MAGIC BUS RIDE >>>

1. Art Bus Director Angela Jossy has upgraded the bus. It now has cushy bucket seats!

2. Tacoma actor/musician/kook Doug Mackey was the tour guide for the Third Thursday ArtWalk Art Bus tour. He assumed a different personality at each venue stop. Cowboy guy was my favorite. Solar Richard added color commentary.

3. I grew up with the same lamp the Tacoma Art Museum used for its main floor chill lounge.

4. The Tacoma Art Museum had cupcakes!

5. Part of the Art Bus crew posed for a Mighty Tacoma photo. Click here to see the thing of beauty.

6. This is what you see right before heading into the 253 Collective's restroom.

7. Weekly Volcano scribe/artist Paul Schrag and artist Mary K Johnson make a better couple than Paul Schrag and Doug Mackey.

8. Mary K's art inside Embellish Multispace Salon is impressive.

9. "Oh hell yes you can take pictures!" screamed Galen McCarty Turner when asked if we could snap photos of his neon art at the Brick House Gallery.

10. Push a button on Galen McCarty Turner's neon decorated chair and a loud buzzard sound consumed the Brick House Gallery. It was unnerving.

11. I don't even know where to begin with this one.

12. Solar Richard illuminated everything last night.

I had to jump off the bus for a parent/teacher conference. I'm sure the zaniness continued.

BICYCLE BOOZE CRUISE >>>

Doing its part to keep Tacoma's Halloween celebrants from choking on family-friendly pabulum, the Tacoma Mob Riders will resurrect their Reaper Ride this Saturday. The ride marks the group's one-year anniversary.

You might have seen the spectacle last year: a large group of bicyclists keeping it weird, looping around the north end of Tacoma, in costume, popping into bar after bar, tossing back Flaming Dr Peppers and Irish Car Bombs like there's no hallows' eve ever again. We previewed it on Spew last year here.

I caught up with Tacoma Mob Riders organizer Kristofer Nystrom for the latest scoop on his death on two wheels ride.

WEEKLY VOLCANO: Happy anniversary Kristofer. One year, huh?

KRISTOFER NYSTROM: Yup. It's been a great year. We've been averaging about 30-plus riders. We had nearly 50 riders last time. This past year we've seen all kinds of bikes - road, mountain, single-speed, fixies, banana seat, antique cruisers, hand-welded trikes, you name it. The joy for all continues to be simply riding in a big pack. A mob ... Tacoma Mob Riders.

VOLCANO: Where is this year's Reaper Ride launch venue?

NYSTROM: We'll meet up is at The Acme Grub Cage at 7 p.m. We never give out the route beforehand. Each destination is announced when we mount up.

VOLCANO: What was the best costume last year?

NYSTROM: Hmmm, the best costume was probably the Skeleton Girls. They were head to toe in full skeleton attire - complete with skull face paint.

VOLCANO: Is there a trick or treat aspect to the bike ride?

NYSTROM: No trick or treat aspect. Well OK ... alcohol is the treat I suppose.

VOLCANO: Did anyone wipe out after his or her costume caught a spoke?

NYSTROM: Strangely enough no one's costume was consumed by spokes or crank. Most crashes involve folks failing to put a foot down when stopping.

VOLCANO: So, will there be another year of rides?

NYSTROM: The Mob Rides will continue. We own the streets! Stay tuned for an alley cat series, which will announce soon.

Reaper Ride

Rain or shine, come in costume
Saturday, Oct. 23, 7 p.m., no admission fee
The Acme Grub Cage, 1310 Tacoma Ave. S., Tacoma

BRING ON THE WEEKEND >>>

Ha! I bet you thought I bagged out, didn't you? I bet you thought I finally thought better of The Prefunk - a weekend primer for you and your liver, with a picture of an alcoholic household pet thrown in for good measure. I bet you thought I'd finally turned over a mature leaf, and was ditching this weekly feature for something more becoming of a man of my stature.

Well, not so fast, reasonable reader! I'm not giving anything up. I'm not dropping the Prefunk ball; I'm just slipping you the Prefunk handoff hours later than usual.

Why? Because I can. And because I care.

