Excitement is brewing over the anticipation of one of Olympia's most reputable restaurants opening a sandwich shop in the recently revitalized Wildwood building in the South Capitol neighborhood in Olympia.

According to Swing Wine Bar owner Nicole Butigan, the rumors are true.

"We are still in the early design/equipment layout stages of the sandwich shop," she writes in an email. "It will be called Lunchbox Sandwich Shop and will be a grab-and-go type of place with gourmet sandwiches and a couple of soups and a daily pasta or quinoa salad plus some specialty desserts. There may be a few counter stools inside and a couple of tables outside on nice days, but it is mainly a to-go type of shop. We will also be doing targeted delivery to offices and want to increase our catering presence at Swing. We don't have a specific opening date yet, but our aim is for August or September."

The shop will be located in a small vacancy subleased by Olympia Coffee Roasters and situated next to Spud's Produce Market. Desserts by Tasha Nicole, on the other side of Oly Coffee Roasters, will be closing June 29 due to a co-owner's unexpected health problems, after operating 20 years in the same location.

The Wildwood building is located at 2828 Capitol Blvd. SE, Olympia.

WEDNESDAY, JUNE 19 2013 >>>

1. PECK the Town Crier is a honest-to-goodness mystery. A genre-hopping artist from San Rafael, Calif., PECK tends toward faux-smooth hip hop, when he's not incorporating bits of boogie-woogie Americana or Beach Boys-esque sunny surf rock or '70s AM gold. PECK the Town Crier's willingness to drift dreamily from genre to genre without apology or explanation is what makes him so simultaneously interesting and off-putting. Catch him at 10 p.m. with Shye Powers at Le Voyeur.

2. Count yourself blessed, Tacoma, because you get to see something few people in the world have seen. Throughout his career Eric Carle, famous for children's books such as Brown Bear - Brown Bear, What Do You See? And The Very Hungry Caterpillar and more than 70 other picture books - has created art for his own personal satisfaction that he never showed to anyone outside of family and friends. He called it his "ArtArt," and he had to be coaxed into showing it publicly. To our great benefit, Tacoma Art Museum Director Stephanie Stebich is a personal friend of the Carle family. She is the one who talked him into showing this work, and Tacomans get to be the first to see it. And it is great. Absolutely outstanding. Check it out from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.

3. Pint Defiance hosts Fort George for a Brewer's Night 5-7 p.m. Expect to taste Bourbon Barrel Vortex IPA and Spruce Budd Pale.

4. Wednesday night is always good for getting quizzical in the South Sound. The Harmon Brewery hosts Trivia Night with Gordon Adams, Doyle's Public House offers Knowledge Night team trivia with awesome prizes, and out at the Steilacoom Pub and Grill Steilacoom catch "Trivia with Dave." Find all the info you need right here.

5. There may be no better venue in Olympia to belt out the hits as the China Clipper on Fourth Avenue, which hosts Late Night Karaoke every Wednesday for the hard-drinking, hard-singing crowd. You should see this spectacle.

LINK: Wednesday, June 19 arts and entertainment events in the greater Tacoma and Olympia area

Entering downtown Olympia eatery Acqua Via you may first notice the minimalist, simple decor. Lightly used wooden tables and bare bulbs are complimented by colorful contemporary art pieces along the walls.  It's a lovely spot for people watching while sipping on a craft cocktail - the Vigilante (grapefruit liqueur, jalapeno syrup, tequila, lime with a jalapeno salt rim) being the most compelling in my opinion - or a bit of espresso.

Its menu boasts bites that "elevate the art of simple rustic food," presenting flavorful nibbles with simple artful flair. Upon my visit during the afternoon the lunch menu was available featuring a selection of light salads and grilled focaccia and baguette sandwiches.

I opted for the Cubano, and could not have been more pleased. The golden brown focaccia was fresh maintaining a soft bready interior beneath its crispy crust. The stars of the show were copious portions of Duroc ham and slow roasted pork loin, both super tender and thinly sliced. Swiss cheese was warm and gooey while the combination of the Dijon and salsa verde added just a bit of pop with each bite. Rather than diced or sliced traditional dill pickles Acqua Via's Cubano highlighted sliced cornichons, which contributed a nice little crunch and pucker.

Fans of the Cuban sandwich should give this rendition a go.

ACQUA VIA, 11:30 a.m. to 8 p.m. Sunday-Thursday, 11:30 a.m. to 9 p.m. Friday and Saturday, 500 Capitol Way S., Olympia, 360.357.6677

MONDAY, JUNE 17 2013 >>>

1. Harry and the Potters may well be the nerdiest band in existence: They Might Be Giants-esque power pop that only concerns itself with Harry Potter ephemera. That they've been around for over a decade and released roughly one album a year in that time is a testament not only to how mythologically dense and circuitous that book series was, but also to the bloody-minded tenacity of the band itself. Catch the band at 7 p.m. in Northern.

