ROCK! >>>

I literally did a double take. Looking at the show poster for this Saturday night at Hell's Kitchen, one thing floored me more than anything else. It's especially impressive considering the bill - featuring Zeke, the Lemons (yes, THE the Lemons), Poppa Wheelie (yes, THE Poppa Wheelie) and Mahnhammer - had almost nothing to do with it.

The show marks the celebration of Hell's Kitchen's nine-year anniversary.

Nine fucking years.

I had to sit and ponder that one for a minute ... really recollect. Nine years of Hell's Kitchen. That's a long-ass time. It means I've been doing this for a long-ass time. It means we've all been doing this for a long-ass time ...

"The best part has been bringing in my friends' bands and having a good place for them to play in Tacoma," Flash, the man behind Hell's Kitchen, told me in 2003, when the flames on the walls of the predominantly punk and metal venue were still fresh. Hell's Kitchen was celebrating its first anniversary at the time. The article ran in a paper that doesn't even exist anymore. Hell's Kitchen has since moved to Pacific Avenue.

"I'm proud we put Tacoma back on the map," the quote finishes.

To read Matt Driscoll's full article on the Hell's Kitchen nine-year anniversary show, including interviews with Jimmy Paulson of the Lemons, Donny Hales of Zeke and Cody Foster of Poppa Wheelie, click here.

[Hell's Kitchen, 9-Year Anniversary Show, with Zeke, The Lemons, Poppa Wheelie, Mahnhammer, 9 p.m., $9, 928 Pacific Ave., Tacoma, 253.759.6003]

AND THEN THE HITS CAME >>>

Remember when we predicted the rain delay would cure all of the Rainiers' problems, causing them to win?

Well, we were right. Kind of.

Since our last post, the Rainiers have won two out of their last three. The team's only loss came on a walk-off homerun in the bottom of the twelfth inning against those damned Reno Aces. Even though the Rainiers lost the game, Tacoma's boys of summer scored twelve runs and had fifteen hits. It's not easy to lose a game when you score twelve runs. But twelve runs means the Rainiers are hitting. And they weren't hitting before.

We'll gladly take the credit for that.

Thoughts ...

-In the loss on Thursday night, the Rainiers and the Aces combined to hit seven homeruns. Six by the Aces, one by Matt Tuiasosopo.  We point this out not because it's a bummer the Rainiers only had one homerun, but because it's awesome there were seven homeruns in the game. Dingers are arguably the best part about baseball. To watch seven homeruns in a game is exciting, regardless of which team is hitting them.

But it would have been nice had the Rainiers had more than one of them ...

-In the last three games, the Rainiers have scored twenty nine runs. For comparison purposes, it took the team nine games into the season to score that many runs. The bats are certainly heating up.

-In last night's 9-6 win over the Ace's, David Aardsma came in to pitch 0.2 shutout innings, giving up one hit. This isn't really a noteworthy stat. We only mention it because we love Aardsma's nickname- the D.A. So many opportunities for good baseball-courtroom comparisons.

-As good as the Rainiers have been hitting as of late, the pitchers are giving up more runs now than they were at the beginning of the season. This isn't super worrisome yet because the team has been winning. But bad pitching also means things could turn bad in a hurry. We'll be sure to keep you posted via our half-cocked analysis.

The Rainiers (7-15) face the Reno Aces again tonight at 6:05 p.m. Leftie Chris Seddon squares off against Kevin Mulvey, who is 1-2 with a 15.00 ERA.

A 15.00 ERA is not exactly ace pitcher material. But he pitches for the Aces, so that makes him an ace by default. Right?

AWESOME PEOPLE WHO WRITE FOR THE VOLCANO >>>

I just wanted to take a moment on this fine Saturday morning to personally thank (through blog) Ernest Jasmin for putting together this week's Volcano story on the passing of Tacoma music legend Kent Morrill. It's a great piece, and the Volcano is honored to have had Jasmin write it for us.

As savy Tacoma readers will surely recognize, Jasmin was a longtime music and pop culture writer for the News Tribune before leaving the paper earlier this year. During his time in Tacoma Jasmin has more than earned the respect of those within the music scene, known for fighting the good fight to get as much of the real Tacoma music scene stuff in the Trib as humanly possible - you know, as opposed to the Britney Spears show previews the Trib editors seem to drool for.

Bottom line: Jasmin has covered the Wailers and Morrill with more frequency and skill than anyone I can think of over the years, and having him write this story for the Volcano was a no-brainer. The Trib's loss is the Volcano's gain.

BECAUSE WE KNOW YOU CARE >>>

In April 2009, while throwing back a BBC sandwich in MSM Grocery & Deli II's parking lot, we snapped a shot of MSM's fucked up sign (see above). We added it to our hugely popular Spew photo series "Miss Takes."

