TUESDAY, DEC. 2 2014 >>>

1. One Chance is a dramedy about the unlikely rise of Britain's Got Talent breakout Paul Potts (played by James Corden, who just replaced Craig Ferguson as host of The Late Late Show). Potts, a shy, bullied shop assistant by day and an amateur opera singer by night, became a phenomenon after being chosen for - and ultimately winning - the talent show (2007). See One Chance at 2:15 and 6:55 at The Grand Cinema.

2. Hard cider is the kindest of alcoholic beverages. Beer must be cumbersomely boiled, wine is expensive and poorly distilled spirits can blow up and fry your eyes. They all involve so much waiting. Cider is a relative cakewalk. Find out if this is true when Number 6 Cider out of Seattle launched its brand at The Red Hot beginning at 6 p.m.

3. Detroit kid Nathan Watts started on trumpet and switched to electric bass in high school, at the urging of childhood pals Ollie Brown and Ray Parker, Jr. Inspired by the Funk Brothers - who he watched through the basement window at Motown's Hitsville Studios - as well as the rock and roll of Jimi Hendrix and Rare Earth, Watts worked his way through local bands. In 1974, via Parker, Jr's recommendation, Watts got a call from Stevie Wonder's office. Making a good debut showing at a large concert in Memphis and acing an L.A. audition, Nate was firmly in place for the recording of Wonder's 1976 smash, Songs in the Key of Life. The rest, as they say, is history. Watts became Wonder's permanent musical director and bassist. Ted Brown Music will host Watts for a performance and chat from 6-8 p.m. "for all to sing, dance and clap their hands."

4. The Far Field is a brand new, folk music band consisting of four experienced musicians sneaking in through the backdoor of Tacoma's local music scene. Their sound is reminiscent of the revival-folk of the '60s full of jangly guitars and wheezing harmonicas. Catch the band at 6:30 p.m. in the B Sharp Coffee House.

5. The outdoors is our neighborhood playground for growth, introspection and escape. Since the time of George Vancouver and Peter Puget, the South Puget Sound has been and will always be an adventurer's region. For that reason, the Banff Mountain Film Festival's annual visit draws huge crowds to see a who's who of the mountain adventure world and learn the story behind the adventurers. Watch and hear amazing stories of the outdoors at 6:45 p.m. in the Rialto Theater.

LINK: Tuesday, Dec. 2 arts and entertainment events in the greater Tacoma and Olympia area

MONDAY, DEC. 1 2014 >>>

1. The outdoors is our neighborhood playground for growth, introspection and escape. Since the time of George Vancouver and Peter Puget, the South Puget Sound has been and will always be an adventurer's region. For that reason, the Banff Mountain Film Festival's annual visit draws huge crowds to see a who's who of the mountain adventure world and learn the story behind the adventurers. Watch and hear amazing stories of the outdoors at 6:45 p.m. in the Rialto Theater.

2. "Do not open till Christmas" should never apply to beer. From Dec. 1 through Dec. 24, Engine House No. 9 will be releasing a different specialty bottle or tap beer; follow along and feel the Christmas spirit in your veins.

3. Online Tacoma magazine Post Defiance wants you to SHUT IT in the Hotel Murano's lobby. Grab a book and read in silence from 5:30-8:30 p.m. Turn off the cellphone!

4. Pianist Benjamin Bergmark gigs with the 56th Army Band and Olympia's big band, the Jazz Senators. Hear him at 8 p.m. in Rhythm and Rye in downtown Olympia.

5. A Washington Blues Society Best Blues Act nominee, keyboardist Mark Hurwitz and Gin Creek performs an upbeat, joyous blend of blues, jump, swing, and old school R&B. Catch the band at 8 p.m. in The Swiss.

LINK: Monday, Dec. 1 arts and entertainment events in the greater Tacoma and Olympia area

SUNDAY, NOV. 30 2014 >>>

1. Suave Bing Crosby and fleet-of-foot Danny Kaye star as workaholic Bob Wallace and playboy Phil Davis, successful 1950s vaudevillians who discover the lovely Haynes sisters, then accompany them to their holiday gig at an inn in Vermont that turns out to be (a) run by the guys' adored old World War II general and (b) dying the tourist death due to an absence of frozen precipitation. Crosby and Kaye decide to bring in their retinue and put on a show in the barn. Romantic misunderstandings and big numbers ensue. But in the end, each song-and-dance man gets a Haynes, snow flutters down and YOU get to sing along to the tune Crosby made the bestselling record in history. We are, of course, speaking of the White Christmas Sing Along at 5 p.m. in the Washington Center. In addition to goodie bags, the Washington Center will award prizes to the best holiday sweaters.

