SATURDAY, JAN. 22, 2011 >>>

1. Led Zeppelin is arguably the greatest rock band of all time, a powerhouse quartet who exploded in an ecstasy symbolized by fog-machine smoke, epic guitar distortion, and the tightest pants in rock and roll. The Tacoma-based Kasmir comes damn close to reenacting the swagger and strut of forebears Page-Plant-Jones-Bonham. The band hammers is down at 9 p.m. inside The Kamel Toe between Parkland and Spanaway. We hear they're opening with "The Rover," "Rock ‘N Rock," Immigrant Song," and "The Ocean."

2. You, with your ignorance of classical music and vast knowledge of every note and lyric in the White Zombie catalog, are not cutting it at high society dinner parties. People are talking. Do you want your kids to grow up with the same issue? Say no. The Tacoma Philharmonic will host another Koncerts 4 Kids at 10 and 11:30 a.m. at the Theatre on the Square. The series exposes classical music to children to help them develop academic, intellectual and life skills - traits that don't fully develop in folks who have "Electric Head, Pt. 1 (The Agony)" as a ringtone.

3. The Silk Strings will jam on koto and other Japanese instruments at 3 p.m. inside the Tacoma Art Museum. The $5-$15 ticket also includes a docent-led tour of the cool Edo to Tacoma print exhibition prior to concert.

4. It was 20 years before Frank Wedekind's 1890 play Spring Awakening: A Children's Tragedy could be performed in its native Germany. At first only legendary director Max Reinhardt had enough juice to produce it. The play was considered so pornographic that only a single performance was allowed for a limited audience in New York City, and it was still being censored in England well into the 1960s. It's the story of a teenage boy and girl who have sex, and the bittersweet repercussions of their passionate tryst in a hayloft. It's playing at 3 and 8 p.m. inside the Pantages Theater. Bone up on it here.

5. Jazz band Aqua Velva - Kevin England on trumpet, Bill Barnett on piano, Mike Slivka on drums and Tom Brooks on bass - will be the band of choice during Pastiche Wine Bar's grand opening party, which runs 5:30-11:30 p.m. They have a dance floor people - and no cover.

LINK: More arts and entertainment events in the South Sound

LINK: Wine tastings!

FRIDAY, JAN. 21, 2011 >>>

1. Third Friday of the month means it's Beat Boxxx night featuring the best '80s New Wave, funk, hip-hop, freestyle and early house tunes - and righteous videos, too. This Friday, DJs Chris Savenetti and dAb will man the decks beginning at 9:30 p.m. inside the Tempest Lounge.

2. Katy Evans and Athena Hitson present Peanut Butter Space Jam - a group art exhibition featuring portraits rendered in oils, ink, acrylic and enamel on glass, and linocut print by Robert Evans, Chuck Knigge, and Audra Laymon - held at the new arts venue the Space (729 Court C, Tacoma ) from 5-11 p.m.

3. The Varsity Grill in downtown Tacoma will host their biggest beer event of the year - their annual outdoor Ice Block Party - from 5:30-8:30 p.m. Meet the brewers and/or beer experts of winter brews, taste at least nine winter beers, eat, listen to music and wine prizes.

4. Fiddle us this: What's the difference between a fiddle and a violin? A violin has strings and a fiddle has strangs.  So there ya go - can't remember who first said it, but it's an entire musical genre, an entire manner of thinking, an entire way of life all neatly summed up in one little word.  Don't believe it? Check out the 6:30 p.m. Olympia Community Bluegrass Music show at Olympia's First Christian Church and find out just how much of a difference one little letter (re: musical attitude) makes. It's a community fundraiser for The Thurston County Food Bank.

5. Tacoma Little Theatre's production of Frost/Nixon is suitably sparse. As with the interviews themselves, the centerpiece throughout the bulk of the show is simply a pair of chairs set up for a television interview. In lieu of a backdrop there is a series of screens that project, in turns, actual news clips and a live feed of the interview conducted on stage. The production hits the stage at 7:30 p.m. Read our review of the show here.

LINK: More arts and entertainment events in the South Sound

LINK: New movies open today

LINK: Concert go on sale today

TODAY IN ONLINE TALK >>>

Today's comment comes from Amanda in regard to Joe Izenman's recent review of Frost/Nixon, currently playing at Tacoma Little Theatre.

Amanda writes,

Interesting review. I will admit to being a little biased for knowing someone in the show, however I thought a majority of the performances quite strong. I learned quite a bit about that episode in history(and also enjoyed the informative display in the lobby), and came away with a very different view of Nixon.

Yes, the light on the screen is distracting, but it doesn't make it impossible to enjoy the production. I commend TLT for their creativity and highly recommend this show. Great job, guys!

