SATURDAY, DEC. 7 2013 >>>

1. It's freakin' cold outside, and it's better to admit that fact and find a way to enjoy the season than to stay home cowering behind the heater. Ice skating, with its low requirements in start-up costs and athletic prowess, may be the perfect way to beat the winter doldrums. It's charming and, in Tacoma, it comes with live music. Every Saturday night the Weekly Volcano turns on the amps to the Electric Salchow Stage at the Franciscan Polar Plaza ice rink. Up next is Singer-songwriter Rebekah Ann Curtis, who sings and writes her heart and soul through songs that reflect folk, blues and rock. Curtis showcases her voice next door at 7 p.m. and performs for skaters until 9 p.m.

2. Downtown Puyallup turns cranks the holiday factor to an 11 today. Festivities begin at 9:30 a.m. with the Holiday Market in Pioneer Park Pavilion, where you'll find a variety of artisan crafts and unique gifts, as well as holiday home decor and specialty food items. The Lighted Santa Parade begins at 5 - so-called because Santa got lit and wasn't able to drive his sleigh. OK, not really. He just wanted to a break from the elves and reindeer, and decided to hitch a ride on a fire truck instead. The parade culminates in the lighting of the community tree. 

3. Hello, holiday tradition! The Nutcracker ballet performance is a holiday forever classic. The Tacoma City Ballet does it up right and with a delightful twist. Did you know that there's a "prequel" to The Nutcracker called The Prequel or Tale of the Hard Nut? Celebrating its 30th performance season, the ballet company takes on The Nutcracker performance in its entirety, which includes the prequel. In short: prepare to be dazzled, delighted and enchanted at 3 p.m. in the Pantages Theater.

4. Whoooooooa man, we're tripping on some heavy stuff! What's that, dude? What are we on? Just a little Geist and the Sacred Ensemble, that's what. It's a band, man. And they're laying down their sound - think Gregorian chant meets mind-expanding electronic freakiness - tonight at the Aquarius Space Out. That's at the Java Jive, brother. 8 p.m. Oh yeah, and the band got some other cats with them in the van: The Low Hums outta Seattle, whose brand of catchy space-rock will fit right in (hey, they have a song called "Gongs and Bongs"!) and, rounding out this consciousness-altering show, Retrospecter. Maybe you knew them as Tacoma's The Sugar Beats, but they, like, reincarnated (whooooooa, again!). Anyhow, Retrospecter's kaleidoscope musings provide the third leg of what is bound to be a pretty trippy evening. 

5. So much has been said about the classic Tacoma punk band Girl Trouble that very little more needs to be said. For anyone not in the know, this is the most badass band still working in Tacoma. KP Kendall still performs shirtless. The band still fights the good fight against those pay-to-play scams that rob young, naïve bands. Girl Trouble edges closer to their anniversary, and so they are releasing a number of tributes to their boozy, rocking legacy. The band performs its annual Christmas show at 9 p.m. in The New Frontier Lounge with the Dignitaries and Trees & Timber. Read Rev. Adam McKinney's interview with Girl Trouble drummer Bon Von Wheelie in the Music & Culture section.

PLUS: Holiday Events Calendar

PLUS: South Sound Holiday Command Center

LINK: Saturday, Dec. 7 arts and entertainment events in the greater Tacoma and Olympia area

Christmas arrives today at Joint Base Lewis-McChord.

The Lewis Community Spouses' Club (LCSC) is sponsoring its annual Holiday Tour of Historic Homes in the Broadmoor neighborhood tonight from 3 to 7pm.

An earlier tour was held last evening.

The tours begin at the LCSC Cottage and will include 20 homes decorated for the season.

"This is my favorite time of the year," Gwyn Nielsen said as we walked through her home. 

"We have 12 trees decorated because we were married on the 12th day of the 12 month at 12 noon."

Nielsen's husband, Lt. Col. Shannon Nielsen commands 1st Battalion, 17th Infantry Regiment.

>>> Cookies await Santa at the home of Maj. and Mrs. Daniel Rempfer.

