Weekly Volcano Blogs: Walkie Talkie Blog

Posts made in: February, 2007 (62) Currently Viewing: 1 - 10 of 62

February 1, 2007 at 4:17pm

Marty Campbell announces his candidacy for Tacoma City Council

It's official.  Marty Campbell announced he's running for Tacoma City Council, a fact many of us have known for a while.  Campbell truly cares about this city, especially the arts.  Good luck Marty. â€" Ron Swarner 

Via press release: Marty Campbell, Tacoma Community leader, entrepreneur, and Arts Advocate, announced his candidacy for Tacoma City Council today. 

"I want to talk to every Tacoman about their concerns and how the City can improve its service to each of its citizens. We need a leader to drive this conversation towards results. I have the experience and leadership to engage community partners and citizens toward solutions" Campbell said. 

With his unique experience in business, non-profit and neighborhood organizations Campbell understands the high level of commitment needed to serve on the Council. As the owner of two successful neighborhood businesses for over a decade, Stadium Video and Buzzard's Discs, Campbell will be the voice for small business and economic development on the City Council. 

Campbell is running for position eight, the city-wide seat which will be vacated by fellow small business owner Bill Evans, whose term will expire in 2008.

Filed under: Culture, Politics, Tacoma,

February 1, 2007 at 4:27pm

Worthy benefit show Friday at Hell's Kitchen

As consumers, we’re constantly faced with choices. Which beer to buy? Which hair gel to go with? Which supermarket to support?

The decisions are endless, but it boils down to one simple question: Who are you going to give your money to? Everyone’s vying for it, and it’s all up to you.

These days, you even have to decide which benefits to support. Let’s be honest, there are far too many “benefits.” If you think about it, every show that costs you something to get into, is a benefit. Someone’s getting the money, right?

Then they benefited.

For example, if a band needs money to finish their CD, and they play a show to earn some cash, it shouldn’t be billed as a “benefit” for So-and-so’s new CD. That’s just using pity to get people through the door, which in my book, is fairly low. It sucks the meaning out of the word “benefit.”

But there are plenty of worthy ones, which for folks like myself, scrapping by paycheck to paycheck, means we’ve to decide which benefits to give our cash to if for no other reason than we ain't got much to give.

One way I always know if a benefit is worth my attention is if the benefit will impact the actual community I live in, or if the benefit is for someone  real, living in Tacoma, who’s no different than me or you. Call me a benefit elitist, but I like to help actual people.  I like to feel like I’m doing something real.

On Friday, Feb, 2, the Jet City Fix, Top Heavy Crush, Sea Jayne Trip, and Twink the Wonder Kid will play Hell’s Kitchen. This lineup kicks so much ass I’m beside myself, and beyond that, it’s a benefit for Jana from Supernova, who’s battling cancer and the huge medical expenses that always go hand in hand. As far as benefits go, this one’s a no-brainer. We’re all taking from Tacoma, hanging out at the Kitchen, or Jazzbones, or Supernova, or Shakabrah, or wherever â€" being part of the scene. Here’s a legitimate chance to give back, and actually know you’re helping.

Like I said, no-brainer.

Don’t be douche bag. Go to this show. â€" Matt Driscoll

February 2, 2007 at 7:57am

Groundhog says...

Why look, here comes one of Western Pennsylvania’s more charming anachronisms. It’s Groundhog Day!  A blameless Punxsutawnian mammal pops its head out of the ground to see what all those reporters are doing, and the national network morning shows fill two whole segments without breaking a sweat.  And Bobble Tiki is not talking about Ned Ryerson.  You know, Ned! Ryerson!  “Needlenose Ned”? “Ned the Head”? C’mon, buddy! Case Western High! He did the whistling bellybutton trick at the high school talent show?  Bing!  Ned Ryerson got the shingles real bad senior year, almost didn’t graduate? Bing, again! Ned Ryerson, he dated your sister Mary Pat a couple of times until you told him not to anymore? Well?  Yep, that’s the one.

Anyway, the groundhog didn't see his shadow, which means we will have an early spring.

Then, the groundhog nibbled on the bark of a neighboring tree, which means Bobble Tiki has to be better about attending his Jazzercise class. â€" Bobble Tiki

Filed under: News To Us,

February 2, 2007 at 10:59am

Benjii Bittle accepts deputy director job at the Broadway Center

Yesterday Benjii Bittle sent the Weekly Volcano a proud note regarding his new position at the Broadway Center for the Performing Arts.

  • Note via e-mail from Benjii Bittle: Yesterday morning I accepted the position of Deputy Director of the Broadway Center for Performing Arts. It has been joyful and meaningful work for me to do "the people's business" at the City of Tacoma for the last 7.5 years. I have learned a tremendous amount about the community and myself, and made friendships and connections that I know will last a lifetime. I love my current job and colleagues, so this announcement is bittersweet for me.

