CREPE EXPECTATIONS >>>

After much anticipation, Tacoma now has its own crepe shop, Savor Creperie. With a prime downtown location near UW Tacoma, the restaurant has seen a steady stream of customers since its opening April 18. As a new restaurant concept for Tacoma, I was thrilled to swing by and give it a try.

Savor's slogan, "Eat well, be happy" shows in its light, flavorful crepes. After ordering at the counter and seating ourselves, servers brought my husband and I drinks as we anticipated our meal. The ham, gruyere and roasted asparagus crepe with Dijon crème fraiche ($9.50) was very savory, with a zing from the Dijon sauce. Also delicious was the rosemary chicken and roasted sweet potato crepe with toasted pecans and balsamic reduction ($9.75), which was quite satisfying for dinner. To finish it off, we split a banana and toasted coconut crepe filled with Nutella ($6.50). We both lamented that we should each have ordered a sweet crepe instead of splitting it. The last bite came too soon.

Owners Tom Vigue and Vickie Black-Vigue relocated to the Pacific Northwest and were drawn to Tacoma's, "entrepreneurial spirit and welcoming energy," according to Tom, who has a background in the food industry.  "We wanted to bring a food and beverage offering to the community that was untested, yet desired," he said. "We had an opportunity to visit Europe and fell in love with crepes, both delicious and versatile. Foods like crepes can reflect, in part, a city's culture. We think that can be true of Tacoma."

From the happy customers I observed in the café and my desire to return, I think they are definitely on to something.

SAVOR CREPERIE, 11 A.M. TO 7 P.M. MONDAY-FRIDAY, 8 A.M. TO 5 P.M. SATURDAY, 1916 PACIFIC AVE., TACOMA, 253.365.5534

TUESDAY, APRIL 23 2013 >>>

1. Tacoma Community College has joined forces with The Grand Cinema for a third year to celebrate its Diversity Film Festival. The DFF runs until April 25, and seems particularly bent on revealing beauty in the unlikeliest of places. Haven't seen Rome in awhile? You haven't seen it like this - Caesar Must Die transports viewers to lovely Rebibbia Prison, where criminals quoth the Bard at 2 and 6:15 p.m. 

2. Former Tacoma Community College Librarian Mark Bieraugel's chosen art form is embroidery, but his creations diverge wildly from the classic flower-patterned throw pillow. Check out his embroidery work during an opening reception of his exhibit from 5-7 p.m. at the TCC Gig Harbor campus.

3. Tacoma Arts Commission and current Tacoma Poet Laureate Josie Emmons Turner officially introduce the new, 2013-15 Tacoma Poet Laureate Lucas Smiraldo at 6 p.m. inside the Tacoma Public Library Main Branch. Former Tacoma Poet Laureates Bill Kupinse and Tammy Robacker also will read. Light refreshments following in the library's Handforth Gallery.

4. You are getting sleepy, v-e-r-y sleepy. Now, go see the hypnotist show at 8 p.m. inside the Red Wind Casino. Whether a skeptic or believer, the show will be sure to entertain with its comedy, rock and roll and outrageous hypnosis, like people sneezing and having orgasms(!) when Ron Stubbs, the man behind the magic, utters the word "pepper."

5. Loves It, Manzanita Falls and Scatter Gather rock Le Voyeur at 9 p.m.

LINK: Tuesday, April 23 arts and entertainment events in the greater Tacoma and Olympia area

FUTURE THINGS ARE COMING >>>

This year, Olympia Arts Walk overflows with music - at least according to the 20-something events on my Facebook page. Saturday and Sunday feature everything from indie to hip-hop, to hard rock.

On the grand scale, this weekend's Olympia's Arts Walk - the twice-yearly celebration of arts of all sorts by artists of all sorts, from kindergarteners to professional artists -  Offerings range from paintings, poetry and sculpture to films and performance art, plus face painting for the kids. And music - lots of it.

Capitol City Guitars, long known for their sidewalk performances, invites Gunslinger to start off the weekend with a 30-minute set of Judas Priest inspired metal Friday at 6 p.m., followed by Fitz of Depression at 9 p.m. Saturday at 4 p.m., singer/songwriter Scott Taylor will channel his mojo into the crowd, serenading passersby.

It's hard to believe it's already been four years since Old School Pizzeria created the Hard Rock Parking Lot to showcase Olympia bands during Arts Walk. This year, 13 bands will consume the pizza stage. I was going to highlight a few of the better bands, but heck, they are all awesome, so the full line up is as follows:

Friday, beginning at 5 p.m., there will be one band on the hour with the last band playing at 9 p.m., Lit End, Shoreline Drive, The Way Finders, HellBelly, In Between Days, and a Weekly Volcano 2013 Best Cover Band, Cure Tribute Band.

