Tacoma Rock City hasn't officially relaunched with our new WordPress software, as mentioned in the boss's column this morning. But I have started to add new content. Check out Grit City Bootlegs No. 25, with video from a promising, new local band called The Legend of Bigfoot at Bob's Java Jive at the new link, which is blog.thenewstribune.com/tacomarockcity. Don't forget to bookmark, y'all.

Jucifer's Amber Valentine said it was kosher to share some footage from her band's monster set last night at Hell's Kitchen. So make sure you check back later this week for something really cool.

As promised on the Tacoma Rock City Twitter page (follow here if you're not already, slackers), I've got footage of Tacoma punk vets I Defy performing last Friday at Hell's Kitchen.

You may notice the guy playing guitar is not Carl Zook, who has gone on to form a new band, called Zook (featured on Grit City Bootleg No. 9 and on the South Sound Mix Tape.) It's another one of their rotating roster of bald guitarists, Shug Lewis, who has been playing with I Defy since March.

But enough with the jibba jabba! Check out the clip!

P.S. You can catch I Defy, live and in the flesh, on Friday (Aug. 28) at Tacoma's Silent Studios Warehouse, near the B & I Mall on South Tacoma Way - that venue's last show, I hear. Details are posted on I Defy's MySpace page.

Well, you probably already checked out "Hell Yeah," which I posted as Grit City Bootleg No. 17. And now here's another cut that's sure to be on Atomic Outlaws' set list when T-town's hottest band plays KISW-FM's Pain in the Grass concert Saturday at White River Amphitheatre.

Today, I come bearing not one, not two but three new F-ing Eagles songs, all in one handy, 8-minute clip. This video is from the band's set last Friday at Hell's Kitchen (more here.) And the CD release party for the band's killer new album, "Midnight Sour," is set for Friday (Aug. 21) at the New Frontier Lounge.

I had my video camera handy Saturday night during the official after party for Music and Art in Wright Park, during which Tacoma garage-rock torchbearers the F***ing Eagles unveiled tracks from their new "Midnight Sour" album. The official CD release party is Friday (Aug. 21) at the New Frontier Lounge. And I'm guessing they might have these new cut on the set list. And they'll also have bassist Kelly Michelson back after he was AWOL working on some day job related project. His former roomie, Seaweed's Wade Neal, filled in nicely, though. And it was his birthday. Send him late b-day wishes here then check out the video. And check back. I've got a few more to post.

Fellow blogger Travis Hay, of Ear Candy fame, first piqued my interested in Seattle hip-hop group They Live! We were standing in the beer garden at this year's Capitol Hill Block Party, comparing notes on who we planned to check out. And Trav mentioned that the key players in They Live!, including Stranger hip-hop columnist Larry Mizell, were from local rap group Can-U, a group I liked. According to Trav, yes, they're named after the Roddy Piper movie, and there's also some weird conceptual thing involving "dro bots," which are only visible after you smoke enough "dro" or something. And Travis was even planning on checking them out on the Neumo's stage in lieu of the first night's headliner, the Jesus freakin' Lizard on the main stage.

Now that last part is just crazy talk, and I couldn't follow suit. But I did download They Live's debut album "The Dro Bots Saga" on iTunes, which is pretty tight. (Nice use of a Gary Numan sample, fellas.) And I made a point of checking them out when they dropped in on Hell's Kitchen last Friday, with a little help from our local boys, Revengers. Check my Art on the Ave post for a clip of them. Or click the clip below for a snippet of They Live at the Kitchen. But you might not want to open at work. In case you haven't heard, rappers like to yell and cuss and stuff.

Turns out that new Hotels song I alluded to yesterday is called "The Bat Watusi." I think it's pretty tight, and it got the crowd pretty worked up Friday night. But judge for yourself. Here it is.

P.S. They'll be at Bumbershoot Labor Day weekend if you wanna check the out live; 2 p.m. Sept. 5 at EMP/SFM's Sky Church.

The other day I was thinking about my favorite Northwest indie albums this year. And so far "Where Hearts Go Broke," from Seattle's Hotels, is firmly on top of the heap.

Like a gang of hipster favored bands in recent years, Hotels channels the stylish post-punk gloom of Joy Division, the Smiths and Bauhaus, but they're way more charismatic, energetic and fun to watch than, say, Interpol.

By all means check them out at intimate, local venues, like the New Frontier where they played Friday night. It's only a matter of time before they upgrade to the theater circuit.

These clips are from Friday night. The first kicks off with a lush number called "Near the Desert, Near the City," my favorite cut from the new album, before the band brings the tempo back up with "Port of Saints." Oy! But the last one is the debut of a new song called "From the West" that got everyone pretty riled up as the set wound down.

Stay tuned since I've got one more on deck, maybe the best clip of the bunch. But I've got to check in with the band and figure out what it's called before I post.

Lozen headlined the New Frontier Lounge last night. And here's some of what you missed.

And I was in a hurry when I posted the first two and didn't have "Earth People" ready. But here it is now. Enjoy!

The bad news: I showed up to the New Frontier too late to bootleg Tacoma's Cannon Canyon, my original plan for Thursday night. The good news, though, is that I've got a new band crush. Sugar Sugar Sugar is from my old stomping grounds, Bellingham, and they rocked. Judge for yourself. And check back in a bit. I got some pretty sweet clips of last night's headliner, Lozen, too.

I had my video handy camera last night at Hell's Kitchen for the Minus 5 (a show that brought out members of Girl Trouble and Buck Ormsby of the Fabulous Wailers.) And I checked with Scott McCaughey who said it was OK to share some clips with the slackers who missed out. So here ya go. A cut from a few years ago and a couple from the new "Killingsworth" album. And too bad my battery died in the middle of the Sonics cover. It was pretty killer.

Sadly, I was only one of about seven people who witnessed the hilarious spectacle of Brian Kenny Fresno Thursday night at Hell's Kitchen. Forget packin' nightclubs; this guy should have his own show on HBO.

Here's a medley of his "hits" for those who missed it. (Sadly, "Porno Dan," one of his funniest songs, was a bit more than the bosses would want me to include.)