MICHAEL SWAN: SUNDAY, NOV. 1, 2009 >>>

1. From 4-10:30 p.m. at Jazzbones, the South Sound Blues Association presents -Back to Beale Street Blues 2010, a fundraiser, concert and dance to help send the band Blues Redemption and solo act JD Hobson to the International Blues Challenge in Memphis in January, 2010. 

2. Annual Fall Food and Crafts Bazaar runs 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Tacoma Buddhist Temple.

3. Opening today at noon and running through the month Tacoma Art Place will exhibit the artwork of local veteran Charles Minton.

4. Slow it Down Sunday Jazz dinner show now runs every Sunday from 6-9 p.m. at Tao Restaurant & Lounge in Federal Way.

5. Psycho 78, Urban EverGreen, Northwest Sons and other perform at Station 56's Sin Sundays at 8 p.m. Ladies receive free admission.

LINK: Live music and DJs in the South Sound

LINK: Local movie starting times

LINK: South Sound Restaurant Guide

ART: ONE CITY. 30 DAYS. WHAT WILL YOU DO? >>>

As you learned this past week on this crap blog, I’m the janitor at the Weekly Volcano World Headquarters. And for the entire month of November, the Weekly Volcano brainiacs asked me to review their office art as well as office art around Tacoma for an art blog series playing off Art at Work month in Tacoma. Yes, my name is Art. I work for a living. It’s a crap idea, but as I said before, I could use the extra $7.50 a week.

The Volcano sent me to Endocrine Consultants Northwest to review a piece of art.

FLOWER PAINTING: This lovely piece of art hangs in the waiting room at Endocrine Consultants Northwest. Standing before it is like inhabiting a poem that tantalizes with its subdued imagery. I've seen flower paintings before, and do not need to be told again of a flower's beauty. To take this much time to look at a plant requires a careful attention, which I do not have.

Today, the lushy chick in the corner office with the Mazzy Star posters plastered everywhere asked me to paste the Volcano’s Art at Work picks for the day:
 
Art at Work Month: Sunday, Nov. 1

November 2009 marks the eighth anniversary of Art at Work: Tacoma Arts Month. There is something for everyone to enjoy throughout the month: lectures, music, dance performances, readings, workshops, theater performances, visual art exhibits and more.

Here are today’s highlights:

Tacoma Art Museum and Centro Latino host a free Day of the Dead community party from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Artist KaCe Whitacre shows you how to fold pages to make a single signature soft cover book from 2-4 p.m. at A2Z Studio. The cost is $5.

For a complete Art at Work schedule, click here.

REV. ADAM MCKINNEY: JEREMY JAY PLAYS NORTHERN TONIGHT >>>

For me, what’s more distressing than the knowledge that punk is dead is the knowledge that New Wave never really existed. New Wave never had the unifying sound of punk, being that it was not really a genre, but a movement. It was a group of bands that saw rock’s garish bloat and decided it was time to start over. And for however much we might say they sounded alike, the fact is that synthesizers do not make a genre.

Unfortunately, all that bloat still exists today. But the spirit of New Wave lives on in new artists who continue to keep rock in check. Jeremy Jay belongs to this new New Wave: he’s reverent of rock and pop, while simultaneously turning both genres on their ears.

[Northern, with Sea Lions, Sunday, Nov. 1, 8 p.m., $5, 321 Fourth Ave., Olympia]

STEVE DUNKELBERGER: LAUGHS, LASTS AND LUST >>>

I began my ghostly tour of Tacoma with laughs at the Comedy Underground. It’s been a while since Susan Jones steamrolled Tacoma with her big gal humor. She not only won the Jack FM funniest person in Washington Comedy Contest but she has been casted in a reality TV show focusing on size awareness and acceptance called Larger than Life, and is currently performing in a comedy tour called "Too Fat, Too Furious."

Next, I dropped in on O’Malley’s Irish Pub to catch Paris Spleen’s last show. They rocked. No surprise. They will be missed.

I popped in on Jazzbones for a quick hit of jazz by the Billy Shew Band.

I ended the night at the Erotica Halloween show at The Robert Daniel Gallery. Slutty nurses, leather boots and busty corsets â€" all represent.

The Naked Man also made an appearance with his "costume."

The winning costume was a pony boy and rider duo that, well, let's just say the costumes were as much "costumes" as real deal gear from the sorts of catalogs that come in brown wrappers.

MICHAEL SWAN: MONDAY, NOV. 2, 2009 >>>

1. The film A Woman In Berlin, which centers on the story of a woman who tries to exercise some control over her fate by making a liaison with a high-ranking Russian officer during the final weeks of World War II, plays at 6 p.m. at The Grand Cinema.

