Fox Theater Spokane
Hot This Week!
Wednesday, July 1, 2009

Oh say, you can see...a lot of great acts this Fourth.

The Fourth of July celebration in downtown Spokane actually starts on Friday, July 3, with a full slate of entertainment. At Riverfront Park's Lilac Bowl stage, the lineup on Friday, July 3, is as follows: Ketch, acoustic rock, at 3 p.m.; Big Hair Revolution, classic rock, at 4; Just Plain Darin, guy and a guitar, at 5; and 6 Foot Swing, jazz/swing band, at 6. The Ignite Theatre will perform "The Complete History of America (Abridged)" at 7:30 p.m. on Friday at the Lilac Bowl and again on at 4:30 p.m. Saturday at the Clocktower Stage. The movie "Independence Day" will be shown at 9:15 p.m. Friday at the Lilac Bowl stage to cap off that night's entertainment. On the Fourth, festivities kick off at 1 p.m. at the Lilac Bowl with classic-rock band Blisstrz, following by: 2009 BOBfest winner Green Light Go, at 2p.m.; blues/rock band Detour Project, at 3; country-rock act Ryan Larsen Band, at 4; classic-rock band Hot Rod Deluxe, at 5. An opening ceremony is slated for 7 p.m., and the Spokane Jazz Orchestra will play American standards from 7:45-10 p.m. The fireworks show starts at 10 p.m. Events at Riverfront Park are free to the public, but the city of Spokane has set up a reserved seating area for fireworks viewing. The premium seating is located along the south side of the Spokane River, on the steps beside the INB Performing Arts Center. Tickets are $5 each and are available through today, July 1, at Riverfront Park Guest Services, or by calling 509-625-6602. For more information on the weekend's festivities, go to www.spokaneriverfrontpark.com.

Parade around Coeur d'Alene this weekend.

Of course, downtown Spokane isn't the only place to celebrate America's birthday. The Coeur d'Alene 4th of July Festival starts at 11 a.m. Saturday with the America's Heroes 4th of July Parade along Sherman Avenue downtown. The day's events also include live music, food vendors, a pie-eating contest, children's activities in City Park and the annual fireworks display at dusk over Lake Coeur d'Alene. For more information, call 208-664-3194 x170 or go to www.cdachamber.com.

Give me Liberty (Lake), and give me fun.

Liberty Lake and the Friends of Pavillion Park plan a big Fourth of July celebration that kicks off with a Fourth of July Concert at 5 p.m. Saturday, featuring Bozeman, Mont.-based country-rock band The Clintons. Local bluegrass band Big Red Barn returns to Pavillion Park to open for The Clintons. The evening's entertainment will culminate with a fireworks show over Liberty Lake will start at dusk. For more information, go to www.pavillionpark.org.

The Producers are in the Lake City.

The Coeur d'Alene Summer Theatre's production of Mel Brooks' musical "The Producers" premieres with a 7:30 p.m. show Friday, July 3, and runs through July 18 at the Boswell Auditorium on the North Idaho College campus. Adapted from the 1968 film of the same name, the musical tells the story of two producers who scheme to get rich on a Broadway flop, only to find it turn into a major success. The Broadway production of "The Producers" was a huge success in its own right; it won 12 Tony Awards. Tickets to this second Coeur d'Alene Summer Theatre production of the season are $35 for adults, $33 for seniors and $25 for children and are available at www.cdasummertheatre.com or by calling 800-4-CDA-TIX.

Enjoy art, and get carriaged away.

Kick off the holiday weekend with a little culture and a lot of fun at the Downtown Spokane First Friday art celebration from 5-8 p.m. Friday, July 3. More than 50 stores, restaurants and other venues in the city's core will have art on display. Avenue West Gallery, at 122 S. Monroe, will features images of the American West captured by Spokane photographer Pat Schilling, paintings by Jan Hess, and music by Tracy Carr. Whitestone Winery, at 111 S. Cedar, will showcase the works of another popular Spokane photographer, Ben Tobin. Salon de la Vigne, at 819 1/2 W. Riverside, will feature a 4 foot-by-9 foot piece called "The Spokane Grandfather" by James Francis LaVigne, which is a montage of 133 people and places of interest throughout Spokane. Also, this First Friday marks the beginning of summer horse-and-carriage rides downtown, which will be offered from 4-10 p.m. every Friday night through July and August. Cost for a ride, which starts at the corner of Main Avenue and Wall Street, is $5 per person. For more information, go to www.downtownspokane.net.

With these crooners, it could be a 'Wild One.'

Dick Fox's Golden Boys, starring Frankie Avalon, Fabian and Bobby Rydell, will hit the Northern Quest Resort & Casino for two shows, at 8:30 p.m. Saturday, July 4, and at 7 p.m. Sunday, July 5. Tickets are $40 and $50 and are available by calling 509-481-6700 or 800-325-SEAT or by visiting www.ticketswest.com.

The High Five from thesomshow.com by Isamu Jordan

Plushgun - This Brooklyn, N.Y., indie-pop trio is catching fire on the strength of a four-song EP that is loaded with swirling synths, sweet serenades, and fully infectious beats. It's a wonder that this crew produced a song and titled it "Dancing In A Minefield," when it sounds more like dancing in the clouds, with airy, percussive piano melodies riding on ambient bleeps and chirps. Yes, it's very reminiscent of Postal Service. But there are worse bands to be compared to, especially when there have been so many other failed attempts at creating catchy dance music without coming off cheesy, redundant, or compromising. Pop music is simple, but it's certainly not an easy trick to pull off. Receiving rave reviews from Rolling Stone and getting mad love on MTV, Plushgun is iPhone-commercial-ready, oozing with indie-cred, and downright irresistible. Catch this trio when Plushgun comes through to Art Music & More on at 7 p.m. Friday, July 3, at Art Music And More, 608 W. 2nd Ave. Cost: $10 in advance, $12 at the door; all ages welcome.

