MONDAY, AUG. 25 2014 >>>

1. As a band, Emby Alexander resemble Parenthetical Girls, who also dabble in experimental album structures and concepts. Combining chamber pop with modern affectations and unbridled energy is the calling card of Emby Alexander. The variety and depth of the bands to whom they're compared should say it all-among them being the Beach Boys, Van Dyke Parks, the Smiths and David Bowie - but the aggressive beauty denotes a restless worker behind all of these frantic sounds. While they don't quite possess the assertive experimentation of the Dirty Projectors, Emby Alexander don't lean on the inherent prettiness of their classical experimentation. Including looped samples and virulent percussion, Emby Alexander come prepared to attack. Read Rev. Adam McKinney's full feature on Emby Alexander in the Music and Culture section, then catch the band with Middlewave, The Straws and Crowd the Sky at 8 p.m. in Northern.

2. Weekly Volcano scribe Jackie Fender has created Creative Colloquy aiming to share Tacoma's rich literary talents and foster relationships built upon mutual admiration of the written word. Held at 7 p.m. on the last Monday in B Sharp Coffee House, the spoken word night has been so successful a print publication is in the works with a driving Indiegogo campaign. CC heads back to the B this week with Pierce County Prosecutor and author Mark Lindquist in the house as the emcee, keeping Joshua Swainston, Alec Clayton (performed by actor Steve Tarry), Aaron Flett and Dawn Ellis between the lines, reading from selected pieces of work and immediately followed by an open mic. Come imbibe in libations or sip on roasted bean concoctions and watch storytellers do the thing they do best - narrate their tales.

3. A fitting fanfare to the end of August, eight piece ensemble Trumpets Five are reuniting with standard jazz tunes, modern jazz classics, and a few original tunes all expertly arranged for five voices. Seattle jazz icons Jay Thomas and Thomas Marriott are joined by Jim Sisko and Olympia trumpeters Syd Potter and Andy Omdahl for an evening of excitement and lush, harmonious blends at 8 p.m. in Rhythm & Rye.

4. The Crazy Texas Gypsies will play The Swiss' Blues Monday series at 8 p.m. Founded in 1999 by vocalist and guitarist Kenny Williams and bass player and vocalist Kevin Fraser, this rockin' blues band has opened for ZZ TOP, Ted Nugent, Kenny Wayne Sheppard, The Ford Brothers and many others. With the addition of drummer Billy Barner and keyboardist Doug Skoog in 2012, the band is crazy good.

5. Full Moon Radio, Broken Water, Kt Spit and Underpass perform at 8 p.m. at Dumpster Values clothing store in downtown Olympia.

LINK: Monday, Aug. 25 arts and entertainment events in the greater Tacoma and Olympia area