MICHAEL SWAN: TUESDAY, SEPT. 15, 2009 >>>

1. Banned Book Club discusses why the hell Blood and Chocolate by Annette Curtis Klause has been banned at 7 p.m. inside the Tempest Lounge in Tacoma.

2. Todd Koeppen performs from 3:30-7:30 p.m. at the 6th Ave. Farmers Market.

3. Traditions Café hosts a community drum circle at 7 p.m.

4. Saxophonist Kareem Kandi leads a worthy jazz open jam at Sax on 6th in Tacoma at 9 p.m.

5. Freedom Records Presents "Lost & Found": open auditions for musicians, band networking night open mic, hosted by Moss Men, at 9 p.m. at Hell’s Kitchen.

LINK: Live music and DJs in the South Sound

LINK: Local movie starting times

LINK: South Sound Restaurant Guide

MICHAEL SWAN: PUYALLUP FAIR TUESDAY, SEPT. 15, 2009 >>>

Check it: Get unlimited rides for just $25!. Snug.

Stuff To Do
All Day: Flu Shots provided by Walgreens, Showplace Stage

RON SWARNER: VERY SPECIAL SHOW IS VERY SPECIAL >>>

Back in the early '90s the tag line "with special guest" often meant a truly special guest. Pearl Jam, Soundgarden, Alice in Chains would often fine tune their live show at the Crocodile Café or Off Ramp clubs in Seattle before launching a tour. Avoiding the crowds and press, they would be listed as "with special guest" or a fake name on posters. I remember a "with special guest" rumor that had Soundgarden playing a secret show at the Off Ramp actually turned out to be Chris Cornell's siblings' band Inflatable Soule. (I became a huge fan of Inflatable after that show â€" great harmonies).

The shows with truly special "with special guest" are few and far between these days.

So when I saw the Glimpse poster for tomorrow's show at Hell's Kitchen included "with special guests" I didn't think much of it.

For the hell of it, I contacted Hell's Kitchen's promoter/booking agent Flash for the scoop.

Whoa, it's special.

Sunny Day Real Estate will fine tune their live show tomorrow night at Hell's Kitchen before heading out on a "2009 Reunion Tour" with 21 stops across the nation including the kickoff Thursday at the Commodore Ballroom in Vancouver, B.C. They will end the fall tour Oct. 16 at the Paramount Theater in Seattle.

It's a true reunion, too. All the members of the Seattle proto-emo heroes Sunny Day Real Estate â€" singer/guitarist Jeremy Enigk, guitarist/singer Dan Hoerner, bassist Nate Mendel and drummer William Goldsmith â€" are back together again for this North American reunion tour. If you remember, the band has broken up twice â€" in 1995 and 2001. After the band's 1995 breakup, bassist Nate Mendel and drummer William Goldsmith joined Dave Grohl's Foo Fighters.

In celebration of the reunion, Sub Pop reissued the band's two original-lineup albums: their 1994 debut Diary and the 1995 follow-up LP2 (better known as The Pink Album) today. The reissues will include bonus tracks and new liner notes.

[Hell's Kitchen, Sunny Day Real Estate, Glimpse, Basic Radio, Wednesday, Sept. 16, 9 p.m., $5, 3829 Sixth Ave., Tacoma, 253.759-6003]

NEWS TEAM: GOOD MORNING SOUTH SOUND >>>

Smoke 'Em If You Got 'Em: Obama Administration extends trade embargo on Cuba for another year.

Tacoma City Council: Might smoke you if you got them.

You Go Girl!: Woman, 107, looking for 23rd husband.

Whoa: Volkswagen’s Diesel-Hybrid L1 concept gets 170 mpg, available by 2013.

Now Go Out and Conquer

RON SWARNER: IT’S RECORD RELEASE DAY >>>

Sunny Day Real Estate, Diary and LP2 reissues

Big Star, Keep a Eye on the Sky

Megadeth, Endgame

Anvil, This is Thirteen

Drake, So Far Gone

Every Time I Die, New Junk Aesthetic

Ace Frehley, Anomaly

Nelly Furtado, Mi Plan

Mark Knopfler, Get Lucky

Kid Cudi, Man on the Moon: The End of Day

Muse, The Resistance

Q-Tip, Kamaal the Abstract

G-Unit, Return of the Body Snatchers

Bruce Hornsby & The Noisemakers, Levitate

Kittie, In the Black

Porcupine Tree, The Incident

MICHAEL SWAN: HAVE YOU BOUGHT YOUR TICKETS YET? >>>

Just a quick note to let film enthusiasts know that the Late Night Shorts screening at the Tacoma Film Festival sold out.

