Weekly Volcano Blogs: Walkie Talkie Blog

Posts made in: June, 2007 (45) Currently Viewing: 1 - 10 of 45

June 1, 2007 at 2:52pm

10x10 tonight

If our stylist spent 10 minutes on our hair, or our favorite chef 10 minutes on our meal, we might be upset. But we always have time for the 10x10 at Barefoot Studios, which happens tonight at 7:30 p.m.

The show features hip-hop, contemporary dance, mixed media, mime and film by the Reality Check Dance Troupes from the D.A.S.H. Center for the Arts, Stephanie Kriege, Katharine M. Stricker, Jeanne Douville, Ron Gilbert, Jamie Pederson, Callous Physical Theatre and Klair Ethridge with various guest artists, all performing pieces not to exceed â€" can you guess? â€" 10 minutes. â€" Suzy Stump

[Barefoot Studios, Friday, June 1, 7:30 p.m., $5, 311 Puyallup Ave., Tacoma]

Filed under: Culture, Music, Tacoma,

June 1, 2007 at 10:02pm

Point Defiance Flower and Garden Show Inspires

Ptflowerone I did the rare, this evening: I watered my front garden.

That’s how inspired I was, after seeing the dream backyards at the Point Defiance Flower and Garden Show.  Since my back yard is sort of beyond hope, as the pups have their own version of gardening which includes search and destroy, (a wise master gardener, seeing my challenges, suggested I plant concertina wire if I wanted something “dog proof”) I decided the front will be my last hope.

Ptflowertwo And the garden show gave me ideas, could have sold me masses of plants from some very cool vendors, and firmed my resolve to not let the front go to hell.

Ptflowerthree Arriving at lunchtime, I was surprised at how busy it already was, and how many people were leaving, done with their garden day of fun by the time we arrived. But I guess, with gardening as well as aviary life, the early bird gets the worm.

Ptflowerfour I was also surprised, the lines to the coffee and food (gasp!!) were crazy long.

Hence, the wee one and I didn’t stop for food, and hence, the wee one’s complaints reached a crescendo by the time we reached the tents with craftspeople.

Apparently, she was so hungry her leg hurt.  So we had to high-tail it out of there, with her 45 pound body on my hip, up to where we had to park in Ruston (grrr.) (I would have walked, from home, but I knew the wee one’d complain, and we’d have had to walk a mile, both ways, uphill on the way home.)

At any rate, our brief time at the garden show made me happy; seeing the park I know and love transformed into inspirational outdoor spaces, and seeing so many people appreciating it all was well worth the pain in my back after we reached the car.

And that’s saying a lot. â€" Jessica Corey-Butler

[Point Defiance Flower & Garden Show, Saturday, June 2 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., Sunday, June 3 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., $15, children 12 and younger free with adult, Point Defiance Park, 5400 N. Pearl, Tacoma]

Filed under: Tacoma,

June 2, 2007 at 9:50am

10x10 makes happy and sad

When I first met Josephine and Paul Zmolek, they had a "Masks of Thespis" art display up at their Barefoot Studios, and I felt an itching need to get on their stage and learn something about movement; I yearned to be “in” my body, and their studio seemed to be my ticket to greater self-awareness.

But I have a nuts life, and it got in the way of my following through on my urge.

I might have missed my chance to learn with two amazing, enigmatic teachers, though I hope I’m wrong.

At last night’s "10x10," a varied assortment of performers hit the stage, from two strong and expressive dancers, Katherine M. Stricker and Stephanie Kriege, joined by Jeanne Douville in one of piece, to the never-say-quit (despite the CD skips) 7 to 12- and 12 to 17-year-old performers from the D.A.S.H. Center for the Arts, to the mime-ist dancing/acting stylings of Jamie Pederson, with help in conception and direction from Ron Gilbert, who also produced and directed some quirky, riveting, experimental, moving film for the night.

I stood by a window and the breeze carried occasional train sounds in with the cool on the back of my neck.  It was a peaceful, intimate, engaging, thoroughly pleasant (though that word seems so weak) evening, capped off with insightful and thoughtful conversation intended to help provide feedback to artists work-shopping pieces.

