ONLINE CHATTER >>>

Today's comment comes from Jill Tokarczyk in response to Alec Clayton's latest Visual Edge column, a review of Susan Christian's latest show at Childhood's End Gallery.

Tokarczyk writes,

Looking forward to seeing Susan's work at Childhood's End Gallery!
Her work on seas and mountains are two of my favorites. She looks out to a world sometimes calm, sometimes choppy, sometimes quiet, sometimes waiting to give us sounds of natural strength.

MEETING THEATER PATRONS HALFWAY >>>

It's that time of year again, when theater companies gather to haggle over their upcoming seasons. For various reasons (including, I suspect, our training in academic theater), most troupes operate from September to May. Directors stride into meetings with all guns blazing, ready to defend their chosen scripts to the death. Board members flinch when unfamiliar titles are mentioned. The artistic director tries vainly to remind everyone of their mission statement, which plainly discourages all-nude productions of Our Town. The technical director is near tears as she adds up the cost and labor necessary to mount K2. And actors immediately begin psyching each other out when some coveted role is put forward. It's amazing how a genial smile can so persuasively convey, "You'll pry the role of Cordelia from my cold, dead hands, you pasty anorexic bitch!"

There are way too many factors to consider. First of all, companies have to stay financially solvent. The operative question has always been, "What do you, our paying pubic, want to see?" The average American knows the names of maybe half a dozen playwrights, only one or two of which are alive and still working. The names "Deborah Zoe Laufer" or "Tracy Letts" will not be a draw to the average South Sounder, no matter how good their oeuvres might be. Every actor wants to test his or her mettle against the Bard, but Shakespeare elicits as many shudders as smiles from regular patrons. Do we give the community what it wants, or what it should want? Who are we to decide? Frankly, what does our audience know? Aren't we the experts? Ah, but they're the folks with money, so...

That nice lady who runs the flower shop keeps pestering us to produce Arsenic and Old Lace because she loved it as a child. Our renegade director with the happy/sad mask tattoo wants to do Speed-the-Plow. An actor with a killer body but not-so-hot talent thinks she'd be terrific as Medea. We decided last year to do Greater Tuna this year, but nobody wants to direct it. Should we do a musical? My cousin Jerry can play the accordion. If we start rehearsing now, maybe we can learn how to tap dance by April!

Often, theater companies vie to produce the same script within months of each other, and this doesn't just apply to the hottest new scripts fresh from off-Broadway triumphs. That's how we got two productions of Little Women (one musical, one not) running concurrently, and three productions of Doubt in as many years. Is that good or bad? Is it rude to stage a show someone else did last year, or is it just being savvy enough to take advantage of that group's marketing budget?

Then there's the question of scheduling. One of my proudest achievements was helping found a not-for-profit theater company in Ada, Oklahoma, where a serious issue each spring was the date of the PBR rodeo tournament. Good luck drawing houses against that behemoth! In Olympia, where we're certainly not hurting for quality theater, it seems there are certain months each year where friendly competition devolves into an ugly game of chicken. There was a weekend this spring when half a dozen plays opened within 48 hours of each other. No one blinks. It's arrogant, I think, often costly, but it's hard to avoid.

My fellow critics and I are compiling our own reviewing schedules for 2011-2012. We groan over the inclusion of old war horses, and perk up at any glimmer of novelty. We look forward to the work of established artists, and to meeting new talents and watching them come into their own. Most of all, we wish you all challenging opportunities, not to mention positive balance sheets in June of 2012.

YEARLY COMMUNITY ARTS FEST HAS ARRIVED >>>
Music, laughter, loud conversations: if I close my eyes, the way a Grateful Dead show parking lot sounded comes to mind.

On any given day, a constant mix of noises from bars, businesses and foot traffic floats in my windows. I live directly on Sixth Avenue; hearing my neighborhood live and breathe isn't new. But yesterday was special. The 13th annual Art on the Ave festival meant the noise of cars was replaced by bicycle riders thumbing bells. Kids chasing each other let out squeals of laughter as I stepped outside and joined them on the sidewalk - quickly melting into the throngs of people in front of Dirty Oscar's Annex. DOA's Jake Barth and bartender Teresa Star worked the beer garden, selling moonshine lemonade and Rainier tall boys to an already thirsty crowd at 1 p.m.

