SCENE OF THE CRIME by Natasha
There's probably some stupid Weekly Volcano policy about fraternizing with fellow staffers, but I'm a rule breaker, and Brad Allen is awesome.
I've admired Brad's articles ever since I swung my lasso around this fine entertainment rag. Even though I'd never seen him before, I decided that a meeting of the minds was necessary, especially since our columns indicate that we have so much in common and we were just missing each other out on the town.
I had no clue that Brad would whisk me away on one of the most glitter-filled evenings I've had here in Tacompton.
OK, ladies, he might come off a little cocky at first, but Brad is hot, and on this certain night that we were out, he was tame and he was mine.
He took me to a place where I've been DYING to go.  Normally, I'm fearless about checking a joint out solo, but I wanted my first experience at this establishment to be magical.
Brad was the perrrrrfect date to the top of the Sheraton, and believe me, that elevator couldn't roll fast enough to get there.
The sky-high Vertigo Lounge was remodeled somewhat recently. The lights are low, and it's all about übermetallic and black leather. Just my style. I've heard that the food is good, and I can't wait to go back and try it.
The view up there is nothing short of amazing. I was slurping on a fish-bowl sized mojito while checking out the cars that looked like Hasbro toys buzzing below.
It was also fun to watch the mix of what looked like convention goers and snob-aholics.
Brad and I took a step out to the deck.  I was busy pointing out all of the projects going on in the city because I'm a maven in-the-know, but it was tough to focus amongst the vibrant, sparkly lights of the city and Brad's green eyes.
I never realized until I was up there that Tacoma could be like Harlequin, or maybe it's more like Bob Seger's "Night Moves."
Either way, I got so carried away that I accidentally split a kiss with Brad for a millisecond.  Whoa!  He'll probably be pissed that I'm writing this and killing his game (don't hate the player), but this is such strong evidence as to what can happen at the aptly named Vertigo.
Even though Brad and I were a lot like "Breakfast at Tiffany's," have no fear, my fancy little readers, I'm staying single.
I don't think Brad could handle me.
Roar!
Vertigo Lounge, 1320 Broadway Plaza, 26th floor of the Sheraton Tacoma Hotel, (253) 591-4155

Tell me where you like to party here.

PERMANENT LIPSTICK by Ginger Knoxx
Summer is in full swing even if the random cool weather is misleading. Know how you tell? All the outdoor festivals and deck and patio parties - that's how.

THURSDAY, July 6
Farrelli's at Sixth and Union is sweet. The cocktails are strong, the service decent, not to mention good pizza, pool table, and the outdoor patio equipped with tables and umbrellas. That pretty much sums up my needs, so I stopped in to check it out for happy hour and spied artist James Hume in what looked to be a meeting with his strawberry blonde agent. I wonder what snappy art event they're planning next. Next door at Firehouse Coffee, I watched stressed out young women cramming over medical books while I sipped a luscious iced vanilla latte. I was never so glad to be done with school.

FRIDAY, July 7
A pleasant walk around the neighborhood culminated at Fort Bender for a dinner of Kate's wild mushroom lasagna before joining the party in progress at Magoo's, which was so freakin' packed the door guy made a group of fresh-faced darlings form a line. Bluecifer, 'Tasha and I had a serious bitch fest about layoffs and lowlifes with intermittent loud singing bursting from our table depending on the jukebox selection. This, of course, prompted a hasty departure for Taqueria El Guadalajara down by Stadium High School. I always forget that place's there. Shocking since the bartender pours so generously and it's a quick stumble to The Palace. Half a glass of vodka with a splash of 7? Yes, please. Roller Derby hottie Sassy Pants and the Broken Oars boys, who leave soon for their first West Coast tour, were just heading out as we arrived. Neil Diamond would be so proud of Bluecifer's Vegas lounge rendition of "Love On The Rocks." How fitting to sing it for me (ain't no surprise). Has anyone ever looked at the cover of Diamond's album Hot August Night? The ol' Neilster looks like he's totally grabbing his package. Ewwww. Riding high on liquor and laughs, we bounced to Doyle's for whiskey. We ran into the Real McCoy with Connor, singer from The Heat and Light, my sweet neighbor Megan and Kirstin (lucky girl's leaving to live in New York soon). I admit to healthy jealousy of her fab East Coast opportunity. Go wish her bon voyage at the Parkway or Rosewood Caf�©. After hours at The Palace seemed like such a good idea, especially when Mr. Gorgeous showed up at 3 a.m. with a full bottle of Skyy vodka. Loud-as-hell sing-along of "Tiny Dancer" in my backyard was not appreciated by my neighbors no matter how much we all enjoyed it.

