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What is the preferable way to cleanse one's palette following an exhilarating skateboarding competition? If you grabbed a pen and wrote "a concert that features punk, reggae and hip-hop bands" in the margin of this week's paper, then you, sir, would be correct. You will be pleased to know O'Malley's was
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The uninitiated may best know the Melvins by their creation of the dubious sub-genre known as sludge-rock. Marked by its definitional sluggishness, sludge-rock favors hard, plodding, perfect-head-banging metal over all else. It's the kind of music where you either commit to the possible whiplash that may
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When we think of Washington rock legends - if we ignore the Sonics, which you never should - then we tend to think of bands like Green River, Nirvana, Pearl Jam, blah blah blah. Before then, it gets a little hazy. Before then, it was the Melvins. Hailing from a town
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This show, featuring Hunting Hat, Psychic Handbook, Via and Last Eyes is being advertised as "The Night of the Living Loop." Not entirely sure what that means. I'm hoping it indicates that these bands utilize the loop pedal, which I think is one of the more delightful gadgets to see
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I wrote sometime back that one of my favorite Tacoma love songs was "Commitment Chant" by Alexander and the Optimistics, AKA local artist Sean Alexander. A simple line, repeated over and over atop a chugging beat box, it kind of perfectly summed up the fear and sadness that come with
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I knew going into this trip that my stay in Oahu would be anything but the traditional Hawaiian vacation, since Honolulu is such a big city, but I didn’t know it would be this much of a good time. Sure, there’s the hustle and bustle of pimps, thugs, hookers and way
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I make my way to the 808 House in Tacoma, and I'm pre-funking like you wouldn't believe. As my need to drink in social situations has increased over time, my standards for consumption have drastically lowered, to the point where now I find myself travelling with a $5 pint of
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There's nothing worse (literally nothing!) than showing up at a concert - excited, a CD in hand that you hope to get signed - and watching the ensuing performance rise to just below your expectations for a school play. Kind of hard to enjoy that CD anymore, huh? Well, alright, there
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Everything that could or, really, should be said about Hall & Oates has been exhausted. By now we know that, yes, John Oates has one of the more ridiculous mustaches in the history of personal grooming. And yes, Daryl Hall might be more comfortable as the third doctor on some
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Daniel Higgs occupies a space similar to other people who may be categorized as "mad prophets": vocalists like Isaac Brock or Nick Cave - artists who seem to speak only in proclamations and incantations, with fearsome intonation and a seemingly-possessed fervor in their eyes. These are men who seem to
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Alright, look: I have no idea what this "mash up" is supposed to be. Apparently, members of Big Wheel Stunt Show, the Legend of Bigfoot and SweetKiss Momma (in addition to "more," evidently) will converge on the New Frontier stage and do ... something. Personally, I'm intrigued already. These are
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Matt Coughlin and the Growlers have labeled their style as "funktry" - a combination of funk and country, natch. Coughlin grew up in Montana, raised by a couple of hippies. "They're folkies from back in the day," says Coughlin. "They got me playing piano and playing the guitar and singing
Military Policy
I met Gary Sinise almost 15 years ago at McChord Field. Tuesday morning, I had the chance to reconnect. Nothing's changed about him - he is the same sincere and humble man I met a decade-and-a-half ago. What's more, his focus remains squarely on servicemembers and their families. "It's great to be
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As far as the Weekly Volcano is concerned, any excuse to eat Mexican food is a good one. But the celebration of Cinco de Mayo — usually observed over a period of days, not just on the 5th — provides us with even more ammunition for gorging on tacos, chile
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"Hipster" is such a loaded word, and one that I'm generally opposed to. For the purposes of this article, however, I will use it constantly. Depending on who you ask, it could mean anything from Day-Glo-loving rich kids who are up on the latest fashions and look down upon those who
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Thee Oh Sees are not shy about what they do. This is made evident by "Warm Slime," the opening track on their album of the same name. At 13 minutes, it's a vast, towering tribute to '60s psychedelia, warts and all. The one-two bass line pounding on
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Thee Oh Sees are not shy about what they do. This is made evident by "Warm Slime," the opening track on their album of the same name. At 13 minutes, it's a vast, towering tribute to '60s psychedelia, warts and all. The one-two bass line pounding on and on and
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The first time I saw Allan Boothe perform, it was a solo set at a benefit show at The New Frontier for the Squeak and Squawk music festival. His performance was bizarre. He stood atop an amp, clear across the room from the stage, guitar in hand,
Music
The first time I saw Allan Boothe perform, it was a solo set at a benefit show at The New Frontier for the Squeak and Squawk music festival. His performance was bizarre. He stood atop an amp, clear across the room from the stage, guitar in hand, back to the
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NoMeansNo must really, really like us! After taking the time to scramble our brain parts last year at the old Hell's Kitchen, Sunday they're back to conquer the new downtown HK. If you missed them before, you simply have no excuse this time. Godfathers of math rock, flirters with prog,
