Weekly Volcano Blogs: Walkie Talkie Blog

Posts made in: April, 2012 (128) Currently Viewing: 81 - 90 of 128

April 18, 2012 at 8:16am

MORNING SPEW: Cutting jobs, spending city money, painful cake video ...

WHAT WE HAVE FOUND TODAY >>>

Today In Oh This Is Quite Lovely: Team Dickwad hold South Tacoma woman at gunpoint, then ransack her home. (News Tribune)

Washington State Budget Cuts: And by cuts, we mean 1,266 more full-time jobs in state government. (News Tribune)

Tacoma City Council: It will grab money raised by 2009 and 2010 bond sales and spend it on theater, pool and bridge repairs, Hilltop public-housing renovations and walkways. (News Tribune)

Syrian Cease Fire: Not really a good thing as President Bashar al-Assad is tightening his grip on the country during the decrease in violence brought on by U.N. demands. (CNN)

The "Leap List": Ryan Leaf's list of things to do before possibly heading to prison. (Daily Weekly)

Creepy Finance Guy: He has spreadsheet of Match.com 'prospects.' (Jezebel)

Muppets Sequel: It will be a caper with new characters. (MTV)

Mission To Lars: New Metallica film to be released in June. (NME)

Fascinating: What it costs eight women writers to live in New York City. (The Awl)

April 18, 2012 at 9:42am

First Bite: Topside Bar and Grill

TOPSIDE BAR AND GRILL: Enjoy seafood, salads, burgers, sandwiches and grilled meat entrees with a marvelous view of Chambers Bay. Photo credit: Adrienne Kuehl

THE VIEW IS BACK >>>

With the weather warming up, there's a new option for dining with a view. Topside Bar and Grill opened March 23in the former Jake's Bar and Bistro location.

The restaurant seems to be off to a great start. On a recent visit for dinner, there was a line at the door all evening of customers waiting for a table.

Though it just recently opened, Topside has a distinct neighborhood feel, where everyone appears to know each other. Owners John and Niki O'Reilly believe the view from their deck really makes them stand out from other area restaurants.

It does.

Overlooking Chambers Bay, the deck is open with limited service during the winter/spring months, and will be open with full service during the summer.

Read my thoughts on Topside Bar and Grill's food in the Restaurants section at weeklyvolcano.com.

Topside Bar and Grill, 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Monday-Thursday, 11 a.m. to Midnight Friday and Saturday, 215 Wilkes St., Steilacoom, 253.212.3690

Filed under: Food & Drink, Steilacoom,

April 18, 2012 at 10:31am

CLAYTON ON ART: Art for art's sake

“The Hostess Ark: Two by Two” Assemblage by Lynn D. Nino. Courtesy Flow Gallery

CONTENT IN ART MAY DESERVE MORE ATTENTION >>>

I'm becoming a softie in my old age, reevaluating some long-held ideas about art. For instance, I've always been a formalist in the Clement Greenberg mold and have resented the trend toward content over form that has dominated the art world since the 1970s. It irritates the crap out of me when I read review after review after review in Art News and Art in America and Art Forum and all they talk about is the message, personal identity, symbolism, the ideas expressed by contemporary artists (often cleverly hidden in metaphor and symbol) - whether those ideas are clever or earth-shaking or banal and older than the malfunctioning heart they took out of Dick Cheny - and they never once mention color, harmony or line quality or texture or balance and contrast of form, the visual elements that make art art.

OK, I take it back. I'm not such a softie after all. I still hate that, and furthermore, I've quit reading all those magazines; they never have anything worthwhile to say. But I have to admit that a few shows I've seen lately have made me start thinking that content in art may deserve more attention than I've been willing to give it. The HIDE/SEEK exhibit at the Tacoma Art Museum is a prime example. I can marvel at the edge quality in Marsden Hartley's paintings and the play of shadows in Alice Neel's portrait of Frank O'Hara, but without the messages inherent in so many of these works of art the show would suffer. Likewise, content is all-important in Lynn Di Nino's work at Flow, which I recently reviewed.

