ONE-STOP SHOPPING >>>

Antique Row? Theater District? Triangle District? The Weekly Volcano's not sure what to call the lower St. Helen's Avenue area anymore, other than the new hotspot for retail shopping. Feather & Oar, Urban Alchemy, Dwelling, Giraffe, and one month ago, the St. Helen's Ave. Mercantile have opened for business around the Tacoma Municipal Building.

Yesterday, the St. Helen's Ave. Mercantile celebrated its one-month anniversary with a grand opening party featuring sales, food, drinks and the band Half Step Behind.

St. Helen's Ave. Mercantile houses The OCD Candy Company, The Tea Works, The Blue Octopus and Wolf Bear Treasures - for a one-stop, eclectic shopping experience. The storefront, located at 753 St. Helens, is packed with goodies from the loose leaf tea and steampunk shop inside the front door, the art gallery and painting studio to the right, the candy store in the back right to the metaphysical and spiritual healing center in the back room. We drooled over the über-cool steampunk antiques and Kerry Cole's paintings in Fauvist color schemes. We grabbed up some chocolate covered peanuts and nostalgic candy sticks, and rubbed moon stones and stared deeply into crystals. You could gift your interesting friends to death.

ST. HELEN'S AVE. MERCANTILE, 11 A.M. TO 5 P.M. SUNDAY, NOON TO 6 P.M. WEDNESDAY AND THURSDAY, 10 A.M. TO 6 P.M. FRIDAY AND SATURDAY, 753 ST. HELENS AVE., TACOMA, FACEBOOK

LINK: More St. Helen's Ave. Mercantile photos

STAYING IN TOUCH >>>

Tacoma gadfly Robert "The Traveller" Hill hasn't dropped by the Weekly Volcano World Headquarters in a while. That's because he's in jail for causing a commotion at a local bar and intimidating a judge. In his spare time behind bars, The Traveller has written a few letters to us.

STAYING IN TOUCH >>

Some day a book will be written about the adventures of Tacoma brothers Leonard Haggarty and Teddy Haggarty. From their days in Hollywood - both in front of the camera and behind, Leonard's time as John Ritter's personal assistant, Teddy's artwork, their relationship with Alec Baldwin, their relationship with the Hatfields, the 30 or so businesses they've created, their run-in with Hurricane Katrina, Leonard's stint with Pres. Obama's campaign, producers of numerous local films - these two have done and seen it all. And believe us, they have no intention of slowing down. You can't turn off their brains or their enthusiasm for life.

The Haggarty brothers sent the Weekly Volcano a hand-written note from Teddy explaining their latest run-in with the famous — Pres. Obama. Four years ago the brothers and filmmaker/The Eleven Eleven co-owner Justin Peterson were guests of Rep. Adam Smith at Pres. Obama's inauguration in Washington, D.C. Of course, many strange and wonderful experiences happened to the trio during their stay, including sleeping in hotel lobbies. Anyway, Teddy painted up the cover of The New York Times' report on the inauguration and sent it to Pres. Obama. Of course, the Haggarty's received word back from Pres. Obama, and not some White House flunkk. 

Enjoy.

THE MONTH IN PHOTOS >>>

February 2013 was a month filled with parties, re-openings, music and notables from Olympia. Below are photos the Weekly Volcano snapped last month at such events as the Mardi Gras party at Jazzbones, Murray Morgan bridge re-opening, C.L.A.W.'s Real Life Comics event at King's Books and, of course, the 2012 Best of Olympia party.

KING SOLOMON'S REEF'S BEST SEAT: Photo by Winter Teems (below)

KELLI HASKINS TAKES OVER CAVANAUGH'S COFFEE: Photo by Pappi Swarner (below)

HOUSE OF DONUTS IN LAKEWOOD REOPENS: Photo by Amanda Aszman

MURRAY MORGAN BRIDGE REOPENING: Photo by Kate Swarner

KIM ARCHER AT JAZZBONES: Photo by Steve Dunkelberger (more)

MARDI GRAS PARTY AT JAZZBONES: Photo by Steve Dunkelberger (more)

COTTONWOOD CUTUPS AT C.I. SHENANIGANS: Photo by Steve Dunkelberger (more)

BIG BEER FESTIVAL: Photo by Pappi Swarner (more)

SURVIVAL KNIFE: Photo by Nikki McCoy

BEST OF OLYMPIA ISSUE: Photo by Winter Teems (more)

BEST OF OLYMPIA PARTY: Photo by Steve Dunkelberger (more)

TACOMA CITY BALLET MID-WINTER MASQUERADE BALL: Photo by Pappi Swarner

REAL LIFE COMICS: Photo by Steve Dunkelberger (more)

LINK: Photo Hot Spot

MONDAY, MARCH 4, 2013 >>>

1. Last year Broken Water released an album that pushed the band further into the limelight than any of the its previous, amazing releases. Most bands would relish that moment and memory as a triumph, however with the unfortunate timing of a looming line-up shift on the horizon noisy pop band Broken Water was unable to fully tour in the immediate aftermath of Tempest's critical success. With a new bass player, the band is back on the road, sharing a bill at 8 p.m. with Vancouver, B.C. loud, aggressive dissonant punk trio Nu Sensae inside the all-ages venue Northern.