Summer of Slaughter - There is going to be some seriously heavy metal in the house when the Summer of Slaughter Tour comes to The Knitting Factory. Metalheads are going to be doing battle like gladiators in the mosh pits as fists, elbows and heads fly for a show that is bringing a demonic horde of bonecrushing guitar onslaughts, Gatling gunfire drum beats, and screeching banshees for a bloodspilling bill that features a dozen underground, hardcore and various densities of metal including Behemoth, Necrophagist, Suffocation, Ensiferum, Darkest Hour, Winds of Plague, Dying Fetus, Born of Osiris, Origin, After The Burial and Blackguard. Flaming skulls and batwings the size of pteranodons descend on The Knitting Factory Concert House, 919 W. Sprague Ave., on at 2 p.m. Tuesday, July 7. Cost: $22 in advance, $25 day of show.

Campfire Series featuring various artists - Platform Booking is at it again. Last summer, the local concert promoter shocked the scene with a brilliant stroke. He put together a multi-night engagement with all-stars from Spokane's bursting acoustic community, put them all together on one stage and let the chips fall. The result was magic -- improvisational jam sessions with artists who had never shared a show, multi-instrumentalists picking up random hand drums, banjos, and salad spoons and ambushing songs mid-chorus, and the crowd jumping in on group sing-a-longs at sundown on the patio at Caterina Winery. And all of it done completely unplugged on truly acoustic instruments. Anticipate that same scene to be recreated when Platform Booking presents the 2009 Campfire Series on the patio at Caterina Winery, 905 N. Washington. Thursday, July 9 at 7 p.m. at Caterina is the Campfires Series with Kevin Long, Will Brash, Matthew Winters, Kate Angeles, Benjamin Gordon, Justin Knittel, and Marshall McLean. Friday, July 10 at 7 p.m. Campfire Series features Dane Ueland, Henry Nordstrom, Vaughn Wood, JS Butcher, Morgan Lynch, Kim Wescott, Rajah Bose, Brandon Vasquez, Pat McHenry, and Kurt Olson. Cost: $5; all ages welcome.

James Pants - Spokane's internationally famous deejay and experimental R&B prime minister/mad scientist is back in town after a month-long trip to Europe highlighted by a weeklong stint in London. Pants made it back to Spokane in time to rock a surprise Michael Jackson tribute set last weekend at The Baby Bar. The Reverend Pants reconvenes with his full band, The Royal Zodiac, for one of his classic hump-day dance feasts at The Baby Bar, 827 W. First, on at 9 p.m. Wednesday, July 8. Cost: Free; 21-and-older welcome with ID.

Paper Mache - Every time hometown heroes Paper Mache come to town, it's an event. Musician friends and fans - which oftentimes is the same person - welcome them back with open arms, as it's rare for this crew of hard-working indie-rockers to spend any time at all at home lately. They spent most of last year on the road non-stop. When Paper Mache finished its national tour, they followed Spokane's superproducer Joe Varela to California to record an album. Then they hit the road again, passing through town on the way back from SXSW and other premiere indie festivals for intimate, yet explosive performances at Caterina. Looks like another one goes down when Paper Mache returns with Abandon Kansas on at 8 p.m. Tuesday, July 7 at Caterina Winery, 905 N. Washington. Cost: $5; all ages welcome.

Hot Jazz Nights at the Rockin' B Ranch.

Tonight's Jazz show at the Rockin' B Ranch is the Danny McCollim Trio, in the great Barn. Expect high-energy, straight ahead jazz standards, blues, funky and spirited arrangements. Leslies Ann Grove and Pamela Brownlee will join in and sing a few tunes. Tickets for the show including dinner are $20. Doors open at 5:30, dinner starts at 6. For reservations, call 509-891-9016. For more information, visit the Rockin' B site at www.rockinbranch.com.

See a little mouse on a big screen.

The Friends of Pavillion Park, in Liberty Lake, kick off their free outdoor movie series with a showing of "Stuart Little" at 8:45 p.m. Friday, July 3. The movies are shown on a big screen in Pavilion Park, located at the corner of East Country Vista Drive and North Molter Road in Liberty Lake. For more information, go to www.pavillionpark.org.

Choose your own adventure at Camp Sekani.

Raft, kayak, boulder, geocache, shoot an arrow, shoot pictures of nature, hike, mountain bike, and more at Sekani Adventure Day, from 9 a.m.-6 p.m. Saturday, July 11 at Camp Sekani. Sponsored by the Spokane Parks and Recreation Department, Inland Northwest Trails Coalition and OutThere Monthly, the event is an amazing opportunity to try a number of outdoor activities in one place for one day. Cost is $35 for a family of five, or $15 for single admission. All equipment and gear is included. For more information, go to www.spokaneparks.org or call 509-625-6200.

NAME THAT FLICK.

"Don't stomp your little last season Prada at me, honey."

Name the movie that line appeared in to win a $20 gift certificate to the Cathay Inn. Send your best guess to info@entertainmentspokane.com. The winner will be selected at random from correct entries and will be announced in next week's e-newsletter. The deadline for entries is noon on Friday, July 3.

Last Week's Winner: Nichole Betts knows Capote.

Last week's movie quote was, "Perry, I know what 'exacerbate' means. There is not a word or a sentence or a concept that you can illuminate for me." Betts correctly guessed that it was from the 2005 drama "Capote."

Send your entertainment news to info@entertainmentspokane.com

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