2. After a year of construction at a cost of $15.5 million, the 16,000-square-foot expansion adds 32 percent new space to the Tacoma Art Museum's 50,000-square-foot facility. This state-of-the-art project includes four gracious new galleries, a sculpture hallway and an enlarged light-filled lobby. New visitor amenities include an orientation space, redesigned entrances on Pacific Avenue and on the parking level with a new glass enclosed vestibule, beautiful new landscaping and major outdoor sculptural works, plus improvements to the museum's store and café. Erivan and Helga Haub donated 295 Western American works of art from their private collection to the Tacoma Art Museum. The collection spans 200 years, from famed early artists/explorers to notable present day masters. Read Alec Clayton's full story on the Haub Fally Collection wing at the Tacoma Art Museum in the Music & Culture Section, then check it out from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.

3. With 150 years of popularity, it's no wonder that Louisa May Alcott's Little Women was the number one patron pick for plays to be performed during the 2014/2015 season at Lakewood Playhouse. The script highlights most of the major plot points of the novel and takes the audience on a journey through the experiences of the four March sisters: Meg, Jo, Beth and Amy. Directed by Suzy Wilhoft, the actors do a remarkable job manipulating the emotions of the audience. The audience roared, chuckled, giggled and smirked at the antics and snarkiness of Jo and Laurie, the pretentious airs of Amy and Hannah's long suffering exasperation. Read Joann Varnell's full review of Little Women in the music & Culture section, then ctach the show at 2 p.m. in the Lakewood Playhouse.

4. 6th Ave Dinner Tours is celebrating their next shindig with a live musical performance by Steve Stefanowicz at 6 p.m. First enjoy a guided dinner tour with start times at 3:30 4:30 and 5:30 p.m. launching from Studio 6 Ballroom. "The Funky Umbrella Tour" will guide you down the Ave as you nibble your way through Half Pint Pizza Pub, Wild Orchid and Ice Cream Social, plus nibbles from Legendary Donuts. Tickets are $35. More details can be found at 6thAveDinnerTours.com.

5. Michele D'Amour and the Love Dealers play high energy, danceable blues, often with a touch of funk and R&B. The Seattle-area based band will perform at 7 p.m. in The Spar in Old Town Tacoma.

LINK: Sunday, Nov. 30 arts and entertainment events in the greater Tacoma and Olympia area

SATURDAY, NOV. 29 2014 >>>

1. Once, in college, you fell while ice-skating, and sliced open your left shin with the blade on your right foot. It was bloody and embarrassing but kind of farcical - the EMTs who came to retrieve you off the ice didn't have skates on, so they were falling, too. Even after that, you still want to skate the Franciscan Polar Plaza ice rink. You're awesome. Tonight, from 7-9 p.m. SweetKiss Momma will perform at the ice rink. The Puyallup band draws from several eras of Southern rock, from the heavy blues of their new Nashville-produced CD A Reckoning Is Coming's title track to the Wilco-ish lilt of "Same Old Stories" and "Laura Rose," the arena-sized stomps and handclaps of "For the Last Time" to the silly organ-led jaunt of "Birthday Cake."

2. Desco Audio & Video in Olympia is rockin' Small Business Saturday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. with Mr. Scott's Hot Vinyl Party - a throw back to the '70s HiFi Days and celebrating vinyl and the people that love it. Bring in your turntable and up to five records, and get a free turntable tune-up and record cleaning. Your records will be professionally cleaned using Last Factory fluid and Desco's Music Hall Record Vacuum machine. Then returned to you in a new, anti-static, archival-quality sleeve. Then, kick back in their listening room and your records (and their records) on state-of-the-art equipment by Music Hall, Rotel and Bowers & Wilkins.

