SUNDAY, MARCH 9 2014 >>>

1. If we were to return to the most direct definition of post-punk, Nervosas is likely the type of band that you would picture. A minimalist trio of guitar, bass and drums, Nervosas embody the sort of band that might rise out of punk's late '70s pop decimation. At their core, Nervosas play straightforward, no-fucking-around punk that's heavy on charging drums and breakneck guitars. But there's tentative experimentation at play, the way that those first post-punk bands were relearning what music can be, once all the bullshit was stripped away. Read Rev. Adam McKinney's full interview with Nervosas in the Music & Culture section, then catch the band with Overboard and Cult Evaders at 6 p.m. in Bob's Java Jive.

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For anyone who thought last year's Soldier Show packed a punch, its song-and-dance production this year is likely to yield a big round of applause at Joint Base Lewis-McChord. While the JBLM show date hasn't been released, we do know Pfc. Kiari Mhoon - Operation Rising Star finalist from JBLM - will join the 19 cast members to deliver the "Stand Strong" theme to garrisons starting April 11.

Here are more details from a U.S. Army Installation Management Command news release. ...

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FRIDAY, MARCH 7 2014 >>>

1. From Bach to Bird to Biggie, Black Violin executes a unique and often brilliant juxtaposition of urban and classical styles. The two-man violin/viola hip-hop outfit of Wil B and Kev Marcus mix classical music with hip-hop beats, and then toss in some rap and freestyle to keep it interesting. Yes, violins. Yes, hip-hop. With the addition of a hip-hop DJ, this talented trio fuses funk, hip-hop and classical music to create a sound and style that very nearly defies traditional genre categorization. Some might call it revolutionary. Check it out at 7:30 p.m. in the Pantages Theater.

2. Sure, Tacoma celebrates its status as an arts community.  Sure, Tacoma loves to band together for a good cause.  With the YWCA RAGS wearable Art Sale and Gallery, continuing for its 20th year, it does both. RAGS started as a fun way to raise money for the YWCA, whose mission statement is all about honoring diversity and creating opportunities for women’s growth, leadership, and power in order to attain a common vision: peace, justice, freedom, and dignity for all people. RAGS offers guests an opportunity to view and acquire fabulous handmade clothing, jewelry and accessories created by artisans from across the country. Check out RAGS from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. inside the Mercedes-Benz of Tacoma new showroom at 1701 Alexander Ave. East in Fife.

3. The Tacoma Community College Symphonic Band concert and trombone soloists Sara Mayo present a variety of contemporary wind band music, exploring ideas around tradition, conversation, spirits and dance at 7:30 p.m. in TCC Building 2 Auditorium, which is close to South 12th and Mildred.

4. The genial satire of contemporary feminism Angry Housewives ran for ages in Seattle centering on Jetti, Bev, Wendi and Carol — good friends, but angry over the lack of respect from their men. So, they form a punk rock band, Angry Housewives, and take their local club scene by storm gaining new self-respect and renewed respect from their men. The play opens at Paradise Theatre at 7:30 p.m.

5. Near as we can tell from what little music is available of Coma Figura, one might describe them as a sort of Foxygen or Titus Andronicus for the bedroom pop set. These are bands that mash together influences and jumble them up into something that surges past imitation and into a kind of fervent homage. Whereas Foxygen and Titus Andronicus reinterpret pastoral psych rock and boozy Springsteen-isms, respectively, Coma Figura take stabs at the idiosyncratic singer-songwriter. Catch the band with BA the Scribe, FLORIDA, Mad Youth at 9 p.m. in The New Frontier Lounge.

LINK: Friday, March 7 arts and entertainment events in the greater Tacoma and Olympia area

THURSDAY, MARCH 6 2014 >>>

1. Give Harlequin Productions an A for ambition in tackling Tennessee Williams' masterful Cat on a Hot Tin Roof. The 1955 Pulitzer Prize-winner is still a sizzler, with words one does not use in polite company even after decades of Williams' tweaks and revisions. This romp through the Seven Deadly Sins (avarice, lust, envy, greed, pride, sloth and gluttony, for those keeping score) hits the stage at 8 p.m.

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The time has finally come.

Maybe you filled out the Weekly Volcano's Best Of Olympia survey and maybe you didn't. But either way the Best Of Olympia edition is on the street today.

That's right, yo! It's like Christmas but better. It's like a trip to Disney World, only not lame.

Every year the Weekly Volcano produces Thurston County's, shall we say, best Best Of reference guide. Yes, Yelm, you're in there, too. Where's the best burger? The Weekly Volcano fills you in. Where is the best place to buy shoes? The Weekly Volcano tells you. Where's the best place to showcase your talent? The Weekly Volcano even tells you that.

Like we said, it's on the street today, tucked carefully inside the Weekly Volcano.

Oh, if your name is Annie Johns living in the 98502, you won our readers' poll contest. We'll be contacting you by email with your Red Lion Olympia prize package.