Saturday, beginning at noon, with the last band playing at 7 p.m., we have The Blue, Little Red Carwreck, Big Red Sun, The Lumen, The Have At Its, The Heyfields, Hurts Like Hell and Planetary People.

Down at The Olympia Ballroom, Saturday night, there is an Intergalactic Prom - fancy attire encouraged! - with dance party rocktronica by Elbow Coulee, hip-hop from Hollywood Kill Crew and AKA and the Heart Hurt Goods, plus DJs and more. It kicks off at 8 p.m.

Friday, Olympia Film Society presents Full Moon Radio and Glass Elevator both screening their new music videos at the Capitol Theater. The Hard Way joins the bill for a well-rounded indie set. This show begins at 5 p.m.

All shows listed are free and all ages, except Intergalactic Prom, which costs $3.

For a complete list of performers, artists, musicians and businesses participating in Olympia Arts Walk, click here.

MONDAY, APRIL 22 2013 >>>

1. Guy Fieri visited Puyallup when he blasted through the South Sound in November. His show, Diners, Drive-ins and Dives, filmed at six popular locations, including Darby's Cafe, Fish Tale Brew Pub, Crockett's Public House and Crown Bar — all of which have aired on Fieri's Food Network show. Tonight, Dirty Oscar's Annex receives the spotlight with the episode screening at 7 p.m. In celebration, Dirty Oscar's Annex invites everyone to join them at 6 p.m. to watch the show and enjoy lots of specials — drinks, food and giveaways.

2. Standup comedy hasn't evolved much since the glory days of ventriloquist and puppet. Every so often, there's a Gallagher smashing watermelons or a musical funnyman like Jack Black, but for the most part, comedy is a dude on a stage with a microphone, plodding through a joke-punchline-new-joke routine. You're funny. You need to change the course of comedy forever. Every Monday at 8 p.m. the Grit City Comedy Club opens its stage to the public for a comedy open mic. Explore the space. Head for space.

3. Soulful viscereal blues singer Linda Myers  and her band will perform at 8 p.m. inside The Swiss.

4. Every Monday Jazzbones is packed to the brim with college kids at 9 p.m. Party types. The type that wear tight shirts and trucker hats. Throngs of Chad Fratguys and Sarah Sororitysisters swarm the bar, line up for the bathroom and dance to the Rockaraoke - live band karaoke. The Rockaraoke band is skilled, too. Expect $2 PBR drafts, $3 Sinfire shots, $4 Smirnoff flavor vodka bombs.

5. The Carrions, Little War Twins and White Fang will rock Le Voyeur at 9 p.m.

LINK: Monday, April 22 arts and entertainment events in the greater Tacoma and Olympia area

SATURDAY, APRIL 20 1013 >>>

1. In case this weekend already seems too hectic, allow us to complicate matters by quietly mentioning The Grand's historic first 24 Hour Movie Marathon, starting at 10 a.m. and wrapping one day and 20 flicks later. The ‘Thon features the cherished (Hitchcock!), the new (Ryan Gosling!), and a movie called Hands On A Hard Body (not what you think!). This exhausting vegging out supports a superb cause: helping The Grand turn its celluloid projectors into shiny (and industry-required) digital ones. Both 12- and 24-Hour Passes are still available at the box office or through grandcinema.com.

2. Drinking at noon? Why yes, Wingman Brewers' 2nd Anniversary Party, we'd be happy to. Imbibe on 10 taps, including some special brews just for the occasion? Of course we will. Settle into one of your many new seats and enjoy good company? Absolutely.

3. For events geared toward children, check out The Earth Day Extravaganza at the Tacoma Nature Center where families can celebrate wiggly worms, creepy crawlies and buzzing bees with fun activities that help teach about the earth and how we can all keep it healthy from noon to 4 p.m.

4. Enlarge your geo-wareness this weekend at the Capitol Theater's Environmental Film Festival (April 19-21). Sure, we must face a few inconvenient truths on the road to eco-lightenment - mankind's relationship with soil (Symphony of the Soil, April 20), our simultaneous buildup of harmful global waste (Trashed, April 21). But we also get to share in the stories of individuals and groups taking steps to reverse these trends in their own communities and lives. EFF may just inspire your metaphorical pants off - purchase tickets through olympiafilmsociety.org.

5. We need to get our hot little hands on the upcoming split 7-inch release by Mos Generator and Ancient Warlocks. If they can put all the power and straight fucking rock they pull at their live performances onto a little piece of vinyl, then we're sold. Both of these badass bands are playing The New Frontier at 9 p.m., along with C.F.A. and Furry Buddies. Yes, it's a record release party, and yes it's going to rule. Read Nikki McCoy's full feature on Ancient Warlocks in the Weekly Volcano's Music section.

