ONLINE CHATTER >>>

Today's comments come from "low bar," no fan of the Volcano, Rev. Adam McKinney, the Dignitaries, Motopony, kittens, our Drink(s) guide, the "Tacoma: Love it or leave it" slogan, or much of anything else it sometimes seems.

Over the last few days, low bar - in response to a multitude of Volcano articles - has offered the following,

low bar on the Volcano's Super Best of Tacoma 2011 voting

"Tacoma: be a gold fish molesting gorilla confining psychopath alcoholic pushing 40 year old shitty bar scene music loving loser or Leave it"

low bar on the Volcano's Drink(s) guide

you gotta wonder who in the fuck you are publishing this information for. like chances are your demographic already knows all this shit because lets face it, no one from seattle or olympia slums over to tacoma to get drunk and if you're publishing this crap for the home team you are pretty much wasting your time because as one of your contributor's stated on another comment thread: "Love the variety and the familiarity. Big enough so I don't get bored. Small enough so I don't get lost." In other words, you guys know where everything is at, but you've got the object permanence of a group of seniles so you constantly have to report and publish on crap everyone in your demographic already knows about. Unless of course you failed to leave one figure out of your brilliant demographic photo at the top: Private Joe Snuffy. Or is he the one with the idiot smile holding the menu? Please change your name from Volcano to the Fort Lewis Fancy News or the Mcchord Best Value or the Spend your blood money from war here in our pathetic wanna be Seattle mag. Thanks:)

low bar on Motopony

This wouldn't have pissed my off because normally motoPHONY just make me laugh but to hear they are going to be associated with Those Darlins, a band with good songs, is just too much. then again the comedy at LAX baggage claim may make up for it. Hope they perform their hit: I lost the bag that carried my latest gimmick.

low bar on Motopony some more

motophony are an unintentional self-parodying gift from the comedy gods. Also, is it the bubonic, or is that really a big brown cookie monster standing to the right of DB in that photo?

low bar in response to Rev. Adam McKinney, who made the mistake of sticking his hand in his cage.

Rev,

If it's so funny why am I in agony over all these fucking idiots? I am fucking le tired of seeing D listers masquerading the fuck about. Yeah motophony at one point were A list in Tacoma, but the fucking city is a D list city! So if you think you're hot shit in Tacoma, please please please think again. And its not the music critics you have to worry about, its your peers. Abe Vigoda can kick the living shit out of Motophony on stage without even touching an instrument.

low bar on Tacoma Hempfest

its good to see both sides of the cultural spectrum are crazy as fuck. it's one thing to expose kids to bullshit creationism in school, and don't get me wrong i smoke weed too, but bud hashquatch being on hand for the kids? have you lost utter fucking touch with reality tacoma?

low bar on Saucy Yoda

saucy yoda is mildly interesting, but the crowd was painful to watch. leezy = out of touch. and the other generic garage band = way out of touch.

low bar on rap

rap is dead

low bar on Jazzbones

jazzbones sucks

low bar on our article on the Dignitaries CD release show

WTF

low bar on our review of Harlequin's Summer in the Sixties

what??

low bar in response to Nikki, who pointed out no one is forcing him to visit weeklyvolcano.com

no one forcing you to read my shit either nikki. as for you volcano, the plot of an alt weekly you have totally lost.

low bar in response to the Dignitaries choices of where to stand

Reylan, do you guys normally all put on the same clothes and stand in a fucking ditch somewhere off I'm guessing pearl street? Is that what you want to tell the world? Rev, you don't have the slightest clue what garage means so stop using it to pigeonhole, thanks:)

SATURDAY, JUNE 24, 2011 >>>

1. The Urban Arts festival kicks off for real today along the Thea Foss Waterway. Find all the details you'll need right here.

2. Wanna see some rough and tumble ladies seriously throwdown? Like, seriously throwdown? It doesn't get much better - as far as the competition or excitement goes - than Dockyard Derby Dames roller derby. Today the Dames will hold the season's championship bout - thee Tacoma roller derby event of the year.

3. Oh! It's roller derby you like? Well, the 2009 WFTDA National Champion Oly Rollers have a double header this weekend - facing off today and tomorrow and Skateland. One word: sick. Find the details here.

