LIVE MUSIC TONIGHT >>>

Beyond the Bridge Cafe Tacoma - Sixth Avenue. A live performance combining movement, story and dance with local musician Vicci Martinez. All Ages. 8-10 pm. $15.

• Aided by the always-worthy Vicci Martinez and her typical barefooted musical styling, the B.B.C. Bots, something of a genre defying performance group, will mix movement and music with "The Phoenix," pushing the artistic envelope all the while. – Matt Driscoll

Big Wheel Steakhouse and Lounge Tacoma - Parkland. The Ultimate Rush Tribute Experience, with 2112, Fracture. 21+. 9:30 pm.

Bob's Java Jive Tacoma - Central. The Razzberry Jam Band. 21+. 9 pm.

Capitol Theater Olympia - Downtown. What You Got Fest Backstage Show & Dance Party, with King's Ransom, The South Sound, Jeff Mikey & The Bouncy House. All Ages. 8 pm. $5-$8.

Cedarwood Dome Milton. Smokin' Saturdays, with Blue Helix, Endless Grey, Fill The Silence, Raelin. 21+. 8 pm.

Harbor Greens/Forza Wine Bar Gig Harbor. Rob Rigoni. 21+. 8 pm. NC.

Doyle's Public House Tacoma - Stadium District. Mighty High. A little reggae and blues for Tervor's birthday. 21+. 9 pm. NC.

Hell's Kitchen Tacoma - Downtown. Country rock with Aces Up, Rae Solomon, Buck Haggard, Austin Jenckes. 21+. 9 pm. $8-$10.

Jazzbones Tacoma. Matt Coughlin and the Growlers, Abi Grace, The Black Sails, DJ Switch. 9 pm. $7.

Le Voyeur Café and Lounge Olympia - Downtown. Super Smart Ferrets. 21+. 9 pm.

North Shore Golf & Country Club Tacoma - Northeast. Rock The Point, featuring Nick Nicholas, In The House & special guests. 21+. 7:30 pm. $10 suggested donation.

Paddy Coyne's Irish Pub Tacoma - Downtown. Traditional Irish Music Session. 21+. 7 pm.

Puyallup Fair Grandstand Puyallup. Heart. 7:30 pm. $25-$60.

The Spar Tacoma - Old Town. 9 Pound Hammer. 21+. 8 pm. NC.

• Sure to please the typical Spar crowd, 9 Pound Hammer delivers funky originals and well-spun covers - all of it sure to go well with a few cold beers and a night out with friends. – Bobble Tiki
  

Traditions Cafe and World Folk Art Olympia - Downtown. The Downtown Mountain Boys. All Ages. 8 pm. $8-$12.

LINK: More live music tonight in the South Sound

HANGING ON >>>

Snapped the above photo this morning at 26th and Proctor.

LINK: Real Proctor Treats

SUNDAY, SEPT. 26, 2020 >>>

1. As part of the31st annual training conference of the Pacific Northwest Chapter of the International Society of Arboriculture held in Tacoma through Sept. 29, expert tree climbers will compete in Wright Park beginning at 8 a.m. and climbing until mid afternoon.The trees used in the competition are located generally in the old wading pool area.

2. To celebrate its exhibition Edo to Tacoma: Japanese Woodblock Prints from the Collection the Tacoma Art Museum is challenging the public to help create 1,000 origami paper cranes that will hang in the museum throughout the exhibition. Supplies and instructions are available for use at the museum from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.

3. The Crown Bar celebrates the release of Burris Brewing's OktoBurrfest from 5 p.m. to close. Featuring $3 beers, food specials and happy hour prices.

4. The Kareem Kandi Band will fill the Engine House No. 9 with jazz beginning at 6 p.m.

5. Puyallup teen singing sensation Mathias Anderie will performs at 7 p.m. on the 2K10 YouthFest stage at the Puyallup Fair. You might remember him earlier this year when he played "Colin" in Nickelodeon's School Gyrls TV movie, alongside Justin Bieber. If so, be surte to do your homework before heading to the Fair.

LINK: More arts and entertainment events in the South Sound

CONCERT RECAP >>>

The Puyallup Fair Grandstand was packed by the time sisters Ann and Nancy Wilson took the stage with their latest incarnation of Heart. After teasing us with the opening of "In The Light" by Led Zeppelin, the pounding backbeat of "Cook With Fire" (first song on their Dog & Butterfly album) kicked off the 17-song set. From that first song through most of the show the crowd was on its feet, taking their seats during a couple new songs off their Red Velvet Car album. Sandwiched between the new songs was "Even It Up," which returned the crowd to its feet, especially when the band added snippets of "Gimme Shelter" by the Rolling Stones. And those who came to hear the early Heart hits weren't disappointed, especially the rocking set of "Magic Man," "Crazy On You" and "Barracuda" right before the encore.

The Wilson sisters' obsession with Led Zeppelin emerged again last night when they opened the encore with "What Is and What Should Never Be" off Zep's second album.

