THE MOON IS UP. IT'S GETTING LATE. GET READY TO CELEBRATE >>>

It's easy to say "eat local, buy local" but let's be honest, how often does that actually happen? If you've been lacking in the endeavor, one delicious opportunity is right around the corner with the Mandolin Café's Harvest Moon Dinner.

Come a little bit closer
Hear what I have to say
Just like children sleepin'
We could dream this night away.

The Tacoma neighborhood hangout will present a three-course "slow food" organic dinner this Friday beginning at 5 p.m.

But there's a full moon risin'
Let's go dancin' in the light
We know where the music's playin'
Let's go out and feel the night.

The three courses are:

• Roasted butternut bisque served in a sugar pie pumpkin, crème fraishe, grilled crusty bread;
• Herb roasted organic chicken breast, pumpkin risotto with mushroom ragout, seasonal vegetables, jus lié;
• Stuffed baby apple with a honey mascarpone filing, caramel sauce, Ollympic Mountain vanilla ice cream.

When we were strangers
I watched you from afar
When we were lovers
I loved you with all my heart.

Adding to the festivities will be a freshly, pressed apple cider and live bluegrass music.

But now it's gettin' late
And the moon is climbin' high
I want to celebrate
See it shinin' in your eye.

The cost is $20 per person. Act quick if you want to reserve a spot by stopping by the Mandolin or calling 253.761.3482.

Because I'm still in love with you
I want to see you dance again
Because I'm still in love with you
On this harvest moon.

The Mandolin Café

Friday, Nov. 19, 5-11 p.m., $20
3923 S. 12^th St., Tacoma

Special thanks to Neil Young for his "Harvest Moon" lyrics.

FRIDAY AT JAZZBONES IN TACOMA >>>

Puyallup legends SweetKiss Momma (yeah, I called 'em legends) will be at Jazzbones in Tacoma Friday with Guns of Nevada and Midnight Salvage Co. The show - besides being sure to rock - is a celebration of sorts for local podcaster Darrell Fortune and his South Sound centered show, the Northwest Convergence Zone. Fortune and the Zone recently took home fifth place in King 5's Best of Western Washington poll - which is a pretty impressive feat for a weekly podcast produced in Fortune's garage (in fairness, it's a fucking awesome garage).

SweetKiss Momma lead singer Jeff Hamel tells me the last time the band was at Jazzbones they sold the place out - by over 100 people. While I'm not sure what the fire marshall would have to say about that, what fans of Southern-tinged rock would holler is, "hell-fucking-yeah."

Catch SweetKiss Momma along with Guns of Nevada and Midnight Salvage Co. Friday at Jazzbones.

But first, watch this ...

MORE THAN JUST FILMS AT THE OLYMPIA FILM FESTIVAL >>>

Not only did the powers behind the 27th Annual Olympia Film Festival organize one of the best such events to date, they threw in extra treats like last week's Gossip show and this Saturday's Faun Fables performance at the Capitol Theater. Part performance, part spectacle, all art, and like just about nothing else I can think of, Faun Fables is not for everyone - but there's no denying the immense creative and theatrical Dawn McCarthy (the imagination and voice behind Faun Fables) has more than enough presence to hold a spotlight.

IT HAPPENED LAST WEEKEND >>>

Last Friday and Saturday at Tacoma School of the Arts The Furniture Series collaborative dance performance combined eleven dances, a whole slew of well-known local dancers (Joel Myers, Kate Monthy, Hannah Crowley, Katie Stricker, Mary Tuttle, Danny Boulet, Lynn Wilmot-Stenehjem, Laura Miltner, Brittany Humphrey), and some odes to household furniture to birth one memorable spectacle. Created and produced by Tacoma School of the Arts dance instructor Robin Jaecklein, with original music by Jamie Alls, Paul Eliot, Colin Reynolds, Ruth Taylor and more, and costume design by Lisa Fruichantie, the Furniture Series not only paid homage to its original inspiration - an oversized rocking chair on Tacoma's Sixth Avenue - it left audience members yearning for more.

The Weekly Volcano's Mary K Johnson was in attendance, snapping a couple photos of the event.

IN THEATERS FRIDAY >>>

Look. We can't send our in-house film critic, the venerable Rev. Adam McKinney, to every movie screening. For one, he rides the bus - and these hoity-toity film critic screenings often happen in Seattle. Secondly, he's a busy man with many responsibilities - meaning reviewing rom-coms for the Volcano doesn't always top his priority list.

As mentioned earlier this week, McKinney reviewed the new Harry Potter flick for tomorrow's paper, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows - Part 1. He calls it, quite possibly, the second best film in the series - but you'll have to wait until tomorrow's paper hits the streets to hear the rest.

