FRIDAY, AUG. 1 2014 >>>
1. From Aug. 1-3, the Lakewood Asian Film Fest will screen inside the Lakewood Playhouse. This year, there will be four films, each complete with the requisite movie popcorn and other refreshments, as well as a special live performance before each film that will set the stage and bring an extra edge of arts to each evening. Read Kristin Kendle's full feature on the Lakewood Asian Film Fest in the Music and Culture section, then catch tonight's film, Kahaani, an Indian murder mystery abouta London woman's journey to Calcutta in search of her missing husband. The show starts at 7:30 p.m., but show up early and catch the Chang Hee Sook Women Drummers at 7 p.m. as well as a display in the lobby by the Philippine Scouts Historical Society.
2. Spaceworks Tacoma is proud to announce the grand opening of four new businesses at the corner of South 10th and Martin Luther King Jr. Way. The celebration of Concrete Market, The Tshirt Men Company, SPUN Clay Arts Studio & Gallery and DubCity Studios will be from 5-9 p.m. Each business will host an open house and offer a variety of awesomeness for customers.
3. The Blues Power Revue - "Jake and Elwood" and a seven-piece band - will play a dynamite show at Port Plaza in downtown Olympia from 7-8:30 p.m. The seasoned musicians and impersonators offer all the hits and humor that made the American cultural icons.
4. Yonatan Gat was recently voted "Best Guitarist of 2013" by the Village Voice. There. Now go to the show. More? Formerly of the Israeli garage rock powerhouses, Monotonix, Gat has turned his eyes to the far corners of musical expression. Incorporating a dizzying variety of cultural influences - tropicalia, Middle Eastern music, psych rock, blistering punk, African pop - Gat has emerged as a chameleonic interpreter of rock 'n' roll in its many shifting forms. Catch him with Arrington de Dionyso and Calvin Johnson at 8 p.m. in Northern.
5. Just as turntablism - the art of playing records - has made an instrument out of a medium, the movement's DJs have made the transition from enablers to performers. Tonight's "Smart People" event, organized by Tacoma's Mr. Melanin, seeks to put a little stress on that assumption by presenting DJs in an improvised setting, touching on R&B and electronica, bringing in indie rock, house and disco. Dancing is awesome, but you'll catch yourself gazing at the turntable skills of Mr. Melanin and theMAYOR. It's OK. It really begins at 9:55 p.m. at The New Frontier Lounge.
LINK: Friday, Aug. 1 arts and entertainment events in the greater Tacoma and Olympia area