Tacoma Holiday Food and Gift Festival at the Tacoma Dome

All Fucking Weekend

That's right, yo! It's not even Halloween yet, but you best get in the mood for gingerbread, candy canes and fruitcake - and get there fast. Not only are the "holidays," (and by the "holidays" I mean Christmas, of course) the celebration of little, teeny-tiny baby Jesus' b-day, they're also a massive driver of our economy and some people's full-time job.

No wonder then that the powers behind the Tacoma Holiday Food and Gift Festival (Showcase Events, a company that specializes in tradeshow production and puts on similar "holiday" functions in Denver and Salt Lake City) is chomping at the bit to get at it. Halloween's for pagans. Let's get on with Christmas!

They're so pumped, in fact, they've already started. Hell, you've probably already been three times! The Tacoma Holiday Food and Gift Festival kicked off with a bang Wednesday, and will run full tilt on vendors, exhibits, rosy-cheeked grandmas, frosted Christmas trees, snow globes, Mr. and Mrs. Clauses, holiday lights and pleated jeans through Sunday, when the trade show bonanza will finally roll out of town.

It's gonna be rad! Trust me.

PREFUNK: Here's how to make a hot toddy in the Tacoma Dome parking lot:

Get some scotch.

Pull into the parking lot.

Realize you have no cinnamon, no honey, no sugar, no lemons and certainly no cloves.

Drink the scotch.

Repeat if necessary.

Proceed to enjoy the hell out of the annual Tacoma Holiday Food and Gift Festival. If the holidays are about one thing other than spending money on gaudy decorations, it's drinking.

See you next week.

SATURDAY, OCT. 23, 2010 >>>

1. The Robert Daniel Gallery in Tacoma is relocating. To send the cool art space off in style DJs Dizzy Dave, Big Chuck, Bilori, Chris Savenetti, DefCon1, Nitren, Matinee Cowboy and Altern8nrg will spin beginning at 9 p.m. The Doom Clap, a live drum and DJ duo that step on the dub, will also be part of this "Out With A Bang!" show.

2. Dia de los Muertos (Day of the Dead) arrives early at the Tacoma Art Museum as community groups create ofrendas (altars for departed loved ones) upstairs and artists create traditional tapete (sand-painting) downstairs from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.

3. Tacoma's Dockyard Derby Dames roller derby league presents its All Stars Bout #4 at 5 p.m. inside Pierce College in Lakewood. While this is an all-ages event, there is a beer garden.

4. In celebration of Arts Crush, 2 Ravens Studio (2502 Commerce St., Tacoma) presents "Three Ravens At Two Ravens" with master storyteller Rebecca Hom sharing three raven stories of Northwest origins from 7-9 p.m.  Free admission for all ravens.

5. The Top of Tacoma Bar and Café continues its third-anniversary celebration with a free 9 p.m. show featuring CFA Disarmed (which is the acoustic-sexy version of the regular, high octane CFA), DickEd and Looking for Lizards? (Carl Zook along with Damien Simard, also rocking acoustics).

LINK: The Reaper Ride is tonight.

LINK: Tacoma Holiday Food & Gift Festival in our Prefunk

LINK: Hoot ‘N' Howl, Black Cat Five-Mile Fun Run, Friends Book Sale and salsa dancing in our Weekend Hustle

LINK: Concerts go on sale today

LINK: Taste some wine

LINK: More arts and entertainment events in the South Sound

SOUTH SOUND COMES ALIVE >>>

4th Ave Ale House Olympia - Downtown. Offshore Radio, Congratulations, Mercurial. 21+. 9 pm.

Bethany Open Bible Church Tacoma - Eastside. SAMFEST 2010. Sam Stevens passed away due to an accident involving a drunk driver. Bands will rock in his memory. All Ages. 5-10 pm. $10.

Bob's Java Jive Tacoma - Central. Toward The Flame, Education. 21+. 8 pm.

Cedarwood Dome Milton. 10th Annuel Rize Of The Dead, with Unhailoed, A Lesson In Chaos, Church Of Hate, The Curse Of Western Culture, Demented Souls, Murmur. 21+. 7 pm. $10.

Cork! A Wine Bar Tacoma - Sixth Avenue. Mr. Fusion, featuring Joe Izenman & Erich Sachs. 21+. 8:30 pm.