2. For a month The Pierce College Puyallup Art Gallery the hosted the wildlife and tribal portrait art of Becci Crowe for its winter exhibition. Crowe's desire to study her subjects in their natural environment has led her across six continents and to more than 41 countries. Crowe's work is created with pen and ink, using a technique knows as pointillism. Images are created using thousands of points, applied one dot at a time, taking weeks to complete. Her subjects include wildlife and tribal cultures, including the Maasai and San Bushmen of Africa. Her art emphasizes conservation and preservation of wildlife and world cultures. Check it out from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

3. The jazz quintet Minilla Smiles returns to The Royal Lounge bringing a little Brazilian musical sunshine to Oly at 8 p.m. The band features Seattle based master drummer/percussionist Jeff "Bongo" Busch, Olympia's own John Croarkin on flutes, harmonica and sax, Phil Lawson on guitar, and first call jazz bassist Steve Luceno. Three-time Latin Grammy nominee pianist Jovino Santos Neto will be in the house, too.

4. The Mark Riley Band plays a free blues show at The Swiss beginning at 8 p.m.

5. Alternating between folk and blues, Laura Meyer is a skinny white chick with soul to burn, and inside are tough-minded songs that simply don't seem like they could have come from her. Hear her at 10 p.m. inside Le Voyeur in Olympia.

LINK: Monday, March 4 arts and entertainment events in the greater Tacoma and Olympia area

AND SO IT CONTINUES ...

There was quite the hubbub around town back in November when a certain celebrity chef's Camaro was seen cruising around town.

And with good reason.

Guy Fieri visited several hot spots in the South Sound filming delicious tidbits and kitchen banter for his Food Network show, Diners, Drive-ins and Dives. The television crew visited Fish Tale Brew Pub and Darby's Café in Olympia, Bruno's European Restaurant in Parkland, Crockett's Public House in Puyallup have made their appearance on the Food Network. Now it is Tacoma's turn.

This evening at 10 p.m. triple D will air "Hitting the Grill" and showcase chef McManus casual dining digs and Sixth Avenue favorite The Crown Bar.

"Unfortunately we are closed on Mondays," Crown bartender Kevin Ketchum tells me over the phone. "The timing was off because the owners had already planned a vacation, but we are looking forward to everyone coming in on Tuesday to tell us about it!"

That means you'll have to ante up to the rail amidst all the Food Network groupies whom have newly discovered Crown Bar amore.

Among some of the dishes McManus created with Fieri include the Crown's Moroccan Beef Kabobs with a side of curried cous cous and his mixed green salad with roasted beets and goat cheese.

"We have no idea what made it on to the show so it will be fun," Ketchum says.

What did Ketchum think of Fieri?

"He's a character for sure," Ketchum says. "You can see why the guy has a television show."

Crown Bar neighbor Dirty Oscar's Annex will be airing on Triple D sometime in the coming weeks, showcasing some of chef Grissom's unique, flavorful dishes.

CROWN BAR, 2705 SIXTH AVE., TACOMA, 253.272.4177

FIRE ON THE MOUNTAIN, RUN BOYS RUN >>>

Bruce Molsky plays a mean fiddle. In one YouTube video, he sawed the hair right off his bow!

Speaking of shredding, he tears up a banjo and guitar with the same vigor. And when he throws his voice in the mix, the combination is a complete expression of old-time music.

Solo, or with other musicians, his music is simple, effective and at times haunting. A blurb on his record label website, Compass Records - where Molsky has six albums under his belt - reads, "Bruce Molsky has been exploring traditional music from an astonishingly broad range of cultures over the past two decades - synthesizing them and refracting them through his own evolving sensibilities to the point where the sources of his inspiration transform themselves into a sound that is uniquely his."

If It Ain't Here When I Get Back, his latest album, drops March 5. Enjoy this world-touring master of old-time Appalachian Sunday, March 10 at Traditions Cafe in Olympia. 