But the new Harry Potter isn't the only movie coming out on Friday. Russell Crowe's new crap fest, The Next Three Days, will also be hitting big screens.

Since McKinney was unavailable, and we like him, we called on Roger Ebert to handle Crowe's latest work. You'll be able to read that review - along with McKinney's take on the new Potter - in tomorrow's Volcano.

Until then, prepare yourself for a world where Russell Crowe is a junior college professor with a resilient (albeit it wholly unbelievable) streak by watching the trailer for The Next Three Days.

THURSDAY, NOV. 18>>>

1. Just when you thought the farmers market season had faded to an end, the Tacoma Farmers Market and Multicare Health System come to the rescue with an official Pre-Thanksgiving Farmers Market this Thursday from noon to 5 p.m. at South Fourth and I Street in Tacoma. According to hype, 15 vendors will be dealing in most of the tasty, fresh, local stuff you've come to expect from the Tacoma Farmers Market, while live performers dabble in folk and bluegrass action.

2. It's the one-year anniversary of Tacoma Metal Arts Center - and they're having a party! Everyone is invited to catch jewelry demonstrations, munch on food, sip beverages, and revel at all the goodness Tacoma Metal Arts Center has to offer. Expect hands-on activities from 4-7 p.m., and an artist reception from 5-8 p.m.

3. Like a good throttling to kick off your weekend? Start tonight at Hell's Kitchen - where Tacoma punks the Americommies will no doubt engage in all sorts of blasphemy ... to the delight of all in attendance.

4. The Tacoma Weavers Guild is celebrating 75 years of existence this year - something you're aware of if you've recently visited the downtown Tacoma Public Library's Handforth Gallery - where "The Art of Weaving" is currently on display, or the library's Northwest Room, where there's a historical display to commemorate the Guild's impressive achievement. Tonight, as part of Art Walk, there's an opening reception for both displays. Expect weavers aplenty.

5. That reminds us! Let us not forget it's Third Thursday Art Walk today in Tacoma. There are numerous sights to see and experiences to be had throughout the City of Destiny this evening. In case you're new at this, here's a decent place to start.

IT'S ONLY SIX MONTHS AWAY >>>

It's true. Not only will Dave Grohl and the Foo Fighters play next year's Sasquatch Music Festival at the Gorge in George, but based off the incredible success of the indie rock festival (how much more indie does it get than the Foo Fighters, really?), Sasquatch will also be adding a fourth day.

Will there be enough neon and chillwave to go around? Only time will tell.

Until then, watch this and catch the official press release below.

The press release:

SASQUATCH! MUSIC FESTIVAL 10TH ANNIVERSARY
MEMORIAL DAY WEEKEND (MAY 27-30) THE GORGE AMPHITHEATRE

FOO FIGHTERS TO HEADLINE NEW FRIDAY EVENT
COMPLETE LINEUP TO BE ANNOUNCED FEBRUARY 7

DISCOUNT 4 DAY FESTIVAL PASSES
ON SALE SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 20 (10:00 A.M. PST)
NEW CONVENIENT "ALL IN" TICKET PRICING TO INCLUDE FESTIVAL ADMISSION,
CAMPING AND SERVICE FEES

On the heels of last year's fastest sellout ever, record attendance and rave reviews from national media, Sasquatch! Music Festival adds a fourth day and celebrates its 10th year of being what SPIN hails as "a pick-your-poison selection for your party at the edge of the earth," May 27-30 (Memorial Day Weekend) at The Gorge in Quincy, WA. A special discounted 4-day festival pass will be available in time for the holiday gift season on Saturday, November 20 at 10:00 A.M. (PST) via sasquatchfestival.com. Foo Fighters will headline the new Friday night event. The festival's complete lineup will be announced February 7, 2011.

Festival creator Adam Zacks founded Sasquatch! nearly 10 years ago with the aim of building an event that catered to the eclectic tastes of voracious music enthusiasts. Zacks personally curates the lineups for each Sasquatch! Festival, hand-picking the diverse array of artists.  "We are excited to grow the festival to 4 days and thrilled that Foo Fighters, a great American rock band with roots in the Pacific Northwest, will be headlining the Friday show."

The Sasquatch! Festival has established a tradition of presenting critically acclaimed emerging artists alongside established headliners. Previous lineups have spanned a broad spectrum of genres from rock to hip-hop, electronic to singer-songwriters; past performers include R.E.M. Coldplay, Kanye West, Pavement, Beastie Boys, Nine Inch Nails, Wilco, The Flaming Lips, The Cure, Björk, and M.I.A. The festival also has a history of incorporating comedy including performances by Flight of The Conchords, Zach Galifianakis, Sarah Silverman, and many more.