3. For most Brits, a visit to the local theatre to see the pantomime is as much part of the Christmas season as turkey is to an American's Thanksgiving. What is particularly appealing to the Brits is the exuberant traditions of "panto." This kind of pantomime is anything but silent. It's loud, boisterous, full of music, ridiculous humor and audience participation. The Centerstage panto version of Jack and the Beanstalk by Paul Hendy follows the traditional story of a young boy living with his widowed mother and a milk cow who is their only source of income and their subsequent involvement with a family of giants. Check it out at 2 and 7 p.m.

4. You don't have to be Catholic or a recovering Catholic to be wowed by the colorful and explosive Sister. Since 1993, Sister transforms from being a kindly instructor who rewards the audience for correct answers (prizes include glow-in-the-dark rosaries and laminated saint cards) to being more of a disciplinarian. It's a show that's been lauded by The New York Times for "(speaking) to an audience much broader than the membership of any one church." The Broadway Center presents a new version of the show, sort of a "CSI goes to Bethlehem." Sister takes on the mystery that has intrigued historians throughout the ages - whatever happened to the Magi's gold? You'll hear the retelling the story of the nativity, as only Sister can, in a hilarious holiday show Sister's Christmas Catechism: The Mystery of the Magi's Gold at 3 p.m. in the Pantages Theater. Afterward, the annual Holiday Tree Lightning community hug goes down at 5 p.m. in front of the Pantages.

5. The Deleted are a band that freely say that they're hillbillies, but something tells us there's a healthy amount of sarcasm in that statement. The pop-punk band hails from Port Orchard, and it's true that there's a bit of rowdiness in their music that could recall a messy punk party in a honky tonk. Still, their song "Drunk'n Cowboy" has a good amount of loathsome venom in their lyrics describing the kind of awful white trash dude who molests his wife, beats his kids and has a "two-inch dick." Catch the band with Klondike Kate, Godfish and Rain City Rebels at 8 p.m. in Bob's Java Jive.

LINK: Saturday, Nov. 29 arts and entertainment events in the greater Tacoma and Olympia area

FRIDAY, NOV. 28 2014 >>>

1. Over the course of their 30-minute, three-song, self-titled album, Hang The Old Year take you on serpentine, eminently listenable journeys through every musical peccadillo the members possess. The massive sounds of Godspeed You! Black Emperor and King Crimson, in particular, resonate quite loudly in the album. These songs can tend to mind-meld with you, causing you to lose time as you drift away for a few minutes, before Hang The Old Year come crashing back in with slash-and-burn guitars and defiantly bombastic crescendos. Read Rev. Adam McKinney's full feature on Hang The Old Year in the Music & Culture section, then catch the band with Edhochuli, Blank Boys and Gloss at 7 p.m. for an all-ages show at Le Voyeur.

2. The Thurston County Fair's annual Holiday Bazaar offers more than 100 vendors in four buildings selling handcrafted gifts and goodies. The free admission and free parking also make it affordable. New this year is a donation station for winter coats and clothing that will help keep many young Thurston County residents warm this winter. Check it out from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.

3. Let there be light! Although many spots around the South Sound have holiday light shows, Point Defiance Zoo & Aquarium's Zoolights outshines the rest. The 27th edition will dazzle visitors as more than 550,000 brilliant LEDs bring zoo animals and landmarks to life in a not-to-be-missed kaleidoscope of color and holiday magic. Billed as the region's biggest walk-through light show, Zoolights includes animated light sculptures, live entertainment, snacks, animal encounters and the Paul Titus Carousel. While enjoying your stroll, be thankful you're not in charge of this holiday light display.

4. Junkyard Jane is a Northwest "swampabilly" blues band performing original music and consisting of: vocalist/percussionist Leanne Trevalyan, vocalist/guitarist Billy Stoops, bassist Barbra Blue and drummer Chris Leighton. Check them out in all their blue collar glory at 8 p.m. in Jazzbones.

