mandolin Cafe at 6 p.m.

4. There's a scent of old-timey nostalgia to kooky named bands Yodelady, Squirrel Butter and The Blackberry Bushes conglomeration of styles, but the meat of the matter is a charming eccentricity and eclecticism that turns sweet harmonies, strummed strings and bright swing into something fresh and distinctively awesome. Catch them at 8 p.m. at the Urban Onion Lounge in downtown Olympia.

5. Gay-friendly club MetroGruv on Tacoma's Sixth Avenue is a slightly different haven of vocal embarrassment than your usual karaoke scene. Instead of burying your head into the songlist book or your vodka cran, MetroGruv wants your eyes on the talent(?). The club's Thursday night 8 p.m. karaoke sessions come backed with smoke machines, lasers and stage lights. Singers live out their rock-star dreams as they pretend the 30-or-so chatting attendees are really 30,000 screaming fans.

LINK: More arts and entertainment events in the South Sound

LINK: Live music tonight in the South Sound