The campy fun of old European cabaret and the hip style of today's music puree together at the Vagabond Opera show at Jazzbones this weekend as a Portland ensemble makes a debut of Bohemian Operatic Eastern-Euro Cabaret on Friday. The performance will include songs in in 10 languages and incorporates dance, comedy, crowd interaction, and fire dance. Vagabond Opera is at the edge of a growing revival of the Neo-cabaret schtick and should be given the once over. â€" Steve Dunkelberger

[Jazzbones, Friday, Feb. 9, 9 p.m., all ages, $8-$10, 2803 Sixth Ave., Tacoma]

“You’re our second customer today,” explains St. Helens Café manager Joe Werth.  “We’re all scared to death.  I’m sick to my stomach.”

As you read this, the St. Helens Café is frying up burgers and working the fish and chip baskets, with employees giving each other high fives. 

Tacoma’s Stadium District has a new lunch break, an afternoon beer on the patio spot, a business meeting locale or a restaurant big enough for a high school reunion.  And Joe can ease up a bit.

A slick, modern, décor of deep red and olive green, with small wooden tables, sets the backdrop for fish and chips, burgers, pasta dishes and salads.  Prices range from $6 to $15.
Similar to Katie Downs on the waterfront, owner John Holt nixed the wait staff.  Customers order at the counter. Same goes with the bar, which serves beer and wine. A liquor license is pending.

The Tacoma Avenue café (it’s above the Stadium Bistro but the entrance is off Tacoma Avenue) serves Alaskan true cod fillets, one to three pieces, that arrive thick, not overly greasy and with a secret batter recipe according to Werth.

The cheese burger ($8.29) carries with four cheese options; I can recommend the blue cheese version.

Desserts on the chalk board today read cheese cake $3.29, summer berry cake $5.49 and tiramisu $5.99.  Sorry, no room today for dessert. 

St. Helen’s Café will be open seven days a week from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. â€" Ron Swarner

[St. Helens Cafe, 206 St Helens Ave., Tacoma, 253.779.9935]

Thursday, Feb. 8, Cutters Point Coffee in downtown Tacoma will play host to Tacoma’s only public forum and discussion group, Coffee & Rhetoric, hosted by local fashionista, musician, and badass Josh Carter.

Self-described “politically incorrect” for Tacoma, last week’s repartee swirled around the Theatre District’s new LID construction project and its effects on local retailers. Up for discussion this week is how building developers function in a community and how the community’s voice is heard above the din of construction, featuring special guest Paul Sparks of the Urban Leadership Collaborative.

With special musical guest Edisons Invention. â€" Michael Stasiak

[Cutters Point Coffee, Thursday, Feb. 8, 7 p.m., no cover, 1936 Pacific Ave., Tacoma, www.myspace.com/coffeeandrhetoric]

Even if you knew nobody at Tacoma's Monsoon Room at the "Parfait Amour" event last night, you couldn’t help but meet and mingle in the intimate space; even if you didn’t drink wine, you couldn’t help but find one to love; and even if you were a jewelry minimalist, you couldn’t help but ooh, ahh, and covet.

Of course, I did see several of my favorite people, I do drink wine, and I do love jewelry (though I don’t wear much of it) so in my eyes, the event was an unqualified success.

Owner Laura Malone was stunning in her retro red strapless frock as she shopped through the jewelry by Lisa Kinoshita and Rebecca Aldrich.  The pieces by Kinoshita had a edgy organic feel, while Aldrich had a storyteller’s aesthetic with surprising twists. While Kinoshita played with scale and natural materials like horn, stone, and metal, Seattle artist Aldrich played with whimsy; birds doubled as clasps, while rings served as pincushions.  As different as the pieces were, each artist’s work complimented the other’s.

And while Aldrich and Kinoshita’s wearable art was appreciated, it was the wine and background music that made the event soar.  Ty Cline of Unique Wine Company showcased a great flight of wines ranging from the Fantinel Prosecco from Italy, to the Roshambo “The Reverend” Zinfandel from California, to the Marenco Brachetto d’Aqui (“best served with strawberries and chocolate!” recommends Cline) and lastly, the Deco Chocolate Port (mmmm!)

And the perfect backdrop to this chocolaty glam event was music spun by Chris Oglesby, a musician with an impressive vinyl collection, largely courtesy of his father.  He spins Wednesday nights from 9:30 p.m. to midnight at the Monsoon Room, when you can try the Rock Paper Scissors Mertlot tasted at the event as well as the Fantinel Prosecco for yourself. â€" Jessica Corey-Butler

Marty Reimer just finished his daily "9@9" list on his "Mornings On The Mountain" show.  Today, the greatest guitar solos of all time, in the ordered played:

Eric Clapton "Layla"
Jimi Hendrix "Little Wing"
Gary Moore "Still Got The Blues"
Stevie Ray Vaughn "Cross Fire"
Pearl Jam "Alive"
The Beatles "While My Guitar Gently Weeps"
Sublime "Santeria"
Led Zeppelin "Heartbreaker/Living Loving"
Blue Rodeo "5 Days in May"

What, no "Sympathy For the Devil"? â€" Brad Allen

The Eric McFadden Trio has the recipe for a good show:  Take one part experimental jazz drummer, one part classical-trained acoustic electronic bassist and one part indie rock god guitarist and fuse them with the sounds of the Jimi Hendrix Experience, Black Sabbath, Cream, Tom Waits and Django Reinhardt.  Let stew all night with spaghetti western composer Sergio Leone â€" serve hot after jam has risen to the top. It’s a heady, filling concoction.  And it happens tonight at Olympia’s Eastside Club Tavern for $3.  The Dirty Birds open. â€" Brad Allen

Hello everyone, now stop calling.