SUNDAY, FEB. 23 2014 >>>

1. Giuseppe Verdi's Messa da Requiem is one of the most dramatic and inspiring sacred pieces ever written, contrasting fiery climaxes with passages of heart-rending poignancy. Composed in 1874 as a memorial to the Italian poet and novelist, Allesandro Manzoni, the Requiem is one of the most moving works ever to flow from the heart of Verdi. At 2:30 p.m. in the Pantages Theater, the Tacoma Symphony Orchestra will open its concert of opera music with excerpts of the piece. That's a tough act to follow. Can baritone Kenneth Overton and the Tacoma Symphony Chorus move the audience along with lively and poignant selections from Aida, Il Trovatore, La Traviata and Carmen? Only Music Director Harvey Felder and crew know the answer. The "Major General Song" from Gilbert & Sullivan's Pirates of Penzance is on the set list, which means an "I am the very model of a modern Major-General" sing-along could bust out.

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If you've missed the fact that Cavalia's newest show Odysseo is in the region, you've been under a rock. Cavalia goes all out with billboards, TV commercials, radio ads and other media outlets. But then, nothing Cavalia does is small. The show is most certainly not small. The show is mind-bogglingly massive in just about every way.

Cavalia's Odysseo, like Cavalia before it, brings both horses and humans to the stage - 66 horses and 52 human performers to be exact. The huge cast is only complemented by the equally gigantic big top under which the show takes place. Said big top is a whopping 125 feet tall, the largest touring big top on the planet. The stage underneath it spans 4,570 feet and has 80 tons of electrical and show equipment suspended in the grid above stage, including a full carousel. From the moment guests arrive, the big top begins to dazzle and the dazzling doesn't stop for the rest of the night.

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FRIDAY, FEB. 21 2014 >>>

1. Do you love animals? How 'bout dark comedy? Do Sarah McLachlan ads for the ASPCA make you projectile weep? If you answered yes to any of these questions, then do we have the show for you. Elliot Weiner (pronounced "winer") is a playwright, actor, and director most recently seen in The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe at Lakewood Playhouse. Sadly for Tacoma, he's moving eastward next month. His going-away present to the South Sound is a one-act play called What About Grandma? that purports to reveal how far a grandmother might go (sink?) to protect the people she loves at 7:30 p.m. in Tacoma Little Theatre. The only admission cost is a donation to the Tacoma Humane Society's Cinderella Program for Spay and Neuter or the Northwest Spay and Neuter Center. Bob Barker will love you for it.

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GRAB A CUP AND READ THE MONRING REPORT FOR 2.20.14 >>>

Military can close bases without Congress's OK.

The Department of Homeland Security is warning airlines to be on the lookout for terrorists potentially targeting U.S. flights with shoe bombs.

The United States might have killed a dozen civilians in a wedding procession during a drone strike in Yemen last December, a human rights group claimed. 

Two American security officers have been found dead on a ship made famous when it was hijacked by Somali pirates.

After deadly clashes between protesters and police in Ukraine, the Pentagon urged the Ukrainian Armed Forces to "stay on the sidelines." 

Veterans with a 100 percent disability rating will get their Social Security claims processed faster, thanks to a change announced by the agency.

U.S. Army Europe and Installation Management Command-Europe announced force structure changes Thursday that will reduce the service's local national workforce by 579 positions. The changes also will result in a net increase of 44 U.S. civilian positions, while 89 military positions will be shed.

The U.S. Army is planning to buy new transport ships to replace dozens of its decades-old fleet of watercraft.

The Army ground force that rolled over Iraqi forces in 1991 and 2003 was actually designed and built in the similarly cash-strapped 1970s and 1980s.

General Dynamics has lined up the U.S. arm of Canadian simulation giant CAE to provide training solutions for its offering for the U.S. Air Force's next-generation trainer.

Let's read about soldiers training for the coveted Army Air Assault badge.

Air Force leaders announced a change to the officer reduction in force board, or RIF, originally scheduled to convene June 16 at the Air Force Personnel Center. 

Maj. Gen. Terry Ferrell, 7th Infantry Division commanding general, spoke to more than 150 Soldiers during a division newcomer's brief at The French Theater on Joint Base Lewis-McChord.

Beekeepers in Mexico are fearful that GMO crops are killing the honeybee.

Are we moving towards a post clown society, or have the clowns morphed into trolls?

A map that shows which states have the longest and shortest sex.

Fox looks to have assembled the team for its Fantastic Four reboot.

Preview some numbers from the Heathers musical.

Good news: Killer Karaoke returns to TV tonight.

WEDNESDAY, FEB. 19 2014 >>>

1. Flamenco dancer Savannah Fuentes presents El Sol de Medianoche, Flamenco en Vivo: a night of powerful Spanish flamenco music and dance featuring singer Curro Cueto of Seville and guitarist Jose Vega of Cadiz at 8 p.m. in The New Frontier Lounge. Let the mix of music and traditionally costumed dancing beauty transport you to Spain.

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