LIVE MUSIC HIGHLIGHTS TONIGHT IN THE SOUTH SOUND >>>

A Rhapsody In Bloom Florist and Cafe Latte Tacoma - Sixth Avenue. Whateverly Brothers. All Ages. 7 pm. NC.

Hell's Kitchen Tacoma - Downtown. Sean Wheeler & Zander Schloss, James Hunnicutt, Abi Grace, Mr. Plow. 21+. 9 pm. $5.

Kamel Toe Bar and Grill Tacoma - Parkland. Jam Night. Features members of Kashmire, Soul Stripper and special guests. 21+. 9 pm. NC.

Le Voyeur Café and Lounge Olympia - Downtown. John Calvin, Lozen. 21+. 9 pm.

Mandolin Cafe Tacoma - Central. Savannah. All Ages. 7 pm. NC. Raymond Hayden & The Dark Drive Home. All Ages. 8 pm. NC.

Northern Olympia - Downtown. Cotton Jones, Parson Red Head, Quiet Life. All Ages. 7 pm.

• Travel and transition. Weary miles on the road and brief stops of respite, enjoying truck stop beauty or the way taking three steps back from a chugging city can reveal a majesty normally reserved for nature. Country. Folk. Pop. And especially melodies. Cotton Jones, naturally on tour and headed to Olympia on a Wednesday night, posses all of it. With a new record soon to be released on Suicide Squeeze, Tall Hours in the Glowstream, band pillars Michael Nau and Whitney McGraw, both originally from Western Maryland, and with a musical connection built on an intriguingly mysterious relationship (a kind of Jack and Meg White feeling), Cotton Jones has been all over, seen most everything and has the sun-faded and wise sound to prove it. Check this band out. - Matt Driscoll
  

Pioneer Park Steilacoom. Summer Concert Series, featuring Darren Motamedy. All Ages. 6:30 pm. NC.

Sax Restaurant and Lounge Tacoma - Sixth Avenue. Olivia De La Cruz. The guitarist, singer/songwriter performs during dinner. All Ages. 7-9 pm. Free.

LINK: More live music and DJs tonight in the South Sound

LIVE MUSIC TONIGHT IN THE SOUTH SOUND >>>

Le Voyeur Café and Lounge Olympia - Downtown. All Ages Matinee Show, with Hell Woman, Pitted Youth, High Five, No High Five. All Ages. 5 pm. The Speed Of Sound In Seawater. 21+. 10 pm.

• A while back, I wrote about a band called Mr. Frederick that combined disparate genres like rap-metal, folk and chamber pop. The Speed of Sound in Seawater is similarly confusing, but in a more insidious way. Listening to their second album, Red Version, their weirdness sneaks up on you. For the first song, they sound like a twee-pop band with a singer who sounds a little like Ben Gibbard. Then the compositions start getting a little more complex, and by the end of the second song, the singer's screaming. The rest of the album continues in this vein of math-twee-pop interspersed with bits of hardcore vocalization. It's legitimately surprising stuff. And a little creepy, if you ask me, but I couldn't tell you why. Go figure. - Rev. Adam McKinney

The Loft on Cherry Olympia - Downtown. June Madrona, Jenny Jenkins, Paper Bird, Dovekins, Spirits Of The Red City. All Ages. 8 pm. $5-$10 sliding scale.

• Spirits of the Red City make chamber-folk that leans toward the melancholy, though the wall of sound created by the wave of instruments has an uncanny ability to feel spirited even while the voices suggest otherwise. – Rev. AM
  

Mandolin Cafe Tacoma - Central. Open Mic Night. All Ages. 6 pm. NC.

O'Callahan's Pub & Grill Key Peninsula. Tammy Faye & The Thrill Billies. 21+. 4 pm. NC.

The New Frontier Lounge Tacoma - Dome District. Hightower, Lozen, Natur. 21+. 8 pm.

The Spar Tacoma - Old Town. Dikki Du & The Zydeco Crue. 21+. 7 pm. NC.

Speakeasy Arts Cooperative Tacoma - Downtown. Radio8Ball Show featuring Jerin Falkner. A musical talk/game show based upon the concept of synchronicity. All Ages. 7 pm. $5. See today's 5 Things To Do for details.

The Swiss Tacoma - Downtown. Union Jack Amps Jam Night. 21+. 8 pm.

