>>> VOTING CLOSED FOR MARCH 15 <<<

Two years ago, the Weekly Volcano challenged 64 taco slingers to enter tournament-style culinary combat, shell versus shell, with Moctezuma's crowned best taco. Last year, pizza took center-stage in our quest for gustatory greatness, with Katie Downs pie reigning supreme. This year, the tradition continues.

It's breakfast time, baby!

Beginning today, 64 well-buttered competitors (for the most part) will tip off and do battle - working their way through the tediously constructed bracket and toward ultimate supremacy.

We speak, of course, of the Weekly Volcano's Tournament of Breakfast, which kicks off this morning right here on Spew. Sixty-four area breakfast joints were selected and seeded by readers throughout February, and now the time has come to see who's best. Only one can be crowned king - so vote early, and DAILY here on Spew. Use the bracket attached to his post to guide you through the daily matchups.

Then, on April 2, join us at the Meconi's Pub in downtown Tacoma for the Official Tournament of Breakfast Party - our winner will be announced during halftime of the NCAA Men's Basketball Championship game.

The daily breakfast battles here on Spew are sponsored by Shakabrah Java on Tacoma's Sixth Avenue.

OK, let's check out today's First Round breakfast battles. Vote for one breakfast joint per battle. Voting for today's breakfast battles ends at 11:45 p.m.

WHAT WE HAVE FOUND TODAY >>>

Madame Slimball: Jacqueline Nicole Carr is in the Pierce County Jail after allowing awo 15-year-old girls to prostitute themselves in the home she shares with her two young sons. (News Tribune)

Mister Slimeball: Lakewood police are chasing a man suspected of sexually assaulting a woman at gunpoint inside her apartment. (News Tribune)

Afghan President To U.S.: Get the hell out. (CNN)

Senate Democrats Are Pissed: The Violence Against Women Act once enjoyed broad bipartisan support but now faces fierce opposition from Republicans. (The New York Times)

Business Advice: Twenty-two executives share the best advice they ever received. (Business Insider)

Circus Boost: Scientists plan to clone the Woolly Mammoth. (Time)

Incest?: Whitney Houston's daughter likely doing it with Whitney Houston's adopted son. (Gawker)

Out Of Luck: HBO has canceled Luck. (Yahoo)

Better Luck: Portlandia will return for a third season. (LaughSpin)

This Report Brought To You By Geritol: Rolling Stones push back its 50^th Anniversary Tour to 2013. (Rolling Stone)

Need Sleep?: Christopher Walken reads Where the Wild Things Are. (boingboing)

Put Some Clothes On Girls

THIS WEEK'S VOLCANO MUSIC COVERAGE >>>

The Weekly Volcano never sleeps. It's true ... or very close to true. We average only a few hours of shut-eye a night, be it because we're busy putting together another jaw-dropping issue of the Weekly Volcano, or simply because we're busy preparing our livers for St. Paddy's Day.

It's true. And you better believe we managed to pump out another stellar Weekly Volcano music section, just like we do every Thursday.

The Weekly Volcano music section is your weekly chance at the best in South Sound music coverage. This week's Volcano music section includes Learning Team, DJ Phinisey, Stumblebum Brass Band, the Fun Police, A Leaf, Sok and the Faggots and much more ...

LEARNING TEAM

Sometimes a band can shoot up like a blossoming flower in front of a time-lapse camera. Quickly emerging, very quickly fully formed, the band finds itself in real time, right in front of our eyes. Bellingham's Learning Team is such a band. Though Learning Team has only existed for a short period of time, the band has produced more and sprinted farther than one can reasonably expect - having released about an LP's worth of material, spread out over three EP's and about a year.

What started as a folk-pop band has already begun to evolve into more propulsive indie rock. ... -- Rev. Adam McKinney

DJ PHINISEY

One of the best singles so far this year is "No Bull" by DJ Phinisey, featuring Rockwell Powers, Jay Barz and Xperience. That's a killer combination of MCs and they damage the beat indeed. The single is available for download at djphinisey.bandcamp.com. I'm personally looking forward to Phinisey releasing his full-length record. I expect it to be one of the best releases of 2012. His recording studio, Remedy Recording, is still the go-to spot for all your recording and mastering needs. It's professional yet homey, secluded yet nearby. And Phinisey knows what he's doing. ... -- Josh Rizeberg