The Den @ urbanXchange Tacoma - Downtown. Eleanor Murray, Little Horses. All ages. 7 pm.

• For music fans that obsess over production and arrangement, the brand of stripped-down, no-frills folk that's ubiquitous in the Pacific Northwest can, at times, become tedious and uninspiring. With those kind of bands (and the area is lousy with them), there is little to scrutinize or pick apart aside from the lilts and wavers of a singer's voice, or the lyrical content of their woodsy ditties. Fortunately, Eleanor Murray (ostensibly a five-piece band led by Ms. Murray) is not this kind of Washingtonian folkie. Across two well-received releases, Murray has capitalized on the (sometimes offbeat) contributions of her bandmates, resulting in a fuller - and fully-realized - sound. Despite the brittle, glass-like quality of her voice, and the pervasive simplicity of her compositions, Murray's songs feel hearty in a way that so much local folk doesn't. - Jason Baxter

Doyle's Public House Tacoma - Stadium District. Hammy's Birthday Party, with Manhammer, Blanco Bronco. 21+. 9:30 pm. NC.

Hell's Kitchen Tacoma - Downtown. Witchburn, From The Sea, Resdeus, Jobe Hiimself. 21+. 8 pm. NC.

Jazzbones Tacoma - Sixth Avenue. Rockfish. 21+. 8 pm. $8-$10.

Harbor Greens/Forza Wine Bar Gig Harbor. Chicken Joe. 21+. 8 pm. NC.

Le Voyeur Olympia - Downtown. Lovers. 10 pm. NC.

• There are few things more powerful (not in a sissy way, but in a gut-twisting, heart palpitation-causing kind of way) than some well-placed synthesizers and cracking handclaps. Lovers are synth peddlers and handclap manufacturers. Dark electro-pop accompanied by badass chick vocals, the songs vacillating between lovestruck declarations and eloquent fuck-yous. Of all of the mish-mashed revivals that the '00s have wrought, by far my favorite sound to see a comeback is that '80s New Wave pulse. Dancing to Lovers in you living room, you'll feel like you could finally give your heart to that certain mousy someone or other. Listening to it in a car with the windows down will give you the dangerously real sensation that you're about to do some damage to the popular kids. - Rev. Adam McKinney

Mandolin Cafe Tacoma - Central. Stillwater (bluegrass). All Ages. 6 pm. NC. Devil On A Leash. All Ages. 8:30 pm. NC.

The New Frontier Lounge Tacoma - Dome District. The Flight Of Phanuel, Lemolo. 21+. 9 pm.

• Here's a band whose name has appeared in the Weekly Volcano countless times, on bills all over town, sharing stages with well known T-Town rock stalwarts, yet the Flight of the Phanuel has received next to no ink of its own. Well, that's just wrong, and it stops here. The band's got chops that deserve recognition. Playing The New Frontier Lounge Saturday, guitarists Jeremy Baxter and Preston Lewis, bassist Nathan Munoz and drummer Mike Pierce - collectively the Flight of the Phanuel - will put it on display,  dropping their unique brand of real life, soaring pop rock. "The Flight Of Phanuel brings to you a platform of ethereal, atmospheric soundscapes that are written from emotional responses to real events in their own lives or the lives of others," says the band bio. But the truth is in the pudding. See for yourself. - Matt Driscoll

North Shore Golf & Country Club Tacoma - Northeast. Boogie For The Cure, featuring The T-Town Aces, Steve Bailey. 21+. 7:30 pm.

Rhythm & Brews Tacoma - Downtown. Michal Miller Band. All Ages. 9 pm.

SideBar Bistro Tacoma - Downtown. John Nichols and cellist Caleb. 7 pm. NC.

Top of Tacoma Bar & Cafe Tacoma - Eastside. Third Anniversary Party featuring CFA Disarmed (which is the acoustic-sexy version of the regular, high octane CFA), DickEd and Looking for Lizards? (Carl Zook along with Damien Simard, also rocking acoustics). 9 pm. NC.

• Bobble Tiki has the scoop on this show.

Urban Grace Church Tacoma - Downtown. Uncle Bonsai & Christine Lavin CD Release Concert. All Ages. 7:30 pm. $17-$20.