4. The Cody Rentas Band will perform at the Handicapped Challenge Fundraiser today at Uncle Sam's American Bar & Grill in Spanaway.

5. Vote for Tacoma's best baristas, politicians, bloggers, bartenders and local businesses in the only 253 "Best Of" issue that matters. The Volcano's annual Best of Tacoma issue publishes July 28, and this year's readers' poll launched last week. Let your vote be heard now! Find all the details here.

LINK: South Sound Live Local Music Listings

LINK: Viva South Sound Arts & Entertainment Calendar

For 26 years in a row, the Taste of Tacoma has been encouraging gluttony in the park - and this year is much of the same. Friday kicked off the event at Point Defiance, and I was there to test the food for all of you and make sure the waters were safe. Good news-they are totally safe and delicious.

After perusing both the official Taste of Tacoma guide (available throughout the event grounds) and taking a walk around the food area, I chose three items to sample: Pho Cyclo Café's tofu bahn mi, Delicious Asia's egg rolls, and Jasper's BBQ's BBQ chicken sandwich. My favorite this year - hands down - was the bahn mi (a Vietnamese sandwich), both for tastiness and portion bang for my buck.

While supping upon my sandwiches, I enjoyed two musical performances. The first was a band I have seen here before-The BGP, a "Blue-eyed Soul Dance Band" according to the official guide.

Their music is peppy and fun, but as I settled in as the band set up, a man nearby turned to me and said, "Have you seen these guys before?"

"No," I said, forgetting that I had.

"They were just on America's Got Talent! And they made it past all the judges."

Cool, I thought... but lo and behold, it was actually true. This Tacoma band is going to the Las Vegas round of America's Got Talent! - so make sure to check them out if you bother to watch summer network TV.

The other band I caught was The Ongoing, a Christian alternative rock band. While this sort of music is not usually my thing, I did appreciate the Coldplay vibe to their sound.

Taste of Tacoma also features the usual spread of vendors (jewelry, henna, arts and crafts) to check out, as well as some rides. I'm convinced the Taste is running a scam. Both the Starship and Zero Gravity are devices designed simply to spin humans - perhaps present and ready just to make you hork up all your well-deserved tastes. Beware.

PHOTO CREDIT: Jen Cook-Asaro

Taste of Tacoma

Friday, June 24-Saturday, June 25 11 a.m. to 9 p.m.
Sunday, June 26 11 a.m. to 8 p.m.
Free admission, free live music and more than 30 tastings for purchase - choose the "just a bite" option at any food vendor for $3.75, or go big with an item from their regular menu.
Point Defiance Park, 5400 N. Pearl St., Tacoma
tasteoftacoma.com

SEVENTH ANNUAL UAF PREPARES TO TAKE OFF >>>

The Urban Art Festival is a grassroots festival at its best-a little bit of every kind of art (including some varieties not always recognized as art) all dumped into one public park, then shaken, not stirred, with lots of music and other cool stuff. Now in its seventh year, the Urban Art Festival has expanded to two full days, and will take place June 25 and 26 along Thea Foss Waterway.

The festival began in 2004 when a group of friends, including Joey Morrison, Johanna Gardner (currently the event coordinator), Linda Honeck and Laura and Matt Eklund, decided to put together an event featuring all kinds of art, focusing on local and environmentally friendly vendors and artists. Though one of the founding members, Joey Morrison, passed away unexpectedly in 2005, the group continued on, and even picked up some new members, including Lisa Fruichantie (performance art coordinator) and Mandi Martin (vendor coordinator).The festival strives to bring together every type of music and art, and to tear down stereotypes and draw in the community.

This year, visitors can enjoy the bigger and better nature of this festival as it ramps up. There will be three stages, lots of artists and lots of music.

To read Kristin Kendle's full article click here.

[Thea Foss Waterway, from the Museum of Glass at 1801 Dock St. to beyond the 21st Street Bridge, Saturday-Sunday, June 25 - 26, Saturday noon - 8 p.m., Sunday noon - 9:20 p.m., Tacoma, tacomaurbanart.com]

ROCK MUSIC ABOUT STUFF IN BOOKS >>>

When he and his brother founded wizard-punk band Harry and the Potters in 2002, Paul DeGeorge never imagined the band would be paying his bills.

