Music
It seems, looking back, like a foregone conclusion that punk and folk music would become intimate bedfellows. The two genres have long existed on each others' peripheries, with each style aspiring to a sort of pure aesthetic, stripped away of unnecessary embellishments and the staid trends of popular music. Add on
Music
When was the last time you went to a live show and local poets performed between sets? If your answer is never, or at least never in our mid-sized city of Tacoma, you're not alone. That's about to change, though, as the multi-genre, mixed artform "Tacoma AF Music Series" kicks
Critics' Picks
Once again, the Volcano's readers' poll will be the engine that drives Best of Tacoma 2018. Think you know the best band, Italian restaurant, fashion designer, blog, thrift store, local hero, dance bar in Tacoma and Pierce County? Cast your vote below. Remember, our annual survey
Arts
"The 13th Annual Student Art Exhibition" now fills the gallery at South Puget Sound Community College. My first impression was admiration for the audacity and humor of "Boombox," a gigantic boombox made of cardboard with wood screws that are used both structurally and for aesthetic purposes. Immediately upon seeing it, I
South Sound Cinema
Some 40 years after creating Travis Bickle and Taxi Driver, Paul Schrader gives us Ernst Toller and First Reformed. Travis was a tightly wound loner caught in the grips of despair. He kept a diary as he grew ever more isolated from the world around him, ever more certain he needed
Features
I'm not really sure what the "summer bod" thing is all about? I mean, your body is your temple. I've never heard of folks counting the calories they placed upon altars of the divine, why start now!? I'm team Dionysus, that dude knew how to party. Keep the fermented grapes
Reviews
ANNOUNCER: After a long wait, Lovino Italian restaurant opened a few weeks ago in Ruston. Jackie and Dutch rushed in, even before the cobwebs could be cleaned away, to dine on authentic scratch-made pasta, bread and other hard-to-find dishes. DUTCH: Though the early stages of any restaurant always bring about some
South Sound Cinema
Welcome to Three Easy Pieces, where I examine a specific bit of pop culture, from its birth, to how it looks today. As summer looms, I prepare myself for a few months of living a life of quiet perspiration. Like an anti-Superman, I find myself weakened by Earth's yellow sun,
Arts
On a chilly Wednesday night last January, Claudia Castro Luna took up the mantle of Washington state poet laureate. She is the state's fifth poet laureate, and she'll serve as a poetic ambassador to communities across the evergreen state from 2018-2020. Her prior experience as Seattle's inaugural Civic Poet (2015-2017),
Stage
Story-wise, Macbeth is about as straightforward as they come, especially as it concerns William Shakespeare's work; not only is it Shakespeare's shortest tragedy, but it follows a quite linear line of A to B to C, working with economic momentum toward its predestined path of death and destruction. Its themes
Music
I think a lot about two particular bands, the qualities they share and the different ways in which these qualities are portrayed -- in one corner, we have the Band, and in the other, we have the Traveling Wilburys. The Band, of course, started out as Bob Dylan's backing band, before
Travel
Nowhere is there a city as enamored with goats as Spokane, Washington. We're not just talking "bah bah bah" goats, we're talking garbage-eating goats, goats doing yoga, goat-inspired breweries, goat namesakes ... goats doing everything. They've run amok. And since we're never one to spoil the party, we thought we'd
Travel
With the sun finally out, now is a great time to soak up some vitamin D by enjoying outdoor time with your favorite pooch. Washington state parks are very pet-friendly and most allow pets on leashes to enjoy the trails alongside you. Who wants to eat inside when it is
Travel
There is so much to see and do in Astoria, Oregon, and being so close to Joint Base Lewis-McChord, it's a quick and easy weekend getaway. The Astoria Column is an extraordinary attraction. It is located on Coxcomb Hill high above the downtown area. The column is the centerpiece of
Features
Yup, it's more foodie news coming your way. Add the following to your already too full calendar. You're going to need to fuel your adventures and productivity, after all. It looks as though former casino turned Mitchell's Café is undergoing yet another transition. Though the building went vacant for what felt
Stage
For a certain generation of people, seeing the 1986, Frank Oz-directed Little Shop of Horrors was likely their first exposure to the magic that a musical can possess. Starring Rick Moranis and Ellen Greene, along with oddball supporting turns from Steve Martin and Bill Murray, Little Shop of Horrors took a mostly forgettable B
South Sound Cinema
When it comes to filmmakers and actors taking chances, we have a tendency to serve up the superlative "brave" in an almost cavalier fashion at times. "It's so brave for that comic to take on a dramatic role." "How brave of that actress who isn't a supermodel to do a nude scene." "What
Outdoors
Former Tacoma News Tribune art writer Rosemary Ponnekanti, with the help of curator Lisa Kinoshita, has pulled together an amazing arts festival to take place Sunday, June 10, at the Foss Waterway Seaport. The event called "Tacoma Ocean Fest" will feature photography, eco-sculpture, film, dance, music, an aerial circus, painting,
Reviews
ANNOUNCER: A staple in North Tacoma, Shakabrah serves up hearty egg and griddle breakfasts for the hungry masses. Under new ownership this past year, many of the favorites are still on the menu, but now with a liquor license, breakfast as well as nightlife has a new feel on 6th
Stage
Pulitzer Prize and Tony Award-winning playwright Robert Schenkkan's timely political thriller Building the Wall comes to Tacoma Little Theatre for a one-night-only staged reading directed by Randy Clark, founder of Dukesbay Theatre, and starring Scott C. Brown and Iesha McIntyre. Called a "must-see show" by The New York Times, and "a