Weekly Volcano Blogs: Walkie Talkie Blog

Posts made in: August, 2010 (140) Currently Viewing: 31 - 40 of 140

August 9, 2010 at 12:40pm

SHOUT OUT: Last night's Radio8Ball

Battersea frontman Eric Reidar's future was performed by Jerin Falkner. Photography by Steve Dunkelberger

FATES WERE DECIDED AT THE SPEAKEASY ARTS COOPERATIVE >>>

Some people carry lucky coins or rabbits feet, while others consult tarot cards and psychics. Still others leave their fates to "chance" and "karma."

That is the basis behind the Radio8Ball show, which taped two episodes last night at Speakeasy Arts Cooperative as a first try of what might become a monthly gig for the venue.

Hosted by Andras Jones, who mixes live music and the powers of the universe, the show has a simple premise: Audience members ask the gods of chance and fate a question that weighs on their hearts, flip a coin and let the divination commence. The answers to their questions come randomly "or not so randomly" from songs the live musicians play based on a spin of a wheel or a pick of a card.

Last night's show did not disappoint. The gripping lyrics of singer/songwriter Jerin Falkner brought ponderous thoughts, laughs and a few striking moments.

Guests asked questions that ranged from concerns about trusting their guts, romance and future careers. Each song seemed to lead to an answer. Battersea frontman Eric Reidar, for example, asked if he would be married in five years. The song the fates picked for Falkner to play fluttered with romance.

That can't be a bad sign.

Filed under: Shout Out, Music, Tacoma,

August 9, 2010 at 3:25pm

Tacoma to receive face time with new indie filmmakers

GRAB YOUR TICKETS WEDNESDAY >>>

Last month we announced The Grand Cinema's nifty 25 New Faces of Independent Film festival running Aug. 20-26.

The Grand says tickets go on sale Wednesday, Aug. 11:

Tickets go on sale Wednesday, August 11. Tickets are the same low prices as usual for films at the Grand. Some films will play twice, some just once. Most of all, this week is your only chance to catch them so see as many as you can! We hope you'll join us to welcome these esteemed filmmakers, coming to Tacoma from as far away as Amsterdam!

More details can be found on The Grand's website.

August 9, 2010 at 7:48pm

The she-devil cometh

Amber Valentine

BRING ON THE SHRIEKS FROM LUNGS OF FIRE >>>

In 1998, when the partners-in-love-and-rock duo Jucifer first broke out of the dark, sludgy Athens underbelly that gave birth to bands like Harvey Milk and R.E.M., audiences took an immediate interest in guitarist/vocalist Amber Valentine and drummer Ed Livengood's loud - very loud - fractured art-metal. It didn't hurt that Valentine, with her flaxen hair, heavy black eye-makeup and mini-dresses, had all the makings of a modern-day Russ Meyer vixen. But they had the chops to back it up - deliberate sludge, backward loops and gigantic riffing.

Now married, and performing this Thursday at Hell's Kitchen, the duo is touring behind their April 2010 CD, Throned In Blood, released on their own label, Nomadic Fortress Records. Yes, there's a bit of cheesecake still there, but so is their perfected noise rock/sludge metal combination.

Here's hoping Hell's Kitchen's new downtown spot can handle Valentine's much-vaunted wall of sound. I'm sure Flash designed the sound system around this band.

Jucifer

With Mahnhammer and Sleeper Cell
Thursday, Aug. 12, 9 p.m., $5
Hell's Kitchen, 928 Pacific Ave., Tacoma
253.759.6003

August 10, 2010 at 7:15am

5 Things To Do: "Heavy Metal In Baghdad," historic arts and crafts, YellowFever ...

"Heavy Metal in Baghdad" tracks a brave band's tumultuous quest to rock out.

TUESDAY, AUG. 10, 2010 >>>

1. Heavy metal and Baghdad go together like, wait, what? Really, it's true. The critically acclaimed 2007 "rockumentary" Heavy Metal In Baghdad follows Acrassicauda, a heavy metal band from Iraq, as the band preservers through the Iraq war, which is happening all around them. Presented by Veterans for Peace and to be shown at 7 p.m. inside King's Books in Tacoma, according to promotions the story of Acrassicauda "echoes the unspoken hopes of an entire generation of young Iraqis."

2. The Washington State History Museum's Arts and Crafts Movement in the Pacific Northwest exhibit showcases significant buildings and interiors, furniture, glass, metalwork, ceramics, textiles, fine art, graphics, book art and photographs from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.

