FRIDAY, JULY 16, 2010 >>>

1. Olympia plays a major roll in the story of the Riot Grrrl movement - a story brought to life and further light by the documentary Don't Need You: The Herstory of Riot Grrrl, which will be specially screened at 9:30 p.m. at the Capitol Theater. The event is a benefit for Natalie Cox, a longtime member of the Olympia music scene currently battling a rare, aggressive form of cancer.  All proceeds from Friday's showing will go to help pay Cox's medical costs.

2. Experience Tacoma's history as it comes to life featuring nine re-enactors from Fort Nisqually Living History Museum portraying people who played integral parts in the history of Tacoma's parks as they share their life stories from their gravesites at the Tacoma Cemetery from 6-7:40 p.m.

3. Tacoma Little Theatre presents Annie Jr., a version of Annie that has been adapted for the younger performers in the Summer Youth Theatre beginning at 7:30 p.m. The program tells the story of a spunky Depression-era orphan determined to find her parents after being abandoned on the doorstep of a New York City orphanage.

4. With the recent news that Northwest Harvest has a food shortage, the folks behind "Metal Effing Fridays" at Uncle Sam's Bar and Grill ask you to bring two cans of food before you head bang to Acropolis, Surgical Chaos, Mechanism and A Sic End at 8 p.m.

5. With the weather finally shaping up in the Pacific Northwest, there's no better time for Weed Diamond's balmy, golden-hued beach pop. The Denver band performs with Tan Dollar and Dash Jacket at 10 p.m. inside Le Voyeur in Olympia.

LINK: New movies open today

SUNDAY, JULY 11, 2010 >>>

1. The Sixth Avenue bonanza known as the Art on the Ave festival returns to Tacoma from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m., bringing all the corn on a stick, face painting and Solar Richard sightings that come with it. Yes, Sixth Avenue traffic will have to find an alternate route Sunday afternoon as the good times will be rolling all day. Of special note are the outdoor music stages at Jazzbones, O'Malley's Irish Pub and SAX, which will host Ben Union, Ten Miles of Bad Road, Mighty High, Ryan Purcell and The Last Round and the always-entertaining Vicci Martinez, among other notables. Also, look out for the Save our Sonics guy.

2. Properly speaking, Harlequin Productions' Sixties Kicks isn't musical theater, it's a concert. Five talented young people backed by a killer five-piece rock band sing 37 hits of the 1960s hitting the stag eat 2 p.m. Read the full review here.

3. Uncle Sam's American Bar & Grill in Spanaway hosts the Blues Fest 2010 Cancer Benefit beginning at 2 p.m. with Menace, Careless Hunters, Cory Wilds, Jerry Miller, Shelly Ely, Sour Owl, SweetKiss Momma, and an All-Star Jam with proceeds benefiting The American Cancer Society.

4. Meet Museum of Glass Visiting Artists Marvin Oliver and Richard Royal to learn more about their art and careers during a conversation and slide presentation from 2-3 p.m.

5. The Tacoma Cult Film Club gathers at 7 p.m. inside the Acme Grub Cage to watch films centered on the theme, "Just Say No."

LINK: More arts and entertainment events in the South Sound

THURSDAY, JULY 8, 2010 >>>

1. Canadian wonder-MC Moka Only (aka Ron Contour) has been doing his thing as a rhyme-sayer and microphone master for more than a decade strong. He's bring his Fake Four Tour with Night Fox, Ceschi Ramos, and Open Mic Eagle to The Royal Lounge in Olympia beginning at 9 p.m. Our Non-Stop Hip-Hop column has the details.

2. Now showing at Childhood's End Gallery in Olympia are paintings by Chuck Gumpert and Alfred Currier, plus a group of the very popular half-man, half-bird ceramic sculptures by the husband-and-wife team of John and Robin Gumaelius. The Olympia gallery is open today from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.

3. Tacoma Is For Lovers presents Craft Night at 6:30 p.m. inside King's Books. Mirka Hokkanen will teach plastic plate lithography for an hour and a half then everyone can goes nuts with their new knowledge. Call 253.272.8801 and beg sweet pea to let you register. If he's wearing his Trampires' mascot outfit, you have no chance.

4. Theater Artists Olympia's production of Othello is an able retelling of one of Shakespeare's most plot-driven tragedies with a skilled cast in the hands of a smart director.  It boasts technical polish worthy of a much larger, wealthier troupe. It's a nearly flawless production for people who are tired of Shakespeare's Othello.  It hits the stage inside Olympia Little Theatre at 8 p.m. Read the full review here.