SATURDAY, JULY 8
Poolside afternoons make me wish for wealth. W3 and I soaked up the heat at Oakbrook Country Club. A lot of sunscreen later, Brad Allen picked me up for dinner at Bella Nina's. They should call it Butter Nina. Our pasta was literally swimming in it. We quickly felt sick and took our bottle of wine to go. Cocktails on the patio at Tempest Lounge soothed us, and soon the DJ was mixing '80s favs with newer beats and the impromptu dance floor was packed with stylish black-clad figures writhing all over each other. Getting through that mess to get inside is an adventure every time. Natasha strolled in, turning heads in her "come freak me" black boots, denim mini and red wrap. Hot! Tan Tony stopped by after The Fights and when Rosati joined us - the Sandy Blond Squad was born.

SUNDAY, July 9
I adore Art on the Ave.  I look forward to it every year. Megan and I began the day around noon, admiring art and baubles and paintings, oh my. Pappi Swarner stayed cool inside O'Malley's, catching the end of the World Soccer Cup. Italy won. Yeah!  IDEFY got cancelled at the last minute and did not perform on the All Star Stage. Boo! (Lucy, you got some 'splainin' to do.) It was ultra lame. Lurid was pretty good though, so was Butterbean. Top Heavy Crush was full of energy for their time slot on the All Star Stage. The day whirled by in beer and great eats from Asado till it wound down and Pappi Swarner, Tasha and I joined Soul Patch and gang for grub at Engine House 9.

MONDAY, July 10
After a grueling Monday back at the office, Monsoon Room offered a desirable distraction with a photo installation by Joseph Taylor. "A portrait of myself as someone else" was pleasing and disturbing in its imagery and mask reference and visual usage. He intimidated me, and that's no easy feat. Rampart artists were out in force.

Give me a wink and a kiss here. Knoxx knows.

I’m sipping on a glass of Mad Housewife Merlot (surprisingly palatable!) listening to Jack McQuade talking about how the Swiss came to acquire the Chihuly pieces above the bar.  He’s there in front of me, but he’s not talking â€" His voice is coming at me from my cell phone. 
He’s only just heard his own cell-spiel, which is part of a cell-phone walking tour put together by the Tacoma Art Museum. 
I walked from the museum, to Union Station, to the Bridge of Glass (which only has temporary signage) to the University of Washington, Tacoma library, and finally up to the Swiss, stopping at the various points marked on my map (available from the museum.)
Dialing the (888) 411-4220 phone number brought me to a brief informational message, then a menu. Dialing the three-digit numbers on the map points (as well as on the signage at each place) gets me to a recorded informational blurb about each piece, some of which is narrated by Chihuly himself, or in the case of the Swiss Venetians, McQuade.
On listening to himself for the first time, McQuade remarked, “That was pretty cool.  We went to a studio to do that, and I didn’t know how it would turn out.  I’m used to standing behind the bar and doing my spiel.” â€" Jessica Corey-Butler

Thom Yorke, The Eraser (XL Recordings)
I adore electronics. 
When I'm shopping for a new life-enhancing device if there's a choice between an electronic gadget and a nonelectronic one I always go electronic.  Think about it.  Which do you prefer:  An abacus or a calculator?  A sundial or a wristwatch?  Music played by people with instruments or electronic music?  Why, I can no more imagine a world without e-music than I can a world without pet psychiatrists and Beluga caviar.  How would we survive? 
Thanks to Thom Yorke, we don't have to.  Yorke keeps the music electronic - a sure sign of human progress - helping us inch ever closer to an era free of gratuitous human contact.  Yorke's debut record, The Eraser (XL Recordings), though it lacks the other four fifths of Radiohead, sounds a lot like Radiohead - but without all those pesky instruments and the warm-blooded creatures who play them.  Yorke prefers his beats synthetic and his instrumentals emanating from a black box covered in dials and blinking lights.  These are sounds not found in the wild and dangerous forests of rock.  These sterile beats are the sublime sound of safety. 
If his vocals are any indication, Yorke has found bliss in this orderly electronic universe.  Despite his melancholy lyrics, Yorke's smooth and gorgeous singing betrays a sort of sedated satisfaction.  Perhaps he has found peace amid his complicated music machines.  Yorke has banished the humans, disinfected the joint, and is doing things his way - the electronic way.             
Go ahead, Mr. Yorke.  Electrify the world.  But what happens when the power goes out?  Drummers keep on drumming; guitarists go acoustic; the civilized world lights emergency candles, and Yorke's beeping, blipping gadgetry withers and dies.
What we're left with then is the best we'll ever be left with: blood, sweat, pounding hearts, tension, conflict, and, occasionally, bliss.  Being human is a messy affair, and this album is just too, too tidy. â€" Jennifer Boutilier

The Who's North American tour is rumored to include a night in Seattle. Here are the North american dates the Weekly Volcano has found so far. â€" Brad Allen

