FRIDAY, NOV. 14 2014 >>>

1. Warren Miller Entertainment's latest film, No Turning Back, was shot and produced by cinematographer Josh Haskins, working closely with ski racer Chris Anthony. It follows a cadre of elite snowboarders and skiers from Montana to Mount Olympus. (Yes, Greece has an actual Mount Olympus. It rises to 9570 feet. Opa!) The film takes stunning side trips to Norway, the Swiss Alps, Chugach Mountain peaks in Alaska and deep powder in Niseka, Japan. World-class athletes make the slopes look fairly easy, but even reaching some of these exotic locations can be daunting. Despite these difficulties, Haskins and his crew have done it again: they've immortalized feats of human daring and athleticism by freezing breakneck action into slow-motion glory. Read Christian Carvajal's full feature on No Turning Back in the Music & Culture section, then catch the flick at 6:30 and 9:30 p.m. in the Washington Center.

2. The grand passage of Tacoma history past and present, so well preserved in the city's buildings, will be front and center when the City of Tacoma's Community and Economic Development Department and the Planning and Development Services Department's Historic Preservation Office hosts the Adaptive Reuse Open House and Harmon Brewery Tour. Appetizers will be available as attendees explore one of Tacoma's largest and most successful adaptive reuse projects, the 1908 Harmon building, and learn more about how historic preservation creates economic opportunity. "Adaptive reuse of existing and historic buildings has been the backbone of Tacoma's redevelopment - be it in downtown or within our neighborhood mixed-use centers," said Tacoma Councilmember David Boe. "Projects have ranged from Union Station becoming a Federal Courthouse to the collection of warehouses on Pacific Avenue into the University of Washington-Tacoma campus. I'm excited to host this event and share my experience with adaptive reuse as an architect in Tacoma." The tour begins at 5 p.m. in the Harmon Brewery & Eatery. RSVP at 253.591.5254.

3. Vanya and his niece, Sonya, lead predictable lives, keeping their emotions buttoned up while maintaining a country estate and sending all the profits from their work to Vanya's brother-in-law. But, their daily routine quickly unravels with the return of the brother-in-law, a retired professor named Serebryakov, and his young, very beautiful wife, Yelena, who manages to trigger within the entire family hidden passions born of unrequited love, thwarted ambition and enduring hope. This is the plot of what many consider to be Anton Chekhov's greatest play, Uncle Vanya, which will be presented by the Saint Martin's University Theatre Arts Program at 7:30 p.m. in Kreielsheimer Hall.

4. The Paperboys were formed by Mexican born, Tom Landa in the mid-‘90s in Vancouver, B.C. In a music scene dominated by flannel and grunge, Tom had a vision of forming a band that fused folk, Celtic and bluegrass music with pop and rock. He was armed with a dozen of self-penned tunes and a lot of drive and ambition. After finding a group of musicians who shared common musical interests, they recorded their first CD and set to tour across Canada in a used van they bought for 500 bucks. At 8 p.m., The Paperboys will takeover Jazzbones.

5. Where the hell has Glass Elevator been? It's been 15 months since their last live show. Well, the band's tight-wound stony brand of rock is back for a 9 p.m. show at Metcalf Manor. Crowd the Sky will open the show with their unique blend of organic electronica. Fruit Juice will follow with booty shaking glamorous pop so catchy you'll find yourself wondering why you don't know these songs already.

LINK: Friday, Nov. 14 arts and entertainment events in the greater Tacoma and Olympia area

SATURDAY, NOV. 15 2014 >>>

1. It's here at last - the brand new Haub Family Collection of Western American Art in the new galleries designed by Olson Kundig Architects - open to the public at the grand opening celebration today. The new wing doubles the museum's gallery space and places the Tacoma Art Museum as the only museum in the Pacific Northwestern region with a Western American art collection of this caliber. The celebration begins with a ribbon-cutting ceremony at 10 a.m. and will feature music by Foss High School Orchestral Band. The new galleries open at 11 a.m. From 1-2 p.m. there will be a living history presentation and storytelling by Karen Haas. At 2:30 p.m. there will be curator and author talks followed by book-signing of the new Art of the American West: Haub Family Collection at Tacoma Art Museum, followed by Native American storytelling by Roger Fernandez from 3-5 p.m. The Oly Mountain Boys will perform at 3 p.m., followed by banjo musician Forest Beutel at 4 p.m. The evening social and members' party will be from 7-11 p.m.

