RON SWARNER: TWO NEW BLOGS FOR TACOMA >>>

Last night at the vigil for Rampart owner Steve Craig I ran into Aaron "Voronoff" Trotter.  I met Aaron at Rampart many years ago at one of Craig's Andy Warhol-Style Factory Freak Fests.  Rampart was also the spot where Trotter held his first Abztrakt Synergy-like performance with Jeremy Silas. Trotter asked "What will replace Rampart?"

Good question.

In an all-night Jerry McGuire-like moment Trotter launched a blog with a long piece on what he thinks Tacoma needs in terms of the art scene.

Check Trotter's vision here.

Also, Steve Dunkelberger, editor of the Business Examiner, sent me a beta of the business paper's new blog, asking me to give it a test drive.  Nice.  He said it was still in the test phase and not to spread the word.  One hour later I found this.  Nice.

SUZY STUMP: DRINK DRANK DRUNK >>>

Another Link-N-Drink invades the Tacoma Link Saturday night as hipsters packed onto the downtown Tacoma Link Light Rail for libation stops and many art raffles.

The Rules: Meet hipsters at The Lark Gallery on the middle floor of Sanford & Son, hug, then head down to the Link, board it, inquire who has a flask, ride the Link to the Pacific Grill, drink, participate in the art raffle, hug, board the Link, ride it to Alfred’s Bubble Room, drink, participate in the art raffle, hug, board the link, ride it to Meconi’s, drink, participate in the art raffle, hug, grab a cab home, throw up.

The artists contributing to the art raffle include Mary K. Johnson, Tim Kapler, 
Linda Lapping,
Mr Witticism and 
J. Bennett Thurmon.

[The Lake Gallery, Saturday, Feb. 23, 5 p.m., 747 Broadway, Tacoma]

STEVE DUNKELBERGER: FESTIVAL OF NORTHWEST PLAYS >>>

The crowds for tonight's presentation of "Sawtooth," an award-winning play by Idaho-based writer Dano Madden, that looks at how tragedy affects friendship, was about half what opening night drew.

About 80 folks attended  “Geography Club," Thursday night, compared to about 40ish today. But fear not. The numbers aren't what they seem since Madden doesn't have the base of local fans the way a local playwright would and his show is being staged in Centralia, which is sort of a far way to drive gas prices being what they are. Northwest Festival of Plays organizers knew this was going to be the "dip night," but their fears weren't as bad as they first thought.

They projected a few dozen a night, so the 40 or so in the audience beat the spread, suggesting the festival is going to be far more successful than they first thought.

"It has been a good crowd," local actor, director and festival organizer Tim Hoban says. "We have had a lot of good support."

One of those in the audience was Courtney Rohl of Seattle, who drove down to support her college friend turned playwright, Madden. She's a actor-transplant from Chicago, who bound for the Emerald City for the weather and good theater.

"I didn't see a lot of 'big house' shows there because the ticket prices were so high," she says before the show. I just couldn't justify it. I have been able to see a lot more shows now."

The eight-night festival, which is now entering day three, offers a deep pool of 150 actors, directors, stage hands, crew and theater hands spread around three full-length works and 30 short works written by playwrights around the Pacific Northwest.

On tap Saturday is a whopper. “New Orleans Monologues” by Tacoma writer C. Rosalind Bell is a story about  Hurricane Katrina that was last staged locally at University of Puget Sound last November.

The festival runs through the weekend and Thursday to Sunday next week at
Theatre on the Square, 905 Broadway, Tacoma; $9-$12; www.ticketwindowonline.com, www.northwestplaywrights.org.

ART
Lino Tagliapietra
The buildup for the Lino Tagliapietra retrospective exhibition at the Museum of Glass has been something on the rock star scale. The anticipation has been excruciating. And now the wait is over. The show opens today.

In conjunction with the Tagliapietra retrospective and opening on the same day is a mid-career survey of works by Seattle glass artist Dante Marioni with more than 20 works crafted over the past two decades.

For more information, check out my story on the Weekly Volcano’s Web site. â€" Alec Clayton

[Museum of Glass, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., $4-$10, 1801 Dock St., Tacoma, 253.284.4750]

MORE ART: In the galleries and museums today.

THE STAGE
Blithe Spirit
Tacoma Little Theatre has gotten ghostly with a staging of Noel Coward's Blithe Spirit, a comedy about a man struggling to come to terms with the death of his wife in ways he never thought he would have to face.