LINK: More live music and DJs in the South Sound today

LIVE MUSIC TONIGHT IN THE SOUTH SOUND >>>

D4 Venue Sumner. Rattlehead, Hexen, Sword Of Judgement, Phlegathon, Unhailoed. All Ages. 7 pm. $8-$10.

Firecreek Alehouse Lacey. Becki Sue & Her Big Rockin' Daddies. 21+. 8 pm.

Forza Wine Bar Gig Harbor. Steve Stefanowicz. 21+. 7 pm. NC.

Harmon Brewery and Restaurant Tacoma - Downtown. Ben Union. 21+. 5 pm.

Hell's Kitchen Tacoma - Downtown. Psycho 78, Atomic Outlaws, Villains Of Yesterday, Syztem Seven. 21+. 9 pm. NC.

Le Voyeur Café and Lounge Olympia - Downtown. Dum Spiro Spero, Simply EZ. 21+. 9 pm.

Mandolin Cafe Tacoma - Central. Herky Cutler. All Ages. 8:30 pm. NC.

Northern Olympia - Downtown. Shannon Otto, Jason Harrod, Eleanor Murray. All Ages. 7 pm.

O'Callahan's Pub & Grill Key Peninsula. Kim Archer Band. 21+. 8 pm. NC.

O'Malley's Irish Pub Tacoma - Sixth Avenue. David Dondero, Luke Stevens. 21+. 9 pm.

The New Frontier Lounge Tacoma - Dome District. The DT's, The Dignitaries, The I Love Myselfs. 21+. 9 pm.

• Twink The Wonder Kid - purveyors of pure rock magic like "Pretty Neat on Your Motorcycle," and not far removed from the previous incarnation, Guns and Rossetti - have chosen Tacoma and The New Frontier (kind of) as the place to re-unleash themselves, celebrating what Rossetti refers to as a "soft return" Friday night. Click this twink for more details.
  

Port Plaza Olympia - Downtown. Music At The Port, with M-Pact. All Ages. 7 pm. NC.

The Swiss Tacoma - Downtown. Hotrod-A-Rama, with Si Si Si, The Fucking Eagles, Girl Trouble. 21+. 9 pm.

• Friday and Saturday marks the 8th Annual Hotrod-A-Rama, once again set to engulf The Swiss with enough sweet-ass pre-1965 traditional and custom hotrods to make Boyd Coddington blush, plus a stellar lineup of music including performance by The Fucking Eagles, Girl Trouble, Si Si Si, Basemint, Red Hex and the Scuzztones (among others). Ambiguously billed as "The Last One Ever Again," this year's Hotrod-A-Rama will really get going Friday night, when The Fucking Eagles, Si Si Si and Girl Trouble take the stage starting at 9 p.m. Read the full story here.
  

The Warehouse Tacoma - Downtown. Dovekins, Paper Bird, Spirits Of The Red City. All Ages. 7:30 pm. $6.

• Spirits of the Red City make chamber-folk that leans toward the melancholy, though the wall of sound created by the wave of instruments has an uncanny ability to feel spirited even while the voices suggest otherwise. More details here.
  

O'Callahan's Pub & Grill Key Peninsula. Kim Archer Band. 21+. 8 pm. NC.

(True) Villains of Yesterday

LINK: Listen to more villains tonight

LIVE MUSIC TONIGHT IN THE SOUTH SOUND >>>

Hell's Kitchen Tacoma - Downtown. No Bullshit Battle Of The Bands Semi-Final, with I Defy, Loose Cannon, Forced Elegance, Mason James. 21+. 8 pm.

Mary Baker Russell Music Center Tacoma - Parkland. Jazz Under The Stars, with David Deacon-Joyner Trio. All Ages. 7 pm. No cover.

The Royal Lounge Olympia - Downtown. Go Hard Or Go Home MC Battle, hosted by SP, with DJ Travisty. 21+. 11 pm. $5.

Stonegate Pizza Tacoma - South. Billy Stoops Acoustic Jam. 21+. 9 pm. No cover.

The Swiss Tacoma - Downtown. Maurice The Fish Records Showcase. 21+. 8 pm. $5.

Tempest Lounge Tacoma - Upper Tacoma. Come Out And Play Open Mic. Hosted by Kim Archer and Nick Sandy. All Ages. 7-10 pm. NC.

Jazz(hands) Under The Stars

>>> Grab more music listings here.