A CRITIC ON THE BOARDS >>>

For thousands of nights, since I was seven years old, this has been my milieu.

Above is the view from the wings of a typical Frost/Nixon rehearsal at Tacoma Little Theatre. Notice I'm not sitting in the house waiting to critique the show; I'm a member of the cast. It's my first time working with TLT, but I couldn't tell you how many troupes there have been over the years, and the view almost always looks like this. It's always hurry up and wait. Actors are juiced on coffee and bravado; techies are slurry from lack of sleep. There's the usual backstage rumor mill, inevitably more inflammatory and entertaining than the truth. There are sweet, pretty girls and pop-nerdy boys. There's the murmur of lines being run while flirtations are attempted and sometimes achieved. And as the days tick off the calendar in the run-up to opening night, the cast and crew can tell from the exhaustion level of the director whether it's a good show or not. If the director can barely stand, it means every nuance has been addressed and the show has a chance of success. If he or she seems rested and cocky, say your prayers to Dionysus, 'cause the wings are on fire and we're going down fast.

Our director, by the way, is clearly running on fumes.

As I write this, we're hours away from our final dress rehearsal, which will also be a free preview performance. There'll be guests in the house, probably several. My girlfriend is coming. So is her family. Effectively speaking, the show starts tonight.
After our director's notes last night, I snapped a picture of the stage.

Doesn't look like much, does it? And it won't, till those pesky screens light up and that bare platform is swarmed by moving bodies. I'm in no way concerned about our Frost (James A. Gilletti) or our Nixon (Steve Tarry). I'm not even worried about me, frankly. I'm worried about you. Will you come? Will the show make money? I know TLT could use it. Will fellow Volcano critic Joe Izenman like it? You'll know the moment I do, when his review goes online next Wednesday or Thursday.

It's a hassle. Acting can eat your life if you let it, and it obviously gets in the way of my critiquing schedule, which costs me money and costs other companies reviews. But I love it. I can't give this up, no matter how much I try. It's in my DNA, right next to the cytosine and thymine. As I look at that bare stage, I wonder: What'll I do to help fill the next one?

BRING ON THE WEEKEND >>>

You're not going to believe this! It's crazy! So, like, you're reading The Prefunk, right - a weekly primer for the weekend designed for you and your liver - but I'm not even in the office today. NOT EVEN CLOSE! (Well, kind of close, but I meant mentally.) I took the day off. I'm at home resting and recuperating. But you're still reading this! It's like magic, only it's not really that close to magic. It's, like, technology, or something. Basically, I wrote this on Thursday and it didn't post until Friday. It's fucking crazy. What kind of magic is that?

The bottom line: Even in vacation, I can't forget my Prefunk obligation to you.

Because I care.

So here we go ...

Frost/Nixon at the Tacoma Little Theatre

7:30 p.m. Friday-Saturday, 2 p.m. Sunday

Look, not to toot my own horn or anything, but I hire freakin' talented people. Not only can Christian Carvajal write (his trip back to high school and his atheism story are personal favorites), but the man can also crush small beings with only a hunched stare of disapproval. There are chunks of hopeful but ultimately untalented theater types in his stool. It's vicious, and at times unsettling - but you can't deny the man's talents. Even more impressive, despite his skills, Carvajal actually takes zero satisfaction in panning a play - the duty pains him, but he soldiers on. I hear he can also cook.

But, most importantly to this Prefunk, he can act.

Carvajal is currently cast as Bob Zelnick in Tacoma Little Theatre's Frost/Nixon. And, no asshole, that's not the Kevin Bacon role. It's the fucking Oliver Platt role. Who? Oliver Platt! You've never fucking heard of Oliver Platt? Jesus. Never mind ...

Frost/Nixon opened Thursday, Jan. 13 at Tacoma Little Theatre, and by this weekend any kinks should be sufficiently worked out. It's a play worth seeing, and Carvajal has invited all of Tacoma to dissect his work.

PREFUNK: In preparation for your trip to Tacoma Little Theatre for Frost/Nixon, I suggest beefing up on your appreciation for our 37^th President.

Start here ...

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

THURSDAY, JAN. 13>>>

1. You love grand openings! That's why you're so stoked about the 4 p.m. grand opening of the Milton/Edgewood Pierce Library this afternoon. Opening in the Surprise Lake Square (900 Meridian Ave. E, Suite 29), the event is billed as your first chance to get a library card, check out a book or check your MySpace at the brand-spanking new library. (Technically, we made the bit about MySpace up ...)

