Bloglander

Your weekend, musically speaking:

You can pretty much guarantee it'll be hot and stink to high heaven but still, you should cram into Mootsy's tonight for a show featuring some gritty men with guitars. Not in a punk rock way, but more like a tough-guy-with-a-soft-side kinda way. Jon Crocker, a gritty Alaskan Americana artist, plays with Matthew Winters, HORSES and Leif Mulch, a local guy expertly combining punk and folk onstage. 10 pm. $5. 21.

You don't want them to REALLY leave, do you? Bring the masses down to see Belt of Vapor before they hit the road for a Northwest tour. They'll play the Seaside stage with Limbs and former Spokies the Ax (who used to be Horrible Disaster). 9 pm. $5. 21 .

For a sugar-sweet Saturday evening, head to the Baby Bar to catch Maren Parusel, a really interesting singer from San Diego. Her voice is tinged with flecks of Nina Persson (the Cardigans) and a little Emily Haines (Metric, Broken Social Scene), and she's backed by an equally sweet indie rock band. It's happy music. 10 pm. Free. 21 .

It is punk rock night every night at the Cretin Hop. And tomorrow night will be yet another example of that. Deadones USA (practically the house band for the Hop) play with the Creeps, Hammered  Grunts, Hot Box, Stiff Fish and the always awesome Lobster Jaw. Punk rock, all the way around. 7 pm. $6. All-ages.

Supposedly they're big in Vegas. 18 Shades, a North Idaho band, has been called "one of the best bands to hit the airwaves in years" by the Las Vegas Tribune and won Best Band at the Las Vegas Music & Fashion Expo. They play the Knitting Factory tomorrow night with Crown Point, Jimmy Nuge and In-Flux. 7 pm. $5. All-ages.

A one-two punch tomorrow at the Seaside: All-agers can catch famous pop-punkers Hawthorne Heights, on tour promoting their new electro-pop infused album, at 5 pm. And then 21-plus-ers can stay for the Toy Garden's CD release show at 9 pm. $5.