WEDNESDAY, NOV. 6 2013 >>>

1. The term "folk" seems inadequate to guitar wizard Leo Kottke, but how else to describe his roots-based extreme virtuosity? Sure, Chet Atkins was awesome; John Fahey was a virtuoso, Les Paul a god. But Kottke has something else going for him, mainly a spry sense of humor and ho-hum vocals that even Kottke poked fun at. Kottke's blend of jazz, rock, bluegrass and Appalachian folk has raked in a plethora of accolades throughout the years: He was voted "Best Folk Guitarist" for five consecutive years by the readers of Guitar Player magazine and Performance Magazine's "Best Instrumentalist." He was inducted into the Guitar Player Hall of Fame in 1978 and scored Grammy nods in 1988 and 1991.Navigating his 22 studio records and 14 compilations, live albums and soundtracks career is daunting, but not impossible as his last release was in 2005. Kottke has overcome physically debilitating damage to his hearing and his tendons that nearly ended his career by switching up his playing style, and he continues strong to this day ... when he performs at 7 p.m. in the Vashon Theatre.

2. Printmaker Randy Bolton, a Cranbrook Academy of Art teacher, has titled his exhibition "Have A Terrific Great Nice OK Day," borrowing nostalgia-evolving illustrations of early children's books. According the show hype, "these old images that are intended to reflect childhood security and innocence, Bolton molds them into ironic metaphors of a chaotic world." Organize an office carpool and head over to Kittredge Art Gallery at 5 p.m. for Bolton's reception.

3. The BareFoot Collective, in support with the Tacoma Arts Commission, will, once again, take taking dance out of its theater and sharing it with the public through free performances throughout Tacoma. The BareFoot Dancers are working with several local choreographers, including dancers from PLU, Spectrum Dance Theater and MetroArts, to program 30-40 minute line-ups of innovative modern dance including improvisation, contemporary, dance-theatre, and hip-hop works to share with audiences in these non-traditional performance spaces, such at the Indochine Asian Dining Lounge at 7:30 p.m.

4. At The Brotherhood Lounge, aerialists are about to take flight again, after a summer-long hiatus (hot months = sweaty hands = not safe). The re-vamped team is ready to amaze audiences with its color brand of trapeze, beginning at 8 p.m. Creativity never ceases and performances range from naughty to funny to just plain beautiful. The shows are free and tips are encouraged. New this year is a dance party to follow, with grooves by DJ Fir$t Lady. If you've ever been to one of the impromptu dances parties at past aerialist events, then you know about the twerking, pumping and shaking that goes on. 

5. When we listen to Scatter Gather, what we hear is an indie-rock band that relishes in subverting expectations by confusing time signatures and upending rhythm sections. In between all of the chaos, there is gentle indie emoting, as well as tasteful incorporation of string sections to offset the harsh flailing of the rest of the instrumentation. Catch the band at 10 p.m. with Handwritings and Get Mom in Le Voyeur in downtown Olympia. Read Rev. Adam McKinney's full feature on Scatter Gather in the Music and Culture section.

LINK: Wednesday, Nov. 6 arts and entertainment events in the greater Tacoma and Olympia area