Spew

The Grand opens Christmas Day

MICHAEL SWAN: TAKE YOUR ONE GOOD EYE TO THE MOVIES >>>

Gathering 'round the tree is all well and good on Christmas morn. But what do you do after the last shred of wrapping paper lands in a trash bag, the feast is demolished and you've tired of admiring — or deploring — your gifts?

Go to the movies!

Be one of the first to sit in the brand new seats in the brand new theater at The Grand Cinema this Christmas Day.  After months of construction the Grand Cinema presents a “soft” opening of the new theater.
 
The "fourth" theater — which consumed the old Kulture Lab/Grand Impromptu Gallery space next to the existing Grand Cinema at 606 S. Fawcett — will open with the film The Young Victoria for 103 patrons, if filled, at 2, 4:15, 6:30 and 8:45 p.m. Friday, Dec. 25.
 

Oh, brothers!

SUZY STUMP: TOO MUCH MONKEY BUSINESS >>>

Hmm, what to do Christmas Day? Whether or not you celebrate Christmas, stress is always in season, and I dare ya to say you couldn’t use a healthy dose of silliness ’bout now.

Run over to Stadium Video next to Stadium High School in Tacoma’s Stadium District and load up on The Marx Brothers, Abbott & Costello, and the Three Stooges. Grab a helping of Duck Soup (1933), and see Groucho and the gang ham it up in what the AFI calls the funniest film “made before 1959.”

Stadium Video opens its doors every single day of the year — yes Christmas, too — from 11 a.m. to 11:03 p.m.

[Stadium Video, 29 N. Tacoma Ave., Tacoma, 253.572.1190]

5 Things To Do: Tuesday

MICHAEL SWAN: TUESDAY, DEC. 22, 2009 >>>

1. A 16-year-old girl (Carey Mulligan) is the target of a sophisticated seduction by a 35-year-old man (Peter Sarsgaard).  Could have been shabby or painful, but the luminous Mulligan makes it romantic and wonderfully entertaining in the film An Education screening at 2:30, 4:45, 7:10 and 9:15 p.m. inside The Grand Cinema.

2. Tentwentytwo South offers half-price wine from 4 p.m. to midnight.

3. The Hub hosts Trivia Night with cash prizes at 6 p.m.

4. Open Jam Night featuring Tim Hall & Real Time begins at 7 p.m. inside the Summit Pub.

5. Saxophonist Kareem Kandi hosts an open jazz jam at 9 p.m. inside Sax on 6th.

LINK: Live music and DJs in the South Sound

LINK: Local movie starting times

LINK: South Sound Restaurant Guide

Click! on Art Slam

MICHAEL SWAN: DEPARTMENT OF COOL >>>

The 2009 Art Slam, which featured 58 South Sound visual and performing artists and 14 spoken word performance inside the Rialto Theater Nov. 18, is now available for free public viewing on Click! ON Demand. Click here for Click!

Small print: You must have a Click! cable receiver to access ON Demand. Go to “Video on Demand”, click “Free Click! Local”, click on “TacomaArt & Culture”, and then select “2009 Art Slam”, grab some popcorn and chill.

5 Things To Do: Saturday

MICHAEL SWAN: SATURDAY, DEC. 19, 2009 >>>

1. The Folksingers In Hell perform at 3 p.m. inside Funkoma Vintage along Tacoma’s Antique Row.

2. Santa Runs Tacoma — featuring Frosty’s 5K Run/Walk, The Grinch 10K Relay and Tiny Tim’s 1K Kids Run — begins at 9 a.m. on Dock Street.

3. The Grand Cinema screens The Polar Express at 10:30 a.m. for free. Nice.

4. Indiana University’s Straight No Chaser are neither strait-laced nor straight-faced; they are 10 unadulterated human voices with a sense of humor hitting the Rialto stage at 7:30 p.m.

5. Tempest Lounge resident DJs Mr. Clean, Dab, Big Chuck and guests present “House Blend” for free beginning at 9:30 p.m.

LINK: Live music and DJs in the South Sound

LINK: Local movie starting times

LINK: South Sound Restaurant Guide

5 Things To Do: Thursday

MICHAEL SWAN: THURSDAY, DEC. 17, 2009 >>>

1. The film Tony Manero follows a psychotic petty criminal into the depths of his crazed obsession with John Travolta's character in Saturday Night Fever screening at 9 p.m. at the Capitol Theater in Olympia.

