FAMILIAR NAMES OPEN NEW VENTURE >>>

Subdivision Studios is quite possibly the best thing ever to hit Olympia for up-and-coming hip-hop artists - at least when it comes to finding a legitimate place to record music or finding top-of-the-line production. On April 1, Smoke of Oldominion (Matt Smokovich), Booz E Collinz (Rolando Guajardo) and Chonie Diego (Aaron Lopez) combined ideas, efforts and powers to open the brand-new studio just north of Olympia, with the intention of helping improve the overall quality of music coming out of the South Sound. With creators who are all veterans of the music scene in Olympia and outside it, Subdivision seems destined for success.

To read Nic Leonard's full article click here.

ON STANDING (OR SITTING) OVATIONS >>>

Packed with parents and other well-wishers, a full opening-night house leaped to its feet at the end of the show. Only two unrepentant naysayers remained seated: myself and my fiancee. It's happened before. It'll happen again. And yes, we did see you staring bloody daggers at us. But before you hurdle to the conclusion that we're horrible people who live to shatter the ambitions of amateurs, I ask very humbly that you consider my reasons.

See, I don't have an objection in the world to giving a standing O when I feel it's appropriate. I was the first person standing at OLT's A Few Good Men; and I may be remembering this wrong, but I think we were the only people standing at Jacob Marley's Christmas Carol. But when a critic gives a standing ovation, it's a clear guarantee to the cast and crew that they can expect a delighted review.

So what are they to think a week later, when I pan the show in print or online? Wouldn't that seem more than a tad inconsistent? In fact, it'd be outright deception, and crueler in the long run. So no, I don't give a standing ovation to every show I feel anything good about. I might appreciate the work of the cast but hate the script, for example. And whether actors want to admit it or not, even great performances seldom redeem a bad script. Only friends and family of the cast are happy to spend their money on a crummy show with good acting. I'm not writing for them. I'm writing for unrelated consumers who just want to know where to spend their 20 bucks Friday night.

So for future reference, if I give you a standing O, that's what Ebert calls an enthusiastic thumbs up. If I don't, it doesn't mean I hated everything about your production, it just means I wasn't ecstatic. See, I can't stand simply because you stand. I can't write checks I won't cash a week later; so I won't. But if I do stand--and I have, at least once, at every theater in town--you have unbridled flattery in your future. I'm not a theater publicist by trade, and I'm not your proud uncle, but I will sing your praises to the world.

THAT TIME OF MONTH >>>

Once a month I swing by the Man Cave to make an appearance on the Northwest Convergence Zone podcast. Basically, along with an excuse to go hang out with Darrell, Voxxy and the Gimmer (and everyone else who makes the podcast happen), it's designed to let me talk sports and pimp the weekly Cup Check column.

The reason I bring this up, of course, is because I was on the show once again last night. Check it out here.

ONLINE CHATTER >>>

Today's comment comes from Emily McGuire in response to Ernest Jasmin's review of last night's Rammstein show at the Tacoma Dome.

McGuire writes,

This was the most amazing show I have ever seen thus far. My husband and I were centered directly across from the stage on the ADA platform above the ground floor ("Where Caesar would sit," as my husband says), and although the band was distant enough to where their faces were not easily distinguishable, the show was amazing from our perspective. Lindemann was so creepy, I loved it! When he wasn't doing his go-to head-banging dance move (either pounding his leg or his crotch) he was acting like a maestro conducting his orchestra! lol .....I was thoroughly amused by the big penis cannon that he hopped on that shot out white stuff all over the crowd.

One thing I was concerned about was that his voice would be drowned out by the instruments, like a lot of metal bands struggle with when performing live. But I was THOROUGHLY impressed that their sound was extremely good quality and his deep, creepy, angry but melodic voice rang throughout the Dome perfectly! I was in GERMAN METAL ECSTASY!

With bands like that, their shows tend to be a little impersonal because they are so focused on giving a great performance that they don't really interact with the audience. So, I was happy that the audience sang along with "Du Hast" throughout the majority of the song. :)

Best show of my life ever the end!

TUESDAY, MAY 17, 2011 >>>

1. Sweet mother of Minnie Pearl! The Gruv Lounge and Nightclub passes over the usual Tuesday night trivia/goldfish races high jinks in favor of some swinging live rockabilly, pin-up girls, and cheap booze. The music is a little bit country and a little bit rock 'n' roll. Classic cars ride the sidewalk. Sailor Jerry rum is in the house. There's more go-cat-go than you can shake a stick at. We dare you to even try to shake a stick at it. It begins at 8 p.m. And the Gritty City Sirens burlesque show will drop by for a twirl. Click here to see photos from last week's Booze and Tattoos night.

