WHAT? NO FOOTLOOSE? >>>

Earlier this week I asked The Barefoot Collective folks for a list of films they'll be screening Monday night as part of their Dance Film Night event. This morning the list arrived via a press release.

No Footloose.

I can only hope Barefoot will spin "Let's Hear it for the Boy" as bumper music between the films.

The Dance Film Night press release is after the jump. It looks solid. ...

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BEER, MEAT, MOVIES AND BIKES >>>

Update: The follow event sold out.

The big wheels keep on turnin' down at The Mountaineers Club. South Sound road rebels are invited to steer their mean machines over to the Old Town Tacoma clubhouse sundown Saturday night beer, meat and a screening of The Road to Roubaix. San Francisco-based frame building legend Brent Steelman will be among those chowing down on meat products supplied by Dave's Meat and Produce, and sipping Belgium suds from Metropolitan Market.

[The Mountaineers' Club, Saturday, Feb. 27, 7-10 p.m., $10 advance for beer mug, 2302 N. 30th St., Tacoma, 253.272.1351]

LINK: The Road to Roubaix background

FRIDAY, FEB. 26, 2010 >>>

1. There's beauty in simplicity - the Presidents of the U.S.A. proved it. Think "Peaches," and "Lump." These days, among other things, Chris Ballew of the Presidents spends his time going by Caspar Babypants - dishing out goofy kids' music for ages 2-5. This morning at 10:30 a.m. he'll hit the Moore Library.

2. Tacoma's biggest city-wide talent show SHOWTIME @ THE DASH CENTER begins at 7:30 p.m. inside the Mt. Tahoma High School.

3. Sheer Virtuosity: A Jacobsen Concert for All Music Lovers will feature Johannes Brahms' Sonata #2 in A Major for Piano and Violin; Evan Chambers' The Firehose Reel; selections from Pablo de Sarasate's Spanish Dances; George Frideric Handel's Sonata IV in D major for Violin and Harpsichord; and Moritz Moszkowski's Suite for Two Violins and Piano at 7:30 p.m. inside Schneebeck Concert Hall at UPS.

4. I Defy, Koz Of Konfusion, Machina Mageddon and Thee Punch Drunks rock Malarkey's Pool and Brew beginning at 8 p.m.

5. Janiva Magness sings the blues at 8 p.m. inside Jazzbones.

LINK: Movie showtimes in the South Sound

WHAT WE FOUND TODAY >>>

Teacher shot dead at Tacoma elementary school.

Tacoma drummer available.

California wants to declare the first week of March "a cuss free week."

Facebook secures patent for news feed.

A cruise ship returned to Charleston, South Carolina, after more than 400 passengers got sick during a trip to the Caribbean.

Fashion Futures scenarios explore fashion world of 2025.

Giving away free umbrellas in the middle of a rainstorm is not that easy.

Filming Of Congressional Reality Show Disrupts Committee Meeting

MUSIC IN THE SOUTH SOUND TONIGHT >>>

CELTIC: For a fiddler, or Celtic violinist, Jamie Laval is as busy as they come. A practitioner of traditional music of Scotland, Ireland, Brittany and Quebec - Laval has been heaped in praise for his "passionate" and even "romantic" style of performing. From what we understand, actually, the performance is where it's at with Laval - he plays more than 120 dates a year. Luckily, one of those 120 performances in ‘10 will be at the Mandolin Café tonight. 8 p.m., all ages, $10, Mandolin Café, 3923 S. 12th St., Tacoma - Michael Swan

HEAVY ROCK: Joe Preston of Thrones has an impressive resume, playing with The Melvins, Earth, C Average, and High On Fire, to name just a few. Before Preston's European tour, Thrones will be joining Christian Mistress and Two Ton Boa at Olympia's all age's venue, Northern. Now is your chance to grab your 17-year-old cousin and blow his mind with some of the best, tripped-out heavy rock the Northwest has to offer. 9 p.m., all ages, $7, Northern, 321 Fourth Ave., Olympia - Nikki Talotta