2. Warren Miller Entertainment's latest film, No Turning Back, was shot and produced by cinematographer Josh Haskins, working closely with ski racer Chris Anthony. It follows a cadre of elite snowboarders and skiers from Montana to Mount Olympus. (Yes, Greece has an actual Mount Olympus. It rises to 9570 feet. Opa!) The film takes stunning side trips to Norway, the Swiss Alps, Chugach Mountain peaks in Alaska and deep powder in Niseka, Japan. World-class athletes make the slopes look fairly easy, but even reaching some of these exotic locations can be daunting. Despite these difficulties, Haskins and his crew have done it again: they've immortalized feats of human daring and athleticism by freezing breakneck action into slow-motion glory. Read Christian Carvajal's full feature on No Turning Back in the Music & Culture section, then see the film at 6 and 9 p.m. in Pantages Theater.

3. Olympia producer Smoke M2D6 raided the archives of legendary alternative record label K Records to put out an album of Pacific Northwest MCs rapping over K Records artists. The resulting compilation, All Your Friend's Friends, is gearing up for an album release show tonight Olympia. Read Rev. Adam McKinney's full feature on All Your Friend's Friends in the Music & Culture section, then seeWildcard, Tyler Xp Andrews, Free Whiskey, MIZ, Angel Perez and Calvin Johnson perform at 8 p.m. in The Olympia Ballroom.

4. When I heard that some of Tacoma's best musicians were getting together to form the Northwest's premier (and only?) all-Filipino Hall & Oates tribute band, my question wasn't "why?" All I wanted to know was when and where I could see this magic happen. The new tribute band, known as the Little Donuts, is made up of members of Le Lo/Fi, the Dignitaries and the recently defunct Bandolier. I spoke with Little Donuts member Reylan Fernandez about the unlikely project. Read Rev. Adam McKinney's full feature on Little Donuts in the music & Culture section, then catch the band at8:30 p.m. in Bob's Java Jive.

5. Velocity will come forth onto Doyle's Public House at 9:30 p.m. and there bestowed unto their faithful fans a glorious bounty of fusion and funk, powered with Galactic grooves and Latin spice. And the people will be thankful, and there was much rejoicing, for Velocity - lead composer/pianist Peter Adams, drum maverick Brian "Hannibal" Smith, tenor saxophonist Cliff Colòn and bassist Rob Hutchinson aka Dr. Shred  - have traveled light years to rattle pints of Guinness with hard hitting grooves and hook melodies. The moon will shine mightily down upon the countenances of the faithful fans, and their shepherd's pies will be plenty, and their goats will bore many offspring and there will be peace over the Stadium District.

LINK: Saturday, Nov. 15 arts and entertainment events in the greater Tacoma and Olympia area

SUNDAY, NOV. 16 2014 >>>

1. Clay "Uncle Snap" Sharpe and Brian "Rooster" King are The Lacs (Loud Ass Crackers), a hip-hop duo from Georgia who proudly tout redneck ideals - blacking out on Wild Turkey, kicking up mud in their four-wheel drives, living in a country boy's paradise with "wild women in white T-shirts" - and infuse their sound with Southern pop rock swagger. They are joined by local country band Aces Up at 8 p.m. in Steel Creek American Whiskey Co. in downtown Tacoma.

2. Christmas is coming! You can tell because Sirius radio has turned the holiday carols switch on. Get into the Yuletide spirit early with Christmas carols by Karen Thomas and Seattle Pro Musica. Seattle Pro Musica, one of America's best choirs, brings a Gallic flair to Christmas with Christmas motets by Poulenc and Villette, medieval and Renaissance Christmas music and traditional French Christmas carols. If you're a fan of early music, come all ye faithful to St. John's Episcopal Church at 3 p.m. and listen to them ding dong merrily on high.

