By Ira Zuckerman
FRIDAY 10/31
Night of the Living Tribute Bands
(Capitol Theater, 206 5th Ave SE, 8pm, $10) As rock groups, Bon Jovi and Weezer don’t really share artistic traits. All they have in common is that they made it. For the Olympia Film Society, that’s enough to put them on the same stage for this year’s Night of the Living Tribute Bands, hosted by the outspoken women of the Collective of Ladies Arm Wrestling’s Olympia chapter. Each year, rock stars are revived to spook Olympia’s guts out, in the form of undead cover bands. Like a magic show, it can be fun to pretend what you’re seeing is the real deal, especially for performers with the presence of Neil Diamond and Hole.
SATURDAY 11/1
(Le Voyeur, 404 4th Ave E, 12:30pm – 3pm) New York comic artist and folk musician Jeffrey Lewis is bringing his honest melodies and quaint instrumentation to Le Voyeur over brunch. For some performers, a 12:30 p.m. “brunch show” might be as good as giving up. Instead, it’s fitting for Lewis’ songs about the comic books he draws, the time he saw Will Oldham on the subway, and wanting to move out to Seattle. You could to drive down to Portland and see him play a “real show” at the Bunk Bar on the night before, if you wanted. You’d probably see a set that feels like a conversation over eggs and coffee cake anyway.
Westside Arts Walk
(Houses on the Westside, 4pm – Midnight, Donation) Local DIY arts organizers, the Raccoon Collective, are putting on the eighth annual Westside Arts Walk, a community-centered exhibition of local artists. On Nov. 1, all forms of local artisans will come together to celebrate the season of cold and creepy.
Unlike the large city-wide arts walks, the West Side Arts Walk holds its performances in volunteered homes. Musical acts range from contemporary folk to hardcore punk, while the performance art is varied enough to include a burlesque show.
“I think there’s something very significant in the way people interact with art and performance when it’s in the home of their friends and neighbors,” Raccoon Collective organizer Eli Fair said. “It bridges the gap between creator and consumer, to a point where people become indistinguishable.”
As one of the founding members of the collective, Fair has organized Arts Walks in Olympia since 2007. “The nature of the DIY arts walk draws artists interested in community and diffused arts culture, as opposed to professionalism and gallery spaces.”
Maps of the event will be available at businesses on the Westside and downtown toward the end of October.
(Northern, 414 1/2 Legion Way SE, 7pm, $5) The Olympia Zine Fest is projected for 2015, and the Saturday after Halloween brings a chance to make it happen. The Northern is hosting Hallowzine, a fundraiser to ensure the festival has a concrete and reliable event space.
Aside from the necessary fundraiser furnishings, Hallowzine features the kind of Pacific Northwest fun that something related to zines should: dancing, tarot readings, and kombucha mocktails.
Most people who would attend know what a zine is, and for those who don’t, it’s a good idea to learn. Zines are a vital way for writers and artists who wouldn’t otherwise have their work published in mainstream media to have their voice heard; think of them as magazines that don’t show up in your mailbox uninvited. If you have cool enough interests, it’s not a bad idea to go online and find “your” zine. Nothing adds to a dorm room like a pile of photocopied papers you can point to and say “Oh yeah, that’s this zine I’m subscribed to.”
Zines can be about anything: anarcho-punk, existential crises, food stamps, alcoholism, Bigfoot, writing zines, pretty much anything that won’t get too popular. If nothing else, attending Hallowzine gives you the chance to say “zine” more than not.
