5 Things To Do Today: Tacoma Art Bus, "Talk Radio," Diynosaur, Ben Union ...

By Volcano Staff on March 19, 2015

THURSDAY, MARCH 19 2015 >>>

1. The iconic Tacoma Art Bus tour, hosted by Duchess of Downtown Tours, is a guided tour that runs on the third Thursday of the month. The evening tour visits various art exhibits throughout Tacoma, and celebrity tour guides, games, prizes, swag and good eats are signatures of the trip. Launching from 734 Pacific Ave. in downtown Tacoma at 6 p.m., the Art Bus will celebrate its five-year-anniversary with a tour of Spaceworks Tacoma, Why Adam Studio, Happy Belly Restaurant + Juice Bar, Washington State History Museum, The Blue Octopus, The Modern Cottage Company, The Forum and the Museum of Glass. Read up on the Tacoma Art Bus here, then grab details of tonight's tour here.

2. Washington State Parks turns 102 years old today, and visitors are invited to help celebrate by getting out to enjoy a state park for free.

3. Before there was Howard Stern, before there was Rush Limbaugh, before there was Tom Leykis, before there was Mike Malloy, there was ... Barry Champlain, the fictional protagonist of Eric Bogosian's 1987 play Talk Radio, the story of Cleveland's controversial late-night radio host infamous for slinging insults at callers. Now Tacoma Little Theatre revives the work via its "Off-The-Shelf Reading" series where local directors and actors bring scripts to life. Tonight's 7:30 p.m. play reading will be directed by Jen Ankrum.

4. Made up of three people apparently named Funkasaurus Rex, Swagadactyl and Velocityraptor, Diynosaur aspire to electronic mavericks from multiple generations like Jean Michael Jarre, the Books, and Fatboy Slim. Catch the band with Infantry feat. Lil PDF, Kybele and Piff at 8 p.m. in Deadbeat Olympia record store.

5. He's not the new king of pop yet, but Ben Union makes a pretty good Adam Levine. Union frames his prodigious and rock solid talent - soulful vocals, a danceable funk groove, irresistible pop hooks - with passion and showmanship. Imagine the music of Maroon 5 and Train being forced occasionally through the Red Hot Chili Peppers backbeat, grabbing Fred Hammond's soul and then pumped out Levine's larynx, and you have a pretty good idea of the kind of sound Ben Union and his band can produce. While most of Union's songs don't stray too far from the characteristic blend of funk and soulful rock, some of his best moments are the more mellow tunes, such as "Angeles" - which will most likely be front and center at 9 p.m. when Union will perform at The Swiss.