WE RECOMMEND: STUMBLEBUM BRASS BAND

The Stumblebum Brass Band is an entity that banks on novelty, but does its best to surpass it. The band succeeds in spades. Theirs is a collective of brass-band punk dudes, to put it bluntly. To incorporate marching/school assembly band elements into a punk outfit is not unheard of, but the Stumblebum Brass Band does well with making hay of the unlikely combination, and the band's recordings are lively fucking affairs. ... -- Rev. Adam McKinney

WE RECOMMEND: THE FUN POLICE

The Fun Police, it must be said, are one of those workhorse local bands that absolutely fucking brings it. They treat each venue the same, making sure the crowd leaves dazed, a ringing in their ears and smiles on their faces - because they've just seen a show. Through a dizzying mesh of styles including Celtic rock, punk, and reggae, the Fun Police have created a sound all their own. ... -- Weekly Volcano

PLUS: BETTER LIVING THROUGH MUSIC: A Leaf, Sok and the Faggots, The Fucking Eagles, Makeup Monsters and more ...

PLUS: CONCERT ALERT

PLUS: COMPREHENSIVE LIVE LOCAL MUSIC LISTINGS

PLUS: EVERYDAY SHIT

ARTS COVERAGE TO END ALL ARTS COVERAGE >>>

At this point it goes without saying. If you're looking for coverage of local arts in Tacoma, Olympia, and all points in between, the Weekly Volcano is THE place to find it. Our goal is to consistently provide the best local arts coverage possible to our fantastic readers. We're always on the lookout for ways to shine a light on all the awesome creativity we see around us.

This week's Volcano arts section includes Chuck Gumpert and Tom Anderson at Childhood's End Gallery, Someone Who'll Watch Over Me at TLT, Rabbit Hole at PLU, plus much more ...

Here's a look at the Volcano arts coverage waiting for you this week in print and online.

VISUAL EDGE: CHUCK GUMPERT AND TOM ANDERSON

Chuck Gumpert and Tom Anderson are the featured artists at Childhood's End Gallery this month. Both are painters in the Abstract Expressionist tradition.

It seems like I've been seeing invitations to Chuck Gumpert's shows for as long as I've been reviewing art; but unless my memory has failed me - which it does quite frequently - I don't think I've ever reviewed his work, and I'm not even sure I've seen any of his paintings except in reproduction. I was surprised at the small-to-moderate scale of these paintings, because on websites they look much larger. It's Gumpert's very expansive explosion of color and loosely brushed forms with no definite edges that make them look so much larger. ... -- Alec Clayton

THEATER: SOMEONE WHO'LL WATCH OVER ME

Tacoma Little Theatre is known for putting on consistently good productions. TLT chooses a variety of plays that appeal to a wide audience. The theater's current production, Someone Who'll Watch Over Me, is one of the few TLT productions intended for a mature audience. Rated R for "explicit language and situations," the play by Frank McGuinness is as relevant now as it was when it first opened in 1992. 

Adam (Tim Shute) is an American doctor held in captivity who shares a Beirut cell with Edward (Tim Samland), an Irish journalist. Kidnapped and thrown together, Adam and Edward go through a range of emotions as they try to make sense of their circumstances. Part way through Act I, Adam and Edward are joined by a third man, Michael (Martin J. Mackenzie). Michael is an English professor who was nabbed while on his way to the market. The play has limited action and is driven by dialogue. Chained to the floor of their cells, the men struggle to keep their spirits lifted and to hide their despair from their captors. ... -- Joann Varnell

THEATER: RABBIT HOLE

ow do you cope with a pain most people can't even conceive? How do you mourn the death of your young son? And when you know it was a senseless accident that took his life, and when there's no target for blame, where does your anger go?

David Lindsay-Abaire won a Pulitzer exploring these questions in Rabbit Hole, and it's not hard to see why. It is a masterpiece of human emotion; raw dialogue coupled with a share of humor, the way life is.

Produced as part of a series of events on compassion by the School of Arts and Communication, Pacific Lutheran University's staging of this powerful piece succeeds on a level somewhat higher than one might expect from student performers. Seniors Kate Howland and Jordan Paul Tjarks Beck portray as Becca and Howie, parents of 4-year-old Danny, who has perished in an accident some months before. ... -- Joe Izenman

LOCAL FILM: NFFTY

Let's talk numbers.

21

Jesse Harris' age when he co-founded the National Film Festival for Talented Youth (the cool kids call it NFFTY) in Seattle with Jocelyn R.C. and Kyle Seago. What had YOU accomplished by that time in your life? Probably starting your career and/or going to college, you sad underachiever you.

