5 Things To Do Today: Levels, Junkyard Jane, comedy, Grindhouse and more ...

By Volcano Staff on May 24, 2013

FRIDAY, MAY 24 2013 >>>

1. All you really need to know is Seattle band Levels band lives for the structure and impact of a tightly constructed riff. Though adorned with bare-bones effects, their song "Ghoul" thrives on the immediacy and unimpeachably affecting riff supplied by guitarist and frontman Jerry Van Galder. His vocals are masculine and deadpan, another nod to the efficiency that seems to define Levels. As of the recording, Levels were just a two-piece, Van Galder's voice and guitar propelled forward by the drumming of Saba Samakar. Catch them at 10 p.m. with Simon the Leper, Icanus at New Mexico at Le Voyeur in downtown Olympia. Read Rev. Adam McKinney's full feature on Level in Northwest Military's Music & Culture section.

2. Pierce County Gleaning Project has created the Food Justice Book Club in which members will be be reading fiction, nonfiction and memoir around the topics of food justice, gleaning and food security. Drop in on the club at 7 p.m. in King's Books and get in  the discussion over A Place at the Table: The Crisis of 49 Million Hungry Americans and How to Solve It by Peter Pringle.

3. Junkyard Jane is a Northwest "swampabilly" blues band performing original music and consisting of: vocalist/percussionist Leanne Trevalyan, vocalist/guitarist Billy Stoops, bassist Barbra Blue and drummer Chris Leighton. Check them out in all their blue collar glory at 8 p.m. in Jazzbones.

4. Tacoma Comedy Club presents comedian Nick Vatterott - name dthe funniest man in Chicago - at 8 and 10:30 p.m. The Tacoma Comedy Club offers free admission for active and retired military and dependents May 23-26.

5. You can watch a movie anywhere these days: your phone, Xbox, iPad, iPod and whatever Apple decides the next iProduct should be (iPants gets my vote - hip yet functional). But despite all the advances in movie-watching technology, there's nothing quite like gritty classic gore projected on the big screen in original 35mm film to a room full of horror nerds. Justin Giallo knows this, which is why he invented the Grindhouse Theater Film Series at The Grand Cinema. At 9 p.m., Giallo - oh boy get ready to crap your pants - will screen the sickest and most violent of all the '80s slasher movies, PIECES "uncut." 

LINK: Friday, May 24 arts and entertainment events in the greater Tacoma and Olympia area