It's Jana's birthday party at Supernova Hair & Tattoo April 15th and they are throwing a party at 9 p.m. with live music by Mos Generator.  Dude, it's free.  Supernova sits at 817 Division Ave. in Tacoma. â€" Brad  Allen

So you're a writer, right?  Right. OK, write.  Go on. Don't worry about being right.  Just write.  Right?  Right.  Buy yourself a black beret and head right on down to your local friendly coffee shop for some existential inspiration.  That should help you write.  Can't go to a coffee shop?  Don't drink coffee?  You're LDS? Well, you, my friend, have a problem (especially if you're Jack Weyland). But there is a way you can write and still do it right - go find out what it is with the writing critique group Dream Weavers every second and fourth Wednesday at Borders Books in Tacoma. Learn how to write. Right? Right. April 12 and 26, 6:30 p.m., free, Borders Books, 2508 S. 38th St., Tacoma, (253) 473-9111. - Suzy Stump

Country singer/songwriter Jonathan Harris will perform a May 27 benefit concert for Dwayne Hargo, a world champion bullfighter/rodeo clown who is recovering from a brain aneurysm, at the Puyallup Fairgrounds.  Tickets are $17.50 with VIP tickets priced at $300, which includes a reserve table for eight near the stage, 16 drink tickets, plus a private meet and greet with Hargo and Harris.  Tickets go on sale Monday, April 17 at 10 a.m. at all Ticketmaster outlets. - Brad Allen

Permanent Lipstick
Personalized voicemail messages can tell you a lot about a person. Some say they are sorry they can't make it to the phone (simpering).  Others are busy (self-important). Some subject friends and family to favorite songs of the minute, usually at a volume way above what's necessary slamming into your eardrum (misguided). Who is that song's victim? You never call your own phone and wait till the voicemail picks up so you can listen to that sucky song, so why force it on others. It's a form of passive-aggressive torture. And still others just come right out and bluntly say they are NOT answering the phone (can't be bothered). It's a choice to NOT take your call. The person with that message looks at their phone, sees incoming caller and hits the ignore button. You know where you, the caller, ends up? Voicemail, baby, voicemail.

Wednesday April 5
Stopped in Jazzbones to checkout Randy Oxford's Blues Theatre. Oxford is such a class "A" musician; it's hard not to love him even if you aren't super sweet on the blues. Pied Piper Teddy Haggerty directed the art slam. Got to hang for a brief minute with the Big Man, who's working on his second degree. Brains and good looks, my my. Sultry Adrianne came in and liven it up with some of her friends. Man, that girl can hoot and holler. Damn!

Thursday, April 6
Returning to the scene of the crime, it's off to the Boneyard again to catch The Downtown Apostles. The vibrating thump, thump of James Whiton's stand-up bass is just irresistible. The Italian and I came back in from smoking our winterfresh warmongers and lo-and-behold; the boys on stage were grinding it out metal style. Awesome. The Rampart Gallery group came by after their meeting. Look for cool changes down on Antique Row. Painter Jeff Olson and James Hume were totally into the music.

Saturday, April 8
Travel plans to Moses Lake were put on hold at the last minute, so The Italian and I opened our wallets and flung the contents at Seattle in the form of tickets to the last burlesque show of Moisture Festival for this year in Fremont, a room at the Travel Lodge across from U-Village, (what? Everything else was booked, for real.), a liquor store run before hitting the road (Oh my gawd! Don't tell me you forgot the funnel for the flask?) and then an absolutely mandatory stop at the conveyor belt sushi joint. Smooth and his lady came up from Portland and were hanging Sea-Town as well. Alas, our paths did not cross.  Apparently an all-day party bus to the Tulip Festival (!?) was too much for the Smooths to handle.
Staggering, I mean walking, down the street in Fremont, we happened in at the High Dive and caught the last four songs of The Ruby Doe for free. The hype is true and The Italian was right again. Those guys are freaking amazing. So much force and energy coming from a three-piece rock band made me giddy. A 2 a.m. jaunt into a grocery store for pate, grapes and soft cheeses was almost the scene of my ultimate demise. Newly washed store floors and spike heels ala whiskey do not mesh well. Right.

Give me a wink and a kiss at Permanent Lipstick.  Knoxx knows.

I recently decided to write a love letter to the only restaurant in Tacoma that really matters to me right now.

Dear Asado,
My life was forever changed after I took my first bite of your gnocchi. The dish made me the happiest little dumpling (squash) with macadamia nuts, wild mushrooms and brown butter. $15? That's a freakin steal.
Luckily, the friends I was with were kind enough to share. Your flat iron steak is so perfectly flavorful, and I'm not that big of a meat fan. I've never taken a bite out of a cloud before, but I bet it would taste as good as your Peruvian purple mashed potatoes. I also had some of the chicken that I couldn't immediately pronounce, but I'd prefer to have my cheeks full of it anyway. Pollo? Por supuesto!
Your madra rita is easily the best margarita that I've had in town. I think the homemade sweet and sour makes the difference.
Some like to complain that your restaurant is too loud, but I'm Dirty 30 years old, Asado, I live for that kind of stuff. None of the young or young-at-heart people around me seemed bothered. Ignore the cranky fogies, Asado. Your uber audience loves what you're workin with.
We were seated too close to the kitchen, and it got really hot, but I didn't care. I'd eat your food in a sweat lodge if I had to.
I'll forever be in love with you, Asado. I know you'll be truer to me than any man ever could.

Soooooo, I figured while I was at it, I should double-fist it and write a letter to the other love in my life.