5. Still Caves, out of Portland, shine with a kind of lo-fi exuberance that could only come from a bunch of friends goofing off and hitting a bunch of different effects pedals just to see what they can make. There's a ragged charm in their noise, which does little to hinder the giddy songwriting that goes on. Even with their ramshackle vibes, they make every effort to hit the nosebleed section. Triumphant guitars and cacophonous drums propel everything forward, with dreamy vocals awash in the sea of fuzz. It's anthemic rock in a microcosm, mixing elements of punk, garage psych, and winningly goofy indie rock. At 8 p.m. in The New Frontier Lounge, Still Caves will be joining some of the finest bands at work in the Pacific Northwest right now - the delirious bubblegum psych of Fruit Juice, and the swirling synth-rock of People Under the Sun.

LINK: Friday, Nov. 28 arts and entertainment events in the greater Tacoma and Olympia area

WEDNESDAY, NOV. 26 2014 >>>

1. You knew there was a reason to hold on to the Christmas-light-laden and obscenely geometric printed green-and-red sweater. You once thought even the one with reindeer had potential. Now it’s time to explore your closets because, ladies and gentlemen, the ugliest holiday sweater contest returns to Doyle’s Public House at 8 p.m. The ugly holiday sweater contest prizes will be shelled out for the best worst male, best worst female, best worst couple and best worst group. "The more crocheted reindeer, the better," says Doyle's co-owner Russ Heaton. Hey, it's better than hanging out with your relatives, right?

2. When it comes right down to it, few things in this world can top a freshly poured, frosty barley pop. We're referring to beer, of course, and it's way more than a delicious sexual stimulant/memory eraser - beautiful beer is an art form unto itself. In keeping with its tradition of promoting awareness and appreciation of this heavenly beverage, the ParkWay Tavern hosts "Honey, The Parkway Ruined Thanksgiving Once Again!" The Stadium District tavern will yank out their strong brews, aged winter beers, barleywines, Belgians and stouts beginning at 5 p.m. Your hand will shake like a sonofabitch as you gnaw off that turkey leg. 

3. Well, November is drawing to a close and with it the end of everyone's favorite excuse to grow facial hair, Movember. Over at The Social Bar and Grill they're going to be celebrating their first Movember Mustache Party beginning at 7 p.m. Mo Bros (the dudes who participated in this anti-cancer campaign) are encouraged to come in costume in honor of the fight against prostate cancer. For every drink purchased, The Social will donate $1 to cancer research. Not only do they have mustache themed drinks but they will also have a photo booth to capture your Thanksgiving Eve 2014 memories, a DJ and prize giveaways for those who receive the winning raffle tickets.

4. 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. Tonight, Archer will rock The Hub Gig Harbor's annual Thanksgiving Eve party. Expect food and drink specials, with Kim jamming from 7-10 p.m.

5. There isn't a better way to spend Thanksgiving Eve than a Vicci Martinez show. Tacoma's Martinez became a household when she competed on NBC-TV's The Voice. At 8 p.m., she'll perform at her home away from home, Jazzbones. The night has two added bonuses. First, it's a release party for her second live performance release, Live From Jazzbones 2. Second, Mirrorgloss will take time off from recording to open the show, performing a bunch of new tunes.

LINK: Wednesday, Nov. 24 arts and entertainment events in the greater Tacoma and Olympia area

TUESDAY, NOV. 25 2014 >>>

1. Combining investigative reporting with a sometimes-mischievous sense of humor, documentarian Michael Moore shined a light on social ills that were otherwise ignored. Although rightly acclaimed for films like Fahrenheit 9/11 and Bowling For Columbine, his television work provided many indelible moments. The Grand Cinema celebrates the 25th anniversary of Moore's breakout hit Roger & Me with a screening of the film at 1:45 and 7 p.m., followed by a discussion on Skype with the man himself after the late screening. Have your questions about Flint, Roger Smith and the current whereabouts of Crackers the Corporate Crime-Fighting Chicken ready. 

2. Longtime Daily World city editor and former Daily Olympian sports editor Bill Lindstrom will give a talk, sell and sign his new book, John Tornow: Villain or Victim?, from 6-8 p.m. at the Shelton Timberland Library.

3. Bar Bistro hosts a five-course beer-pairing dinner with the Harmon Brewing Co. For $35, you'll receive an ahi crostini with a Hop ‘N Rye beer cocktail, braised pork belly with the Black Tartan CDA, pork tenderloin with the new Fall Ball Imperial Red and other treats, beginning at 6 p.m. Reserve your space at 253.537.3655.

