News Front
For every action there is a reaction. Especially in this are when it comes to downsizing the active duty military. The action is sequestration, the forced federal budget cuts that reduce $500 billion from planned military spending by 2021. Congress adopted sequestration in 2011 to force a long-term budget agreement, but since then
Critics' Picks
[FUNK] + FRI, JAN. 23 Unh, get on up! Sometimes you just got to get funky. Did you know funk hails from the classical era? The word derives from fumigare, a Latin word that means "to release smoke." It refers to anything stinky or musty, and funk artists are still putting
Music
There are some bands that telegraph what they're all about before you even listen to their music. As a person who's professionally written about music for almost six years, it's become a sort of game to figure out what the band's all about before even hearing their stuff. By far,
Archives
The last few weeks have been rough for hello, cupcake owner Tina Miller. She just opened hello, cupcake in downtown Tacoma. Not only did she have to rush to get everything ready so the shop could open last Thursday, but then the doors opened. The flood came in. The shop had to
Features
In the summer of 2011, Tacoma witnessed genuine culinary overachieving when Jaime Kay Jones and Chef Kyle Wnuk opened Sixth Avenue establishment Marrow. Jaime and husband Jason already owned T-town staple Top of Tacoma Bar and Cafe and ventured forward with a more finessed approach at Marrow, which featured gourmet-styled
Archives
Tacoma-based theater company Studio 21 is currently making final preparations for its performance of Sebastian Barry’s “The Steward of Christendom” at Commencement Bay Coffee Company, opening today, Sept. 6. “The Steward of Christendom” is about a retired senior officer in the Dublin Metropolitan Police named Thomas Dunne. The story takes
Archives
Robb Manke’s addictions started with just one. He cashed in some baseball cards around 1993 and got his first taste. “It became addictive,” he recalls, “very addictive.” From there, though he took a break for a while, he felt the compulsion to collect more. Now his collection of original arcade-style video games
Music
Soul music has been a genre that's evolved steadily and uniquely, over time, with shining stars picking up the mantle of those who came before them, and then subsequently adding their own bit of unique energy to the form. Since blues, R&B and rock synthesized sometime in the '50s, there's
Stage
For Richard Baker the line between life and death is very thin, almost transparent. He served in Vietnam; he came home with PTSD; he tried suicide twice; then a Veterans Administration doctor suggested Baker return to Vietnam. He did. "I fell in love with the place and the people and never felt
Food Matters
HARMON HAPS First, Harmon Brewing Co. will release their 12th Hop IPA during the Super Bowl at all their venues. The brew is their new Pt. Defiance IPA recipe dry hopped with 12 different hop varieties: Simcoe, Golding, Cascade, Centennial, Magnum, Palisade, Columbus, Citra, Fuggle, Amarillo, Sterling and Sorachi Ace. Second,
We Recommend
Skates is a band formed almost on a whim, formed from the ashes of the recently defunct Redwood Plan. Frontwoman Lesli Wood made a move basically akin to Queen vowing to not use synthesizers on their album, or like Joe Jackson nonchalantly making the decision to not include any guitars
We Recommend
The Soul Revue, coming to Jazzbones, will encompass the breadth and variety of soul over the generations. Featuring the songs of everyone from Aretha Franklin and Etta James to Frank Ocean and Janelle Monae, the Soul Revue will be covering selected bits of evolution from the world of soul music
We Recommend
Considering how abrasive and corrosive solvents can be, the band Solvents may as well be a swimming pool filled with fluffy teddy bears. The Port Townsend duo are a master of controlled intensity, blending guitar and violin in ways that can attack as much as they soothe. The interplay between
We Recommend
For those outside the ska scene (like me, I must admit), it can be a little bit of a struggle to keep the various "waves" in check. Are we up to 20 waves, by now? In any case, there's no denying the influence that The Toasters had on the ska
Concert Alert
We list major concerts going on sale this weekend, as well as national touring acts performing in the Puget Sound this week. SECRET TICKET CODE TM = Ticketmaster, 253.627.TIXS, www.ticketmaster.com TWEB = Ticketweb, 866.468.7623, www.ticketweb.com >>> ON SALE NOW Melissa Aldana & Crash Trio Seattle. Feb. 2 7:30 p.m. (Jazz Alley, jazzalley.com) Marcia Ball Seattle. Feb.