3. Brazilian soul/jazz collective EntreMundos Quarteto will bust out "diverse and groovy" tunes led by the silky vocal stylings of Adriana Giordano at 5 p.m. in the Marine View Church in Northeast Tacoma.  Leading with a deep passion for the Brazilian music of her homeland, Giordano sings with a mesmerizing lyricism that is infectious, enthusiastic and authentically heartfelt.

4. On the comedy spectrum, Hari Kondabolu sits far opposite from your Daniel Toshes and Dane Cooks. The former immigrants' rights organizer stays true to his progressivism with material aimed at that enlightening/entertaining sweet spot. He has staked a place in the smart-comedy revolution that refuses to attack marginalized groups for cheap laughs. Kondabolu is joined by comic Elicia Sanchez at the Olympia Film Festival's Closing Night festivities at 8 p.m. in the Capitol Theater.

5. Tacoma son Joe Rosati is back in town shooting a new film, Jack-A Short Film. In true Rosati fashion, "Jack has had a few major things not go the way that he expected them to. Now, he somehow gets away with those things you just ‘can't' do." Scenes will be shot at 10 p.m. in The Valley, the revitalized pub in the Tacoma Dome District. Rosati and the film crew invite the public to be a part of the film, with filming consuming the joint until closing. Go, be in a movie, but for heaven's sake, don't look at the camera.

LINK: Sunday, Nov. 16 arts and entertainment events in the greater Tacoma and Olympia area

MONDAY, NOV. 17 2014 >>>

1. Minneapolis band Teenage Moods describe themselves as, interchangeably, "flower punk" and "floral rock." There's a fine difference between those two descriptors, but that little bit of distance is actually a bit of a gulf. The latter self-assigned genre may be the most accurate, as Teenage Moods take a flower-power attitude to power pop and mod stylings. Even more than garage revivalists, Teenage Moods are able to replicate the sort of carefree melodicism that was common in the mid-to-late '60s, as folk-rock and psychedelia were beginning to mix and mingle with the blues-rock aspirations of the mods. Catch the band with Dumpster Baby, Jupiter Sprites and the Loud Potions at 8 p.m. in Northern.

2. St. Patrick's Day celebrations aren't easy. You must practice to prepare yourself for the zaniness that goes down every March 17. Doyle's Public House knows this. That's why they host monthly St. Practice Day parties, of which happens again Friday. The party begins with Doyle's Guinness Club toast at 5:17 p.m. All the members gather before Grand Poobah Russ Heaton, who recognizes members who have hit milestones, such as 500 pints of Guinness, while the other members tear up. After the announcement, Heaton raises a glass of the Irish Mother's Milk and toasts the members. The party lasts through the night.

3. Imagine soulful music of yesterday being forcibly pumped out of Janis Joplin's larynx and then lathered with the silkiest velvet, and you've a pretty good idea of the kind of groove Kim Archer can make. Archer has a strong, emotional voice, a robust musical sense and a willingness to work outside the tightly proscribed boundaries of the genre. See her at 7:30 p.m. inside Smoke + Cedar.

4. Josh Hoyer and The Shadowboxers is a project formed in late 2012 in famed blues town Lincoln, Nebraska. The nine-piece soul band's sound and passion come from their deep respect, knowledge of and passion for blues, Americana, soul, funk and many other styles of music. In January 2014, they released their self-titled debut album, borrowing from Stax, Motown, New Orleans, Philly and San Francisco, the album blends the classic sounds of soul and R&B. The band performs at 8 p.m. in The Swiss.

5. Twin Vision sounds like a modest blend of The Strokes and The White Stripes. Labeled as "manic-psych," this band is a nonstop powerhouse of anthemic blues to grunge rock. See them with Nilo Bronco and Fruit Juice at 9 p.m. in Le Voyeur.

LINK: Monday, Nov. 17 arts and entertainment events in the greater Tacoma and Olympia area

Volunteering as tribute, 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.

