Tuesday, February 27, 2018

Posted By on Tue, Feb 27, 2018 at 9:53 AM

click to enlarge Northwest Bach Festival opening concert Tuesday
NW Bach Fest
Grammy-winning cellist and Northwest Bach Festival Artistic Director Zuill Bailey.

The Northwest Bach Festival is turning 40 with this year's celebration, and the action all gets started Tuesday night with a serious amount of musical firepower on stage for the Festival Opening Concert.

The festival's artistic director Zuill Bailey and the Ying String Quartet — Grammy winners all — will team up for a show at Barrister Winery (7:30 pm, 1213 W. Railroad Ave., $35, or $15 for students) to tackle Mendelssohn's String Quartet in Eb Major, Berg's String Quartet Op. 3 and Beethoven's Kreutzer Sonata Arranged for String Quintet in A Major Op. 47.

The "Kreuzter" sonata is particularly interesting, Bailey told the Inlander, because the arrangement they'll be playing was done by an anonymous person who took the piece originally designed for one violinist and one pianist and adapted it for five string players. In Bailey and Ying String players, you have the chance to see five such players at the top of their game.

"The first violinist still plays the lion's share of what they would have done in the violin sonata, which would have been just for piano and violin, but the piano part is broken up over four other people," Bailey explains. "That creates a sonic experience that people aren't accustomed to, in that they're all string sounds, and they kind of cover the spectrum of all ranges in a quintet setting."

The opening concert is the beginning of two weeks' worth of classical concerts at venues throughout the Inland Northwest. Pick up the new Inlander Thursday for a story on this year's highlights, including Bailey's internet sleuthing to find rare material to play this year.

For a complete schedule of events and tickets, visit the festival website.

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Monday, February 26, 2018

Posted By on Mon, Feb 26, 2018 at 4:03 PM


Hannibal Buress has built a cottage industry out of his comedy, expanding far beyond the standup stage into acting, producing, directing and voiceover work.

Standup remains his sweet spot, though, and he'll bring his tour to Spokane on May 11 for a show at The Knitting Factory. Tickets go on sale Friday at 10 am via The Knit's website and ticketweb.com. Ticket prices are $32.50 for standing and $40 for general admission.

Perhaps best known for his roles on Broad City (Lincoln!) and as the co-host of The Eric Andre Show, Buress has also been in a few flicks of late, like Spider-Man: Homecoming and, um, Baywatch.

Watch those if you like, but be sure to hit Netflix to check out some of his standup specials; his Scotland adventures in Hannibal Takes Edinburgh are particularly fun and so is his most recent special Comedy Camisado hit in 2016.

Here's an older clip of the family-friendly variety:


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Tuesday, February 13, 2018

Posted By on Tue, Feb 13, 2018 at 10:41 AM

click to enlarge Punk legends the Descendents announce Spokane show for October
Punk legends The Descendents are coming to Spokane for an October 4 show.

The Descendents are everything good about the "pop-punk" label that sadly later turned into a ton of bands without the sense of humor or songwriting chops the SoCal crew boasted in spades on legendary, pioneering punk albums like Milo Goes to College and I Don't Want to Grow Up.

On Oct. 4, the band will swing through Spokane for a show at the Knitting Factory. Tickets are $26 in advance, $30 day of show, and available starting Friday at 10 am through the usual outlets like the Knitting Factory website and box office.

Spawned from the same South L.A. scene as Black Flag and the Minutemen, The Descendents added an undeniable tunefulness to their songs of alienation and distaste for mediocrity. Their blend of punk energy, pop hooks and nerd-y obsessions made The Descendents an oft-cited, much-beloved band despite decades of inactivity dribbled between tours and albums that started arriving in the late '70s; since 1986, the quartet has consisted of Milo Aukerman, Karl Alvarez, Bill Stevenson and Stephen Egerton. Their latest album came out in 2016, and Hypercaffium Spazzinate was their first new set in 12 years, complete with all the energy their early works had.

