SATURDAY, OCT. 11 2014 >>>
1. Olympia alt-bluegrass band The Pine Hearts, Tacoma old timey meets folk-punk band The Cottonwood Cutups and rustygrass band The Rusty Cleavers will pitch a tent inside Bob's Java Jive at 8 p.m. It will be a cacophony of spirited group-singing and hoops and hollers. Read Kevin Knodell's feature story on Forest Beutel, singer and banjo musician with The Rusty Cleavers.
2. The Tacoma Arts Month Studio Tour is this weekend. There are 61 artists within 37 studios to visit and only two days to accomplish the task. Luckily, almost all of the studios are within Tacoma city limits, and a map is available online to assist you on this free, self-guided tour. These private sanctums of creativity will be open to the public Saturday and Sunday, Oct. 11 and 12, and some will offer hands-on activities. For those who don't want to plan their tour, Duchess of Downtown Tours, best known for the Tacoma ART BUS, will be visiting eight diverse studios for $11, or $22 if you want the VIP swag bag.
3. Top Rung Brewing Co.'s Hoptober party will consume its taproom, front patio and the large parking lot behind the brewery from 2-9 p.m. Expect barbecue food, games such as cornhole, ladder toss and Jenga. As mentioned previously in the New Beer Column, Top Rung's Trashed Pumpkin Ale will be released at the party. Bluegrass trio The Outlanders will perform three sets beginning at 6 p.m. There isn't a cover charge.
4. Spectrum Dance Theater LOVE is Tony-nominated choreographer Donald Byrd's exploration of the most complicated of human emotions. LOVE returns Byrd to the grandness and aesthetic beauty of pure dance, with leaps, lifts, and extensions. Backed by a minimalist stage, the performers create the rawness of LOVE and all that it encapsulates with their motions - frailty, comfort, jealousy, passion, and more - the dance is an ever-evolving view of LOVE. See LOVE at the Tacoma Armory beginning at 8 p.m.
5. Their most recent Jesus Rehab LP, The Zoo At Night, is described by band members and brothers Jared and Dominic Cortese as being about "mind-reading lizards, chubby 10-year-olds, and what its like to grow up in a world where no one is as they seem" - a fanciful and emotional description that, along with the heavy guitars and crashing drums, reminds once again of the Flaming Lips of the early '90s. For a two-piece, the Cortese brothers do an admirable job of creating an enormous sound that bounces and skips when it's not slashing and burning. The nimbleness of their minimalist setup means that the Jesus Rehab are free to careen anyplace, anytime. Read Rev. Adam McKinney's full feature on The Jesus Rehab in the Music and Culture section, then catch the band with Back From Hiatus, Terrapin and Trevor Peach at 8 p.m. in The New Frontier Lounge.
LINK: Saturday, Oct. 11 arts and entertainment events in the greater Tacoma and Olympia area
