SCORE ONE FOR OLYMPIA >>>

Last night at Northern in Olympia, Wild Flag - perhaps at least momentarily better known as Carrie Brownstein, Mary Timony, Janet Weiss and Rebecca Cole - played its first show ever. As Brownstein noted  (herself and Weiss Sleater-Kinney alums) most of her bands have played their first show in Oly, so the packed and much-anticipated all-ages gig on an otherwise slow Wednesday night in our state's capital made plenty of sense.  It was also amazing - a show people will be talking about for a long time. Here are some photos of the performance taken by Nicole Martin. The Volcano's Rev. Adam McKinney will be providing a blog account of the evening at some point later today on Spew.

Wild Flag has sold out shows later this week scheduled for the Doug Fir in Portland and the Tractor Tavern in Seattle ... but Oly got 'em first. It was awesome. 

LINK: More photos taken at the show in our Photo Hot Spot

ART AT FUN >>>

The Tacoma art community came together last night for the Art at Work: Tacoma Arts Month kickoff party inside the Tacoma Art Museum. The celebration paid tribute to local artists and contributors, like glass artist/DJ/Fulcrum Gallery owner Oliver Doriss, nonprofit hip-hop arts group Fab-5, and Urban Grace Cfurch, winners of the 2010 AMOCAT awards for artist, organization and patron outreach, respectively. This party - which featured music and performances by members of the Tacoma Symphony, Tacoma Youth Symphony, Tacoma Opera and Tacoma Musical Playhouse, as well as hors d'oeuvres, desserts and a non-host bar - also paid tribute to Tacoma Artists Initiative Program grant recipients, Spaceworks Tacoma (applause for the property owners), and the dedicated work of the Tacoma Arts Commission.

Special shout out goes to 2009 Soul of the City Tacoma Poet Laureate Antonio Edwards for igniting the "shout outs" last night during the official ceremony. They were an art onto themselves.

I learned a few things last night, too. There's still room at 2010 Soul of the City Tacoma Poet Laureate Tammy Robacker's Poetry Writers Workshop Sunday, Nov. 7 inside Urban Grace Church; you can find cool glasses at Pearle Vision in Tacoma; Blue Hair Dave (Who Cares, Johnny Bobalouie) is on the verge of releasing a solo album; always buy insurance for your cell phone; fab5org.wordpress.com/" target="_blank">RR Anderson has created cool RR buttons; Fab-5 is beyond fab (nice to see you again, Jason!); the Weekly Volcano has scored SOTA interns this winter. 

Weekly Volcano photographer J.M. Simpson snapped a few shots of the party last night. You may see the batch in our Photo Hot Spot.

LINK: Art at Work events

WEEKLY VOLCANO FLICKR GROUP >>>

RR Anderson, or NineInchNachos9 on Flickr, posted a few shots of the final Frost Park Chalk Challenge of the year on the Weekly Volcano Flickr Group, including the photo above of Andrea's Jaws drawing. Brian's scary chalk drawing drew more votes than the shark according to the voting on FeedTacoma.com.

LINK: Upload your photos on the Weekly Volcano Flickr Group

GNARLY >>>

It was the mini Sturgis of skateboarding, a day of ripping, beer and bands Saturday. No giant contest money ($500), corporate sponsors or swooping ESPN camera cranes - just local hard-core skaters summoned by the scent of wood dust tossed above the vertical lip of the miniramp sponsored by Saves Clothing.

Intermediate and advanced skaters, a couple with bandages on their foreheads and a gleeful disregard for personal safety, a couple dozen skaters from across the Puget Sound pointed their wheels toward the newest South Sound skate Mecca:

O'Malley's Irish Pub, Tacoma. Population: many tipsy.

Saves Clothing, in partnership with O'Malley's Irish Pub and a handful of other local businesses, hosted "Oktobersesh" Gnar at the Bar Skate Competition yesterday in the lot behind the Sixth Avenue watering hole. Between the beer garden and a small bleacher full of families, skaters attached the ramp with rock and punk music blasting the neighborhood.

