Food trucks have been in an uphill battle with the restaurant community and city of Tacoma for years. It’s a beautiful thing to know that Tacoma’s Health Department is so in-the-know and actively checking their list so thoroughly to ensure all things are up to code. But I have seen it be incredibly frustrating to get great businesses started because it’s the red taped path that leads to a ribbon cutting ceremony. When Burger Seoul was getting started eyes seemed to be on them with a laser focus. Due to the city’s regulations they couldn’t cruise from place to place setting up shop where requested or commissioned by other businesses or organizations. A business model you usually see in other cities that helps build awareness and word of mouth marketing was not allowed here. Since then it seems the city has lightened up a bit but they’re still ready to crack down on inspections at a moment's notice. I’ve seen it happen even at the Tacoma Art Museum.

Airport TavernFor decades South Tacoma Way has been silently and patiently waiting for things to come full circle. Prior to the I-5 and the Tacoma Mall scooping up all the attention the lengthy strip was home to the nightlife for Tacomans of the past, who saw those businesses and bars they love close down one after another due to diverted traffic. Historically this happens in Tacoma, one area rebuilds and the rest seems to be obsolete until they follow suit. A once very neon and bustling downtown suffered from something similar. But following suit isn’t so easy for most small businesses and without a cult following of regulars the ‘phase out’ happens faster than expected. But prior to the pandemic Tacoma was in a new stage of growth that shined a light on revitalization of our business districts as much as exploration into new territories or those that had been underused. And a man ahead of the curve as he has proven so many times before, Danno Rankin, saw that very early on. Like most of South Tacoma Way at that time, with the exception of a few key players, the Airport Tavern was on its way there before he had the foresight to remodel and bring it back to life. Danno did everything under the sun at Jazzbones for a long time including booking all the talent, so his resume and expertise speak for itself when it comes to understanding what Tacoma wants from a venue. His answer was providing the best of both worlds, Tacoma’s love for dives with his booking abilities creating a bar/venue. While it does tend to cater towards rock bands, Airport Tavern and Danno have a huge hand in putting on Reggae on The Way, a block party style reggae fest that in the past has shut down the main retail strip of South Tacoma Way. It has now outgrown that setting and is being held at LEMAY. His ability to revitalize has been impressive.

It’s so important to have a frontman that can carry a band to greatness on the back of his charisma and presence. Led Zeppelin had that in Robert Plant, Black Sabbath had Ozzy Osbourne, and AC/DC were lucky enough to get it twice with Bon Scott and Brian Johnson. The Freeks, fronted by Ruben Romano (Fu Manchu, Nebula), share elements with all of the aforementioned bands, though they tend to incorporate more of the Los Angeles psychedelic fuss. Romano’s scratchy wail is instantly reminiscent of so many bands that dominated the ‘70s, and with the joyous musicianship of his bandmates, the Freeks become absolutely infectious.

Punx in the Woods Fun-Raiser | Saturday, April 22In a world where we sometimes find ourselves dancing around saying what we mean, the Punx in the Woods Festival not only says its idea on its face, but invites you to come on in and make some mayhem in the woods you might not have felt free to do back home. Over the course of Labor Day weekend – Friday through Sunday – all sorts of decibel-testing acts will be letting their freak flags fly in a national forest.If we want to get there, though, we’d better lube the gears of this endeavor by seeing shows like this one, raising funds for Punx in the Woods by featuring some of the Pacific Northwest's best and brightest bands, old and new talent that want to slash and burn their way into the foundation of local rock.