FRIDAY, JUNE 17, 2011 >>>

1. Another tripod slide show night hits Madera Architectural Elements showroom with three 15-minute presentations around the theme "Parts." From 7-8:30 p.m. Lynn Di Nino explores auto parts (American cars in Cuba), Kim Sparks-Wilmer introduces hair parts and Doug Mackey presents body parts (didn't see that coming). Obviously, it's an adults-only event. You'll be asked to shell out $5 at the door.

2. Mel Gibson's comeback joint, The Beaver, plays at 2:45, 7:05 and 9:10 p.m. inside The Grand Cinema. Should you see it, even though it didn't do so hot last weekend at the box office? Should you get caught up in the public excitement that comes from anything related to Mel Gibson, not to mention anything with the word "beaver" in the title? Or, do you resist the urge, because humanity really shouldn't be won over by someone of Gibson's ilk simply because they don a hand puppet? It's a tough call. ...

3. The Harmon Tap Room celebrates its first anniversary with a bash featuring brewery tours and beer tastings from 3-5 p.m., and a pig roast and live tunes by the Myles Crew from 6-9 p.m. Read our review of the joint here.

4. The Cryptatropa Bar celebrates one year on Olympia's Fourth Avenue with a night of DJs spinning house, disco, boogie, funk and techno beginning at 10 p.m. Joining DJs Susan Ploetz and Grab The Bat Killer will be Allan Wilson from the band !!! (chk chk chk). That's awesome.

5. Masa on Sixth Avenue serves some of the best handmade mole' in the city. But it's not the mole' that fills Masa to the brim every Friday and Saturday night. It's the two dance floors. It's the Latin style moves. It's the endless parade of short skirts and buff arms. It's the fact that every weekend night, Masa is one of the hottest meat markets in town. Mole' is more of a weeknight dish, anyway.

PLUS: Matt Coughlin and the Growlers and Tommy Emmanuel details in our Weekend Hustle.

LINK: More arts and entertainment events in the South Sound

LINK: Live music tonight

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

WEATHER REPORT

Friday: Partly sunny, hi 70, lo 52

Saturday: Rain, hi 62, lo 53

Sunday: Partly cloudy, hi 64, lo 53

>>> OPENS THURSDAY, JUNE 16: Summer in the Sixties

Harlequin Productions in Olympia has already proven they can take on the musical -- and specifically the rock 'n' roll musical -- with skill and vigor. Theater-goers need only recall last year's Sixties Kicks for an example of this fact. For the 2011 season, Harlequin dives into Summer in the Sixties, billed as "another Harlequin Original Musical Celebration! Power to the Party!" Expect great tunes from the late '60s pumped out by a real band, and -- again according to the hype -- "some interesting ways to look at and listen to a remarkable cultural revolution." 

• Harlequin Productions - The State Theater, Summer in the Sixties, through July 17, 8 p.m. Thursday - Saturday, 2 p.m. Sunday, 5307 N. Pearl St., Ruston, 360.786.0151

>>> FRIDAY, JUNE 17: MATT COUGHLIN AND THE GROWLERS

Matt Coughlin and the Growlers have labeled their style as "funktry" - a combination of funk and country, natch. Coughlin grew up in Montana, raised by a couple of hippies. "They're folkies from back in the day," says Coughlin. "They got me playing piano and playing the guitar and singing and whatnot. I carried that through high school, and found out that girls like it when you play guitar and sing." Friday, Matt Coughlin and the Growlers will be at the Swiss in Tacoma, joined by another band Coughlin sometimes jams with - Phunkatron and the Double Deuce Horns. It should be epic.

• The Swiss Pub, 1904 Jefferson Ave., Tacoma, 253.572.2821

>>> FRIDAY, JUNE 17: TOMMY EMMANUEL

Sure, it's tempting to make a Crocodile Dundee joke and call it good when discussing guitarist Tommy Emmanuel's upcoming Tacoma gig. Emmanuel is a native Australian - mix this with our well-known laziness and it's  fairly predictable how things might work out. But let us not wallow in "You call THAT a knife?" jabs for once, and instead simply focus on the fact Emmanuel's career is one for the history books (in Australia and beyond) and a chance to see him is not to be missed.