2. Mexican Labor Minister Carlos Abascal claimed Carlos Fuentes's gothic novella Aura, first published in 1962, corrupted young women. Sounds like a read right up the Banned Book Club's alley. The club meets at 7 p.m. inside the Tempest Lounge to discuss said book and pound $3.75 wells.

3. Riki Ott, marine biologist and co-founder of Move to Amend, Craig Salins, director of Washington Public Campaigns, and Sen. Adam Kline, 37th District, lead the community forum "Democracy Hijacked - and How to Fix It" beginning at 7 p.m. inside The Evergreen State College Longhouse in Olympia.

4. Join Elmo, Zoe, Abby Cadabby, Teddy Monster, Zoe's pet rock Rocco and thousands of kids just losing it when Sesame Street Live hits the Tacoma Dome at 7 p.m.

LINK: More arts and entertainment events in the South Sound

LINK: Catch a movie!

OLYMPIA'S NEW INTERNET BROADCAST NETWORK >>>

Watch out, Olympia: Mathias Eichler and Brandon Rosage want to give you a kick in the butt.

Eichler, owner of Olympia home-design-retailer-turned-media-company Einmaleins, and Rosage are the duo behind Einmaleins.TV, Olympia's new Internet broadcast network.

The programming, including the talk show Einmaleins Live and an evolving lineup of on-location programs, highlight some of what makes Olympia a great place to be.

"I'm not a big fan of being general," Rosage says. "It's often talked about that downtown is great, the culture is great, Olympia is great, great, great.

"I think when you talk about it on a general level, it doesn't really mean anything. We're giving examples of how Olympia is great."

To read Molly Gilmore's full article on Einmaleins.TV, click here.

OLD FRIENDS >>>

If you go to the new show at The Brick House you'll see a lot of stuff that looks very familiar, because gallery owner Peter MacDonald invited all his friends. It's a friendly, homey kind of gallery in a - what else? - brick house.

MacDonald wrote on his website:

"For this show I invited all the artists that have exhibited or been intimately involved with the gallery in the past year to submit what they would really like to show. Something they love. Something they almost don't want to sell, but will."

That last sentence indicates that if you see something you love in this show and purchase it, you're going to take something home that is very special.

If you visit The Brick House website you can get a nice preview of this show. The first thing you'll see there is "Are You Your Body?" a painted ceramic sculpture by Adriene Miller that stand 18inches high. It looks like a Rococo style fountain seen outside a villa in France or Italy, but with some decidedly modern touches. It's corny but fun to look at. The statuesque female nudes have eye appeal and the reclining male nude with the big schlong looks like a cross between a Norse god and a modern day satyr. I don't know what gives with the disembodied eye.

Robert Vogel's pastel "Figure" is a nice studio nude, not unlike your typical work from a college figure drawing class if by "typical" we mean by the best in the class. The drawing is highly energetic and well composed, and the use of light colors over a dark ground is exciting. I remember Vogel from previous shows at this gallery, and I've been impressed with his work.

If asked to pick a favorite from this show I would probably go with "Great Wide Open," a small oil painting by Alexis St. John. It's a slightly comical and slightly surrealistic painting of a bunny in the woods. It reminds me a lot of work by Joseph Park.

Another favorite would be Nancy Fields' painting "Unexpected Discovery." This one is also comically surrealistic. It pictures a woman in a red bathing suit swimming with fishes and a robot and a teapot, and the Easter Island statues. I'm usually not crazy about the kind of comical fantasy art Fields and St. John are showing, but these are inventive and nicely executed.

There's a lot to see in this show. The gallery is open only on Third Thursdays and by appointment, and for this show only a special opening Saturday, May 21, so don't miss your chance to see it.

[The Brick House, Invitational, Third Thursdays 4-9 p.m., May 21, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., and by appointment, through Aug. 31, 1123 S. Fawcett, Tacoma, 253-627-0426, www.thebrickhousegallery.com]

ALL CARP, ALL THE TIME >>>

Since our last Rainiers minute, the Rainiers (15-24) have looked pretty much... well, like the Rainiers. They've won a couple games, including an 18-6 beat down of the New Orleans Zephyrs. They've also lost a couple of games, including a one-run loss to those same Zephyrs.