Not too far distant, Jannette Rempfer looks forward to opening her home for the second time.

Her husband, Maj. Daniel Rempfer is currently deployed to Japan with I Corps in support of Yama Sakura.

"There was a lot to do to prepare for the tour," she said, "but I enjoy doing this."

>>> A unique combination of lighting and decoration gives this room in the Rempfer home the unique feel of "Jack Frost."

Of note was the cookie jar for Santa and the Jack Frost motif in an upstairs bathroom.

"This is our first time having Christmas on post," Rempfer continued.  "And it is good to know that we take care of each other when away from family."

For more information about the tour, visit 1stvice@jblmlcsc.org.

>>> Guests during JBLM's Christmas Tour of Historic Homes will be greeted by the Nutcracker in the home of Maj. and Mrs. Daniel Rempfer.

>>> Christmas cheer begins at the front porch at the home of Lt. Col. and Mrs. Shannon Nielsen.

>>> A veteran of many Christmases, a gumball wreath adorns a door in the Nielsen home.

>>> A large tree lights the living room in the Nielsen home.

SUNDAY, DEC. 8 2013 >>>

1. Generally, music intended for children is perky, chipmunk-y, condescending, cloying and unlistenable for anyone old enough to cut his or her own meat. Enter Kim Archer (cue: needle scratching across Bill Withers' "Use Me"). That's right, kiddies. Tacoma's R&B, soul and funk queen will strum from a doll chair and cause a clap riot from 1-2:30 p.m. at Gibson's Frozen Yogurt Shoppe in Tacoma's Stadium District. Good Mojo Records has released a full length, all original children's music, Music from Planet Cool, featuring the songwriting and vocal talents of Archer and Ivan Pla. The 10-track CD is an accompaniment to the series of books from Tacoma-based publishers Max 'n Me Studio called the Magic Friendship Series. They began as stories from the viewpoint of a 10-year-old autistic boy named Max. Pile the kids into the Family Truckster and head to the sweet tastes of Gibson's e for a Sunday afternoon CD release party.

2. Sugar and spice and everything free is the song for today's Let It Snow community festival, a merry, merry tradition that's ho-ho-hosted every year by the Tacoma Art Museum. The free community event lights up at 10 a.m. and includes dance performances and festive music. While the entertainment fills the main floor, free craft projects will be offered upstairs. Create a pop-up holiday card for family and friends, or buy something cool in the gift shop. Everything the Tacoma Art Museum envisioned this holiday season comes to fruition today.

3. On a scale of one to 10 (one being the worst, 10 being the best), there is a Southwestern Washington community tradition that takes holiday tree decorating to an 11. Better yet? These beautiful trees (along with fun festivities) are present for a great cause. The annual Festival of Trees benefits the children and families of Mary Bridge Children's Hospital and Health Center. Approximately 70 uniquely decorated trees set in a fairy-like holiday wonderland can be seen from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Greater Tacoma Convention & Trade Center.

4. The "War on Christmas" decried by Sarah Palin and Bill O'Reilly isn't evident in South Sound theater, which is producing a rich variety of appropriately jolly and family-friendly shows for the holiday season. Weekly Volcano theater critics Joann Varnell and Christian Carvajal chime in with their thoughts on four local productions here.

5. Little Bill has formed a big band for his Blues Vespers Christmas Blues Show at 4 p.m. in the Immanuel Presbyterian Church in Tacoma. 

PLUS: Holiday Events Calendar

PLUS: South Sound Holiday Command Center

LINK: Sunday, Dec. 8 arts and entertainment events in the greater Tacoma and Olympia area

MONDAY, DEC. 9 2014 >>>

1. The Alaskan band Historian is reminiscent of Tacoma's Pioneers West, with their wounded animal lead vocals, mixed with the sort of populist guitar rock of Handsome Furs. Historian delivers a tough indie rock, surging with bruised masculinity. Catch the band at 8 p.m. in the all-ages venue Northern in downtown Olympia.

