The Washington State Fair is going old school. ...
The Washington State Fair's 2014 Columbia Bank Concert Series lineup is getting a little nostalgic with an upcoming concert. Herman's Hermits starring Peter Noone ("I'm Henry VIII, I Am"), The Grass Roots ("Let's Live for Today"), and The Buckinghams ("Kind of a Drag") will perform on Thursday, Sept. 11. "Hey Baby, They're Playing Our Song!"
The Herman's Hermits starring Peter Noone, The Grass Roots, and The Buckinghams concert is part of the Washington State Fair's 2014 Columbia Bank Concert Series. Tickets to the Thursday, Sept. 11 concert at 7:30 p.m. are $50-Golden Circle, $40, $30, and $20 for reserved seating, which includes Fair gate admission. Tickets will start selling on Saturday, June 28 at 10 a.m. on the Fair website, or by phone (888) 559-FAIR (3247) daily, 7 a.m. - 8 p.m. PST. Tickets can also be purchased in person at the Washington State Fair's Box Office at 9th Ave SW and Meridian Street on Saturdays, 10 a.m. - 2 p.m., and a $1 per ticket service fee will be charged for on-site purchases.
502 Downtown Tacoma - Downtown. Michael Powers Birthday Celebration, with Carl Ratcliffe, DJ Hitman. 9 pm. $10.
Northwest jazz guitarist Michael Powers is a musician's musician whose work has continually progressed far beyond the standard jazz genre. Born in New York and raised in the San Francisco Bay area, Powers took up the guitar to strengthen his wrist after a skateboard accident. After graduating from Berkeley High at 15, he relocated to the Emerald City where he continued his musical explorations playing everything from jazz, blues, rock and pop. Powers kept his fingers limber by sitting in with some of the finest musicians in the city. He graduated magna cum laude with a Bachelor of fine arts in composition and performance in 1982 from Seattle's prestigious Cornish College of the Arts. While some of his influences came from Jimi Hendrix, Carlos Santana, Charlie Parker, George Benson, Stanley Jordan, and Miles Davis, he has successfully developed his own unique touch. Powers, celebrating a birthday, will perform with Carl Ratcliffe's fusion jazz band at the 502 Downtown bar. DJ Hitman spins at 11 p.m. - Weekly Volcano
Anthem Tacoma - Downtown. Downtown Music Crawl with The Cloves. 9-9:45 pm.
B Sharp Coffee House Tacoma - Downtown. Patti Allen & Zolton. All Ages. 8 pm.
Bleach Tacoma - Downtown. Downtown Music Crawl with Wheelies. 6:30-7:15 pm.
The Gig Spot Gig Harbor. Brandon Pratt. All Ages. 8 pm.
Jazzbones Tacoma - Sixth Avenue. Cody Beebe & The Crooks, Whiskey N Rye, Letters From Traffic. 8 pm. $10.
Le Voyeur Café and Lounge Olympia - Downtown. Captain Algebra. All ages. 8 pm.
Louie G's Pizza Fife. American Wrecking Company. All Ages. 5 pm.
The New Frontier Lounge Tacoma - Dome District. Gladiators Eat Fire, Death By Stars, the Lion in Winter. 9 pm. $5.
Northern Olympia - Downtown. 20th Annual Experimental Music Festival, with Elliott Sharp, Joe Trump, Peter Randlette, Dead Air Fresheners, Jennifer Robin, KnotPineBox, JD Helwig, Big Tom The Lithuanian. All Ages. 7 pm. $10.
Uncle Thurm's Soul Food Tacoma - Lincoln District. Maia Santell & House Blend. All Ages. 7:30 pm. NC.
urbanXchange Tacoma - Downtown. Downtown Music Crawl with Novel Nature. 7:45-8:30 pm.
The 115th Mobile Public Affairs Detachment, Oregon Army National Guard, practices throwing coffee at Camp Rilea in Warrenton, Ore., during pre-mobilization training in preparation for a deployment to Afghanistan. Original photo by Spc. Marilyn Lowry, 115t
Overcast with showers at times today at JBLM. Hi: 67. Clueless about tomorrow. News team made me wear rain hat, slicker again. Hate news team.
This Date in History: 1972
President Nixon announces that no more draftees will be sent to Vietnam unless they volunteer for such duty. He also announced that a force of 10,000 troops would be withdrawn by Sept. 1, which would leave a total of 39,000 in Vietnam.
