Features
We all know them: those impossible friends and family members that are hard to shop for. Buying clothing is tricky, because let's face it, if it's too small you can remind them just how much they indulged on Thanksgiving. If it's too large, you can also offend. Housewares are OK
Guides
The kiddies are perhaps the hardest to shop for. Many are ungrateful little wretches who think entitlement is a breakfast cereal. Ok, I may have a little humbug in me, but you know it's true. So when the sweet little cherubs let their good sides shine during the months leading
Health
If given the choice between an all-expense paid fishing trip or sitting in a therapy session, the pioneering Rivers of Recovery program, which helps combat veterans, is willing to bet there's actually no choice. Joint Base Lewis-McChord's Sgt. Kurt Erickson went out on a Rivers of Recovery trip in August after
Guides
When you think of shopping in Puyallup, your first thought is likely of South Hill Mall and big box stores - endless big box stores. But don't sell Puyallup short. Downtown Puyallup near the fairgrounds is the farthest thing from a master-planned and commercially developed boomtown. Downtown Puyallup is absolutely
Guides
Singing and Christmas are intertwined. You can't have the holidays without a round of "O Holy Night" or "Jingle Bells" or even "Grandma Got Run Over by a Reindeer" ... although; Christmas is always significantly better if you skip that last one. You could get your holiday tunes in by
Archives
Steak is a splendorous thing. With the right cut and a skilled chef, a good steak ranks among life’s great pleasures. There are few places that can properly coax true, transcendent glory from a hunk of USDA Prime. If you want the best, go to Peter Luger in Brooklyn. If
Guides
No one deserves to go hungry, whether it is over the holidays or on any given Tuesday. That's why the Thurston County Food Bank needs your help; the need is always present. The Thurston County Food Bank provides food for 400 families within the county every day. The downtown location, 220
Guides
>>> COMMUNITY YE OLDE TREE LIGHTING Hear ye, hear ye, longtime (or short time) people of Tacoma and the South Sound! Job Carr, Tacoma's original Gritizen and the first settler in these here parts, has a sweet little museum and original cabin replica in his honor in Tacoma's Old Town district (birthplace
Guides
Fingerless gloves were an invention intended to improve the ability to wrap your digits around hot mugs. Well, that's only a fraction of the truth. They are meant to improve dexterity of your fingers, which applies the same concepts; take from that what you will. So, naturally, with rumors of
Music
What do live rock, 32-ounce steaks and 99-cent beers have in common? Everything. This will be the cohesive vibe of a new Tacoma restaurant, lounge and venue: The Rock and Roll Lodge and Steakhouse. Located at 9825 Pacific Ave., in the former home of the Delmonte's Sports Bar and Sea Galley. The 6,800-square-foot
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 down
Show And Tell
Tinseltown suffered a heavy blow last week with the tragic death of Paul Walker. I'll resist the temptation to call him a "great thespian," a "master of his craft" or any of the other tried and true cants that frequently appear in celebrity eulogies. I'll just point out that in
We Recommend
The first words I saw describing Historian painted them as a mixture between Arcade Fire's Win Butler and (everyone's dreams') Nick Cave. Those are deeply enticing words, and so I was bound to listen. The truth is, those fantastic descriptors don't quite describe what Historian is all about. That dangerous
We Recommend
When I wrote about Bacon Moon, back in 2010, I compared them to Guided By Voices. Much like Robert Pollard's drunken pop music wonder-band, Bacon Moon have a knack for finding indelible pop melodies in the middle of lo-fi rattling. Since that write-up, Bacon Moon have edged further into experimental
We Recommend
So much has been said about the classic Tacoma punk band Girl Trouble that very little more needs to be said. For anyone not in the know, this is the most badass band still working in Tacoma. KP Kendall still performs shirtless. The band still fights the good fight against
Food Matters
SAY HI TO NUCKY What better way to celebrate the 80th anniversary of Repeal Prohibition Day than handcrafted cocktails, burlesque dancers and a quartet! At 6 p.m. Thursday, Dec. 5 Olympia Film Society will party old school style at the Capital Theater (206 Fifth Ave. SE, Olympia). Sip classic cocktails and
South Sound Cinema
Some days you just don't feel like paying for another Redbox rental, and the next movie on your Netflix queue takes FOREVER to arrive in your mailbox. And recession or no, who can pass up free, convenient entertainment?
We Recommend
Generally, music intended for children is perky, chipmunk-y, condescending, cloying and unlistenable for anyone old enough to cut his or her own meat. Most kids' music seems designed to tell ham-handed moral lessons about sharing, being polite, and buying as much Disney-produced plastic material as possible. Enter Kim Archer (cue:
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Erev Rav, Weekly Volcano's reader-voted Best Band of 2012, are playing in Olympia for the first time since summer. A few cool changes have taken place: New members include Aaron Wolf on tenor sax from The Brown Edition (another Volcano winner), James Schneider of Hot Club Sandwich on bass and
Stage
Try as we might, we critics look forward to some productions more than others. From our perspective, the newer, more cutting-edge shows cluster in late spring and summer, as do the Shakespeares and edgier musicals. Autumn ushers in every new theater season with tried-and-true popular favorites, and as for the