But the big news of the past couple days isn't the Rainiers' wins or losses. It's that outfielder Mike Carp was named the Pacific Coast League's Player of the Week for the period of May 9-15.

We here at the Volcano love Mike Carp.  Maybe it's because he's a hell of a baseball player. Maybe it's because he shares the same name as a freshwater fish species. We can't exactly say why we love him, but we do. 

To express our undying appreciation for the Rainier's outfielder, we bring you a variety of facts, rumors, and useless nuggets relating to the 24-year-old badass that is Mike Carp.

- Carp attended Lakewood High School in Long Beach, California. Other notable stars to come out of Lakewood are short track speed skater J.R. Celski and ex-Entertainment Tonight reporter Bob Goen. 

-Carp hit three home runs in Sunday's 18-6 rout of the Zephyrs. He nearly hit a fourth in his final at bat, but doubled to center field instead. According to Curto, if Mike was able to get a tiny bit more of that last ball, he would have become only the second player in Tacoma history to hit four home runs in a game. That's OK, Mike. Three is good enough for us.  

-Carp was drafted out of high school by the New York Mets.  Lucky for us, he was traded to the Mariner's organization in 2008.  The trade included RHP J.J. Putz, who, like Carp, has an awesome last name.

-Carp's 2010 season was cut short by a bout of plantar fasciitis; swelling and pain around the thick tissue at the bottom of the foot. Plantar Fasciitis has many causes, not the least of which is wearing shoes (cleats?) with poor arch support. Better buy some insoles for those puppies, Mike.

-There is a www.mikecarp.com, but it has nothing to do with our lovable Rainier. Apparently, this Mike Carp lives in Reno, Nevada and likes to draw. The animation on the site is actually fairly amusing. Not nearly amusing as watching Mike Carp hit a dinger, though.

-We found this YouTube video which we mistakenly thought was titled ‘Mike Carp's Candy'. Now we're wondering what Carp's favorite candy is. Milkyway? Butterfinger? Is he a Skittles man? Or is he on some sort of strict, candy-free diet to insure he stays in peak physical condition?

-We also found a Mike Carp Sucks web forum.  Ready to raise hell, we were pleasantly surprised to read posts that praised Carp. One poster even suggests Carp grow a, ‘wicked mustache' to ensure a spot on the Mariners. We think this is the most intelligent, thought provoking, prophetic idea ever posted on the Internet. Ever.  

-The current world record for largest Grass Carp ever caught is 87lbs 10oz. That's, like, 140 pounds less than the Rainiers' Mike Carp. 

That's it for the nuggets of information. Congratulations again to Mike Carp for a great week of baseball. Keep hitting dingers.

And, we beg you, please grow that mustache.

FINNIGAN'S FANTASTIC FILM >>>

Barely a month remains until The Grand Cinema's last call for Tacoma Film Festival entries (June 15), meaning right now moviemakers in the area are carefully reviewing and fine-tuning their works before sending them off. Since last catching up with Andrew Finnigan at the 2010 festival, the man has retreated into a seclusion of sorts this winter, single-handedly editing his debut feature Fantastic Confabulations. He co-wrote, directed and lent his acting ability to the tale of lifelong pals Ray (Finnigan) and Wes (David Harlos).

With a rough cut finished, Finnigan must finally deliver his baby to the rest of his post-production team, including sound designer Scott Waters (World's Greatest Dad). After many months immersed in a large-scale project throughout which he wore multiple hats, "I'm glad to hand the film off, and let others worry about it," Finnigan tells me with some relief.

He has also enlisted Revengers bassist Dustin Iacobazzi Riecan to compose a score for FanCon. They want music that blends well with a movie both inspired by and a reaction to the mumblecore movement - in other words, music that seamlessly gels the unpolished spontaneity of documentary with glossier cinematic conventions. Settling on a style has had its challenges. "We're still figuring it out," Finnigan says.

I hope we see (and hear) Finnigan's Confabulations this fall. Check out a scene from the film at www.oldloyalfilms.com.

Thing: Raw food

Place: Caffe Dei

Includes: Veggies

Not: Animals

Nor: Sushi (darn)

Mainly: Vegan

Must try: Kale chips

Tasty: Yes

Healthy: Yes

Friendly: Yes

I am: One of those three things

Which one: You guess

To read this week's full column click here.