After the competition, local bands rock the joint.

Yesterday's event had an awesome DIY vibe. I'm hoping O'Malley's hosts more of these skate competitions.

LINK: More photos in our Photo Hot Spot

OLYMPIA ARTS WALK, FALL EDITION >>>

People will react to a man in a pink dress carrying a boombox down Washington Street in three ways. Some will pretend it's something they're used to seeing. Others will laugh. But most will just smile nervously, as if they suspect they're being surveilled.

I laughed.

I also laughed at the robot costume and the dude pulling a wagon of banjos for sale.

Wandering poet Seamus Navarro walked into my personal space and asked me if he could read a poem to me. After choosing "light" from his menu of choices, he recited "Big Sur At Sunset" from memory - what seemed to be three inches from my face. Afterward, he mentioned something about heading to California and then disappeared.

Seamas Navarro

The above experiences happened Friday night during the twice-annual Olympia Arts Walk. The city closed off Washington and Legion streets allowing folks to walk, bike, skateboard and in some cases wobble their way around street art and performances, while darting into galleries and businesses. The entire downtown core participated in the night of music and arts that included bands in alleys, balconies and doorways. 

I hung out at the Olympia Folk Fest and Art Show inside The Loft on Cherry. As I sipped IPAs below blue Tivoli lights folk artists Mudcat, Abby Blue and the Outskirts and others performed before a diverse, rotating crowd. It's a cool space.

Abby Blue and the Outskirts

While the crowd seemed smaller this year, and less music on the streets, it's still one of the best times in the South Sound.

LINK: More photos in our Photo Hot Spot

MORE FUN THAN A HALL & OATES CONCERT >>>

Tacoma Art Place held a fundraiser art and gift auction last night at The Villa Cafe & Imbibery to benefit its non-profit community art outreach programs.

Musician Angela Jossy provided the soundtrack while Pierce County's top brass and art lovers bid on donated art, dinners, gift bags while tossing back Tacoma attorney Erik Bjornson's signature drink, the Mr. Tacoma,

The ever-tall and newly fathered Pierce County Prosecutor Mark Lindquist donated one of his top-selling books and took a break from the campaign trail to wave the flag, as did the Energizer bunny of volunteers and local politicians, Auditor Julie Anderson.

Top gifts included a private tour of the Elks McMenamins project with Grace Pleasants and rare Daniel Blue blue T-shirt that was custom sewn and crafted.

I nabbed a Chinese Szechuan crab dinner for four at Tacoma Szechuan with state Rep. Dennis Flannigan. Bjornson and I are going to grab a fourth and solve all of the county's ills over booze and egg rolls.

LINK: Donate to Tacoma Art Place

MUMBAI MEETS DISCO >>>

Sanford and Son Antiques received a big slap of fabulous for its adult prom Saturday night. Gigantic red, pink, silver, gold and black flowers clung to ceiling and walls amid colorful lighting and shiny metallic streamers as the store's library was transformed into a Bollywood movie set, the theme for the annual fundraiser this year benefiting the Companion Animal Rescue Society.

The costumes matched the décor. Lovely ladies attending went all out East Indian in saris, churidar, kurti pants, and belly dancing outfits in lace, chiffon and satin with gems and bells and teasingly draped sheer silks and scarves while others went as high-glam as possible in red carpet worthy gowns and skyscraper highs. Men wore suits, tuxedos and traditional kurtas and sherwanis to the dance party.

And then there was the food: horsd'oeuvres had an Indian slant with cucumber and lemon, and beet yogurt salads, hummus and pita, and seriously tasty Indian meatballs courtesy of Dan Briggs. Refreshing teas from Mad Hat Tea Company, Naughty Nellie and other tasty beers, glasses of Arrogant Bastard, Estrella and Flying Fish wines went down like water.

