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MUSIC PICKS: Northwest Sons, They Rise We Die, Gnar Ball, Sallie Ford & The Sound Outside

Live music in the South Sound: Nov. 26-Dec. 1

Sallie Ford & The Sound Outside

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NORTHWEST SONS

>>> Friday, Nov. 26

Reggae and the march toward marijuana legislation reform just go together. Seriously. If you've ever been to a Hemp Fest, a 420 rally or a long car ride through Eastern Washington with Bobble Tiki you know this. A wise man once said you'll never end marijuana prohibition without a drum for the circle, a Bob Marley poster in your room and a great acronym. Luckily, Friday at Hell's Kitchen you'll have a chance to score all of the above. With a bill headlined by the brightly colored and HIGH-ly enthusiastic Northwest Sons, and including Mighty High and Dirty Change Up, Friday's sweet-smelling benefit for NORML will be your chance to get down and (figuratively speaking) get high all in one place. NORML, founded in 1970, is a nonprofit public interest advocacy group that lobbies for marijuana legalization and, well, basic common sense when it comes to pot. They claim to represent the "tens of millions of Americans who smoke marijuana responsibly," which might be a conservative estimate based on an informal poll of the Weekly Volcano scribes. - Matt Driscoll

[Hell's Kitchen, with Mighty High, Dirty Change Up, 9 p.m., $5, 928 Pacific Ave., Tacoma, 253.759.6003]

THEY RISE, WE DIE

>>> Saturday, Nov. 27

It's appropriate that the name of Seattle post-rock five-piece They Rise, We Die is meant to have tidal connotations (when I profiled them in the Volcano's pages back in July, they corrected my assumption that the name might have something to do with zombies). After all, post-rock is all about lapping, surging and crashing waves of sound - the nodding back-and-forth of crescendo and diminuendo. It's a type of playing (made famous by formative inspirations like Mogwai and Talk Talk) that They Rise, We Die have already mastered in their 10 months playing together. If you want an inside scoop, dig this: They Rise, We Die's secret weapon (apart from the combined might of three guitars) is the Red Threat distortion pedal, manufactured by founding member Tristan McNabb's Smart People Effects Company. And did I mention this show is free? - Jason Baxter

[Hell's Kitchen, with Hands of Toil, Blanco Bronco, Tallest Tree, 9 p.m., no cover, 928 Pacific Ave., Tacoma, 253.759.6003]

3RD ANNUAL GNAR BALL

>>> Sunday, Nov. 28

Once you get over the falling on your ass part, snowboarding can be really awesome. Or, at the very least, it can provide a good excuse to, well, fall on your ass. But Bobble Tiki digresses. This Sunday, the 3rd Annual Gnar Ball goes down at the Top of Tacoma Bar and Cafe in the quintessentially Tacoma McKinley neighborhood. Expect lots of snowboarding flicks (snow porn), lots of swag, lots of giveaways and, best of all, music from Mike of Neutralboy. If you like tying one on, but like tying one on even more in a stocking hat with earflaps, the 3rd Annual Gnar Ball at Top of Tacoma may just be gnarly enough for you. - Bobble Tiki

[Top of Tacoma Bar and Cafe, with Mike from Neutralboy, 6 p.m., no cover, 3529 McKinley Ave., Tacoma, 253.272.1502]

SALLIE FORD & THE SOUND OUTSIDE

>>> Wednesday, Dec. 1

When Sallie Ford came to the New Frontier for Squeak & Squawk earlier this year, I think the audience collectively fell in love with her. In addition to being just about the sweetest person in the world, Sallie Ford is an amazingly capable vocalist. Referring to herself as a "belter," Ford's voice is perfectly suited to the type of vintage soul, roots-rock and blues swagger she and her band, the Sound Outside, have mastered. She'll be blessing the South Sound again, this time hitting Olympia as well. Romanteek, who are kind of like a mirror image of the Sound Outside, separated by a few decades and the invention of the synthesizer, will share the Olympia bill. Local faves Basemint will be holding it down in Tacoma. - Rev. Adam McKinney

[Northern, with Basemint, Romanteek, 7:30 p.m., $6, 321 Fourth Ave., Olympia, northernolympia.org]

[New Frontier Lounge, Friday, Dec. 3, with Basemint, Library, 9 p.m., cover TBA, 301 E. 25th St., Tacoma, 253.752.4020]

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