In architecture there is the old dictum: form follows function. Similarly, in visual art it seems there must be a balance between form and idea. I have always held that it is not enough to state a good idea; one must do it in a way that is aesthetically pleasing or challenging. Di Nino's Hostess Cupcake sculptures are fascinating and make an important statement in a humorous manner, but they suffer slightly because there's not enough emphasis on form. By way of contrast, the works by Karen Utter and Angela Wales Rockett at the Handforth Gallery are more formal but would be better if they had more to say. Rockett's paintings, and Utter's pastels to a lesser degree, verge on what used to be called art for art's sake - something I used to be all for but not so much anymore.

Last night I watched for the third time a DVD of the film The Cradle Will Rock, written and directed by Tim Robbins. There was a scene in it where Nelson Rockefeller (played by John Cusack) and a cadre of capitalist bigwigs were talking about promoting an international art-for-art's-sake movement with all abstract art, which they said was safe because you can't make political statements with abstract art. The precipitating event was that Rockefeller had commissioned Diego Rivera to paint a mural and then was horrified when Rivera included a portrait of Lenin in it. The artists they wanted to promote included some that I have long considered to be among the greatest painters of the 20th century: Pollock, de Kooning and Motherwell. I still think they were great and that Abstract Expressionism was the most important movement in the history of American art. But after watching that scene I begin to feel like promoting art for art's sake is traitorous to the liberal/radical beliefs I've held throughout most of my adult life. Ironically, those artists and most modern artists also espoused liberal/radical beliefs. They just didn't use their art to express their beliefs.

That brings us back to an age-old question. Should artists engage in their social and political world through their art? I think there comes a time for some artists when their conscious no longer allows them a choice. That time came for Picasso with the bombing of Guernica. He could no longer justify art that did not speak to the current political realities. That time also came to Robert Mapplethorpe and David Hockney when the AIDS crisis began to kill their friends (and eventually, of course, Mapplethorpe himself).

So maybe I'm not changing my views after all. I've always believed there must be a balance between form and content. I'm just beginning to see that the fulcrum needs to move a little more toward the content end of the see-saw.

Filed under: Arts, Tacoma,

April 19, 2012 at 7:06am

5 Things To Do Today: Donald Glaude, Puyallup Spring Fair, Tap into T-Town sign-up, Paul Dickson night and more ...

DONALD GLAUDE: He's the James Brown of house music.

THURSDAY, APRIL 19, 2012 >>>

1. If local boy done good Donald Glaude is spinning in Tacoma that means it's either Christmas or an Ocean Grooves anniversary. Happy 13th anniversary Ocean Grooves. It's hard to tell who is having a more time of your life experience - the crowd or Lakewood-raised now internationally famed DJ Glaude. He has an intoxicating energy about him. It's contagious. His lust for life shines on his face. Is that pure joy we see when a particularly tasty beat mixes lushly with an incoming track and fans voice appreciation for the talent it takes to make that magic happen with deafening cheering and dancing, dancing, dancing? Pure joy indeed. Joining the Ocean Grooves house music explosion with Glaude will be, of course, DJ dAb and Omar, as well as Mr. Clean beginning at 10 p.m. inside Encore Boutique Nightclub.

2. The Puyallup Spring Fair opens at 2 p.m. today for a four-day run. Organizers say that this year's edition, while shorter than its late summer edition, is crammed with more attractions than ever. For urbanites who need convincing, here's a handy checklist: Monster Trucks Friday, demolitions Saturday-Sunday, Rock U interactive music exhibit, Northwest Jr. Rodeo, Dock Dogs water jumping NASCAR race with an authentic simulator, Fiesta Mexicana, rides, fried foods and more. Go ahead: Leave your laptop behind, shimmy into that old pair of Wranglers, pull on those dusty cowboy boots, slap on a 10-gallon hat and prepare to spend yourself a day - or four - at this year's wingding.

3. "It's always the last place you look," people say about lost objects. Well, of course it is. As some comedian from decades ago (probably David Brenner) used to say, you wouldn't continue to search for something once you've found it. Sheesh. Anyway, the Tap into T-Town folks will make looking for hidden items fun Saturday, June 2 with a benefit scavenger hunt throughout downtown Tacoma. Afterward, you and your teammates (the hunting is done in groups of four) are invited back to the starting line at the Greater Tacoma Convention and Trade Center for a reception, and if you were very, very good at sniffing things out, an award might await. Team pre-registration sign up for the Tap into T-Town scavenger hunt is tonight from 5:30-7:30 p.m. at The Office Bar and Grill in downtown Tacoma. The Office will serve specials during the sign-up. Tonight's an awesome opportunity to meet other participants and strategize with your team. 