The night ended with Nancy jumping around as Ann belted a thunderous version of The Who's "Love Reign O'er Me."

Overall, the band was in top form. Ann wilson can still sing the hell out of their songs. 

Heart Set List
Saturday, Sept. 25, 2010
Puyallup Fair

• Cook with Fire
• Heartless
• What About Love?
• Straight On
• Dog & Butterfly
• These Dreams
• Hey You
• Even It Up
• Red Velvet Car
• In the Cool
• Alone
• WTF
• Magic Man
• Crazy On You
• Barracuda

Encore:

• What Is and What Should Never Be
• Love Reign O'er Me

MONDAY, SEPT. 27, 2010 >>>

1. The 31st annual training conference of the Pacific Northwest Chapter of the International Society of Arboriculture gathers near the Point Defiance Park Rose Garden from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. to demonstrate the use of a crane to remove a tree, the rescue of workers from an aerial lift truck, climbing techniques and pruning techniques. Equipment vendors will also be on site, representing products such as chippers and stump grinders. 

2. BIG: an exploration, featuring artwork by David Hodge, Chris Sharp, Anne Haley, Phil Roach, Judy Harvey, Karl Krogstad, Chuck Gumpert, Christopher Mathie, Alexis St. John, Ryan Molencamp, Marsha Galziere and Mauricio Robalino, is on display from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. inside the Handforth Gallery at the Tacoma Public Library's Main Branch.

3. Jesse Clark McAbee lectures on "Tall Timber: The Nikkei Experience in Washington's Lumber Industry" at noon inside the Washington State Capital Museum in Olympia. This presentation, through vintage photographs, oral histories, ephemera and historical documents highlights the story of the thousands of Japanese immigrants who worked in Washington's timber industry prior to World War II.

4. Robert Duvall plays a backwoods hermit who figures his time is coming, and enlists the local undertaker (Bill Murray) in planning a big funeral send-off that he will pay for himself and enjoy while he's still alive in the flick Get Low screening at 2, 4:25, 6:40 and 9 p.m. inside The Grand Cinema.

5. Rebel Monday/Industry Night featuring DJ Jason Diamond spinning roots reggae begins at 9 p.m. inside O'Malley's Irish Pub on Sixth Avenue.

LINK: More arts and entertainment events in the South Sound

THESE LIVE SHOWS WORK >>>

Hell's Kitchen Tacoma - Downtown. Melvins, Totimoshi. 21+. 8 pm. $16-$20.

• The uninitiated may best know the Melvins by their creation of the dubious sub-genre known as sludge-rock. Marked by its definitional sluggishness, sludge-rock favors hard, plodding, perfect-head-banging metal over all else. It's the kind of music where you either commit to the possible whiplash that may result from such emphatic head-banging, or you just don't get it, man. The Melvins, more than their many imitators, established an antsy desire to never fall into a predictable groove - in career trajectory as well as song structure. Read my thoughts on this band here. – Rev. Adam McKinney

Imperial Dragon Tacoma - Sixth Avenue. S.R.O. swing band. Music from the 30s and 40s. All Ages. 7-9 pm. NC.

The Royal Lounge Olympia - Downtown. The Greta Jane Quartet jazz. 21+. 9:30 pm. NC.

The Swiss Tacoma - Downtown. Dana Lupinacci Band blues. 21+. 8 pm.

LINK: More live music and DJs tonight in the South Sound

WHAT WE HAVE FOUND TODAY >>>

Shaun Cassidy is 52.

Lakewood: Welcome back Chief Bret Farrar

What we can learn from the Dutch about biking and cities

Segway's owner died driving a Segway off a cliff.

One for the books: Paris Hilton won an important Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals case.

Being Kenny Rogers

The Hobbit movie is in trouble.

SMALL SHOP WITH BIG FLAVOR >>>

Neighborhood: Sixth Avenue

Address/phone: 3918 Sixth Ave., Tacoma, 253.761.5116

Hours: 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday-Friday, 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. Saturday-Sunday

Standard Cup o' Joe: $2-$2.50

Bean Source: They hand roast their coffee in small batches out of their store.

Crowd: undercaffeinated engineers in the morning, quiet book readers, band members, service industry, fashion designers

Soundtrack: Arcade Fire, The National, Radiohead

WiFi: Yes

Noshing/Sipping: Traditional espresso drinks with a French Press option. They sell six blends by the pound including their popular Ethiopian Harar. Regular, organic and decaf beans range from $11 to $16. They do not sell food.

Bonus: Valhalla presents a bake-off inviting the public to enter original dessert recipes using one or more of the Valhalla beans. The contest judging begins at 11:30 a.m. Oct. 16 inside Sanford & Son Antiques in Tacoma. Drop by Valhalla on Sixth Avenue for an entry form.

Oh, another bonus is that they serve damn delicious coffee ... from TACOMA!