4. With a 90-minute set featuring around 20 of Diamond's hits – ranging from his early work for television shows, such as The Monkees ("I'm A Believer") to songs from his movie "The Jazz Singer" – Neil Diamond tribute band The Diamond Experience will rock the Red Wind Casino from 6:30-9:30 p.m.

5. For the Love of Comedy is an all-ages (teen and up) stand up open mic that aims to bring the community together with a microphone and a shared love for the funny things in life at Café Love in downtown Olympia. Comics from LA, San Francisco, Seattle, Tacoma and the south Puget Sound region have performed at this 8 p.m. mic.

LINK: Tuesday, Nov. 25 arts and entertainment events in the greater Tacoma and Olympia area

MONDAY, NOV. 24 2014 >>>

1. Hip Hatchet is the project of alt-country singer-songwriter Philippe Bronchtein, who has a uniquely gifted sense of setting a melancholy mood. His songs are drenched in loneliness, without ever quite dipping too deeply into the well of sadness. On record, accompanied by a small group of supporting musicians, Bronchtein music swells and rises with a winsome energy. Seen solo, Hip Hatchet becomes about one man nimbly exploring his guitar, his oaken tenor guiding the audience through more than just dusty trails and mangy dogs. Hailing from Portland, Hip Hatchet's brand of folk has a distinctively Pacific Northwestern feel. Joining Hip Hatchet for a 10 p.m. performance in the intimate Le Voyeur is Christopher Paul Stelling, a New Yorker who brings a fiery, frantic strum that should balance out Hip Hatchet's bucolic fingerpicking quite well.

2. 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. 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. The launch party is at 7 p.m. at B Sharp Coffee House.

3. The Greta Jane Quartet plays the Rhythm and Rye club at 8 p.m. In your world, jazz is the Pandora station your boss makes you listen to at work. Well, prepare to get schooled. In the Quartet's nimble hands, jazz was powerfully sexy, just the thing to settle a body down after another manic Monday. Imagine a snifter of Maker's Mark and pretty ladies in cocktail gloves. That's right, cocktail gloves! It's our fantasy, damnit! Anywho, happy days are here again - at least for tonight.

4. Blues County Sheriff is about the blues ... old school, real and meant to be shared with friends and aficionados by players who have dedicated their lives to the music - a celebration of the greatness of post-war bluesmen. Each song comes from the heart with penetrating vocal, unique interpretation, and dynamic performance.  The band performs original blues and covers - all in old-school style.  Catch the band at 8 p.m. in The Swiss.

5. Rockaraoke at Jazzbones will either be your novel opportunity to act as frontman, or be completely intimidating. Perpetually packed with people, Rockaraoke boasts a unique twist for karaoke in Tacoma: instead of a backing track, you get a three-piece band playing behind you. Check it out at 9 p.m.

LINK: Monday, Nov. 24 arts and entertainment events in the greater Tacoma and Olympia area

SUNDAY, NOV. 23 2014 >>>

1. Alice Cooper, born Vincent Furnier, pretty much invented live heavy metal spectacle. Long before Britney Spears draped a serpent awkwardly about her neck, Cooper was welcoming us to his nightmare by tossing a live chicken (not, as press reports claimed the next day, biting its head off), purporting to electrocute a guy on stage, and incorporating drag elements from Barbarella and What Ever Happened to Baby Jane? No less a scribe than Bob Dylan called him "an overlooked songwriter," and it's hard to argue his assessment given such singles as "School's Out," "No More Mr. Nice Guy" and the ballad "You and Me." Of course, Cooper was also slamming a bottle of whiskey and up to two cases of beer a day at the time, so it's probably a good thing he traded that addiction for golfing with Pat Boone. Don't think the Godfather of Shock Rock has mellowed out too much, though - his last single was called "I'll Bite Your Face Off."  Catch him at 7 p.m. in the Emerald Queen Casino.

2. Erivan and Helga Haub donated 295 Western American works of art from their private collection to the Tacoma Art Museum, along with endowment funds for the future care and educational opportunities related to the collection. The collection spans 200 years, from famed early artists/explorers to notable present day masters. Read Alec Clayton's full story on the Haub Fally Collection wing at the Tacoma Art Museum in the Music & Culture Section, then see the exhibit from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.