LIVE MUSIC IN THE SOUTH SOUND TONIGHT >>>

HARDCORE: It could accurately be called the end of an era. Tonight, Tacoma's Viaduct all ages venue - which has been a regionally known epicenter for hardcore music and hardcore youth - will hold its final show ever, bringing Shook Ones, Make Do and Mend, Hostage Calm, Cowardice, Oblivion and a bunch of other scream-happy ragers to the stage. "There were five owners of the Viaduct," club employee Jeremy Bushnell told the Volcano earlier this month. "On a monthly basis, they were paying anywhere between 50 and around 300 bucks out-of-pocket to keep the place open. It got to the point where they couldn't do it anymore. ... The beginning of this year, around January or February, is when they were really getting to the point when they were like, ‘We might have to think about doing something else.'" Unfortunately, that time is upon us.  Though we do hear there's already a new tenant lined up for the space, and the plan is for another all ages venue that will focus on reggae and hip-hop. That'd be nice, but any way you slice it - losing the Viaduct sucks. With Shook Ones, Make Do And Mend, Hostage Calm, Cowardice, Oblivion, Wreck, Cool Runnings, Power, Sixes, Open Fire!, Swinglow, Saturday, July 31, 7 p.m., $5, The Viaduct, 5412 South Tacoma Way, Tacoma, 253.226.1820 - Matt Driscoll

INSTRUMENTAL ROCK: They Rise, We Die is Tristan McNabb's newest project, a musical rebound from the 2009 break-up of much-loved Tacoma-area instrumental act Waves and Radiation. Winners of the 2006 Weekly Volcano award for "Best Experimental Band," Waves and Radiation made epic, shoegaze-y post-rock that coalesced a number of pedal-happy influences (e.g. the Kadane Brothers' slowcore masterworks) into one heavenly mixture. McNabb is right to describe his new outfit as "heavier" - They Rise, We Die is a monstrous band, evoking the sun-blotting scale of an alien mothership hovering over Washington state. Read the full story here. With Levator and Brotherhood of the Black Squirrel, Saturday, July 31, 9 p.m., Bob's Java Jive, 2102 S. Tacoma Way, Tacoma, 253.475.9843 - Jason Baxter

HIP-HOP: Scraps on the Badlands - it's an evocative name, bringing to mind dusty, forlorn, almost uninhabitable stretches of nothingness, and also (in many ways) Tacoma. This makes sense, considering Revengers, a band spawned by the Biznautics and T-Town itself, and who dropped Scraps on the Badlands late last year, basically ARE Tacoma ... or damn close to it. An album crafted amidst both triumphs and horrible tragedies (producer Tom Pfaeffle died the summer prior to its official release, and Danny "D-Child" Cline - formerly of the Biznautics and fellow T-Town hip-hop act Nasty Left - lost his battle with cancer not long before its release), Scraps on the Badlands is a lyrical, profoundly artistic and haunting ode to the city that spawned it. "That's a lot of what our record is about, is standing your ground in the face of hardship and not getting beaten up by the world, so we kind of had to live by that," Revengers' Dale Coleman said at the time of the record's release. The fight continues. Saturday, July 31, 9:30 p.m., no cover, Doyle's Public House, 208 Saint Helens Ave., Tacoma, 253.272.7468 - MD

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LIVE MUSIC TONIGHT IN THE SOUTH SOUND >>>

ROCK:Toward the end of Eightball Break's song, "Kickin' Myself in the Ass," the guitars smooth out and lead singer Nick Millward breaks it down for us, saying we'll soon regret not asking that girl out when we see her walking with a lesser man. It's a slyly winking acknowledgement from Eightball Break that, beneath all of their rock 'n' roll attitude and pop-punk flourishes, in the end it's all about the same stuff that men have found themselves obsessing over since men could obsess. Take most any rowdy rock band and wipe away that posturing, and what you're left with is Del Shannon all over again: pining and lovesick, kicking himself for not having the guts to talk to that girl. With Young Sportsmen, Eccentric Souls, Friday, July 23, 9 p.m., Cover TBA, The New Frontier Lounge, 301 E. 25th St., Tacoma, 253.572.4020 - Rev. Adam McKinney

