Music
Many years ago I wrote a cover story for the Weekly Volcano on Hotrod-A-Rama, the yearly hardcore classic car enthusiast throwdown at The Swiss that's been getting bigger and more well-known almost since the moment of its inception, and which also features a massive amount of top-shelf live local music
Music
It's been five months since the untimely closing of the underground music venue, The Warehouse. In the months since, Adam Ydstie, Doug Stoeckicht and Katie Lowery - the then-residents and show-producers of the Warehouse - have struck out on their own and started arranging shows at various venues about town. "We
Arts
Gary and Deborah Boone could have dropped their new art gallery in the middle of Pioneer Square. But they chose Ledger Square instead. Ledger Square is in Tacoma, by the way. It will soon be home to B2 Fine Art Gallery and Studios. "B2" usually is pronounced "Bee Too".
Features
How do you know you're a "foodie"? Or better yet for you normal people, how do you know if you're a "food nerd"? Simple. You wait with great anticipation for a friend to give you the golden ticket for the recently opened restaurant super store. Restaurant Depot is not just ANY
Guides
When I walk into Guitar Maniacs on Saint Helens Avenue, Rick King is helping a customer in search of hard-to-find strings. He doesn't have any at the moment, but he can get them. The customer, who knows King by name and has the aura of someone who's been frequenting King's
Guides
Sweet Pea really is a superhero. In fact, he’s been voted Tacoma’s Best Superhero. Like most superheroes, sweet pea has a mild-mannered everyday persona. Real superheroes never appear to be superheroes until there’s a crisis. Then they unleash with full force. If they walked around looking all powerful, bad guys
Guides
Thank you to all who took the time to vote in our Best of Tacoma 2010 Readers' Poll. You are the Best. Best Tacoma Celebrity: Sweet PeaBest Politician: Mayor Marilyn StricklandBest Empty Condo Building: EsplanadeBest Friendly Face: Benjii BittleBest Reason You’ve Heard Someone Give For Being Scared Of Tacoma: The AromaBest
Guides
Thank you to all who took the time to vote in our Best of Tacoma 2010 Readers' Poll. You are the Best. Best Donut: PAO's Donuts & Coffee ShopBest Overall Restaurant: Primo grillBest Sushi: TwoKoi Japanese RestaurantBest Bacon: Tacoma Boys, Pacific Grill (tie)Best Brunch: C.I. Shenanigans, Shakabrah Java (tie)Best Thai: Indochine
Guides
If Marilyn Strickland could pick a superpower, she would choose mind reading. “I’m very good at understanding what motivates people,” she says. “And you need that to get things moving in politics.” It’s those kinds of honest insights that made Marilyn Strickland the nearly unanimous pick for Best Politician in the Weekly
Guides
>>> Best Total Disgrace To Our CityNorthwest Detention Center It’s still there. Just in case you allowed yourself the luxury of forgetting. The Northwest Detention Center is still a private prison for immigrants run by Florida-based GEO Group. Didn’t President Obama fix all that? Hell no. In fact, the place
Guides
If you guessed that Primo Grill was going to win Best Overall Restaurant in the Weekly Volcano’s 2010 Best of Tacoma Readers’ Poll, you guessed right. And you knew what was up. The perfect balance is hard to strike in the restaurant business. And it’s different depending on where you
Guides
I really like Pao, and I really, really like his donuts, but to be completely honest the big-ass pictures hanging in his donut shop (you know, the ones that each feature one of his three kids, at age one, propped up and smiling next to — quite literally — a
Guides
When I learned Rick Gratzer and Isaac Olsen had tied for Best Filmmaker in the Weekly Volcano 2010 Best of Tacoma Readers’ Poll, it made perfect sense to me. It couldn’t really have been anyone else. Both young filmmakers (26 and 24, respectively), Gratzer and Olsen have consistently contributed standout films
Guides
>>> Best Tamales In A StoreEl Mercado LatinoA few millennia ago some Pre-Columbian women created what may be the first MREs (“meals-ready-to-eat”) for their warrior sons and lovers: a tasty concoction that could be easily packed over long distances, warmed in its own wrapper or eaten cold on the run
Guides
Thank you to all who took the time to vote in our Best of Tacoma 2010 Readers' Poll. You are the Best. Best Public Art: Graffiti GaragesBest Local Filmmakers: Isaac Olsen and Rick GratzerBest Local Actor: Matt Shimkus, Joe Rosati (tie)Best Local Actress: Kristie Worthey, Emilie Rommel, Ieisha McIntyre, Nyree Martinez
Guides
Earlier this year a small group of a dozen or so artists celebrated the re-opening of the legendary Broadway graffiti garages. As part of an invitation-only, relatively quiet gathering, graffiti artists from Seattle and Tacoma filled three parking garages with a dozen or so burners (murals). Since then, the walls
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>>> Best Art ExhibitThe Neddy Fellowship, Tacoma Art Museum This one features some of the best artists in Washington over the past 15 years, starting with the great Michael Spafford, the first Neddy Fellowship winner and including works by Randy Hayes, Juan Alonso, collaborative glass art by Sabrina Knowles and
Guides
Thank you to all who took the time to vote in our Best of Tacoma 2010 Readers' Poll. You are the Best. Best Pipe/Tobacco Store: The Green RoomBest Independent Record Store: Buzzard'sBest Place To Buy Shoes: NordstromBest Vintage Clothing Store: urbanXchange, Vanity (tie)Best Thrift Store: GoodwillBest Eco-Friendly Store: Marlene’s Market &
Guides
It’s hard to find a good aromatherapy and herbal/tobacco accessories supply store these days. I mean one that really distinguishes itself. You can walk into any strip mall smoke shop and find an array of strangely-shaped glass smoking accessories. It’s overwhelming, really, the array of options for people who indulge
Guides
Oh, what a strange and beguiling place, the record shop. Somehow, the assemblage of vinyl adds up to more than the sum of its parts. The advent of CDs and MP3s failed to relegate vinyl to the status of the 8-track or Betamax. There’s a beauty and simplicity in records