JET CITY FIX

>>> FRIDAY, DEC. 2

Why does The Jet City Fix still do a show every once in a while at Hell's Kitchen? Because Tacoma fucking loves the Jet City Fix, that's why. Perhaps it's because the band takes the town back to a simpler time - the early Bush years - when living was easy and the nights were long. Maybe it's because Tacoma relates to the band - sees something of itself in the rock stance of the McDonald brothers or the swagger of frontman Shane Flauding. Or maybe it's just the simple fact that the Jet City Fix made great music to drink beers to. Whatever is at the root of Tacoma's love for the JCF, be advised that when this band takes the stage - however rarely that may be - Jet City will be rockin'. You better believe it. - Matt Driscoll

[Hell's Kitchen, with Half to Infinity, Devil On a Leash, guests, doors at 6 p.m., $5, 928 Pacific Ave., Tacoma, 253.759.6003]

RAVENNA WOODS

>>> SATURDAY, DEC. 3

According to the hype, on Saturday night "The Space is going to be filled with so much fun and excitement you will be unable to contain it. You might even dance!" How's that for a promise? And there's good reason to believe it, with a bill that includes local favorites Not From Brooklyn, Moonjuice and headliner Ravenna Woods. Celebrated in indie circles for a percussion driven approach to the hipster folky shit that's considerably more gray and foreboding than the overpopulated genre usually allows, Ravenna Woods - while orbiting many contemporary indie clichés - offers the kind of creativity and originality that keeps live music interesting. Saturday's show at the Space is the first in a string of fundraising events for the non-profit all-ages venue, according to proprietor Athena Hitson. Don't miss this show. - MD

[The Space, with Not From Brooklyn, Moonjuice, 8:30 p.m., all ages, $8, 729 Court C, Tacoma, thespace729@gmail.com]

MIKAL CRONIN

>>> TUESDAY, DEC. 6

The first few moments of "Is It Alright," the opening song on Mikal Cronin's debut LP, are filled with gentle, isolated vocal harmonies that immediately fill the listener with anticipation for Brian Wilson-esque pop reverie. Suddenly, in come crashing guitars, and the rest of the song begins to feel like a tug-of-war between Cronin's thrashing garage rock ways and his beatific pop aspirations. Luckily, Cronin seems equally capable of attaining either of these sounds, even arriving at some truly unexpected places in the process (when those Jethro Tull flutes pop up, it's a legitimately surprising turn that puts you on your heels). Cronin seems unencumbered by restrictions placed on the garage revivalist population, free to explore pathways that have been left for dead by those wanting to repurpose music's past. - Rev. Adam McKinney

[The New Frontier Lounge, with the Bermudas, Si Si Si, 8 p.m., cover TBA, 301 E. 25th St., Tacoma, 253.572.4020]

THE MOTHERSHIP

>>> THURSDAY, DEC. 8

Featuring members of Future Fossils, Radio-Flyer and Omni, the Mothership has some seriously gloomy cred. True to form, on the band's terminally grunge-leaning new LP, Ten Miles Wide, there is rarely a moment not dominated by huskily shouted vocals or an onslaught of guitars and drums having a shoving match with your eardrums. Not so many celebratory moments to be found in the music of the Mothership - just pure, brutal, pointedly hard rock. Naming the band "the Mothership" and utilizing an album cover of an alien playing golf comes off as some kind of cosmic, winking reference to long-lost bands and their long-lost side-projects from the '70s and '80s. But any notion of kidding around is erased from the word go with the Mothership, and what's left is the perpetual rock machine. - Rev. AM

[Hell's Kitchen, with Keeping the Gates, Vera Solaris, Halcion Halo, 9 p.m., $3, 928 Pacific Ave., Tacoma, 253.759.6003]