• Rialto Theater, 7:30 p.m., $35-$39.50, 901 Broadway, Tacoma, 253.591.5890

>>> SATURDAY, JUNE 18: TITLOW LODGE CENTENNIAL

As the story goes (or at least the Metro Parks press release), "Titlow Lodge first opened a century ago as a three-and-a-half story Swiss chalet-style waterfront destination known as the Hotel Hesperides. The grand waterfront resort hotel was designed by renowned Tacoma architect Frederick Heath. Among Heath’s most well-known and iconic designs are Paradise Inn at Mount Rainier National Park and Stadium High School’s conversion from an upscale hotel to a public school with its awe inspiring bowl." These days, of course, Titlow Lodge serves as a destination point for those enjoying Titlow Park (at the western end of Sixth Avenue in Tacoma). Or, it WILL ONCE AGAIN serve as a destination point for those enjoying Titlow Park when the Lodge officially reopens after renovation Saturday as part of a centenial celebration. The formal program kicks off at 11:30 a.m. with a discussion on the History of Hotel Hesperides & Transition to Titlow Lodge set to include Frederick Heath's grandson. Then, enjoy light refreshments and music on the veranda at the open house that runs until 3 p.m.

• Titlow Lodge, 11:30 a.m. - 3 p.m., 8425 Sixth Ave., Tacoma

>>> WHERE OUR STAFF IS GOING

NIKKI TALOTTA Features Writer
Giving my magic eight-ball a good shake, I asked if this weekend will bring me money, friends, sleeping in, and barbeque ribs. The answer? All signs point to yes.

CHRISTIAN CARVAJAL: Theater Critic
I'm seeing shows at Harlequin in Olympia and Paradise in Gig Harbor, and if those two theaters ever got married, their celebrity couple portmanteau would be HarlotEyes. I would totally see a show at HarlotEyes Productions.

STEPH DEROSA: Person, Place or Thing Correspondent
Friday I will be attending a Girl Scout dance party. Fortunately for all involved, they asked me to create the music mix. All day Saturday my ass will be helping prepare for the Children's Museum of Tacoma's annual summer fundraiser - Playing Under the Stars.  Saturday night, Kate Swarner and I will bring our very handsome dates to said event, drink copious amounts of wine, and prevent our dates from spending more money than what's in the bank. Sunday I will attempt to gather the tools necessary to re-create my very own at-home "Minute to Win It" game.

JOANN VARNELL Theater Critic
Glorious summer! This weekend I've got some plans - playin music at church, barn door cinema, hanging out. The most exciting thing will be prepping for my trip to Texas with my VERY mobile 10 month old where I will bask in the heat (no air conditioners) and translate "up" into the several different things it actually means.

ALEC CLAYTON Visual Arts Critic
I'll be seeing the new show at Fulcrum, doing some web design work and a bit of re-writing on my screenplay of The Backside of Nowhere based on some helpful insights provided after Wednesday's reading.

JENNIFER JOHNSON Food and Lifestyles Writer 
Climbing Mount Never-Rest, choral concert in Olympia, much needed downtime, hunting for perfect hashbrowns.

STEVE DUNKELBERGER Meat Market Photographer
Teaching my photo class at Tacoma Art Place and going to the Rainiers game with the kids. Then kiddo fun on Father's Day.

LINK: More arts and entertainment events in the South Sound

THURSDAY, JUNE 16, 2011 >>>

1. It's the third Thursday of the month, meaning it's time for Artwalk in Tacoma. The Art Bus will be in full force (leaving at 6 p.m. in front of the Tacoma Art Museum), the galleries will all be putting their best foot forward, the major museums will be free and open to all and even Clancy's Coffee on Pacific Avenue will be getting into the action - offering up poets, dancers and an open mic from the D.A.S.H. Center for the Arts, as well as artist Liza Brown painting and music from Kashmir. Good times will be had by all from 5-8 p.m.