2. Helena Meyer-Knapp shows a slide show on Korea at 7 p.m. inside Traditions Café in Olympia.

3. The Eric Jaradi Band performs at 8 p.m. inside The Swiss.

4. Déjà Vu in Lakewood hosts Naked Twister at 9 p.m.

5. The Mix in downtown Tacoma hosts Drag Bingo at 9 p.m.

LINK: Live music and DJs in the South Sound

LINK: Local movie starting times

LINK: South Sound Restaurant Guide

BOBBLE TIKI: MAD CADDIES PLAY HELL'S KITCHEN >>>

Considering the amount of time Bobble Tiki spent listening to KGRG in the late '90s and early part of this decade, Mad Caddies have practically burned a sonic impression in Bobble Tiki's brain - in oh such a good way. Bobble Tiki knows it's a Monday, but Mad Caddies at Hell's Kitchen is destined to be one of this week's best. - Bobble Tiki

[Hell's Kitchen, with Johnstones and Walk The Plank, Monday, Nov. 2, 7 p.m., all ages, $12 advance, $15 door, 3829 Sixth Ave., Tacoma, 253.759.6003]

ART: ONE CITY. 30 DAYS. WHAT WILL YOU DO? >>>

My name is Art. I'm the Weekly Volcano's janitor. Throughout November I will take time off from picking up after these slobs to post a daily review of a piece of art hanging inside a South Sound workplace. The Volcano thinks it's a clever take on the city's Art at Work: Tacoma Arts Month celebration as my name is Art and I work for a living â€" unlike the jokers I pick up after. It's a crap idea but I need the extra dough.

The Volcano sent me to the Tacoma Lawn and Tennis Club to check out its new office redesign by Posh Home, which includes artwork by Lisa Kowalski.

VERTICAL FOCUS SERIES:Lisa Kowalski is an exiting up-and-coming expressionist who paints the energy of shapes, items and people that calls to mind the Abstract Expressionism of the 1940s. Relying on the impulses of her subconscious, she captures the essence of herself through uncalculated marks, rich textures and games of positive and negative space.

The old guy who doesn't wear shoes and loops Al Stewart songs gave me the Volcano’s Art at Work picks for the day:
 
Art at Work Month: Monday, Nov. 2

November 2009 marks the eighth anniversary of Art at Work: Tacoma Arts Month. There is something for everyone to enjoy throughout the month: lectures, music, dance performances, readings, workshops, theater performances, visual art exhibits and more.

Here are today’s highlights:

Free open adult ballet class from 7-9 p.m. inside the Urban Grace Church

The Ozzie Furhmann Band will fill the Mandolin Cafe with big band and swing music beginning at 7 p.m.

For a complete Art at Work schedule, click here.

MICHAEL SWAN: THE GRAND NEEDS FILM DISCUSSION LEADERS >>>

Since most people dig talking about films they seen, it's a natural thing to lead a movie discussion. Every generation and every culture tells stories that embody their deepest convictions, hopes, and fears, and the stories of the postmodern generation are found in movies. Leading a film discussion is a perfect way to talk naturally about the things that matter most.

The Grand Cinema is seeking to expand their network of film enthusiasts to lead weekend film discussions. The Weekly Volcano grabbed the scoop from Emily Alm, director of communications at The Grand.

WEEKLY VOLCANO: What are the requirements to be a film discussion leader? Do you need a film degree from UCLA?

EMILY ALM: Ha ha ha, no degree required. We have a small group of discussion leaders that are passionate about film in general. Some individuals are more likely to step forward to certain kinds of films, which is a nice bonus. Basically, we just want to have discussion leaders that can do just that â€" feel comfortable leading a conversation in front of a group (could be two to 20 people), and have some interesting insights about film.

VOLCANO: How long are the film discussions?

ALM: Film discussions last as long as people want to talk. They gather in our lower lobby after the film ends and any conversation topic can be thrown into the mix. They typically last about an hour, but we don't have any limit or minimum.

VOLCANO: Have there ever been heated debates that carried out into the lobby?

ALM: I haven't heard of any outrageous heated debate stemming from a film discussion, but once in a while a film comes along that sparks debate no matter what. Depending on who's present (facilitating or otherwise), some good and differing conversations and points of view have been swapped back and forth.

VOLCANO: Does the discussion leader receive free admission and free popcorn?

ALM: They typically receive free admission, but not free popcorn, unless they're a Grand Cinema member.

VOLCANO: Is there an upcoming film that you would kill to have a discussion leader?

ALM: Oh boy … it's hard to pick just one. We do have a soccer film, The Damned United, scheduled to open November 13. This film could potentially appeal to individuals with such related interests or experiences â€" and it's a little different niche than the films we usually play. Really we'd "kill" to have a leader for every film that we play, and the chance for a variety of facilitators to participate.
 
If you are interested in leading film discussions at The Grand, send Emily Alm an e-mail at thegrandcinema@gmail.com.

And what's the worst that can happen? You meet with a group of strangers and argue about a movie that escalates into a fight, which leads to you losing your job because you made your boss’ spouse cry. There are worse things in life.

MICHAEL SWAN: TACOMA RADIO STATION UP FOR A MTVU WOODIE AWARD >>>

Huh-huh, huh-huh ... I said Woodie.

Yes, mtvU's very own college kid-geared awards are back, and our own KUPS 90.1 FM out of the University of Puget Sound is in the running.

“We are pretty excited here at KUPS, because we are the smallest station in the running, our enrollment is 2,600, and the rest of the schools have 15,000 or greater, two have over 30,000,” explains Dylan Crouse, KUPS 
public marketing co-director.

KUPS is in the top 5 for the College Radio Woodie. Head over to mtvU's Web site and vote. The awards show will air on mtvU, MTV, MTV2, and Palladia on Friday, Dec. 4 at 7 p.m.

LINK: KUPS DJs review albums on the Volcano's Web site

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

Discuss the above video over happy hour at:

Bourbon StreetNorthwest
6008 Mt. Tacoma Dr. SW, Lakewood. 253.584.1570
Happy Hours: 6:30-8 a.m., 3:30-6:30 p.m. daily
Drink Specials: $2 wells, $2 domestic drafts, $2.50 domestic bottles

LINK: More South Sound happy hours