4. Riding a wave of positive vibes, the Third Thursday ArtWalk ART BUS is back this month with more art venue stops, launching from the Tacoma Art Museum at 6 p.m. The April bus is partnering with the local poetry community to celebrate National Poetry Month. Its celebrity guest tour guides are poet laureates and the VIP riders ($20, instead of $10) will receive a free, limited edition poetry booklet with poems from local poets about galleries, culture, writing and the muse. Each one is handcrafted, signed and numbered by local artist and writer, Maria Chong Gudaitis. Two buses will hit the street visiting 253 Collective, Wright Park Observatory, B2 Fine Art Gallery, A Touch of Magick, Anew Thyme, Brick House Gallery, Embellish Multispace Salon, City Grocer, Grassi's Garden Café, Merlino Arts Center, Nine Lives Vintage Wears, Throwing Mud Gallery, The Social and The Swiss. Remember, art is in the eye of the bus rider.

5. Baseball may no longer be the "national pastime" if judged by TV ratings. Judged by the quantity and quality of writing it inspires, however, baseball is still the champ. Paul Dickson is author of several mammoth baseball books including the indispensable Dickson Baseball Dictionary. His latest book, Bill Veeck: Baseball's Greatest Maverick, will be released in late April. Dickson will discuss his books, and sign autographs, at 7 p.m. inside the Tacoma Public Library Main Branch, as part of the Tacoma Reads Together campaign to read and discuss the W. P. Kinsella's classic baseball novel, Shoeless Joe.

BONUS EVENT: Do you love Bob's Java Jive? Do you like wearing bunny ears? Join the bunch of weirdos at 8 p.m. for the "Bad Bunny" Java Jive Appreciation Night party at the historical tavern. Yes, there will be usual karaoke. Yes, there will be cheap beer. Yes, one guy will dress up as the rabbit from Donnie Darko and rap "Lose Yourself."

LINK: More arts and entertainment events in the South Sound

LINK: Live music and DJs in the South Sound

LINK: South Sound happy hours

April 19, 2012 at 8:01am

MORNING SPEW: Washam fined, craft beer app, children-only airline flights ...

CRAFT BEER: There's an app for that.

WHAT WE HAVE FOUND TODAY >>>

Tacoma Takes The High Road: Cheney Stadium Sustainable Stormwater Project is actually cool. (Weekly Volcano)

Checking In With Wily Washam: Pierce County Ethics Commission says Pierce County assessor-treasurer Dale Washam used public resources for campaign purposes in an effort to unseat county Prosecutor Mark Lindquist. (News Tribune)

Oh Lovely: Anders Behring Breivik, who admits killing 77 people in Norway last summer, used the video game Modern Warfare 2 as training. (CNN)

Oh Lovely II: India successfully launched a missile with nuclear capability and a 3,100-mile range, giving it the ability to strike Beijing and Shanghai. (The New York Times)

Pulitzer or Peabody?: Colbert and Huffington debate. (Poynter)

Families And Flying: Should airlines offer children-only seating areas and flights? (Huffington Post)

Which Cities Are Setting Music Trends?: Not the ones you'd think. (Time)

Because 50 Isn't Enough: 53 reasons why we need a new Star Trek TV series. (Huffington Post)

Record Stores: Popular musicians come clean with their favorite records stores. (Pop Matters)

Got 99 Cents And Love Craft Beer?: There's an app for that. (Craft Beer App)

April 19, 2012 at 9:33am

Tacoma's Internet TV Revolution: The Blueprint

GRAB A CUP OF COFFEE AND A NOTEPAD >>>

Tacoma has a bustling art/culture scene. Most "in the know" Tacomans know this, as do some of us deserters. Dozens of art galleries and workshops. A secret society of cartoonists. Talented videographers. Wonderful restaurants. A rocking indie music scene. Way cool. It's so awesome to live in Tacoma, right? I mean, I know exactly what's cool all of the time because there's a centralized way to experience Tacoma. Wait a second. There isn't? You mean, I have to actually know the right people or scour Facebook groups and local rags and attend tons of conflicting events to really experience "art city?" Well, my friends, you've come to the right place, because I'm going to present Tacoma (and you) with an opportunity it doesn't even know it needs. What's more, this could potentially be one of the most engaging and fun opportunities available to any Tacoma enthusiast. This could become your life. This could become your job. Here it is, 253's blueprint for an Internet television show.

