WEDNESDAY, OCT. 8 2014 >>>

1. It's been a couple decades, but third wave ska revival giants Less Than Jake have remarkably stuck around with essentially the same line-up. Even though they've kept up with releasing album after album, things haven't fundamentally changed about the band; the order of the day remains the sort of bright, upbeat ska-infused pop-punk that you most likely came to know as a teenage dirtbag. Even if nostalgia is the only thing that brings you to Jazzbones at 8 p.m. - not that we doubt that you've been keeping strict tabs on Less Than Jake - you probably shouldn't pass on the rare opportunity to skank with impunity. Big D and the Kids Table and The Interrupters open.

2. University of Puget Sound Associate Professor of Painting Elise Richman creates innovative, process-based paintings that explore elements of the material world and states of flux. Janet Marcavage, also an Associate Professor of Art at UPS, specializes in printmaking, such as lithography, etching, relief, and intaglio, plus experimental, photomechanical and digitally-augmented methods. The two professors share a show, "Ripple and Unfold," at the Kittredge Gallery on campus. Ripple and Unfold explores their shared interests in pattern and visible process, juxtaposing Richman's paintings, drawn from natural forms, with Marcavage's prints, which investigate the manmade, both deliberate and accidental. The artists' reception is from 5-7 p.m.

3. The second annual Frank Herbert tribute, Stillsuit Cocktails, is undoubtedly the coolest and nerdiest thing happening tonight - uniting the fierce passions of booze and science fiction. The Dune author and Tacoma native is honored by Hilltop Kitchen and Post Defiance (on his birthday, no less) with cocktails inspired by his works beginning at 7 p.m. Drinks with names such as Duncan Idaho and Harkonnen should dredge up images for Herbert fans.

4. The KMPS 12 Man Jam featuring country and western musicians Randy Houser, Scotty McCreery, Jon Pardi, RaeLynn, Katie Armiger, Frankie Ballard, Dean Alexander, Kristian Bush and Josh Thompson begins at 7 p.m. in the Emerald Queen Casino.

5. Saxophonist Kareem Kandi has hosted an open jazz session for years, a backyard patio for his music school friends, fellow musicians and newbies to jam out standards - fresh, fiery and exciting. The jam now resides every second Wednesday at 8 p.m. in The Swiss.

LINK: Wednesday, Oct. 8 arts and entertainment events in the greater Tacoma and Olympia area