"I want to say I'm a professional wizard," says Paul, who'll be playing with brother Joe DeGeorge Saturday behind the Olympia Timberland Library. "We thought this would be a weird little side project. We never thought we'd be touring nationally and quitting day jobs."

While he is a fan of the books, Paul says the project was more whim than serious endeavor.

"I knew that people loved these books, but I had no idea there was such a fandom until people got interested in what we were doing and I started getting e-mails from all over the world," he says. "The books were coming out every couple of years, but people needed more. They wanted more ways to interact with the books.

"We were filling that gap, but at the time, it was just like, ‘Let's see if we can convince librarians to let us play in the library if we sing about Harry Potter.'"

To read Molly Gilmore's full article click here.

Harry and the Potters

Saturday, June 25, 6 p.m., Free

On Ninth Avenue behind the Olympia Timberland Library, 313 Eighth Ave. SE, Olympia, 360.352.0595 or trl.org or harryandthepotters.com

SUNDAY, JUNE 26, 2011 >>>

1. The Urban Arts Festival continues today along the Thea Foss Waterway. The weather looks amazing. Come out and play.

2. Today is your last chance at Taste of Tacoma this year. You've been warned.

3. Sleeping in Gethsemane will perform today at Metronome Coffee. Or, if that's not your musical cup of tea, find the Volcano's extensive live local music listings here.

4. It's Movie Night at the Brotherhood in Olympia. It's a tradition - and it's awesome. Wind your weekend down in style.

5. Vote for Tacoma's best baristas, politicians, bloggers, bartenders and local businesses in the only 253 "Best Of" issue that matters. The Volcano's annual Best of Tacoma issue publishes July 28, and this year's readers' poll launched last week. Let your vote be heard now! Find all the details here.

LINK: South Sound Live Local Music Listings

LINK: Viva South Sound Arts & Entertainment Calendar

YESTERDAY AT WRIGHT PARK >>>

Yesterday in Tacoma Wright Park played host to the second annual Tacoma Hempfest -- organized by Justin Prince, Cat Jeter and Kevin Heiderich.

Our preview cover story of the event can be found here.

As Liesl Deisel and I stopped to get feathers crimped into our hair by beautiful Olympia native, Ashley Gordon, one of the booth's workers called out, "Head's up!" and everyone scurried to cover glass pipes with blankets and towels.  I eased my way against the glass cabinet housing more pipes, hoping my body would shield the goods from view. 

Once Tacoma Police had walked by the area and an "all clear" was given, the blankets came off and bodies crowded the booth of glass pipes - with business going back to normal.

Gordon then began to tell us a story that became an almost duplicate story told by every other glass vendor at Tacoma Hempfest that day.

Apparently, Tacoma Hempfest event organizers approached the City of Tacoma requesting permission to hold their hemp-themed festival -- including glass art, incense, t-shirts and more items of the hemp-like would be sold, while a main stage supported live music and  I-1149 petitioners requested signatures.

The City of Tacoma agreed to the festival, took the thousands of dollars in fees, and asked organizers to staff (read: pay) more police officers for security reasons.

What Hempfest organizers and vendors didn't realizes is that they were apparently paying the city to shut them down.

Across an alley of vendors, Justin Steglitz, owner of Tacoma's Hippie House, tells me that the festival began at 11 a.m., and by 11:06 a.m. he was given a citation for possession of paraphernalia.  According to Steglitz, the police officers confiscated an incense holder with marijuana leaves on it, two glass pipes, some marijuana-scented incense, and grabbed the marijuana-leaf lei right off his neck - without even asking.

Unlike Steglitz and his crew who were out to brave the storm and simply covered up their goods each time police officers passed, other vendors who were ticketed simply shut down and went home.  Owner of Tacoma's Green Room, JT, tells me that's exactly what she had to do.

Although she wasn't ticketed, outrage was palpable from the three (out of ten) glass blowers she brought to the festival who did receive tickets from the Tacoma Police.  All ten of JT's glass blowers decided to leave the event, and were gone by 2 p.m.