09/12 - Philadelphia, PA - Wachovia Center
09/13 - Wantagh, NY - Nikon at Jones Beach Theatre
09/15 - Boston, MA - TD Banknorth Garden @ Fleet Center
09/16 - Ottawa, ON - Scotiabank Place
09/18 - New York, NY - Madison Square Garden
09/21 - Holmdel, NJ - P.N.C. Bank Arts Center
09/25 - Chicago, IL - United Center
09/29 - Auburn Hills, MI - Palace of Auburn Hills
09/30 - London, ON - John Labatt Centre
10/3 - Winnipeg, MB - MTS Centre
10/5 - Calgary, AB - Pengrowth Saddledome
10/6 - Edmonton, AB - Rexall Place
10/8 - Vancouver, BC - General Motors Place
10/10 - Portland, OR - Rose Garden Arena
10/11 - Seattle, WA - KeyArena at Seattle Center
11/5 - Los Angeles, CA - Hollywood Bowl
12/4 - Toronto, ON - Air Canada Centre

Fabulous Firwood reports: On July 4th, as America celebrated its 230th year of freedom, a helpless three year old girl in our community had her father's life ruthlessly, viciously extinguished. Already having been shot, her father, Jason Outler, was heard pleading for the assailant to spare his life so that he could care for his precious daughter.
As more shots rang out ending his life on a street in Tacoma, this beautiful 3-year-old's future has been changed forever. Her father is gone now.
Jason (31) was an employee of the Harmon Brewing Co. & Restaurant, well-liked by everyone. He was a devoted single dad to Avery who loved him with all her heart, but will never know all the joys and comfort of having her dad in her life if he had lived. While we can't fix this senseless tragedy, we can honor Jason's memory by helping the little girl he was so worried about leaving behind and show that the community cares.
Please join us at the Firwood tonight for music, dancing and raffle. The Firwood in conjuction with other local business have put together a raffle and silent auction including one year of tanning, furniture, gift certificates from local restaurants and coffee stands, Mcgregor golf clubs and apparell, any show and dinner for two at the Emerald Queen, and two cars.
The money raised will be used to help Jason's little girl, Avery.
Friday, July 14, 7 p.m., Fabulous Firwood, 8014 Valley Ave E., Fife/Puyallup, (253) 926-0476

What's up with the World Wildlife Fund actually making a public statement suggesting that winemakers should continue to use cork stoppers if only for the good of the planet?  I guess not only do screwcaps fight cork taint, they also cause economic depression, forest fires, and harm endangered species.
Decanter.com reports: The World Wildlife Fund has called on the wine industry to 'choose cork' in order to save the environment.  In a leaflet entitled 'Cork Screwed? Environmental and economic impacts of the cork stoppers market' the WWF argues for the preservation of the US$329m cork industry. More story here.
I'm going to ponder this over healthy red wine. â€" Jason de Paul

The Tacoma Art Museum traced a creative line between past and present with their Bastille Day Celebration the evening of July 14. DJ Juvenal spun French hip-hop while a male Marie Antoinette and several beret-ed and scarved volunteers helped to keep the crowd following art museum etiquette. The event actually fell on Bastille Day, while most actual Parisiennes were sleeping (they are, after all, eight hours ahead of us), though I heard one very authentic accent commenting on the art and the events as I snooped through the galleries. 
The new art exhibit itself â€" "The Essense of Line: French Drawings from Ingres to Degas" is tres cool.  I literally had my breath taken away by one Vermeer-esque drawing, a Cupid sketch, and a Degas.  What I loved about the show was the range of artwork â€"s ome artists favored a studied, detail-oriented approach to their sketches (many of which were created to help the artists develop their painting ideas) while others used only a few deft strokes to convey their style. 
The “few deft strokes” style was employed later in The Big Draw, where seven Tacoma artists sketched dancers from Evergreen City Ballet on a 30-foot long sheet.  The audience was invited to participate, with pads of paper and writing implements handed out by the elevators. I was too chicken to do so, and the line for wine was too daunting for me to grab a glass that might help to lube up my inhibitions.  Even still, I thought the event was well organized, original, and very fun. â€" Jessica Corey-Butler

No doubt high-fiven metal guys at Friday's Unholy Alliance Tour were arguing about MTV's Top 10 Greatest Mateal Bands of All Time.  well, the votes are in:
1. Black Sabbath
2. Judas Priest
3. Metallica
4. Iron Maiden
5. Pantera
6. Slayer
7. AC/DC
8. Motorhead
9. Kiss
10. Motley Crue
You can watch part of the debate that went into compiling the list in a new episode of "Overdrive" and read their reasons for the picks. â€" Brad Allen

The PDX Pop Now! Festival has announced its lineup for the Portland music festival held July 28-30 at Loveland.  Check out the lineup at Local Cuts. â€" Brad Allen