STAGE
“Not a Genuine Black Manâ€
“Not a Genuine Black Man†represents Brian Copeland’s exploration of his identity and his memories of growing up as a member of one of the only black families in a suburb of San Francisco that, in the 1970s, was 99.9 percent white â€" and which showed every sign of remaining so.
“Not a Genuine Black Man,†the stage version, begins much as one of Copeland’s comedy standup routines might. “It’s basically my own opening act,†he explains of the introductory monologue. “Then, it changes to a play, and I play 31 characters over the course of that play … so most of it is nothing like standup. It’s a mixture of laughs and tears.†â€" Bill Tmnick
[Theatre on the Square, 7:30 p.m., $20-$34, 915 Broadway, Tacoma, 253.591.5894, www.broadwaycenter.org]
STAGE
Sex Workers Art Show
What’s your pleasure? The latest overwhelmingly successful Sex Workers’ Art Show tour is riding into Olympia Friday at the Washington Center. When this troop of trannies and trollops flounced into town last time, they packed the Capital Theater. This year, with any luck, the Washington Center’s massive space should hold all you dirty little boys and girls. Founder and director Annie Oakley is bringing another smorgasbord of multimedia art, sex, film, sex, performance, and, of course, sex. â€" Suzy Stump
[Washington Center, Friday, Jan. 18, 8 p.m., $12, 512 Washington St., Olympia, 360.753. 8586]
MORE THEATER: On local stages today.
FOLK ROCK
Clumsy Lovers
The Clumsy Lovers’ music is a weird mix of Irish, punk, bluegrass, folk and quasi-ska, with a few nursery rhymes thrown in for good measure. It’s kind of like what you would get if you crossbred The Pogues with The Sex Pistols, then mixed in Mighty Mighty Bosstones with just a bit of the Soggy Bottom Boys. Sounds like a mess, huh? Somehow, they pull it off beautifully.
I dare you to sit front row-center at the Jazzbones show and not get goose bumps and a sudden need to hit the dance floor. If you don’t get that rush of adrenaline and don’t have a cheesy grin plastered to your face throughout the entire show, I’d check your pulse, because you may be dead. â€" Karl Rogers
[Jazzbones, with The Crafty Bastards, 9 p.m., $10-$15, 2803 6th Ave., Tacoma, 253.396.9169]
R&B
Kem
Kem is a bit like a male version of the queen of cool, Sade. His hip and relaxed disposition resonates as he croons through his self-penned compositions. There are no boom-booms in his repertoire, rather, with light keyboards, understated guitar parts and his signature bedroom voice, the Detroit-based singer/songwriter/musician producer is a throwback to late ’70s, early ’80s neo soul with influences that range from Stevie Wonder to Steely Dan. â€" Tony Engelhart
[Emerald Queen Casino, 8:30 p.m., $20-$50, 2024 E. 29th St., Tacoma, 888.831.7655]
ROCK
Elvis impersonator
Robert Washington is, by far, the best Elvis impersonator Bobble Tiki has ever laid eyes on. His moves bring to mind Presley at his best, and his voice, rich and smooth like Maxwell House Coffee, leaves nothing to be desired. If Bobble Tiki had to choose between watching Washington perform a set of the King’s classics or Elvis himself do it in 1976, he’d choose Elvis (of course), because Bobble Tiki has a taste for the grotesque and unsightly. Musically, though, Washington would be the far superior performer. â€" Bobble Tiki
[Brotherhood Lounge, 8 p.m., $4, 119 Capitol Way N., Olympia, 360.352.4153]
MORE MUSIC: In the clubs tonight.
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