TRADITIONS CAFE, SUNDAY, MARCH 10, 7 P.M., $12-$18, 300 FIFTH AVE. SW, OLYMPIA, 360.705.2819

CHECKING IN WITH A SISTER >>>

For a month now, Tacoma's sister cities has been feeding the Mouse. And by feeding the Mouse we mean feeding the Blue Mouse Theatre with delicious foreign films and cultural programs. Each Thursday through April 4, the Sister Cities Film Festival highlight's one of Tacoma's sister cities with a program and film that matches the culture of a city that Tacoma calls a sister. Take this Thursday, Gunsan, South Korea has been Tacoma's sister since 1978 and had a curiously parallel course of development to Tacoma - Gunsan is a port city that boomed in the 1890s due to a rail link, and there is even an American Air Force Base in the vicinity. We're still checking to see if Gunsan has a weekly chalk competition in a park or if Guy Fieri has his Camaro towed down its streets.

Anyway, in honor of Gunsan, the film Secret Sunshine will screen at 7 p.m. Thursday, March 7 at the Mouse.

"The movie Secret Sunshine was chosen by the committee members," says Sister Cities coordinator Debbie Bingham. "They compiled a list of movies that their members had reviewed and which ones they were able to get access to show in the U.S. and Secret Sunshine won."

Directed by Lee Chang-dong, the 2007 film garnered some strong attention around its release date. Lead actress Jeon Do-yeon scored best actress at the 2007 Cannes Film Festival for her role as troubled Shin-Ae, who is recovering from the death of her husband only to have another major tragedy jump into her path.

Get to the Blue Mouse at 6 p.m. and enjoy the full cultural program, which includes live classical Korean music and introductions by officials from the Korean Consul General's office and City of Tacoma's mayor's office.

BLUE MOUSE THEATRE, THURSDAY, MARCH 7, 6 P.M., $10, NORTH 26TH AND NORTH PROCTOR, TACOMA, 253.752.9500

ONLINE CHATTER >>>

Yesterday's comment of the day comes from Jaime Vanchura in response to Nikki McCoy's feature story on drummer Dylan Kuehl and his Michael Jackson tribute band.

Vanchura writes,

Um, Dylan Keuhl's watercolor alone is enough to make you sigh with appreciation, Love the band, and am so happy to support an artist who is like an all-around athlete--excelling in so many ways. I live on the other side of the country, but heard his motivational speeches are not to be missed. Basically, Dylan is an artist whose work cannot be ignored. Live the dream!

TUESDAY, MARCH 5 2013 >>>

1. Well over a decade in the making, Holy Motors arrives at The Grand for a brief moment, today for a mere two showings. Much like director Leos Carax’s style of storytelling or rather his revealing, the film is minimal and profound. The chameleonic Denis Lavant stars as Monsieur Oscar, traveling from place to place in the back of a white stretch limo, donning some shockingly good prosthetic makeup as he moves from "appointment" to "appointment" - dropping in for brief scenes as different characters in various movies belonging to wildly disparate genres. Later on, there will be some discussion with an agent, as Oscar laments the shrinking of the cameras and digital diaspora. Nothing is like it used to be. It's rare to find a film so gripping as it whirls you through sudden twists and jarring imagery with such a void in established character development and dialog. This rarity, typically an honor bestowed upon Terry Gilliam or even that of the ever visually appealing Michael Gondry, is what elevates Carax's film Holy Motors into the alluring and all too unyielding nonsensical wonderment of the word - surreal. Catch it at 2 and 6:35 p.m. at The Grand Cinema. Read Lisa Fruichantie's full feature on Holy Motors in the Weekly Volcano's Arts section.

2. The Point Defiance Zoo and Aquarium will be offering free admission to anyone who shows up with picture ID or other proof of residency. That's awesome.

3. A nationally touring performance poet and teaching artist Lauren Zuniga is ranked among the top five female poets in the world. Her works include two poetry collections: The Nickel Tour, published in 2009, and The Smell of Good Mud, published in 2012. Tacoma Community College's Student Life department hosts Zuniga at 11:30 a.m. in the Student Union Building to discuss current events and other topics of interest.

5. Ricky J's Restaurant and Sports Lounge in Puyallup doesn't exactly sound like the name of a meat market haven. But in fact, Ricky J's has some of the most reasonably priced meat in town. Every Tuesday night Ricky J's offers a bar steak special for $4.95. That's a heaping pile of meat for under $5. Other specials include a buy one burger receive a second at half price at 8 p.m. poker. But what's that you say? What about the chicks? Jeez, here we mention cheap meat and you're still concerned about chicks. ...

5. Every Tuesday night at Stonegate Pizza on South Tacoma Way Leanne Trevalyan hosts an acoustic open mic at 8 p.m. Tonight, many special guests join her as Tacoma artist Teddy Haggarty celebrates his 60th birthday.

LINK: Tuesday, March 5 arts and entertainment events in the greater Tacoma and Olympi aarea