MICHAEL SWAN: FRIDAY, JUNE 19, 2009 >>>

1. The Musig/Christensen Duo will drown out the sushi knives with jazz at TWOKOI Japanese Cuisine beginning at 8 p.m.

2. Director Brett Carr takes Tacoma Little Theatre’s production of The Buddy Holly Story to a high level by using the theater’s revolving stage as a transition device as the show flows from one scene to the next. Check it out at 8 p.m.

3. Joel Hagman Trio will lay down some Americana for the all ages crowd at Shakabrah Java beginning at 8 p.m.

4. The very worthy Glass Elevator, Lund Bros., and The Hard Way play a 9 p.m. show at the 4th Ave Tavern in Olympia.

5. Waves & Radiation performs their last show tonight with Trip The Light Fantastic, Sky Lynn and Hallways at 8 p.m. inside Bob’s Java Jive.

LINK: Live music and DJs in the South Sound

LINK: Local movie starting times

LINK: South Sound Restaurant Guide

LINK: Wine and beer events

MARK THOMAS DEMING: HALF A MILE TO HOPELESS >>>

“If you can go to the darkest corners of things, you can see how the world really works.” â€" Kye Alfred Hillig, Destruction Island

East of Bonney Lake on State Route 410 things begin to change. Traffic lightens. The tract homes dwindle. Mini malls and Starbucks disappear. You see firewood for sale â€" old boats, old cars, old tractors. You see Sarah Palin’s “real America.” You suddenly know you’ve left wherever you left from.

When it’s sunny, it seems wholesome, cheerful and lovely. But it can seem downright tragic in the rain. Picture December and the black, ragged trees, hopeless cows marooned in fields, the swayback mossy barns, the trailers and Datsuns and mailboxes in the mud. Picture Buckley, hometown of Kye Alfred Hillig, singer and principle songwriter for Tacoma band Destruction Island, who will release their new 12-inch record Colonial Surf this weekend on stellar local label Rural Wolf. Gas stations and self-storage and used cars leading in, and then the steadfast brick downtown. Quiet streets, quiet houses, quiet people. Rain. Quiet or not-so-quiet desperation.

Destruction Island has 2 shows in Tacoma this weekend, Friday at the New Frontier and Saturday at Hell's Kitchen. To read the full article, click here.

MATT DRISCOLL: TONIGHT AT THE MIDLAND MUSIC HALL >>>

LeRoy Bell is no Johnny-come-lately. In fact, he’s not even a Johnny-come-somewhat recently, and for that matter his name isn’t even Johnny. What LeRoy Bell is, is one of the most impressive vocal and songwriting talents you’ll see on a stage all week â€" or any week for that matter. Bell, as part of the songwriting team of Bell and James, crafted Elton John’s 1979 hit “Mamma Can’t Buy You Love,” as well as Sir Elton’s 2004 single, “Are You Ready for Love?” But Bell’s soulful, penetrating voice takes the cake. For all of his musical pen wielding skills, the dude’s pipes are nothing to scoff at. Bell’s latest record, A Change Is Coming, puts this fact on full display â€" at least if the tastes available on Bell’s Myspace page are any indication. And we think they are. In fact, we know they are.

[Midland Music Hall, with Jairemie, 8 p.m., $12.50, 1809 99th St. E., Midland neighborhood of Tacoma, www.midlandmusichall.com]

MATT DRISCOLL: THE CRAZINESS STARTS TODAY >>>

At a point in history when absolutely nothing seems certain and normally dependable things are disappearing every day, the Olympia Experimental Music Festival is an anomaly. This weekend’s influx of strange sound â€" bleeps, bloops, crashes, tinkers, squeals and hisses â€" in Olympia will mark the 15th year the Oly Experimental Music Festival has wrapped its unorthodox arms around Washington’s most liberal bastion and embraced the city in audio bizarreness â€" in such a good way. Utilizing the newly christened northern all-ages venue this year, performers at the 15th annual Olympia Experimental Music Festival will include Tacoma’s LA Lungs and Lapuda, Portland’s Pulse Emitter and Death Worth Living, and Oly’s KnotPineBox, Cymtrymanx and Big Tom the Lithuanian. Seattle is also represented heavily in a weekend lineup that’s over 20 strong. If you feel comfortable outside the genre box, take a trip south this weekend.

[northern, 6 p.m., all ages, 321 Fourth Ave, downtown Olympia, www.myspace.com/olystrange music]

NEWS TEAM: GOOD MORNING SOUTH SOUND >>>

Pay Up: Rain ends dry streak at 29 days.

