Ice-cream shops usually slow down during the frigid season, but this winter, Full Tilt Ice Cream in White Center has kept consistently busy hosting all-ages shows. New local bands like Herr Jazz and Dimples as well as bigger acts like No-Fi Soul Rebellion, and Casy and Brian—all playing for the sole compensation of free ice cream—are just a few shows that have recently made the trek down south worthwhile. And this Thursday's show, with Montana's Tyson Ballew, Blanket Truth, and 1985, looks to be another one well worth the trip.
Pop orchestra Blanket Truth consist of Seattle-scene stalwart Jon Manning and a rotating band of his talented, high-energy musician friends. Like children's music for kids on uppers, the band's songs often start as subdued ukulele jams about animals and youth, only to mushroom-cloud into chaotic blasts of cello, tons of percussion, and some seriously frenzied gang vocals. Blanket Truth draw on years of experience playing basements and various odd venues around the city, and their mercurial sing-alongs and lighthearted stage presence are sure to heat up Full Tilt to near melting point.
Matt Fu—when he isn't booking shows around the city, coordinating up-and-coming DIY record label Masa Records, or otherwise acting as an all-ages super- advocate—plays sweet and simple songs on his acoustic guitar under the name 1985. Started in 2007 with members of Olympia band Lake, Fu now continues 1985 as a solo project, singing sentimental songs about his travels, his friends, and occasionally his loves. Full Tilt is off to an extremely strong start for such an unconventional venue, and with a calendar booked into April, the place seems set to keep serving up the tasty times well into ice-cream season. 
Thurs Feb 26: Tyson Ballew, Blanket Truth, 1985 at Full Tilt Ice Cream, 8 pm, free.
Fri Feb 27: Noah Gundersen, Garage Voice, the Barefoot Contingent at Q Cafe, 7:30 pm, $7.
Fri Feb 27: Hip-Hop Period at Hidmo Eritrean Cuisine, 8 pm, free.
Fri Feb 27: Angelo Spencer, Bash Brothers, Marmits at the Den, 7:30 pm, donations.