Actually, Harris also heard the higher calling to higher education, but ultimately listened to the moviemaker within and completed his first feature (shot mostly in Puyallup) at ...

17

But first Harris' parents had to help bankroll the project, which meant dipping into the college fund. "It took a little convincing, but I think finally they realized that no matter what they said, I was going to do it anyway," Harris laughs.

Harris wasn't going at it alone, as he soon found out. When other teenage filmmakers began taking notice and seeking him out for distribution advice, Harris started NFFTY. "There's so many other young people other there ... who have films (but) nowhere to have them screened," he says. ... -- Christopher Wood

WE RECOMMEND: MAAZA MENGISTE

Ethiopian-born novelist Maaza Mengiste's 2010 book, Beneath the Lion's Gaze, deals with the lasting impacts of former Ethiopian ruler Haile Selassie on the country, and the 16 difficult years that came between Selassie's death in 1975 and the rebel overthrow of Ethiopia's Marxist government in 1991 - with the novel centered around the effect this turmoil had on the lives of a fictional doctor's family. Championed as, "as one of a new generation of African writers who take on the continent's brutal history of colonization," Mengiste will be in Tacoma this week to discuss her book at the University of Puget Sound. ... -- Weekly Volcano

WE RECOMMEND: TWO YEARS OF ART BUS

Tacoma's Third Thursday Artwalk is awesome ... the only trouble is it's completely unwalkable. Thankfully, for the last two years Tacoma has had the Art Bus to rely on - the creation of T-Town's own Angela Jossy, and pretty much the bestest idea there ever was. Each Third Thursday the Art Bus shuttles riders from gallery to gallery, and from museum to museum, accomplishing more than any one person could ever dream of on foot, and at the same time building a communal vibe that's worth its weight in gold.

This month, in celebration of two years of Art Bus - there'll be TWO BUSES and TWO ROUTES! Pierce County Auditor Julie Anderson and former Washington State Rep turned stand-up comic Dennis Flannigan will act as the celebrity guides, ensuring all involved experience maximum artistic enjoyment. ... -- WV

PLUS: MORE LOCAL THEATER

PLUS: IN DEPTH ARTS AND ENTERTAINMENT CALENDAR

PLUS: MINDLESS NONSENSE

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

WEATHER REPORT

Friday: Rain showers, hi 48, lo 39

Saturday: More showers, hi 46, lo 34

Sunday: Chance of even more showers, hi 43, lo 34

>>> FRIDAY, MARCH 16: PLAYING FOR CHANGE BAND

By now you may have heard the remarkable tale of Grammy Award-winning producer Mark Johnson's Playing For Change Band, set to hit Olympia and the Washington Center for the Performing Arts this Friday. Originally birthed as part of a PBS documentary Playing For Change: Peace Through Music, according to hype "Johnson traveled the world recording street performers of different faiths, backgrounds, and ethnicities and blended their contributions into a single unified, moving performance." In 2009 at SXSW a group of musicians from the film came together for a live performance as the Playing For Change Band, offering an "exhilarating mix of blues, gospel, reggae and Afropop," in addition to the straight-up neatness factor of seeing such a collection of varied street musicians jell. All of this will be on display Friday in Olympia.

• Washington Center for the Performing Arts, 7:30 p.m., $11-$42, 512 Washington St. SE, Olympia, 360.753.8585

>>> FRIDAY, MARCH 16: PIERCE COUNTY MATCHUP

Studies show that if you get a bunch of fat people together and inspire them to compete at losing weight it makes for great entertainment and often great success. Such is the rationale behind the Pierce County Matchup, a county-wide weight loss competition kicking off Friday and running through June 8. Teams of five will compete for $18,000 in cash and prizes, not to mention the right to wear smaller pants. According to promotion, the winning team will be the one that loses the greatest percentage of weight during the three-month contest. Contestants start by getting their weight verified at one of several Pierce County locations, including local YMCAs. Details are available online at healthywage.com/Pierce.

