March 8, 2012 at 10:44am
THE LOWDOWN ON WHAT'S UP THIS WEEKEND >>>
WEATHER REPORTFriday: Rain showers, hi 48, lo 39
Saturday: More showers, hi 45, lo 39
Sunday: Chance of even more showers, hi 43, lo 36
Time flies when you're having fun. Or so the saying goes - and fun is definitely one of the many great, hyper-local bits of awesomeness being served every day at Tacoma's Amocat Café, celebrating one year this Friday with the aptly titled, "Amocat Live." Expect an evening full of live music for all ages including John Dolge, Jon Parker, Micaela Cooley, Sam Bogle, Russ Dahler, Gen Obata, and The Collaborators. Best of all, it's free. Plus, the ambiance at Amocat can't be beat. This event is a win for all involved. Stop bye and thank proprietor Morgan Alexander for a year of service to his community.
Technology is a pretty freakin' big deal these days. Seems like the legions of tech geeks are ever growing, with a new techie born every time the wind blows or someone purchases a new iPhone. Friday brings the South Sound Technology Conference to the University of Washington Tacoma, a one-day event designed to bring together, "leaders from industry, education and government to discuss and demonstrate innovations and their applications," according to pre-event hype. The day-long event features a morning keynote by VP Product Development Expedia Steve Jarvis, a panel discussion on the mobile app development "explosion," and a lunch keynote by White House Cybersecurity Coordinator Howard Schmidt.
There are few, if any, guitarists like Leo Kottke. An acoustic fret master, tickling both the six and 12 string varieties, Kottke's blazing licks have inspired guitarists worldwide for nearly the entire length of his legendary four-decade career. With a wry, almost comical approach to life and songwriting, mixed with unfathomable skill, Kottke is one for the ages. Friday, Kottke returns to the South Sound for a show at the Washington Center for the Performing Arts in Olympia. Come out and be amazed.
Founded in 2002 by Olympia DJ and hip-hop activist Luvva J- real name Jose Gutierrez Jr. -- in Vancouver, B.C., the non-profit organization Hip-Hop 4 the Homeless has now been spreading awareness of homelessness for a decade. Once a year, Luvva J and friends host the two-day event that includes one day of live performances by various hip-hop artists and offers free admission with donations of clothes, blankets, tents, food or anything that could be useful to the homeless. Day two of the annual event offers open doors to the homeless community, providing those in need the opportunity to take whatever necessities are available from the previous night's donations. A warm meal is also provided, along with a haircut and professional massage. In 2006 Luvva J decided he wanted to move the organization to the states and since then Olympia has happily become its home. "The purpose of this event is to not only spread awareness of the issue but to encourage folks to get involved and develop a deeper understanding surrounding poverty in America" says Gutierrez, who has written for the Volcano in the past. This year's Hip-Hop 4 the Homeless music showcase promises some of Olympia, Seattle and Portland's best, including DJs, spoken word and live performances by Khingz & OTOW Gang, Alex Duncan, Afrok & The Movement, Speaker Minds and many more.
The Harmony Sweepstakes may sound like a new dating service, but it's actually an annual event in Olympia featuring some of the region's best a cappella talent. No kidding. A night of music and awards, Saturday's festivities will include hosts and guest artists The Baudboys, the 2011 first-place champions, along with event emcee Smilin' Jay of Olympia's KGY AM/FM radio. Event hype available on the Washington Center's website promises, "an evening of impeccable harmonies and scintillation arrangements." Hard to go wrong there.
Everything is jazz. Or damn near everything. As The Bad Plus proves, bald heads and fu Manchu mustaches are pretty freakin' jazzy, too. But let us not trivialize this world-renowned jazz band, hitting Tacoma's Pantages Theater Saturday, as anything but remarkable. There's good reason why Billboard, and subsequently the Broadway Center's website, hypes the band as, "America's most "audacious, rule-breaking jazz trio." It's because all those aforementioned adjectives apply. Plus there's the facial hair. Catch The Bad Plus in Tacoma Saturday taking on Stravinsky's Rite of Spring - a pairing that should make for quite an evening of entertainment.
In high school, you went to State in pizza eating and acne. It could have been cooler. Saturday, you'll have a chance to see a dozen Washington high school students get a better jump on their lives than the Little Caesar's slogan, "Pizza! Pizza!" ever afforded you, competing in the Poetry Out Loud State Finals. Presented by the Washington State Arts Commission, with support from the National Endowment for the Arts and The Poetry Foundation, Saturday's Poetry Out Loud State Finals will pit winners from seven regional finals held across Washington state in an ultimate throwdown of poetry recital. Along with ultimate statewide bragging rights, competitors will be vying for an all-expenses-paid trip to Washington, D.C. to participate in the Poetry Out Loud national finals.
Playwright August Wilson is best known for his Pittsburgh Cycle - a series of 10 plays each set in a different decade recalling the struggles and comedies of the African American experience in the 20th Century. That's what happens when you win two Pulitzer Prizes for Drama. At 3 p.m., the Broadway Center, Northwest Playwrights Alliance and hosting venue Washington State History Museum bring us a staged reading of Jitney, part of Wilson's Pittsburgh Cycle that centers on a cab driver's station in the late 1970s. Hype on the Broadway Center website describes the play, saying "his character driven performance features sharp-witted, hustling co-workers who gossip, argue and dream in between jobs."
