MATT DRISCOLL: MARK YOUR CALENDARS >>>

I just got word from K Records that Kimya Dawson will be back in Olympia on Friday, May 2, for an all ages show at the Eagle’s Hall Ballroom. According to K, this will be Dawson’s only Olympia performance before heading back out on tour â€" to Europe of all places.

As I learned the hard way, Dawson’s February performance at the Grand Theater in Tacoma sold out in no time. May 2 in Olympia is a chance for all those who missed out to make right, and a chance for Olympia to celebrate its latest musical star. Dawson has been all the rage since the release of the Juno soundtrack, which she contributed nine awesome songs to.

Show details:
*May 2, 2008*
Eagles Hall Ballroom, 805 4th Ave
All Ages 7pm $8 Kimya Dawson w/Mecca Normal, Angelo Spencer, L'Orchidee D'Hawai

MATT DRISCOLL: LOVES ART AND WALKING >>>

For those good at counting, the fact that tomorrow marks the third Thursday of April should come as no surprise. For those who love local Tacoma art, the fact that tomorrow is Art Walk is probably already etched into your brain.

But in case you didn’t realize, tomorrow is Tacoma’s monthly Third Thursday Art Walk. In addition to the Tacoma Glass, History, and Art museums all being open and free to the public tomorrow evening, a number of other cool events are scheduled to go down.

Here’s a look at just a couple:

The Helm Gallery will present its first “sound and sound related drawing show,” tomorrow. It’s being called Doodle-ee Dee. The idea is to explore “different relationships that exist between audio and visual stimuli,” but I’m not much on art-speak. Check out the Helm’s Web site for the complete lowdown.

Hilltop’s Fulcrum Gallery will light things up with interactive neon art by Galen McCarty Turner.  The artist reception goes from 6-9 p.m., and there’s and artist slide show and lecture that starts at 7 p.m.

The Tacoma Art Place will host an artist reception featuring Michelle Merritt and Jason Sobottka from 5:30 â€" 7:30 p.m.

But that’s just the tip of the iceberg. Check out the Tacoma This Thursday Art Walk for yourself to see all it has to offer. A map of participating museums and galleries can be found at the Tacoma Artwalk Web site.

FAIR
Puyallup Spring Fair
A demolition derby has a certain poetry to it. The evening starts with a beauty contest of old cars â€" which one is painted the best and whatnot. Then, the pretty little machines bash into each other with enough force and adrenaline to make WWF wrestlers proud. See it all at the Puyallup Spring Fair. The fair lasts through April 20 and includes Dragon Steps acrobatics, Lost Boys Pirates, choir and ensemble competition, Red Hatter Contest, rising country star Ashton Shepherd, exhibits, rides pig races, Dock Dogs, tons of food, and the demolition derby (Saturday at 6 p.m.). â€" Michael Swan
[Puyallup Fairgrounds, April 17 3-10 p.m., April 18-19 10 a.m. to 10 p.m., April 20 10 a.m. to 8 p.m., Ninth and Meridian, Puyallup, 253.841.5945]

THE ART
Art Walk
What’s considered chic one week is trashed by the trend setters the next. It’s in this blink-and-you-missed-it environment that Tacoma’s Third Thursday Art Walk has become something of an institution. Nothing more than an intermittent and amorphous congregation of people who enjoy original art, the monthly night has managed to snowball into a downtown Tacoma support system for the visual arts. Or something like that. Check out the “exhibit” listings in our ViVA section for tonight’s shows. â€" Ron Swarner
[Downtown Tacoma, 5-8 p.m., free, www.artwalktacoma.com]

LECTURE
Why Eat Local?
During the year chronicled in her book, Animal, Vegetable, Miracle, Barbara Kingsolver and her familyreaped more than vegetables as they became more empowered and self-sufficient, deepened bonds, developed an intricate knowledge of their community and improved their health â€" not to mention shared some memorable eats.

