MONDAY, MARCH 23 2015 >>>
1. Now that indie music has increasingly begun to incorporate pop music into its life, we've found ourselves at an interesting crossroad, where the underground no longer has any fear of selling out or sounding too corporate; instead, bands have folded Top 40 sounds into their brand of uncompromising idiosyncrasy, resulting in the lo-fi R&B of How To Dress Well and others. Weirder still, though, is a band like Sister Girlfriend, which smashes together the blue-eyed soul of H&O with the frantic house music of two decades ago. It's experimental in the oddest way: not charting new ground, but taking two sounds and violently spinning them in a centrifuge to see which comes out on top. Read Rev. Adam McKinney's full feature on Sister Girlfriend in the Music & Culture section, then catch the band with Grex and Shadows at 8 p.m. in Deadbeat Olympia record store.
2. On weekends all the bartenders are in a bad mood because people are forgetting to tip them and throwing toilet paper around the bathroom. However, Monday is when a neighborhood bar wipes its brow and smiles. But it can take a little coaxing to get your fellow office friends to come with you on a Monday. How to break them down? Meat Bingo! This isn't Grandma's boring bingo. There isn't any yelling out letters and numbers, just singing along to all your favorite songs from yesteryears through today. MTV may have stopped playing videos, but you can catch them every Monday at 7 p.m. in Rock The Dock Pub & Grill. All bingo winners will win raw meat.
3. With a timeless vocal delivery only matched by her engaging stage presence, Kim Archer has been pleasing live music fans in our area since 2004. Archer's powerful voice a la Janis Joplin and Chaka Khan gelled nicely with the sonic buzz of the guitar and groove from the backbeat. She commands the stage playing her own original songs rooted in old school soul, funk and classic rock, sultry blues and ballads while remaining a master at giving choice cover tunes the "Kim Archer treatment," such as the crowd pleasing "Shaft." Catch her at 7:30 p.m. in Smoke + Cedar.
4. What is FOG? It's the reaction of the air when hot meets cold. It disrupts air traffic at SeaTac. It causes crashes on Interstate 5. It's the ooh-la-la factor of Adrienne Barbeau. Or maybe we're confusing it with Swamp Thing. Either way, there are good reasons for FOG, too. It lifts water out of the ocean, extracts the salt, then brings all that freshwater vapor to us at head level, just begging to be drunk. It's also four former members of the legendary jazz group Obrador: flutist Tom Russell, guitarist Paul Hjelm, bassist Steve Luceno and percussionist Michael Olson. Together, they bring more than 200 years of musical knowledge to the stage. Their music is rooted in jazz and folkloric styles and includes original compositions from their Obrador songbook. Be sure and turn your headlights on for FOG is coming at 8 p.m. in Rhythm and Rye.
5. At 9 p.m. Every Monday Jazzbones is packed to the brim with college kids. Party types. The type that wear tight shirts and trucker hats. Throngs of Chad Fratguys and Sarah Sororitysisters swarm the bar, line up for the bathroom and dance to the Rockaraoke - live band karaoke. The Rockaraoke band is skilled, too. Expect dollar beers.