THURSDAY, NOV. 20

Despite the enduring success of Chess and The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee, perhaps no geek musical ever has been more popular than Little Shop of Horrors. Let's face it, Audrey (I) and Seymour speak to the dweebs in all of us. He just wants to grow a man-eating plant, and she just hopes she'll survive another date with her sadistic boyfriend. OK, so maybe they're not terrific role models. The point is, I for one never get tired of seeing it live on stage, perhaps because the original finale is grimmer than the version we know from the 1986 film adaptation. Frank Oz, Muppeteer, Jedi Master and director of that movie, even shot the stage ending, but it tanked with preview audiences. (A black-and-white workprint of that reshot conclusion was unearthed a few years ago and included in recent video releases.) Anyway, North Thurston High completes its run of the show this weekend. It's always fun to watch fresh-faced adolescents evoke bloodlust and sadomasochistic relationships on stage. "That thing went bang, kaboom, and he's havin' some fun now." 7:30 p.m. Thursday-Saturday, North Thurston High School, 600 Sleater Kinney Rd. NE, Lacey, $6-$10, 360.412.4800

When last we left our heroine Katniss Everdeen, she'd just been yoinked by insurgents and informed storm troopers under the command of President Snow (Donald Sutherland) burned her home state, District 12, to the ground. This was followed by some of the finest eyeball acting in cinema history, courtesy of America's klutziest sweetheart, Jennifer Lawrence. Fellow Hunger Gamers Peeta and Johanna (Jena Malone, in a memorably sexy performance) were captured and taken to the Capitol, where they'll be used as pawns against a rising rebellion. The success of this series' previous installment, Catching Fire, was good news for anyone who wanted book three, Mockingjay, to be lavishly envisioned, bad news for anyone who wanted it to fit into a single holiday movie. So Thursday night marks the sneak opening of The Hunger Games Colon Mockingjay Em Dash Part Numeral 1 Comma Electric Boogaloo, and thank Suzanne Collins and Lionsgate we only have one year to wait till the grand conclusion in Part 2.

Speaking of long, goofy titles, Disney recently announced Star Wars, Episode VII will be henceforth known as Star Wars: The Force Awakens. The phrase "Episode VII," in fact, appears only in the December 2015 installment's iconic opening crawl. It's hard to complain about that subtitle, actually, to the extent that even Internet haters have given up trying. Instead they've returned to making troglodytic fools of themselves over Gamergate.

This being MY last Nerd Alert before Black Friday, it's time to offer geeky gift suggestions. And hey, if you've enjoyed this column these last few years, far be it from me to restrain you from buying any of this fine swag for your humble commentator!

Let's start with the Blu-ray of the year: Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy comes loaded with hours of special features, including more of respawned Groot and another '70s classic from Star-Lord's Sony Walkman. True, the movie won't hit video till Dec. 9, but feel free to preorder it for me, I mean a loved one, right now.

If for some bizarre reason your gamer buddies don't yet own Titanfall, now's your chance to pay it forward till Halo: Spartan Strike hits Dec. 12. Wort, wort, wort!

It's a year old, but I for one would swoon over the gift of Battlestar Galactica Vault: The Complete History of the Series, 1978-2012, an abundantly illustrated coffee table compendium that follows the saga all the way from its origins as a cheesy Star Wars knockoff through Caprica and Blood & Chrome. And if you know what Blood & Chrome is, then you're probably a superfan who should just buy the frakkin' thing for yourself.

Until next week, may the Force be with you, may the odds be ever in your favor, and so say we all.

TUESDAY, NOV. 18 2014 >>>

1. The former coal mining town of Rich Hill, Mo., is one of those blink-and-you'll-miss-it towns that litter the byways and highway exits of the American landscape, a reminder of past economic growth gone to seed. Sundance Grand Jury Prize winner documentary Rich Hill offers a microcosmic view of the increasing poverty afflicting the country, focusing on three boys growing up in this impoverished community. Granted unfettered access to the boys' lives, the film is more meditative and thoughtful than the usual handwringing exercises that occupy the "look at these poor people" subgenre, but ultimately, it's unable to transcend its trappings. Rich Hill screens at 2:15 at 6:55 p.m. at The Grand Cinema.