Since then, MSM II won the Sandwich Smackdown, and nabbed "Best Food on the Run" and "Best Sandwich" in the Best of Tacoma Readers' Poll for 2009, 2010 and 2011, respectively.

Last August, driving past MSM II on Sixth Avenue, we snapped another shot of the sign. MSM II management and staff didn't let fame go to their heads. They were still keeping it real.

Today, driving past the beloved MSM II, we snapped another shot of the sign. MSM II is still too busy making awesome sandwiches to deal with their sign. There's a bit more space between the "D" and "E," and by some miracle the "I" is still hanging on.

See you back here in six months for an update.

STUPID HEADLINES >>>

OK, OK. SO maybe the "Where are they now?" headline is a little bit ridiculous when referencing a past Weekly Volcano Tournament of Tacos Champion. It's only been a little over a year. Everyone knows Moctezuma's Mexican Restaurant hasn't gone anywhere (still in Tacoma and Gig Harbor).

Still, it's good to see the restaurant isn't getting complacent after being crowned king of tacos by our readers. We got this press release late this week:

Moctezuma's Restaurant Helps Tacoma Rescue Mission
At 5pm on Monday May 2nd Moctezuma's Mexican Restaurant will feed 450 low-income and homeless individuals at the Tacoma Rescue Mission.
 
Moctezuma's will be donating 500 ground beef burritos, refried beans, rice, and fresh chips and salsa for the event.  Moctezuma's owner, Arturo Garcia, and his family will be there in person to help serve the burritos along with other Moctezuma's staff members.
 
The goal of the event for Moctezuma's is to make sure that each of the 450 people attending will get to experience and enjoy a taste of Cinco de Mayo, one of the most important and busiest holiday's for the restaurant.
 
Moctezuma's Mexican Restaurant is a family owned, award-winning restaurant with locations in both Tacoma and Gig Harbor.  Moctezuma's has been a big part of the Tacoma-Pierce County community since it was established in 1978.
 
As stated on their website, The Tacoma Rescue Mission provides free, healthy and well-balanced meals 365 days a year. Meals are provided for all low-income and homeless individuals in the community--both residents and non-residents of the Mission.  For more information visit www.rescue-mission.org

LOCAL MAJOR RELEASE MOVIE REVIEWS ONLY IN THE VOLCANO >>>

Walking in basically cold on this fifth installment of the Fast & Furious series is like hanging out with a tight-knit group of friends and struggling to decode their intricate series of in-jokes. Every sigh of recognition the crowd gave upon favorite characters sauntering onscreen made the distance between Fast Five and me grow. Fans of the series will probably enjoy it; I'd rather ponder Fast Five's time travel implications.

To read Rev. Adam McKinney's full review of Fast Five, click here.

ALEC CLAYTON REVIEWS SOUTH SOUND VISUAL ARTS >>>

There is a very interesting show at the gallery at the Evergreen State College. It's called Culture / Subculture. The theme is precisely what the title implies - artists' interpretations of the way we are, our many cultures and subcultures as depicted and/or symbolized in photography, prints, drawings and sculpture from some of the better known artists in the Northwest and in the world including Kiki Smith, Diane Arbus, Salvador Dali, Jay Steensma, Mary Randlett, Judy Dater - and even a bunch of photographs by Andy Warhol of Keith Haring and friends.

That's part one of the exhibit. The works in that part are rarely seen art from the college's permanent collection. Part two features videos by Evergreen students, faculty, staff and alumni.

To read Alec Clayton's full Visual Edge column click here.

[The Evergreen State College, Culture / Subculture, Monday, Tuesday and Thursday 10 a.m. - 5 p.m., through May 17, 2700 Evergreen Parkway NW, Library 1st floor, Olympia]

NW MUSIC LEGENDS >>>

Sadly, he'll wail no more. 

Wailer No. 1, Kent Morrill, lead singer and keyboard player for seminal Tacoma garage-rock band the Fabulous Wailers, died on April 15 after a long battle with colon cancer. He was 70.

"We thought he was gonna pull out of it. We really did," says Buck Ormsby, Morrill's longtime friend and Wailers' bandmate since 1960. "It just became too much for him, you know. He just went through a lot of hell in the last two years."

But Morrill's musical legacy lives on. And it's sure to be standing room only Wednesday night, May 4, when a who's who of classic Northwest rockers pays tribute to their fallen peer with a free show set for 7 p.m. at Tacoma's Temple Theatre.

To read Ernest A Jasmin's full piece on the passing of Kent Morrill and the memorial show this Wednesdsay at the Temple Theater in Tacoma, click here.

The Fabulous Wailers Concert for Kent Morrill

Wednesday, May 4, 7 p.m., all ages, no cover
Temple Theatre, 47 Saint Helens Ave., Tacoma, 253.272.2042