3. The Tacoma Concert Band performs a pop concert at 6:30 p.m. in DuPont's Clocktower Park.

4. Hell's Kitchen serves $2 tacos, $2 beers and $2 wells every Tuesday under the title Tightwad Tuesday.  That is common knowledge. Tonight at 7:30 p.m. the downtown rock club will add the bands Highlight Bomb, Big Quinn & The Broken Hearts and Chaos Revolution Theory to the wad. Tomorrow will, no doubt, be Wrecked Wednesday.

5. Since forming in 2006, YellowFever has released several EPs of deceptively catchy, intelligently minimalist indie-pop that NPR's Carrie Bowenstein once described as "haunted house surf music," an odd, but somehow accurate label that has followed the band from review to review. Yet despite comparisons to Stereolab and favorable reviews of their self-titled debut LP, the duo's quiet demeanor had kept them largely under the radar ... until guitarist Jennifer Moore's accidental jihad. Read up on Moore's incredible story before their 8 p.m. show at Northern in downtown Olympia.

LINK: More arts and entertainment events in the South Sound

August 10, 2010 at 7:56am

SHORT ORDER: Early Bird Dinner, late night pizza, steak deal ...

DINING NEWS, NIBBLES AND BITS >>>

Early Bird Deal: Salty's at Redondo offers three courses - soup or salad, entrée (salmon, crab mac and cheese, kabobs, chicken) and dessert - for $25 Monday through Thursday and Sunday, 4-6 p.m.

Late Night Pizza: Every night after 10 p.m. Farrelli's Wood Fire Pizza on Sixth Avenue serves 12-inch pizzas with three toppings or less for $9.99.

Steak Deal: Every Tuesday night Harmon Brewery & Eatery serves a 6-ounce sirloin steak or half pound of rib tips - both on a bed of fries - for $5. Check it at 1938 Pacific Ave. in downtown Tacoma.

Future Things Are Coming: Beer likes company, so the Nosh League will hold its next nosh pit inside the Engine House No. 9 for a beer and cheese tasting Thursday, Aug. 12 at 6 p.m. Weekly Volcano Grocery Stories columnist Kris Blondin will sift through her knowledge of cheese to find a few friends for several lucky beers, picked by Tacoma brewmaster Doug Tiede. The cost is $15 per person, which includes tip. Join the Nosh League here, and then RSVP for the event.

Food Matters: Junk food heroes - a history: Washington, Lincoln, the creator of Cheez Doodles ... All American icons.

LINK: South Sound Happy Hours

Filed under: Short Order, Food & Drink, Tacoma,

August 10, 2010 at 11:09am

EAT THIS: balls of goodness

Pacific Grill's takoyaki

MORE THAN JUST NOODLES >>>

I can just hear moan, "Oh fabulous, here goes the Weekly Volcano waxing wonderful the Pacific Grill for the billionth time. Seriously?"

Seriously.

I think it would be a crime not to spread the good word about Chef Gordon Naccarato's takoyaki, one of the Japanese street foods on the Grill's Noodle Bar menu. These balls are chunks of heaven. They're currently my favorite dish in the South Sound.

Given the fact that the takoyaki ("tako" means octopus and "yaki" means grilled) are perfectly round crispy little balls of goodness, it's easy to assume they're fried (like fritters or beignets) octopus balls.

No so fast tentacle breath.

The reality is that these popular Japanese street snacks are griddled, using a custom cast iron pan with indentations that allows the Pacific Grill chefs to crank out sets of ping pong-ball-size savory munchkins. They're much airier than you might expect.

"The batter is essentially a fritter or dumpling batter, to which we add sparkling water to make the batter light - like a beer batter does to onion rings," explains Naccarato via email.

Also, Pacific Grill substitutes shrimp for octopus.

Wet, dry, crackle, puff - four textures collapse on my tongue and a tender shrimp emerges as a fifth. Beside the shrimp, Pacific grill's takoyaki includes bonito, scallion, ginger syrup and sweet takoyaki sauce. Each flavor bursts wide open in unison. 

Pacific Grill sells five balls on a plate for $9. I bought two. I thought about a third.

Pacific Grill's Noodle Bar opens at 2 p.m. Monday through Friday and 5 p.m. Saturday. Download Pacific Grill's Noodle Bar menu here.

