MONDAY, JUNE 16 2014 >>>
1. Every year, more than 30 street bands from around the nation converge in Seattle for Honk! Fest West. Olympia's Rhythm and Rye will be hosting a rowdy Pre-Honk! primer with two of its favorite Honk! bands: The Bucharest Drinking Team and Artesian Rumble Arkestra June 16. The Bucharest Drinking Team, a band that borrows stylistically from great Balkan brass bands such as Fanfare Ciocarlia and Boban Markovic, mixes in a liberal shot of Romanian folk music and a penchant for '80s disco from behind the Iron Curtain to bring you a high-proof Eastern Bloc Party, complete with dancing, drinking, and music. The utterly delightful punk marching band Artesian Rumble Arkestra play a variety of jazz standards and atypical covers reflecting the broad diversity of its members' favorite music: samba, rock, Balkan, New Orleans, gospel, reggae and pop. This will be a sight to see ... and hear.
2. Ghana knocked the Americans out of the last two World Cups with 2-1 victories, beating the Americans in group play in the 2006 tournament and in extra time during the round of 16 four years ago. Only four Americans who appeared in the 2010 match are likely to start: goalkeeper Tim Howard, midfielder Michael Bradley and forwards Clint Dempsey and Jozy Altidore. USA takes on Ghana at 3 p.m. today. Doyle's Public House has a sweet setup to watch the match.
3. A couple of beer events happen today. Pint Defiance hosts notable craft brewer David Walker of Firestone Walker Brewing Co. to discuss beer and sign bottles from 3-5 p.m. Expect Union Jack and DBA on tap, Stickee Monkee Barrel-Aged Central Coast Quad bottles and a rare keg of Barrelworks Li'l Opal Blended Oak-Aged Saison, which was released April 19. The Twisted Kilt Irish Pub in Puyallup will serve 99-cent beers whenever the U.S. scores against Ghana during World Cup action.
4. The Grand Budapest Hotel, Wes Anderson's latest and eighth feature overall, is clearly a very Wes Anderson film, complete with many of the idiosyncrasies that make his work distinctive and, to some, excessively precious: quirky, deadpan humor; characters communicating via handwritten letters; richly detailed and meticulously arranged production design; the presence of Bill Murray, Jason Schwartzman, and Owen Wilson. Catch the film at 4 and 8:40 in The Grand Cinema, or 6:30 p.m. at the Capitol Theater.
5. Phoenix garage punk band The Rebel Set and Sacramento folkadelic band Honyock rock Le Voyeur at 10 p.m.
LINK: Monday, June 16 arts and entertainment events in the greater Tacoma and Olympia area