Oh No: New Washington state revenue report puts another $487 million in the hole.

Don’t Mess With Us: The U.S. has deployed missile interceptors and radar equipment to Hawaii.

Cash Cow: Some AT&T stores are reportedly instantly running out of the new iPhone 3GS.

China Porn Update: They now want Google to help.

Cut them slack. It's close to Father's Day.

WEEKLY VOLCANO: SONIC VIBRATIONS, FRIDAY STYLE! >>>

CRACKING DOWN: A mom from Minnesota learns the hard way that THE MUSIC INDUSTRY isn't fucking around when it says don't download music illegally. Ouch.

NEW BLUR: In an interview with the BBC, a reunited Blur talks about the possibility of new material.

NEW GIG: What do you do when you get kicked out of Evanescence? Probably something ridiculous like this...

RECORD CLUB: Beck's Internets project starts with the Velvet Underground.

NEW OFFSPRING: Somehow this isn't quite as exciting as new Blur, but it's pretty fly for, well, whateva...

MATT DRISCOLL: TIME TO UPDATE THE RESUME >>>

On Wednesday Portland Mercury music editor Ezra Caraeff posted this, unfortunately very accurate, clip of freelance writer Christopher R. Weingarten appearing at a Twitter convention on the Mercury's music blog. I didnt' stumble upon it until today, but still, I thought it was worth passing along.

RON SWARNER:TRIFECTA! >>>

Third Thursday ArtWalk offers Tacoma’s finest examples of painting, printmaking, sculpture, photography, installations and mixed media among numerous other artistic expressions.

For those yet to experience the event it offers a non-threatening, come as you are, friendly introduction to a fascinating aspect of Tacoma’s culture. This self-guided tour allows you to move at your own pace and attend the galleries that interest you the most.

With only an hour to spare last night I hit three galleries â€" Two Vaults, Grand Impromptu Gallery and The Robert Daniel Gallery. I highly recommend catching their shows. Impressive.

Weekly Volcano art critic Alec Clayton will cover Two Vaults in next week’s rag. Clayton will concentrate on Chris Bliven’s CHROMA show, although the entire gallery offers exceptional eye candy and prizes for those with a fat wallet. James Kelsey, along with works by Steve Bernard, Marge McDonald and others as part of the citywide Metal-Urge event, snatched my attention right out of the door frame. My camera phone didn’t do Kelsey’s three open-frame yellow boxes piece justice. Luckily Two Vaults owner Paula Tutmarc-Johnson secured a photo of the magnificent piece, which I included in this post.

The Grand Impromptu Gallery’s Rock, Paper, Scissors show featured figurative sculpture by stone carver LeeAnn Seaburg Perry with Metal Urge guest artists Joni Joachims and Micki Lippe. Worthy. However, the work of co-op members Mirka Hokkanen and Peter Serko kept a reign on me.

Serko’s photography is my favorite Flickr journey. If he’d allowed his work to be pulled onto blogs it would find its way to Spew every time he posted. He has an eye for Tacoma. 

Mirka Hokkanen’s mixed media revolves around factory farming issues and humor. She takes an intaglio image then applies an encaustic layer. Amazing.

Last, the Robert Daniel Gallery, with its fancy cocktail, is featuring an amazing metal mobile-like piece that consumes an entire wall as part of the Metal-Urge event. Sorry, I didn’t catch the name of the artist. From what I understand, if you like what you see but don’t have the space for all of it, you can purchase sections. Check it out.

I’m a fan of Steve Naccarato’s photography, which lured me to the Robert Daniel on Fawcett Street. I caused a depression in the floor in front of Naccarato’s eastsound morning2 shot of a tiny island up toward the San Juans. Stunning.

WEEKLY VOLCANO: HEY, COMPELLING ART WORKS! >>>

JAKE DE PAUL: GOOD TO KNOW >>>

Doyle’s Public House knows how to throw a party. Because they skip the foam, porn stars and vile shots, the crowd tends to concentrate on intertwining arms while tipping brew rather than luring anyone to a nearby PT Cruiser.

The Weekly Volcano has been informed that Doyle’s will celebrate the Fourth of July with a barbecue in their parking lot. As a salute to those who serve they are offering free admission with military ID.

They would like you to “Stop by on your way to the Freedom Fair."

LINK: Exit133 says Doyle's likes soccer, too.