Walkie Talkie Blog
WELCOME TO THE SCENE ASSEMBLAGE THEATRE >>> David Domkowski knows that, quality notwithstanding, there are some shows that the Big Three of Tacoma area community theater companies just can't do. So the longtime Tacoma director made up his own, that can. Mark O'Rowe's Terminus is a play like that. "The moment I
Walkie Talkie Blog
APPLAUSE >>> Coming off a good season with favorable reviews for its productions of The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee, A Christmas Carol and California Suite, Tacoma Little Theatre has announced its 2012-2013 season. Let's take a look. ... Sylvia Sept. 7-30Just what Tacoma theater needs: more plays featuring people playing dogs.
Walkie Talkie Blog
APPLAUSE >>> Hot off the news of John Munn's promotion from interim managing artistic director to managing artistic director, Lakewood Playhouse has seen fit to announce its 2012-2013 season. Sherlock's Last Case by Charles Marowitz If I recall correctly (and I frequently do), Sherlock's Last Case was the first show I ever saw
Walkie Talkie Blog
WE SCENE IT >>> Tacoma's Goldfinch is working on a new album, and it is going to be very, very good. One of my fine Volcano colleagues will pop up one of these days and tell you all about the band's Spaceworks Tacoma residency at 1310 MLK, and the process behind
Walkie Talkie Blog
AH, MEMORIES >>> I love Bumbershoot for a lot of things, but mostly I love it for its memories. The singular moments that pop up every year and stick with you forever. In 2005 I high-fived Iggy Pop as he ran through the photo trough. I stood in Memorial Stadium and watched
Walkie Talkie Blog
Convention is for suckers. Convention at Bumbershoot is to wander from stage to stage taking in a dozen different kinds of pop music, from around the world and across the pop-genre spectrum - country, folk, blues, electronic, rock, punk and hip-hop. But sometimes convention doesn't do the trick, and doesn't give you
Walkie Talkie Blog
NOTES FROM THE GRASS >>> Day one of Bumbershoot 2011 has me thinking about scale in music. As far as I can tell there are no small music stages at the festival this year. In the past the Northwest Court stage provided a quiet, out-of-the-way venue for acts that
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MASSIVE MUSIC FEST KICKS OFF IN SEATTLE >>> The usual disclaimer: I go to Bumbershoot for the bands I don't know, not the ones I do. So my daily previews are always a little thin on knowledge. But regardless, here are a few places where your trusty Weekly
Walkie Talkie Blog
YOUR SOURCE FOR SOUTH SOUND THEATER COVERAGE >>> David Auburn's Proof is built on relationships: a damaged girl and her broken father; the sibling rivalry of two sisters on very different paths; the uncertainty of young love. Each tie between two characters helps illuminate another. Nominally, the play is about brilliance and
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YOUR SOURCE FOR SOUTH SOUND THEATER >>> Is it wrong that I secretly wished Lakewood Playhouse's production of Sweeney Todd would be a little bit more like a GWAR concert? My instincts say yes, but my heart says no. Not that I wanted a horde of spastic metalheads kicking me in the
Walkie Talkie Blog
FREE STUFF AND MORE >>> What's the best way to get people excited about something? Free stuff. Check that. Free stuff and Imperial stormtroopers. When the number one goal of the free stuff is the promotion of literacy in children, teens and adults, it's a win for everybody. Thus, on the first Saturday of
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TECHNICAL ACHIEVEMENTS AND YOUNG PEOPLE ACTING OLD >>> Sloth, a world premiere play produced by Gold From Straw a quarter century after its writing, is at its best a compelling commentary on grief, and at its worst a somewhat confused jumble of casting decisions and script weaknesses. There's this voice that young
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James Goldman's The Lion In Winter is about nothing so much as legacy. The year is 1183. Henry II, who won the throne by strength of arms, aims to leave behind the one thing his life has lacked: prolonged, lasting peace. Standing in his way? Pretty much
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IT'S REALLY NOT A WHOLE NEW BALLGAME >>> I grew up with Cheney Stadium: as a childhood Oakland A's fan - my family was from the bay area - trying to catch foul balls off the bats of Tacoma Tigers, to the last few years of tailgating with my heckle-happy co-workers.
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ONE LESS CORPORATE BOX TO BROWSE >>> When it comes to book shopping, there's nothing I like more than an awesome local bookstore. King's and Tacoma Book Center have consumed oh so many of my dollars over the years. But when it comes to book browsing, well, it's tough to beat the
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LIVE LOCAL MUSIC ACTION >>> About half the people at the Peabody Waldorf Friday night were chumps. I don't know them personally, but it's a judgement I feel comfortable making because that's about how many people left between the third and fourth band. Loch Lomond may not be everyone's cup of tea-but
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NEAR PERFECTION >>> Let me list for you the things that were wrong with last Saturday night's Warehouse show at the Peabody Waldorf: 1) The pedal steel guitar for Goldfinch was a little loud to begin with 2) The changeovers between bands felt extraordinarily long, pushing the show late and appearing to
Walkie Talkie Blog
DELIBERATE, STRUCTURED, PENETRATING HAZE >>> What a difference a mix makes. I bought Drag Lake Sin, the new EP by Tacoma outfit Slowwave, upon its release Tuesday. Five dollars for six tracks, and man, they are good ones. There is a layering and nuance to the instrumentation and production of each track
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PROGRESS AS DEFINED BY JOE IZENMAN >>> Goldfinch. They are a band from Tacoma. They have released one, self-titled album, and this Saturday, the first A/B single from their forthcoming new record, Vacant Lot/Elephant, will enter the world in physical form. (My editor tells me my first paragraph is supposed to actually
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TOURING CIRQUE SHOW IS AN ACROBATIC DREAMSCAPE >>> If the International Olympic Committee is looking for any ideas to spice up their gymnastics competition, I have a list. It starts with team gymnastics. And none of that lame "one at a time" crap. I'm talking doubles parallel bars, two people running