2. You're sick and tired of driving through the neighborhood looking at the homes of people who think they deserve an award for their light displays. You deserve to take a night to go see Zoolights at Point Defiance Zoo & Aquarium. Billed as the region's biggest walk-through light show, Zoolights includes animated light sculptures, live entertainment, snacks, animal encounters and the Paul Titus Carousel. While enjoying your stroll, be thankful you're not in charge of this holiday light display. The lights flip on at 5 p.m.

3. How do you escape the pressures of the holidays, like, really quickly? Bundle up, drop your packages in the trunk, pinch your cheeks until they glow and strap on a pair of silver skates, Hans Brinker, for a glide across the frozen expanse at Tollefson Plaza. The Franciscan Polar Plaza, located on the corner of Pacific Avenue and South 17th Street. The covered outdoor rink is about half the size of a hockey rink. It will have real ice and hold about 150 skaters at a time. It's open from 4-9 p.m.

4. Watch out, Quentin Tarantino and Christopher Nolan: A new generation of directors wants your jobs. These aspiring filmmakers will showcase their efforts at the first TCC Student Film Showcase. A team-taught class at Tacoma Community College's Gig Harbor campus launched a film event that will raise funds for student veterans in honor of TCC's former Veterans' Affairs coordinator, the late Bill Harrington. With the volunteer assistance of TCC alumnus and film school grad Bryan Schroeder, instructors Christie Fierro and Mike Blair took students through the basics of film production in one quarter. Collaborating with Peninsula School District and the Gig Harbor Film Festival, they also set up the film showcase from 5:30-7:30 p.m. at Gig Harbor's Uptown's Galaxy Theater. The venture received an outpouring of community support. Net proceeds will benefit TCC's veterans through the Bill Harrington Fund, who passed away earlier this year. Read Melissa Renahan's full feature on the TCC Student Film Showcase in the Veterans section.

5. Tacoma's own Swing Reunion Orchestra sets the stage full of holiday spirit at 7:30 p.m. during Tacoma Musical Playhouse's annual Big Band Christmas.

PLUS: Holiday Events Calendar

PLUS: South Sound Holiday Command Center

LINK: Monday, Dec. 9 arts and entertainment events in the greater Tacoma and Olympia area

French toast is fine and good with some warm maple syrup and a cold glass of milk. But you don't really want to be just fine and good, do you? A popular breakfast spot in Tacoma has perfected eggnog French toast, soaking the six wedges of toast in an eggnog batter for a custard-like bread pudding delight. The dish sings flavor notes of the holiday. If only the seven people crammed into the foyer Sunday morning would have busted out songbooks and sang carols.

Can you guess where I'm eating?

Special bonus: Anyone who gives the correct answer below in the comments section before 5 p.m. today will be entered into a random drawing for six free tickets to the Franciscan Polar Plaza ice rink.

Strangely Alright is more than all right - the band is awesome. Its music is fun, timeless and real. The band can laugh, cry and flip people off all in one album, backed up by talent and experience.

The band also makes cool music videos in antique stores - Rampart, to be exact - and invites the community to dress up and join in the fun. The result is totally classy and totally Tacoma.

"We came away with such a sense of family and community after the shoot," says Regan Lane, guitarist and vocalist for the band. "I hope people are able to feel that way when they watch it."

Push play below for five minutes of feel good. "If I Don't Laugh, I'm Only Going To Cry" is an easy classic, an instant like and you might even see faces you recognize. Enjoy!

If Strangely Alright hits the right chord with you and you want more of their Beatles/Bowie-esque sound, see the band live Saturday, Dec. 14 at the Franciscan Polar Plaza ice rink. You may watch the band for free, or pay $4-$8 and ice skate to its two-hour set beginning at 7 p.m.

"I love Christmas," says Lane with a laugh. "Yes, it's true. I'm just a big kid stuck in a man's body. Lennon's "Happy Christmas (War is Over)" has always been one of my favorite holiday songs and I get to play it this year. Just doesn't get much better."

