The Bad Things are born out of cabaret and drink. A motley crew, made up of urchins and drunkards, the Bad Things bring theatricality and tongue-in-cheek fatalism to a variety of genres. Taking cues from the likes of Tom Waits and the Pogues, the band piles accordions, mandolins, singing saws, upright bass and all manner of sqeezeboxes onto their stage, inciting polka riots and rowdy singalongs in their audiences. Really, when all is said and done, the Bad Things are perversely dedicated to creating a jubilant, boozy environment. They're the kind of band that could write a song called "The End of the World Polka" and have it be a sort of end-times dance of the damned, as opposed to the dirge you might expect. The Bad Things, if wiped off the face of the earth, would like to go out swinging.

THE BAD THINGS, w/ Victoria Renee, Middlewav, 8 p.m., Bob's Java Jive, 2102 South Tacoma Way, Tacoma, $5, 253.475.9843