2. Speaking of Third Thursday Artwalk, make an effort to WALK up 11^th Street to catch Andrea Trenbeath's werewolf art at her artist reception from 6-7:30 p.m. inside Tacoma Art Place. It's killer. Her werewolf art is part of the exhibit "Dichotomy, which includes a collaborative painting between Andrea Trenbeath and artist James A. Tucker.

3. Tacoma's Theater District Association kicks off its new visual arts lecture series VERB with Prof. Gail Tremblay of The Evergreen State College speaking on contemporary expressions of native art backed by a panel of arty brains including panel moderator Rock Hushka, curator at the Tacoma Art Museum. This word on art runs 7-8 p.m. inside the Theatre on the Square, followed by a group hug at B2 Fine Art Gallery at 8 p.m. for the closing reception of "Coyote Forward."

4. Tacoma's Urban Art Festival hits the Thea Foss Waterway in little over a week. Are you mentally ready? Channel into the vibe from 7:30-11:30 p.m. at The Swiss when the UAF fundraiser "Funtasia" hits the historic building with Gritty City Sirens burlesque, The Vibe Project, Apricot & the Beginners and the brilliant Umber Sleeping. Your $7 cover nabs you a raffle ticket.

5. Let's be honest. You're young. You were born in 1980-something, maybe. You don't really KNOW much about Hüsker Dü, except to nod in knowing coolness when someone more musically seasoned brings up the band during a party or coffee shop conversation. It's time to stop faking it. Grant Hart is at Hell's Kitchen - former Hüsker Dü drummer, co-songwriter and just plain dude you should know about. It's not every week T-Town gets an opportunity like this. Negative Press, Check Please and Love Songs for the Hated open the 8 p.m. show.

LINK: More arts and entertainment events in the South Sound

LINK: Happy hours!

ORIGINAL PEOPLES; ORIGINAL ART >>>

For the sixth year in a row, the Washington State History Museum has selected a juried exhibit of contemporary Native American art for display in one of its featured galleries. This year's exhibit is called In the Spirit: Contemporary Northwest Native Arts. I was allowed to browse the exhibit two days before its June 16 opening, on a walkthrough guided by curator Lynette Miller. "How diverse it is," Miller remarks, admiring the collection. These artists "are doing all kinds of things. Some people have gone to art school; they've done years of study. Some people are more self-taught and intuitive." As for the content,  Miller describes it as, "very traditional, very non-traditional."

She's right. An almost iconic image of a bird of prey ("Night Hawk," by Jennifer Johns) hangs side by side with a Kaila Farrell-Smith triptych as hip as anything in MoMA.

Despite variation in training levels, the work is impressive and evocative throughout. Indeed, it was vetted by critical eyes. "(The artists) submit (to) a jury of three people," Miller says. "We at the Historical Society are partners with the Longhouse Educational and Cultural Center at Evergreen State College for this event. There's a juror that represents the Historical Society, and another who represents Longhouse...Then there's a third juror, and the last few years, we had the person who won the Best in Show prize the year before be that juror."

It seems a daunting job. "We get a big mix of things every year," she agrees, having been one of those jurors herself in past years. "The jurors also select those artists who will win the awards, which are cash prizes." There are six prizes in total, plus a People's Choice award. Visitors to the exhibit "vote all during the run of the show."

As we stroll past two- and three-dimensional pieces, Miller notes, "There's some with a fair amount of political content, that deals with Native issues." As one might expect, two of those issues are ecology and resistance to assimilation. Miller indicates an Erin Genia clock sculpture called Blood Quantum Countdown. "To be officially an American Indian," Miller says, "you have to have a certain level of ‘blood quantum' from your parents...You can be registered in a tribe if you have some levels, but less than 1/32nd usually isn't enough." Such quantification became politically loaded as the Federal government decided the best thing for indigenous culture was to "help" it to be more European.

"There's this discussion of whether (blood quantum) establishes credentials," Miller says. We're looking at the piece shown above, Peeling the Apple by Charles Bloomfield, in which the feet and hands of a white mannequin have been dipped in red paint. It's thought-provoking work; to the untrained eye, it seems one of several likely prize contenders. "There is a jury winner," Miller says, but declines to reveal that winner. "It'll be announced on opening night."