Tacoma Hempfest goers were also told by the police that anyone caught purchasing such marijuana-related goods would be ticketed as well.

The mood of the vendors and attendees at the event seemed solemn and angry, yet somehow full of pride and resilience.  Overall, what was meant to be a happy community event on a gorgeous, sunny summer day in one of the city's nicest parks turned into a battle of citizens versus government.

Saddened by the day's events, I hope to express to each local business owner who paid event fees (upwards of $400 each booth) that I, along with a vast majority of our community, will not cease to support you. 

Weekly Volcano photographer Patrick Snapp was out and about at yesterday's pro-cannabis rally, and snapped these pictures of the action ...

PHOTO CREDIT: Patrick Snapp

ART AND COMMUNITY ACTION CONTINUES TODAY >>>

Tacoma's diversity, both in its people and in its creative talent, is showcased at this weekend's Urban Arts Festival. Now in its seventh year, this year the two-day summertime event is being  held on the Thea Foss Waterway in a new(ish) park and walking area next to the Museum of Glass. A manicured lawn proved to be a perfect staging area for vendors, a beer garden and the main music stage.

With booths lined up facing boats bobbing in the inlet, vendors smiled and chatted with festival goers about their handmade art, crafts and wares. Bright red, green and yellow blooms and foliage spilled from hanging basket planters. Just as colorful was Jooley Heaps's brilliant red hair at her Box Top Vintage booth. Metalwork art gleamed in the sun from an uncovered booth and humorous prints peaked out from under canopies. I looked on as Ebony Morris, an Eastside Tacoma resident, became the proud owner of two-tone block-style creation. Festival organizer Johanna Gardner remarks that this is what it's all about.

UAF allows artists to show their works in an environment where people can see them, acquire them or even be part of them. With interactive art and dance being a focal point, like chalk-art graced sidewalks, Gardner is definitely right. Walking through I felt the pleasant, lazy vibe of attendees; they matched my slow stroll. The distinct vocal stylings of Kim Archer summoned me to the main stage. To the right, a skateboard course, DJ area with plenty of lawn for dancing and John Spevak's sausage booth flooding the air with delicious meaty aromas.

Umber Sleeping frontman and drummer Peter Tietjen wrangled his kids while hawking punk buttons. "It's a great location this year. I think tomorrow will be even better. And man, great weather," Tietjen comments. He smiles and gestures skyward where a few fluffy white clouds only made the sun feel even brighter.

Urban Arts festival runs through Sunday, June 26 at 9 p.m.

LINK: 2011 Urban Art Festival in photos

Find our full preview story of the event here.

THE SOUTH SOUND'S ONLY LOCAL FILM CRITIC >>>

A funny thing happens toward the end of Incendies. In a film that truly centers on the nature of revenge and the vicious cycle that can arise from calling for an eye for an eye-after we see how cruel and senseless this inevitably becomes-we end up complicit in this thirst for blood. We want revenge against someone who committed vile atrocities. When the film ends with a message of forgiveness, it's a marvel how this suddenly seems like a novel and commendable approach.

To read Rev. Adam McKinney's full review of Incendies click here.

MONDAY, JUNE 27, 2011 >>>

1. The last time we saw Saucy Yoda, it was at an underground benefit show being thrown for a friend. Standing in front of the stage with just a microphone in hand, being accompanied by a prerecorded backing track, Saucy Yoda unleashed a flurry of absurd party jams that incorporate equal parts hip-hop and electro-clash attitude. Mythological Horses joins Saucy Yoda at 9 p.m. inside The New Frontier Lounge. It's a must see.

2. Mutants, aliens, technogeeks and puny humans who like to read superhero comics make up the Capes & Cowls Book Club, which meets at 7 p.m. inside King's Books to discuss Batman: Year One by Frank Miller & David Mazzucchelli.

3. The Rod Cook Band will perform at The Swiss beginning at 8 p.m.

4. Kim Archer does the solo thing at 8 p.m. inside the Harmon Brewery & Eatery.

5. San Francisco's punk rock band Grandma's Boyfriend will be tearing up the tiny back room at Le Voyeur around 9 p.m.

LINK: More arts and entertainment events in the South Sound

LINK: Happy hours!