This press release hit the Weekly Volcano in box today:  Tacoma , WA â€" Executive Director David Fischer and the Board of Trustees of the Broadway Center for the Performing Arts (BCPA) announced they have hired Benjii Bittle as the new Deputy Executive Director. Bittle, currently the Administrator for the Private Capital Division for the City of Tacoma's Economic Development Department, will join the BCPA on March 1, 2007.

Congrats Benjii! â€" Ron Swarner

Filed under: Culture, Tacoma,

February 2, 2007 at 11:11am

Bob's Java Jive is open and ready for pajamas Saturday

This in from Tacoma's own roller girls: The Dockyard Derby Dames:

  • The Jive is back open... come celebrate this Saturday... ...in your PAJAMAS! That's right, the Dames are back at it with all the fun that was promised and missed last weekend... pillow fights, beer, music, and NOW a hypnotist!!! Come ring in a new era for the Jive, drink like you're keeping them in business (WHICH YOU ARE), and party with Tacoma's own Dockyard Derby Dames! 9 PM $3 w/pajamas or $5 w/o, but you wouldn't be so uncool as to do that...

Bob's Java Jive might be cleaned up after all the mandatory repairs, but I'm still wearing footies Saturday night. â€" Suzy Stump

Filed under: Club News, Tacoma,

February 2, 2007 at 11:27am

A date with Dar Williams and her guitar

The Rialto was not packed last night when Dar Williams hit the stage, but what the crowd lacked in numbers it made up for in magic.

Kellee Bradley, opening for Williams with a strong, sure voice and some powerful writing, warmed the crowd up with a Kleenex-worthy song about a dying mother and a few sweet ditties about love. In the break between Bradley and Williams, I heard a reflection that Bradley’s “happy songs” weren’t that much cheerier than the sad ones, but one kind of expects that sort of wistful contemplation when one gets a girl together with her acoustic guitar, stripped down to her floral dress and boots.

And then, one throws ones expectations out the window when Williams comes on stage.
The crowd of loyal fans, quite a few of whom traveled from outside of Tacoma to see the show, made a raucous noise that seemed to please Williams, who mentioned her last gig in Tacoma, at the “Electric Coffee Shop?”

While she wasn’t quite sure of the name of the Antique Sandwich Company, where she had played an open mic in 1994, she was sure of her first notes, on the song “Calling the Moon.” 

She went back in time for the song, “If I Wrote You,” and then lightened the mood considerably with her “Teen for God,” which was written with the aid of her good friend, a Jewish girl whose parents had misguidedly sent her to Christian horse camp year after year, “It was before Google,” Williams explained.

And it was at this point, Williams showed why her fans are as loyal as the woman next to me from Redmond, who told me, “I’ll go just about anywhere to see her.”

See, the thing is, Williams is smart as hell. And she has a cynical sense of humor that is sweetened by compassionate overtones, and mixed in with an obvious dose of vocal talent (and she ain’t half bad on guitar.) Throw in a smattering of cultural editorial, and you have a cerebrally enticing evening.  Add to the mix, soaring, mournful, comforting notes blending poignant observations of innocence, childhood, love, and nature, and then add between-song dialog that could have stood alone as engagingly honest stand-up comedy, and you have an amazing show.

This show built up in intensity as she sang a cover tune. She suggested her aim was to take a great song and “un-swath it of its guitars,” and give it some girl-power; the song was “Comfortably Numb” by Pink Floyd, and as she sang it I felt the “disembodied voices that are parts of yourself” that she referred to in its introduction.

I felt other disembodied things within myself surface through the course of the show: through the magic of Williams’ voice, pent up emotions emerged that I hadn’t even realized had been pent.  Yeah, I cried.  Several times.  Once was during her ode to the Babysitter, where Williams expressed a love, admiration, and understanding framed through the eyes of a kid enthralled by the coolest sitter, ever. Another time was “February,” a desolately optimistic look at the longest month of the year.

But I laughed, too.  Williams’ oratorical talents buoyed me several times, especially as she talked of hanging with old-school rocker dudes who have “explored the world, pharmaceutically,” as well as having “worn tights.”  These are the dudes on the plane who will whip out pictures of their daughters and turn to mush in a split second.

And then I laughed and cried, like in “The Christians and the Pagans”, a hysterically sad look at a family that’s been torn by fundamental differences, that’s being patched together again.
Here, I found the theme of the evening: “You find magic in your God, but we find magic everywhere.”

In that theater, magic was on the minimalist stage.  Magic was in the good friends like Cheri, who brought me up to a killer seat. Magic was in the new friends, and favorite friends I talked with, and in the people I observed all around me. 

Magic was in the three encores Williams graced us with, and magic was in the lightness of step we walked out on.