The show includes a festival Aug. 6, from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m., with performances by Native American singers and dance troupes. It's a welcome opportunity to view our region through its original cultural window.

[Washington State History Museum, In the Spirit, June 16 through August 28, free to members, $6-$8 otherwise, 1911 Pacific Ave., Tacoma, 253.798.5925]

WEDNESDAY, JUNE 22, 2011 >>>

1. Barnburner, Stone Axe, Sleeper Cell and Electric Falcons will rock the crap out of Hell's Kitchen beginning at 9 p.m.

2. Weekly Volcano visual arts critic Alec Clayton posses many talents, including the ability to write a bad-ass novel or three. His latest, The Backside of Nowhere, is a wild and funny Southern novel set on the Gulf Coast in range of New Orleans. At 7:30 p.m. inside the Lakewood Playhouse, director Scott C. Brown and a dozen of the best actors in the South Sound region will read from the full-length feature film script adapted from Clayton's novel.

3. These pretzels are making us thirsty. But we mean, at only 50 cents apiece, it's impossible not to scarf down four in a row. If only we had some ... oh, yes, there it is. Microbrews for $2.75 and wells for $2.50 every weekday afternoon from 3-6 p.m. Magoo's Annex and Eatery, you've done it again. Now all we need is a sexy friend. Preferably one who can recognize old Seinfeld quotes.

4. 99 Bottles in Federal Way will serve tastes of big stouts from 4-7:45 p.m. for a $1.

5. The Fun Police, The Taxpayers and Dead Peasants will play the all-ages Red Room in downtown Tacoma beginning at 7:30 p.m.

LINK: More arts and entertainment events in the South Sound

LINK: Half-price wine bottles night!

THE VOLCANO'S VISUAL ARTS CRITIC >>>

The latest show at the Handforth Gallery in the Main Tacoma Library is a traveling juried exhibition of tapestry featuring small works from tapestry artists from all over the world, including at least three artists from Tacoma and Olympia - Cecelia Blomberg, Margo MacDonald and Mary Lane, who are also featured in the current show at Brick House Gallery in Tacoma.

All of the works are about the size of a notebook. Most are pretty traditional and technically well done - at least to my eye; I'm no expert on tapestry but view them as I would view paintings.

Now that I've read some of the statements in the nicely designed catalog that accompanies the show I wish I understood more of the technical aspects. Artist's statements in the catalog talk about warps and multiple setts (Mary Rawcliffe Dolton talking about her piece, "Bumps in the Road") and focusing on "the warp and weft grid by using hatching and soumack..." (Joyce Hays writing about her piece "Conciliation Fall.")

I don't understand those terms, but I like the look of their pieces.

"Bumps in the Road" is one of my favorite pieces. It looks like a little wall hanging sculpture. It is a kind of monolithic vertical form that zigs and zags with bright red and blue triangles as it crawls up the wall. Hays' "Conciliation Fall" is a luminous and delicate pattern of three bands of gray and white marks on a field of tan.

Another piece a like a lot because of the way it breaks out of the traditional rectangular format is "Going Through the Motions" by Sharon Crary. It's a simply patterned abstract piece with folded cloth in patterns of variously hued greens over solid red background and wrapped with a red ribbon.

One of many other pieces that I like is "The Points in Between" by Jean Pierre Larochette, one of the few men in this show. It's a picture of a bird's nest on a black background. I like the strong color contrasts and the high energy of the twigs that fly out of the nest as if in an explosion.

About the three local artists in this show. First, congratulations. Being selected for inclusion in a show of international scope is a big deal.

MacDonald's "On the Beach" is a simple little picture of a canoe sitting on a beach with its oars out as if plowing through water even though the boat is not on the water and there are no paddlers to work the oars. It doesn't have the impact of some of her larger pieces in the show at Brick House, but it is very sweet, due to the soft colors, and it is nicely designed.

Blomberg has a piece that is similar to MacDonalds. It's called "Between the Birches." It pictures a yellow canoe in dark blue water as seen through a stand of birch trees on the river's edge. The regularity of the spacing between trees lends it an emblematic look. As in MacDonald's picture, there's no one in the canoe.