The House:

The rapid growth of Valhalla Coffee Company, which includes shipments overseas, forced A.J. Anderson to relocate his operation from his embedded situation at Mandolin Café to the small storefront on Sixth Avenue. He, along with co-owner Byron T. Betts and head roaster Stephanie Powell think in terms of flavor profiles and uses adjectives like "robust, rich, and acidic" to describe their product. They want people to realize that coffee is not just a cup of black liquid but a complex and important commodity. They would know. Together they bring 31 years of general coffee, espresso and equipment expertise to their business.

The roasting magic can be heard, smelled and seen while lounging on their black couch, one of three small tables or the wooden counter littered with coffee books about coffee. Burlap coffee sacks pile high on the floor and well as drape the painted brown walls as art. Photographer Shawn McManus has a beautiful piece titled Titlow on display, too. A fan spins frantically trying to keep customers cool during the roasting process.

LINK: They've been called vikings

LINK: Byron T. Betts was in the Tacoma Files

CLICKS AND PFFTS IN A TELELPHONE ROOM >>>

In her exhibit Clicks and Pffts opening Saturday inside The Telephone Room, Jessica Robinson folds volumes of found sounds and recordings of bodily noises into aural scapes that "is once technological but very human; familiar yet alien."

We can be thankful that it's a sound installation instead of an odoriferous one considering the tiny size of The Telephone Room.

Wait. It's not an issue. Reading further into the press release we have discovered it's only sounds out of mouths:

There is a thoughtful questioning of language in her current work. Robinson translates unintelligible mouth sounds into what a computer perceives as words. The audience can tell that no language is being spoken, yet a machine that society relies on so heavily grasps furtively at the incoherent babblings, trying desperately to find structure.

In a space like the Telephone Room, a place used for the transmission and reception of sound, it seemed exceedingly relevant to focus on what speech and language are. Constructed through a culture with a need to understand each other, some sounds are laden with meaning while others are just clicks and pffts. Robinson's work dwells in these noises.

We like the sound of that.

Clicks and Pffts

Oct. 2-27 by appointment, opening reception Saturday, Oct. 6-9 p.m.
The Telephone Room, 3710 N Seventh St., (Sixth and Union), Tacoma

GOING SOUTH WITH STYLE AT BABBLIN' BABS BISTRO >>>

"Not Your Mother's Chicken Fried Steak" with pork loin, Japanese panko and Gorgonzola sherry wine sauce? "Babs Bodacious Biscuits" and gravy with roasted chili pepper sauce topped with custard egg and green tomato salsa? "Where North meets South" pork sausage with Lone star spices, tart Rainier cherries on a burst of South Carolina barbecue sauce? 

This ain't deep South. This is haute South. This is Babblin' Babs Bistro, the tiny Proctor District restaurant that dishes out huge flavors the likes Tacoma has never seen.

"I'd love to invent a new cuisine right out of Tacoma," says Chef William with a smile.

He's the one to do it, too. Chef William and his better half, Shannon, have just added new gourmet creations to their breakfast menu. My wife, Kate, and I sampled three over the weekend.

Arriving in a bowl, Babs Bodacious Biscuits takes the standard biscuits and gravy concept and gives it a diamond shine. First, their homemade buttermilk biscuits are baked crisp on the outside yet soft as a pillow on the inside loaded with creamy cheesy ham and roasted chili pepper sauce. It's then topped with a custard egg and garden fresh green tomato salsa. A crazy good sweet potato hash of yams, caramelized onion, red bell pepper, thick hickory bacon and spices complements it brilliantly.

You know the frozen waffles that come 24 to a box, 72 if you shop the chaotic aisles of Costco? Yeah, no, not even close to the Babs' "Banana Walnut Oatmeal Waffle. No, their waffles - whole wheat, oatmeal, chewy, simultaneously savory and sweet, toasty and loaded with banana and whipped bleu cheese - are golden morning glories. Sweet? Oh, yes. Port wine syrup, chopped walnuts and homemade Mission fig gelato and rosemary are right there too to wake your ass up.

I skipped the new "Back to School Daze"  - French bread stuffed with organic strawberry preserves and cream cheese dipped into a vanilla egg custard, grilled and laced with organic peanut butter/honey/cinnamon sauce - for the chicken friend steak mentioned above served with the hash, which was absolutely fantastic.

Fifteen signature breakfast dishes, five homemade sausage patties, the waffle and French toast and four vegetarian options make for a very difficult decision. And priced $11 to $19 (the ingredients don't come cheap), makes it an expensive decision. However, people don't seem to shy away. Babs was packed Saturday with a wait, and they have regular customers from Seattle, Portland and Chicago.

Chef William tells me his new autumn menu is right around the corner. My new diet has headed south.

Babblin' Babs Bistro

8 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. Tuesday-Friday
8 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday-Sunday
2724 N. Proctor St., Tacoma
253.761.9099