There's tons to talk about this week, so pay attention (and for full entertainment value, imagine me rattling off this information like an enthused auctioneer).

First, on Friday, April 23, EMP hosts After Hours with Mt. St. Helens Vietnam Band and Us on Roofs performing in Level 3 of the Science Fiction Museum while DJs Widdle Muffins and Anna Gadda Da Vida lead the dance party down in the Sky Church.

If you haven't seen Mt. St. Helens recently, you might notice a change in their lineup. Guitarist Matthew Dammer has left the band, but that doesn't seem to have shaken things up too much, as singer Benjamin Verdoes (full disclosure: my brother-in-law) says the reconfigured four-piece is completely finished with its new record. They are planning on a late-summer release date. Verdoes says they'll be playing some of the new material at Friday's show, and he promises it sounds "way, way different" than the first record.

Aside from the music, all After Hours attendees will have access to EMP's gallery spaces and National Film Festival for Talented Youth film screenings, and the chance to win prizes. Prizes!

In just over a month, the annual punk and hardcore music festival Rain Fest returns to the Viaduct in Tacoma, and the festival's organizers have finally announced the official and complete lineup (which you can find on Line Out, The Stranger's music blog). Last week, they added Virginian heavy rockers Mindset and Seattle straight-edgers Not Sorry to the bill, and they also posted daily schedules. (Saturday is looking pretty solid with pop-punkers Broadway Calls and the recently reunited Left with Nothing.) Three-day passes are available for $58 via www.brownpapertickets.com.

Oh, and the Vera Project has a whole new website. Have you seen it yet? Go to www.theveraproject.org to check it out.

Whew! I'm exhausted. recommended

Recommended All-Ages Shows

Fri April 23: Mt. St. Helens Vietnam Band, Us on Roofs, DJs Widdle Muffins and Anna Gadda Da Vida at EMP, 7:30 pm, $12 EMP members/$15.

Sun April 25: Kids and Animals, the Cat from Hue at Hard Rock Cafe, 3 pm, $5.

Tues April 27: Unnatural Helpers, the Lights at Easy Street Records (Queen Anne), 7 pm, free.