British writer Charles Condomine is mourning the death of his wife and decides to invite a medium, Madame Arcati, to his home to study her as a research character for his next novel. During a post-dinner séance, Arcati found herself talking to Elvira, Charles' wife from the great hereafter. She then decides to stay in the house and attempt to rekindle her relationship with Charles. His current wife, however, takes issue with that idea. â€" Steve Dunkelberger

[Tacoma Little Theatre, through March 2, 8 p.m. Friday-Saturday, 2 p.m. Sunday, $16-$20, 210 N. I St., Tacoma, 253.272.2281, www.tacomalittletheatre.com]

MORE THEATER: On local stages tonight.

BLUEGRASS
Wintergrass
Wintergrass has become one of the biggest bluegrass festivals in the country.  The four-day event features some of the best players, pickers and hammers in the world.  It offers dances. It offers kids’ activities. It offers workshops. It offers an amazing assortment of vendors with everything from guitars to fiddles to mandolins to rare recordings and even a necklace or two. It offers concerts by bluegrass giants including Seldom Scene, Punch Brothers and Bobby Osborne & The Rocky Top X-press. And, oh, boy, does it ever have jamming. â€" Brad Allen

[Hotel Murano, Feb. 21-24, band schedule and prices online, downtown Tacoma, 253.428.8056,
www.acousticsound.org]

BLUES
Tab Benoit
Mixing New Orleans funk, soul and swamp blues with East Texas guitar, Tab Benoit carved out his own sound in the late ‘80s. The guitarist’s gutsy licks and fiery solos are as smooth as butter, and he effortlessly slides up and down the fret board while his road tested vocals have a Cajun twang. â€" TE

[Jazzbones, 9 p.m., $15-$17, 2803 Sixth Ave., Tacoma, 253.396.9169]

MORE MUSIC: In the clubs tonight.

SPORTS
Strikeforce
Hey kids! Do you love the mixed martial arts bouts? Then go watch Chris Davis, a former member of Fort Lewis’ 3rd Stryker Brigade, beat up someone during the professional mixed martial arts fighting organization event Strikeforce tonight at the Tacoma Dome. He will be joining Strikeforce’s seasoned fighters Tank Abbott and Frank Shamrock, as well as Washington State University/NFL lineman Bob “The Beast” Sapp. “Strikeforce At The Dome” will feature 10 world-class, professional mixed martial arts bouts. â€" Brad Allen

[Tacoma Dome, Saturday, Feb. 23, 8 p.m., $35-$300, 2727 E. D St., Tacoma, Ticketmaster]

STEPH DEROSA: LOOSE DIGITS LET IT LOOSE >>>

Night two of Wintergrass provided Tacoma and all Hotel Murano inhabitants more banjo than you could shake a fiddlestick at.  I skipped around from the Hotel Murano’s Pavilion Stage, to the Santa Cruz Lounge downstairs, and over to the Marriott stage (appropriately located in the Courtyard by Marriott).  There were two more stages, one being at Urban Grace church and the other being a dance stage in the Varsity Grill.

To be honest, this girl was geared up and ready to go.  It was a beautiful night, and I had no problem walking.  What I soon figured out was a lot of the bands were repeated at the different venues, so you could almost stay in one place and eventually enjoy them all.  I also figured out that the more I stage hopped, the less involved I felt in each band’s performance.  They were all roughly 40 sets, so that didn’t leave much time to come and go during each performance.

Like I said, there were a lot of banjos tearin’ up the place.  I was happy to see Aoife O’Donovan in Crooked Still, as I had fallen in love with her voice the night before when she jumped on the stage with Sarah Jarosz. 

The Infamous Stringdusters were by far the prettiest group of musicians I had ever seen.  They were very fun to look at, yes, very good-looking.

Trampled by Turtles made an appearance coming all the way from Minnesota.  Full beards are a mandatory element to this group of banjo pluckers.  The bass player is an obvious rebel to the rules.

The band I will name as the official “Steph DeRosa Wintergrass Band of the Night” (SDWBOTN) is Loose Digits.  Thank you guys for not killing us with a banjo.  Thank you also for having facial expression, making eye contact with each other, playing off each other, showing passion, rawness, emotion, and exposing your warm hearts.  With very few lyrical pieces, they expressed thoughts purely through the music. By watching them play, and hearing the flow, you could read what they were saying without having them speak at all.  To Loose Digits I say, “Bravo!”  Thank you for living up to the awesomeness that Wintergrass is all about.

LINK: Weekly Volcano's Wintergrass Central.