INDIE ROCK: San Francisco's The New Up kind of sounds like an updated, slowed-down version of the old Hammerbox. Like, Carrie Akre's Hammerbox - all ferocious and female and flannel covered, circa 1990-whatever. But don't get me wrong; this five-piece is no rehash. While the scene stealing rock guitars, gut-punch hooks and the voice of female frontwoman ES Pitcher lend themselves to Hammerbox comparisons, there's definitely an air of originality to the indie rock The New Up pumps out. It can shape-shift from classic rock to iPod-contemporary at a moments notice, and with no loss of impact - which is a skill few current bands seem to posses or even desire. After releasing the debut EP in 2008, the well received Broken Machine, The New Up is planning the release of a new EP, Gold, in August. With Offshore Radio, Friday, 23, 9 p.m., Cover TBA, The 4^th ave Tavern, 210 Fourth Ave. E., Olympia, 360.786.1444 - Matt Driscoll

METAL: Tacoma's Osama Bin Rockin did not win "Best Band Name" in the 2010 Weekly Volcano Best of Tacoma poll. That's unfortunate, because they probably should have. Sure, there are some pretty sick-ass band names out there, some fairly memorable monikers, but just hearing this band mentioned makes me grin - every time. Perhaps I'm just simple? I don't know. Either way, the sonic cacophony presented by Osama Bin Rockin is exactly the kind of guttural, grindcore goodness you'd expect from a band not afraid to name-check the most reviled man in America on their calling card. Of course, the band also has a song called "God Is Totally Gay," so you get the point. It's rapid. It's loud. It's definitely not pretty. And it's pretty fucking metal. Be sure to buy the band a round of PBRs after their set. Friday, July 23, 9 p.m., no cover, O'Malley's Irish Pub, 2403 Sixth Ave., Tacoma, 253.627.9403 - MD

LINK: More live music in the South Sound tonight

AWESOME BENEFIT SHOW >>>

Tonight's "Team Natalie" benefit concert at the Loft on Cherry - featuring Kill Rock Stars alumni Bangs and The Need, with C Average and doom metal solo project Thrones - is bookended by two more shows boasting the same stellar line-up (The Team hits up Portland tomorrow, and played Seattle's Crocodile Café last night).

Back in April, Bangs' Maggie Vail and friends deejayed a night at Portland hotspot Valentine's, with an eye towards raising more charitable donations. Why all the benevolent gigging? The focus of Vail and Co.'s altruism is former Kill Rock Stars employee Natalie Cox, a prominent figure in the Oly music scene who was diagnosed with angiosarcoma in July of last year. Angiosarcoma is a particularly aggressive and rare form of cancer (approximately 0.1 percent of all cancer cases in the world are angiosarcomas), which usually starts in the blood vessels and then spreads elsewhere.

Friends, family and musicians have rallied around Cox. Read the full story here.

Team Natalie Benefit Show

With The Need, Bangs, C Average, Thrones,
Thursday, July 22, 5 p.m., all ages, The Loft on Cherry, 508 Legion Way, Olympia theloftoncherry.com

LIVE MUSIC TONIGHT IN THE SOUTH SOUND >>>

PUNK ROCK: While I'm not against the idea, let it be known that I'm not specifically writing about San Francisco's The Meat Sluts because of the name - which is totally awesome, by the way. No, I'm writing about The Meat Sluts because - not surprisingly - the band fucking rocks. Don't you kind of have to rock with a name like The Meat Sluts? Almost certainly. Anyway, these four crass-as-hell and highly combustible female punks, who've been ravishing and ram-rodding the Bay Area for years, will be in town next Thursday to play what should be a knock down, drag out, punk rock brawl of a show with Tacoma's venerable Gold Teeth. Can you say awesome? I'd try it now before The Meat Sluts knock your teeth out. With Gold Teeth, Thursday, July 15, 9 p.m., The New Frontier Lounge, 301 E. 25th St., Tacoma, 253.572.4020

INDIE POP ROCK: The head and the heart - within the human body, they often compete. For example, your heart may pine for the curly haired, nerdy guy at Stadium Video, but your head tells you the truth: he'll never go for you - you like Vin Diesel movies. And so it goes. However, with Seattle's emerging The Head and The Heart, a six-piece "composed largely of transplants to the Seattle area," according to the band's MySpace page, there's no need for competition. Folk and pop sensibilities tread together, negating any need for one to dominate the other amidst the harmony rich, indie hootenanny of a band often lauded for solid song structures, and balancing commercial hook with folk tropes. "It is amazing," says Adam Ydstie of Tacoma's mysterious, show producing, Warehouse Collective, which is helping make this show come to fruition as well. "I have seen their last three shows in Seattle and each one sold out and had to turn people away at the door. It will be a privilege to see these guys in Tacoma." With Not An Airplane and Matt Coughlin Band, Thursday, July 15, 7 p.m., all ages, $8, The Peabody Waldorf Gallery, 745 Broadway, Tacoma, thewarehousetacoma.com 