LINK: Saturday, April 20 arts and entertainment events in the greater Tacoma and Olympia area

South Sound Sidekick series offers advice from experts living in the, well, South Sound. It posts every Friday. Today, Christopher Gray, graduate of the The Evergreen State College Audio in Media program and Tom Foote's Literary Journalism Program - and a current DJ at KAOS FM - has advice for finding your way around the audio editing program Audacity.

Christopher Gray writes,

First of all ... relax.  You're probably in a semi-dark room all ready, so you're off to a good start. You're probably working on less than the recommended dose of sleep for an average four-day period, have horrific soda breath and have the outward appearance of and the same methodical obsessive ennui as Ted Kaczynski. While this particular article is intended for the audio DIY'er using open-source Audacity, it really applies to anyone editing anything.  While some editing software can set you back upward of $800 and come with built-in locks that enable it pointless to try and use with other software platforms - I'm looking at you, M-Audio - they all share one attribute, the lovely "non-destructive" status.  What this means is that while you're into your 79th hour of editing the tastiest mix of that one golden, delicious track and you accidentally have hovered and highlighted the most blistering drum section and then, while moving to brush a harmless mosquito off the keyboard, you hit DELETE. Do not panic.  Resist the urge to scream and pull out fistfuls of hair ... simply click command z, and take one step back in the chain of actions you thought you just destroyed. 

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IT'S GOING DOWN DURING 4/20 WEEKEND >>>

Yo, it's the weekend - finally! Put away yo work clothes, get all yo favorite party supplies and meet me at the following places:

Saturday at the Track House in Olympia, Tacoma's celebrity, MCing, skateboarding extraordinaire Crazy Monk will perform. It's an early 6 p.m. show. The cover is $3.

There are many 4/20 shows Saturday - I have my eye on two. First, the Central Ave Pub in Kent hosts Lok Skywalker and Vic of Blue Nose Music. The doors open at 8 p.m.; show starts at 9. It's free! There's also big 4/20 party in Seattle at Studio 7. Tacoma's Sky Pilot opens for Bone Thugs-N-Harmony. This show is $25 advance and $30 at the door. It's all ages with the door at 7 and an 8 p.m.

Sunday start off by hitting the Graffiti Garage MC Cypher put on by the Northwest MC League. It's all-ages and starts at 1:30.

Sunday night at The New Frontier Lounge in Tacoma, Awall A.K.A. 2-Piece, Whikid Maticuless, Qui Vive and Crazy Monk hit it at 8:30 p.m. It's $5 to get in.

Perhaps the best show this weekend though is back in Kent at the Benchwarmer Sunday night. This bill features San Francisco's own Equipto, L'Roneous, Z-Man, Michael Marshall, The Bayliens with Beanz and Rize (conflict of interest) opening. The show starts at 9 p.m. Cover is $10 before 11 p.m., then $15 after.

FRIDAY, APRIL 19 2013 >>>

1. Before Tacoma's semi-longstanding, all-ages venue The Redroom closes its door for good April 27, Bleak Outlook Volume 1 will blow open doors and minds this weekend with a three-day fest that includes two kickin' shows at The Redroom and one at Fifth Dimension. It all begins at 7 p.m. when Transient, Sidetracked, Same Sex Dictator, Mahnhammer, Hirsute Corpse and Carrion Cathartid rock The Redroom.

2. At 7 p.m., the last day of the Greek & Roman Mythology exhibit at Tacoma Community College, Tacoma Poet Laureate Josie Emmons Turner, former TPL Tammy Robacker, Puget Sound Poetry Connection founder Connie Walle and a who's who of regional poets will add a poet's voice to the strong art show depicting strength of character, purpose and ideology to ancient myths by contemporary South Sound artists.

3. Crystal Mountain will hold an amateur film night at 7 p.m. inside the Snorting Elk Cellar. Visitors are encouraged to bring their short ski/snowboard films that are no longer than four minutes.

4. A cozy little romantic drama with touches of comedy, The Rainmaker still speaks to audiences after more than a half-century. Originating as a television play in 1953, Richard Nash's best-known work hit Broadway in 1954 and Hollywood two years later. There's even a musical version (110 in the Shade, which seemed like a good idea in 1963). Set on a Western cattle ranch during a drought, The Rainmaker remains a captive to its own pre-feminist, quaint, and rigidly defined-role times, when men roamed the range rounding up cattle and looking for romance (generally not at the same time), while women stayed home and did wifely things, such as cooking, cleaning, and burying themselves under the weight of society's expectations. See it all unfold at 8 p.m. when Lakewood Playhouse opens its version of the story for a run through May 12.

