JAPANTHER

>>> Friday, Aug 20

When you think of art rock, bands like King Crimson and Genesis or Sonic Youth and latter-day Talk Talk tend to come to mind. The common thread that runs through most these bands is a deadly seriousness. It's, you know, "art." It needs to be serious. And it needs to be taxing and difficult and all those other words we use to describe albums that just aren't any fun to listen to. Enter Japanther, an art rock band with punk leanings that's actually fun. The band (a duo) got their start in college, at the Pratt Institute in Brooklyn. They're a couple of art students who formed a band just to form a band. Before they knew it, they were opening for bands like the Blood Brothers. On record, Japanther is lo-fi and noisy, and live it's not much different: the duo play bass and drums, filling out the rest with their backing track on cassette. The rest I'll let you discover on Friday - a free, all-ages show that may be one of this year's best. - Rev. Adam McKinney

[Peabody Waldorf Gallery, with Muhummadali, the Wheelies, 3-7 p.m., all ages, no cover, 745 Broadway, Tacoma]

SEMI-PRECIOUS WEAPONS

>>> Saturday, Aug. 21

Selling your style as substance is tricky business (for every Blade Runner, there are a dozen Ultraviolets). New York's brash, shamelessly gussied-up Semi-Precious Weapons make a valiant effort - they're in the business of looking good, and singing about how good they look ("I can't pay my rent/ but I'm fuckin' gorgeous"). So it makes sense that the moment's eminent "look at me" queen of all things superficial and super-catchy, Lady Gaga, hired the Weapons as support for her Monster Ball tour. For those wary of seeing the glittery Gaga/SPW cluster-fuss at the Tacoma Dome, there's an afterparty at Jazzbones, where attendees can get a taste of the Semi-Precious Weapons' showy mélange of studio-polished rock-and-roll tropes. There's no telling if frontman Justin Tranter will stage dive alongside a fishnets-and-little-else-clad Gaga (as they did at a recent Lollapalooza performance) but either way, Semi-Precious Weapons will definitely provide spectacle. - Jason Baxter

[Jazzbones, with Phantom Twin and DJ Chase, 10 p.m., $10, 2803 Sixth Avenue, Tacoma, 253.396.9169]

ONEIDA

>>> Saturday, Aug. 21

Oneida are a prolific and genre-busting group of Brooklyn scene-makers. An itchy energy in their songs telegraphs their persistent search for (and discovery of) new sounds. While they mostly draw inspiration from '70s punk and experimental music, there are flourishes of electronica, folk, Krautrock and the occasional flirtation with guitar-centric indie rock. An ever-present appreciation for rhythm has defined their sometimes difficult music, serving to soften the edges of what threatens to become too exclusionary. This rhythm is also a good indicator of what you might see when they blow through Olympia. Relentless beats and squalls of noise practically promise sweaty dance workouts. It's not every day that a band can experiment ceaselessly like Oneida, and still deliver the goods in a live setting. - Rev. AM

[Capitol Theatre, with Arrington de Dionyso's Malaikat dan Singa, the Lights, 8 p.m., $8, 206 Fifth Ave. SE, Olympia, 360.754.6670]

OUTLAW MUSIC FESTIVAL

>>> Sunday, Aug. 22

Tongue-in-cheek is the best thing that could have happened to country music. Heartfelt lyrics about trucks and beer and dusty old dogs and the open road have long begged to be approached with just a little bit of humor. I don't mean full-on parody, but a loving tribute to the country heroes of the past with a little bit of a wink. This spirit more or less fuels the Outlaw Music Festival, returning Sunday for its second year. The lineup includes mostly bands that have a reverence for the form of country, but twist it in exciting ways. Ten Miles of Bad Road headlines a show that includes Johnson County, Midnight Salvage Co., The Fun Police, the Shivering Denizens, Built County and plenty of booze. - Rev. AM

[O'Malley's Irish Pub, 5 p.m., cover TBA, 2403 Sixth Ave., Tacoma, 253.383.3144]

SYMMETRY/ SYMMETRY

>>> Monday, Aug. 23

PDX band Symmetry/Symmetry's 2010 tour poster features headshots of band members Joel Uram, Daniel Jones, Mark Cleaver, Andrew Quackenbush and friends all dolled up like weird Aladdin Sane-wannabes - as if they stepped right out of someone's paranoid Halloween nightmare. In reality, Symmetry/Symmetry are far from glam-rock posers (or dreamt flamboyant bogeymen). Their splashy, melodramatic rock seamlessly incorporates electronic elements (including a keenly-employed vocoder), and their songs are impeccably structured, often with crescendos leading to grandiose climaxes worthy of MTV-approved biggies like Muse. It makes complete sense that Uram and Jones have a background in audio production and engineering (pulling shifts at Salem's Marigold Studios), because their stuff sounds polished as hell. Comparisons to Radiohead, U2 and Air producer Nigel Godrich are easy to make, and completely warranted. - JB

[New Frontier Lounge, guests TBA, 10 p.m., no cover, 301 E. 25th St., Tacoma, 253.572.4020]