Yeah, it was all idyllic and perfect, except that the last, peppy little piece, conceived by Klair Ethridge, written directed, and performed by “many people” (per the program), a fun peek at a dance studio, with some spoken word by Ethridge and ending on a familiar "Sound of Music" song.

So Long? Farewell?

My heart jumped in confusion.

As each performer stood in line and expressed words of gratitude to the Zmoleks, and Barefoot Studios, I felt something akin to a rising hysteria.

What?  So Long?  Farewell???

With a sad smile that conveyed warmth and soul as only Josephine can manage, she told me, “we don’t know.”

She continued to tell me, “it’s been a rough year.”

Over a year ago, in April, a bus crashed through the office, then Dome District construction began, and then the landlords approached the Zmoleks with a 50 percent rent increase, and implied that at any moment, the Zmoleks may get their 30-day notice.

So classes have been interrupted, and the Barefoot Studios, and "10x10," may be on the endangered list.  Will the Zmoleks leave Tacoma? Will they continue Barefoot in another location?
All Josephine could tell me with her sad smile was, “We don’t know.”

Before I heard the familiar, “So Long” song, I remember standing back with a profound sense of peace, feeling like this space in Tacoma was just as it should be, with the bright walls painted creatively with care; with the huge scarves that hang like banners, colorfully flirting with the mayhem outside the doors of the studio, working their diagonal design against the horizontal of the building seen out the windows.

In her words to the Zmoleks, Kriege said, “a building serves as a vehicle for a community.”

In this building, the Zmoleks have served up Beauty, Joy, Integrity, and Kindness, per one performer, and have been like the best kind of warm pie that makes ice cream perfectly melty, as Pederson analogized.

So now what?

I keep hearing Josephine’s “we don’t know.”

And it makes me profoundly sad. â€" Jessica Corey-Butler

Filed under: Culture, Tacoma,

June 3, 2007 at 5:02pm

Hot Tacoma?

Hottacomaone Some days in Tacoma just make you smile.

Sunshine, bright flowers in the Proctor Farmer’s Market with familiar faces milling about, flower and garden shows, restaurants opening garage windows to bring the outside in and let the inside spill out and seating on sidewalks, tattoo shows, antique and garage sale shopping in University Place an Fircrest, respectively, and did I mention, sunshine?

Hottacomathree Add to that, excitement, and upcoming heat: the Rebecca V show last night featuring Tony V’s collection of vintage nude slides, in their full giclee-print-on-canvas glory, has to be about the coolest thing I’ve seen in a long time.  Yeah, I’ve even purchased one (walk on through and guess which one that is!)

Hottacomastwo Add complimentary wine tasting from Pairings, and you had an evening worthy of the kind of day we had (and still having today!).

Ahhh, bliss… â€" Jessica Corey-Butler

Filed under: Arts, Culture, Tacoma,

June 4, 2007 at 7:51pm

Welcome Lily

Lily Judith Driscoll has entered the world at 7 pounds, 12 ounces with dark hair and big feet. 

The entire Weekly Volcano staff wishes her and her parents the best in life.

Congratulations Jennifer and Matt!

June 4, 2007 at 8:15pm

Hi Bob! (Drink!)

Bob Newhart, the befuddled comic genius best remembered for his TV shows “The Bob Newhart Show” and, later, Newhart, will receive a big "Hi Bob!" (drink!) Thursday when he strolls into the Pantages Theater to ma-ma-ma-make Tacoma laugh. 

The Jesuit-educated funnyman began his professional life as an accountant. So perfect.  Newhart looks like an accountant. He is, on the surface, the picture of boring.  But his stand up is certainly not.  PBS recently honored Newhart with an “American Masters,” er, honor.

Tell Bob hi (hmm, drink anyway!) Thursday. â€" Suzy Stump

[Pantages Theater, Thursday, June 7, 7:30 p.m., $56-$79, 901 Broadway, Tacoma, 253.591.5894] 


Filed under: Concert Alert, Tacoma, Theater,

June 5, 2007 at 10:22am

Rock solid

It’s a real challenge to feel and look manly while guzzling out of a blue kiddie’s bucket with a yellow shovel as a swizzle stick. I’m sitting in The Rock Wood Fired Pizza & Spirits’ newest location in Federal Way listening to Led Zeppelin, and I’m surrounded by masculine bikers, classic rockers and hip-hoppers who probably drink alcohol mixed with ground espresso, Red Bull and/or gunpowder. I’m drinking The Bucket, a five rum mai tai-like drink that, although it takes balls to drink, still comes in a little blue bucket.