5. Drag show troupe New Queens on the Block has produced shows at the Urban Onion since September, dropping a themed show on Olympia every third Friday of the month. Tonight at 9 p.m., the troupe celebrates fashion and the "runway" at the Onion. Read Nikki McCoy's full feature on New Queens on the Block.

LINK: Friday, April 19 arts and entertainment events in the greater Tacoma and Olympia area

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

WEATHER REPORT

Friday: Rain, hi 54, lo 45

Saturday: Chance of rain, hi 52, lo 41

Sunday: Mostly cloudy, hi 55, lo 41

>>> FRIDAY, APRIL 19: SCEINCE!

Did you make it to the Weekly Volcano's 2013 Best of Olympia party? If so, then you had the chance to see Science! perform live on stage in between an entourage of scantily clad burlesque girls. Friday, the rising duo will perform a free set at The Pig Bar on Legion Way. Expect warmth and positive energy bouncing between their singer/songwriter performance and the cozy walls of one of the better small venues in town. Science! has a clean performance, their fingers whittling their guitars, carving out genuine jams and complex chords. The band has an easy-going vibe and leaves you wanting more. - Nikki McCoy

• Pig Bar, 8 p.m., no cover, Southbay Dickerson's BBQ, 619 Legion Way, Olympia, 360.943.6900

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THURSDAY, APRIL 18 2013 >>>

1. Local saxophonist Kareem Kandi presents a musical gift to the South Sound at 7 p.m. Get this: Boarding a plane in New York bound for the Puyallup campus of Pierce College are trumpeter Lew Soloff (Blood, Sweat & Tears, Gil Evans, Tito Puente, Manhattan Jazz Quintet), bassist Essiet Essiet (Horizon, Art Blakey, Freddie Hubbard, Blue Note All-Stars) and drummer Sylvia Cuenca (Joe Henderson, Clark Terry) for a concert/workshop next Thursday. Plus, the respected guitarist/educator Milo Petersen from Seattle's Cornish College of The Arts will be in the house too. Those who hold jazz dear to their hearts know this is the real deal - especially when these talents will perform, tell stories and teach through questions. Oh yea, it's freakin' free.

2. The Puyallup Spring Fair opens at 2 p.m. today for a four-day run. Organizers say that this year's edition, while shorter than its late summer edition, is crammed with more attractions than ever. For urbanites who need convincing, here's a handy checklist: Monster Trucks Friday, demolitions Saturday-Sunday, Aussie Kingdom, KMPS Showcase featuring American Young, KidZone, James Wesley, Fiesta Mexicana, garden show, rides, fried foods and more. Go ahead: Leave your laptop behind, shimmy into that old pair of Wranglers, pull on those dusty cowboy boots, slap on a 10-gallon hat and prepare to spend yourself a day - or four - at this year's wingding.

3. Today marks the last day of Olympia Restaurant Week. Check out the list of restaurants; or flip through the menus. Ten Thurston County restaurants will be serving up special $25 three-course dinners, with some eateries offering a three-course lunch menu for $15.

4. It's the third Thursday of the month. In Tacoma, that's means an extra emphasis on the arts. Tonight's quest for art will lead you directly to the steps of science. That's right, the University of Puget Sound and Tacoma Art Museum have teamed up to present an Art+Science Salon - an evening of artists and scientists hugging it out at 6 p.m. inside the Tacoma Art Museum. Tonight, guest eco-artist Jackie Brookner will lead a panel discussion on art and ecological issues.

5. Speaking of third Thursday, tonight is the Tacoma Art Mingle, which was formerly called the Third Thursday Artwalk. Whatever the name of the special night, it's still very hard to walk the damn thing. For the last two-plus years Tacoma has had the Art Bus to rely on - the creation of T-Town's own Angela Jossy, and pretty much the bestest idea there ever was. Each third Thursday the Art Bus shuttles riders from gallery to gallery, venue to venue accomplishing more than any one person could ever dream of on foot, and at the same time building a communal vibe that's worth its weight in gold. Tonight's Art Bus celebrity host Tacoma City Councilperson Ryan Mello will help guide you through such stops as FabLab, 253 Collective, Embellish Multispace Salon, Crescent Moon Gifts, Proctor Arts Gallery, Throwing Mud Gallery and Catwalk. Tickets are $10 regular admission and $20 for VIPs. VIPs get gift bags with items from lots of local businesses. The Bus pushes off from the Tacoma Art Museum at 6 p.m.

LINK: Thursday, April 18 arts and entertainment events in the greater Tacoma and Olympia area