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

WEATHER REPORT

Friday: Showers, hi 51, lo 45

Saturday: Showers, hi 50, lo 45

Sunday: More mutha fuckin' rain, hi 50, lo 46

>>> FRIDAY, FEB. 4: GOLDFINCH

The Weekly Volcano loves it some Goldfinch - always have. Even though (as Joe Izenman reported on Spew) Goldfinch recently blossomed into a full-on band, the mere mention of the band still makes us instantly picture Aaron Stevens and Grace Sullivan, and -- more specifically -- think of the words of former Volcano scribe Mark Thomas Deming (god we miss that guy!):

"Aaron Stevens and Grace Sullivan are two of the most humble, sincere and kind musicians — hell, people — I’ve met. They’re siblings-in-law (Stevens is married to Sullivan’s sister), working folks, and parents — like me, and maybe like you, only nicer."

Friday, Goldfinch, Grand Hallway, Birds & Batteries and Kimo Muraki will perform an all-ages show at the Peabody Waldorf Gallery. It'll be awesome - without question.

• Peabody Waldorf Gallery, 8 p.m., $10, 745 Broadway, Tacoma
  

>>> SATURDAY, FEB. 5: PRE & POST OZZY PARTY

Naturally, we'll be rocking out with our cock out when Ozzy and Slash come to town Saturday to annihilate the T-Dome. But where will we be getting our drink on pre and post concert? Why, the New Frontier, of course. It's within stumbling distance of the show, plus -- when we tell people at the New Frontier that our facial hair is meant to be "ironic" they totally get us.

• The New Frontier, 301 E 25th St., Tacoma, 253.572.4020

>>> SATURDAY, FEB. 5: MT. TAHOMA HS REUNION PARTY

Dude, you thought that episode of Hoarders you watched was depressing? Try accidentally stumbling into the Mt. Tahoma High School "Oldies" Reunion Nite Saturday at Stonegate Pizza on South Tacoma Way. By the sounds of it (thanks, Facebook!) Mt. Tahoma alums from the ‘60s and ‘70s will show up in force to Stonegate, celebrating "life, being a T-Bird, good friends and making it this far." If you RSVP (again, thanks, Facebook!) you'll even get a nametag ... at least assuming you actually did attend Mt. Tahoma and aren't just some asshole island-themed souvenir that writes for the Volcano and thinks it would be really funny to get "Harry Nubs" on the guest list.

• Stonegate Pizza, 6 p.m., free, 5419 South Tacoma Way, Tacoma, 253.473.2255

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>>> WHERE OUR STAFF IS GOING

MATT DRISCOLL Editor and Self-made Hundredaire
My wife and I will be preparing for the imminent arrival of child number two, while I simultaneously keep my fingers crossed that said arrival doesn't interfere with the consumption of beer and queso dip during the Super Bowl.

NIKKI TALOTTA Features Writer
Working behind the bar Thurs, Fri and Sat. Also attending a passion party this weekend where I will probably pay too much for some edible undies and over-scented candles. But hey, there will be free snacks and lotion samples. And, of course, Super Bowl Sunday - where I don't care who wins, just as long as the scores match my husband's boxes for the office scoreboard gamble.

Joann Varnell Theater Critic
So apparently, I talk big. I SAY I'm going to shows but then stay home with the baby. SO. For reals: Friday I MIGHT make it to the Warehouse Presents show at The Peabody with Goldfinch and some other people. Saturday I WILL be out of the house before the baby's bedtime, have dinner with a friend and make it to the Drew Grow Benefit show at The Peabody Waldorf. And then I will try to sleep all day Sunday.

Brett Cihon Meat Market Correspondent/Features Writer
I'll be buying snacks, checking sports blogs and frantically calling my bookie. All in preparation for the big game. 

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CHRISTIAN CARVAJAL: Theater Critic
I caught Olympia Family Theatre's all-kid production of Alice in Wonderland on Thursday, and I have the last four performances of Frost/Nixon this weekend. Then I'll race home to see if my investment in the Packers was a sound one.

STEVE DUNKELBERGER Meat Market Photographer
Toddler basketball at the Pearl Street YMCA. St. Mary's Church and school auction. Netflix and geocaching.