2. Jazz and blues vocalist Dennis Hastings, who has played on the same bill with notable talent such as Bobby McFerrin, John Lee Hooker and The Marcels, will showcase his repertoire of tunes made popular from the 1940s to the 2000s at an 11 a.m. recital in Kreielsheimer Hall on the Saint Martin's University campus. Originally from Portland, Oregon, Hastings has been singing jazz and blues in the Northwest for more than 30 years. Performing with Hastings will be Steven Luceno on bass, Phil Lawson on guitar and Steven Bentley on drums.

3. Hosted by Tacoma Community College students, the Bill Harrington Veterans Emergency Fund fundraiser will raise money toward the Bill Harrington Fund, a man who served 20 years in the Army. In 1994 he embarked on another two decades of service working with the students of TCC. This foundation acts as an emergency fund for returning Veterans on campus in need. The fundraiser will be held at Joeseppi's Italian Ristorante from 4-8 p.m. with a portion of proceeds from food sales donated toward the fund. There will also be raffles to enter for prizes.

4. Cartoonist MariNaomi is on a tour promoting her new book, Dragon's Breath & Other True Stories, and Yumi Sakugawa, author of Your Illustrated Guide to Becoming One with the Universe will join her at 6:30 p.m. in the Olympia Timberland Library. They will present a slide-show talk and take audience questions.

5. You are getting sleepy, v-e-r-y sleepy. Now, go see the hypnotist show at 8 p.m. inside the Red Wind Casino. Whether a skeptic or believer, the show will be sure to entertain with its comedy, rock and roll and outrageous hypnosis, like people sneezing and having orgasms(!) when Ron Stubbs, the man behind the magic, utters the word "pepper."

LINK: Tuesday, Nov. 18 arts and entertainment events in the greater Tacoma and Olympia area

Seattle Art Museum has always been worth the trip.

We drove up to see "Pop Departures" at SAM. What a wonderful show!

I must admit, however, that my enjoyment of this exhibition was based to some small measure on nostalgia. I was in my sophomore or junior year as an art student when pop burst on the scene back in the early '60s, and it was an eye-popping, mind-bending, psychedelic trip. The very idea that serious artists could paint pictures of soup cans and comic book images and make giant soft sculptures of drum sets or a giant cherry perched in a giant spoon was the most radical thing ever. It bothered me a little that the pop artists were said to be in revolt against abstract expressionism, which I loved, but pop still floated my boat.

Hard on pop's heel came what was called hard edge painting: Ellsworth Kelly and Al Held and - oh my god - Frank Stella. That era in American art history had to have been the most exciting time ever. And yesterday I saw it all — all over again.

"Pop Departures" is a look back at work by the leading pop artists of the 1960s and a jump forward to more contemporary artists such as Jeff Koons, Margarita Cabrera and Mickalene Thomas who continue to follow in the footsteps of those '60s bad boys.

There are whole galleries devoted to Lichtenstein and Warhol, unquestionably the brightest lights of the movement. Other artists represented in the show include Oldenberg, Mel Ramos, Edward Ruscha, Robert Indiana and James Rosenquist (inadequately represented by a single modest-sized painting).

Lichtenstein dominates the first gallery with some of his most iconic images such as "Kiss V," one of his many paintings of romance comic images; "Varoom," a comic-style explosion in and garish red, yellow and orange with lettering; and "Red Painting (Brush Stroke)," one of his famous paintings of an abstract-expressionist brush stroke. (See, they weren't rebelling against AE, they revered it.) Lichtenstein's brushstroke paintings were done to honor the abstract expressionists whom he venerated while at the same time giving them little digs - see, we can paint big, sloppy brushstrokes too, never mind that they were done with mechanical precision.

Lichtenstein's early paintings have lost none of their power over the years and have gained stature as pure design.

In another gallery are two of his paintings of famous modernist paintings, the best of these being "Reflections on Painter and Model," his copy in stripes and Ben-Day dots of a Picasso painting. This is a marvelously composed picture that is, like his brushstrokes, a lampoon of and homage to a hero.

>>> "Marilyn," 1967, Andy Warhol, silkscreen on paper, 36 x 36, Seattle Art Museum bequest of Kathryn L. Skinner, The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, Inc./Artist Rights Society (ARS), New York. Photo by Paul Macapia.