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1. Before we can enjoy Music and Art in Wright Park, with bands, local vendors, good eats and live art, we gotta pile into The New Frontier, we gotta bang heads and slosh beer and put cash in the bucket. At 9 p.m., the Tacoma Dome music venue hosts a fundraiser to help raise money so we can rock come Saturday, Aug. 16 in Wright Park. Not only will Ex-Gods (former Mahnhammer), Cody Foster Army (C.F.A.) and Infinite Flux rock the house this Saturday, but there will also be a new element to MAWP's fundraising ... and archiving. For the first time, a MAWP compilation CD, Vol 1:Organic Arsenic, a collection of the festival's past performers - including Tacoma bands from the 1990s such as Queer the Pitch, Portrait of Poverty, My Name, Spuj, Swelter, Poppa Wheelie, to name a few - together in a pretty little package for your listening pleasure, will be for sale. Read Nikki McCoy's full feature on the Music and Art in Wright Park fundraiser on our Walkie Talkie blog.
2. You know that recurring nightmare where you show up at school in your underpants? It's time for therapy. Turn your underwear into outerwear at the Undy Run/Walk along Tacoma's Ruston Way at 9 p.m. Instead of receiving a race day T-shirt, participants will receive a stylish pair of boxer shorts and will have the opportunity to take a stroll through a larger-than-life inflatable colon, benefitting the Colon Cancer Alliance.
3. Chance Fashion is the Northwest's longest running monthly fashion show, providing accessible, hands-on networking resources to the Seattle fashion community - including designers, models, photographers, hair stylists and makeup artists. Chance Fashion participants will jump in their cars and head to the Lemay - America's Car Museum to bring Tacoma "100 Feet of Fashion" from 6-10 p.m. As part of the fashion nonprofit's five-year anniversary tour, designers Julie Danforth Design, Poppy & Bloom by Olga Szwed, Vivid Haiku Meroe by Yahwea Meroe, Juleano Men by Julius Leano, Karen Ashley by Karen Langley and Chelsea Mack will show off their talent, surrounded by classic automobiles.
4. Tacoma has a knack for the pop-up venue. From the backyards and porches, living rooms and reconfigured storefronts come shows of punk bands, folk singers, garage rock outfits and hip-hop emcees. We have this opportunity again tonight, a chance to hear some of Tacoma's native sons and daughters share their work.enjoy Motopony, Sporty Lee and Valerie Warren in a Tacoma backyard at 8 p.m. Tickets are $8. For the address to this backyard, visit facebook.com/events/271645249687420 and confirm you're attending.
5. Even though Fruit Juice has only existed for a little over a year, they've garnered a significant amount of praise, including being voted Best New Band in Olympia by the readers of this very rag. Even though it seems like it wouldn't be the case, Fruit Juice's brand of silly, stoned psych-pop is a breath of fresh air in the South Sound. Read Rev. Adam McKinney's full story on Fruit Juice in the Music & Culture section, then catch the band with The Bugs, Retrospecter and the Echo Echo Echoes at 8 p.m. in Bob's Java Jive.
B Sharp Coffee House Tacoma - Downtown. The Cottonwood Cutups and The Rusty Cleavers. 8 pm. $5.
Bob's Java Jive Tacoma - Central. Fruit Juice, The Bugs, Retrospecter, the Echo Echo Echoes, 8 pm. $5.
Cork! A Wine Bar Tacoma - Sixth Avenue. Cody Raymond. 8:30 pm. NC.
Doyle's Public House Tacoma - Stadium District. Stay Grounded. 9:30 pm. NC.
Jazzbones Tacoma - Sixth Avenue. Kalimba: The Spirit Of Earth, Wind & Fire. 8 pm. $20.
Le Voyeur Café and Lounge Olympia - Downtown. Scout's Honor, Slugjob, Polyan, Wei Zhongle. 9 pm.
I wonder if the people in Wei Zhongle know how to pronounce their band name, or if it's just a guessing game every time. Listening to their music, it certainly seems like they'd be cagy if you asked. Describing their music as "nu trance" -which, frankly, I do not approve of - the sounds of Wei Zhongle are hard to pin down. The Illinois trio frame their repetitious instrumental experimentations in a way that's precise to the point of abstraction. Utilizing a clarinet's trill as the analog version of a glitchy techno melody, they build songs that have the unsettling quality of electronic music, while still planting one foot in the flesh-and-blood world. They're a nightmare chamber act, concocting dizzying mood pieces that are as rich in texture as they are off-putting in their shifting structures. - Rev. Adam McKinney
Louie G's Pizza Fife. Mechanism, Boneshaker, Garden Of Eden, Gebular. All Ages. 7 pm.
