We Recommend
"We're putting the band back together." "Our Lady of Blessed Acceleration, don't fail me now." "We got both kinds. We got country AND western." "You promised you'd visit the penguin the day you got out." "We're on a mission from God." "It's a hundred and six miles to Chicago, we
We Recommend
When you think "book club," is the first image that comes to mind a bunch of middle-aged women with their chairs pulled in a circle sipping white wine and discussing the latest hoity-toity-pabulum-for-the-masses endorsed by Oprah? If you're like me, that holds absolutely zero appeal. Give me something that's fun
Stage
I'm this close to giving up on jukebox musicals altogether. For one thing, the people who enjoy them - and those people are legion - do so for reasons that have nothing to do with theater criticism. I like nostalgia, too, which is why I have '80s songs on my
We Recommend
Those of you who actually read your high school literature assignments should remember that Atticus Finch is the dignified Southern lawyer who defends a black man wrongly accused of rape in Harper Lee's Pulitzer prize-winning 1969 novel, To Kill a Mockingbird. Set in 1935 Alabama, three children face the life
We Recommend
In the early ‘80s, Donald Glaude filled our high-school house parties with Funkadelic, Commodores and underground hip-hop. We (meaning dorky dudes) would mount the REAL quarters table while the women flocked around Glaude. His musical knowledge, good looks and outgoing personality made him king of Lakes High School. From there,
We Recommend
Between 1963 and 1984, Bigfoot hosted more than 50 roasts, 12 of which appear on The Bigfoot Celebrity Roasts Collectors Edition DVDs, and they offer a time capsule of comedy spanning from deep woods throwbacks Rocky and Bullwinkle, Lippy the Lion and Hardy Har Har, and Ludicrous Lion right up
We Recommend
In 1619, there were only a handful of slaves in the United States — 20 Africans landing on the shores as indentured servants, with tenures up to seven years, then freedom. Four decades later, because of Eli Whitney's cotton gin, the U.S. slave population soared. By the mid-1700s, there were
We Recommend
When the science fair notice arrives at the Swarner household, I wish to be deported to a camp 60 miles south of Vegas. These are dangerous times, my friends, especially for those living in Tacoma's Northend neighborhood. My tweener and I don the white lab coats and flirt with the
Archives
The Swinos are Bobble Tiki’s kind of band. There’s simply no denying it. Sure, Bobble Tiki could sit here and tell you he’s above bands like the Swinos. He could tell you he likes intricate song writing, Pet Sounds harmonies, layers and layers of instrumentation, and lyrics that read like Shakespeare
Style
In the heart of Tacoma's eastside, you'll find the intersection of East 72nd and Portland. With a concentration of apartments and housing developments paired with lots of big box retails (think Kmart) and fast food dining (think Wendy's), this area yields an immense level of car and pedestrian traffic. You'll
Arts
It's hard to think of Tacoma as a frontier town. We think of it as Grit City, the City of Destiny, T-town. It's a working-class hub of industry and art, not an outpost. But in the early-to-mid part of the 20th century, Tacoma, multi-cultural and economically booming, was a frontier for
Guides
There's a new vocabulary word in town, South Sounders, and it is surely to be on everyone's frozen and chapped lips this winter season: brumous: (broo'mes) adjective, of gray skies and winter days; filled with heavy clouds or fog; relating to winter or cold sunless weather. Sigh. The only thing that's fun about
Reviews
It's a fascinating journey to witness the rebirth of a restaurant from the bones of a completely different operation. This scenario played out over the last several months as Mike and Karen de Alwis transformed a deserted gas station lot in Puyallup into a lovely dining space called the Bourbon
Features
You know how you can walk into an establishment and just get a good vibe about it? When something in the atmosphere - the lighting, the feng shui, the colors and space flowing just right - and you know you want to hang out there? Well that was my immediate impression
Archives
Van Conner formed a little Northwest treasure back in the late ’80s known as Screaming Trees with his brother, Gary Lee Conner and Mark Lanegan. Screaming Trees rode the grunge wave of the ’90s never quite reaching the heights of Nirvana, Pearl Jam and Alice in Chains, but still carving
Stage
Carla Paine's paintings at Olyphant Art Supply in Olympia are as rich and luscious as the settings for her portraits and still-lifes. They harken back to a time when artists were considered to have been chosen and blessed by God, when they painted their pictures for kings and popes and
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The Abigails are fixtures in the Southern California psych-rock garage scene. Thomas has been a member of bands like the Growlers and the Grand Elegance, and fellow Abigail Kyle Mullarky has been in the Starlite Desperation - all bands that occupy a sort of LSD haze. Additionally,
Critics' Picks
[METAL] + FRI, JAN. 17 Said in the growliest voice ever: "METALTOPIA 2014 IS ABOUT TO MELT YOUR FACE OFF." Yes, it's true boys and girls, five of the northwest's most badass metal bands are converging in one place - the magical Track House, where bands play, beers flow and miracles
Music
Doing research about the Abigails is a fun tunnel to fall down. In interviews I found, frontman Warren Thomas is frequently, gleefully misleading when answering questions, when he's not actively making shit up about the history of the band. In our conversation, though, it was a relief to find him
Concert Alert
We list major concerts going on sale this weekend, as well as national touring acts performing in the Puget Sound this week and