I suggest you grab your tickets for Opening Night now, which is Thursday, Oct. 1 at Annie Wright. Tickets are $15 for Grand Cinema member, $17 for nonmembers. Jonz Catering will provide the eats.

Here are the two films screening opening night:

After You
Directed by David Kellman
Comedy (3 min) â€" NW Film, filmmaker in attendance
Amidst her attempts to leave her ex-boyfriend behind, a young woman overlooks the one remaining link they share. This hilarious short was made right here in Tacoma.

Lovers in a Dangerous Time
Directed by May Charters and Mark Hug
Drama (101 min) â€" NW Film, filmmakers in attendance
Childhood friends Tom and Allison reunite at a high school reunion and begin a childish romance out of a desire to go back to their youth. However, the arrangement becomes problematic when the couple is hit by the harsh realities of adulthood. This film won the Maverick Award for best feature film, as well as the jury prize for Best Canadian Feature Film at the Okanagan Film Festival.

This year the festival staff and volunteers screened more than 320 film submittals and accepted 132 movies.  These films ranged from one minute to over two hours. The Tacoma Film Festival program guide is at your favorite hangout. Pick one up and start planning.

For more information on tickets and the festival, check out the TFF Web page.

MICHAEL SWAN: THIS JUST IN >>>

This just arrived from the Guv’s office:

Governor Chris Gregoire today announced that the state will provide six Puget Sound cities with up to $500,000 each annually for up to 25 years to help finance public improvements.
 
Auburn, Bellevue, Federal Way in King County, Tacoma and University Place in Pierce County, and Bremerton in Kitsap County are among 13 communities to share in $4.75 million made available annually through a Local Revitalization Financing program enacted by the Legislature this year and signed into law by Gregoire.
 
Bellevue, Tacoma, and University Place will each receive $500,000 annually, Bremerton $330,000, Auburn $250,000 and Federal Way $100,000.
 

The approved projects generally include transportation and utility improvements to facilitate commercial and residential development.
 
The program authorized cities and counties to create revitalization areas, sell bonds to pay for public improvements within that area, and pay off the bonds with the state money, local contributions, and local sales and property tax revenue generated by new activity within the revitalization area.
 
The state contribution comes from a share of the state sales tax generated in the community.
 
More information on the projects and the Local Revitalization Financing program is available here.

MICHAEL SWAN: FIRST CONVERSATIONS RE: TACOMA IS THURSDAY >>>

The Weekly Volcano loves Tacoma. If you sometimes don't, or if you're one of those daisies who can't quite commit to even being a Tacoman despite having lived here for more than a year, or if you're new and need to understand the ethos and pathos of Tacoma in a manner that will help you appreciate this place, Conversations RE: Tacoma, an ad hoc group, has taken it upon themselves to educate your sorry ass on Tacoma’s built environment â€" past, present and future.

Conversations RE: Tacoma will do this through a three-part lecture series specifically designed to enhance your love of T-Town. Tacoma is not all deserted spaces and Pabst specials, although it's also not entirely without those gems either.

The first lecture â€" “The City: Urban Tacoma’s Recent Past” â€" will be held Thursday in the appropriate Washington State History Museum. In the 1980s and 1990s, the entire south end of downtown Tacoma and the adjoining waterfront underwent a complete makeover, which continues to generate discussion and controversy to this day. Three of the principals involved in this transformation â€" developer David Allen, architect Bruno Freschi and historian Michael Sullivan â€" will explain the personal, institutional, political, and business circumstances and alignments that led to this remarkable transformation of Tacoma’s urban core. Moderator David Nicandri, director at the History Museum, will keep it flowing.

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

Discuss the above video during happy hour at:

LINK: Other South Sound happy hours

MICHAEL SWAN: WEDNESDAY, SEPT. 16, 2009 >>>

1. Time is running out to see Loud Bones: The Jewelry of Nancy Worden at
Tacoma Art Museum. It closes Sunday. Get in their today from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and check out the scholarly examination internationally renowned Northwest jewelry artist.

2. At 5:30, 6:15 and 7 p.m. the Sixth Avenue Progressive Dinner whirls through Six Olives, Crown Bar, Sax on 6th before ending back up at Studio 6 Ballroom for live music by Maia Santell & House Blend.

3. Learn about the Artspace, its projects and processes at a community meeting at 6 p.m. inside the Washington Center in Olympia.

4. It’s a Hump Day party with DJ J-Fresh beginning at 7 p.m. at The Hub.

5. China Davis and Joe Rosati play an 8 p.m. show at The Swiss.

LINK: Live music and DJs in the South Sound

LINK: Local movie starting times

LINK: South Sound Restaurant Guide