Listings
ACOUSTIC/FOLK/CELTIC South Tacoma Farmers Market Tacoma - South. Critter, Doug Deems. All Ages. 11 am. NC. Hi-Fidelity Lounge Bremerton, WA 98312. Open Mic. 21+. 8:30 pm. NC. Mandolin Cafe Tacoma - Central. Open Mic Night. All Ages. 6 pm. NC. Olympia Farmers Market Olympia - Downtown. Talisman. All Ages. 11 am. NC. BLUES Dawson's Bar and
We Recommend
When you think of art rock, bands like King Crimson and Genesis or Sonic Youth and latter-day Talk Talk tend to come to mind. The common thread that runs through most of these bands is a deadly seriousness. It's, you know, "art." It needs to be serious. And it needs
We Recommend
Oneida are a prolific and genre-busting group of Brooklyn scene-makers. An itchy energy in their songs telegraphs their persistent search for (and discovery of) new sounds. While they mostly draw inspiration from '70s punk and experimental music, there are flourishes of electronica, folk, Krautrock and the occasional flirtation with guitar-centric
We Recommend
Tongue-in-cheek is the best thing that could have happened to country music. Heartfelt lyrics about trucks and beer and dusty old dogs and the open road have long begged to be approached with just a little bit of humor. I don't mean full-on parody, but a loving tribute to the
We Recommend
This year's 25 New Faces, as chosen by Filmaker Magazine, will be showcased at the Grand Cinema, starting on Aug. 20, in what is apparently the first film festival modeled after the magazine's list. "It's kind of a built-in festival, if you wanted to put it together, but
Music
When you think of art rock, bands like King Crimson and Genesis or Sonic Youth and latter day Talk Talk tend to come to mind. The common thread that runs through most of these bands is a deadly seriousness. It's, you know, "art." It needs to be serious. And it
We Recommend
If you're at all interested in seeing next weekend's Music and Art in Wright Park festival, it'd be best for you to come to The New Frontier Lounge on Saturday, where you'll get to preview several of the bands that will grace the Wright Park stage - including Basemint, Cody
We Recommend
Tacoma has a problem developing bands like SEACATS. It seems like if you want power pop you have to leave Tacoma, and probably even pass by Seattle. You have to hit Kelso. Or Bellingham. Or one of many other Washington towns that's unselfconscious enough to nurture a Weezer-esque pop rock
We Recommend
Let's talk about some badass girl bands, shall we? Saturday at Le Voyeur you're going to see two of them: Morgan and the Organ Donors and Portland's Cat Fancy! (Exclamation point included.) About the latter: Cat Fancy! rides the art-punk line between pop songwriting and fuck-you dissonance. There are several
Music
Ah, the Future Show Benefit Show: the local music scene's glorious feedback loop. "Want to see a great show? Well, then you need to see this great show." Awesome. If you're at all interested in seeing next weekend's Music and Art in Wright Park festival, it'd be best for you to come
Music
One of my fondest memories from a show I attended took place at urbanXchange. This was about three years ago when, along with my fellow under-agers, I watched the Blakes perform. What made this memory special wasn't so much the band that I was watching - I can't even remember who
We Recommend
Spirits of the Red City make chamber-folk that leans toward the melancholy, though the wall of sound created by the wave of instruments has an uncanny ability to feel spirited even while the voices suggest otherwise. Also on the bill are Dovekins and Paper Bird, two bands that have been getting
We Recommend
A while back, I wrote about a band called Mr. Frederick that combined disparate genres like rap-metal, folk and chamber pop. The Speed of Sound in Seawater is similarly confusing, but in a more insidious way. Listening to their second album, Red Version, their weirdness sneaks up on you. For
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
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
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
Guides
The culture of heavy metal is one I may never fully understand. Metalheads are tough guys, but also nerds; they worship Satan, but also desperately long to ride a dragon. Heavy metal has been dissected and scattered into a million subgenres. My brother gives me a dirty look if I
Arts
When I call Doug Stanhope, I catch him swimming in a pool somewhere. "Let me dry off my head," he says, "crack open a warm beer and light a cigarette." For those not immediately familiar with Stanhope, you may remember him as the co-host (along with Joe Rogan) of the ill-fated reboot
We Recommend
Foxtrot have a way of making somewhat difficult songs that eschew the conventions of normal pop songcraft. They sort of sound backward or upside-down. The guitars, the drums, the bass - they're all there, but being used in a way that sounds slightly foreign to the ear. Yet somehow it
We Recommend
Edison Orange's "Flour Shortage" starts out sounding sort of like Pixies if they made bubblegum pop - that ba-ba-ba-bass, stiffly rhythmic guitar and thudding drums sounding brighter than Black Francis probably would've liked. About a minute in, a certain No Doubt flavor (including horns) kicks in, and Edison Orange's mission