Here's a taste of their latest, a tune called "Victim of Me:"

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Friday, February 9, 2018

Posted By on Fri, Feb 9, 2018 at 10:31 AM


Calling all wine snobs. On Feb. 15, the Inlander is getting romantic at the Garland Theater, pairing a screening of the Tina Fey-Steve Carell comedy Date Night with some delicious local wines. It's what we call Sips and Cinema: It's a lot like our regular Suds and Cinema, but we're swapping out the hops for grapes this time.

Our friends at Horizon Credit Union will be sponsoring the event (and providing free popcorn), and Spokane's Maryhill Winery will be pouring some of their finest blends. You can win prizes, too: Either a date night package including Spokane Symphony tickets and a $100 gift certificate to Bonefish Grill, or a couple of annual Garland passes.

Released in 2010, Date Night stars Carell and Fey as a boring suburban couple whose attempts to disrupt the tedium of their marriage leads to their being mistaken for mob informants. Mila Kunis, James Franco and Mark Wahlberg round out the supporting cast.

Tickets for our first Sips and Cinema event are $5 and can be purchased at the Garland's box office now. Doors open at 7 pm, with the film starting at 8 pm.

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Thursday, February 1, 2018

Posted By on Thu, Feb 1, 2018 at 8:00 AM

click to enlarge Celebrate African-American history in the Inland Northwest with these events
Young Kwak
Brotha Nature's show at the downtown Spokane Library is one of many Black History Month celebrations for your consideration.

Celebrate Black History Month/African-American History Month in Spokane with a slew of events and activities. From spoken word poetry to fascinating lectures, February will be a busy month. Come to show support of Black History Month and even learn something new. Below are just a few of the free events taking place.

Brotha Nature
Kick off Black History Month with a lyrical and musical treat from Brotha Nature! Brotha Nature is a solo beatboxing lyricist from Spokane who juxtaposes genres like hip hop, electronic and jazz, to name a few, to compose his work.
Spokane Downtown Public Library • 906 W. Main • Fri, Feb. 2 at 6:30 pm

SATURATE Spokane Arts Tour: Celebrating Artists of Color
Saturate is designed to recognize artists of color all over Spokane in various venues. Performances and art pieces will be showcased to give underrepresented artists exposure and an opportunity to be honored and celebrated. Check the new issue of The Inlander for a full run-down of Saturate shows.
Various locations • Starting Feb. 2 • spokanearts.org/saturate

Celebration of Gospel Music: Raising the Roof with Praise
The 21st annual Gospel Explosion at Whitworth University features local choirs and praise teams coming together for a night of worship. The event is free, but will accept donations. Warm up those vocal chords or come to appreciate the vocally talented.
Seeley G. Mudd Chapel, Whitworth University • Fri, Feb. 2 at 7 pm

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Wednesday, January 31, 2018

Posted By on Wed, Jan 31, 2018 at 5:05 PM


Voting for the Inlander's annual Best Of issue is now open — a poll that allows our readers to name their picks for the finest food, art, culture and shopping in the area. You can vote here, or look for a paper ballot in the Feb. 1 issue currently on newsstands.

Is there a particular Spokane restaurant you consider a buried treasure? Think your favorite local band deserves some recognition? Wanna give a shout-out to the best play you saw last year? Now's your chance to make your opinion known.

You have through Feb. 14 to participate, and the 2018 winners will be announced in our March 22 issue. For a taste of what folks chose last year, you can see 2017's results here.

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Monday, January 29, 2018

Posted By on Mon, Jan 29, 2018 at 11:11 AM

click to enlarge CONCERT ANNOUNCEMENT: Chris Stapleton books Spokane Arena show for July 19
Chris Stapleton plays Spokane July 19

Chris Stapleton, one of the leading lights in traditional country's recent re-emergence to commercial success, is heading to Spokane to headline the arena on July 19 as part of his "All-American Road Show" tour.

