WE SCENE IT >>>

Thankfully Bill "Kahuna" Henderson, guitarist for Tacoma's Girl Trouble, had a crate full of rockin' tunes to spin last night at The New Frontier Lounge. The Squirt reunion show with openers Resident Kings didn't begin anywhere close to the posted 9 p.m. start time.

That said, once the Resident Kings finally launched into its set, time was all but forgotten.

Resident Kings from Olympia intertwined guitar lines, glittering and razor-edged, produces an engrossing blend of melodic heavy rock. Coupled with lead singer Jimmi Davies's punk-powered energy, and the quintet leaves the indie-rock kids struck dumb and the punk kids wondering why all their CDs at home sound like crap. Davies, along with Entwistle-ish Tim Brown, lead guitarist Michael Esparza, rhythm guitarist Brian Sparhawk and drummer Ryan Mungia recall the rock glory days of Fugazi, Sunny Day Real Estate and U.F.O. - while sounding like none of 'em. What, all-out rock and roll that's neither unironic nor needlessly downcast? We'd almost forgotten such a thing exists.

After Public Information Officer for the Pierce County Sheriff's Department Ed Troyer introduced Squirt - Dick Rossetti, Eric "The Swede" Olson, Electric Vee Vee Roark with drummer Geoff Reading - the reunited Tacoma band from the ‘90s rocked those who once signed, performed with and sang along with the band, as well as a few celebrities and the curious who came to see if Rossetti would do or say something crazy.

The experience wasn't so different than hanging out in a basement while your old friends jam - only it was in a very large basement that sells alcohol. For all the cognitive dissonance of seeing middle-aged men tear through songs they wrote when they were 19, Tacoma rock band reunions are a helluva lot of fun.