Yes, the Internet. Al Gore's gift to the multiverse. Why the Internet? Because it's everywhere and can be accessed by everyone. Why is an Internet television show valuable to Tacoma's cultural identity? Because with so much excellence and innovation going on it Tacoma, it's hard to keep track and focus in. Where would comedy be without SNL making the faces of today's biggest comedians? Where would our understanding of politics be without Stewart and Colbert? Where would America's music lexicon be without American Bandstand? OK ... bad example.

Outside of actually experiencing something (which, with so much to see, is hard to do), video is the most comprehensive medium there is (outside of smell-o-vision of course). Yes, there are a bunch of excellent magazines/newspapers/blogs out there like the Weekly Volcano, Exit133 and The Melon that highlight what's up, but to really experience it you need to see it. You need to hear it. In our world of chaotic day-to-days, sometimes making it out to a show isn't possible. With video you can reach people on their own clock. People who are afraid to leave their homes or are just too damn tired from all that living.

Imagine a monthly (or ideally weekly) online show that anyone could tune in to. A show that features local bands, interviews local politicians, presents local artists and filmmakers. A show that visits restaurants like Infinite Soups or gets a haircut at Supernova. A show that samples the local brew at The Red Hot, or sees a new show at the Tacoma Little Theatre. Hello, McFly! The possibilities are endless. Every week there's something new. Every week people would rely on the show to highlight something amazing about art city. It would be a beacon. The flag that perpetuates art/culture/life in the city to better itself. Tacoma has usually been smart about not trying to be or live up to any other city's expectations. This is an opportunity to unite everything that makes Tacoma special.

So how can you (yes, you! who else is going to do it?) make this happen?

The Blueprint

Step 1: Form your team

This is the hardest part. To make this happen you need the most creative, hyper-energetic go-getters you can find. They don't need to be the smartest people in the world, but they need to be hard workers and most of all they need to be reliable. Reliability is a key to success here. You'll run into a lot of people who say they're interested in the idea, but end up not answering emails or texts or sexts. Starting any project needs people who do what they say and say what they do. These are the people you need:

Producer: You or your head honcho of creativity. Your Lorne Michaels. Someone who can direct this production and will be the little engine that can, will and does.

Staff: Your talent scouts and bookers. Your staffers and organizers. Your dedicated folks you can rely on type something up, to email someone and get things done.

Host: The face. The talent. The Johnny Carson. The Dave Letterman. Someone respected in Tacoma, or charismatic enough that people will want to see him or her week after week. Needs to be a talented interviewer and speaker. Funny is a must.

Reporting Crew: Additional host-like folks who can host features.

Promoter: Your Facebooker. Your inviter. Your gossiper. Your marketer.

Business Manager: This will come in later. This person will keep books, come up with your budget and do other businessy things. Surprise, you're giving birth to a business.

Every person on your team will be wearing multiple hats and will have multiple responsibilities at first. But that's what it takes.

Read more...

Filed under: Tacoma, Screens, Web/Tech, Arts,

April 19, 2012 at 12:59pm

Preview: Tacoma Musical Playhouse 2012-13 season

"SHOUT!": Enjoy the energy and style of the '60s next summer at Tacoma Musical Playhouse.

APPLAUSE >>>

After reviewing the majority of shows at Tacoma Musical Playhouse this season, I wasn't sure I would be interested in taking on quite as many during the 2012-2013 season. That was until I got the list of their upcoming shows. While I probably won't end up at all of the shows, I am intrigued by the majority and am confident they'll be able to do more than justice to these musicals. Without further ado, here's a preview of TMP's 2012-2013 calendar.

Chicago

First up is the award-winning Kander & Ebb musical, Chicago. Lovers, husbands, cheats, dupes, murder, broads and dames roar onto stage. Death row murderesses Roxie Hart and Velma Kelly team up "in search of the ‘American Dream' fame, fortune and acquittal." TMP was smart to open their season with a musical that contains so many show stopping numbers.

The Sound of Music

Growing up I always looked forward to the holiday season. On top of all the food there was movies! Every fall, around Thanksgiving, one of the local television stations would air The Sound of Music. My family would crowd around with popcorn and all six of us kids would be pleasant to each other for the whole evening. If you need something to get you into the holiday spirit or need a way to entertain family, Rogers and Hammerstein's final collaboration can't be beat.