The announcement comes hot on the heels of Stapleton's Grammy takeover Sunday night, as he took home trophies for Best Country Album (for his From A Room: Vol 1), Best Country Song ("Broken Halos") and Best Country Solo Performance ("Either Way"). Stapleton was also the featured act on this weekend's Saturday Night Live, bringing rabblerouser Sturgill Simpson along for the ride:


Stapleton will be joined by country legend Marty Stuart and rising star Brent Cobb for his Spokane show. Tickets go on sale Friday, Feb. 9, at 10 am. As of now, prices have not been released; we'll update this post when prices come our way.

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Thursday, January 4, 2018

Posted By on Thu, Jan 4, 2018 at 1:20 PM

click to enlarge Silver Mountain gives you a great reason to call in sick to work Friday
courtesy Silver Mountain Resort
Shred on the cheap on Friday.

Silver Mountain wants you to be a jackass.

The North Idaho ski resort first opened in 1968 under the name Jackass Ski Bowl, and to celebrate the resort's 50th birthday, Silver Mountain is offering $12 lift tickets all day on Friday, Jan. 5.

They're calling it Jackass Day, and those lift tickets will also be good for night skiing until 9 pm, and you can tube a little extra from 5-7 pm if sliding down the hill on rubber tubes instead of skis is more your thing.

There will be some other festivities Friday, including the Jams 4 Cans Rail Jam starting at 7 pm, a Retro Outfit Contest at 8 pm, fireworks at 9 pm and live tunes in both the Moguls and Noah's Canteen watering holes on the mountain.

Now start practicing your scratchy voice for when you call the boss in the morning.

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Monday, December 11, 2017

Posted By and on Mon, Dec 11, 2017 at 12:10 PM

click to enlarge 31 majestic eagles (and one bonus seagull!) from Saturday at Coeur d'Alene
Daniel Walters photo

It was a bad weekend for the Eagles, but a great weekend for the eagles.

A group of eagles is called a "convocation." And at Coeur d'Alene lake this weekend, it was practically a pep rally. Hundreds of bald eagles swooped around Higgens Point and the Wolf Lodge Bay, many clutching fish in their talons as they glided from tree to tree.  According to the Spokesman-Review, US Fish and Wildife counted over 370 eagles on Thursday, a new record. 

We took the trek out to Couer d'Alene on Saturday, vowing to only return once we had captured at least one bald eagle on film. But reader, we saw several.

A single tree may be speckled with ten white bald-eagle heads. You look up into the sky and would see dozens of eagles circling above the snow-dusted hills.

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Friday, December 8, 2017

Posted By on Fri, Dec 8, 2017 at 1:38 PM


The annual holiday installment of Cat Friday is here, offering our picks for the most interesting, cute, useful and fun gift* ideas for the kitties and cat peeps in your life. Let's get right into it. (Click here for last year's still-relevant list!)

click to enlarge CAT FRIDAY: Gifts for cats and their people
Pro tip: Don't sniff the bag when you treat your kitty to these.
Vital Essentials Freeze-Dried Minnows
I recently bought a bag of these nasty-looking little freeze-dried fishies for my sweet girl Dellie, and never have I ever seen my dear little fur-baby scarf up something so quickly, and with such fervor. After crunching down one of the smelly minnows, she immediately proceeded to look wild-eyed around the floor in front of her for more. I definitely plan to now keep a bag of these regularly stocked in her treat drawer, alongside her favorite flavor of Greenies (chicken), for special rewards (like post-claw trim) and treats. Remember, though, moderation is key with anything you feed your pet beyond their normal meal portions (I'd gag to find a regurgitated pile of scaly remains on the floor somewhere). Also, if minnows aren't your kitties' animal protein du jour, Vital Essentials offers a full line of freeze-dried, raw treats including chicken hearts and ahi tuna. $4.99 • Prairie Dog Pet Mercantile • 1206 W. Summit Pkwy. and 5608 S. Regal • pdogpet.com

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33 Artists Market @ The Pergola Event Center

Sat., July 26, 11 a.m.-6 p.m.
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