Speaking of how everyone is becoming a major techie, collecting newfangled and ever-fancier gadgets at warp speed, our desk drawers here at Weekly Volcano World Headquarters sure are full of a lot of obsolete pieces unwanted tech - from flip phones to classic Fisher Price Viewmasters. While we're not about to give away the Viewmasters, everything else can go - which is why we'll likely head to Sunday's free electronics recycling event in the parking lot of Tacoma's Champion Centre (1819 E 72nd St., Tacoma). Organized by the Seattle-based organization Friendly Earth, the goal of Sunday's event is to take as much unwanted tech off the streets as possible, and recycle it instead of letting it rot in the ground or in your desk drawer. Tax write offs will be given to any donated tech, and the list of accepted electronics is substantial, including appliances, metals, computer equipment and components, home and business electronics, batteries and machinery. Sadly, speakers, light bulbs, paints, wood based products and small miscellaneous plastics will not be accepted - making disposing of that pimped out yet unused lizard tank in your closet still difficult.
The close of the week offers a chance to join the Olympia Symphony Orchestra and guest pianist Wolfgang Wortberg for "By Audience Request," a performance promising Beethoven's Piano Concerto No. 1 in C major, Op. 15, Verdi's Overture to NabuccoI, Grainger's Irish Tune from County Derry and Stravinsky's Suite from The Firebird. While the Olympia Symphony Orchestra rarely-if-ever disappoints, much of the pre-show hype for this events centers on Wortberg's piano skills, and rightly so. As the Symphony's website notes, "Known for his musical insight, beautiful tone, and technical command, pianist Wolfgang Wortberg has performed in venues across the United States and Europe. Audiences and critics alike acclaim his unique concerts: portraits of a single composer, interweaving music with insightful reflections on the life and work of the composers themselves and their contemporaries." Catching Wortberg and the Olympia Symphony Orchestra as a Sunday nightcap seems like a sure bet for good times and ageless music. But you're advised to test that statement for yourself.
CHRISTIAN CARVAJAL Theater Critic
Don't imply I have no plans for this weekend, pal. This ain't some total dweeb you're talking to. I preordered the Game of Thrones Blurays, so...wait, that doesn't help my point.
JOANN VARNELL Theater Critic
Depending on how naptime goes, we may be attending a birthday party for a one year old on Saturday. Sunday I will be reviewing Tacoma Little Theatre's Someone to Watch Over Me. The rest of the time I intend to hang out with my now 19-month-old son and spend some time writing for my blog.
JOSH RIZEBERG Tacoma Hip-Hop Writer
Friday I'll be teaching my Spoken-Word/Poetry class at the D.A.S.H. Center. Class is all-ages and is open for enrollment and drop-ins are welcome! After that I'll be performing with Abom the Kid and Awall A.K.A. 2-Piece at Krickets in Spanaway for Abom's "Rookie of the Year" show. Saturday I'll be going to Olympia to support the annual Hip-Hop 4 the Homeless benefit. It's packed with great talent from Olympia, Tacoma and Seattle. This might be Olympia's best yearly hip-hop event. Looks like Sunday I'll just be chilling with The Family!
NIC LEONARD Olympia Hip-Hop Writer
Friday night Free Whiskey is playing an all-ages show at the Don't Stop Printing Shop for the Fresh Heads EP release party, so I will be partaking in that. Saturday I will be at Hip Hop 4 The Homeless.
ALEC CLAYTON Arts Critic
Our big plans include going to see "The Color Purple" (the musical) at Tacoma Musical Playhouse Saturday night and a PFLAG meeting in Olympia Sunday.
MOLLY GILMORE Arts Writer
Friday is Leo Kottke at the Washington Center. Saturday is my daughter's birthday party (at Alley Oop Gymnastics) and then a kirtan with Shantala at Waves Studio.
JENNI PRANGE BORAN Arts and Feature Writer
There's nothing to write home about scheduled for Saturday, hoping to catch up on re-writing a script that's been crying out for attention, but on Sunday I'll be enjoying a Living Social adventure I purchased called "Shootin' and Drinkin'" which involves a trip to a shooting range and a brewery--hopefully in that order.
NIKKI TALOTTA Music Writer
This weekend brings a much needed shopping date with my hubby. We get to pick out a laptop without the continued interruption of our children's needs! We may even go to lunch - can't remember the last time we did that... Ah, the joys of parenting.
REV. ADAM MCKINNEY Music Writer
I will be heading out to the New Frontier for the Sound Icons show -- a spectacle that I cannot pass up. However, I recently found out about a show at Dorky's Arcade on the same night (too late to include it in the paper, unfortunately) featuring the Cutwinkles, the Fabulous Downey Bros., a great band called the Hoot Hoots (whose record I am now obsessed with), and the untouchably ludicrous air-band, Airpocalypse. It's going to be a profoundly nerdy evening of indie rock.
JOSEPH IZENMAN Theater Critic
Aside from the general awesomeness that is taking Friday off from work to do nothing but music, I'll pretty much be sitting in one theater or another most of the weekend. Thursday night is preview night for "The Color Purple" at Tacoma Musical Playhouse, Friday night we're off to PLU for "Rabbit Hole," and Saturday is capped off by seeing jazz trio The Bad Plus rock through Stravinsky's "Rite of Spring" at the Broadway Center.
STEVE DUNKELBERGER Photographer
I am doing nothing but working at home with my nose in books and spreadsheets. But I might his Amocat's music bash on Friday.
LINK: Even more local events that we recommend
LINK: Comprehensive South Sound Arts & Entertainment Calendar
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