2. Luigi LaCross is a jazz quartet consisting of John Croarkin (flutes, saxophones, harmonica), Drew Gibbs (piano, flute, percussion), Phil Lawson (classical guitar) and Steve Luceno (string bass, percussion, steel string guitar) performing original pieces as well as pieces by Brazilian composers Hermeto Pascoul and Jovina Santos Neto. See the band at 8 p.m. in The Royal Lounge.

3. You've heard it many times: Practice makes perfect. Doyle's Public House in Tacoma's Stadium District lives by this adage. Every 17th of the month, the watering hole hosts St. Practice Day, a trail run at its annual, massive St. Patrick's Day party. It's a warm-up, if you will. Naturally, rebellious Celtic band Bog Hoppers will provide the soundtrack. Practice starts at 8 p.m. Don't be late or the coach will yell at you.

4. Richard Molina and blues musician friends will jam at 8 p.m. in The Swiss.

5. Beginning at 9 p.m. every Monday Jazzbones is packed to the brim with college kids. 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 and $4 Smirnoff flavor vodka bombs.

LINK: Monday, June 17 arts and entertainment events in the greater Tacoma and Olympia area

SUNDAY, JUNE 16 2013 >>>

1. In the year 2018, Cyndi Lauper astonished the world by staging a coup and becoming Earth's first Overlord. It started nonchalantly enough, with clandestine visits to Camp David and crossing the International Date Line multiple times in an evening. Nothing a globetrotting rock star wouldn't do, right? But Lauper had secret plans. No one would have guessed, back in the halcyon days of 1983, that Lauper would have designs on global domination. I mean, sure, she conquered the world in a metaphorical sense with the power of pop hits like "Girls Just Want to Have Fun" and "True Colors," but becoming a literal world superpower was far from anyone's mind. Hear her plans at 7:30 p.m. in the Pantages Theater. Read Rev. Adam McKinney's full analysis of Cyndi Lauper's world domination in Northwest Military's Music & Culture section.

2. The 18th annual International Military Band Concert, hosted by the Washington National Guard, will be held at 3 p.m. Father's Day Sunday in the Washington Center in downtown Olympia. Scheduled to perform at the NADEN Band of the Royal Canadian Navy; Band of the 15th Filed Regiment, Royal Canadian Artillery; 56th "I Corp" Band; US Navy Band Northwest and the 133D Washington National Guard Band. And just like previous years, this popular concert is free and will sell out. To reserve your seat, call 360.753.8586.

3. Take the modern alt-country blues sound of Drive-By Truckers, throw in the fun loving attitude and riff-blues-rock of ZZ Top, mix them all together and you get close to the vibe of Too Slim and the Taildraggers. This is real, down and dirty rock and roll - a delightful jumble of virtuosic slide guitar work from frontman Tim "Too Slim" Langford and the revamped rock sound of the Taildraggers. The band's vibe blends power-chord-driven, fun-loving nasty grooves with a new, indie-rock songwriting vibe. And it works. Don't worry, though, Too Slim and crew definitely infuse plenty of blues and Americana into their work. You dig? Then catch the band at the 5 p.m. Blues Vespers show at the Immanuel Presbyterian Church.

4. Mark Dufresne will lay it down at the Spar in Old Town Tacoma at 7 p.m.

5. Ten comedians battle for $2,500 first prize at 8 p.m. in the Tacoma Comedy Club.

LINK: Sunday, June 16 arts and entertainment events in the greater Tacoma and Olympia area

LIVE MUSIC TONIGHT IN THE SOUTH SOUND >>>

4th Ave Ale House Olympia - Downtown. Elbow Coulee, Bodybox, Ben Union. 9 pm. $5.

Doyle's Public House Tacoma - Stadium District. The Cold 102's, Ant Estrada. 9:30 pm. NC.

Harmon Tap Room Tacoma - Stadium District. The Flying Tortugas, The Jilly Rizzo, Winter Seeker. 9 pm.

Invictus Cafe Olympia - Downtown. Reverend Bear, Fallen Angels, Curse the North, Tatarus, 5 pm. $3.

• Mark Carras and his wife, Sherri, have been running Rock My Monkey Energy Drink out of their home for a little more than a year now. Sold at Invictus Café and 4th Ave Food Mart in Olympia, the energy drink's flavor is "somewhere between Mountain Dew and Red Bull," Sherri said. (I tasted it mixed with Jameson whiskey - delicious!) Check out Rock My Monkey today at Invictus Café in Olympia, during a benefit show for the family of Amanda Winters, the 17-year-old who was killed when her car struck a tree while she was driving to school in April. For more information about getting your band or business involved with Rock My Monkey, visit Rockmymonkey.com or call 360.519.ROCK. Read Nikki McCoy's full feature on Rock My Monkey in Northwest Military's Music & Culture section.