(Photo Credit: Pappi Swarner)

Skateboards whipped up and down a ramp next to O'Malley's and bands played on an outdoor music stage. While getting a quick hug from hip-hop promoter Michael Pierce, he broke the news that the CityHall (Todd Sykes, EvergreenOne, DJ Hanibal) set time had been pushed back from 2:30 p.m. to 3:15 p.m. Nearby, at the intersection of Steele and Sixth, a chalk artist created a vividly-colored picture on the sidewalk of an orange tabby cat looking hungrily at a goldfish swimming in its bowl.

Standing in front of Jewell Day Spa (where she works), Dawn Elizabeth handed out information about the spa. "Can't think of a better way to spend the day if I've got to be working," she tells me.

Mike Hempel, sous-chef at award-winning restaurant Pacific Grill, took this year's Art on the Ave as an opportunity to check out booths of paintings, art and punk pins. "It's a great event for the Ave," he says. "The businesses get so much exposure."

Tempted by foot-long skewers of teriyaki chicken at one booth, my senses were on overload from the rich curry scent coming from Gateway to India's outdoor cooking set-up. I paused to observe henna artist Dagmar Peterson creating gorgeous swirls in mere seconds on the wrist of a smiling woman before moving on to Ryan Loiselle's clothing booth. His newest irreverent and humorous offerings include boy-short panties and hip-hugger sweat pants with "Tacoma Aroma" emblazed on them. Loiselle is very tongue-in-check pro-Tacoma.

(Photo Credit: Steve Dunkelberger)

Streets were closed to vehicle traffic from State Street to Cedar Street for the free, family-friendly event. Despite what festival organizers say was record-breaking attendance, it was still easy to move up and down Sixth Ave for most of the day. That is, until the 3 o'clock hour neared and the entire block from the Jazzbones mainstage down to Oakes Street swam with fans of hometown-girl-done-good Vicci Martinez. Spilling onto side streets and the Tapco Credit Union parking lot, fans jostled for position to see the reality TV show star and music phemon take the stage. And I do mean "take." Though Martinez performed only a handful of songs, she owned it. The sea of people made the community event feel like much more of an outdoor concert than it ever has in the past. As Sixth Avenue business owner Chiara Wood says of Martinez, "She's so 253." Strong, passionate, humble.

Ray Hubberd, retired civic planner, walked in sync with me as I headed for the mellower end of the Ave. "A real sense of community has emerged. It's good to see so many people here," he shares. He knows what he's talking about. Hubberd has lived in the Sixth Avenue area for more than a few decades. He's watched it grow and change much like downtown Tacoma.

As the afternoon inched closer to evening I stopped to see the fellas putting on the first-ever Art on the Ave film festival, held in the Sixth Avenue Baptist Church building. Randy Sparks and John D. Markert were the forces behind the cinematic endeavor. "We've had people come see the films, it's been a good experience though hard to compete with all that's going on out here," says Sparks, gesturing to the crowded street and sunny day.

Anchoring the west end of Art on the Ave, the Maurice the Fish live music stage saw performers all day - though I doubt any surpassed the visual entertainment provided by Ben Union. A shirtless Union played guitar over his head and behind his back for a solid 45 seconds while fans cheered and clapped.

At 6 p.m., with Art on the Ave officially over, I grabbed some chill time with Jaime Kay Jones (owner of Top of Tacoma and soon-to-open Sixth Ave restaurant Marrow) in DOA's alley beer garden (unofficially dubbed "The Glory Hole"). Rockers, foodies, tattoo artists and piercers, musicians, singers, cooks and chefs alike gathered as though seeking refuge from the masses. Referring to the day's festivities, Jones comments, "It's a fully fledged thing now, not just a little neighborhood street fair. There's so much support for Tacoma. I wish we could do this more than once a year."  

