WEDNESDAY, MARCH 30, 2011 >>>

1. Leaning in the acoustic, folk and Celtic direction, Rob Folsom will perform at A Rhapsody in Bloom on Sixth Avenue in Tacoma tonight at 7 p.m. If that doesn't strike your fancy, try perusing the Volcano's extensive live local music calendar here.

2. What happens when a team of local artists travels to Bwindi, Uganda, to teach art making to members of the Batwa pygmy tribe? Find out today during a free lecture, where Art Without Borders trip participants Marsha Conn (project organizer), Lynn Di Nino, Cheryl Johnson, Annie Moorehouse, Joan Robbins, Elinor Maroney and Carol Brady will recount stories of their extraordinary journey, and their efforts to aid the Batwa people.

3. Ahh yeah, boi! Phunkatron does its thing at Jazzbones tonight. Why should Wednesday night be boring?

4. Like bingo? Like free stuff? Like not getting drunk, falling down, making an ass of yourself and eventually ruining your life? Well, then, partner - we say try Applnni's Two Clean and Sober Club tonight in Puyallup ... because it's "Free Bingo," ya'll!

5. Go loony for letterpress today at the Collins Memorial Library at the University of Puget Sound, checking in with the Quintessence: The Ethereal and Material That Inspire the May Day Press exhibit by Alice Michaelis that runs through April 14.

IN THE BIZZ, THIS IS CALLED A TEASE >>>

It has been an intense past few months for the Tacoma School Board, as the body has been attempting to level a monumental budget deficit while continuing to address the achievement gap and quality of Tacoma's schools. However, this period of dialogue, research and priority setting has led to some of the most progressive proposals and conversations to date, and has led to an unprecedented dialogue between the School Board and over 2,000 community members.

Recently School Board member and REACH (Resources for Education and Career Help) Center Director Kurt Miller sat down with the Weekly Volcano to discuss the dilemmas currently facing the board, potential solutions and his work with the REACH Center.

To read the full interview, click here.

INTIMATE SHOW IS RELATIVELY INEXPENSIVE, TOO >>>

When writing about Portland's Vagabond Opera, one must be armed with an abundance of adjectives. Hyphens help, too.

The wildly eclectic and energetic band-cabaret last played in Olympia in January at the Kenneth J. Minnaert Center for the Arts.

The show, part of the Washington Center for the Performing Arts' New Frontiers at the Minnaert series, amused and amazed many in the audience with its opera-meets-gypsy-meets-klezmer-and-more musical stylings. But the manic mockery would, I thought, have gone down more easily in a more intimate setting.

Presto! The vagabonds are back, playing at 8 p.m. Thursday, March 31, at Traditions Cafe & World Folk Art.

More good news: Tickets are $15, $10 for students and those with low incomes. (The January show cost $29.50, $14.75 for youths.)

[Traditions Café & World Folk Art, Vagabond Opera, Thursday, March 31, 9 p.m., $10-$15, all ages, 300 Fifth Ave. S.W., Olympia, 360.705.2819, traditionsfairtrade.com]

ONE LAST REMINDER >>>

What happens when a local artist team travels to Bwindi, Uganda, to teach art making to members of the Batwa pygmy tribe? You'll have the opportunity to find tonight at Northwest Costume during a free lecture where local trip participants recount stories of their extraordinary journey and their efforts to aid the Batwa people, inhabitants of the Impenetrable Forest who were evicted from their homeland after it was designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Read the full scoop by Lisa Kinoshita here.

And peruse some photos from the Art Without Border trip taken by Carol Brady and Lynn Di Nino below.

Taking a break in the marketplace. Photo: Carol Brady

A Ugandan man uses pedal power to sharpen a blade. Photo: Carol Brady

Colorful headbands by the Batwa artists. Photo: Lynn Di Nino

ALL AGES ACTION >>>

On Friday, April 1^st, Olympia trio Gun Outfit celebrate the release of their new 12" EP High Places in Seattle. Ironically, title track "High Places" was recorded in a basement, and "High Places" is already the name of a LA duo who-like Gun Outfit-have released material on the Post Present Medium label run by No Age's Dean Spunt.  Gun Outfit's Dylan Sharp says the song is about touring, but references Garth Brooks' "Friends in Low Places." April Fool's?

Multi-tiered, incidental song-name humor aside, there's nothing funny about Gun Outfit's music-they're a melodically-gifted, rightfully-acclaimed band with a flair for melding the clean guitars and drawling vocals of post-punk and '90s slacker rock with the aching, whiskey-soaked world-weariness of country music classics. They bring this signature sound to a stacked show Thursday at all-ages hub the Northern.

Read the full scoop here.

ONLINE CHATTER >>>

Today’s comment comes from Jeff Sloane in regard to yesterday’s post on Lithium Love buttons, a homegrown Tacoma phenomena.

Sloane writes,

I have them all over my frig. I put a bunch on a couple of little jackets for my little nephews and now they are too cool to hang with me. All becouse of those buttons.