2. Third Thursday Artwalk may offer unbelievable deals on amazing pieces of artwork, all while supporting creative souls, from 5-8 p.m. in downtown Tacoma.

3. Make No Little Plans, an art show commemorating the Luzon building, opens at Logical Diagram Gallery from 5-9 p.m.

4. Fantasy Lights, the largest drive-through display of lights in the Northwest, operates from 5:30-9 p.m. in Spanaway Park.

5. Michael Hochstatter’s Documentary Film Night #3 featuring an examination of the commercialization of Christmas in America begins at 6 p.m. in his house at 914 Meade Ave. right off Main Street next to Dairy Freeze in Sumner.

LINK: Live music and DJs in the South Sound

LINK: Local movie starting times

LINK: South Sound Restaurant Guide

HAPPY HOUR: Ale House and breakfast-loving aliens

MICHAEL SWAN: TODAY’S HAPPY HOUR DISCUSSION TOPIC >>>

Discuss the above video over happy hour at:

Ale House Sports Pub & Grille
2122 Mildred St. W., Tacoma, 253.565.9367
Happy Hours: 3-7 p.m., 10 p.m. to close daily
Drink Specials: $2 domestic pints, $3 micros, $4 imports, $2.50 wells
Food Specials: Half off appetizers

LINK: More South Sound happy hours

5 Things To Do: Thursday

MICHAEL SWAN: THURSDAY, DEC. 10, 2009 >>>

1. The Grand Cinema hosts Seattle writer, artist and filmmaker Karl Krogstad, he whose received a thousand praises and lofty titles for his fascinating film work, featuring a special showing of one of his recent efforts, The Perfect Show, at 7 p.m.

2. The Pacific Lutheran University Jazz Ensemble the 13th annual free holiday concert and live broadcast is from noon to 1 p.m. at the Mary Baker Russell Music Center on the PLU campus.

3. The Blue Mouse Theatre screens It’s a Wonderful Life at 5:30 p.m. to benefit low-income families through the Family Emergency Fund.

4. Nearly 50 hungry artists are packing into the Mad Hat Tea Company from 7-10 p.m. in hopes of making a little cash. It’s called the Cash Flow Show, and everything is on sale for $25 or less.

5. Chris Lunn's Ancient Victory's Open Mike hits the Antique Sandwich Company’s stage at 7 p.m.

LINK: Live music and DJs in the South Sound

LINK: Local movie starting times

LINK: South Sound Restaurant Guide

All freakin’ Lord Of The Rings

MICHAEL SWAN: THE FELLOWSHIP OF A MOVIE MARATHON >>>

As I’m in an especially confessional mood, I will reveal that instead of attending your Christmas party Saturday night — I will be snuggled in a movie seat watching the entire Lord of the Rings trilogy screened back to back to back at the Capitol Theater. Yes, I know. That's only about a 9 on the geekdom scale. Perfect 10s, if you're asking, are reserved for those pallid souls who can't tear themselves away from playing the online fantasy game Everquest to care about anything happening inside the Olympia movie house.

I will stoke my role-playing fantasies with the 10-hour immersion that begins Saturday at 7:30 p.m. when the doors open.

[Capitol Theater, Saturday, Dec. 12, 8 p.m., $10 Olympia Film Society members, $15 general admission at BuyOlympia.com. 206 E. Fifth S.E., Olympia, 360.754.6670]

5 Things To Do: Wednesday

MICHAEL SWAN: WEDNESDAY, NOV. 9, 2009 >>>

1. “Take the prankster chutzpah of Sacha Baron Cohen. Pair it with Michael Moore's crusading lefty outrage. Add two frazzled-looking guys in cheap suits. What do you get? The Yes Men Fix The World” — screening at 9 p.m. inside the Capitol Theater.

2. A Concise History of Northwest Art is a big, big, big show — parts of which should appeal to everyone since it has photography, painting, sculpture, jewelry, glass and ceramics covering Northwest art history since the 19th century, including art from Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Montana and even British Columbia and Alaska — runs from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. at the Tacoma Art Museum.

3. The Tacoma loving Love Tacoma club hosts its December event at Enoteca, the wine bar adjacent to the Tacoma Wine Merchants in the Stadium District, beginning at 5:30 p.m.

4. Tacoma Little Theatre stage’s Jean Shepherd’s A Christmas Story at 7:30 p.m.

5. Jonny Smokes performs at 9 p.m. inside the Kamel Toe club in Parkland.

LINK: Live music and DJs in the South Sound

LINK: Local movie starting times

LINK: South Sound Restaurant Guide