MICHAEL SWAN: WEDNESDAY, JULY 1, 2009 >>>

1. LaVon Hardison steps away from her role in Harlequin Productions’ Sixties Chicks to fill The Cliff House with jazz vocals at 7 p.m.

2. The City Club of Tacoma hosts a Tacoma Mayoral Candidate Forum at 6 p.m. inside the Wheelock Student Center at the University of Puget Sound.

3. Garfield Book Company Book Club will discuss blogger Catherine Sanderson’s book Petite Anglaise at 6:30 p.m.

4. Every Wednesday beginning at 8 p.m. Doyle’s Public House in Tacoma hosts Knowledge Night where individuals or teams answer two pages of brain teasers, trivia and current events for shirts, tickets and gift certificates.

5. Award winning blues trombonist Randy Oxford hosts a weekly Wednesday jam at Chopstix dubbed The Randy Oxford Blues Theatre beginning at 8 p.m.

LINK: Live music and DJs in the South Sound

LINK: Local movie starting times

LINK: South Sound Restaurant Guide

JAKE DE PAUL: WEDNESDAY FOOD LINKS >>>

A Good Thing: A whole bunch of half-priced wine tonight.

Wine Dinner: El Gaucho Tacoma teams up with Long Shadows Vintners July 10 for a 6 p.m. dinner that costs $125.

Summer Night Out: The Melting Pot offers a four-course dinner for just $36 a person.

Know What’s Bad To Find Good: Top 5 bad wine pairings

Today’s South Sound Special

A Dairy Queen/Orange Julius opens at the South Hill Mall today. Arctic Rush, DQ’s blizzards, sundaes and a new Light Smoothie with fiber or protein can now help you navigate Meridian Avenue South. Cozy up to one at 3500 S. Meridian in Puyallup.

LINK: South Sound Restaurant Guide

NEWS TEAM: GOOD MORNING SOUTH SOUND >>>

Now Where Are We Going To Go?: Parkland strip club, others named in indictment.

Down The Street From The Empty Esplanade: Developer plans brace of hotels on Tacoma waterfront.
 
Vanity Fair Story: A Republican food fight over Sarah Palin.

Sanfording It: Quotes from SC gov's wide-ranging AP interview.

What The Cluck?: China expected to ban U.S. poultry imports.

One Of The Best: College student tries to steal jail computer.

That Bites: Mosquito repellent firm in dock for mosquito breeding.

BOBBLE TIKI: THREATS & PROMISES >>>

God Bless America: It’s not a Fourth of July without Little Steven’s Underground Garage patriotic pint glasses.

Spread The Word: Gossip interview on Gigwise. Beth Ditto: “I wanted to make a really gay record and having Hannah (Blilie, drums) on the cover looking so butch and handsome made for the idea of gender fluidity approachable in a pretentious way. I think it sums up the record really well, it’s the perfect title for it.”

First Show Report: U2 launched 360 Tour with call to Space Station, Jackson tributes.

More Live Than You'll Ever Be: R.E.M. to release live double album
Bad Vibe: Vibe Magazine shuts down.

Crystal Clear: Blur fans will be able to download a recording of the band's shows in London's Hyde Park.

SUZY STUMP: THAT'S RIGHT: I SAID DICKMAN >>>

Over the years, the Weekly Volcano heard tales of an inexplicable summertime condition.  When the sun is shining, we’re told, some people lose their appetites. They all have some ridiculous excuse.  Some refuse to sweat and eat at the same time. Sissies. Others say they’re too busy. Whatever. Still others pull out the old “It’s swimsuit season” excuse. Foolish vanity. The best we can figure, they all have heatstroke and aren’t quite right in the head.

After experimenting with everything from winter squash to summer peas, French onion soup to Eskimo pie, we have reached an indisputable scientific conclusion  â€" when the sun is shining, things just taste better.

This is especially true when the eating is done outdoors.  The first step is to brown bag it. Then, high tail it to the nine-acre Dickman Mill Park along Tacoma’s Ruston Way.  The park is the largest public space along that stretch of Commencement Bay offering a sandy beach, expanse of lawn, heavily landscaped inter-tidal channel, plaza and hand-launch boat ramp. 