A similar effort is emerging here through the folks behind Tacoma Gardens. The gardening enthusiasts have assembled a panel to discuss such topics as growing your own food, sustainable and organic gardening, community gardens, and the importance of supporting local farms, a la Kingsolvers.

Join Amber Anglund from the Tacoma Food Co-op, Terry Carkner of Terry’s Berries CSA, Kristen Mcivor from Tacoma Gardens and representatives from the local farmers markets as they convince you to stay out of the middle section of grocery stores. â€" Suzy Stump.
[King’s Books, Growing Conversation III: Why Eat Local? 6 p.m., free, 218 St. Helens Ave., Tacoma, www.tacomagardens.com]

LINK: The Phenomenauts and others in the clubs.
LINK: Tonight is Doyle’s second anniversary bash.
LINK: Let’s eat Northwest today.

STEVE DUNKELBERGER: THEATER THURSDAY >>>

The Ascetic
Theater Artists Olympia, Prodigal Sun Productions and Northwest Playwrights Alliance are keeping their edges as sharp as their tongue with a joint staging of The Ascetic, a thinker of a show that is well placed in its theater buzz as a black comedy with punch by Phillip Atlakson.

The play looks at a spring morning when Jerry and Sara travel to the Eastern Washington desert to see a wise man who has given up the ways of the world in an effort to find enlightenment by standing on a rock for 300 days.  What Jerry and Sara find there is much more than they bargained for or could have imagined as they set out on a road trip to remember. The Ascetic challenges their senses, their faith, their relationship and even their lives.

The show stars Tim Samland, Tim Hoban, Pug Bujeaud and Paul Gisi.
[The Midnight Sun Performance Space, through April 26, 8 p.m., $12, 113 N. Columbia St., Olympia]

Future Things Are Coming
Shining City, by Conor McPherson, the guy who brought the world the Weir and St. Nicholas opens next week at Harlequin Productions.

Gilbert and Sullivan’s HMS Pinafore will be sailing into the Pantages Theater Thursday, April 24.

BOBBLE TIKI: BREAKFAST WITH BOBBLE TIKI >>>

THE DAILY WORD
Roister \ROY-stur\, intransitive verb:
1. To engage in boisterous merrymaking; to revel; to carouse.
2. To bluster; to swagger.

USAGE EXAMPLE: The roistering Tacoma Beer Society got together last night at Puget Sound Pizza. Bobble Tiki assumes it was a good time, but wouldn’t know since he’s a member of the Tacoma fortified wine society. 

MORNING NEWS

TACOMA: Lady in the Lake returns

OLYMPIA: Brewery water skirmish

SEATTLE: Comstock Commission

UNITED STATES: Debate recap

THINGS TO DO TODAY
FILM LISTINGS: Look here
MUSIC LISTINGS: Here’s what’s happening

DANIEL BLUE: RAMPART AUCTION ITEMS >>>

Steve Craig, owner of RampArt Antiques in downtown Tacoma, lived a very interesting life. Sadly, on Feb. 19, 2008, he was found dead at his home. Friends are still waiting for a report about the cause of Craig's death, but very few details have been released.

Craig lived on the third floor of the building he leased on Broadway, above the antique store and what has recently been a co-op art gallery. Despite the implications of the long-standing name, the art gallery was formed only four years ago when Craig allowed some local artists to use the building for a party.

Craig's daughter, Aimee is serving as executor of Craig's will and has hired Alan Gorsuch, owner of Sanford and Son Antiques, to auction Craig’s entire estate.

The on site auction will be April 21 and 28, 2008, preview 9 a.m., auction at 10 a.m., at Seventh and Opera Alley in downtown Tacoma.

LINK: Read the full story in today's Weekly Volcano.
LINK: Photos of the auction items are on the Volcano's Flickr page.

Thanks to photographer Julie Rivera for the images.

MATT DRISCOLL: FINISHES WHAT HE STARTED IN PRINT >>>

In this week's issue of the Weekly Volcano I wrote a small piece on Club Impact's ten year anniversary show this Saturday. At the end of it I promised more was to come on the Spew. In the business we call that a tease. This is me making good on my promise.

