SUNDAY, MARCH 9 2014 >>>
1. If we were to return to the most direct definition of post-punk, Nervosas is likely the type of band that you would picture. A minimalist trio of guitar, bass and drums, Nervosas embody the sort of band that might rise out of punk's late '70s pop decimation. At their core, Nervosas play straightforward, no-fucking-around punk that's heavy on charging drums and breakneck guitars. But there's tentative experimentation at play, the way that those first post-punk bands were relearning what music can be, once all the bullshit was stripped away. Read Rev. Adam McKinney's full interview with Nervosas in the Music & Culture section, then catch the band with Overboard and Cult Evaders at 6 p.m. in Bob's Java Jive.
2. Something about this time of year - it makes plaid cool. It makes bagpipes cool. Pale, hairy, muscular men in skirts with no underwear? Too far? Because St. Patrick's Day is this month, Pam and Philip Boulding, the husband and wife foundation of Magical Strings, will bust out the Celtic harps and hammered dulcimers for an afternoon of Celtic tunes without someone throwing up green beer. Hear (and see) the strings; see (and hear) the impromptu dancing of the Olalla Community Hall crowd beginning at 2 p.m., not to mention the incredible voices these two have honed since 1978.
3. South Puget Sound Community College's production of Playboy of the Western World isn't about Hugh Hefner's life. Turns out this Playboy is a satirical look at Catholicism and Irish peasantry, and the "playboy" in question is actually a character named Christy Mahon who, true to the early-20th century meaning of the word, is a trickster or hoaxer. The original 1907 production supposedly caused a riot in Dublin when it was first performed, but don't expect the same reaction at 2 p.m. in the Kenneth J. Minnaert Center for the Arts Black Box Theatre.
4. Wikipedia says, "Sunday night blues is an acute condition, mostly affecting nine-to-five workers and students." Wikipedia is full of crap. Sunday night blues is an awesome condition, mostly affecting a graying crowd of music lovers. For as long as we can remember, The Spar in Old Town Tacoma has hosted blues bands every Sunday night. And it doesn't matter what band is shoved into the corner, the people arrive at 7 p.m. by rote. It's a beautiful thing. Tonight, Junkyard Jane will perform their funky, swampy blues.
5. You mooned Bus #37 outside Oakbrook Elementary School in 1978, you depantsed Sid at Lakes High School in 1981, you streaked down Pacific Avenue in downtown Tacoma in 1983, you skinny dipped at Owens Beach in 1985, you went to law school in 1988. You have had a life-full of truth or dare games. May we suggest the Stand-up Truth or Dare game at 8 p.m. in the Tacoma Comedy Club. Jubal Flagg hosts five comedians who will perform stand-up, then spin the wheel of terror to find out their fate. The other comedians get to come up with questions and challenges, and the audience gets to decide what they have to do. It should be old school for you.
LINK: Sunday, March 9 arts and entertainment events in the greater Tacoma and Olympia area