Jazzbones Tacoma - Sixth Avenue. Jon Wayne & The Pain, Mighty High, The Approach. 8 pm. $10.

Lucky Eagle Casino Rochester. Broken Trail. 9 pm. NC.

The New Frontier Lounge Tacoma - Dome District. Benefit For Humane Society, featuring Death By Stars, I Like Science, Oh Dear. 8 pm.

• The New Frontier Lounge in Tacoma plays host to a Humane Society Benefit show Saturday featuring Death By Stars, Oh Dear!, I Like Science, Ever So Android and Julian Najar. This line-up is sure to get into your summer skin and cause a heated reaction of soul tingling vibes and uncontrolled appendage shaking, accompanied by the occasional fist pump and squinty-faced hair whipping. Yes, I mean dancing. And, by god, it's all for a good cause. "The Humane Society and animal welfare are extremely important issues to Death By Stars," says Patrick Galactic. "We are financial supporters of many animal rights organizations. To share an all-star bill with some of our favorite bands is icing on the cake. It's going to be an electric and eclectic show that ultimately benefits our furry friends who need the care the most. We are honored and grateful to be a part of it." - Nikki McCoy
  

Pantages Theater Tacoma - Downtown. Tony Bennett. All Ages. 7:30 pm. $89-$249.

• Vocal legend Tony Bennett pushes boundaries when it comes to his duets, most notably those with k.d. lang. But when it comes to flying solo, the man gives the people exactly what they want: his smooth, elegant, laidback take on standards you'd swear were his to begin with. Each time through the South Sound the man has sounded suave ... and has looked it too. Remember that canary-yellow sport coat he wore? How about the voice? Cynics may call it a gimmick, but Bennett's modern-era performances always include an a capella number. All said and done, when the spotlight shines, silence covers the room, and a still-strong version of, perhaps, "The Best is Yet to Come" flows from the 86(!)-year-old Bennett. Bonus: Bennett's concert at the Pantages Theater is a benefit for the arts in public schools. - Weekly Volcano
  

Stonegate Pizza Tacoma - South. Crosswalk. 9 pm.

Tacoma Musical Playhouse Narrows Theatre Tacoma - Sixth Avenue. Sweet and Hot with the Black Swan Classic Jazz Band. Blues, stomps, marches, ragtime and gospel. All Ages. 8 pm. $25.

• When jazz trumpeter Lance Buller isn't holding court at Metropolitan Market's espresso area or every Friday at Maxwell's Speakeasy, he's producing jazz concerts, including a Jazz@TMP series at Tacoma Musical Playhouse. Buller has lined up another winner as the Black Swan Classic Jazz Band from Portland, Ore. and their vocalist, Marilyn Keller will fill the old Narrows Theater with music one would find in the French Quarter of New Orleans in the 1920s or F. Scott Fitzgerald's novel The Great Gatsby. According to hype, "Black Swan will serve up blues, stomps, marches, ragtime and gospel. Songs will be selected from the 1890s through Tin Pan Alley through the Golden Age of song to selections recently composed by our band members." - WV
  

Uncle Sam's American Bar & Grill Spanaway. Calbrea, Trip Madam. 9 pm.

Uncle Thurm's Soul Food Restaurant Tacoma - Lincoln District. Maia Santell & House Blend. 7:30 pm.

LINK: More live music tonight in the greater Tacoma and Olympia area

The Brown Edition - the Olympia band self-described as "all the soul, funk and jazz your ass can handle" - was voted best band in the Weekly Volcano's 2011 Best of Olympia readers' poll. It's a prestigious honor, to say the least. The award undoubtedly helped the band earn its latest accolade, winner of the 12th Annual Independent Music Awards' Fusion/Funk/Jam category.

Read the press release excerpt, then go find the band and give them a big hug. You'll probably find them at the Fish Tale Brew Pub.

Olympia based The Brown Edition (Spectra Jazz Label), are among the established and rising stars named as the judge-determined Winners of The 12^th Annual Independent Music Awards.  The IMAs are one of the most influential music awards programs for independent bands and fans.

The veteran artists and rising stars named as 12th IMA Winners in more than 80 Album, EP, Song, Music Producer, Music Video and Design categories were winnowed from thousands of submissions from around the globe, and were determined by a panel of influential artists and music industry executives.

Congratulations!

TIDBITS TO CHEW ON TODAY >>>

Maxwell's Speakeasy & Lounge now serves locally made Ice Cream Social with flavors such as old fashioned vanilla, chocolate toasted coconut, salted caramel and a grilled peach sorbet.

Only five days remain to fund Tacoma's indie music festival Squeak & Squawk on Kicksquawker.