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ALEC CLAYTON: Visual Arts Critic
 I'm going to see Olympia Family Theater's "Alice's Adventures in Wonderland" at the Washington Center to review it for that other paper.

JENNIFER JOHNSON Food and Lifestyles Writer
Tea at Beyond the Bridge Friday afternoon with Laura Malone; getting my dance on that night. Working out and doing yoga Saturday morning, volunteering and then art projects Saturday night. Sunday is church, my lovely day of rest.

LINK: More arts and entertainment events in the South Sound

DEBORAH STRATMAN VISITS OLY >>>

Humming yet? Northern and the Olympia Film Society are is hosting a screening of Deborah Stratman's 2009 documentary, O'er the Land, which is ostensibly about a whole host of big-picture issues - freedom, technology and manifest destiny. The screening is Tuesday, Feb. 8, kicking off at 8 p.m. at Northern.

But the centerpiece of the film is the fascinating journey of Col. William Rankin, who in 1959 was flying a fighter jet on the East Coast when his engine stalled, forcing him to eject from the plane at 47,000 feet during a thunderstorm. He was tossed around in the air for 45 minutes but finally landed - still able to walk to get help. Interesting whatever the metaphysical significance

Stratman will answer questions after the Tuesday screening and will also speak and show other films Wednesday at The Evergreen State College.

O'er the Land with Q&A by filmmaker Deborah Stratman

Tuesday, Feb. 8, 8 p.m., free
Northern, 321 Fourth Ave. E, Olympia

Lecture/screenings with Deborah Stratman

Wednesday, Feb. 9, 12:15-1:30 p.m., free
The Evergreen State College Lecture Hall 1,
2700 Evergreen Pkwy. N.W., Olympia
http://blogs.evergreen.edu/oshas/schedule-winter-2011/

EDITOR'S NOTE: The original version of this blog post credited the Olympia Film Society and Northern for the production of these events. The Olympia Film Society is actually not involved. We apologize for any confusion.

NOW PLAYING AT THE GRAND CINEMA >>>

The grand old Duke of York

His stammer was the worst,

But Dr. Logue, that charming rogue

Taught him to scream and curse!

Since its release, the buzz surrounding The Social Network seemed as ubiquitous as its namesake. But on Tuesday Jan. 25 the Academy announced its Oscar nominations, and suddenly all focus shifted to a little-seen British piece called The King's Speech. I thought, Finally! Another plodding episode of those wacky royals to hijack awards night! Speech nabbed 12 noms, a king's ransom that left TSN's 8 noms in its wake.

So why the change overnight? Maybe in hindsight, piling accolades onto a Facebook flick would look silly to our descendants, us going ladygaga for a fab web fad. Instead, bet on a safe prestige picture with the solemn years of history on its side. Yet despite their differences, both films have at their core a running theme: people lost and grappling with the onrush of global communications.

Is Speech worth all the talk? This weekend I managed to squeeze into a virtually sold-out show at The Grand Cinema. I won't rate the film against every category it received a nomination, but just a few of the biggies:

The Academy recognized Alexandre Desplat for his score, which honestly I can't even recall after just hearing it. The composers behind Inception and TSN deserve it more.

Awards for Art Direction usually end up with Brit flicks anyway. Speech designed several lovely sets, particularly in the office and home of Logue (Geoffrey Rush), the "doctor" who treats the stammering Duke.

The camera at times seemed more interested in the wall patterns than the characters, which brings me to the next category, Cinematography. Danny Cohen heightens much of the standard underdog plot with extreme angles, unconventional compositions and, for the ladies, plenty of Colin Firth mouth shots.

As far as Best Screenplay, I'll simply say this: Nothing in 2010 came anywhere near Inception. But Speech scribe David Seidler evokes both humor and pathos deftly.

The film's three leads each received noms. Helena Bonham Carter does serviceable, though hardly Oscar-worthy, work filling in the typical behind-every-great-man role of supportive wife. Rush, in contrast, has a good shot as the fun-to-watch sassy mentor. Same with Firth; somehow his incessant jaw clucking warmed my gut. And bonus points for triumphing over a universal terror: public speaking.