METAL: I once saw a chick puke up a bunch of P-Diddy's vodka. It didn't look very hot. Tonight at Hell's Kitchen, however, Queensryche guitarist Michael Wilton will be shilling his new Whip Ale billed as "bold," "rich," and "aromatic." With a musical lineup including Atomic Outlaws and Wide Eye Panic, the crowd seems certain to be "drunk," "somewhat disorderly," "and ready to throw up devil horns" - if not some Whip Ale. Something tells us that would look a lot more metal than puking P-Diddy's vodka. 9 p.m., no cover, Hell's Kitchen, 928 Pacific Ave., Tacoma - Michael Swan

BONUS: Hey bands! Sign up for our nifty band profile section. When you do you'll automatically be included in our March 11 Music Issue.

THE BAYVIEW ON ST. HELENS HAS REOPENED >>>

Laura Carlson looks tired. She'll be the first to tell you, too. She doesn't want her photo taken. She's really not in the mood to chat either.

And she's never been happier.

Carlson opened her first restaurant Sunday in the former Bayview Café spot on St. Helens Avenue. After 30 years in the restaurant business, including 10 at Harbor Lights and two at Anthony's at SeaTac Airport, Carlson thought it was time to put her knowledge and experience into her own pocket - Laura's Bayview Bar & Grill.

Then, after being open for a couple days, she had to let her line cook go. Just when she thought she might grab a little sleep after countless hours remodeling the old Bayview site - including installing a bar in the back room - she's now planted firmly in the kitchen performing the job of two.

Her official soft opening celebration was planned for tonight. She's praying people show up with patience. If everyone orders the marquee items - linguine and clam sauce ($13.95), chicken breast stuffed with Gorgonzola ($11.95) and the flat iron steak ($14.95), Carlson might die.

With a smile.

The smile is a major part of her business plan: friendly service, friendly good food, fast friendly service in a friendly atmosphere - with a focus on serving the Stadium District neighborhood.

Another key to her business plan is her friend and co-worker from Anthony's, Ronda Heyn. Logging more hours in the business than Carlson, Heyn came inches short of pinching my cheek. She knows friendly.

Laura's Bayview Bar & Grill is open daily for breakfast, lunch and dinner. Breakfast includes all the typical items, including the four-egg "Big Daddy's" omelet ($8.95). Lunch and dinner include soups, salads, a burger, fish and chips, chicken Parmesan and the aforementioned items.

Drop by Laura's if you're in the neighborhood. Be ready for a smile.

[Laura's Bayview Bar & Grill, 229 St. Helens Ave., Tacoma, 253.327.1015]

OH, CLICK! >>>

Three years ago Mitch Robinson, marketing and business operations manager at Click! Network, challenged his staff to a major milestone. As an incentive, he pledged to dye his hair "Click! purple" if they reached the goal.

The goal was met.

"For the next 6-8 weeks, my hair color will match our direct mail, billboards and service vehicles," states Robinson in a press release.

Looks good Mitch. Be thankful you don't work for Crayola.

THREE DAYS OF VOTING REMAINS >>>

With news of the Warehouse in downtown Tacoma closing down, all-ages music fans might want to take note of the follow press release from the Pepsi Refresh Project.

SOS! Mayday! Calling all supporters of all-ages music in every town!  We need your help NOW!

With only three days left in the Pepsi Refresh Project online voting competition to win $50,000, and after three weeks of sitting comfortably in the top ten spots, the All-Ages Movement Project (AMP) has fallen to the dreaded, and possibly fatal, 11^th position.  It is not too late, however, for AMP to surge late in the game and finish in the winning top 10.  All we need is for everyone who believes in the importance of all-ages music to vote once a day through the end of voting at 9pm EST on Sunday, February 28. AMP is asking music lovers everywhere to vote daily and deploy tweets, status updates, email blasts, blog posts, smoke signals and carrier pigeons to get word out to their friends to vote as well.  Pearl Jam and Blitzen Trapper leant their support to AMP's cause yesterday - now lend yours! 