You better hurry. The 14 loaned sculptures on exhibition this past year along Percival Landing are coming down this week. A new set of sculpture will be installed on Percival Landing the week of July 8, 2013. 

The TNT Diner reports the Olive Branch Cafe is moving to downtown Tacoma.

WHAT ARE YOU GOING TO WATCH? Ghostbusters' documentary.

LIST: 100 songs - one song from each of the last 100 years.

FINALLY: Star Wars characters recreate historical images.

We can't speak for the rest of you, but Walkie Talkie is turning things around beginning tomorrowland.

TUESDAY, JUNE 11 2013 >>>

1. Folksy, folk-writing folk hero John Denver - born Henry John Deutschendorf Jr. - died Oct. 12, 1997, when the experimental plane he was flying crashed into Monterey Bay off the coast of California. Tonight at 6:30 p.m. in the Red Wind Casino, fans both casual (which way to the slots?) and rabid (dude, "Rocky Mountain High"!) will cheer on Ted Vigil - born Ted Vigil - as he pays tribute to Denver - both visually and musically.

2. Fans of all things Instagram, Vine, Twitter and more should gather at the Social Media Club Tacoma, a free organization that brings together diverse groups of people to learn and share about social media. The event will offer locals a chance to network and discuss social media while enjoying drinks and food from the Harmon Tap Room. The sharing starts at 5:30 p.m.

3. Proctor District's wine connoisseurs at Pour at Four will be Touring the Rhone Valley June 11. Toward the tail end of their tour series, Pour at Four will be journeying to France's Rhone Valley. Not only is the tasting complimentary, but it is teeming with loads of vino knowledge. Tasting runs 5:20-8 p.m.

4. There are trivia competitions all around the South Sound on a Tuesday night, where you can unleash your inner Ken Jennings. And while you won't approach Jennings-like earnings, you can win some cool stuff, ranging from gift certificates, to concert or sports tickets, to a VHS copy of All of Me, the film starring Lily Tomlin and Steve Martin. Sweet! Two of our favorite Tuesday night trivia are at Fish Tale Brew Pub in Olympia and Farrelli's Wood-Fire Pizza in Tacoma, both start at 8 p.m.

5. Hailing from Olympia, White Wards serves up the meanest sound-fights that the Capitol City has ever swallowed. Sonically they land somewhere between Tar Babies and Devoid of Faith. Catch them at 10 p.m. with Condominium, Negative Press and Coprot at Le Voyeur.

LINK: Tuesday, June 11 arts and entertainment events in the greater Tacoma and Olympia area

MONDAY, JUNE 10 2013 >>>

1. It's appropriate Bill W. - a documentary that recalls the life of Alcoholics Anonymous co-founder William G. Wilson - skips the eight gazillion dollars special effects and 3-D action of modern-day films. Wilson's story - one of heartbreak, recovery and heroism - is a serious one, and the never-before-seen photographs, diary entries and speeches speak for themselves, revealing how Wilson, a hopeless drunk near death from his alcoholism, found a way out of his own addiction and then forged a path for countless others to follow through A.A., a deed that landed him in TIME Magazine's 100 Persons of the 20th Century. Filmmakers Kevin Hanlon and Dan Carracino don't pull any punches in the film that screens at 6:45 p.m. at The Grand Cinema. We see Wilson cheat on his fiercely dedicated wife, experiment with LSD and request alcohol as he suffered on his deathbed from emphysema.

2. Trombonist Marc Smason has performed throughout the world with such luminaries as the Funk Brothers, Baby Gramps, Big Joe Turner, Andy Statman Perry Robinson, Sam Shepard, Julian Priester, Sonny Simmons and Jeff Johnson. His playing encompasses many styles including jazz, Latin, klezmer and R&B. Catch him and his band, A Better World, at 8 p.m. in The Royal Lounge.

3. Monday is typically a black hole for nightlife. Sure, if you run a sports bar, you'll do well during the World Series or football season, but for most eating and drinking establishments, it's just dead, dead, dead. There's a darn good reason why so many bars are empty on Mondays. So how do those that remain open find ways to fill barstools on this, the most dreadful evening of the workweek? The folks at The Swiss seem to have found a solution and, oddly enough, it's one that has been the bane of many other venues: live music. Since the beginning of time, The Swiss has hosted live blues every Monday at 8 p.m. Tonight, guitar legend Jerry Miller will be in the house.

4. Hey! Guess what? Rafael Tranquilino hosts an experimental jam at Stonegate Pizza every Monday night! Get in on the rockin' action tonight.

5. Beginning at 9 p.m. every Monday Jazzbones is packed to the brim with college kids. 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 and $4 Smirnoff flavor vodka bombs.

LINK: Monday, June 10 arts and entertainment events in the greater Tacoma and Olympia area