With many things going for it, does The King's Speech warrant a Best Picture win? Maybe more than anything it comes down to one's mood. Social Network remains my 2010 fave, but it oozes cynicism. Need some of that old-school movie charm? Speech left me feeling downright regal.

WHERE HAVE YOU GONE, CHARLES GRODIN? >>>

Even though he's left Tacoma for Utah, actor (bartender/former Shoboat owner/all around good guy) Joe Rosati still has a presence in T-Town, which is just one of the reasons the trailer for his newest film, A Perfect Life, caught our eye.

The trailer was sent to us by China Davis' Ben Fuller, whose music is also featured in the film.

Take a gander ...

ISAAC OLSEN'S APPETITE FOR FILM >>>

Sometimes a building's exterior, its face to the world, is almost as difficult to read as a person's face; both can conceal much of the activity buzzing behind the surface. While its neighbor, Chase Bank, devours the attention of most passersby, a piece of Spaceworks Tacoma emits a dull stare of blank window glass onto Pacific Avenue. But Isaac Olsen has, for the last six months, used this quiet eye amid a bustling downtown to make movie magic.

The 24-year-old self-taught moviemaker sees cinematic potential in places the rest of us tend to disregard. Like the characters from his first feature Quiet Shoes, which premiered at the Rialto last summer, Olsen's gaze returns to dark rooms and highways in his newest creation, I Hunger. Spaceworks gave him the, well, space to, um, work on the whimsical Fantasia-like effects he devised from scratch for an abstract quasi-horror film with heavy nods to German Expressionism.

Currently Olsen has his eye on the Tacoma Artists Initiative Program, a city-based funding opportunity for artistic residents, and will submit segments of his project for the Jan. 24 application deadline.

The birth pains of I Hunger commenced in late 2008, within the frigid forests of Flint, Michigan. Over two years and 2,000 miles later, Olsen's production company Schnelluloid hopes to release his work this summer - another visual feast for us all. For a peek at the I Hunger trailervisit www.schnelluloid.com.

AWARD SHOW EXCITEMENT >>>

The Golden Globes! GOLDEN GLOOOOOOOBES!!! WOO-HOO!

Wow. I didn't know I got so pumped from an awards show where, without fail, I take in maybe four-percent of the works nominated. But hey, with today's movie ticket prices, I find it way more economical just to see my fave A-Listers cram into the Beverly Hilton on TV.   

ON THE RED CARPET

Hi, Carson Daly! Still exchanging drab convo with celebs, huh? Good for you. Whoa, do I spy Christian Bale? Love the Jesus locks, bro! If Hollywood reboots Passion of the Christ, they'll know who to ring-a-ding.  

THE SHOW

Ricky Gervais, baby, I loved you a decade ago on that show where you played a funny prick, but do you have to play an unfunny prick as tonight's host? In between boos for his stale cracks/venomous barbs (Robert Downey went to rehab! yuck yuck) he kept nervously glancing at his watch. Can't imagine why. And STILL jiving Carell for The Office?

The night did have its more triumphant moments. Bale, abusing his body to suit each role, finally received deserved recognition for his chops in The Fighter. Other veterans like Steve Buscemi and Katey Sagal (best known as Al Bundy's better half in Married With Children) took home statues for HBO's Boardwalk Empire and FX's Sons of Anarchy, respectively. Inception and The Social Network rank among last year's best, but the latter trumped the former in the score, director, screenplay and Best Drama categories. And Downey gets my Best Presenter award for humorously propositioning all five Best Actress nominees. Take notes, Gervais - we Yanks love us a cheeky laugh.

POST-SHOW

What else is on?

Click.

SAVED BY THE PILLS >>>

Everything I learned in the '90s I gleaned from Eddie Vedder lyrics, some of the stuff my parents said, but mostly ... from a little show called Saved By the Bell. The show that made you laugh, showed you just how cool acid-wash jeans and a tucked in dress shirt could be, also imparted life-lessony wisdom. Sure, the gang spent a lot of time getting goofy at The Max, but they also confronted some major young adult issues. Here, the gang gets real. For realsy real.

