The dream of the ‘90s is also alive in Olympia, where, of course, it never really left. It’s still a dirt-cheap town to live in, sleepy enough to have to make your own fun, but with a rich tradition of punk and indie rock, and always animated by fresh influxes of college kids. But the three bands touted here as the “hot new sounds of Oly” also hew to a more specific dream of the ‘90s, one where punk draws outside its own self-imposed 3-chord lines and indie rock turns up the skuzz until both meet in the middle, looking kind of like Homestead Records. Gun Outfit contrast bright, clean riffs with sardonic, deadpan singing; Milk Music throw fuzzy guitars and purposeful screams against a tumbling rhythm section; Broken Water tread alternately sludgy and clear currents, with male/female vocals that recall prime Sonic Youth. A stellar show, even before you get to Seattle space rockers Kinski. ERIC GRANDY
Fri., Jan. 13, 9 p.m., 2012