Tacoma's favorite garage band Girl Trouble kicked the night off to a roaring start. Partygoers danced till they were sweaty and the Library almost tropically humid. Band Si Si Si was welcomed back for a second year delivering ear-piercing and overly loud surf punk and pop tunes. Prom goers had just enough liquid merriment to make it through the set though some were looking a little tired of the volume. The second Si Si Si finished, memorable dance hits "I Will Survive," "Dancing Queen," "Billie Jean" and "YMCA," which had hilarious crowd participation, were merely a handful of the fun songs played by DJ Infinity above the black and white checkered dance floor.

DJ Infinity also acted as master of ceremonies until it was time for prom committee member Donna Herren, who looked smashing in a gold tube dress, to take the mic and reveal the year's theme winners. Sanford and Son owner Alan Gorsuch was crowned prom king and surprisingly not his wife, Cheryl, but Michelle Smith of Fleur de Lis was prom queen - as well as picking up title of Most Imaginative Female costume. Male Best Dressed and Most Imaginative Male costume saw a two and three way tie. People also voted for a giant black and white cow used in the photo backdrop for Female Best Dressed.

DJ Infinity reinvigorated the crowd after titles were awarded with Michael Jackson's P.Y.T. and other '80s pop songs. Giddy laughter floated above the smiling dancing crowd as the evening wore to a happily exhausted end.

LINK: More photos of the night in our Photo Hot Spot

HANGING OUT AT THE LADY GAGA SHOW >>>

Saturday night Lady Gaga rolled into Tacoma with her "Monster Ball" show. Lady Gaga may idolize Cyndi Lauper, but she is more likely to be compared to Madonna as she writes her own songs, and style's it out.

Still, the best style at the show didn't come from the show's participants, but the fans, who in Gaga parlance are known as "little monsters." Photographer Ariane Michelle of AMK Photography snapped shots of the stylish crowd filing into the Tacoma Dome for the show. Check them out in our Photo Hot Spot.

OLYMPIA AND THEIR PETS TURN OUT FOR THE PARADE >>>

True, true: There's nothing more frightful than a Great Dane in a tutu. And we saw one at yesterday's Olympia Pet Parade, the 81st annual animal parade hosted by The Olympian. Pets of every size and description, dressed to the nines, were walked, wheeled and dragged through the streets of downtown Olympia with their sights on the finish line - Sylvester Park. This year's theme was fairy tales.

We snapped a few shots and loaded them in our Photo Hot Spot.

WHEN GALEN MCCARTY TURNER JUMPS ON HIS BIKE, THINGS HAPPEN >>>

When Bobble Tiki was a kid he would ride his bike over empty soda cans so they caught on the tops of the tires, making a buzzing noise nothing at all like a motorcycle, but to a 10-year-old tiki, Bobble Tiki might as well have put glasspacks on his Huffy.  Some of those same nutty kids have graduated from Pepsi cans to ... jumping their bike through neon tubing.

As promised, Tacoman Galen McCarty Turner jumped his bicycle through neon tubing last night, just as Weekly Volcano editor Matt Driscoll previewed in his Prefunk column Friday. What Driscoll left out was that the alley would be packed with more than a hundred people in an atmosphere that felt like a high school keg party, that the Tacoma Police force would arrive as the neon tubing was about to be lit, that Patricia Lecy-Davis would convince the police to slow their walk toward Turner to a crawl so that the Tacoma daredevil could skip his pre-jump ritual and jump his bicycle through the tubing before the event was shut down.

And that's exactly what happened. The crowd cheered Turner on as he skipped the pre-jump theatrics (fortunately not skipping the steps where he lights the sparklers on his helmet and bike) and went right for the gusto before the police cleared the alley.

It was spectacular, to say the least.

Check out the few photos we snapped of the event in our Photo Hot Spot.