That's right, I said hooray for the Viaduct! But not the Alaskan Way Viaduct; the Alaskan Way Viaduct is a death trap and it's just a matter of time before it falls to the ground the way that interstate bridge in Minnesota did. What I'm talking about is the Viaduct in Tacoma, a new all-ages club brought to you by the same guys who ran the Framehouse and the Junkyard last summer.

The new venue (which has been in the planning and construction stages for many months now) opens this week with an impressive stack of shows to mark the occasion. The club will focus mostly on booking acts of the hardcore/punk-rock persuasion (both national and local), and Friday and Saturday, August 10 and 11, are no exceptions. Friday is a night with Lion of Judah (heavy straight-edge 'core on Youngblood Records), Vanguard (traditional heavy hardcore), and Living in Ruins (abrasive jams with stellar guitar). Saturday's got Proven, Open Fire!, and A Quiet Uprising, who I'm not all that familiar with. Sorry.

The Viaduct's shows are cheap—around five bucks a pop—and you have to pay a one-time membership fee (that's only two bucks), which will get you cheaper admission for a year (it's a lot like the Vera Club Card, I'm guessing). And though they're just getting their feet off the ground, they've already got a pretty full calendar through the rest of the summer, including dates with Ghosts and Liars, I Declare War, Owen Hart, and the Panic Division. Check out the venue's MySpace page at www.myspace.com/viaductvenue. From there you can also find out more information about volunteer opportunities, and help keep all-ages spaces like the Viaduct thriving.

Even farther down south, on Wednesday, August 15, at the Eagle's Hall in Olympia, is another great hardcore show with Shook Ones, Regulations, and Graf Orlock. Shook Ones put on a killer show—lots of energy and catchy, melodic punk, à la Lifetime (whom they'll be playing with come September 8 at El Corazón). Shook Ones released their second full length, Facetious Folly Feat, late last year, but more recently they put out a split 7-inch with the Japanese band Easel, which contains my favorite Shook Ones song to date, "Order Form." The song has a rapid-fire beat, the bass and drums move quickly as most Shook Ones songs do, but the guitar is more sparkly, and the vocals have a defeated, melancholy vibe that gets broken up with bursts of the anthemic chorus. You can hear it at www.myspace.com/shookones, or better yet, go to the show and pick up a copy of the record, which also features a cover of Sicko's "Bad Year."