• Bobble Tiki has the scoop on this show.
  

LINK: More live shows tonight in the South Sound

QUIET SHOES, PART XXII >>>

We buy produce from local farmers and handmade gifts from neighborhood merchants; why not support a Tacoma filmmaker as well? Writer-director Isaac Olsen, our city's own (considerably skinnier) Orson Welles, first told me about his feature in the works, Quiet Shoes, two years ago on the Rialto Theater steps. Appropriately, that same theater premiered the film this summer to a huge audience. Now at last it has arrived in a glorious two-disc package, available for $25 on Olsen's production company website, www.schnelluloid.com. The set includes such goodies as commentary, outtakes, and a featurette on the film's many shooting locations. 

Quiet Shoes packs the same virtuosic camerawork, editing, and direction we've come to expect from this talented ensemble's winning shorts at virtually every Grand Cinema 72-Hour Film Competition. Using sophisticated rigs built from scratch, the camera swoops through car windows and over people's heads in ways that make film nerds like me drool. And the intricate story, a tongue-in-cheek homage to film noir, requires multiple viewings. In The Big Lebowski, all The Dude ever wanted was his room-tying rug back. QS hero Rick Savage just needs time to break in his eponymous footwear, but this gangly gumshoe keeps walking into a situation that gets stickier by the minute.

Alluring dames, cyborg criminals, and the occasional corpse populate this mythic Tacoma, while high above the Metropolis-like smokestacks churn out clouds of grime endlessly. Residents will pause the movie more than once and notice literally dozens of well-known haunts.         

"The city," the narrator growls early on, "a pee stain on the crotch of the world." Let that civid pride flow and buy your copy soon. 

LINK: Previously on our website

WEEKLY VOLCANO FLICKR GROUP >>>

RR Anderson, or NineInchNachos9 on Flickr, posted a few shots of the final Frost Park Chalk Challenge of the year on the Weekly Volcano Flickr Group, including the photo above of Andrea's Jaws drawing. Brian's scary chalk drawing drew more votes than the shark according to the voting on FeedTacoma.com.

LINK: Upload your photos on the Weekly Volcano Flickr Group

WE RECOMMEND THESE LIVE SOUTH SOUND SHOWS TONIGHT >>>

Art House Designs Olympia - Eastside. Pearl Django, featuring Vince Brown. All Ages. 6 pm. $12-$15.

Dawson's Bar and Grill Tacoma - South. Blues Jam, hosted by Tim Hall. 21+. 8 pm.

Java Fusion Tacoma - Sixth Avenue. Open Mic Night, hosted by Billy Farmer. All Ages. 4 pm. NC.

• Read our Q&A with Billy Farmer here.
  

Mandolin Cafe Tacoma - Central. The Makedonians. All Ages. 1 pm. NC.

• We reviewed one of their last shows at the Mandolin Cafe here.
  

Matrix Coffee House Centralia. Kevin's Birthday Show, with Mad Dog & The Smokin' Js, The Hub City Hillbillys, Throw Away Sons. All Ages. 8:30 pm. $6.

Northern Olympia - Downtown. Little Wings, Breathe Owl Breathe. All Ages. 8 pm.

• Breathe Owl Breathe are a disarmingly earnest group of artists and musicians who make ground-level folk-pop. Their current aspiration is to make a children's record about an ostrich and a mole that become friends while hanging out underground. So, you know, they're that kind of band. Their music is intimate, gentle stuff that never loses sight of drive and pop structure in favor of preciousness, much to the delight of my admittedly folk-weary ears. Little electronic flourishes have a way of seeping in ever so slightly around the edges, adding just that little touch of texture that helps to break up the lazy, drifting vibe of Breathe Owl Breathe. Oh, and about that children's record: if you donate enough to get the record started, BOB will play your slumber party. Neat-o. - Rev. Adam McKinney
  

Pantages Theater Tacoma - Downtown. Jo Dee Messina. 7:30 pm. $34-$64.