5. The No Bullshit Battle Of The Bands series kicks at Hell's Kitchen tonight at 9 p.m.

LINK: More arts and entertainment events in the South Sound

FRIDAY, JULY 2, 2010 >>>

1. Burn Idols out of Long Beach join White Wards, Malice, and The Kingsford Run for an all-ages 7 p.m. show at The Viaduct.

2. Marisha Auerbach of Wild Thyme Farm and Herb'n Wisdom will discuss the benefits and activist nature of seed saving (quite literally, saving seeds from your garden to ensure genetic diversity in the food we eat) at 7 p.m. inside King's Books. Stop laughing. It's important. Considering the corporatization of our food supply and the fact that the genetic diversity of our fruits and vegetables is being crushed by capitalism and mass production, this is a talk to take note of.

3. Theater Artists Olympia (or TAO) is doing some of the most forward theater out there, from last year's Poona the Fuckdog, to their interpretation of Shakespeare's classic, Othello, which hits the Olympia Little Theatre stage at 8 p.m. Set in 1968 in crime-riddled New York - in the midst of the Civil Rights Movement - TAO's Othello is described as a tragedy that "takes us on a journey where we can confront our greatest hopes and fears." Basically, TAO's Othello sounds destined to brilliantly play off the original, only with a lot more guns.

4. The Tacoma Speak Your Soul Open Mic - open to all styles of poetry, especially poems intended to build a better world - begins at 8 p.m. inside The Den @ urbanXchange.

5. Hell's Kitchen hosts Tool tribute band 46 & 2 and Lurid at 9 p.m. There will be a raffle for a pair of tickets to the July 10 sold out Tool show at KeyArena.

LINK: Concerts will go on sale this morning

LINK: New movies open today

THURSDAY, JULY 1, 2010 >>>

1. The silent flick Peter Pan will screen tonight at 7 p.m. inside the Tacoma Library Main Branch. Harpist Leslie McMichael's will score the magic.

2. Tacoma Drinking Liberally will discuss recent political events and tip back a few brews at 7 p.m. inside The Hub.

3. Theater Artists Olympia will stage their interpretation of Shakespeare's classic, Othello, at 8 p.m. inside the Olympia Little Theater.

4. Chalet Bowl in Tacoma is throwing a luau with beer and food specials, prizes and contests at 9 p.m. to kick off their Flip-Flop Thursdays summer special.

5. The Go Hard Or Go Home MC Battle hosted by SP featuring DJ Travisty kicks off at 11 p.m. inside The Royal Lounge in Olympia.

LINK: More arts and entertainment events in the South Sound

FRIDAY, JUNE 25 2010 >>>

1. The tall ships Lady Washington and Hawaiian Chieftain welcome visitors for walk-on tours and three-hour public sails featuring cannon fire and hands-on learning from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. at Percival Landing in Olympia.

2. Until The Fat Lady Sings 2 drag benefit show for the AIDS Housing Association of Tacoma starts with a 6:30 p.m. VIP reception followed by the 8 p.m. show inside the Blue Mouse Theatre. This show will feature some of the best impersonators from the Northwest including Ms. Gay Vancouver, Diva Deveraux, Taylor Courtour, and Victoria Eyslie.

3. The Mark Olympia hosts an art reception for Olympia artist Nikki McClure, featuring acoustic sounds by Tony Alva and Big Nick of Los Riddimitos with sets in between by DJs Sweet Elite and Chet Cobra at 8 p.m.

4. "Miracle on 48th Street" show is actually guitarist Steve Stefanowicz performing at 8 p.m. inside the 48th Street Pub.

5. The Tempest Lounge hosts Vinonly - A Night of Wax featuring '90s house/electronic music played strictly on vinyl records at 9:30 p.m.

LINK: New movies open today

LINK: Concerts go on sale today

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

WEATHER REPORT

Friday: Partly cloudy, Hi 67, lo 52
Saturday: Partly cloudy, Hi 72, lo 52
Sunday: Party cloudy, hi 70, lo 52

TRAFFIC ALERT: Eastbound SR 16 ramp to northbound I-5 closes from 11 p.m. to 5 a.m. Friday, June 25. Construction closes three lanes on I-5 in both directions between Gravelly Lake Drive and 48th Street in Tacoma 7 p.m. Friday to 7 a.m. Saturday. Southbound I-5 between Mounts Road and Martin Way will see lane closures Friday and Saturday nights.

