TUESDAY, FEB. 17 2015 >>>
1. We've said it many times: Practice makes perfect. Doyle's Public House in Tacoma's Stadium District lives by this adage. Every 17th of the month, the watering hole hosts St. Practice Day, a trial run at its annual, massive St. Patrick's Day party. It's a warm-up, if you will. Our page-a-day Lucky Charms Quotes desk calendar tells us there's one more month until St. Patrick's Day, which means this month's Practice Day includes the 10 Jameson drinking finalists drawing for plane tickets to Dublin, Ireland. Marty O'Reilly & the Old Soul Orchestra will keep the party rooted in a gator-bait bayou beginning at 8 p.m.
2. Anna (Agata Trzebuchowska), an 18-year-old Polish orphan raised in a convent, is preparing to take her vows to become a nun when her Mother Superior tells her to visit her only living relative, her aunt Wanda (Agata Kulesza). The chain-smoking, world-weary Communist Party insider shocks her niece by informing her that her real name is Ida, and that her parents were Jews murdered during the Nazi occupation. Together they travel into the Polish countryside to dig up - literally and figuratively - the truth of what happened to Ida's parents, exploring the legacy of the Holocaust and the realities of living under communism along the way. See it unfold before your eyes when Ida screens at 6 p.m. in The Grand Cinema.
3. Moby Grape was one of the most versatile San Francisco rock bands to emerge out of the summer of love. Sadly, through a combination of inner turmoil and bad management decisions, the mighty Moby Grape broke up in 1969. However, their debut album is still considered one of the best of all time by many critics, in part because of the nimble fingers of guitarist Jerry Miller. Miller was named one of the top 100 guitarists of all time by Rolling Stone above Eddie Van Halen, Johnny Winter and Randy Rhoads. The Tacoma native has enjoyed a rich career sharing the stage with countless musicians including members of the Doobie Brothers and Carlos Santana. Miller hosts an open jam at 7 p.m. in Dave's of Milton.
4. After a brief respite from holidays that are improved by the consumption of mass quantities of alcohol, we have arrived at another doozy: Fat Tuesday, and the kickoff of Mardi Gras. It is always my suggestion to avoid the crowds during amateur nights like St. Patrick's Day and New Year's Eve, but if you insist on subjecting yourself to hordes of unruly revelers, you can do worse than catching a Fun Police show while you're at it. One of Tacoma's quintessential bar bands, The Fun Police always put on a hell of a show, with their dizzy folk-punk that incorporates elements of Americana and ska. Boasting a million members that will cram onto the Half Pint Pizza Pub's tiny stage at 7:30 p.m., the Fun Police promise a glorious mess of a show, with the Chrono Bats in tow.
5. Fans of chili: Raise your spoons and rejoice! The best chili cooks in town will dish out samples while vying for the coveted Northern Pacific Coffee Company Special Award. A panel of judges will crown the Judge's Choice award winner. Tastings will be available beginning at 8 p.m. Expect discounted beers.