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

WEATHER REPORT

Friday: Rain, hi 52, lo47

Saturday: More rain, hi 52, lo 47

Sunday: Even more rain, hi 51, lo 46

>>> FRIDAY, JAN. 14: JIM BASNIGHT

Jim Basnight - of the Moberlys fame - will be playing Friday at The Harmon Tap Room - the action starts at 8 p.m.  Every indie artist should be looking in their backyard and in the scrap heaps of major labels for bands like the Moberlys. The fact that Basnight is still playing a busy year round touring schedule after 35-plus years shows us that he believes in his musical vision and loves what he is does.

• The Harmon Tap Room, 8 p.m., 204 St. Helens Ave., Tacoma, 253.212.2725

>>> SATURDAY, JAN. 15: OLD SCHOOL DROPOUTS

The Old School Dropouts play "party rock," or at least that's the claim. Judging by the shows this band plays and the hot nights of drinking and rocking they seem to inspire, our guess is it's an accurate one. Saturday, the Dropouts will be in Graham at the R & R Live for a serious night of revelry.

• R & R Live, 9 p.m., 9807 224th St. E, Suite 120, Graham, 253.375.7155 

>>> SUNDAY, JAN. 16: FROST/NIXON

As you know if you've seen the erstwhile Opie's 2008 movie version, Frost/Nixon is Peter Morgan's dramatic distillation of David Frost's historic 1977 TV interviews with Tricky Dick, in which our 37th president finally admitted to being a nefarious crapsack. As good as Michael Sheen and the Oscar-nominated Skeletor (aka Frank Langella) were in that film, this is one confrontation that deserves to be seen live and in the moment - and so it shall, at Tacoma Little Theatre, opening Jan. 14, and certainly hitting full-stride by Sunday.

• Tacoma Little Theatre, 2 p.m., $15-$24, 210 North I St., Tacoma, 253.272.2281
  

>>> WHERE OUR STAFF IS GOING

STEVE DUNKELBERGER Meat Market Photographer

Dinner with friends and Colin's b-day at PSP, or Kamel Toe for the Ravens Rants video shoot.

RON SWARNER Publisher
Friday, I'm going to catch the great Jim Basnight of The Moberlys fame at the Harmon Tap Room. Saturday night I'll pop over to the Peabody Waldorf to catch the righteous band A Leaf. Love those guys. Sunday morning I'll probably head back to the Harmon Tap Room for the game, on account of them taking half off tabs every Sunday. Can't beat that.

NIKKI TALOTTA Features Writer
This weekend I will be working my magic down at the bar, handing out Best of Olympia 2011! Vote Now! handbills with every drink. I will also be enjoying free movie channels that my husband so craftily earned from Direct TV. Those suckers were going to try and charge us an extra $3 per month. But, now, thanks to my husband, we will be paying $2 less per month and kicking back with some Showtime. I knew I married him for a reason.

JOE IZENMAN Music/Theater Critic
First up: preview night of Frost/Nixon at Tacoma Little Theatre (review inevitable in next week's issue, because I know everyone's been missing my writing skillz). Then venturing to the far-off mythical Northern land of "Anacortes" for birthday shenanigans (not mine) and wedding planning excursions (mine). I'll check back into the (relatively) South Sound on Sunday, with a show rocking the keyboard of Deborah Page at the long-lived J&M Cafe.

BRETT CIHON Meat Market Correspondent/Features Writer
Friday night I'm checking out South Pacific in Tumwater. The cover band Stir Crazy will be rockin' the joint. Then for the rest of the weekend: playoffs, playoffs, playoffs.

REV. ADAM MCKI: Lifestyle/Leisure Writer
Friday, I'll be at the Makeup Monsters show at The New Frontier. It's their last one for a while, so it's bound to be packed. The next day, I'll be meeting up with Apache Chief at their dad's house to talk about their forthcoming album, and apparently listen to it on cassette. Come to think of it, Matt Driscoll had a similar experience a while ago... This is where we'd flashback if flashback existed.

JOANN VARNELL Theater Critic
Another weekend of being mom awaits. Friday night I'll probably watch the Netflix movie that's been on my coffee table for the last two weeks. Saturday I will learn the songs to play on Sunday. Sunday is for church, football and a long nap. Yawn

CHRISTIAN CARVAJAL: Theater Critic
Beginning with a free preview the very night this week's Volcano hits the streets, I'll be playing Bob Zelnick in Tacoma Little Theatre's production of Frost/Nixon. Hey, Tacomans, it's your first chance to come see locally whether I know what I'm talking about when I write about your work.

