FRIDAY, FEB. 18, 2011 >>>

1. Marcia Ball, Tab Benoit and The Voice Of The Wetlands All-Stars perform at 7:30 p.m. inside the Washington Center in Olympia.

2. Poetry in the 253 - Mouths & Mics, a spoken word open mic hosted by the 2009 Soul of the City Tacoma Poet Laureate and Speak Your Soul poet Antonio Edwards, runs from 7-9 p.m. at the Rain City Café in downtown Tacoma.

3. Pianist Eugene Skovorodnikov will perform classics by Franz Liszt at 7:30 p.m. inside the Schneebeck Concert Hall at the University of Puget Sound.

4. The Bridge nightclub in the Emerald Queen Casino might be the best nightclub in town to meet a love interest. Why? Because the Bridge has live bands every Friday and Saturday night. Tacoma favorites like Idol Eyez (9 p.m. tonight and Saturday) and Raeanns Groove will finish out the month of February. That's two straight weekends of rocking, grooving and dancing in one of the biggest nightclubs in Tacoma. And since it's one of the biggest clubs, it also attracts some of Tacoma's sexiest singles. Gotta like those odds.

5. Taist Of Iron, Under Sin, Hidden Casualties, Feared Alive, Stript and Systemik invade Hell's Kitchen beginning at 7 p.m.

LINK: More arts and entertainment events in the South Sound

LINK: National touring concerts go on sale today

LINK: New movies open today