FRIDAY, FEB. 6 2015 >>>
1. In The Simpsons' 1993 episode "Cape Feare," Bart distracts his homicidal nemesis, Sideshow Bob Terwilliger (Kelsey Grammer), by imploring him to perform H.M.S. Pinafore in its entirety. A flattered Bob replies, "Very well, Bart. I shall send you to Heaven before I send you to Hell." He follows through with a medley of "We Sail the Ocean Blue," "Hail! Men-o'-War's Men!" (Little Buttercup's Song) and a falsetto'd climax from "He Is an Englishman." So guess what? If you recognize that pop culture references, then you know some H.M.S. Pinafore. Tacoma Opera's production of H.M.S. Pinafore boasts vocals by Boston Lyric Opera soloist Michael Drumheller, Seattle Opera Guild's Ksenia Popova and returnees from The Barber of Seville. Read Christian Carvajal's full feature on H.M.S. Pinafore in the Music & Culture section, then catch the show at 7:30 p.m. in the Rialto Theater.
2. Seattle novelist Tracy Weber will read from her new novel, A Killer Retreat - the second installment of her award-winning Downward Dog Mystery series about a murder-solving, vegetarian yoga teacher, Kate, and her feisty German Shepherd - at 6 p.m. in Garfield Book Company. This new book finds Kate teaching yoga at a vegan retreat center when a wedding guest at the center is found dead shortly after a loud and public fight with Kate. Kate must try to solve the murder before the police put her behind bars as their number-one suspect. Weber will lead a yoga class for PLU students and others following the reading.
3. Music faculty members and students at University of Puget Sound will perform works from some of history's most influential baroque composers - from a Bach work centered on the biblical story of Cain and Abel to a Nicola Porpora piece written for the convent choirs at Venice orphanages - at 7:30 p.m. in Kilworth Memorial Chapel. The Jacobsen Series concert from the School of Music will include strings, harpsichord, and piano, with solo arias and choir.
4. Few songs are sweeter than "Tennessee," the acoustic tune by upstate New Yorkers Band of Lovers. Their debut single comes correct with homespun violin, upbeat lyrics, even trilled ooh-oo-oohs and la-di-dahs. Friends for 10 years, Sabina Beachdell and Dave Strumfeld united their troubadour talents in 2013 to craft a five-song eponymous EP. Now they're on the road in support of The Coast, a full-length, crowdfunded album they recorded in a cabin in Woodstock. See them perform at 8 p.m. in Metronome Coffee.
5. 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 Middlewav, The Various Moods Of, People Under the Sun and Patrick Galactic at 8 p.m. in Deadbeat Olympia record store.