RESIDENT KINGS

>>> Friday, March 2

Resident Kings (an Oly band featuring members of Dirty Birds and Fitz of Depression), Last Watch (featuring John Johnson of Hillstomp), and Hong Kong Banana were all set to play the Eastside Club in Olympia this week. But, last minute changes have put Oly's most reliable weekend venue on hiatus until further notice. Lucky for Olympia, we have each other's back - and McCoy's will step up and host Friday night's hoorah. Expect a variety of sounds from these three bands, from the heavy melodic rock of Resident Kings, to the punk rock and roots of Last Watch, to the garage and soul of Portland's Hong Kong Banana. Eat it up, South Sound. It's good for the soul. - Nikki Talotta

[McCoy's Tavern, with Last Watch, Hong Kong Banana, $5, 8 p.m., 418 Fourth Ave. E, Olympia, 360.352.0696]

THE DEAD GIVEAWAYS

>>> Friday, March 2

"Now I have to try to drink my hangover away," hazily croons the lead singer of the Dead Giveaways. This is yet another band that melds the booziest aspects of country with and the rowdier edge of punk rock. Unlike some other bands in a genre that boasts this "fuck you" attitude, the Dead Giveaways come across as wounded guys. They want people to go fuck themselves, not because of any political beliefs, but because their feelings have been hurt. These are bruised men, lashing back at the people who threw the first stones. They're pissed, but more than anything, they're offended by the lack of empathy granted them by the legions of assholes aiming to cut them off at the knees. - Rev. Adam McKinney

[Hell's Kitchen, with Psycho 78, Artimus Maximus, Triple Sixes, 9 p.m., $5, 928 Pacific Ave., Tacoma, 253.759.6003]

CHRISTIAN MISTRESS

>>> Friday, March 2

For Oly home-towners, there's a lot of pride when people you see in your daily life - people who've made you a killer pizza pie, who you've listened to at house parties, or who've rocked your head in the middle of Fourth Ave - are on the cusp of greatness. Such is the case with Olympia's Christian Mistress, preparing to celebrate the release of their debut effort on Relapse Records, Possession, with a show Friday at Olyphant Art Supply and Gallery in Olympia. The music of Christian Mistress speaks straight to the heart. It's nostalgic, yet eye-opening. It's metal, yet soul. It's a twisted, yet straightforward way of playing good fucking rock music. See all of this firsthand Friday in a show that will also serve as a release party for the latest installment of Nuts Magazine. - Weekly Volcano

[Olyphant Art Supply and Gallery, 8 p.m., $5, 117 Washington St. NE, Olympia, 360.352.6348]

GUTTERMOUTH

>>> Friday, March 2

This blurb officially marks the 87th time I've written about Guttermouth coming to Tacoma. Something tells me that while I may be running out of things to say about the iconic Huntington Beach punk rockers, Tacoma's many fans of the band aren't getting tired of seeing them. This Friday, Guttermouth again returns to T-Town, this time hitting up the Backstage Bar & Grill. The band has typically played Hell's Kitchen in the past, but this time around it appears former Hell's Kitchen booker Flash Connel - now a show-making free agent of sorts - has lured the band to the ass-end of Sixth Avenue and the Backstage. I expect the results of the show to be similar: loud, fast and balls-to-the-proverbial-wall. - Matt Driscoll

[Backstage Bar & Grill, with Boldtype, Neutralboy, The Uncivil, South 11th, $12 advance, $15 door, 6409 Sixth Ave., Tacoma, 253.564.0149]

MISSIONARY POSITION

>>> Saturday, March 3

As far as Jeff Angell goes in this world, Tacoma will always claim the born-to-be frontman as its own. And with good reason. Junior cut his teeth in T-Town, and the grit shows in his music to this day - even on his band's, the Missionary Position's, most recent effort - Consequences, which will no doubt be delved into heavily Saturday at Jazzbones in Tacoma. As groove-filled and sexed-up as ever, Angell's latest record - which benefits greatly from the mad keyboard skills of Benjamin Anderson - may have way more saxophone and '70s funk tinge than, say, Post Stardom Depression ever displayed, but Angell's swagger is as addictive as ever. With every year that passes Angell hones his artistic craft, and Consequences may mark his best, most flushed-out work to date. - MD

[Jazzbones, with SweetKiss Momma, Hot Bodies In Motion, Ape Machine, 8 p.m., $12 advance, 2803 Sixth Ave., Tacoma, 253.396.9169]

SHOTGUN KITCHEN

>>> Saturday, March 3

Typically, you'll see a band grow and grow as the years go on, adding more elements until the product is as massive as the band's history itself. Sort of like rings in a tree. With Shotgun Kitchen, it's been the opposite. The band found a more humble sound suited them better. "I really wanted to go stripped-down, back to an acoustic sound," says Shotgun Kitchen's Joe McInnis. "That's the sound I really like, and that's where we are now. We've just finished a CD, and it's almost all acoustic. The bass is the only thing with amplification." Conceptually, this acoustic sound certainly fits with the whole feel of Shotgun Kitchen. The band has always leaned in a folky direction, drawing inspiration from people like John Prine, Woody Guthrie and Randy Newman. Saturday at Tahoma Tea & Co. Shotgun Kitchen celebrates the release of a brand new album. - WV

[Tahoma Tea & Co. (formerly the Den), Shotgun, 1932 Pacific Ave., Tacoma, 253.722.9987]

COASTING

>>> Sunday, March 4

Once again, I'm effortlessly won over by female vocals sweetly sung over gently acerbic instrumentation. Age and proximity to alternative rock in the early '90s cemented this association for me. Coasting very nicely fills up the Swiss cheese holes in my brain that lay dormant, wanting, waiting for a sound to come and occupy them. A band like Coasting is a skeleton key to the tummy-rubbing-doggy areas of my psyche, and I am powerless to resist it. This is not to take away any of the talent Coasting brings to the table. The band's ability to write concise, ear-wormy pop songs is quite profound. Coasting resembles, in some ways, the much buzzed about Seattle act Seapony, but the band brings a much appreciated, tougher edge to the party. - Rev. AM

[The Midnight Sun, with the Hive Dwellers, Angelo Spencer et Les Haut Sommets, Ashley Erikkson, 8 p.m., all ages, $5, 113 N Columbia St, Olympia]

BIG EYES

>>> Sunday, Feb. 4

As we mentioned in January when the band performed at Tahoma Tea and Co., Big Eyes is a VERY catchy band. We noted how the band's penchant for driving guitars and the rough female vocals make Big Eyes something more than just a run-of-the-mill garage rock act. We even pointed out how elements of the Breeders and the Ramones run through the music of Big Eyes, but the band somehow manages to sound quintessentially like itself. Almost two months later, it's all still true. There's still power in those hooks, weight in those chunky riffs. Sunday, Big Eyes plays Le Voyeur in Olympia with ascending garage-punkers Hey Girl and headliner Criminal Code. - Weekly Volcano

[Le Voyeur, with Criminal Code, Hey Girl, Happy Noose, 9 p.m., all ages, no cover, 404 Fourth Ave. E., Olympia, voyeurolympia.com]