>>> FRIDAY, JUNE 25: UNTIL THE FAT LADY SINGS! 2

Drag queens tend to be a nasty lot. Bobble Tiki doesn't know if their universal bitterness stems from the pain of squeezing size 11 feet into size 9 pumps or from the irritation of persistent waxing and tweezing. That scenario will not be the case Friday night when drag divas - men dolled up as women - sashay across the Blue Mouse Theatre stage as part of Until the Fat Lady Sings! 2. Last year the drag queens brought the Mouse down with their dancing, vamping and lip-synching. You don't want to miss this one. This impersonators show benefits the AIDS Housing Association of Tacoma. - Bobble Tiki

• [Blue Mouse Theatre, 8-11 p.m., $10-$20, 2611 N. Proctor, Tacoma, 253.752.9500]

>>> SATURDAY, JUNE 26: DOCKYARD DERBY DAMES CHAMPIONSHIP

The blockers have the bruises to prove it. The pivots feel the extra pressure. Saturday, returning to the Foss Waterway Seaport, Tacoma's roller derby phenomenon, the Dockyard Derby Dames, will hold their 2010 championship bout. Fans will clamor for blood (or just beer) when the Marauding Mollys and the Hellbound Homewreckers throwdown for a major grudge match, and things will get cranked up even more when the two-time champion Trampires battle the reigning champions, Femme Fianna, for total T-Town roller derby supremacy. Mark your calendars. It's going to be awesome. - Matt Driscoll

• [Foss Waterway Seaport, 6 p.m., $12 advance, $15 door, 705 Dock St., Tacoma, 253.678.1866]

>>> SUNDAY, JUNE 27: URBAN ART FESTIVAL 

The outdoor Urban Art Festival will feature live art demonstrations from painter and screen-printing wiz Kenji Fulmer, who has been seen recently teaching screen-printing classes at Tacoma Art Place. Also, expect appearances from local favorites Mike Capp, Dustin Hillgrove, Jada-Moon on the henna, Ryan Loiselle, Jodi Barstad, Lithium Love, and photographer Tanya DeMots. And then there's the music. Hell of a line up this year, including main stage performers Voxxy Vallejo, Basemint, Blame it on the Girl, New Law, Hotels, Pioneers West and The Fucking Eagles. Rounding out main-stage offerings is a rare treat for Tacoma - reggae legend Clinton Fearon. – Paul Schrag

• [People's Park, noon to 9 p.m., free, Ninth and MLK Way, Tacoma]

>>> WHERE OUR STAFF IS GOING

MATT DRISCOLL Editor
I will be mowing my lawn (for real this time!), taking off my shirt at every (slight) opportunity, and checking out The Fucking Eagles et al. at the Urban Art Fest.

PAUL SCHRAG Senior Contributor
Friday, I'm heading to Oly to help Xperience celebrate the release his new album, William VIII, with XP himself, Macklemore, Grayskul, Candidt, etc. Heading to Seattle on Saturday to see some good people. Sunday ... I think I'm hanging out with Mary K and my sister. Naps.

NIKKI TALOTTA Feature Writer
If I didn't have to sling drinks all weekend, I'd be hanging with the kids and chickens by day, and roaming downtown Olympia - looking for shows and bros - by night.

CHRISTIAN CARVAJAL Theater Critic
TAO's baadasssss take on Othello has been pushed back a week, so instead I'm beginning my move to Olympia proper. By this time next month I should smell like patchouli, a Sara Jane's Firebird, and shake.

STEPH DEROSA Columnist
MI will be watching men getting all dirty and sweaty from doing manly things with huge pieces of wood. That's right, I'll be at the Buckley Log Show all weekend.

THE REV. ADAM MCKINNEY Feature Writer
I will continue to wear my dad's clothes while he's out of town (not weird). At some point, I will finish my pint of bottom-shelf whiskey and stumble out on the town, possibly ending up at karaoke.

KRIS BLONDIN Food/Wine Writer
Dustin and I are heading to Mardon Resort near the Pot Holes in Eastern Washington with Aura Mae and her Hubby. Gettin' some sun!

JOE IZENMAN Music/Theater Critic
I'll be heading out Friday night to catch the awesome and fun Shotgun Kitchen at Malarkey's pool hall. OK, that's kind of a lie. I am IN Shotgun Kitchen, and I'm just trying to trick you all into coming. Sunday it's off to that city in the North for Idaho singer-songwriter Josh Ritter.