The Rock’s packed dining room full of families forced me into the bar, which was filled with manly men drinking beneath ESPN while classic rock filled the entire building at the perfect sound level for both conversation and rocking out.

Like its predecessors, the new Federal Way location features The Rock's industrial rock and roll décor; however, this location takes the atmosphere to an 11 with high ceilings, crumbling brick walls, rusted steel, ghost-flamed bathroom stalls and, of course, rock and roll â€" guitar chandelier, stage lighting, roadie boxes for bar storage and table tops, semi truck rear doors, and skeletons. Yes, a “Pirates of the Caribbean”-like skeleton with a spraypaint can and another playing guitar with flames shooting out. Yo-ho-ho and a bucket full of rums!

The menu is the same as the original location in downtown Tacoma with more than 20 rock-themed signature pizzas to choose from, or if you really can’t decide, simply pick your own fresh toppings for the cooks to spread across the sauce before being smothered in cheese and sliding that bad boy into a wood-fueled authentic brick oven. â€" Jake de Paul

[The Rock Wood Fired Pizza, 34817 Enchanted Pkwy. S., Federal Way, 253.835.7625]

Filed under: Food & Drink,

June 5, 2007 at 11:12am

Vodka Thursday at El Gaucho

On last Thursday’s trip to El Gaucho’s Havana Room, the now smokeless cigar lounge, legendary Tacoma mixologist Mr. Jones and I partook in Vodka Thursday. For those that don’t know, many establishments have theme nights showcasing new liquors, beers or wines. Vodka Thursday was just such an occasion. Liquor rep Liz Frame (Future Brands) was all too happy to sample us on an Absolut Pear cocktail (sounds like a chick drink, right?). Mixed with champagne and pineapple juice, the Pear Tini was light and refreshing, making it a perfect choice as we head into warmer weather.

Another rep had Ketel One Citron, which chases a fresh Hood Canal oyster on the half shell mighty fine, and Effen vodka, one of the smoothest I’ve ever run across (fitting since “effen” is Swedish for “smooth”). Effen makes an easy martini more so with blue cheese stuffed olives sitting lazily in the bottom of the glass.

El Gaucho offered a naughty spread of diablo beef, wicked shrimp, caper steak tartar, those oysters I mentioned, and pretty decent caviar; all complimented by the vodka variety.

By the way, El Gaucho offers 27 martini concoctions including the Dirty Girl Scout, the Bling-Bling, and the Ultimate Sidecar. â€" Brad Allen

[El Gaucho, 2119 Pacific Ave., Tacoma, 253.272.1510] 

Filed under: Food & Drink, Tacoma,

June 5, 2007 at 4:24pm

Flowers cost more at Tacoma Farmers Market

Is your wisteria wilted? Your monstera morose?

Go get more at the Tacoma Farmers Market, but bring your banker. 

  • FROM TACOMA FARMERS MARKET: As the new market season has begun, the Tacoma Farmers Market staff has encouraged its flower vendors to collectively raise prices for bouquets in order to make up for major losses farmers suffered as a result of flooding and harsh weather during the off-season. On behalf of its flower vendors, The Tacoma Farmers Market hopes that market shoppers will understand these conditions which have mandated the rise in flower prices.  For more detailed information, please contact the Tacoma Farmers Market office at (253) 272-7077.   

No biggie I say.  Explore the Tacoma Farmers Market every Thursday and admire the accomplishments of gardeners more talented than you. â€" Suzy Stump

[Tacoma Farmers Market, 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Thursdays, Broadway between Ninth and Eleventh streets, downtown Tacoma]

Filed under: Business, Tacoma,

June 7, 2007 at 7:44am

The secret lies in the Cupcakes

Some industries pay thousands of dollars for insider secrets. Certain disreputable television stations have devoted hours of prime time to the insider secrets of certain magical professions. And in Tacoma the Weekly Volcano uncovers something secretly Sweet at Hell's Kitchen. â€" Brad Allen

Filed under: Music, Tacoma,

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