2. Greylag AND Liz Janes play tonight at Northern in Olympia. We've covered both acts, and for good reason.

3. Tin Man (or Tinman - we've seen it both ways) will play the Mandolin Café in Tacoma this evening.  An acoustic based singer songwriter, Tin Man started out as a singer in punk bands and over time has evolved into an act fit for the warm, coffee-smelling environment of the Mandolin.

4. The Garfield Book Company Scandinavian Book Club meets at 6:30 p.m. on the second Thursday of every month. Hey! That's today!

5. Sea Marks opens at Olympia Little Theatre today (and runs Thursday - Sunday through Jan. 30). Described as the "humorous, poignant and romantic story of Colin Primrose, a lonely fisherman form the sea bound island of Cliffhorn Heads, Ireland, and Timothea, a lovely young woman from Liverpool, who meets him on a rare visit to the remote island for a relative's wedding," Sea Marks is one of many worthy productions hitting stages this week.

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!

SATURDAY, JAN. 8, 2011 >>>

1. Every second Saturday, from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m., the Freighthouse Square hosts a bazaar loaded with wares from local businesses and artists. You could possibly find Buddhas, wool handbags, vintage T-shirts, Taco Bell's International Collection CD, 64 small stainless-steel baking pans, Brady Bunch lunchboxes, The Golden Fleece, faded Life magazines, reproductions of Canadian postage stamps, 8-by-10 photos of Fred Gwynne and an unexpected trove of things for children inside the Freighthouse.

2. Jared Abwawo is both a math teacher and an artist - a photographer, to be exact. There's a certain precision in his art that would suggest as much. An exhibition of Abwawo's photography will open with a reception from 1-3 p.m. at the Tacoma Community College Gig Harbor campus. "The creative essence of the image has no language but its own. It is a communication from one human being to others," Abwawo says in pre-show hype. See what he's talking about this afternoon.

3. Bingo is the ideal place for both loners and people who want to be in a crowd. And for those who are a strange combination of the two. There are big family groups and lots of men and women alone, some who sit as far away as possible from everyone else and kept their jackets on the entire evening. Join these people for many games from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. and 6:30-9:30 p.m. inside the AMVETS Post 1 in Tacoma.

4. Olympia will score two chances to catch the National Tour of the Wizard of Oz at the Washington Center for the Performing Arts, hitting the Yellow Brick Road at 2 and 7:30 p.m. "Breathtaking special effects" are promised, as are "the classic Wizard of Oz songs and the beloved characters Dorothy, Toto, the Cowardly Lion, the Tin Man and the Scarecrow ..." That pretty much covers the bases.

5. The Jazz in the Cellar series gets off to a grand start in 2011 when guitarist Vince Brown is joined by internationally acclaimed gypsy jazz guitarist Neil Andersson at 9 p.m. in Swing Wine Bar's cellar.

LINK: More arts and entertainment events in the South Sound

LINK: Wine tatsings!

FRIDAY, JAN. 7, 2011 >>>

1. In Olympia, the King's birthday has become synonymous with one man: Robert Washington - one of the world's top Elvis impersonators (see the film Almost Elvis) ... and a guy who just happens to be black. To some this is controversial. To Washington, it's simply his calling. "I don't really think about it. I'm not going to let my color prevent me from being the best," Washington told the Weekly Volcano in 2004. At 7:30 p.m. Washington will be back in Oly for the Elvis Birthday Bash at the Capitol Theater.

2. The Puyallup Home, Remodeling and Garden Show will assist homeowners in all stages of remodeling, landscaping and decorating their homes, with hundreds of exhibits, and product demonstrations, plus new products and expert advice from the pros from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Crowds will flow through gardens and around hottubs, yearn for kitsch, and fall prey to every kind of huckster. You know who you are.

3. Tacoma Little Theatre hosts To the Sea, two new short plays performed by an ensemble from Western Washington University at 7:30 p.m. Dr. Rich Brown directs the one-hour program, which includes a short play by Dan Erickson (Convention seen at TLT's 2009 festival of new works) and former TLT playwright-in-residence, Bryan Willis.

4. The Tacoma Comedy Club is off and running with a full head of steam, drawing national touring comics to the Gritty City on an almost weekly basis. Hell, the club even booked Skippy from Family Ties. This week, Clinton Jackson will be holed up, doling out the laughs to anyone interested. 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. Check him out tonight at 8 and 10 p.m.

5. Things traditionally slow down for shows in the South Sound around this time of year, but don't worry, there are still some great places to dunk yer whiskers into some suds without any fear of encountering pesky MySpace kids and a DJ trying to sneak in a Smiths tune on ya. At 8 p.m., Olympia's home of absinthe - the Cryptatropa Bar - hosts DJs spinning metal. Satan, laughing, spreads his wings, oh Lord, yeah!

LINK: More arts and entertainment events in the South Sound

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