The many Warhols in this show evidence just how expressive Warhol could be, despite his use of mechanical means and his claim to want to be a machine. How well I remember folks in the '60s saying Warhol was putting us on, that he wasn't a serious artist, that his fame would quickly fade. Fifty years later it is kind of hard to support such claims. I suspect that many of the people who denigrated Warhol's art had never seen it other than in reproduction. When you look at them closely it becomes obvious that his off-register silk screens were just as expressive as many of the action paintings of the previous generation. And what he did with color was simply astounding. Look at the milky green blending to blue and the lemon yellow lips on the face of Richard Nixon in his painting "McGovern." These are indescribable colors that only Warhol could come up with (and yes, it is a portrait of Nixon with the name McGovern written across the bottom).

The one painting by Wayne Thiebaud was a terrific example of his lush paint application. I wish there were more of his paintings. He was always seen as on the periphery of pop, more of a classical painter, but his subject matter fit right in, and man could he ever paint. And since this show "departs" from the first wave of pop to feature later developments, it would have been nice if one of his much later San Francisco cityscapes had been included.

My least favorite among the first generation pop artists in this show is Ramos. Clever titles like "Val Veeta" (a naked pin-up girl on top of a box of Velveeta cheese, note the spelling) do not erase the fact that his pin-up girls are just as sexist as the commercialization of sex he supposedly lampooned. There are a number of his paintings in this show, and they are not impressive.

>>> "Vocho (Yellow)," 2004, Margarita Cabrera, vinyl, batting, thread ad car parts, 60 x 72 x 156, Anne and William J. Hokin Collection. ©Magarita Cabrera, photo courtesy the artist.

Among the best of the most contemporary works is Cabrera's "Vocho (Yellow)," an actual-size, beat-up yellow Volkswagen Beetle made of vinyl, batting, thread and car parts including real bumper and tail lights. The loosely hanging threads in the car lend a house-of-horrors aspect to the car. It reminds me of some of Edward Kienholz's installations. Obviously influenced by Oldenberg, this is a more powerful piece than any of the Oldenberg's in the show (his sculptures look best in situ and these look weak in a gallery setting).

Another of the more outstanding recent works is Barbara Kruger's portrait of Andy Warhol, "untitled (Not cruel enough)." This wall size portrait, 109" x 109", would be indistinguishable from a self-portrait by Andy if it were not for the insulting descriptors printed all around and across the face - unflattering things others have called Warhol.

"Pop Departures" is but one of many shows at SAM. I wandered into the galleries featuring modern and contemporary works from the permanent collection and enjoyed once again seeing paintings by Arshile Gorky and Jackson Pollock and a couple of great Hans Hoffmans. I was blown away by two large Frank Stella paintings and opposite them a wall-size painting by Al Held. One gallery had a wall full of small paintings by Held, each about a foot square. We always think of his paintings as being slick, flat and precise, but the paint application on these looked like plaster spread with a trowel.

"American Art Masterworks" includes a selection of works by early American masters including John Singer Sargent, Thomas Eakins, Winslow Homer and many more - dark and somber works to counteract the glitz of the pop art.

"City Dwellers: Contemporary Art from India" offered interesting views on mostly sculpture and photography by contemporary Indian artists. "Include Me Out," an amazingly dense photo-montage by Vivek Vilasinia and "India Shining V (Gandhi with iPod) by Debnjan Roy, a striking bright red fiberglass sculpture of Gandhi walking with an iPod in hand stand out, as does "Untiled (Self in Progress)" by Alwar Balasubramaniam, a haunting image in white of a seated figure with face and legs buried into a wall and projecting out the other side.

>>> Installation shot of Juan Alonso Studio, courtesy the artist.

After leaving SAM drove to Pioneer Square to visit the Juan Alonso Studio on Washington Street. Juan Alonso-Rodriguez was represented by the Francine Seders Gallery until it closed. He has now joined the ranks of DIY artists who are marketing their own work and opening their studios to the public. His latest work is a series of abstract paintings with horizontal bands or stripes, many in brilliant colors and often with abstract expressionist drips and slashes confined within forms that are essentially minimalist and hard-edge, thus striking an exciting balance between the two strongest movements in abstraction during the second half of the 20th century. These are some of the more vibrant paintings I have seen in a long time.

