FRIDAY, MARCH 31 2017: South Sound events + craft beer …
Broadway Center + Peaks and Pints = Lila Downs and Sweet Jane
The Valley + Pacific Brewing & Malting Co. = Nocturnal Habits and German IPA
PASSIONATE MUSIC
Which is scarier: Salma Hayek’s eyebrow on Frida, or the fact that Mexican-American vocal wonder Lila Downs was once a Deadhead? Downs appeared in Frida but is still far better-known as a world music singer steeped in the traditions and cultures of Mexico, fusing traditional Mexi-folk with gospel, jazz, reggae and even hip-hop influences with grand storytelling flourishes about life on the U.S. Mexican border. “Singing means more than just singing to my mother’s people,” she once told Britain’s Independent. “It’s a metaphor for life, and the belief in life.” Catch her at 7:30 p.m. in the Broadway Center’s Pantages Theater.
PREFUNK: Recorded in 1970 at Atlantic Studios at Broadway and 60th Street in New York City, “Sweet Jane” appeared on Loaded, the Velvet Underground’s fourth album, and first for Atlantic Records. One of the best songs rock and roll has produced about itself, “Sweet Jane” rolls up several of Reed’s great themes: how mutable sexuality is and how strong love can be. Speaking of “Sweet Jane” and love, Double Mountain Brewmaster Matt Swihart has said, “This beer is inspired by one of my rock heroes, feel like I’m standing on a corner with beer in my hand, God I love this song.” Swihart’s reference to “this beer” is his own Sweet Jane IPA, a well-balanced Northwest IPA with strong malts in harmony with tropical fruits and piney hops. Peaks and Pints has Double Mountain’s Sweet Jane IPA pouring from our Western red cedar tap log. Drop by for a pint of Sweet Jane, Sweet Jane, Sweet Jane.
NOCTURNAL HABITS
With a name like Unwound it was inevitable the influential Olympia post-hardcore crew would one day come unglued, which it did in 2002, just months after marking its 10th anniversary as a band. In the wake of the group’s dissolution, singer/guitarist Justin Trosper stepped back from the spotlight, briefly flirting with a career as a recording engineer before enrolling in school and working toward a degree in environmental studies, which he eventually received from Evergreen State College. Then, more than a decade removed from his last live performances, Trosper resurfaced with Survival Knife, a tough-minded rock crew with fellow Unwound mate Mike Ziegler. Trosper has a new gig, Nocturnal Habits, a brighter and more aggressive band than Unwound. Catch Nocturnal Habits with Blanco Bronco, Old Foals and Drug Apts at 8 p.m. in The Valley.
PREFUNK: A couple months ago, Pacific Brewing & Malting Co. head brewer Bethany Carlsen sat in Sierra Nevada’s taproom in Chico California. Actually, she was on the floor as the brewery’s German IPA knocked her off her chair. She stood up and announced to the room, “I’ll be brewing this back in Tacoma, yo!” Pick yourself off Pacific Brewing & Malting Co.’s floor after you sip Carlsen’s Deutschland IPA, a beer she says tastes like a pineapple ring on the barbecues. This floral, hoppy, grassy and pineapple ring-y also has sports a distinctive toastiness due to the Vienna malt. Check it out when the taproom opens at 4 p.m.