Here are a few random Wintergrass shots:

MICHAEL SWAN: BE A PART OF HISTORY >>>

Is your residence or office a dilapidated mess?  That might be good. Reuben McKnight, Tacoma Historic Preservation officer, and members of the Tacoma Landmarks Preservation Commission will describe what it takes to get your property on the Tacoma Register Thursday, March 13, at the Castle Hall in Tacoma.  The information session is titled “Tacoma Register of Historic Places: Nuts & Bolts/Dollars & Sense” and will touch on standards for the treatment of historic properties, the design review process, and financial incentives for property owners and developers.

[Castle Hall, Thursday, March 13, 7-8:30 p.m., free, inside Knights of Pythias, 926 ½ Broadway, Tacoma, 253.761.9349]

LINK: Historic Tacoma.

Bra chat
There’s something about matching bras and panties. It’s our own sexy secret. Feeling seductive and hot underneath your clothes adds more to your look then realized.

The wrong bra can destroy your outfit and damage your breasts. How can you tell if your bra is helping or hurting your style? First, know your bra size. The staff at Nordstrom is happy to give complementary sizing. Most women buy bras too big. Thinking that the looser band size wont dig into the flesh, creating back chub rolls. In reality, if the band is to big, it moves up your back; it should be parallel to the floor. This pushes the breast tissue forward causing them to fall out of the bra or sag prematurely. Knowing that, I'm willing to take the back chub.

You want it fitted, not cutting off circulation, but snugly clasped on the last clasp. It will stretch over time. The underwire should start on the side of your body, and go completely around the breast tissue. The wire should curve up and lay flat in between your breasts.

Stay sultry in Betsy Johnson, Calvin Klein or DKNY (sold at Nordstrom) and know how to support your style. â€" Alexandra DeLong

Rocky & Coco’s sale
Word around town was Rocky & Coco’s sports cool new threads. In true Weekly Volcano form, we had to check it out. This contemporary boutique carries a slew of awesome designers, including my beloved James Perse, the master of the cotton tee. So when I first entered Rocky & Coco’s, his classic pocket T-shirt was the first thing I noticed. Sure, $58 is a little steep, but at 40 percent off who can resist?

Check out my favorites on the Weekly Volcano Web site. â€" Julie Jordan

BOBBLE TIKI: REPLETION, STARBUCKS, TAB BENOIT >>>

THE DAILY WORD
Palliate \PAL-ee-ayt\, transitive verb:

1. To reduce in violence (said of diseases, etc.); to lessen or abate.
2. To cover by excuses and apologies; to extenuate.
3. To reduce in severity; to make less intense.

USAGE EXAMPLE: Bobble Tiki is no doctor, but if there’s one thing he knows, it’s that there’s nothing like 8 or 9 cans of Bud Ice to palliate the pain of one’s seemingly miserable existence. It works every time.

MORNING NEWS

SEATTLE: Ouch!

TACOMA: Red tape

MCNEIL ISLAND: Another reason jail sucks

SEAHAWKS: He is the walrus

HUSTLER OF CULTURE
You can stand atop the mountain and scream your naked desires to the universe or shed that synapse epilepsy and hug the South Sound today with your fellow man:

MUSIC: (Taken from a comment posted to www.weeklyvolcano.com from one of our fantastic readers) La Fontina's at 2620 North Proctor is hosting Malcolm Clark acoustic/solo in the lounge at 9pm . (La Fontina’s is a)very nice restaurant with an upscale bar.

If Malcolm Clark aint your bag, Bobble Tiki recommends catching the second sexy night of Tab Benoits double T-town engagement at Jazzbones. Last night was hot. Tonight should be even hotter.

MORE MUSIC: What’s on tonight
SPRAY PAINT WAR: In this week’s issue
FORUMS: Check ‘em out

THREATS AND PROMISES COLUMN

Tab Benoit, on the other hand, is the pure definition of sexy â€" at least according to Mrs. Tiki, who swoons and drools for days every time she sees the world renowned blues guitarist do his thing in Tacoma. This Friday and Saturday at Jazzbones, she’ll get two more chances to do just that â€" and something tells Bobble Tiki he’ll be hearing about it for a long time. Two shows with Tab Benoit in Tacoma may be enough to drive Mrs. Tiki completely wild with lust.

Breakfast with Bobble Tiki runs six days a week now. Deal with it.

MATT DRISCOLL: DOESN'T TAKE DAYS OFF>>>

As you may have heard the Oscars are tomorrow night. What you may not have heard is I'll be live blogging the whole red-carpet orgy right here on the Spew. My hopes for the evening are simple. Number one: someone famous does something truly embarrassing that will mar the rest of his or her career. Number two: Jon Stewart and Tom Cruise somehow get caught on camera together so I can tell, once and for all, who's the tinier little man.

Join me, won't you?