I thoroughly enjoyed my day at SAM and Alonso-Rodriquez's studio and highly recommend you visit both when you can.

Juan Alonso Studio, 306 S. Washington St. #104, open 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., Saturdays. http://www.juanalonso.info/

"Pop Departures," Thursday-Sunday, 2-6 p.m. through Jan. 11, 2015, Seattle Art Museum, 1300 First Ave., Seattle, http://www.seattleartmuseum.org

It's official: Foo Fighters are following up the release of the band's most ambitious album with its biggest ever North American tour to date, including a stop at The Gorge Amphitheatre Sept. 12. The voice of sanity in a laughable world, Dave Grohl, Taylor Hawkins, Nate Mendel, Chris Shiflett and Pat Smear will tour behind the album, and awesome HBO series, Sonic Highways.

Tickets for the Foo Fighters 2015 tour (with the exception of the July Fenway Park shows) will first go on sale via the BEAT THE BOTS: BOX OFFICE ONLY PRE-SALE this Saturday, Nov. 22 at 10 a.m. Fans sick of Scalper-BOTS programmed to clog online queues and snatch up huge amounts of tickets to resell them will get first shot at tickets to these shows. Click here for a complete list of box office locations and details.

Online pre-sales for Foo Fighters 2015 tour begin Monday, Dec. 1 with general public on-sales commencing Dec. 4 and 5. 

WEDNESDAY, NOV. 19

1. Vince Brown is no stranger to string swing fans in the Northwest. He plays western swing style take-off guitar with Red Brown & the Tune Stranglers; strums guitar and tenor banjo with the gypsy swing band Hot Club Sandwich; he's half of Red and Ruby - a swing duo project with vocalist LaVon Hardison; performs mandolin and tenor banjoist with the old timey outfit Deaf Lester; and the guitarist with the modern jazz/lounge group The Greta Jane Quartet. Brown's nimble fingers have delighted audiences for more than 35 years. Catch his solo jazz guitarist Wednesday at 6 p.m. in Swing Wine Bar, the converted bungalow overlooking Capitol Lake in Olympia.

2. Holly J. Hughes is author of Sailing by Ravens, and editor of the award-winning anthology, Beyond Forgetting: Poetry and Prose about Alzheimer's Disease.  Hughes has taught writing at Edmonds Community College as well as at regional conferences and workshops. She will be the featured reader at the Olympia Poetry Network at 6:30 p.m. in Traditions Café. An open mic will follow.

3. Happy Belly serves healthy and delicious meals, smoothies and juices from its downtown location next to the YMCA. The restaurant will take its mindset to the next level by hosting monthly nutrition and positive lifestyle change class series beginning at 7:30 p.m. Discussion will include food addiction, your relationship with food, how it affects your sleep and stress and clean eating. Classes are $60, or $240 for a series of six. Space is limited. Contact Integrated Dream Fitness at 517.505.0558 or Fitness One at 253.209.2662 for details and registration.

4. The cool cat college kids from Pacific Lutheran University present "The Swingin' Sounds Of Courage" - the University Jazz Ensemble's big band repertoire from classic jazz of the 1920s to the latest cutting-edge styles - at 8 p.m. in the Phillips Center.

5. The fifth installment of the Vomity Open Mic Comedy night at Le Voyeur features Frog, who hails from the Chicago, Illinois. All donations from this show will go toward Long Haired Dave's recovery from a recent assault. The laughs begin at 9 p.m.

LINK: Wednesday, Nov. 19 arts and entertainment events in the greater Tacoma and Olympia area

Jackie Fender, Weekly Volcano cohort and one of the Gritty City's art scene and literary superstars, is about to step things up a notch. She and fellow Volcano scribe Joshua Swainston are releasing the first print collection of stories and poems from their online literary destination, CreativeColloquy.com. I chose this shining moment to highlight Fender's voice from a phone interview, by which I mean I bamboozled her into writing half my blog entry this week.

