TUESDAY, NOV. 12 2013 >>>
1. Bay Area band One Hundred Percent channel the sort of guitar-driven alt-rock that dominated the '90s, calling to mind groups like Dinosaur Jr. and My Bloody Valentine. Angular guitars melt into fuzzy atmospherics before exploding into a squall of distortion, all the while accompanied by the sensitive lead vocals of Matt Habegger. Rather than send-up that period of music with touches of contemporary influences, One Hundred Percent instead strive for slavish recreation, the end result being an uncanny approximation of the kind of band you would theoretically spot on a flyer for a Jawbox gig, or would see pop up on 120 Minutes. Catch the band at 10 p.m. in Le Voyeur.
2. Composer Neil Flory will share his thoughts on some of the more than 80 musical compositions he has created in acoustic and electro-acoustic mediums as the next guest in the Saint Martin's University "Music @ 11" recital series at 11 a.m. in Kreielsheimer Hall. Flory will also perform a piano improvisation.
3. "A haiku must be very simple and free of all poetic trickery and make a little picture and yet be as airy and graceful as a Vivaldi Pastorella," wrote Jack Kerouac. And that's exactly what the Commencement Bay Haiku Club hopes to accomplish tonight - refreshingly simple and accessible poems that jog the imagination. Here's a haiku we wrote about the folks down the street from our office:
Trailer has no tires
Rusted rims have sunk in deep
My Homeland's secure
Think you can do better? Pop into King's Books at 6 p.m. with your page of three to five haiku poems to read and listen for feedback.
4. Beverly Conner and Hans Ostrom will read from two new books - Conner's devastating and inspiring novel Where Light is a Place and Ostrom's stark, intimate collection of poems Clear a Place for Good - at 7 p.m. in Trimble Forum at Trimble Hall on the University of Puget Sound campus. The event is part of the university's Coffeehouse Series.
5. While all of the glossy, radio-ready electro-pop and achingly beautiful, heartfelt lyrics of Melanie Valera's (aka Tender Forever) recordings were well on display during this year's Squeak and Squawk Music Festival, what we weren't expecting was how utterly charming and downright funny Valera is in a live setting. Kicking off her shoes and dancing down in the pit with the audience members, Valera announced herself as a mesmerizing performer. Narrating youtube videos via projection screen, conducting percussion with Wii remotes, making a shaved-head picture of Britney Spears both silly and inspiring - Tender Forever is a stunning live act, and one that you shouldn't dare miss with Poppet, Hot Fruit, Symmettrix, Hym(e)n, Everybody Weekend, Taylor Newcomb, DJ Royal Bleu and DJ Anna Phylaxis at 7 p.m. in Northern.
LINK: Tuesday, Nov. 12 arts and entertainment events in the greater Tacoma and Olympia area
