FRIDAY, NOV. 4, 2011 >>>

1. As an MC, Macklemore is somewhat difficult to pin down. His lyrics can venture into proud declarations of heritage ("Irish Celebration"), sentimental ruminations on his hometown and childhood ("My Oh My," which he recently performed on the grass of Safeco Field, in honor of Dave Niehaus), or the absurd (as in "And We Danced," a patently ridiculous party jam featuring Macklemore affecting a faux-serious British accent). All the while, his flow remains strong, and his voice distinct. Frequently, though, Macklemore's greatest strength is the music created for him by his producer, Ryan Lewis. Especially effective is the sampling of Beirut's gorgeous "Scenic World" accordion line in Macklemore's "Irish Celebration." It gives the song an air of epicness and importance beyond the power of the rhymes. Macklemore and Ryan Lewis play the Capitol Theater in Olympia tonight.

2. Gems, a band playing the New Frontier tonight as part of the Umber Sleeping CD release party, take the synths out on auditory explorations. The band's songs are equally built for black lights and full dance floors as they are solo listening in the dark of one's home. This is a show of different, yet simpatico bands, rounded out by the on-the-rise Not From Brooklyn - yet another band that manages to synthesize the electronic and the analog.

3. Since her days on The Tonight Show in the 1970s, Joan Rivers has been a comedic icon. Now 78, Rivers, as captured in Joan Rivers: A Piece of Work (last year's film documentary about her life) seems to fear just one thing: a blank calendar. Co-host of E! Entertainment TV's Fashion Police, she also stars with her daughter, Melissa, on their reality show Joan & Melissa: Joan Knows Best? - which has been renewed for its second season on WE network starting in January. When not lambasting celebs for their sartorial mishaps or videotaping Melissa in the shower, Rivers travels the country performing stand-up. Tonight Rivers lands in Tacoma, playing the Pantages Theater with Brad Upton.

4. Want to get up close and personal with the Weekly Volcano's Steve Dunkelberger? Who doesn't? Better yet: want to improve your nighttime photography skills in the process? All of these irresistible opportunities collide tonight at Tacoma Art Place when Dunkelberger leads a "Basic Nighttime Photography" class from 8 - 10 p.m. According to the hype, Dunkelberger's class will demonstrate "that great photography doesn't demand expensive camera equipment." Find more info here.

5. The evocativeness of the name Tender Forever is unusually representative of the music that Tender Forever (AKA Melanie Valera) creates. It may be somewhat hard to track amongst the invigorating percussion that permeates the music, but Tender Forever's lyrics have a strong center in the intimate and revealing. Valera's slick arrangements do their part in creating a wall around the personal revelations that inhabit her songs, but a tender, beating heart lives in her music. Tonight Tender Forever plays the Midnight Sun in Olympia, a show co-produced by the Olympia All-Ages Association and Northern.

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