MICHAEL SWAN: TODAY’S HAPPY HOUR DISCUSSION TOPIC >>>

LINK: South Sound happy hours

MICHAEL SWAN: THURSDAY, JULY 30, 2009 >>>

1. Members and songwriters of the folk punk group, The Pasties, and the harmonic stringband The Blackberry Bushes, Joey Capoccia and Kendl Winter distill and team up to create Southern Skies, an acoustic duet featuring original and traditional music reminscent of their home towns in the Ozarks and Appalachian mountains today at 11 a.m. at the downtown Tacoma Farmers Market.

2. If the title to the latest show at mineral doesn’t attract some attention, I don’t know what will. Not to mention the double whammy of pairing it with a related show next door at Gallery 301. The shows are Entrance Denied: the Art of the Chastity Belt at mineral and The Seven Deadly Sins at Gallery 301. Read the full review here.

3. Nanette J. Davis, author Blessed is She: Elder Care â€" Women's Stories of Choice, Challenge and Commitment, will share stories from 6-8 p.m. at Orca Books in Olympia.

4. Jazz guitarist Ed Taylor performs from 7-9 p.m. while you eat small plates at the air-conditioned Merende Italian restaurant.

5. Ten Miles Of Bad Road, Si Si Si, Vista Switch and Zook play a 9 p.m. show at Hell’s Kitchen.

LINK: Live music and DJs in the South Sound

LINK: Local movie starting times

LINK: South Sound Restaurant Guide

MATT DRISCOLL: INVASION OF THE BIKES >>>

Tacoma’s July Critical Mass â€" a leaderless monthly bike ride that happens in cities around the world incorporating the power of numbers to momentarily claim the road for cyclists â€" will start at Jefferson Park at 6 p.m. Friday, July 31.

While the route won’t be determined until the wheels have started turning, what’s certain is guys such as Travis Volk will be there. Volk considers himself part of Tacoma’s fixed gear scene, which specifically refers to a type of bike without the ability to coast, meaning anytime the back wheel is spinning so are the pedals â€" just as fast.  Volk sees events like Critical Mass as necessary in Tacoma’s bicycle evolution.

Read what he thinks, and the City of Tacoma's progress on their "Complete Streets" program on the Weekly Volcano Web site.

JAKE DE PAUL: YOU CHOSE THE BEST >>>

Below are the results of the Weekly Volcano's Best of Tacoma 2009 Readers' Poll for Food and Drink. You can read the staff picks in the Bets of Tacoma issue inside today's Weekly Volcano.

BEST SCONES: Corina Bakery
BEST CEVICHE: Asado
BEST CUP OF COFFEE: Satellite Coffee (RIP Black Water)
BEST NACHOS: Matador at happy hour
BEST SUSHI: TwoKoi
BEST BUFFET: Gateway to India
BEST NEW RESTAURANT: Merende
BEST HAMBURGER: Frisko Freeze
BEST CHINESE RESTAURANT: North China Garden
BEST PIZZA: Puget Sound Pizza
BEST FOOD LIKE MOM USED TO MAKE: Southern Kitchen
BEST ICE CREAM: Cold Stone Creamery
BEST CHEESE CAKE: Corina Bakery
BEST SOUP: Infinite Soups
BEST RESTAURANT THAT LIKES KIDS: Red Robin
BEST FOOD TO EAT ON THE RUN: MSM Deli
FAVORITE RESTAURANT IN TACOMA: Pacific Grill
BEST OUTDOOR DINING: Katie Downs
BEST LOAF OF BREAD: Corina  Bakery
BEST CATERING: Pacific Grill
BEST WINE BAR: Cork (close runners up Vinum and Pour at Four)
BEST BOWL OF NOODLES: Vien Dong
BEST TAQUERIA: Vuelve a la Vida
BEST SMALL PLATES: Merende
BEST BRUNCH: Shenanigan's and Shakabrah in a tie (how's that for diversity?)
BEST INDIAN RESTAURANT: Gateway to India
BEST BARBECUE: Bob's BBQ Pit
BEST SELECTION OF BEER: Parkway Tavern
BEST WINE BY THE GLASS: Pour at Four
BEST CLASSIC COCKTAIL: El Gaucho
BEST CREATIVE COCKTAIL: Tempest Lounge
BEST DIVE BAR: Bob's Java Jive
BEST BLOODY MARY: Hob Nob Restaurant and Lounge
BEST HAPPY HOUR: Pacific Grill
BEST PICNIC SPOT: Wright Park
BEST CANDLELIGHT RESTAURANT: Pacific Grill
BEST LOCAL CHOCOLATE: Brown & Haley

PAUL SCHRAG: COMEDY-VARIETY-EXTRAVAGANZA-BAT-MITZVAH-SURPEME >>>

What happens when nice Jewish girls go bad? They get to go on HBO and Comedy Central. They also get to perform at the 4th Ave. Tav in Olympia.