STRANGELY ALRIGHT, 7-9 p.m., Saturday, Dec. 14, Franciscan polar Plaza, 17th and Pacific Avenue, Tacoma, free admission, $4-$8 ice skate, polarplaza.com

See Also

Tacoma power pop band Strangely Alright nails its first release

TUESDAY, DEC. 10 2013 >>>

1. This year's Classical Tuesdays Wine & Song Benefit in Old Town Tacoma will feature operetta selections from Offenbach and Gilbert and Sullivan, and some Kurt Weill to represent the Berlin operetta style that crosses over to cabaret. It will also feature mezzo-soprano Dawn Padula accompanied by pianist Denes Van Parys - doling out tunes by Edith Piaf, William Bolcom and songs from Kander and Ebb's musical, Cabaret. Equally important, the night will feature lovely Cabernets, which kicks off at 7 p.m. inside the Connelly Law Offices. This annual event benefits the free Classical Tuesdays in Old Town chamber music series. 

THIS IS NEXT WEEK: 1. Tacoma native Erik Hanberg is a man who wears many hats. One day, you may see him fulfilling his duties as commissioner of Metro Parks Tacoma; on another, you may spy him petitioning to pay tribute to legendary scribe and fellow Tacoman Frank Herbert, author of the Dune series, by loaning the same moniker to a local park. More recently, you may have spied him signing copies of his newly released novel, The Lead Cloak, Book One of the Lattice Trilogy,which he'll do again at 7 p.m., Dec. 17 at the Tacoma Public Library Main Branch. Read Jackie Fender's Q&A with Erik Hanberg in the Music & Culture section.

2. If you prefer to purchase your daddy issues in bulk, you might buy into the paterfamilias misery of Gilles Legrand's unnerving drama You Will Be My Son, offering heavy value in the I-Hate-You-Dad Department. Exacting in his work and uncaring in everything else, Paul (Niels Arestrup) pours every ounce of love and attention he's got into his successful Saint-Émilion winery, leaving nothing for his son, Martin (Lorànt Deutsch). Yikes. See how it plays out at 2:30 and 6:30 p.m. at The Grand Cinema.

3. How do you escape the pressures of the holidays, like, really quickly? Bundle up, drop your packages in the trunk, pinch your cheeks until they glow and strap on a pair of silver skates, Hans Brinker, for a glide across the frozen expanse at Tollefson Plaza. The Franciscan Polar Plaza, located on the corner of Pacific Avenue and South 17th Street. The covered outdoor rink is about half the size of a hockey rink. It will have real ice and hold about 150 skaters at a time. It's open from 4-9 p.m.

4. Spanaway has some similarities with Texas. For one, Spanaway likes to go big - in the drive-thru line, and when it comes to holiday light displays. In its wattage-chowing 18th year, Fantasy Lights offers oohers and ahhers a night of blinking and glowing bliss from 5:30-9 p.m. The two and a quarter mile long parade of lit-up scenery has its own peculiar sense of majesty, and it goes without saying that it's the perfect treat for a family to soak up the holiday spirit.

5. Berkeley singer/songwriter Ryan Dishen will perform at 9 p.m. in Le Voyeur in downtown Olympia.

PLUS: Holiday Events Calendar

PLUS: South Sound Holiday Command Center

LINK: Tuesday, Dec. 10 arts and entertainment events in the greater Tacoma and Olympia area

Regretfully, I spent much of this year cocooned in solitude; too poor and depressed to do much beyond learn the names of the most praised cultural items of 2013. As such, it makes it quite difficult to put together a proper year-end "Best Of" list, as I am normally wont to do. Instead of making a token attempt at assembling a list, I'll just give you a miniscule sampling of things that both came out this year and that I saw and enjoyed. This Venn diagram is pocket-sized.

Movies

Coincidentally, the two films that I was most intrigued by this year are hardline nerd-bait. These films are the most fascinating and infuriating releases I saw this year, and neither one of them give a damn about whether or not you can follow along - for two very different reasons.

