SUNDAY, FEB. 19 2017: South Sound events + craft beer …
Immanuel Presbyterian Church + Peaks and Pints = Blues Vespers and the fifth Beatle of beer
The Eastside Club Tavern + Three Magnets Brewing Co. = Session
JUNKYARD JANE
As the saying goes, “Time flies when you’re having fun,” and for Junkyard Jane it’s been a barrel of monkeys for the past 20 years as Billy Stoops and Leanne Trevalyan have been hosts to a non-stop party. Junkyard Jane was formed in 1997 out of stragglers from three different bands with a common vision: to have fun with music. The ensemble of first class musicians has changed over the years, but Stoops and Trevalyan have remained the glue that has kept the Northwest’s number one party band together. With a funky mix of blues, twang and rock ’n’ roll, the band defied labels and created music on their own terms, which they dubbed “swampabilly roots.” Trevalyan’s whimsical vocals and the occasional kazoo solo compliment stoops’ nasty mastery of the Strat coupled with his powerfully rich voice. Junkyard Jane is reuniting at the Blues Vespers in the Immanuel Presbyterian Church at 5 p.m. Past alumni, including trombonist extraordinaire Randy Oxford, will all be on hand to celebrate. There will be a story and some poems read by Rev. Dave.
PREFUNK: Beer at its most basic is composed of just four ingredients: barley, hops, yeast and water. The fifth Beatles, if you will, is malted rye. Rye IPAs and pales see rye added to the grist in the brew kettle. IPAs in general emphasize the bitterness of hops with herbal, citrus and piney character in their aroma and flavor. Rye adds to that its own complexity of spicy and bready qualities. pFriem Family Brewers adds the fifth Beatle in its RyePA. This beer isn’t a palate-crusher, but if you’re a hophead it’s still worth putting on your list as a respectable IPA. There is plenty of spicy dryness from the combination of hops and rye to make it interesting. A little rye goes a long way for us; too much means the bready spicy toast qualities take over. This beer gets the rye right, with spiciness and citrus zest that accents the aroma of the grapefruit and lychee. Peaks and Pints has pFriem RyePA on tap and in the cooler.
BLUEGRASS JAM
The bluegrass jam is a remarkable cultural product. Through and through, the South Sound bluegrass community is dedicated to accessibility and participation. There are few other genres where you can anticipate a large chunk of the crowd at a show being proficient in one, if not most, of the instruments onstage. It’s due both to this community and the structural simplicity of the music that bluegrass has such a vigorous jam culture. Fans have a relatively easy time meeting one another and learning enough on an instrument to be able participate in the enormously social experience of the bluegrass world. The Eastside Club Tavern hosts a bluegrass jam led by its Steamboat House Band from 4-7 p.m. You’ll see members of the Oly Mountain Boys, The Pine Hearts, Steamboat Stringband Jamboree performers and featured guest musicians from around the Pacific Northwest. They’ll jam during happy hour, so there will be $3.50 pints and free pool.
PREFUNK: Three Magnets Brewing Co. has released another new beer, Ledge Sesh IPA. It’s not a session IPA. Rather, it’s brewed for the Washington State Legislative session, so it’s a session beer. This IPA features a malt base of American pilsner, rolled oats, Munich and rye. Adding to the malt base is a heavy dose of Amarillo, Citra, Centennial and Simcoe hops in both whirlpool and dry hopping. Ledge Sesh clocks in at 7.5% ABV and 75 IBUs. Visit the downtown Olympia brewery today, have yourself a Ledge Sesh and contemplate Washington Senate Bill 5816, which would make “Sasquatch the official cryptid or crypto-animal of Washington.” The bill states “Sasquatch has made immeasurable contributions to Washington state’s cultural heritage and ecosystem” and “the state of Washington further recognizes the importance of preserving the legacy of Sasquatch.” One more Sesh, please.