LINK: More Art on the Ave photos

MONDAY, JULY 11, 2011 >>>

1. The national traveling exhibit In a Nutshell: The Worlds of Maurice Sendak explores the imaginative worlds of award-winning author/illustrator Maurice Sendak from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. at the South Hill Library. Learn how his cultural heritage, childhood in Brooklyn, family history and Jewish identity have inspired him as an artist.

2. Tacoma Community College's Gig Harbor Campus art exhibition features local human form photographer Alice Di Certo and backcountry photographer Chris Berryman. The exhibition opens with a reception from 5:30-8 p.m. It runs through Aug. 10.

3. Early in If a Tree Falls, we see footage of a protester sitting high in a tree the City of Eugene intends to cut down. In response to this peaceful protest, police approach via a cherry picker, cut open the man's pants and spray his thighs and genitals with pepper spray. Moments like these that make it easier to understand how a group like the Earth Liberation Front (ELF) came to be. This documentary - screening at 6:30 p.m. at the Capitol Theater in Olympia - follows ELF's Daniel McGowan as he sits under house arrest, awaiting a verdict on eco-terrorism charges.

4. The Graphic Novel Book Club will gather at the 1022 South lounge to discuss The Rabbi's Cat by Joann Sfar over crafted cocktails beginning at 7 p.m.

5. Maia Santell will sing jazz and blues from 8-10 p.m. at the Harmon Brewery and Eatery.

LINK: More arts and entertainment events in the South Sound

LINK: Happy hours!

SUNDAY, JULY 10, 2011 >>>

1. The annual Art on the Ave festival takes over Tacoma's Sixth Avenue today - offering arts of all kinds to people of kinds. EXTRA SPECIAL: Vicci Martinez will take to the Jazzbones stage at around 3 p.m. And catch City Hall on the O'Malley's stage.

2. In Puyallup, drop in on Sexy Sundays with DJ El Guapo at O'Henry's Sports Bar.

3. Sunday means Movie Night at the Brotherhood in Olympia. It's an institution.

4. "Cats" opened this week at the Tacoma Musical Playhouse. See it now and compare your take with Volcano theater critic Joann Varnell, who's writing her review as you read this.

5.The Orcapod Book Club meets on the second Sunday of every month at Orca Books in Olympia. It's literally literary aweseomness.

LINK: More arts and entertainment events in the South Sound

LINK: Live music tonight in the South Sound

SATURDAY, JULY 9, 2011 >>>

1. It's a yearly tradition. Check out the Tacoma Old Town Blues Festival today. The BluesBerry Pancake breakfast kicks things off in mere moments.

2. Get Out in the Park, part of Tacoma's epic ten days of Pride events. Find info here.

3. DB & the Struggle and Si Si Si will be all up in O'Malley's today.

4.Holy moly! There's an all-male stripper revue tonight at Uncle Sam's Bar & Grill in Spanaway. That's hot!

5. Go old school at Tiffany's Skate Inn in Puyallup for Retro Skate Night.

LINK: More arts and entertainment events in the South Sound

LINK: Live music tonight in the South Sound

BREAKING NEWS TO ME >>>

Got a hot text from one of my many Tacoma music inside informants about a half hour ago saying Vicci Martinez (yes, thee Vicci Martinez) will play the Jazzbones Art on the Ave stage Sunday.

Naturally, given Martinez's recent success on NBC's The Voice, I figured I had a bombshell of a SPEW on my hands. Or at the very least a hot Tweet.

But it seems Craig Sailor was all over that shit.

Either way, you'd be foolish to miss Martinez at Art on the Ave. She hits the Jazzbones stage at 3 p.m. according to my sources, though Sailor's post says "around 2:30" - so you may want to play it safe.

FRIDAY, JULY 8, 2011 >>>

1. The music of You Are Plural is so immediately, vibrantly engaging that it can be almost jarring. Tonight, the band plays Northern in Olympia, in what should be  a fine display of all-ages musical action.

2. Catch Rare Groove tonight at the Tempest Lounge on Hilltop - an evening of "intelligent soul, funk, jazz and (fittingly) rare grooves."

