Dang, why didn't I think to suggest this column first?
I'm holding out for Turkish Bath of the Titans.
Now if THAT doesn't induce hijinks, Elliot, I don't know what will.
I ran lights for Buddy at TLT a couple summers ago and it absolutely owned. Audience literally dancing in the aisles at the closing concert every night, added a fifth weekend. It hits right to the core of the audience of that kind of theatre, but draws a decent amount of youth, too. Good choice.
Katie - I absolutely agree that all three additional cast members did an excellent job, and I wish I had another hundred words or so in the budget to talk about everything I liked from top to bottom. As it was I chose to focus on what I felt was most important to the core of the play, and most able to help get butts in the seats, as it were.
Cork: Tacoma's only wine bar owned by a cage fighter? Probably.
Remember that time the sign said "Seafood Fett", and we all started talking about Star Wars themed restaurants? That's my favorite Captain Nemo's memory.
6) Frost Park Ch-ch-chalk Off!
Aw, you left off my favorite part of that quote...
"People would have been marching down to the stadium, they would have walked and they would have been doing calculus on the way down."
Unfortunate, but good for beer lovers, who no longer have to decide between Jewbelation and Hopworks Urban Brewery night at the Parkway tonight.
And if you don't make it out to the market today, there's also still one last episode of the weekly Proctor Farmer's Market on Saturday, for all your pre-Thanksgiving needs.
Sneak preview of next week's Sleuth review:
1) Go see it, the actors are really good.
2) I was glad I hadn't seen any of the film versions. It's better when you don't know what's next.
Kris appears to have stolen my plans.
Good to know that I am apparently a sign of wisdom.
I look forward to sampling your Salacious Crumble, sir.
If I could, I would open a Star Wars restaurant, with Jango Fettuccine, Shish Kaboba Fett, Obi-Wan Ton Soup. We would only cook with Leia Organic vegetables. For desert there would be delicious Chewbaklava.
Man, I could go for a Qui-Gon Jinn & Tonic about now...
@Thorax
If all that mattered is "where's empty", then sure. But given the financial struggles the shop has gone through, "can afford" is also pretty key. I doubt he could find a space comparable to the current one downtown, let alone +500 sq ft for -600 dollars per month that he is getting with the new one.
Ween was, frankly, an odd choice for headliner. Not because of quality but because of popularity. They just aren't as big as the other bands, even someone like MGMT. The better Sasquatch days I've been too have succeeded partly because the band that the most people want to see is last, whether or not they are what I would consider the "best" band. This performs a great service to the other groups as well, since all the indie kids staying for MGMT would have watched Ween, if only to ensure they had a good spot for MGMT. Maybe they'd fall in love with Ween and maybe they wouldn't, but at least they'd have a chance.
Sometimes it backfires, of course. Sometimes you're stuck watching an aging Bauhaus bomb so you can be in the pit for Nine Inch Nails...
Having seen GWAR precisely the same number of times as I've now seen Round Mountain (which is to say, twice), I can say that both evoke far different definitions of "cool".
Forgot to add "creepy John Waters mustache" on my list of reasons people might be turned off of Dylan these days. Creepy creepy mustache.
I have had exactly one experience with Gorilla Productions. They booked This Shirt Is Pants at one of their shows at the 4th Ave Tavern in Olympia. We went in knowing exactly what it was, but hoping to make a contact with the venue itself by playing there.
The basic Gorilla (and Big TIme) scheme is that the bands don't have to pay directly, but their place in the night's order, and chance of future bookings, hinges on ticket sales. Being a Tacoma band playing Oly, I think we sold maybe 12 tickets. Which apparently put us high on the list that night.
Turns out that Gorilla doesn't provide any other money to cover costs. Because of the low ticket sales, their rep didn't have enough money to pay rent at the venue that night. We got lucky that we had yet to give him our ticket money... he ducked out the back door when no-one was looking at walked off with a couple bands' cash and no show, since he didn't pay.
In the end it worked out well for us... the guy at the 4th Ave (who readily informed us that this was not the first time he'd seen Gorilla pull this act, but that it was the last time he'd ever book them) took down contact information for the bands that had brought down at least a few people, and we ended up playing a real show, with a real paycheck (a cut of the bar), a few weeks later. But that was just luck of the venue. Gorilla had their rep trained to cut and run at any chance of a loss, and to steal directly from the bands if convenient.
Nothing gets the day started like a taco before 10 AM.
@M: It was not, as far as I can tell, any kind of cooking showdown. It was an eating contest.
I vote item 5. You know, because I'm in it.
Yeah, I don't know if I was clear on that as I could have been. I don't think they sound like AC/DC either. They have a few things in common, but also plenty in common with other bands. I was more trying to communicate an association in my head, less to do with pure sound similarity than with attitude and unabashed rock energy.
My intent, as I feel is the purpose of a reviewer in the first place, was to communicate my experience watching the play, and how I think it translates to whether other people-whomever wishes to trust my opinion-will enjoy attending, in order to help them decide whether it is worth their time and money. In this case, despite the best efforts of the cast, the script made the entire production so unpleasant for me that I could not reasonably recommend the experience to anyone.
I focused on the script because it was the facet of production that had the strongest effect on my opinion. The same would be true of a mediocre production of, say, Hamlet, with a standout, stellar, lead. Whatever makes that strongest impression and most colors the experience becomes the most important thing to talk about.
I wish all the cast and crew the best in their later endeavors, as there are plenty of talented people involved. But this show in particular made me roll my eyes in frustration every time it failed to end, and sent me home annoyed that I had sat through it, and I believe glossing over that would be disingenuous at best.
Big Wheel Stunt Show will be releasing their new CD, Brand New Bag, at the show tonight. Just got done listening to it again a few minutes ago, and it is solid stuff. Also, the last track is titled "Douche Me". What's not to love?
I tried to give you a little love in my review of the Squirt show at HK. Hopefully I can give you more in the future.
Pretty frickin' excited about this show.
I worked local crew for Ozzfest at White River a few years back, the year with Sabbath and Judas Priest, among others. Since he wasn't playing with Ozzy, Zakk Wylde was there with Black Label Society. He was one of the rare acts to come through that venue who mills about backstage while the crew is loading in, rather than hiding out on the bus or in the dressing room. I tell ya, just pushing speakers around While Zakk Wylde was standing there drinking a beer made me feel a little more badass than usual.
This Shirt Is Pants recorded a four song CD at Pacific Studios. It was certainly not cheap, but it was a positive experience for all of us. Our producer, Tony, was both professional and fun, and definitely put in the extra hours mixing and mastering, beyond what we paid, even taking the project home at one point to use some software plug-ins the studio didn't have.
My biggest recommendation is just to be really tight, especially on the drums. You can get away with a lot of unsteadiness and tempo issues live that won't stand up at all to repeated listening on a recording. You can use up a lot of expensive time, and get sick of playing your songs, if you have to repeat them ten times to get a steady drum track.
Also, Free Comic Book Day on Saturday, all over the dang place.