The Sublime show advertised in the South Sound Garage ad in today's Weekly Volcano is actually a Sublime tribute band Long Beach veteran's Q-Ball, Matt, and John perform 100 percent Sublime music, including all the hits.

Sublime Unauthorized will not perform LB Shortbus or Long Beach All-stars songs, so don’t ask.

The show is March 23 at the South Sound Garage in downtown Tacoma. â€" Brad Allen

It was the worst name Mike Mcnabb could think of and he would, “take it back in a second,” if he could. 3 Inch Max is what Johnny O describes as being pushed to your most. 3 inches left ‘til you explode. “Plus,” he adds, “our minds are obviously in the gutter.” When the band 3 Inch Max first started their early formation in 1998 they were looking for a three-syllable name that crowds could chant. When 3 Inch Max came up it was what made them laugh the most.

Join the laughter and their punk rock tonight at the Matrix Coffeehouse in Chehalis.

3 Inch Max is Mike Mcnabb, Johnny O, Jizzy Shooter, and Sammas. After a small guitar lesson from Jizzy in 98, Mike learned three chords and he couldn’t stop. 3 Inch Max has since then played toured and laughed together loving living and being punk rock. When it comes to the punk rock scene Mike says, “Scene is lame and so cliquey. It’s hard to get a strong following because if your show is in Seattle people from Bellevue won’t come, and in Tacoma it’s like a whole world apart.” He then went on to explain that there is a sort of competition to it and ended “Music shouldn’t be a cockfight.” Johnny O then chimed in “Music shouldn’t be a fashion it’s a spiritual passion.”

All this explanation for punk got me to wonder if the junior high club shows I’d seen punk portrayed in were really true to the cause. Are it the violent mosh pits and crazy little teenagers? But they assured me punk was not that. “It’s punk therapy,” says Mike, “you go to a show and the frustrations of everyday life are gone.” They explained that getting out the feelings they do make them more peaceful in their day to day lives. It keeps them away from those last three inches. â€" Jessie Fouts

[Matrix Coffeehouse, 8 p.m., all ages, $6, 434 Prindle St., Chehalis, 360.740.0492]

Yes, the headline is out of the mouth of one Jeff Spicoli, but it applies to Raise the Hammer, group of Hamilton, Ontario citizens who believe in making their city more vibrant, livable, and an attractive place to live and work, just like Tacoma, according to their Web site.

All they need are some tasty waves, a cool buzz, and Tacoma vision. â€" Suzy Stump

So ya wanna know where I was considering going, based on my V-Day for One article this this week's Weekly Volcano (the whole issue has tons of V-day ideas)?

Dancing? Probably not for me, but if I did go, I'd go to Club Silverstone.  It's got exactly the right vibe for me: come as you are, and we'll play the music that makes you shake it.

Dining? For a nice intimate (it's all about me! Me! Me!) dinner, I'd take myself  to BabblinÃ' Babs, where I wouldn't have to feel conspicuous and eat fabulous food. If I was feeling swank, the bar at either Sea Grill, or El Gaucho could make me feel superstar-like and posh for the night of me.
Then again, dining alone, I can go for exotic, eating the types of food the significant other  doesn't care for.  Indochine, East West Cafe, or DjembeSoul could be fun and yummy, or I could go Indian: that being the case, it would have to be Gateway to India.

Or, alternately, I could go further up Sixth Ave and try to decide between Asado and Masa.

Or, I could go the "sip and light bite" route, where my top choices would be either the Matador's happy hour (though that smells suspiciously like a singles's place) or happy hour at the Pacific Grill.  Possibly, Paddy Coyne's would be where I'd end up, though more likely, with my wine-lovin' self, I'd end up at Vin Grotto gettin' my cheese on.

Then again, Enoteca has a cheesy wine-lovin' intimate vibe  that could be conducive to my "I love me" night, but in all probability, if it's all about me and what I love, then the evening probably has to entail at least one visit to Tempest Lounge.

In all probability, my evening of me, for me, by me, will be all about culture.  Though I would love to see TAG-Proof (and will, on the Saturday following V-Day) I think "romance" for me will need to be all about the Spanish cello/singing stylings of Cello Octet Conjunto Iberico. That event, followed by a nibble and a sip, will be the best way to let me know how much I love me, and the best way to get swept away my the heady emotion of it all.

Will I be my Valentine?  Yes, please!- Jessica Corey-Butler