Tonight is perfect for a brown bag dinner. Stop by Met Market or Dave's Meat and Produce on the way for some fixings.

LINK: Other outdoor dining suggestions

MATT DRISCOLL: FOURTH OF JULY IN THE SOUTH SOUND >>>

The Fourth of July has always been about blowing stuff up. The Weekly Volcano provides a run down of where to buy fireworks, where to set them off (legally) and ... how to get to the nearest ER â€" right here.

MARK THOMAS DEMING: DAVID BILBREY AND MIKE COOPER: SMARTER THAN THE AVERAGE BEAR ... AND THE MAJOR LABELS >>>

The cover of Canon Canyon’s 10-inch vinyl release Sit Down and Listen (October, 2008) shows a torn, empty couch flanked on both sides by guitar amps.  A picture of John Wayne hangs on the wall beside a stuffed, crazed-looking bear.  A guitar, a small lamp, a model sailboat and a beer bottle complete, but somehow don’t complete, the scene.  A weird yellow light pervades. 

On the insert is the same picture, only now with two guys on the couch.  They are David Bilbrey and Mike Cooper, members of Canon Canyon and founders of Rural Wolf Records, a Tacoma indie label that does what the majors just can’t seem to â€" advance the sanctity of the hardcopy album while embracing the digital future. Read how they do it here.

MATT DRISCOLL: TONIGHT AT DOYLE'S >>>

Think all four brothers from Shelton can do is drain halfracks? Think all bands that call Pullman home probably evoke a mix between Sublime, the smell of walking by Abercrombie and Fitch at the mall and the sound of dry heaving? Think again. The Shoemaker Brothers, four siblings originally from Shelton that found their way to Pullman, are the exception. Strings and honesty galore with this band â€" think folk rock pounded out on a cello and violins. Think real musicianship. Think about the possibility you’ve probably never experienced quite anything like the Shoemaker Brothers before. Amidst all that thinking, send a positive thought to the Shoemaker Brothers’ mother, who along with pushing all four of them out into this world, managed three more â€" for a total of seven Shoemaker children. I guess we should just consider ourselves lucky this band isn’t hitting town in a multicolor school bus with Reuben Kincaid behind the wheel. No, far from it. These Shoemaker Brothers should soothe the weary Doyle’s Thursday night crowd like a clean shot of Jameson. And they’ll sound impressive doing it.

[Doyle’s, 8 p.m., no cover, 208 St. Helens Ave., Tacoma, 253.272.7468]

MICHAEL SWAN: THURSDAY, JULY 2, 2009 >>>

1. Former G-Unit member Young Buck, made infamous for stabbing a man in the chest during an award show in defense of Doctor Dre, will be performing live at The Royal Lounge at 9 p.m.

2. Starstruck and Vicci Martinez will be playing on the Weekly Volcano stage from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Tacoma Farmers Market on Broadway.

3. LeeAnn Seaburg Peery is a sculptor whose work harkens back to Michelangelo’s  slave sculptures â€" highly polished figures emerging from rough marble â€" and similar figures by Rodin. Check her work out and well as others at the Rock Paper Scissors show at Grand Impromptu Gallery from 4-8 p.m.

4. There’s a Pre-4th Of July Show featuring Mr. Sho-Nuff and  Anonymous, plus giveaways and a booty shaking contest at 9 p.m. at the Last Call in Lakewood.

5. Hell’s Kitchen will put away the black for the rainbow love of a Reggae Night featuring Little Big Man, Mighty High, Puget Sound System and Urban Evergreen beginning at 9 p.m.

LINK: Live music and DJs in the South Sound

LINK: Local movie starting times

LINK: South Sound Restaurant Guide

NEWS TEAM: GOOD MORNING SOUTH SOUND >>>

The Fort Lewis Blog has the morning news you care about: pissed off flight attendant, unemployment bad news, stupid North Korea and a new life form. Read it here.