Ten years old. Some of my most dedicated readers (picture-looker-at-ers) aren’t even that age.

This weekend marks 10 years of Club Impact, and whatever you want to say, that’s a pretty astounding accomplishment. If you can tell me a venue in Tacoma that’s been doing it longer, I’d love to hear it. I can’t think of one.

Plenty of things have changed over 10 years.

Many remember the shack on Puyallup Avenue, near the Tacoma Dome, where the drug, alcohol and smoke-free all-ages venue once operated â€" with a mission as much about the music as it was about creating a safe atmosphere for kids to “facilitate discussions about spiritual and life topics as well as encourage artistic expression and creativity,” according to Clubimpact.org. The location has changed, with Club Impact operating out of the Brick City Project at Ninth and Pacific since 2006, but the mission has remained constant.

Bands can use profanity now; that’s a change. But the goal and vision of Club Impact’s staff has not wavered.

“Club Impact provides a clean, safe, positive atmosphere for bands and kids,” says Derek Smith, Club Impact’s president.

“Why it has worked for us, I would say, is because of God, and also the perseverance of the core staff. We want to live a Christian life, our staff, and we want to accept everyone the same, and love on everyone the same. That’s why we let bands use profanity now. It’s an art.”

The anniversary celebration Saturday, April 19 will feature Lakes, The Lives of Famous Men, Last Chance Hero, A Leaf, and Return of the Bison. With such a lengthy history, it should be quite a walk down memory lane.

“We decided to do this a couple months ago, seeing it’s been a decade. As far as I know we’re the longest in operation, all-ages club in the South Sound.”

While Club Impact did take a year and a half off between shows while moving into the Brick City location in 2005, Smith’s assessment of Impact’s accomplishments is hard to argue with. With as many clubs that have come and gone in Tacoma over the last ten years, the fact that Club Impact is still going strong is nothing to make light of.

But it’s not just Club Impact’s longevity that deserves attention. Smith is quick to point out the number of quality bands that have taken the stage at the all ages venue over the years. The list includes Emery, MXPX, Aiden, Amber Pacific, Daphne Loves Derby, RX Bandits, Finch, As I Lay Dying, and the Mad Caddies.

For Saturday’s anniversary show, Smith put extra thought into who to book. In addition to national headliners Lakes and the Lives of Famous Men, all the bands who will take the stage this weekend have had something to do with making Club Impact what it is today.

“We tried to get bands that have had something to do with Impact, bands that had something special about them,” says Smith.

“We’re a DIY venue. We don’t’ have any funding. What we do totally depends on the number of kids who come to see the shows. Local bands are our bread and butter.”

For more information about Club Impact and their ten year anniversary show check out www.clubimpact.org.

JOHN HERBERT: TACOMA SMASH I.C.E. >>>

Local anarchists plan a week of education and protest in opposition to a private prison for immigrants on the Tacoma Tide Flats. The current manifestation of the well-organized group of protesters calls itself Tacoma Smash I.C.E. (Immigrations and Customs Enforcement), and has caught the attention of local law enforcement, who have circulated among local businesses calling the group a homeland security threat. Board up your windows and doors, conscientious college kids who care about the rights of immigrants are coming to get you. Their activities will include a series of educational get-togethers, culminating in a protest march from People’s Park to Wells Fargo Plaza, and on to the Tacoma Detention Center.

Schedule of Events
Monday 4/21:
7 p.m. â€" Hip-Hop Show @ Pitchpipe Infoshop (621 MLK Jr. Way, Tacoma) lineup TBA

Tuesday 4/22:
4 p.m. â€" High school teach-in @ Mad Hat Tea Co. (1130 Commerce St., Tacoma)

Wednesday 4/23:
2-4 p.m. â€" Author Jane Guskin lectures @ UWT in the Carwein Auditorium (University of Washington Tacoma 1900 Commerce St., Tacoma)
5 p.m. â€" Bake sale and drum-making workshop and conversational Spanish workshop @ Pitchpipe Infoshop

Thursday 4/24:
4 p.m. â€" Media meeting @ Kings Books, (218 St Helens Ave, Tacoma) all are welcome to sit in.

