Arts & Events

Categorizing the sound on Phantogram’s latest EP, Nightlife, was a blast and a half. In the form of a quick six-track album, duo Sarah Barthel and Josh Carter dance around genres like nobody’s business. So readers, in order to provide a sense of stability, I’ve created a metaphor that will hopefully express the general musical arrangement of this album. Let’s say that The National marries TV On the Radio and they create a musical baby who enjoys raving to triphop and unwinding with dream pop, but is technically called street...

Sci-Fi and fantasy powerhouse Neil Gaiman and musician Amanda Palmer spent the last night of their Kickstarter tour, An Evening With Neil Gaiman and Amanda Palmer, on the stage of the Moore Theatre in Seattle last Wednesday, Nov. 9. The tour started on Halloween night and went to five west coast locations—Los Angeles; San Francisco; Vancouver, BC; Portland and Seattle. Their show, a unique combination of music, poetry and spoken word, proved to be as much of a hodge-podge of art forms as Gaiman and Palmer—married since 2009—themselves. Gaiman premiered...

Fall foolishness returns with the upcoming annual presentation of the Ubiquitous They fall sketch show Boom! Paradox. There will be three performances Nov. 17, 18 and 19 at 7:30 p.m. in Rausch auditorium. Admission is free but donations are appreciated to fund future sketch projects. For those of you unfamiliar with the delightfully wacky antics of Ubiquitous They, allow me to elaborate. Ubiquitous They, or UT as they are widely and lovingly known, is Puget Sound’s own team of both improv and sketch comedians. Unsure of what improv is? Well,...

The internet is a big place, and one is never surprised to find cutthroat debates that might not register on the average person’s radar: “Firefox vs. Chrome,”  “Kirk vs. Picard,” “Joel vs. Mike,” to name just a few. One more debate for you: Call of Duty versus Battlefield. Battlefield 3 was released for PC, Xbox 360 and PS3 Oct. 25, and with Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 out this past Tuesday (Nov. 8), the drawn-out dispute is coming to a head. At this point you’ve silently affirmed your loyalty...

As you step in the door of 1022 South you are immediately transported out of Tacoma and into a trendy Manhattan-style bar. The room is illuminated by dim overhead lamps that spill over light from the bar itself. A large chalkboard displays happy hour drinks for the evening in a fine cursive script. For those of you unfamiliar with this hidden treasure, 1022 South is a bar that belongs in a category all its own. Dana Zillgit, one of my dining companions, described the bar as a “classy hole in...

Death Cab for Cutie and the Head and the Heart began their first arena show Oct. 22 at 7 p.m. at the Key Arena in Seattle. That evening, the stage became an enlarged playground for both bands. Each song had a force of excitement and fun powering it, while the band members danced around stage, playing in their element. The Head and the Heart opened the show with their familiar, powerful and folky tones. They related to the crowd, revealing that some of the members had grown up in Seattle....

Hellloooo, Tacoma! Make some nooooise!!!! If you’ve ever spent a Saturday night in a dorm, you probably know that making beautiful music together is a popular late-night activity. Well, turn down the disdain and turn up the iPod, because this little sex columnist is begging for more! Noise is a beautiful thing—any successful porno will tell you that. And while most pornos also practically scream “fake,” there is something to be said about letting all your neighbors (and your neighbors’ neighbors) know that you’re doing the nasty. Now, let’s be...