Known for its bucolic location as well as its programming zeitgeist, the Sasquatch! Festival marks its 10th year at The Gorge Amphitheatre, an internationally acclaimed concert venue carved in the basalt cliffs, high above the Columbia River Gorge and offering spectacular, sweeping views of the river and canyon.

Esurance, the direct-to-consumer personal car insurance company, will return in 2011 as the title sponsor for the Sasquatch! Music Festival. A green sponsor of the event since 2007, Esurance will continue its ongoing drive toward a planet-friendly festival. Following on the success of 2010's carpooling initiatives, the eco-conscious insurance company will again provide this year's concertgoers with multiple ridesharing opportunities through partner Zimride. Esurance also plans to implement new programs aimed at maximizing the concert experience for music lovers, while continuing to promote a more sustainable event.

IT'S ON LIKE DONKEY KONG >>>

There are many things in life to be thankful for. One of them is the Volcano's music section. Another is that you're not Tony Parker. Or Brent Barry, for that matter. Count your blessings and see what's in store for you today, in print and on the street in the latest edition of the best cage liner in town.

Built to Spill are kind of indie rock royalty. Making a name for themselves in the mid-to-late '90s, the band distinguished itself by performing high atop a rigid foundation of complex chord structures and no a small amount of jamming. They released two albums now considered classics and standards for any indie rock fan's collection, Perfect from Here On and Keep It Like a Secret. This week Doug Martsch and Built to Spill will be in Olympia playing a very worth benefit for the Friends of Mia organization.

The gradual coolifying of Amocat is about to get a serious bump on Friday when Calvin Johnson's project, the Hive Dwellers, performs. Also on the bill will be solo sets from two of the people behind two of the best bands in Tacoma: Trevor Dickson of the Nightgowns and Spencer Kelly of Basemint.

In true underground tradition, Broken Water is a band that deliberately smears the boundaries between various genres - garage, punk, shoegaze, s***gaze - and in doing so, generates something wholly unique, exciting and loud as hell.

Friday SweetKiss Momma, Midnight Salvage Co. and Guns of Nevada will be at Jazzbones - a show that's also a celebration for Darrell Fortune and the Northwest Convergence Zone podcast. Fortune recently won fifth place in the radio personality category of King 5's Best of Western Washington competition.

If you're in the mood to have a butter-voiced elder statesman of soul make sweet, sweet love to your earholes, get thee to the Emerald Queen Casino, because late-'80s/early-'90s phenom Keith Sweat is set to perform there.

Atlanta punks Carnivores revel in that kind of lo-fi rumbling that seems so ever-present now, but they bring a vinyl-collector's knowledge and fervor to it. The band has an awareness of and respect for all manner of lost treasures.

Not only did the powers behind the 27th Annual Olympia Film Festival organize one of the best such events to date, they threw in extra treats like last week's Gossip show and this Saturday's Faun Fables performance at the Capitol Theater.

BE ENLIGHTENED >>>

Imagine Jacob Lawrence hanging out at the half-moon bar inside the Tempest Lounge, talking about the state of African-American arts with Langston Hughes. The two trace the evolution of art and poetry with awe in their voices as they kickback inside the Hilltop Tacoma lounge. Sound impossible? Well, the players might be different, and the location is a block away, but the concept is happening.

Fab-5 artists Chris Jordan, Kenji Stoll along with Christie Tirado have hung their multidisciplinary exhibit COLORED at the Tacoma Art Place. Accompany each piece are the poetic works of Darryl Crews, Danielle Jordan and Dwayne Cawthon. Tonight, the three artists and three poets examine race, ethnicity and heritage as it pertains to written, visual and performing arts during the artist reception for the show.

COLORED

Through Tuesday, Nov. 30
Artist Reception, Thursday, Nov. 18, 5:30-7:30 p.m.
Poetry readings, Tuesday, Nov. 30, 6-9 p.m.
Tacoma art Place
1116 S. 11^th, Tacoma
253.238.1006

THE LOWDOWN ON WHAT'S UP THIS WEEKEND >>>

WEATHER REPORT

Friday: Rainy and miserable, hi 43, lo 37

Saturday: Exactly the same,with a slight chance of snow showers, hi 43, lo 31

Sunday: Partly sunny, but cold, hi 39, lo 28

>>> FRIDAY, NOV. 19: GODDESS OF COMMERCE GATEWAY PROJECT BENEFIT

The gradual coolifying of Amocat is about to get a serious bump on Friday when Calvin Johnson's project, the Hive Dwellers, performs. Also on the bill will be solo sets from two of the people behind two of the best bands in Tacoma: Trevor Dickson of the Nightgowns and Spencer Kelly of Basemint.