The Musical of Musicals (The Musical!)

Hoping to catch your favorite Broadway composer? The Musical of Musicals (The Musical!) should have you covered. Billed as "exceedingly clever, extremely funny" it is a satire that present the same plot five times, each in a different style. Corn (Rogers and Hammerstein), A Little Complex (Stephen Sondheim), Dear Abby (Jerry Herman), Aspects of Junita (Andrew Lloyd Webber) and Speakeasy (Kander and Ebb) With five musicals within one, there is sure to be at least one that you'll love.

Legally Blonde

The fourth TMP production was a comedic gem on the silver screen and has turned into a franchise with two sequels and a musical based on the original Legally Blonde. Sorority girl, Elle Woods, has as much brains as pink cashmere (a lot) and heads to Harvard Law to prove that she is serious and win back her boyfriend.

9 To 5: The Musical

With so much controversy surrounding the pay disparity between working men and women, the "mommy wars" as well as any other commandeering of women's rights, 9 To 5: The Musical may be just the show to get conversations started in a non-threatening way. Of course, with music and lyrics by Dolly Parton, it could just be a lot of fun watching three unlikely female friends take on the male dominated company.

SHOUT! The Mod Musical

TMP saved SHOUT! The Mod Musical for last. Touted as having "its tongue firmly planted in its cheek," SHOUT! recreates England in the '60s. Full of fashion, dances, music, and hair from the era, SHOUT! also boasts "hilarious sound bites" and looks like a fabulous way to end the season.

With such a fantastic line-up, my fellow theatre critics and I may have to arm wrestle to decide which shows we'll be reviewing.

LINK: Tacoma Musical Playhouse season tickets

Filed under: Tacoma, Theater,

April 20, 2012 at 6:47am

5 Things To Do Today: TRIPOD Slide Show, Ragamala Dance, Uncle Bonsai, Dance 2012 and more ...

RAGAMALA DANCE: It's ancient!

FRIDAY, APRIL 20, 2012 >>>

1. Born and raised in south India, Ragamala Dance's Artistic Directors Ranee Ramaswamy and Aparna Ramaswamy bring that culture's unique sensibility of mysticism, myth and sanctity to the Washington Center's stage at 7:30 p.m. Sacred Earth unifies Bharatanatyam with the ephemeral arts, classical music, and Tamil Sangam literature (300 B.C.E.-300 C.E.) of India. We have no idea what that means, but EXCITING!

2. A righteous, all-ages hip-hop show featuring Jay Barz, Motamouth Jones, Chris Crazie, John Crown and From Heros to Legends will hit Hell's Kitchen at 5 p.m.

3. Talented Tacoma photographers command the Madera Architectural Elements Showroom once a month, illuminating their work and creativity with the visually aided enhancement implied by the name of the series, TRIPOD Slide Shows. Created by Tacoma artist Lynn Di Nino, the night of digital slides features three local photographers and one creative theme.  The next TRIPOD Slide Show slides into Madera from 7-8:30 p.m. featuring 15-minute slide shows by photographers Jim Oliver, Dick Dorsett and Duncan James Livingston & Mary McCheyne under the theme Three Very Different Travel Experiences."

4. One of the benefits of living in or near a city is the multiplicity of art and entertainment choices. Certainly, we get all of the mainstream, and most of the underground, stuff that's out there - hey, that keeps our blue state connected to the reds, to a degree - but we also get things that are unique to our region. Such would be the case at 7:30 p.m. inside the Blue Mouse Theater - a rare performance by folk pop treasure Uncle Bonsai, a trio with a more than 30 year history of entertaining Puget Sound area and nine albums sitting in their trophy case. What should you expect? Contemporary, acoustic three-part harmony with lots of words.  Sometimes going fast.  Often extremely humorous.  The Weekly Volcano suggests you bring an open mind and prepare yourself for a journey beyond the realm of the ordinary.

5. Well, it's almost here. The end of the season. No more plays, no more dance recitals, no more spoken word standing on a cube, ever. OK, not ever. However, it will be one looonnng summer of American Idol reruns, we tell you what. How about one more, just for old time's sake? Pacific Lutheran University Dance Ensemble presents Dance 2012, a collection of dances in the style of jazz, modern, ballet and hip-hop at 7:30 p.m. inside the Eastvold Auditorium. In all, the performance features 53 choreographers, 72 dancers and musicians and that dude working the lights. You might want to check those numbers. Aaahh, let's end the season by giving each other a big hug.