Dear Chopstix,
I had an idea of what I was in for because I'd been to your Seattle location several times during my 206 socialite days.
But this fine Thursday night was like no other.
Sometimes I'm shocked by the number of beautiful people that are in the 253, and they all seemed to be packed into your establishment. Such a great mix of restaurant industry staff and metro collared shirts or fitted cleavage tops.
Naturally, the dueling piano players were so entertaining, and I lost my voice during "Tiny Dancer," but I think I need to spend more time getting to know your bartenders, Chopstix. I'm 6 feet tall in my fancy heels, and I felt invisible for far too long waiting for drinks at the bar.
It was worth it just to be seen there, though.
I'm just glad you believed in T-Town enough to open a location here and help Sixth Ave. become the sauciest street in town.
My official counsel: Asado plus Chopstix is the hottest ticket around for Thursday nights.
Fiesta, forever. - Natasha

• Asado, 2810 Sixth Ave., Tacoma, (253) 272-7770
• Chopstix Restaurant and Piano Bar, 2702 Sixth Ave., Tacoma, (253) 627-7555

Tell me where you like to party at Scene of the Crime.

So, without throwing any huge words around that no one would know how to deal with, and would decrease my edge factor considerably, I know this chick who's pretty cool.  In fact, I think she's all right.
We were listening to the new Yeah Yeah Yeahs CD the other day, Show Your Bones, and it doesn't get much better.
I ask her for 100 words on why the new disc kicks ass. This is what she gave me:

• "What's your crime?" Yeah Yeah Yeahs singer Karen O begs. I say, Sweet Karen O, my only crime is the obsessive-compulsive breakdown of my day into 39-minute segments since I bought Show Your Bones. I've thrown away my watch, and keep time by the constant repetition of these 11 tracks. I'd like to say my addiction is to the wickedly subtle drumming or the wailing guitar riffs, but I know my weakness - oh, Karen, Karen O. She tenderly slays her prey, and buries it with a kiss and a scream: "My dear, you've been used / I'm breaking the news." Enough said.

Indeed. Enough said.
The Yeah Yeah Yeahs, April 25, 8 p.m., all ages, $22.50 at Ticketmaster, Paramount Theatre, Seattle. - Matt Driscoll

Whoever says science is for freaks and geeks who can mentally compute the velocity of their own pee is a big fat liar.  NPR science reporter Ira Flatow offers science for us morons too.  Flatow demonstrates what happens when you put a handful of Mentos candy into a bottle of diet soda then gives a scientific explanation.  Science! - Suzy Stump

When Weekly Volcano Headquaters USA vacated from the Lakewood Towne Center a year ago, we left as an entire wing of the center lay practically vacant.  The Liquor Store was gone.  La Palma was gone.  Starbucks had nearly moved to its new location. People openly wept in the streets.  Now, after a facelift, things are coming back to life on Main Street, including a new restaurant soon.  Marked with only a sign stating "Breakfast and Lunch Cafe," the new eatery is taking up shop in the old La Palma site.  We'll keep you posted. - Jason de Paul.

The Weekly Volcano foodies dropped in on Viva Mexico, the new Mexican restaurant in downtown DuPont.  All rhetoric aside, it was some of the best "Americanized" Mexican we've had in years.  The quesadilla was "oh my Gawd, good."  Look for more restaurants to arrive in DuPont in the coming months.  The rumor is that the corner near Starbucks on Center Drive has been purchased by a "family style" restaurant.  Stay tuned. - Jason de Paul

Bumping up the cool factor
HG Bistro & Lounge
The Wilshire Trio, April 14, 8-11 p.m., no cover, 1618 E. Main St., Puyallup, (253) 845-5747. Reservations are recommended.
Alfred's Cafe and Bubble Room
Mike Nelson Trio, 8 p.m. to 1 a.m.  every Friday and Saturday, no cover, 402 Puyallup Ave., Tacoma, (253) 627-5491.

Area jazz lovers are rejoicing as we usher in another month of tasty jazz at two locations to consistently give them their fix. HG Bistro & Lounge in Puyallup and Alfred's Cafe and Bubble Room in Downtown Tacoma offer jazz each weekend. After Red Kelly's venue closed and we lost the man himself, the Tacoma area seemed to dry up in the lounge jazz department, but HG Bistro is quickly making a name for itself by stepping up its entertainment and providing a spot where a well spent romantic evening can be had over dinner and cocktails. The Wilshire Trio shines with a micro cast on keyboards, upright bass and soul drenched vocals April 14.The following Friday sees exceptional jazz singer Greta Matassa in the house. With her incredible talent range showcased doing scat, tributes to Billy Holiday and Ray Charles or well loved standards, Matassa is a showstopper and just can't help it. If the hair doesn't stand up on your arms, you might want to check your pulse. Area music veteran David Keys closes out the month with a trip up and down his keyboard accompanied by guitar, percussion and vocals. This piano man has been known to dip into blues and funk, spicing up his jazz.
Getting their feet wet in the music department, the folks at Alfred's Cafe and Bubble Room offer up the Mike Nelson Trio each weekend. This solid act consisting of guitar, percussion and stand-up bass performs straight-ahead jazz, jazz standards and classic bossa nova. Fans of the deep hum, thump and rumble of a stand-up bass will be delighted; watching Nelson on guitar is like catching a skilled cake decorator in action. It looks cool, and you're sure you could do it, but something tells you it's harder than you think. The gentlemen even manage to incorporate a little blues flavor. Their tender ballads are brought out as well, much to the delight of couples leisurely dining and softly chatting under an amber glow cast by gold chandeliers. The trio incorporates many different types of music into their show beginning at 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday, making for an eclectic musical experience that is easy to enjoy in Alfred's laid-back lounge or the main dining area. - Jennifer Johnson