Vote at www.allages.net/vote

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SHOULD BE A MAGICAL NIGHT ON SIXTH AVENUE >>>

If Israel is the land of milk and honey, maybe Northern India is just the land of milk. Butter, milk, cream, and buttermilk are mainstays of northern Indian cuisine.

Butter. Milk. Cream. Buttermilk.

Are those not the absolute best things in life?

So it's not surprising that Bombay Bistro's "Northern Indian Classical Dance and Dinner" Saturday night will be overflowing with those creamy, buttery dishes. Oh sure, a few other Indian dishes such as tandoori will be in the house tomorrow night, but expect northern India staples such as stuffed "naan" and "parantha" breads to land on your plate, too.

Bombay Bistro will aim this narrow culinary scope toward its buffet line for $25 a person, which translates into multiple return trips for buttery, creamy goodness.

You'll notice that I wrote "Classical Dance" two graphs earlier. Yes, the night will feature two performances by ... hula dancer Aimee Machiels. You read that right. Machiels was born and raised on the island of O'ahu.

That's fantastic!

Well, all signs indicate than Machiels will perform Classical Odissi Dance - a dance she's studied intensively - instead of the hula, but I'm praying she breaks out the grass skirt. Hula dancing is another one of those best things in life.

Reserve your spot at 253.761.9999.

[Bombay Bistro, Saturday, Feb. 27, 6:30 and 7:30 p.m., $25 per person, 4328 Sixth Ave., Tacoma, 253.761.9999]

BRING ON THE WEEKEND >>>

Last week I took some space from my usual indecipherable rambling to describe the madness behind the Volcano's weekly Prefunk blog post. Basically, it's a guide for ways to get you and your liver ready for two highlighted events every weekend. Prefunking, of course, is the act of partying before the party, so the idea is for me to give you my "zany" suggestions for ways to ready yourself for said highlighted events. Research shows America loves "zany."

Usually - though not necessarily the case this week - I try to choose events slightly off the beaten path. Like rock shows in Sumner, or Sinful Saturdays in Milton. This, at least so far, has been the Prefunk's MO.

That said, at least for Saturday, this week's featured event isn't something I had to search high and low for. It's an event you should definitely know about. ...

SATURDAY, FEB. 27

C Average, The Tide, Ex-Girlfriends Club at The Eastside in Olympia

As the Weekly Volcano's Nikki Talotta discovered this week, playing music is therapeutic for Olympia legends C Average. It's one of the main reasons for the band's return to the stage after a two-year hiatus. C Average is full of dads now (it's a two person band) - but that's not stopping them from wailing out some of the headiest, heaviest rock out there. C Average's return should be one of the weekend's highlights.

PREFUNK: Mickey's tall boys - and a few of them. Whether you want to lurk in an Oly alley and drink them from a paper bag is up to you - but you can't go wrong in this situation living as the band lives - which is a life including Mickey's tall boys.

SUNDAY, FEB. 28

Metro Parks Adult Slowpitch Registration

Sure, you can register for the Metro Parks Adult Slow Pitch league any day up until March 15, but why not make today your time to get motivated and get involved? It'd be a perfect way to spend a Sunday afternoon.

For one, you'll already be in sweatpants - which are totally appropriate for adult slow pitch.

And secondly, it's Sunday - so lord knows you don't have anything better going.

PREFUNK: What's great about adult slowpitch? It doesn't take very much athleticism, and it's something you can do either drunk, or right before getting drunk. That's the beauty of it.

In that spirit, try getting out the ol' ball glove and having your wife, husband or significant other fire up a few pop flies to you in the backyard - only replace the softballs with cans of Coors. When you haul them in, instead of practicing throwing to second base, just chug the damn things. After all, drinking stamina is perhaps the most important key to adult slow pitch success.

See you next time.