SATURDAY, FEB. 7 2015 >>>
1. LeMay - America's Car Museum will unleash beer, booze, blues and classic Buicks at 7 p.m. when their "Drive the Blues Away" celebration consumes their space next to the Tacoma Dome. Chug Red Hook and Narrows Brewing beer, sip booze from 2bar Spirits, Heritage Distilling Co., Sidetrack Distillery, Magnolia Moonshine Cocktails and Glass Distillery, chow down on grub from Pacific Grill as you listen to Little Bill & The Blue Notes, the Kim Archer Band and James King and the Southsiders. Bonus: Gibson Guitars will be in the house, allowing you to test drive acoustic and electric guitars. Oh, then there are the 300-plus classic, collectible and vintage vehicles spanning more than 110 years - but that's a given.
2. Ravenna Woods have grown in ways that enter them into a different realm from those that consider folk revivalism the be-all and end-all of new indie expression. What began as a three-piece that created percussive folk has nor involved more electronic elements that expand their sound. Now, with their newest album, The Jackals, Ravenna Woods will be subjected to a modern dance interpretation of their album, just as Lemolo did last year with the Kaleidoscope Dance. Just as last year's performance involved a band its album in its entirety, accompanied by modern dancers, so will this year's production involve Ravenna Woods' latest album, The Jackals, joined with interpretive dancers. Read Rev. Adam McKinney's full feature on Ravenna Woods in the Music & Culture section, then catch the performance at 7 p.m. in the Urban Grace Church.
3. The South Sound MC battle scene began in the early '90s, but flourished on an astronomical trajectory with the emergence of Heretic The Heathen's For MCs By MCs Presents organization a few years back. The local battle scene is composed of upstart and veteran writers, lyricists and vocalists who compete with clever combos of wordplay and verbs. At 8 p.m. in McCoy's Tavern, the battle continues when For MCs By MCs Presents "Capitol Punishment" featuring multiple bouts with highly touted MCs. Get it innnn!
4. Mig Artugue is the defining voice behind Too Long Sparks, which takes spare drum machines and layers looped guitar and ukulele on top to create a moody atmosphere that builds with increasing anxiety. His vocals drift from laconic to panicked, lending an urgency to his minimalistic compositions that sounds like nothing more than one man having a nervous breakdown in the recording studio. Catch the one-man band with Red Planet Rebels, No Crown and Little Star at 8 p.m. in Bob's Java Jive.
5. It seems only natural to combine the worlds of bluegrass and punk, and The Rusty Cleavers do so magnificently, with all manner of mandolin, banjo and backyard clatter coming together in a cacophony of spirited group-singing and hoops and hollers. Catch the band at 8 p.m. in The Spar in Old Town Tacoma.