3. Johannes Brahms (1833-1897) was a German Romantic composer who, all his life, aspired to be a Classicist in the Beethoven mold - to the extent that he refused to allow titles tacked onto any of his instrumental-genre works: symphonies, concertos, string quartets and quintets, piano trios and quartets, piano sonatas, etc. (though Beethoven himself apparently had fewer objections). Any one of them is simply known as "genre" number N in "some" key, opus "some number": no subtitles and thus no allusions to a mood, no literary ties and certainly no program to "follow." You listen for sound only and savor whatever mood it evokes for you. And that is exactly what you can expect at 2:30 when the Tacoma Symphony Orchestra performs Brahms' Symphony No. 2 withSarahIoannides conducting and young Charlie Albright on piano in the Pantages Theater. Also expect to hear Beethoven'sFidelio Overture and Tchaikovsky'sPiano Concerto No. 1.

4. Accompanied by talented cantaores and musicians, the explosive dances of Mariana Collado and Carlos Chamorro lead us into the mysterious world of flamenco - with an allusion to metallurgy, in which primitive elements are extracted, refined and fused to new strengths and grandeur - at 7 p.m. in the Washington Center.

5. Coming from New York, Pampers bring a sonic onslaught that rarely, if ever, lets up. Listening to the art-punk band is something like trying to restrain a maniac on speed - there's just no getting out of there with cuts, bruises and hair getting ripped out of your head. It's all thrashing and wailing, with the occasional sonic oddity thrown into the mix to make everything just a little bit more disorienting. See the band with OBN IIIs and Nudity at 8 p.m. in Northern.

LINK: Sunday, Nov. 23 arts and entertainment events in the greater Tacoma and Olympia area

SATURDAY, NOV. 22 2014 >>>

1. The Cottonwood Cutups were conceived by the many campfire jams held in the Hoh Rain Forest of the Olympic National Park. A mix of influences meld country, old-time, ragtime, punk, bluegrass, rock and jazz to bring about their sound. Ice skate to the band's live performance at the Polar Plaza ice rink in downtown Tacoma from 7-9 p.m. The music is free; it's $4-$8 to ice skate.

2. Artist and instructor Marita Dingus will lead participants in art making using found objects from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Tacoma Art Museum. The museum will provide a limited amount of found objects, but participants are encouraged to bring their own stuff they find. Most art making will be 3D renderings, small sculptures and such. Dingus will provide instruction and provide suggestions for creating your green piece of art.

3. With such massive hits as "Living After Midnight" and "You've Got Another Thing Comin," Judas Priest is among the best-loved heavy metal bands in the U.S. and UK. Flamboyant lead singer Rob Halford, celebrated for his wide range and operatic screams, was an MTV staple during the Headbangers Ball years. Now Priest is touring in support of a new album, Redeemer of Souls, with a 7:30 p.m. show at the Tacoma Dome. Is it an old-timers' victory lap? Sure, but not the way you think: Redeemer debuted at #6 on the Billboard 200, making it JP's top-debuting album ever in the U.S. Talk about hell bent for leather.

4. Spaceworks Tacoma participants eTc Tacoma hosts Tacoma rapper Bruce Leroy at 8 p.m. Space is limited for this event, so attendees are encouraged to RSVP at sales@etctacoma.com. The first 20 attendees will receive a free giveaway item. Leroy dropped 10 Feet at the beginning of the month to critical acclaim.

5. Marty O'Reilly & the Old Soul Orchestra is one hell of an outfit. We've started calling them the Old School Orchestra, as their music puts us in mind of someone's porch in a gator-bait bayou where people have names like Fingerless Earl, Jimmy Gumbo, and Jailhouse Jackson. Yes, you'll hear echoes of Andrew Bird. Yes, Howlin' Wolf and Tom Waits were influences. But really, this is one of those times when the word esoteric comes in handy for critical purposes. It means the trio grabbed everything good from every hallowed genre of American traditional music, then piled on evocative lyrics: "She was my three-legged dog...It's not the body of the beast that holds its spirit." Man, this stuff goes down finer than crawfish étouffée. Catch the band at 9:30 p.m. in Doyle's Public House.

LINK: Saturday, Nov. 22 arts and entertainment events in the greater Tacoma and Olympia area