The New Frontier Lounge Tacoma - Dome District. Music and Art in Wright Park Benefit, with CFA, Ex Gods, Infinite Flux. Plus record release for MAWP compilation. 9 pm.
Northern Olympia - Downtown. 20th Annual Experimental Music Festival, with Mark Hosler, Impulsive Machinations, Arrington De Dionyso, Ton Trio II, Chaostic Magic, Giant Worm. All Ages. 7 pm. $10.
The Spar Tacoma - Old Town. The Diamond Experience (Neil Diamond tribute). 8 pm.
Track House Olympia - Downtown. Mosquito Hawk, Ancient Warlocks, Sioux, Holy Grove, Shadows, 8:30 pm. $3.
To see Mosquito Hawk in person is to see the workings of four dedicated rockers, each bringing a stage presence that engages more than just your ears. Watch as Jerry Zeigler pile-drives his drums, float off with John Merithew as he noodles a guitar solo into your being, catch the rocker stance and bass manipulation of Sean McCoy, and just try and look away when Olivia Love dances and croons into the mic, "Don't try to love me ... just fucking suck on my tongue." Now put that intimate arrangement in a punk rock living room with four other bands, including Seattle fuzz-masters Ancient Warlocks, add the sweet sweat of a summer night, and see how that treats you. You can thank me later. - Nikki McCoy
Traditions Cafe and World Folk Art Olympia - Downtown. Kat Eggleston. All Ages. 8 pm. $10-$15.
1. Early summer in the South Sound means changing warmer weather, adding a boa and checking out the pride festivals. In conjunction with Olympia Capital City Pride event last weekend, the Olympia Film Society presents the 2014 Pride Film Festival, closing today at the Capitol Theater. Today's screenings include My Prairie Home and Dating Sucks: A Genderqueer Misadventure at 2:30 p.m., Appropriate Behavior and Vecinas at 5 p.m., and Cupcakes, First Date and Becoming Flirty at 7:30 p.m. MC Flirticia Fondue closes the night out.
2. The Tacoma Benefit Jam and Feed is now a quarterly endeavor, bringing together musicians and food to raise money for a charity. Bring your instruments from an afternoon of bluegrass, jazz, swing, and old time from 1-5 p.m. at the Vaeth Mansion, 422 N. E St. in Tacoma. The suggested $15 donations ($10 donations for musicians) will benefit Sister Cities International. A buffet will be available throughout the jam, with food, wine, and non-alcoholic beverages included in exchange for your generous donations.
3. Lakewood Playhouse never seems to disappoint and their most recent production is no exception. People who don't like Monty Python humor, also known as fuddy duddies, might want to skip it but for everyone else, Spamalot (books and lyrics by Eric Idle) will have them laughing, whistling and singing even after the show. Director John Munn's brilliant cast and crew could not have done a better job. Read Joann Varnell's full review of Spamalot in the Music & Culture section, then catch the show at 2 p.m.
4. The Social Bar and Grill's patio is a lovely spot to while away a weekend afternoon, sipping cocktails and old world red wine and watching condo residents walk their dogs. Come Sunday afternoon, resident DJ Mr. Melanin and rotating guests spin an eclectic and extremely tasteful selection of lounge, bossa nova and electro soul music 2-6 p.m. This triple threat of delicious happy hour specials, sun and hip tunes is known as Tacoma's only daytime summer party, "Dayclub."
1st Platoon, Blackjack Troop, 1st Squadron, 40th Cavalry, trains Afghan National Army soldiers how to throw coffee, Camp Clark, Khowst province, Afghanistan. Original photo by Spc. Kimberly Trumbull
A mainly sunny sky at JBLM. High 77. My OCD-esque need to wear ninja slippers doesn't help my relationship with the news team. Lo 56.
This Date in History: 1943
Gen. Douglas MacArthur launches Operation Cartwheel, a multi-pronged assault on Rabaul and several islands in the Solomon Sea in the South Pacific. The joint effort takes nine months to complete but succeeds.