• Born in Massachusetts, Jo Dee Messina was influenced by the music of Loretta Lynn, Dolly Parton, and Reba McEntire. Inspired, at 19 years of age she loaded a car and headed to Nashville and has never looked back. Messina - who has sold more than five million albums - is the first female country artist to score three multiple week number one songs from the same album.  She has had nine number one single hits, including "My Give A Damn's Busted," "Alright," and "Bring on the Rain." Her appearance in Tacoma is part of her cross-country "Music Room Series Tour." During her appearance at the Pantages, Messina will take audience requests, talk about the song writing process and answer questions. – J.M. Simpson
  

Seven Cedars Casino Sequim. Junkyard Jane. 21+. 5:30 pm. NC.

Top of Tacoma Bar & Cafe Tacoma - Third Anniversary Show featuring Eastside. Matinee, Pioneers West, Wheelies. 5 pm. NC.

Traditions Cafe and World Folk Art Olympia - Downtown. Professor Banjo CD Release Show, featuring Paul Silveria. All Ages. 6 pm. $5-$15.

Uncle Sam's American Bar & Grill Spanaway. Sunday Blues Jam Night. Hosted by Shelly Ely. 21+. 7-10 pm.

LINK: More live music and DJs in the South Sound

SUNDAY, OCT. 24, 2010 >>>

1. Billed as an "interactive celebration and creative exercise in commemoration of Tacoma Art Museum's 75th Anniversary," the Mighty Tacoma show features digital portraits by Tacoma-based artists that will be projected in the gallery and posted on the museum website. The show will includes a photographic survey of the city's neighborhoods, families at the museum, community groups and businesses. Drop by and see this mighty show from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.

2. It's the final day of the Tacoma Holiday Food & Gift Festival, which runs from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. For more details, and how to prepare for this final day, check The Prefunk.

3. King's Books hosts the fourth annual Anarchist Bookfair -  billed as a "revolutionary gathering for anyone interested in or curious about anarchy" - from noon to 7 p.m. Want to know how to live in harmony without the oppressive weight of the state bearing down on you? Here's your starting point.

4. Ikebana Society presents the Northwest Sakura chapter's "Annual Flower Exhibit" from noon to 4 p.m. inside the Washington Floral Service at 2701 S. 35th St. in Tacoma.

5. Now, you listen here, hombre. You and me, we done rode through all that "talk like a pirate" bosh, but all that balled-up palaver didn't hold a candle to talkin' like a cowboy. And you might think such frontier lingo wouldn't rightly fit into the flannel-mouthed Elizabethan purty-talk of one Wm. Shakespeare, but that just goes to show you ain't no feller to ride down the river with, so you just hobble your lip. Harlequin Productions buckaroo Scot Whitney at 2 p.m. done nailed that to the counter. His production of The Taming of the Shrew cuts a swell, and that's the real Simon Pure.

LINK: Pearl Django, Jo Dee Messina, Top of Tacoma's third anniversary party, Billy Farmer's open mic and more live shows in our Night Moves

LINK: More arts and entertainment events in the South Sound

MONDAY OCT. 25, 2010 >>>

1. Though the weather outside is frightful, today might just provide an excellent opportunity to check you the Patsy Surh O'Connell Chinese Gongbi art exhibit currently on display at the Tacoma Nature Center ... conveniently indoors. Running through Dec. 15, the exhibit features a total of 20 amazing paintings, 10 black ink with tea wash, and 10 in color.

2. At the end of the month, the University of Puget Sound welcomes the Race and Pedagogy National Conference, which be centered on the theme "Teaching and Learning for Justice: Danger and Opportunity in Our Critical Moment." In conjunction with the conference, The Grand Cinema kicked off their Race and Pedagogy Film Series Friday, and it runs through Oct. 28 - promising a week of films investigating questions of race and education - with facilitated public discussions after most screenings. The action continues today.

3. The BareFoot Collective’s 8@8 provides a platform for artists to show their work in an informal setting and to participate in an audience to artist constructive feedback session, which begins at 8 p.m. inside the Merlino Arts Center.

4. Jake's on 4th is like that buddy we call up after we fail a test or have been stood up by a date. He's there when we need him, feeding us shots and blasting music so loud we forget our problems. The next day we're always stupendously hungover, but happier having spent the night dancing our troubles away. Tonight, Jake's legendary karaoke takes hold. Check it.

5. The Mix hosts Barstool Bingo with prizes beginning at 9 p.m.

LINK: More arts and entertainment events in the South Sound