JENNIFER JOHNSON: Lifestyle/Leisure Writer
Friday evening I'll hit the Belles at the Ball inside Sanford & Son. Saturday morning features an ass-kicking workout at LA Fitness followed by lunch at The Taste of Tacoma. Sunday afternoon I'm attending Bria McCoy's wedding and Urban Art Fest followed by Hilltop Trot at Fulcrum.

LINK: More arts and entertainment events in the South Sound

SATURDAY, JUNE 19, 2010 >>>

1. In February of 2006, Isaac Olsen got together with Kurt Kendall and Dale Phillips of Girl Trouble at a deserted farmhouse in Orting. They had broken into the house for their first day of shooting; the house needed to come first and the shoot needed to be quick, because there was no way of knowing how long the house would be around. This was the beginning of the Tacoma film noir Quiet Shoes. Over the next several years, working around the performing schedule of Girl Trouble, Isaac Olsen's year-long absence from Tacoma and budgetary concerns, the film would eventually take shape ... and screen tonight at 7 p.m. inside the Rialto Theater in downtown Tacoma.

2. The Tacoma Public Library kicks off its 2010 Summer Reading Club with a Summer Reading Club Block Party with performances by The Toucan Steel Drum Band and an appearance by The Bubbleman from 1-4 p.m. outside the downtown Tacoma Main Library.

3. Eight Dockyard Derby Dames, two members of local cartoonist group C.L.A.W., miniature superhero figurines sculptor Ben Misenar, comic improv troupe The Dead Gentlemen, Zombocalypse Now creator Matt Youngmark, creator of Zombocalypse Now and self-publisher Jack Cameron will cram into Comic Book Ink to meet, greet and sign autographs for their fans, each other's fans, and whoever else shows up, beginning at 2 p.m.

4. Local playwright Elliot Weiner's Brunch hits Tacoma Little Theatre's stage at 7 p.m. A comedy built on friendships and the challenges they create, Brunch is the latest theater gem to come to us via Weiner, who most recently directed TLT's The Star Spangled Girl, Greater Tuna and Tuna Christmas.

5. In The House with Nick Nicholas will lay down some rockin' blues boogie from 8-11 p.m. inside the North Shore Golf & Country Club with the net proceeds going to the Leukemia & Lymphona Society in Don Kornegay's name. 

LINK: More arts and entertainment events in the South Sound

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

WEATHER REPORT

Friday: Partly cloudy, hi 65, lo 49
Saturday: Chance of rain 40 percent, hi 65, lo 50
Sunday: Party cloudy, hi 63, lo 48

TRAFFIC ALERT: Utility work on northbound I-5 at Carpenter Road in Lacey from 7 p.m. to 5 a.m. Friday. Construction closes three lanes on I-5 in both directions between Gravelly Lake Drive and 48th Street in Tacoma 7 p.m. Friday to 7 a.m. Saturday.

>>> JUNE 17-19: GRIT CITY FEST

Grit City Fest is set to go off all over downtown Tacoma. A full on music and arts throwdown, in the vein of SXSW according to founders Quincy "Q-Dot" Henry and Suzanne Skaar, Grit City Fest kicks off at 6 p.m. Thursday at The Den with a music workshop featuring Ben London of the Recording Academy and Shelli Martineu of Conversify - followed by hip-hop performances by Digga Mac, Name The Uncanny and Strik & Krusal. Later Thursday, check events at Hell's Kitchen and The New Frontier. - Michael Swan

[Downtown Tacoma, $20 weekend pass, $40 VIP, $12 selected single events, gritcityfest.com]

>>> JUNE 18-20: BRUNCH

Even before the Weekly Volcano's Joe Izenman can review the play for print next week, check out local playwright Elliot Weiner's Brunch, opening Friday at Tacoma Little Theatre. A comedy built on friendships and the challenges they create, Brunch is the latest theater gem to come to us via Weiner, who most recently directed TLT's The Star Spangled Girl, Greater Tuna and Tuna Christmas. - MS

[Tacoma Little Theatre, through June 27, 7 p.m. Thursday-Saturday, 2 p.m. Saturday-Sunday, $15, 210 North I Street, Tacoma, 253.272.2281]

>>> JUNE 19: QUIET SHOES WORLD PREMIERE

Directed by Issac Olsen, written by Olsen and Kurt Kendall, and starring Dale Phillips, the film Quiet Shoes centers around a private dick by the name of Savage - Rick Savage. When a suspicious-looking dame enters his life, the dick is thrown into a world of intrigue, cigarettes, shadows, tough guys with iron claws, upstart newsies and crooked cops. In a word: noir. In fashioning this world, Olsen brilliantly utilizes downtown and industrial Tacoma. Around every corner an alleyway looms, and on every horizon great plumes of smoke lurk. It's a thrill to see Tacoma finally used to all its gritty potential. - The Rev. Adam McKinney