THURSDAY, MARCH 31: BAKED EIGHT >>>

For the last two weeks we presented you with a compelling question: Who makes the best pizza in the South Sound?

Well, we're closer than we've ever been to finding out - at least based on the voice of you, the readers and voters.

Today is a very special day in the Volcano's Tournament of Pizza - the Baked Eight. Yes, only eight out of an original 64 area pizza joints remain, each doing battle today to stay alive and fight on toward ultimate Tournament of Pizza glory.

If we were you we'd just call in sick, grab some Rolaids and watch it all unfold.

Short of that, a good place to start would be by voting below.

Yesterday's Results

Aversano's vs. Rollies Tavern

Despite a late push from Sumner's heralded Aversano's, Rollies and its large, devoted, strongly Air Force following proved too powerful in yesterday's action, catapulting into the Baked Eight with a resounding victory. Rollies is known for toppings, toppings some might say cover more than 63 percent of the delicious pizzas. Strangely, that's exactly the percentage of the vote Rollies received yesterday. Weird. Today Rollies will face Trackside.

Louie G's Pizza vs. Trackside Pizza

As you may have gathered since Trackside will be competing against Rollies today, Puyallup's favorite pizza joint (at least based on Tournament of Pizza results) was able to fend off Louie G's of Fife yesterday and play its way into Baked Eight. After an impressive run, Louie G's - even with the newfound support of the all-ages music scene - couldn't climb the mountain that was Trackside - which scored roughly 70 percent of the vote in victory.

Katie Downs Waterfront Pizza vs. Puget Sound Pizza

We feel bad for the kids on this one ... especially the kids in tight pants. But something tells us they'll survive, and they'll do so in tasty style with the Puget Sound Pizza they (and much of the area, it seems) has come to love. Unfortunately for Puget Sound Pizza, the task yesterday of taking down Katie Downs was simply too much - and the votes told the story. When all was said and done, Katie Downs moved on with nearly 89 percent of the votes in the day's most active contest.

The Rock Brick Oven Pizza vs. Upper Crust Bistro & Bakery

The way Upper Crust has managed to bring it during this year's Tournament of Pizza has been nothing short of amazing. Yesterday, many already had established competitor The Rock penciled in as a winner. Those people, however, where foolish - as Upper Crust once again proved its pizza prowess. The votes don't lie, and when the final buzzer sounded Upper Crust had racked up roughly 80 percent of the vote and comfortably moved into Baked Eight competition.

The following four pizza joints will advance to the Baked Eight:

• Rollies Tavern
  
• Trackside Pizza
  
• Katie Downs Waterfront Restaurant
  
• Upper Crust Bistro & Bakery
  

Today's Competition

Sponsored by al Forno Ferruzza Traditional Sicilian Cuisine

OK, time to move on to today's pizza battles. Vote for one pizza joint per battle, then scroll to the bottom and click "Done."

THURSDAY, MARCH 31, 2011 >>>

1. Catch Gun Outfit tonight in Olympia at Northern. You can find all the details here. You can also find the Volcano's extensive live local music calendar by going here. It's totally badass.

2. The Vagabond Opera is back in Oly, this time at Traditions. Molly Gilmore blogged about it earlier this week.

3. The truth!?! The TRUTH!?! You CAN'T HANDLE the TRUTH!! ... Or maybe you can. Surreal Ultra Lounge's Truth Thursday is tonight, featuring DJ Quest or DJ Dave Holland. The instructions include: dress to impress.

4. Want to get your boot-skoot-boogey on? Not sure how? May we suggest real, legit country dance lessons at Big Whisky Saloon, starting with beginner at 7:30 p.m. and intermediate at 8:15 p.m. Then, stay for DJ Tyler and refine your skills, from 10 p.m. to close.

5. It's "Ladies Night" at the Swiss. Just sayin'.

This week ...

Thing: Tacoma Pride

Where: AMOCAT Cafe

Obvious: AMOCAT = TACOMA

Sells: Coffee and local goodies

Run by: Morgan Alexander

Morgan Alexander is: A community zealot

He's also: A Real estate agent and guru of local projects

To read the full article, click here.

WE WOULDN'T JOKE ABOUT BOOKS YOU CAN EAT >>>

If you haven't heard of the Edible Book Festival, you are likely not alone -  even though it's an international festival held at libraries worldwide, including Tacoma's own Collins Memorial Library on the University of Puget Sound campus. And while you may be thinking an edible book festival must surely involve you getting to eat some books, it doesn't.

Instead, the Edible Book Festival at UPS is an arts festival involving food art interpretations of book titles. While it may sound mild-mannered, never underestimate the power of creative librarians.

To read the full story, click here.

[University of Puget Sound Collins Memorial Library, Edible Book Festival, Friday, April 1, 8 a.m. - 4 p.m., free, 1500 N. Warner St., Tacoma, 253.879.3240, pugetsound.edu/ediblebooks]