Room 237 is ostensibly a documentary about Stanley Kubrick's The Shining, told from the point of view of a handful of unseen talking heads. Each of these unseen narrators has a different completely bonkers theory about what's really going on in Kubrick's classic horror. Some make a certain amount of sense (Kubrick was a bored genius who put in subliminal sexual messages just to fuck with people), and some are hysterical batshit (The Shining was Kubrick's allegory for the faked moon landing/the Trail of Tears/World War II). Regardless of whether you believe any of these theories, which you won't, Room 237 is a brilliant essay on a brilliant film - and you'll be just itching to go back and revisit Kubrick's masterwork.

Upstream Color is only the second film from Shane Carruth - released almost a decade after his mind-expanding and impenetrable debut, Primer - and I couldn't spoil it for you if my life depended on it. Something about mind control, I think? Just like Primer, Upstream Color begs to be watched with friends and argued about for the rest of the night. It's the hardest of sci-fi's, and visually stunning to boot.

Podcasts

Podcasts are my only friends, and I will tell you about some of my favorites this year.

Harmontown: Hosted by the volatile and whip-smart creator of Community, Dan Harmon, Harmontown is a live, weekly "town hall meeting" hosted by Harmon and his longtime friend, Jeff Davis (Whose Line is it Anyway?). Besides stream-of-consciousness rants about dicks and existential discussions on the ins-and-outs of escaping Earth and building a colony on the moon, Harmontown is ultimately an examination on the difficulty of being a professional creative person while simultaneously being a functioning member of society. Add to that a hilarious, never-ending campaign of Dungeons & Dragons, which ends every episode, and it's a can't-miss.

Stop Podcasting Yourself: Featuring two comedians (Dave Shumka and Graham Clark) up in Vancouver, B.C., just shooting the shit with a weekly guest, Stop Podcasting Yourself is the classic formula for the chat show podcast. What keeps me hooked is the pure, ineffable amiability of the two hosts. SPY is the show that most consistently makes me smile, which epitomizes the greatest thing about podcasts: it's like visiting your best, funniest friends once a week.

Welcome to Night Vale: For those that want a bit more in their podcasts than just some guys sitting around talking, Welcome to Night Vale does a fine job of utilizing the weirdly uncommon format of the radio play. Punchy articles about Welcome to Night Vale like to describe it as A Prairie Home Companion meets H.P. Lovecraft, and that certainly does fit. However, for people that came of age in the '90s, I think a more apt comparison is to the surreal world-building of the Sideways Stories from Wayside School book series. Every dryly hilarious, claustrophobic news report about the mysterious desert town of Night Vale adds absurdly specific levels to the town's growing mythology. With less than 40 episodes at less than half an hour each, this is one you can catch up on in no time.

See Also

Judging by the Trailers

WEDNESDAY, DEC. 11 2013 >>>

1. We all have touchstones that bring the simple spirit of Christmas to our harried, mall-besotted souls. For some, it's that first burst of multi-colored light when the last string is strung. For others, it could be a long-treasured card or the smell of baking cookies. For us, it's the music. Northwest jazz and blues singer Maia Santell and her backing band House Blend perform their annual holiday concert and dance at 7:30 p.m. in Jazzbones. House Blend instrumentalists feature Ted Dortch on tenor saxophone, Jeff Ziontz on guitar, Ted Enderle on bass and Tim Malland on drums. The band's repertoire includes jazz, blues, swing, Latin, rhythm and blues and holiday favorites such as "Merry Christmas Baby," "Please Come Home For Christmas," "Santa Baby," Nancy Wilson's "What Are You Doing New Year's Eve?" and Mel Torme's holiday classic "The Christmas Song," to name a few. 

Read more...

There's a little something for coffee geeks to get excited about in Tacoma.

The Slayer!

Paesan Kitchen and Bar has gained a following with its wood-fired pizzas and compelling cocktail concoctions, yet its espresso hasn't gained much buzz. Manager - and as co-owner Philip Panagos puts it "Coffee Queen" - Natasha Weiss tells me the goal was to be THE coffee stop for denizens of neighboring Esplanade and Thea's Landing complexes. Unfortunately, Paesan's unreliable espresso machine was a buzz kill.

Enter the Slayer, a powerful, slick industrial-quality espresso machine built out of a warehouse in Seattle's Georgetown neighborhood.

Read more...