WEDNESDAY, SEPT. 25 2013 >>>
1. You say you want some spooky? Having started the journey as a one-dude act, using machines to complement his organ skills, The Voodoo Organist - a Los Angeles artist sometimes known as Scott Wexton, who channels Screamin' Jay Hawkins, Devo, the Doors and Lon Chaney to conjure a circus of lounge sounds peppy and dark - now travels the country with drummer Robin Kennon, which is an improvement drastically evident live. That said, the wail of the Voodoo Organist's Hammond and the moan of synths will get inside you at 8 p.m. in Jazzbones - and it just might wreck you for good.
2. In recognition of the 10 year anniversary of the glassblowing partnership between Museum of Glass and Finland's Iittala, Inc., the exhibition "An Experiment in Design Production: The Enduring Birds of Iittala" pays special attention to the history of the Iittala glass factory in Nuutajärvi, Finland. Like other recent closures in Europe, such as the Waterford Crystal factory in Ireland, Nuutajärvi has reached a point of no return and is likely to close its doors sometime in 2014. The exhibition opens at 10 a.m. at the Museum of Glass and runs through January 12, 2014.
3. Meet artist Sean Orlando, the artist commissioned through a national call-to-artists to create artwork for Tacoma's 26th and Pacific Avenue gateway intersection. An Artist Fellow at the de Young Museum and a celebrated East Bay (San Francisco) surrealistic, steampunk, high-tech, kenetic sculptor, Orlando has created some amazing public and private art. See samples of Orlando's past work, provide input, and learn more about the project from 10:30-11:30 a.m. at Anthem Coffee, 1911 Pacific Ave. and another from 6-7:30 p.m. at 301 Puyallup Ave.
4. On the northern reaches of our continent, towering mountains are the only skyscrapers, lit until late at night in summer, then darkened in winter. Pristine waters serve moose caribou, and three species of bears in an unbroken landscape. Jonathan Waterman has spent decades exploring these awe-inspiring spaces. Meet hih, have him sign Northern Exposures: An Adventuring Career in Stories & Images and watch his slide presentation at 7 p.m. in the Olympic Room of the Tacoma Public Library Main Branch in downtown Tacoma.
5. "I'm a lumberjack and I'm okay / I sleep all night and I work all day I cut down trees, I eat my lunch / I go to the lavatory." We're 89 percent sure Monty Python's "The Lumberjack Song" won't be included in Peter Reid's lecture at 7:30 p.m. in the Olympia Timberland Library. Reid, a member of the Schafer family, will show recently restored films of 1926 logging operations of one of the largest lumber businesses in the Northwest. After the 45-minute film, Reid and Barbara Seal Ogle will talk about their just-released book, Schafer State Park. We are 94 percent sure the two speakers would enjoy seeing you dressed in a plaid flannel shirt, some old jeans and boots, snapping suspenders and yanking on a fake beard. That's OK!
LINK: Wednesday, Sept. 25 arts and entertainment events in the greater Tacoma and Olympia area