3. Amocat Cafe's live music night -- "Amocat Live!" -- goes down on the second Friday of every month. And, lo and behold - that's this week! Tonight catch Gabe Rhee, Sam Bogle, Steve Cairns, Karen Miller, Volkert Volkersz, Morgan Alexander & Kevin Freitas and Amocat Live! house band Les Collaborateurs.

4. Tonight would be the perfect time to drop in on the Open Contemporary Dance Class led by choreographer and all-around-talent Joel Myers, this evening from 6-7:30 p.m. at the Urban Grace Church in downtown Tacoma.

5. The Nuge. Or the Backstreet Boys and NKOTB. Or even the Monkees.

LINK: More arts and entertainment events in the South Sound

LINK: Live music tonight in the South Sound

THE LOWDOWN ON WHAT'S UP THIS WEEKEND >>>

WEATHER REPORT

Friday: Mostly sunny, hi 68, lo 49

Saturday: Partly sunny, hi 72, lo 52

Sunday: Partly sunny, hi 74, lo 55

>>> FRIDAY, JULY 8: Amocat Live!

Amocat Cafe's live music night -- the appropriately titled "Amocat Live!" -- goes down on the second Friday of every month. And, lo and behold - that's this week! As of this writing the list of scheduled performers includes: Gabe Rhee, Sam Bogle, Steve Cairns, Karen Miller, Volkert Volkersz, Morgan Alexander & Kevin Freitas and Amocat Live! house band Les Collaborateurs.

• Amocat Cafe, 7-9 p.m., NC, 625 St Helens Ave., Tacoma, 

>>> JULY 8-9: The Nuge

There comes a time in every great performer's career when they stare the Emerald Queen Casino square in the eyes. Ted Nugent has arrived. A shredder of '70s testosterone-driven hits like "Cat Scratch Fever"; the man behind some of the best bow-hunting-based television ever produced; and right wing gun-advocate many consider to be a prolific racist, Ted Nugent will be in T-town for a two-night stand starting Friday. Both shows are basically sold out. Quick! Think of something that rhymes with poontang!

• Emerald Queen Casino, 8:30 p.m., 2024 E. 29th St., Tacoma, 253.594.7777

>>> SATURDAY, JULY 9: South Sound BBQ Festival

Who doesn't like meat off the grill? Well, vegetarians we suppose, but still. BBQ is pretty damn popular. This Saturday the Lacey Chamber of Commerce looks to jump all over this fact with the South Sound BBQ Festival, from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. in the parking lot of Cabella's. It's free, and yes - there will be a chicken wing eating contest.

• Cabela's, 11 a.m. - 7 p.m., 1600 Gateway Blvd NE, Lacey, 360.252.3500

>>> SATURDAY, JULY 9: Out In The Park

Tacoma's annual, awesome LGBTQA Pride celebration, Out In The Park, goes down this Saturday. Not only does the yearly event have a new locale this year -- taking over Ninth and Broadway -- it's also part of ten full days of Pride events this year in T-Town. It's literally fabulous. Find our full article on Tacoma's Pride festival here, and look for pictures and words coming on SPEW shortly after Saturday's big-ass party.

• Out In The Park, noon-6 p.m., Ninth and Broadway, all ages, free, Tacoma, outintacoma.com 

>>> SATURDAY, JULY 9: Tacoma Old Town Blues Festival

Tacoma is a blues town. For every sparsely attended indie show or spotty DJ night there's a hopping blues jam packed by a familiar set of middle-aged South Sound blues hounds. The yearly Old Town Blues Festival draws these faces out en masse. Saturday, catch 15 bands - names like Little Bill and the Bluenotes, Cold Shot and the High Rollers - and more than 15 hours of entertainment throughout Old Town. Check out the full schedule here, including the 9 a.m. BluesBerry pancake breakfast.

• Old Town Tacoma - Slavonian Hall, The Spar, The Mountaineers, Old Town Park, 9 a.m. to 1 a.m., tacomaoldtownbluesfest.net

>>> WHERE OUR STAFF IS GOING

NIKKI TALOTTA Features Writer
Got the Subaru loaded with beach pails, diapers, extra pillows and a cooler full of Capri Suns and PBRs. Yep, the Talotta - McCoy clan is packing it up for a weekend at the beach. Beautiful grey-blue waters, kids splashing through the waves , and late night games of dominoes with the hubby. Damn I'm a lucky girl.