MATT DRISCOLL  Editor (the guy to blame)
Self loathing. Dr Pepper. Queso-dip. Toddler tantrums. More self loathing. The Hawks game. The rest of the playoff games that actually matter. Even more self loathing. And maybe I'll order a pizza from the Cloverleaf...

ALEC CLAYTON: Visual Arts Critic
 It's going to be a weekend for plays. Frost/Nixon at Tacoma Little Theatre and Ring Around the Moon at Lakewood Playhouse.

LINK: More arts and entertainment events in the South Sound

A TRUE FAMILY PLOT >>>

The high from Hollywood's last-minute holiday batch of Oscar contenders and decades-old franchise rehashes has somewhat fizzled and been replaced by the January doldrums. (Season of the Witch, anyone?) But the lull hasn't stopped local filmmakers like Rick Walters from busily completing projects in time for the festival circuit.

Walters' short, entitled Scamp, barely made the Seattle International Film Festival's Jan. 3 deadline. Seattle composer Jeff Tolbert worked quickly on a score, as did sound designer Jon Goff of Adhesive Records. Walters and director of photography Chris Taylor (who together are Adventus Films) hand-delivered their work to the SIFF office right on the due date. Walters jokingly recalls the moment as "not very ceremonious ... we handed it in and kind of waited for something."

Unfortunately Walters and Taylor will have to wait until April to hear if their efforts make this year's running.

Scamp spins a seriocomic yarn about a father-son team living on Tacoma's streets who get by on their Artful Dodger-esque schemes. Shooting with a high-definition Canon EOS 7D, the crew captured several neighborhood landmarks, including Foss Waterway Bridge and the downtown UWT campus. Walters stars as the conniving patriarch, barely recognizable under a massive ghetto beard, while his real son, Race, plays opposite him, making this a true family adventure.

"This(film) was like an opportunity for us to do something together," says Walters. "It was a really cathartic experience."

While writing the script, Walters drew from memories of his time as a homeless teen in Portland twentysomething years ago. Now 35 and in the military, he enters the new year with a new work that both entertains and redefines what wealth, happiness and family all mean.

For updates and a look at the trailer, check out Scamp on Facebook or at the official Adventus Films website

SUNDAY, JAN. 9, 2011 >>>

1. Unless you're completely dead on the inside, there should still be a bit of childlike wonderment that comes from seeing someone do something remarkable. The Peking Acrobats from China - a skilled touring troupe of jugglers, gymnasts, cyclists and tumblers - have the ability to instill such wonderment - and have been doing so for more than 50 years. At 3 p.m., the Peking Acrobats will bring their "Silver Anniversary Tour" to the Pantages in Tacoma.

2. A reception for local printmaker Mirka Hokkanen's Animal Encounters show will be held at 12:15 p.m. inside the Mary Boze Gallery at the Tahoma Unitarian Universalist Church on South 56th Street.

3. The Second City Chamber Series presents "Flags of the World: France" at 4 p.m. inside the First Lutheran Church on I Street. Tenor James Brown and pianist Shelby Rhodes will be front and center in a program that features, duh, chamber music from France.

4. There's a reason the Tacoma Cult Movie Club speaks to you - it's because you're human, and you're not embarrassed to admit it. Goddamnit, you love beer, popcorn and long-lost movies about hot slutty chicks in prison! Furthermore, you love the Acme Grub Cage, because your friends think you're a badass for drinking there, and because deep down you know it's secretly one of the friendliest and most hospitable watering holes around. At 7 p.m., the Tacoma Cult Movie Club will meet for the first of their two monthly get-togethers - celebrating (or revisiting, as the case seems to be) "women ... in prison" (insert the behind-bars boob shot where the ellipses is). The evening will be called, "Back in the Slammer."

5. Clinton Jackson will work the Tacoma Comedy Club tonight, performing a "clean" show at 7 p.m. Sure, your kids might recognize Jackson from appearances on That's So Raven or iCarly, but we all know a good comic never turns down a little Nickelodeon money. You can't hold it against him.

LINK: More arts and entertainment events in the South Sound

LINK: Let's go to the movies!