LINK: More arts and entertainment events in the South Sound

LINK: Live music and DJs in the South Sound

LINK: South Sound happy hours

Filed under: 5 Things To Do, Arts, Music, Tacoma,

April 20, 2012 at 7:35am

MORNING SPEW: Twilight Criterium vs. Downtown, booze bidders, DogTV ...

DOGTV: "The Odd Dog Couple" is certain to be a hit.

WHAT WE HAVE FOUND TODAY >>>

Downer Downtown: Organizer of Twilight Criterium moves Tacoma bike race to Proctor District because of streets and chilly business owners. (News Tribune)

Booze Bidders: The winning bidder or bidders of the online auction of state-run liquor stores will be announced Monday morning. (News Tribune)

Section 57 Of The British Terrorism Act In Action: Terrorism suspicions lead to three arrests at Heathrow. (The New York Times)

RIP: Levon Helm. (USA Today)

Martha Stewart: She has a new cooking show on PBS. (Grub Street)

DogTV: Man's best friend wants cable. (Time)

Fat In Foods: Seven eats with more fat than a stick of butter. (Huffington Post)

Must Watch: Golden Balls contestant wins with most ballsy move ever. (Gawker)

Squeeze This!: A cultural history of the accordion in America. (Pop Matters)

April 20, 2012 at 11:10am

THE WEEKEND HUSTLE: Environmental Film Festival, 'Sweet Freedom's Jubilee,' Record Store Day, Wayzgoose ...

WAYZGOOSE: Sunday!

THE LOWDOWN ON WHAT'S UP THIS WEEKEND >>>

WEATHER REPORT

Friday: Showers, hi 53, lo 44

Saturday: Mostly cloudy, hi 65, lo 47

Sunday: Partial sunshine, hi 72, lo 51

>>> FRIDAY, APRIL 20-Sunday, April 22: Environmental Film Festival

Nature nurtures both our physical and artistic instincts. A filmmaker, for instance, looks about and sees Earth as one vast mise-en-scène, its raw materials photographed in endless combinations to suit infinite stories. The Olympia Film Society's third annual Environmental Film Festival, April 20-22, celebrates a few of those stories that carry a unifying message: lean, clean and green, baby. See the Olympia Film Society's website for a list of films.

  • Capitol Theater, 206 Fifth Ave., Olympia, 360.754.6670

>>> SATURDAY, APRIL 21: Sweet Freedom's Jubilee

Born Aramintha Ross, a slave in Maryland in the early 1800s, Harriet Tubman became the courageous rescuer of hundreds of slaves via the Underground Railroad. Tubman's remarkable life of more than 90 years was packed with amazing adventures, bravery against all odds, and unwavering commitment to the freedom and dignity of African Americans. Sometimes called "Moses" or simply "The Conductor," Tubman could neither read nor write but spoke eloquently at numerous anti-slavery and women's rights rallies in the North. Saturday at B2 Gallery in downtown Tacoma, Karol Brown plays an elder Tubman in Sweet Freedom's Jubilee, a performance of Negro spirituals and stories to celebrate the 99th anniversary of this famous abolitionist's death.

  • B2 Gallery, 7 p.m., $15, 711 Saint Helens Ave., Tacoma, 253.238.5056

>>> SATURDAY, APRIL 21: Record Store Day

Who ever said vinyl is dead? This Saturday is Record Store Day, a day to celebrate music with some of the most anticipated vinyl releases of the year. Record Store Day began in 2008 as a way to attract music fans to dying record stores. Since then it has become a marker day for artists from all over the world to release special edition vinyls, new albums, and rare singles. This year is no exception with new music from live the Black Keys and Grace Potter & the Nocturnals, 7" vinyl from Foster the People and Edward Sharpe & the Magnetic Zeros, a limited-run, 180g vinyl from Death Cab and hundreds of other items. Participating stores in the South Sound include Phantom City and Rainy Day in Oly, plus Disc Connection and Rocket Records in Tacoma. For the full roster of swag for sale, visit RecordStoreDay.com. Then show your local disk pushers some love. They deserve it.

