Table Sugar

The Surprising Sounds of Table Sugar

by Adam McKinney for OLY ARTS For some bands, messiness can be a virtue. Not everyone thrives on the airtight compositions of Robert Fripp or other leaders of compositional tidiness. A band like The National draws its strength from disciplined arrangements and an almost drum-machine-esque rhythm section, but that focus can result in music devoid …

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Messiah Sing-Along

O Thou That Tellest Good Tidings—Messiah Sing-Along

by Adam McKinney for OLY ARTS As the winter months descend on the world, the cold and darkness is met with a combination of reverie and revelry. Nights get quieter, and the solitude is countered with companionship. One lasting holiday tradition is the singing of Handel’s Messiah, an oratorio from the mid-18th century. Messiah‘s enduring …

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Hari Kondabolu

Joking in a Dark Place With Hari Kondabolu

by Adam McKinney for OLY ARTS Why is it such a common occurrence for comedians who talk politics to be met with the dismissive refrain, “Stick with the comedy?” For as long as comics have been making audiences laugh, they’ve also been ferrying us through tumultuous times of uprising and conflict. They comfort anxieties while …

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The Gravity Quartet

Excursions With The Gravity Quartet

by Adam McKinney for OLY ARTS Local music scenes like Olympia’s can’t always support bands built on classical influences. From a purely economic standpoint, not many struggling musicians can afford string or woodwind instruments like cellos or oboes, and audiences tend not to be as inclined to come out on a weekend to hear music …

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Shuruq II

Olympia Arab Festival 2016

by Adam McKinney for OLY ARTS In Islam, there are three times a day when it is forbidden to pray: sunrise, sunset and when the sun rests at its highest position on the horizon. Sunset, when praying isn’t allowed, is called Shuruq. Since 2012, in the South Sound, Shuruq has also become the casual name …

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Evolfo

Evolfo: The Food of Love

by Adam McKinney for OLY ARTS The band name Evolfo is a shortened version of its original, longer form, Evolfo Doofeht, which is itself a reverse spelling of “the food of love.” Having formed as college students in Boston, of course there’d be some pretentious designs on creating a band name, but those instincts have …

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Poppet

Poppet Stands Out

by Adam McKinney for OLY ARTS In an indie music culture which, in the past decade or so, favors stripped-down bands that offer no-frills music and disaffected live shows, Molly Raney’s Poppet project is thrilling in its efforts to craft a performance that truly leaves an impression. That the music stands on its own is …

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Oh, Rose

From O. Rose to Oh, Rose

by Adam McKinney for OLY ARTS Making the transition from singer-songwriter to a full band can be a challenge for some. For Olivia Rose, the decision to put down her acoustic guitar and form the full-band version of her solo Oh, Rose project was one made out of necessity. “It really started, I guess, because …

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Sam Miller at Le Voyeur

Vomity Comedy

by Adam McKinney for OLY ARTS Seeing stand-up comedy live can be exhilarating. Even if the comedian is a seasoned performer, it’s never a given that a show will go smoothly; this uncertainty goes double for showcases featuring newer comics. Comedy without a net lends an electricity to the air that’s hard to find in …

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Adam McKinney

Adam McKinney has been writing professionally since 2009, doing his part to document the ever-changing music and arts scene in the South Sound. He has co-produced the Squeak and Squawk Music Festival, written a terrible dating column, and contributed a chapter for the book Showtime in Tacoma. When he’s not writing about pop culture, he …

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