6:30 p.m. â€" Know Your Rights Workshop and vegan potluck @ Pitchpipe Infoshop

Friday 4/25:
4 p.m. â€" Public Teach-In @ Guadalupe House (1417 S. G St., Tacoma)

Saturday 4/26:
Noon â€" Demonstration against I.C.E. and the Northwest Detention Center Rally @ People's Park (Ninth and MLK Jr. Way, Tacoma) &
1 p.m. â€" March Downtown Tacoma

LINK: Tacoma Smash I.C.E. on MySpace

DO NOT PAINT HERE, originally uploaded by dreamsjung.

Weird, I just walked down the alley today.  Spent two hours at a packed Batdorf and Bronson. Doesn't anyone have jobs in Olympia? Then again, I spent four hours hanging in Oly, too.

I finished my Olympia adventure with a tall one at The Brotherhood Lounge. â€" Brad Allen

LINK: Weekly Volcano's Photo Hot Spot

FILM
Under the Same Moon
As the title suggests, there is a little bit of fairy-tale moon dust sprinkled over this story of a 9-year-old boy who runs away from his home in Mexico to find his mother in Los Angeles. As with all fairy tales, the magical glow makes it easier to address some heart-wrenching themes that might be too disturbing if told in a more straightforward manner. Rated PG-13 for some mature thematic elements Three-and-a-half stars â€" Nell Minow
[The Grand Cinema, 1:40, 4, 6:20, and 8:40 p.m., $4.50-$8, 606 Fawcett Ave., Tacoma, 253.593.4474]

HARDCORE
Helms Alee
When Tacoma post-hardcore poster boys Harkonen called it quits in 2005, Ben Verellen, who played bass and sang in Harkonen (and also plays with Roy), needed a new gig. He enlisted Dana James, who’d moved to Seattle from California and had (conveniently for Helms Alle) just quit the band Your Enemies Friends. The two started “loosely” writing music shortly thereafter and eventually enlisted Matheson-Margullis. The pounding threesome of Helms Alee was born, and what’s followed has been an assault on eardrums and preconceptions alike. This band, mashing vocal harmonies with amped-up noise rock sweetened with just the right touch of melodic sensibility, defies classifications and bludgeons fans with a HUGE rock that makes you beg for more. â€" Matt Driscoll
[The Viaduct, Helms Alee, Bloodhag, Lozen, Mendozza, Funerot, Conteminator, Friday, April 18, 7 p.m., all ages, 5412 S. Tacoma Way, Tacoma, www.myspace.com/viaductvenue]

METAL
Zero Down
Like a trick-out lime green Gremlin flying off a cliff at 200 mph, Zero Down is too fast to live, too fast to care and too fast to replace that smelly tree on the rear-view mirror â€" impact is imminent, man. A veritable convenience store of complex, spidery guitar solos, bludgeoning riffs, right-on drumming and kill-’em-all attitude and British heavy metal abandon, you’d have to rewind the security video to tell if Zero Down stole anything. Sure, it’s 2008 and these guys are backstroking through the smoldering ruins of revivalist metal. So fucking what. If the Judas Priest/Motorhead annex of the metal university is closed, thank the Metalhead Minister for not telling Zero Down before they laid down Good Times at the Gates of Hell. Class dismissed. â€" Brad Allen
[Capitol Theater, Zero Down, Hell’s Belles, Mom’s Rocket, 9 p.m., all ages, $10-$12 at Phantom City Records and www.buyolympia.com, 206 Fifth Ave. S.E., Olympia]

LINK: Mount Eerie and others in the clubs tonight.
LINK: Let’s eat Asian today.