>>> SUNDAY, APRIL 22: Wayzgoose

There aren't enough places in the world where you can watch Tacoma stalwart sweet pea Flaherty drive a steamroller over stuff while simultaneously creating the art of letterpress. The annual Wayzgoose event at King's Books just happens to be one of them. Already in its eighth year (holy crap!), there's a reason Wayzgoose is on the lips of every artful Tacoman this time of year ... and, frankly, it has a lot to do with sweet pea driving a steamroller. Of course, the collection of letterpressers and book artists Wayzgoose brings together doesn't hurt. Check out Kristin Kendle's feature story on Wayzgoose in the Arts section at weeklyvolcano.com

  • King's Books, 11 a.m. to 4 p.m., no cover, 218 St. Helens Ave., Tacoma, 253.272.8801

WHAT SOME OF OUR STAFF MEMBERS ARE UP TO

CHRISTIAN CARVAJAL Theater Critic
Starting this weekend, my life becomes one big La Traviata rehearsal. My wife has also accepted a solo role, with only 10 days to learn it. If I have any spare time whatsoever, I'd love to just sit down and catch up with my Netflix and DVR queues.

MOLLY GILMORE Features writer
I'm going to see Distracted at Olympia Little Theatre and going to the Washington Press Association awards luncheon (because, yes, we Volcano writers are award-winning!).

ALEC CLAYTON Arts Critic
I'm taking this weekend off from awesomeness.

NIKKI TALOTTA Music Writer
Friday, I'm bartending happy hour, where I will be mixing up the goods and keeping an eye out for another awesome story to add to my Behind Bars collection. Saturday is a toddler birthday party. Sunday is reading, writing and relaxing.

JOANN VARNELL Theater Critic
Friday night the little toddler and I will be hanging out while the husband is busy getting ready for Artrageous. Saturday morning, the toddler will be hanging out with one of his favorite people and I'll head to a friend's house to spend about four hours writing. Saturday evening the whole family will be heading to Artrageous for the toddler's first fundraiser. We'll head to church on Sunday and hopefully get to go play outside, or nap.

NIC LEONARD Music writer
I am out in Illinois playing shows here this weekend.  Also I will be getting drunk and sleeping

JOSH RIZEBERG Music Columnist
Friday I'll be teaching my spoken word poetry class starting at 6 p.m. inside The D.A.S.H. Center for the Arts. Call (253) 507-9466 to register or just drop-in! Saturday I'll check-out hip-hop is Alive Part 2 put on by A-Hyp featuring Leezy Soprano, The Sandlot, Chief Noo, hosted by Blak Mic with D.J. Semaj spinning. The Show is at the Harmon Taproom Underground and starts at 9 p.m. and is $5. Sunday I'll probably venture up north to Seattle at The Crocodile to see Katie Kate. It's $10, 8 p.m., all-ages. 

STEVE DUNKELBERGER Photographer
Fitting pig town at the Spring Fair and then Footloose at Tacoma Little Theatre and then rounding out the weekend with a trip to The New Frontier to see the Squirt reunion show.

JENNI BORAN Features Writer
Friday will be spent watching my 5-year-old delight in digging a space in our yard to make room for a garden. Saturday and Sunday: heading to a friend's house on Whidbey Island to "meet the baby!"

LINK: Even more local events that we recommend

LINK: Comprehensive South Sound Arts & Entertainment Calendar

About this blog

News and entertainment from Joint Base Lewis-McChord’s most awesome weekly newspapers - The Ranger, Northwest Airlifter and Weekly Volcano.

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January, February, March, April, May, June, July, August, September, October, November, December
2018
January, February, March, April, May, June, July, August, September, October, November, December
2017
January, February, March, April, May, June, July, August, September, October, November, December
2016
January, February, March, April, May, June, July, August, September, October, November, December
2015
January, February, March, April, May, June, July, August, September, October, November, December
2014
January, February, March, April, May, June, July, August, September, October, November, December
2013
January, February, March, April, May, June, July, August, September, October, November, December
2012
January, February, March, April, May, June, July, August, September, October, November, December
2011
January, February, March, April, May, June, July, August, September, October, November, December
2010
January, February, March, April, May, June, July, August, September, October, November, December
2009
January, February, March, April, May, June, July, August, September, October, November, December
2008
January, February, March, April, May, June, July, August, September, October, November, December
2007
January, February, March, April, May, June, July, August, September, October, November, December
2006
March, April, May, June, July, August, September, October, November, December