Lane continues in this show the theme of her works in the Brick House show with a peach colored dress on a floral patterned background. The patterns are not as intricate, which I think works better, and the colors are softer and more harmonious. I particularly like the soft lavender flowers on the peach colored dress.

Passages: Small Tapestry International 2 runs through July 1.

TUESDAY, JUNE 14, 2011 >>>

1. There's a delicate balance that is struck with Brute Heart: feathery violin and vocals are buoyed by a strumming bass line and skipping drums. The combination at times reaches a hypnotic hum, and at other times approaches a rousing folk backbeat. Check out the Minneapolis band with Trauma Dom at 10 p.m. in the back room at Le Voyeur.

2. Ah, cheese. There's milky, pure, hand-stretched mozzarella. Soft, slightly chunky ricotta, kissed with sweetness and a tinge of clover. Smooth, slightly sharp goat's-milk ricotta. And, of course, an orb of sinfully rich burrata, the firm, mozzarella-like edge encasing a luscious, creamy center. Cheese, cheese, cheese. Metropolitan Market - celebrating 40 years of awesomeness - hosts a free cheese class from 6-7 p.m. at the Proctor store.

3. With the advent of the interwebs (big ups to Al Gore), just about anyone who eats - and yaps about it - can now be classified as a "foodie." Everywhere around us folks who think that they are far superior to mere mortals who think a big night is a bucket of KFC. If you want to be a free-roaming foodie fun guy, check out urban foraging class at 7 p.m. inside King's Books.

4. Bobby Bare Jr. performs at 7 p.m. inside the Olympic Club Hotel and Theater in Centralia.

5. Pacific Gallery Artists are all about making art accessible to others, especially work by local and emerging artists, and the PGA Art Raffle, which runs from 7-9 p.m. the Boy Scouts of America Headquarters, does just that. Thirty original pieces of art will be raffled for a dollar. All proceeds goes to our PGA Education Fund

LINK: More arts and entertainment events in the South Sound

LINK: Nightlife It List

THE UNEXPECTED >>>

Tacoma Art Museum tries to cater to every taste and every demographic by mounting exhibitions that range from the traditional and historic to today's most revolutionary and idiosyncratic art. It seems the museum tries very hard to balance a need for catering to popular taste-that is, bringing in work that will get folks to open their wallets-and simultaneously keeping up with the latest trends and movements and fulfilling a responsibility to educate the public. That's a tall order, and for the most part TAM succeeds.

Just when I think TAM is on the verge of selling out-oh, god, another Chihuly, and this right after the blockbuster Norman Rockwell show-they do something gutsy like bring in the highly controversial Hide/Seek: Difference and Desire in American Portraiture, which it was recently announced will make an appearance at the museum in March of 2012.

The new Chihuly show, Dale Chihuly's Northwest, opened on the day the rapture was supposed to happen and will run through September.

To read Alec Clayton's full column click here.

[Tacoma Art Museum, Dale Chihuly's Northwest, through Sept. 25, Wednesday-Sunday 10 a.m. - 5 p.m., Third Thursdays 10 a.m. - 8 p.m., through May 30, $10, Student/Military/Senior (65+) $8, Family $25, children 5 and under free., Third Thursdays free, 1701 Pacific Avenue, Tacoma]

Hide/Seek, March 17 through June 10, 2012.

ON ADDICTION TO ACTING >>>

Can I tell you how busy I am? You are, too, of course, but please, bear with me a moment: I got married last month, so I'm trying to squeeze all my possessions into my new wife's Tumwater condo. Not that I'm complaining, mind you; I've become a homeowner with minimal effort. Still, all my stuff has to go somewhere, and it turns out my somewhere is a yard sale. We have a full reception to plan, plus an Orlando getaway.Meanwhile, I have this job, but I'm also teaching two online classes for a rural Kansas community college. Starting in less than a month, I'm teaching (and grading!) a math class at Olympic College in Shelton. And my "real" job, the one that's paying for our extravagant Florida vacation, is writing online assistance in support of a soon-to-be-published math textbook. That'll morph into a job doing online tutorials, probably sometime this month. It's a lot.