Nice Jewish Girls Gone Bad is a mix of comedy, music, spoken-word and show-stopping burlesque, which according to the press release features “the gals who learned to smoke at Hebrew School, got drunk at their Bat-Mitzvahs and would rather have more schtuppa than the chupah.”

You won’t want to miss Dana Eagle, Cynthia Levin, Sister Schmaltz and The Goddess Perlman.

[4th Ave Tav, Thursday July 30, 8 pm, $12 in advance, $15 at the door, 210 4th Ave. E., 360.786.1444]

JOSE S. GUTIERREZ JR.: SP AT THE ROYAL TONIGHT >>>

Just when you thought it was safe for MCs to rear their heads â€" here comes SP, aka Slo Poke, rounding out his street album release tour for, Ignorant Music.  The Source Unsigned Hype Alumnus will rock the microphone at The Royal Thursday, July 30 with LA Swagga, comedian Nate Jackson, Icky Spitz and Johnni Boy doin’ their thang-thangs as well. 

SP’s tour will be peppered with a Saturday evening performance at this weekend’s National Hip-Hop Conference hosted by Hip-Hop Congress in conjunction with the Dope Emporium Hip-Hop Festival, The Zulu Nation Annual Parade and UmojaFest at Judkins Park in Seattle.

Read my Live From I-5: Hip-Hop in the 25360 column on the Weekly Volcano Web site here.

[The Royal Lounge, SP, LA Swagga, Nate Jackson, Icky Spitz and Johnni Boy, Thursday, July 30, 9 p.m., $5, SP, 311 Capitol Way N., Olympia, 360.705.0760]

NEWS TEAM: GOOD MORNING SOUTH SOUND >>>

Let us just peek our heads out the window. OMG! Hot!

Your Vote Doesn't Count: Puyallup residents won't get to vote on whether City Council members should be elected by the entire city.

What The Hecht?: Pierce County Superior Court judge has submitted affidavits claiming he had legitimate reasons for trolling Antique Row.

U.S. Adviser’s Blunt Memo On Iraq: Time "to Go Home."

Africa Hot: Large parts of West Africa are struggling to get back online following damage to an undersea cable. They are sad they can't see this.

Rowe Rowe Rowe To The Bank: Michael Jackson's ex-wife will not seek custody of the kids.

Party Warrior: Mel Gibson attacks fan for snapping photos.

REV. ADAM MCKINNEY: CJ BOYD PLAYS THE NEW FRONTIER TONIGHT >>>

It’s a happy occasion when a little venue of ours lands a legitimately virtuosic musician. CJ Boyd plays The New Frontier Lounge tonight.

He almost seems out of place playing in a bar at all: a master bass-player, he builds long, tense soundscapes out of looped electric and acoustic bass, harmonica and occasional vocals.

He takes his inspiration from varied sources, ranging from classical composers to Radiohead and Bjork.

It’s a shame the bass is so often relegated to second-string status â€" stranded counting time for lead guitars.

Given a talent like CJ Boyd (or Tony Levin or John Entwistle, people who have clearly had an influence on Boyd), the bass not only leads, it dominates.

[The New Frontier, with Lozen, guests, Thursday, July 30, 9 p.m., 301 E. 25th St., Tacoma, 253.572.4020]

Like riding a motorcycle on Highway 16 in shorts, T-shirt and Birkenstocks.

MICHAEL SWAN: ON THE BIG SCREENS TOMORROW >>>

The offbeat (500) Days of Summer is the rare romantic comedy that feels like real life.

500 DAYS OF SUMMER: Tom (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) had Summer (Zooey Deschanel) in his life for 500 days and can’t accept that they were numbered.  She had absolutely no interest in getting married.  A delightful comedy of bittersweet romance, stylishly inventive, charmingly acted, that tries everything from a musical number to a black-and-white sequence to deal with a story that refuses to be a well-behaved romcom.  Directed by Marc Webb. Rated PG-13. Opens at The Grand Cinema tomorrow. Four stars. â€" Roger Ebert

Also opening tomorrow: Funny People, Aliens In the Attic, The Collector and Herb And Dorothy

Discover what the hell these films are about and when they screen here.