[Rialto Theater, Saturday, June 19, 7 p.m., $12, 3105 Ninth St., Tacoma
253.591.5890]

>>> JUNE 20: GLITTER AND BE GAY

If we've already lost your mind to junior high level snickering, it's probably for the best. This event is too classy for you anyway. Sunday, in an extremely rare musical spectacle, the Seattle Men's Chorus and the Seattle Women's Chorus will join forces to offer what's sure to be a stunning tribute to composers Leonard Bernstein and Stephen Sondheim - yes... titled "Glitter and Be Gay." Expect music from Bernstein and Sondheim collaborations like West Side Story, along with plenty of other stage composition goodness. - MS

[Pantages Theater, Sunday, June 20, 3 p.m., $39-$52, 901 Broadway, Tacoma, 253.591.5894]

>>> WHERE OUR STAFF IS GOING

MATT DRISCOLL Editor
Will be giving into his neighbors' glares and finally mowing his godforsaken lawn, along with dropping in on the Grit City Festival and barbecuing with his loving (and far too understanding) family on Father's Day.

PAUL SCHRAG Senior Contributor
I'll be making music, working in the garden and heading to Jennifer Johnson's housewarming party Saturday. Sunday I'm going to collapse.

ALEC CLAYTON Arts Critic
This weekend I'll be seeing the premiere of an original play by Elliot Weiner at Tacoma Little Theatre (to review for that other paper, but you may not want to say that).

CHRISTIAN CARVAJAL Theater Critic

I'm seeing Sixties Kicks at Harlequin Productions, then hoping Toy Story 3 doesn't make me cry like Jessica Simpson at a spelling bee.

STEPH DEROSA Columnist
My liver will be recycling three drinks somewhere in Buckley, Bonney Lake or somewhere in eastern Pierce County this weekend.

JENNIFER JOHNSON Lifestyles/Leisure Writer
Hitting up Tacoma Boys Friday afternoon for fresh local produce for my Summer Solstice Soiree and house warming party. Sampling Sputnik Donuts at Satellite Coffee after running the White River 5K in Buckley Saturday morning. Then planting bushes from Proctor's Garden Sphere Landscaping in my garden. Before my little party, I'll get my eyebrows waxed at Salon Professionals on 38th Street for a sweet, low price.

KRIS BLONDIN Food/Wine Writer
I am going to the lake to celebrate the husband's birthday with friends, drinks, good food and hopefully some sun.

JOE IZENMAN Music/Theater Critic
Brunch, by local playwright Elliot Weiner. Local Heroes signing at Comic Book Ink. Rocking for KGRG at Jazzbones. The long-awaited return of Coffin Break to Hell's Kitchen. Playing Dungeons and Dragons. So much stuff, it doesn't even get complete sentences.

LINK: More arts and entertainment events in the South Sound

WEDNESDAY, JUNE 16, 2010 >>>

1. A night of exceptional theater and music will join forces tonight inside Tacoma Musical Playhouse to benefit the Tacoma Area Coalition for Individuals with Disabilities (TACID) and Pierce County Homeless Connect. First, Tacoma playwright extraordinaire Nick Stokes presents his one-act play The Sound We Make about three homeless locals discussing their dignity on a park bench in Tacoma's Fireman's Park. Afterward, The Total Experience Gospel Choir featuring Pastor Pat Wright will blow the roof off TMP with joyful gospel and blues music. It all begins at 7:30 p.m.

2. Glass artist Davide Salvadore's new works show, In Miniatura, runs from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. at the Traver Gallery in Tacoma.

3. The Kari Ehli Band, Voxxy Vallejo, and the Reaching perform at 8 p.m. inside Jazzbones.

4. The downtown Tacoma nightclub Surreal Ultra Lounge hosts "I Heart House (The Cabana Cronicles)" beginning at 9 p.m.

5. Kamel Toe Bar and Grill hosts another Wednesday night jam featuring members of Kashmir, Butafuko, Sub-Vinyl Jukebox, Soul Stripper, Wiskey Creek and others rocking at 9 p.m. while chicks work the stripper poles and swings. Seriously.

LINK: More arts and entertainment events in the South Sound