CHRISTIAN CARVAJAL: Theater Critic
I play half of the characters in David Mamet's incendiary Oleanna, a thriller of intellectual combat, which opens this week at Olympia Little Theater. I'm also catching A Midsummer Night's Dream in Priest Point Park and, at some unknown point, sleeping.

JOE IZENMAN: Theater Critic
Umm... getting married. I think that pretty much covers it. OK, so really it's two days of mad scramble to get everything ready, one day of getting married and partying, one day of opening presents, and one day of chilling in Tacoma and going to the Red Hot and Parkway for Tap Night Tacoma. But I figure that was mostly implied in "getting married."

JOANN VARNELL Theater Critic
This weekend I will be busy reviewing Cats at Tacoma Musical Playhouse, celebrating my son's 11-month anniversary of being alive, and playing music at church on Sunday.

ALEC CLAYTON Visual Arts Critic
'm going to see "Oleanna" at Olympia Little Theatre and "Cats," America's most overrated musical, at Tacoma Musical Playhouse, and an art exhibit called "Three old guys and one old lady" at Art House Designs in Oly, which I plan to write about for Spew, and a PFLAG meeting Sunday.

BRETT CIHON Meat Market Correspondent
I'm heading to a Meat Market on Friday night. Then maybe a hike on Saturday? Not that I'm much of a hiker, I just like to balance out the debauchery.

Jennifer Johnson Food and Lifestyles Writer
Girlfriend's birthday party in Puyallup Friday. Saturday, Motorcycle Rally ride and benefit show at Jersey's in Federal Way followed by a stop at the FedWay farmers market; Putt-Putt golf that night. Sunday after church it's all about AoA...that's Sixth Avenue's Art on the Ave for the peeps that don't know.

Steve Dunkelberger Photographer
I'll be going to the new Pooh movie, then seeing Cats at TMP before heading to Art on the Ave

LINK: More arts and entertainment events in the South Sound

ANOTHER CRAMMED-ASS WEEK >>>

Like almost every week in the South Sound, and certainly every week of the all-too-short summer in the South Sound, there are art happenings and opportunities galore this week. The Art on the Ave festival will once again fill Tacoma's Sixth Avenue with art of all kinds - truly something for all of the senses - and that's jus the start.

Here are a few teases from this week's Volcano arts section.

FEATURE: ART ON THE AVE

"Art on the Ave is in its 13th year, so it's one of Tacoma's biggest and best festivals," says festival coordinator Angela Jossy. "It's known for its eclectic and inclusive nature."
Of course, this is an art festival and you can, above all, expect to find art on tap. But the artwork here is not limited to canvas work or sculpture or other things you might only find in a museum. "There will be ALL kinds of art," says Jossy. - Kristin Kendle

FEATURE: JAMES TUCKER & ANDREA TRENBEATH

Together, Trenbeath and Tucker share skill sets and knowledge with each other, and deliver artwork with a collaborative twist, which most recently meant Tucker taking Trenbeath's werewolf sketches and putting his own slant on them. Trenbeath's werewolves are, frankly, amazing - bold lines and a viciousness rarely seen in the realms of fine art. They make my episodes of True Blood seem full of puppies and kittens. Tucker's tweaks give these beasts a robotic edge. These pieces were the focus of their work at Tacoma Art Place and lead directly into their work at Art on the Ave this week. - Kristin Kendle

VISUAL EDGE: SUSAN CHRISTIAN AT CHILDHOOD'S END GALLERY

I've been keeping up with Susan Christian's career for more than 20 years, and during that time I have watched her art change so gradually that it's like watching a mountain grow. I think she has finally reached her maturity as a painter. Her latest works - simple, bare-bones, abstract paintings of doorways and windows and corners of starkly empty rooms - are by far the best I have seen from her yet. - Alec Clayton

PLUS: More local theater than you can shake a stick at

PLUS: The South Sound Arts, Entertainment & Events Calendar to end all South Sound Arts, Entertainment & Events Calendars

PLUS: Kittens