With Floater set to hit Hell’s Kitchen this Friday, Feb. 29, the obviously hip thing to do would be pan the ’90s era grunge band for existing in some sort of yesteryear time warp. Flannel isn’t popular anymore, after all. Times have changed. Cobain blew his brains out. Pearl Jam has AARP cards. Hip alterna rags in places like Portland would probably have a mockery field day with Floater. (This kind of makes you feel sorry for the band, since they still live there.)



But f*** that. This is Tacoma, and here we don’t have to abide by hip pretenses, devotion to mind-numbing experimentation, and ironic facial hair. In Tacoma we’re not cool to begin with, so we’re free to do as we choose.



And I choose Floater. If that makes me the butt of a thousand grunge jokes, so be it. There’s a reason Floater still tours and releases records, and it has nothing to do with a now balding fan base that still wears Candlebox T-shirts. It has to do with the band’s dedication to all that’s good and pure about rock, constant evolution, and some of the most solid records you’ll get your mitts on. Records like 1994’s Sink and 2006’s Stone by Stone come to mind.

If there’s one thing we here in Tacoma should rally around it’s the unhip. I see it as our duty. When Floater plays Hell’s Kitchen this weekend, keep that in mind — and don’t be afraid to bust out your Doc Martens.



[Hell’s Kitchen, Floater, Weight Of The World, In Lunar Blue, Friday, Feb. 29, 9 p.m., $10, 3829 Sixth Ave., Tacoma, 253.759.6003]