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1. When's the last time someone read you a story? If it's been a while, check out the latest Creative Colloquy session at 7 p.m. in the B Sharp Coffee House. This installment of the wonderfully satisfying monthly storytelling series centers on the YA genre. Featured yarns will be spun by New York Times Best Selling author Marissa Meyer, Michaela Eaves, Brook Ellen West, Karen Harris Tully and the winner of CC's Youth Writer Contest. As usual, all scribes are encouraged to attend and read their works, to test the prose or read finished work. Reading opportunities are available on a first come, first sign up basis and authors are asked to keep content performance at 5-minute maximum.
2. According to Fed Up, the latest from writer-director Stephanie Soechtig, Oscar-winning producer Laurie David and Katie Couric, (who also narrates the film), sugar reigns supreme among the most corruptive comestibles lining shelves and plates across America, not to mention our digestive tracts and circulatory systems. And according to this documentary, we eat a lot of it, whether we know it or not. Read Jared Lovrak's full review of the film on our Served in the South Sound blog, then catch it at 2, 4:20 and 9:05 p.m. at The Grand Cinema.
3. Dean Reichert's soulful voice carries in it the history of American popular music: There's the down-home rhythm and testifying punch of gospel-based R&B, the snarl of the blues, the mournful rumination of honky-tonk, sultry jazz and the up-front sexuality of funk. Oh, and he's a talent guitar player, too. Reichert heads to The Swiss at 8 p.m. for the Tacoma joint's longstanding blues night.
4. Local comedian and host Eric Puddin Lorentzen hosts the "Monday Madness Comedy Night with Puddin" at 9 p.m. in The New Frontier Lounge. Expect 6-10 minute sets, each recorded. The audience will choose a winner, who will headline the following week. It was the great Bill Cosby who said, "Puddin, you can't be a comedian without him," or something.
5. Singer-songwriter Chelsey Heidenreich lives and grew up in the small town of Ritzville, Wash. She brings her indie folk sound to Le Voyeur at 10 p.m.
Till all are one, this is Nerd Alert, the Weekly Volcano's recurring events calendar devoted to all things nerdy. I myself am a Star Wars fan, mathlete, and spelling bee champion of long standing, so trust me: I grok whereof I speak.
FRIDAY, JULY 4
The Fourth of July arrives on a Friday this year, so any reasonable person would expect a three-car pileup of blockbuster movie releases. I'm a reasonable person, give or take, so it took several minutes for me to verify no such cascade of cinematic wonderment is forthcoming. The Melissa McCarthy comedy Tammy will be in theaters Wednesday, as will the cop horror flick Deliver Us from Evil and veritable E.T. remake Earth to Echo, but that's all she wrote. Apparently the studios thought Transformers: Age of Extinction (whatever that means) will still be guzzling the bills from your wallet. Perhaps they're right, but at time of writing, its reviews inspire as much confidence as a C from the Health Department or the endorsement of Glenn Beck. We're talking RottenTomatoes.com scores in the teens. The word "rancid" has been tossed around, which see critic James Rocchi of About.com, who also implies Trans4mers: What the Hell Ever is an act of Chinese terrorism.
I have questions about the Transformers movies - nay, the Transformers themselves. If one's goal is to be deceptive, isn't calling oneself a Decepticon a poor choice? Why do Transformers fight with swords and martial arts, when it's clear they all have guns? Aren't they basically made out of guns? Why are so many characters in these movies, including the robots, defined by their ethnicities? Has Michael Bay apologized for those stereotypically "ghetto" robots in the second one yet? (I challenge you to find an inoffensive way to even describe them. They make Jar Jar Binks look and sound like Mr. Peanut.) Whatever happened to Megan Fox? Who cleans a motorcycle like that? What exactly are the Autobots and Decepticons fighting about? Is this a Hatfields-and-McCoys type of thing? Have they tried economic sanctions? If these robots are powered by the Allspark, what happens when somebody puts gasoline in Bumblebee? How did Bumblebee come by that name? Do they even have bumblebees on ... wait, I'm looking it up ... Cybertron? Is the planet really called Cybertron? By whom? It seems a bit on-the-nose. Do they also have vintage Camaros on Cybertron? And dinosaurs? That breathe fire? To sum up: are these movies written by Sid from Toy Story? Is there even a writer? I mean, yawn.