The music and words were like a magical balm to a collective soul that floated out of the theater soothed, spent, and sated.

And it was good. â€" Jessica Corey-Butler

February 2, 2007 at 2:15pm

Reflections on "Reflections on Ice"

Ice_skate_2 Anyone who thinks the Olympic ice skating competitions are wholesome family fun have never looked at them through the eyes of a horn-dog.

Welcome to my world.

There are men in tight leather pants and vests, and don't even get me started on the ladies in short skirts who can flip and swivel and twirl like Christina Applegate at a a Pussycat Dolls show. Good times.

Expect family fun and smirks all wrapped up in a single night of fun this weekend.

Iceskatingaustin Olympic Bronze medalist Jozef Sabovcik is the featured performer for "Reflections on Ice," Pierce County Parks and Recreation's annual ice show at Sprinker Recreation Center.  The 2007 show's theme is "Skating Abroad."  Austin Powers makes an appearance, too.  Yeah, baby. Yeah!

The show runs at 4 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday and at 2 p.m. on Sunday.
Ticket prices are $15 for on-ice seating and $10 for balcony. Ticket information can be obtained at 253.798.4000. â€" Steve Dunkelberger

February 3, 2007 at 11:39am

The Drug Purse plays Tacoma's urbanXchange

Thedrugpurseoneone The Drug Purse from Tacoma, fusing the late Rolling Stones guitarist Brian Jones with dark, psychedelic pop â€" think Dandy Warhols â€" created shimmers and laughs last night during a brilliant in store performance at Tacoma’s urbanXchange. They are The Brian Jonestown Massacre without kicks to the head.  They are Joy Division without the cold European sound of Eno-era Bowie.  They are ensured relevance to the current teen-age dress-up period.  They are the new Tacoma.

Here are a few pics from last night’s show.

Thedrugpursetwotwo Thedrugpursethreethree Thedrugpursetwo Thedrugpursethree Here's a shot of opening band Friskey, too.

Friskeyone_1 Special thanks to urbanXchange owner Julie Bennett who snapped a few of these too. â€" Brad Allen

February 4, 2007 at 11:45am

The Missionary Position at Tacoma's 54 club

Jeffangell3 I caught Jeff Angell’s (Post Stardom Depression) new band, The Missionary Position, last night at the new and improved 54 on South Tacoma Way.  Angell’s topical and personal insights surface amid edgy guitar and a slinky electronica-tinged groove.  Sexy as hell, too.  I thought about said position all night long.

Jeffangell4 Jeffangell Jeffangell6 The Missionary Position will open for Gene Loves Jezebel Saturday, March 10 at Hell’s Kitchen. Razrez, The Heavy Hearts and The Drug Purse are also on the bill.  That’s one killer night.

Tickets are $10 at TicketWeb.com. â€" Suzy Stump

February 4, 2007 at 12:22pm

Dancing the Tacoma night away with Desiree Flerchinger

Desireeone The first thing you should know about Desiree Flerchinger is that she can seriously shake her groove thing.

While her artistic talent shines through her work, like in the pieces hung at Syren Lounge right now, her booty-shaking aptitude isn’t something you see until she hits the floor.

Unfortunately, at her artist’s reception at Syren last night, she wasn’t really given a chance to shake her thing much, after being given the boot to make room for some “VIPs.”

Desireetwo Desireethree That didn’t impress me much.  But what did impress me was the quality of the work I saw.  There was a diverse selection of pieces that showed her saucy, whimsical side.  The paintings also showcased her innovative technique: in “The Servant” she utilized tiny glass beads and Austrian crystals to achieve a luminous effect not readily seen by the lighting in the space; “Carys Scribble,” based off of a scribble created by a niece showed her rebellious side (she mixed acrylic and oil paints to achieve the texture on that piece); and then there were the pieces like the bright image seen at all the Glass Roots Festival, with grommets containing embedded mirrors.

“I don’t want people to be bored when they see my artwork,” she explains.

Desireefour Desireefive Desireesix Boredom didn’t touch the rest of the night with Flerchinger, though: after a shoddy explanation about the VIP mix up (I’m pretty certain I heard something that sounded like, “$500 dollar table” and “We didn’t think you wanted to stay late and hang out with these young people,”) Flerchinger rallied up the gang and shifted the party to Club Silverstone.

There, serious merriment ensued.

The last thing you should know about Desiree is this: if you go out dancing with her, prepare to dance.  She will accept none of your pansy-ass “my feet hurt,” or “I’m just not a dancer” excuses â€" She will drag you out and force you to have fun.

You can meet her for yourself on March 2, when her new show opens at Jazzbones; there you can see other types of dancers challenging the concept of “stage” and judge her impressive artistic talent for yourself. â€" Jessica Corey-Butler

Filed under: Arts, Club Hopping, Culture, Tacoma,

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