LINK: More live music tonight in the South Sound

LIVE MUSIC AND DJS TODAY IN THE SOUTH SOUND >>>

DJS: What makes us happiest about The Mix's Official Pride Block Party that kicks off at Tacoma's gayest gay bar at 2 p.m directly following Out in the Park? One phrase: "The banana hammocks are back." That's right, apparently the Jager boys will be in the house, in addition to DJ Shaggy, MRDJ and DJ Xade, not to mention hosts Taylor Couture, Empress 28 Jerrica, and Destiny. This is going to be so fabulous we might just explode. Saturday, July 10, 2 p.m. to 2 a.m., $5, 635 St. Helens Ave., Tacoma, themixtacoma.com

BLUES:The annual Tacoma Old Town Blues Festival will take over, well, Old Town today, filling stages throughout the picturesque area - from the Spar to the Slavonian Hall to Old Town Park - with the blues, as provided by the likes of Little Bill and the Bluenotes, Maia Santell, Mojo Overload, Dana Lupinacci Band, Jr. Hill Blues Band, The Hip Replacements, Eddie Gillan's Red Roosters, Champagne Sunday, Mark DuFresne, Annieville Blues, Blues Redemption, AEK Blues Band, The Careless Hunters, The New Blues Brothers, T-Town Aces and many more. Sure, it's supposed to be hot as hell this weekend, but nothing beats the heat like a heaping helping of America's true music. The day begins with the famous BluesBerry pancake breakfast featuring music by Mark DuFresne with Annieville Blues. Saturday, July 10, starts at 9:30 a.m., $20 all day pass, $5 single shows, Old Town park performances are free, North 30^th Street, Tacoma, tacomaoldtownbluesfest.net 

PUNK/HIP-HOP: Scott Hissem and his art collective Visualize Tacoma will gather artists James Hume, Glewcifer (Laurie Anne Glew), Mandy Vondeadly (Mandy Lundell), Elvis Christ, Elizabeth Labouve - and brutalpinktutu - toss in Seattle punk rockers The Triple Sixes, Tacoma's hip-hoppers the Revengers and DJ Machine_Logic, then add food, drinks and billiards for the "Some Things Don't Have To Make Sense" party inside Malarkey's. Saturday, July 10, 9 p.m., no cover, Malarkey's Pool and Brew, 445 Tacoma Ave. S., Tacoma. 

LINK: More live music and DJs in the South Sound

LIVE MUSIC TONIGHT IN THE SOUTH SOUND >>>

JAM BAND: Quick, name three sure ways to spot a Northwest jam band before having heard them play. ... If you said a) their band photo was shot in the woods; b) Tommy Chong is their number one friend on MySpace; or c) the bass player often wears an oversized Seahawks jersey - you're right, and you just described Tacoma's DirtyChangeUp. With University of Puget Sound roots, and having shaken booties everywhere from Teva approved stages to dives like Bob's Java Jive - here is a band with a head of steam and lungs full of weed smoke, which is just about all you can ask from a jam band. DirtyChangeUp delivers, even if the oneword name leaves something to be desired, and Tatupu actually probably hates the Grateful Dead. With Vile Red Falcons, Friday, July 9, 9 p.m., The New Frontier Lounge, 301 E. 25th St., Tacoma, 253.572.4020 - Matt Driscoll

INDIE POP: Portland indie band The Harvey Girls aren't girls at all - they're actually married couple Hiram Lucke and Melissa Rodenbeek. While it might not be the most accurate moniker in the world, their name does serve a distinct purpose (beyond the general band-name imperative of "sounding cool"): in its syntactic construction, it recalls familial groups of yore such as The Everly Brothers - a band that, incidentally, is a favorite of Lucke and Rodenbeek's. Read the full story here. Friday, July 9, 7 p.m., all ages, cover TBA, The Den @ urbanXchange, 1932 Pacific Ave., Tacoma, 253.572.2280 - Jason Baxter

LINK: More live music today in the South Sound