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While still dealing with ongoing famine, drought and political corruption, Zimbabwe has still managed to export some of the world's most infectiously joyful music: complex sounds characterized by soaring melodies, intricate vocal harmonies and the kind of polyrhythmic percussion that can induce a collective trance. Zimbabwean Music Festival offers three
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Over the years, the Weekly Volcano has heard tales of an inexplicable summertime condition. When the sun is shining, we're told, some people lose their appetites. They all have some ridiculous excuse. Some refuse to sweat and eat at the same time. Sissies. Others say they're too busy. Whatever. Still
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Born Warren Anderson Mathis, Bubba Sparxxx grew up in Georgia, where a black friend turned him on to New York mail-order mix tapes. His introduction to rap was dominated by the booty-shaking grooves of 2 Live Crew and the brutal truths spit by N.W.A. Later, when he discovered ATL pioneers
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Tacoma has a few Irish traditions. One of them is going to Doyle's Public House on St. Patrick's Day and being part of a party so huge that anyone can incidentally wander (stagger?) into St. Helens Avenue and block it like a giant amoeba without having to worry about being
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Want to participate in a dairy goat milk tasting? Or maybe enter your kid in a youth tractor pull? How about witnessing a poultry costume contest? You can find it all at the Thurston County Fair. The fair starts Wednesday and provides five days of activities including musical entertainment, home
Critics' Picks
[INDIE POP] + FRI, JULY 18 Lately, I've been spending too much time thinking about the preponderance of math rock influences in local indie rock. I think I first noticed it during the last batch of Makeup Monster shows. Something changed in the SOTA music scene, and - as near as
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 Curtis Stigers Seattle. Aug. 5-6 7:30 pm. $24.50 (Jazz Alley, jazzalley.com) Fourplay Seattle. Aug.
Food Matters
SMOKIN' HOT RIBFEST LeMay - America's Car Museum (2702 E. D St., Tacoma) is hosting an exclusive summer event for lovers of the grill, both the one that adorns your wheels and the ones you cook over fire with in their Smokin' Hot RibFest 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday, July
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Emmet and Marque met online. They fell in love. She moved to Ireland and lived with Emmet for seven months. Then, she brought him to the States. They became Irish man and wife. Emmet began the process of immigration. After three years, he secured his green card. He performed Irish
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Often we try to bring you fun activities at a reasonable price. But it doesn't get any better than FREE! Of course most of the time, free isn't exactly free, that is just the sugar-coated packaging the really expensive activities come in. The 30th Annual Gig Harbor Summer Arts Festival
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If you think you've been hot the past two weeks, think about how hot those guys in the food trucks must be. We shouldn't complain about the heat at the Food Truck Festival. Metro Parks called out to food trucks, and they've answered en masse. Sunday, July 20 will mark
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Algerian blues guitarist Abd.El.Kader, or AEK, has created his own original blues style, SafarBlues, combining the sounds of North Africa and the West. AE discovered the guitar when he was 10. Very quickly he felt a passion for the blues, whose laments reminded him of the traditional songs of his
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The entertainment industry, with its long-established allergy to new ideas, often mines the bestseller list for source material. Studios are more likely to greenlight a story after it has been officially vetted by the reading public. They're also less likely to interfere with a proven earner, which is why the
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Note: The Kim Archer concert has moved indoors at the Washongton Center due to weather. With a timeless vocal delivery only matched by her engaging stage presence, Kim Archer and her band have been pleasing live music fans in our area since 2004. Archer's powerful voice a la Janis Joplin and
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
Critics' Picks
[BLUES] + FRI, JULY 11 Dudley Taft may well be the best white, Cincinnati-based blues artist you've never heard of, despite the fact that he toured with Seattle's own Alice in Chains and Candlebox. But wait, you say, Alice in Chains and Candlebox aren't blues bands. You're right! Now wipe that
Food Matters
GRUB CRAWL From 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Saturday, July 12, Art on the Ave community festival journeys through 10 blocks of Tacoma's 6th Avenue District offering rows of artisan vendors and live music with the culinary arts getting a nod too in the annual Grub Crawl. Participating restaurants will offer
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Since really wonderful summertime food comes off the grill, the idea that chilled white wine is a good general summer drink becomes nonsensical. More often, room-temperature red wine should be the libation of choice. The marriage of a delicately gamey grilled leg of lamb with a complex yet fruity Pinot
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Like a crow that is dark, intelligent and resourceful - schooling its children in the ways of life, so do Wolves in the Throne Room school their listeners in the ways of earthy black metal. Sometimes ambient, sometimes thunderous, always with radical environmentalism in mind, Wolves will remind you of
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For some of us, karaoke is all about either watching or being drink-sodden disasters - specifically the kind poorly belting out ballads to a hooting crowd of strangers. For the non-voyeurs and the non-exhibitionists, the song's the thing, and Harlequin Productions "Forbidden 12th Night" karaoke party should be a song-centric