WEDNESDAY, JULY 9
Academy- and Razzie-Award-winning actress Halle Berry stars in her first TV series, Extant. It's produced by Steven Spielberg and debuts Wednesday at 9. Ms. Berry plays an astronaut who comes home after a year in space and attempts to reconnect with her husband and son. Meanwhile, she'll take intermittent control of the weather, an unconvincing parade of white wigs, and enough cats to give Andrew Lloyd Webber a migraine. According to showrunner Greg Walker, Extant addresses the thematic question, "What makes us human?" I guess my question to Walker is, are you telling us you don't know? Is it really that difficult a question? Have you found yourself attracted to Camaros?
We're less than a year from the release dates of Avengers: Age of Ultron and Jurassic World. If Harrison Ford recovers from his on-set leg injury, we're 17 months from Star Wars, Episode VII, and Rian Johnson (Brick, Looper) was just named auteur of Episode VIII. We have lots more Star Trek and superhero movie installments in our future. DC's getting Wonder Woman off the ground at long last. The big-screen adaptation of Ready Player One is moving forward again; I imagine its director will be named soon. These are welcome developments, to be sure. But I'm also old enough to remember big-budget genre entertainment that came out of nowhere: Raiders of the Lost Ark, Back to the Future, Gremlins, The Matrix. Those movies weren't adapted from anything other than creative folks' wild imaginations. This decade, such surprises are slim on the ground.
Edge of Tomorrow was a decent start, but even that seemed cobbled together from old favorites. The inevitable Halo film will look much the same. Here's hoping Interstellar from Christopher Nolan (due in November) or Brad Bird's Tomorrowland (May of 2015) have exciting and groundbreaking visions to share. It's rare for studios to trust us to recognize great new material, but we need to leave something for unimaginative people in the 2030s to rip off. Can I get a witness? Amen.
Until next week, may the Force be with you, may the odds be ever in your favor, and may these kids today with their iPads and Autobots grump grump grump.
The Washington National Guard celebrates our nation's independence with several statewide "#GuardWeek" events as part of "It's your home, It's your guard, It's your week" 2014 campaign. The Guard hopes all ages enjoy the following community events, encouraging tagging Fourth of July photos on twitter with the social media hashtag, #GuardWeek.
The Washington National Guard kicks off its #GuardWeek campaign with the Go Fourth Festival in Longview July 2-3. Drop by the Washington National Guard information booth and enjoy the 133rd Army Band.
Friday, July 4, the Washington National Guard heads to Seattle for the Seafair Summer Fourth at Gas Works Park and South Lake Union Park. Expect to see vehicle static displays, 133rd band, interactive booths and an awe-inspiring presentation with a salute cannon and aerial display to start the fireworks show.
The Guard will participate in the city of Auburn's Fourth of July festivities at Les Grove Park, including a concert by its 133rd Band. Those in Les Grove Park will enjoy various arts and crafts, car show, parade, and various entertainers on two stages.
Will you be close to the Tacoma Waterfront? The Washington National Guard will be. The Guard will have static vehicle displays, interactive booths and entertainment at the "America Be Strong" Stage by the Lobster Shop restaurant on Ruston Way as part of the huge Freedom Fair.
Have a need for speed? Then make sure you visit the Evergreen Motor Speedway in Monroe July 4. The Guard will have static vehicle displays, interactive booths and entertainment.
The Guard will also be participating in several parades in Arlington and Edmonds.
Across the Cascades, the Guard will be a part of Spokane's July 4 Pennant 5k Run in the morning and closing out the day with the triple-a baseball team Spokane Indians as they take on the Vancouver Canadians, followed by fireworks. The Washington National Guard will have a Paladin Howitzer Static Display and information booth
The 133rd Band will also play in White Salmon outside of Yakima as part of a Fourth of July celebration.
Closing out the 4th of July Weekend, the Washington National Guard and the Seattle Reign Women's Soccer team will have a military appreciation match against the Boston Breakers at Memorial Stadium in Seattle Sunday, July 6. The Guard will present the Colors, bring static displays, host an information booth and toss the coin.
The Guard will participate in the city of Auburn's Fourth of July festivities at Les Grove Park, including a concert by its 133rd Band. Those in Les Grove Park will enjoy various arts and crafts, car show, parade, and various entertainers on two stages.
Across the Cascades, the Guard will be a part of Spokane's July 4 Pennant 5k Run in the morning and closing out the day with the triple-a baseball team Spokane Indians as they take on the Vancouver Canadians, followed by fireworks. The Washington National Guard will have a Paladin Howitzer Static Display and information booth
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