So when John Munn, usually at Lakewood Playhouse but currently guest directing for Theater Artists Olympia, called to ask if I'd play a role in his production of Oleanna, every logical neuron in my body screamed, "Tell him no way!"

I said yes. No one was more surprised than I that I assented, save possibly my new wife. We were on our honeymoon at the time.

Why do I do it?--not just to myself, but to my long-suffering stage widow and career responsibilities as well? Granted, John was willing to work around my review schedule, but that just made it possible (well, semi-possible...I don't know how I'll review A Midsummer Night's Dream from Animal Fire). It sure didn't make it a wonderful idea. Oleanna, a 1992 work by David Mamet, is what we in the trade call a two-hander, a term that never fails to make certain friends giggle. It means there are only two people in the play, and now one of those two people is me.

The other actor is Deya Ozburn, whom I've worked with before, and I just think she's aces. Not only is she a gifted and beautiful actor, she's also peaches and cream to work with and be around. She's the kind of actor who, no matter how much we have to scream abuse at each other within the play, begins and ends every rehearsal with a heartfelt hug. John's a brilliant guy with a consistent track record as a director, not to mention the fact that he remembered my birthday this weekend. So that's all lovely, and a strong incentive to do the show. It's just not why I agreed to do the show.

Is it because I love acting? I don't think I do anymore, frankly, at least not most of the time. It's an enormous amount of work, especially as my ability to memorize dissolves. The lines for this show will be, I can promise you now, a stone cold bitch. I love theater people, but they can be a handful. I suspect there exists no other craft so magnetic to people who teeter on the high wire between glaring narcissism and suicidal self-loathing. (Guilty as charged, Your Honor.) The drive to Lakewood, currently at $3.84 a gallon, is a drag. And I'm missing my wife, and besides, her family won't come to see the show because I have to say one of my least favorite words in it. (I have favorite and least favorite words. I'm a writer. So sue me.) There is no logical reason for me to accept a role in Oleanna this summer. To be honest, I'm not even crazy about the play. So when my rational mind dissects the situation, there can be only one, inescapable conclusion: I'm addicted. It's a fact. My new father-in-law named it out loud: "The bug," he said flatly, as if to say, "The clap."

He's a musician himself, a damn good one, so I'm sure he kind of gets it. I don't. I've tried a sufficient number of party pharmaceuticals to know I don't have an addictive personality; yet here we are. I'm chasing the dragon, always pulled to the next show, the next possible fix of whatever high I derived from it in my long-ago youth on the boards. Acting used to be my claim to distinction; now I'm surrounded by excellent actors. There's nothing special about my ability, whatever that is, in South Puget. Acting used to be how I got close, sometimes happily close, to bright, pretty girls. Now I'm married to a bright, pretty woman. Acting used to be how I said what I had to say to the world. Now I'm finding it all but impossible to keep up with this blog and my own (at ChristianCarvajal.com). I've owed that eponymous blog an entry for weeks; hell, I haven't even mentioned my wedding there. Not cool!

Do they make a Dr. Phil, or at least a Dr. Drew, for my addiction? Is there a theater patch?

MONDAY, JUNE 13, 2011 >>>

1. Things get graphic, let's discuss.  This month the Graphic Novel Book Club meets 7 p.m. inside Hilltop's 1022 South to discuss Footnotes in Gaza by Joe Sacco.

2. Washington State Historical Society curator Maria Pasqualy shares her long-time interest in Northwest Coast imagery and how it has been used in museums, schools, and advertising at noon inside the State Capital Museum in Olympia.

3. Billy Roy Danger will perform roots-based originals and covers at 8 p.m. inside The Swiss.

4. Seven's Revenge duo hosts an open stage night at O'Malley's Irish Pub beginning at 9 p.m.

5. The poetic singer/songwriter Brandon Mayer & The Hidden Powers performs at 9 p.m. inside Le Voyeur in downtown Olympia.

LINK: More arts and entertainment events in the South Sound

LINK: Happy hours!