• Amocat Cafe, 6 p.m., $5, 625 St. Helens Ave., Tacoma, 253.228.7271

>>> FRIDAY, NOV. 19: SAFE STREETS DEMONSTRATION

Friday Tacoma's nonprofit Safe Streets campaign will hold two rallies in T-Town, allowing members of the community a chance to get together, construct signs with "anti-crime slogans" and demonstrate their vigilance in two neighborhoods:  Orchard Plaza at 56th and Orchard and the Shell station at Center Street and Tyler. If you really want to go all out, sign making parties - including refreshments - start at 3:30 p.m. at the Madrona Pointe and Orchard Hills apartment complexes.

• Tacoma, 4-6 p.m., 7:30 p.m., 56th and Orchard and the Shell Station at Center Street and Tyler Street, Tacoma, safest.org

>>> SATURDAY, NOV. 20: 'NESIAN FEST AT HELL'S KITCHEN

While this one may not fit the bill of shows you typically associate with Tacoma punk and metal institution Hell's Kitchen, that's all the more reason to take note. On Saturday, local hip-hoppers Island Trybe will headline the first ‘Nesian Fest, which the group also happened to organize - with the goal being a celebration and creative gathering of Pacific Islanders throwing it down in the local hip hop scene. With at least five other performers on the bill, the first ‘Nesian Fest will undoubtedly be one of the most impressive collections of talent the weekend has in store.  

• Hell's Kitchen, 8 p.m., 928 Pacific Ave., Tacoma, 253.232.5519

>>> WHERE OUR STAFF IS GOING

MATT DRISCOLL Editor (aka - the guy to blame)
Drinking in my underwear. Also, I'll be preparing for next week's trip to the in-laws house for Thanksgiving by doing all the things I'm not allowed to do there ... like drink in my underwear

PAUL SCHRAG Senior Contributor
I'm sleeping and watching Red Dwarf. And fantasizing about the Neurosis show at Neumo's on New Year's Eve.

REV. ADAM MCKINNEY Features Writer
Friday, I'll be at the Amocat Cafe, watching the Hive Dwellers, Trevor Dickson and Spencer Kelley. The next day, I may be attending a Four Loko prohibition party. I cut my teeth on Four Loko last weekend, and can't wait to get back into that cocaine-like saddle. Sunday, I'm having Thanksgiving dinner with my friends.
NIKKI TALOTTA Features Writer
I don't mind the usual gifts of winter - holidays, nasty weather, shorter days. But what I do mind is the winter gifts that keep on giving - germs, infections, viruses - and the constant sharing of said gifts between the grubby little hands of babes. So, instead of the planned babysitter and a weekend of rock 'n' roll with Built to Spill and the Olympia Record Show, I will be wiping oozing eyes, allowing my sleeve to double as a snot rag and watching Toy Story 3 forthe hundreth time - all while doling out a year's worth of kisses. Sigh.

JOE IZENMAN Music/Theater Critic
Oh, you know, the usual. Proctor Farmers Market. Playing cards and drinking beer. Watching some Doctor Who. Football and Dungeons & Dragos on Saturday. Oh yeah, and CLEANING LIKE A MAD BASTARD BECAUSE APPARENTLY WE ARE HOSTING THANKSGIVING NEXT WEEK. OH, GOD, WHY?
JENNIFER JOHNSON: Lifestyle/Leisure Writer
Friday going to Olympia to hear Ultramarathoner, Life in Motion 'Superhuman' Dean Karnazes speak. Saturday 7:30 a.m. hot yoga, a friend’s wedding, Shenanigans for dinner and Tempest 5-year anniversary throw-down.

CHRISTIAN CARVAJAL: Theater Critic
Would you believe I have nothing to review this weekend?  I get to hide from the weather and try not to giggle like a moron each time the word "horcrux" is uttered in Harry Potter and the Curse of Lifelong Typecasting.

RON SWARNER Publisher
The highlight of my weekend – besides hanging the turkey mobile above the kitchen table – will be joining Tacoma at the Tempest Lounge’s fifth anniversary party Saturday night. The rest of the weekend I’ll be doing my old man thing: puttering around the house. I’ll walk around turning lamps on and off, making coffee as well as calls to see which checks cleared overnight, visit the porch to see which plants I have killed and, well, just putter.

LINK: More arts and entertainment events in the South Sound