I walked past Golden Oldies record store, past Farrelli's Pizza's outside fireplace window and into the warm glow of Metronome Coffee. It was around 9 p.m. on a Saturday night. It was packed. A smile cracked my face in anticipation of witnessing one of Tacoma School of the Arts' most exciting and hyped new bands, Bat Police. While the band was jamming, I stood stage side next to the band's frontman Levi Ratliff's girlfriend - and part time muse - Molly. Strange, she's wasn't dancing.  Typically a dancey person at SOTA shows, Molly was not in the dancing mood. "I think I have a fever," she claimed and left it at that.

Thankfully, Molly's unusual lack of dance and energy seemed to be the antithesis of the mood of the crowd that night. Bat Police encouraged a sort of energy and reaction that I had not been in the presence of since I saw the band Roswell in the dead of winter. Bat Police burned through their set list in little over an hour and left the crowd wanting more of the signature SOTA rock band sound that has been absent since the departure of both Roswell and Makeup Monsters.

Bat Police is a quartet, composed of singer songwriter and guitar player Levi Ratliff, bassist David Pierce, keyboardist Austin Milner and drummer Alex Williams. The group members met at SOTA and became fast friends, bonding over a shared love of Weezer and garage rock. The group's original lineup consisted of Ratliff, Pierce, Williams and Mitchell Babington under the name The Okays, which they thought sounded humble. Babington backed out of the band taking more of a managerial role. After a few failed attempts to find a replacement drummer, Williams became the permanent drummer. The Okays performed its first song, "Deep End," at a SOTA showcase, which was met with positive reactions. Ratliff remembers the show as being "pretty okay." Over the next year, the four friends worked to develop their sound, taking key influences from bands such as Weezer, Vampire Weekend, The Smith Westerns, Phoenix and Roswell. They also renamed themselves Bat Police.

In terms of both style and sound,

Bat Police's sound could be compared to Weezer circa 1994. Ratliff and his fellow band members appear awkward on stage, which lends the band a sort of nervous charm. Its focus on guitar-heavy indie rock makes the group easily identifiable, yet keeps its influences on its sleeves.

Over the summer of 2012, Bat Police continued to write and develop, culminating in its first show at The Den, which it played alongside prominent SOTA songwriter Evan Main. The success of the show inspired the band to perform again - this time at SOTA's summer camp showcase. Everyone left with Bat Police on the brain, clinging to one of the few surviving SOTA bands.

Aside from a recent show in the garage of The Trasholes' frontman Ian Call, Bat Police has taken time away from performing to write songs and improve its sound. With the addition of Austin Milner on keyboards, the band is currently at its best, proven at the post Valentine's Day show at Metronome.

Like all young bands, Bat Police seeks a label. In the meantime, catch the band Saturday, Feb. 23 at Anthem Coffee in downtown Tacoma.

I'm always amazed when a band can energize a crowd as the Bat Police did that Saturday night at Metronome. I don't witness such energy too often. Bat Police are in flight, and currently, it seems the sky is the limit.

WE SCENE IT >>>

What started out as an all-age show at The Red Room in downtown Tacoma last night became one of the best examples of why I love the 253. The concert began at 8 p.m. with a scheduled tear down at midnight, but a noise complaint cut the show off at 10 p.m. Instead of slicing set times for the Dead Peasants and The Taxpayers to squeeze in a headlining set for The Fun Police, the show moved into The Fun Police's neighboring practice space. Mighty cool of The Fun Police, who will drop their new album July 9 at D.O.A. on Sixth Avenue.

Dead Peasants

The Taxpayers

The Fun Police's practice space

The Fun Police

LINK: More photos from the show

YES, THIS OPEN MIC IS FOR YOU >>>

Beyond the Bridge Café on Tacoma's Sixth Avenue is the extended living room for musicians and musicians-in-the-making every Friday night during its all-ages open mic. People - ranging from members of the silver haired set to tweenies - read, surf the Net, chat or kick back with a beer or a mug of joe and listen to music strum and holler from the stage.

Open Mic

Fridays, 7-10 p.m., no cover
Beyond the Bridge Café, 2717 Sixth Ave., Tacoma
253.572.9199

Haley Robbins, Ryan Marth, Jared Kalinski, Heidi Hohn, Amie Larson, Peter Larson play Scrabble.

Aaron Sweet and Matt Jahns make up "Crush the Empire."

Mitch Vandenburg

More photos of the Friday open mic are in our Photo Hot Spot.