Pacific Grill

1502 Pacific Ave., Tacoma
253.627.3535

LINK: Previously on our website

LINK: Pacific Grill grabbed several Best of Tacoma 2010 awards

Filed under: Food & Drink, Tacoma,

August 10, 2010 at 1:05pm

A really scary story

NOW PLAYING >>>

Cropsey is a documentary examining the concept of the bogeyman - as legend, as reality and as a combination of the two. On Staten Island in the '70s and '80s, a story was passed around by local children about a man who lived in the woods. This man was often known as Cropsey, and according to the story he roamed at night, snatching children. The legend of Cropsey became all too real with the 1987 disappearance of a young girl. Joshua Zeman and Barbara Brancaccio's film investigates.

Cropsey screens at the Capitol Theater through Aug. 19. Read Rev. Adam McKinney's review of the film here (showtimes included).

Filed under: Olympia, Screens,

August 10, 2010 at 5:53pm

ON THE SCENE: Tacoma's Sonic Drive-In opening

She has no idea that Steph DeRosa will fill that cup with America's booze.

FOR ALL THE WRONG REASONS >>

Down in Texas, where this resident lush hails from, Sonic America's Drive-Ins are scattered everywhere. To me, another Sonic grand opening is not a big deal. Maybe Tacoma is bored, but for some reason this city is apeshit crazy over a fast food joint taking up space in a Kmart parking lot.  For this, I must do my part as a transformed Tacoman and report back to my editors with Sonic's opening day pictures.

What I do love about Sonic - and is my very favorite part of any Sonic visit - are the cherry/lime "Famous Slushes."  Mmmmm!  Nothing beats a blistery 97 degree/99 percent humidity day down in the asscrack of Houston, Texas like a huge Sonic cherry/lime Slush spiked with vodka.  Of course, those kind of days aren't as abundant up here in the Pacific Northwest, but that doesn't mean you can't enjoy a little vodka/Slush concoction every once in a while. 

Seeing as how Sonic is a traditional drive-in (with food hops on skates and everything!), I would not recommend partaking in my Slush/vodka suggestion while in the Sonic parking lot.  Be smart and take it home. Don't drink and drive, Tacoma.

Filed under: Food & Drink, Tacoma,

August 11, 2010 at 6:49am

5 Things To Do: Whateverly Brothers, Tacoma Concert Band, "Food, Inc.," house music ...

The Whateverly Brothers perform tonight inside A Rhapsody In Bloom Florist and Cafe Latte on Sixth Avenue.

WEDNESDAY, AUG. 11, 2010 >>>

1. The Whateverly Brothers  - Chris Glannister, Matthew Moeller, Dan Roberts - will offer homemade three-layer harmonies with instrumental frosting at 7 p.m. inside A Rhapsody In Bloom Florist & Cafe Latte on Sixth Avenue. The question is, will they sing "All I Have to Do Is Whatever"?

2. The Tacoma Food Co-op presents a free screening of the film Food, Inc. at 6 p.m. inside Rausch Auditorium on the University of Puget Sound campus.

3. The Tacoma Concert Band continues on its two-county tour of parks with a stop at Olympia's Sylvester Park at 7 p.m. to pump out some J.S. Bach, Alfred Reed, Richard Wagner, John Philip Sousa and other great composers past and present for the Hackey Sackers.

4. Cotton Jones, Parson Red Head and Quiet Life play an all-ages show at 7 p.m. inside Northern.

5. Best of Tacoma 2010 DJ dAb joins DJ Sticky J for a night of house music beginning at 9 p.m. at the Surreal Ultra Lounge.

LINK: More arts and entertainment events in the South Sound

August 11, 2010 at 6:51am

SHORT ORDER: Vodka rocks, all-you-can-eat pasta, adult sno cones ...

DINING NEWS, NIBBLES AND BITS >>>

Wine Mixer: Justin Basel of Basel Cellars will visit Swing Wine Bar tonight from 5-7 p.m. to pair five wines with light appetizers for $30 per person.

All. You. Can. Eat!: Happy Days Casino in Lakewood  offers an all-you-can-eat pasta deal every Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursdays for $9.99 with purchase of a drink (non-alcoholic or alcoholic).

Booze In A Cone: Tocanos Café and Wine Bar will served sno cones loaded with booze Wednesday, Aug. 18 at 4 p.m. Remember don't lick and drink!

Future Things Are Coming: Primo Grill in Tacoma will host a cooking class using local farm goods Saturday, Aug. 21 at 2 p.m. The $65 fee includes recipes and instruction, lunch, a glass of wine, dessert, tax and gratuity. Reserve your spot at 253.383.7000.

Drinks Matters: Gary Shteyngart's rules for vodka drinking.

LINK: Wine deals tonight

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