CHRISTIAN CAVAJAL: So what's the big news?

JACKIE FENDER: The launch party, naturally, which is November 24th. Creative Colloquy Volume One is a super-rad collection of stories crafted by South Sound authors, a really diverse collection of shorts and poems and essays.

(Full disclosure: my own horror short, Silver, is included.)

CARV: And where can I buy this amazing anthology?

FENDER: First we're gonna have it available at the launch party, and then we'll be connecting with King's Books, Nearsighted Narwhal, all the usual retail spaces. And it is available on Amazon.

CARV: Are any of your writing efforts represented?

FENDER: They are not. I've chosen to keep my own words out of it for now. I did write an intro letter to tell people a little about the book.

CARV: Did you ever submit anything and then reject yourself?

FENDER: I've written things and thought, "Yeah, maybe this is the thing!" But then I'm like, nope. I didn't want to start CC and have it be like, "Jackie just wants a platform to share her own work."

CARV: Have you ever gotten a submission that was so bizarre you felt maybe the writer needed some professional psychiatric help?

FENDER: There are a couple of those! Whatever goes on in their brains is really messed up. Joshua is actually one of those.

CARV: On the Volcano, you're known mostly for your food reviews. Which restaurant do you eat at most often?

FENDER: Maxwell's is on my favorites list.

CARV: OK, but you have kids. Which restaurant do you really eat at most often?

FENDER: I hate to admit this. Taco Bell.

CARV: And do you feel this disqualifies you from food criticism?

FENDER: I like to pretend it doesn't exist. But having small children, you have to budge a little bit. They don't appreciate really good food, even when I cook it.

CARV: What's the worst book you love?

FENDER: How Should a Person Be?: A Novel from Life by Sheila Heti. I found myself really enjoying it, even though I don't dig Heti's style, nor do I like any of the characters. If I knew them in real life, there would be a lot of internal dialogue and disingenuous smiling.

CARV: What is your kid's favorite book?

FENDER: Right now, my kid loves Green Eggs and Ham. He also likes Sammy and the Dinosaurs.

CARV: You could do a lot worse. If you and I were going to write a story together right now, what would it be about?

FENDER: I think I'd just like to jump on your wagon and pick one word I hear at an event, then see what that sparks. (Note: that's how Silver was conceived.) Maybe superheroes?

CARV: Right now I'm leaning toward otters. I think people just like otters.

FENDER: It's true, they do! But then you hear all these awful rumors about them-

CARV: What, like prostitution rings?

FENDER: They're vicious little beasts! I don't even want to discuss it. Google it.

CARV: I don't really think of otters as vicious man-eaters.

FENDER: They're just vicious to other animals.

CARV: Maybe that's what the story should be, an exposé from the point of view of a trout.

FENDER: That would be interesting.

CARV: I'd have to go dark. I'd want the otter to have a heroin problem.

FENDER: Yeah, like two illegitimate children!

CARV: Right, like an otter posted the Fappening or something.

FENDER: It could be a dark little vortex into Otter World.

CARV: I think we've found Creative Colloquy Volume Two.

FENDER: Oddly enough, someone asked me if Volume One had a theme. We didn't go for one, but there are an abnormal number of stories about animals, I daresay almost half. Our cover is just a collection of images the artist picked from stories we knew would be included. The cover has all these animals on it. The book's not even about animals, but there are a lot of animals in the short stories.

CARV: Does anyone use the phrase "fur baby?" Because that's just weird.

FENDER: Not in any of the stories, no.

CARV: Maybe it should've been called Creative Colloquy Volume One: Troubled Loners.

FENDER: That's why we have our events at a place (B Sharp Coffee House in Opera Alley) that has libations.

CARV: Ah, to draw people out of the house!

FENDER: Yeah, there's a social lubricant there for us troubled loners.

CREATIVE COLLOQUY VOLUME ONE LAUNCH PARTY, 7 p.m., Monday, Nov. 24, B Sharp Coffee House, 706 Opera Alley, Tacoma, no cover, CreativeColloquy.com