>>> MARCH 16-17: NUCLEAR COWBOYZ

So, the guys in sales were trying to describe it to us the other day - telling us all about the Nuclear Cowboyz FMX tribes, the Soldiers of Havoc and the Metal Mulisha, who return to the Tacoma Dome this weekend for an action-packed show set in the war-torn city of Los Angeles during the year 2150. Or something. From what we're told, the motorcycle tale unfolds as the two tribes' survival is threatened and besieged by an evil force, The Tempest, and her "electrifying" Cyborg Army. Again, this is the dudes in sales talking. On top of all this, we're told, the Nuclear Cowgirlz are catapulted into the heart pounding fury and frenzied excitement, whose allegiance to their tribes only intensifies the Tempest's rage to destroy the Nuclear Cowboyz. Naturally, the Soldiers of Havoc and the Metal Mulisha's battle is fought through fearless freestyle gravity defying stunts, combined with outrageous pyrotechnic and laser displays synchronized to heavy metal, rock alternative and electronic dubstep music. Got it? As for the cast of characters, we're told the Nuclear Cowboyz 2012 has assembled a great cast of freestyle motocross, trials and quad riders, including recent X Games 17 medalists Ronnie Faisst, Adam Jones, Mike Mason and Winter X Games medalist Caleb Moore.

• Tacoma Dome, main event 7:30 p.m. each night, $15-$125, 2727 E. D St., Tacoma, 253.272.3663

>>> SATURDAY, MARCH 17: HIDE/SEEK OPENING

The internationally-acclaimed exhibition Hide/Seek: Difference and Desire in American Portraiture caused a ruckus when it debuted at The Smithsonian Institution's National Portrait Gallery in 2010. David Wojnarowicz's unfinished film, A Fire in My Belly, was removed from the exhibition, sparking a national controversy, demonstrations and renewed discussions about censorship and artists' rights. Rep. Eric Cantor (R-Virginia) called the exhibition "an outrageous use of taxpayer money," and a spokesperson for House Speaker John Boehner told The Hill newspaper "Smithsonian officials should either acknowledge the mistake or be prepared to face tough scrutiny beginning in January." Tacoma Art Museum will proudly include A Fire in My Belly along with photographs and paintings by a slew of famous American artists with an eye toward issues of gender and sexual identity over nearly 150 years of American art. Yes, this is the queer show. And despite outrage by a few people such as Cantor and Boehner, it has been a stupendous success with audiences across the country. Read Alec Clayton's full feature on Hide/Seek in the Arts section at weeklyvolcano.com.

• Tacoma Art Museum, through June 10, Wednesdays-Sundays, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Third Thursdays 5-8 p.m., adult $10, student/ military/senior (65+) $8, family $25 (2 adults and up to 4 children under 18), 5 and younger free, 1701 Pacific Ave., Tacoma, tacomaartmuseum.org

>>> SATURDAY, MARCH 17: HAVE YOU EVER HAD A BEARD?

Calvin Johnson is an Olympia legend - a throaty mouthpiece for one of the most musically and artistically relevant and independent little towns in the history of the world. Seattle's Chris Estey is a much-loved music journalist known for his work with Three Imaginary Girls along with just about every other Seattle-based alt-media outlet that's worth two shits. The new film, Have You Ever Had a Beard? brings Johnson and Estey together. Hype calls the film, "a study in contrasts," that shines a light on "the lyric-heavy songwriting of Calvin Johnson vs. the ebullient music journalism of Chris Estey." When the film screens Saturday at the Capitol Theater, the film's directors, Kathy Wolf and Pat Thomas, will be on hand for a post-performance Q&A along with Johnson, who will also take the stage with his band, the Hive Dwellers.

• Capitol Theater, 9 p.m. screening, all-ages, $5.50 - $8.50, 206 Fifth Ave. SE, Olympia, 360.754.6670

>>> SATURDAY, MARCH 17: ANNUAL WOMEN'S LEAGUE FLEA MARKET

The Women's League of University of Puget Sound Flea Market will be awesome. Expect more than 50 booths of antiques, not to mention: collectible dolls, oversized calculators, his and hers chocolate mummies, little plastic models of 747 airplanes, a griffin's toe, three rectangular-block-shaped wooden Santa Clauses, bouncing ice cubes, a copy of Rubber World magazine, four condiment trays, lots of walnuts - and more. For information regarding this event please contact Grace Mills, 253.752.4789.

• UPS Memorial Fieldhouse, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., $2, North 11th Avenue and Union Street, Tacoma, 253.752.4789

>>> SATURDAY, MARCH 17: TCHAIKOVSKY VIOLIN CONCERTO

The Northwest Sinfonietta bills itself as, "an orchestra to be reckoned with," not to mention an orchestra of, "passion, vision, thrill, and creation." Anyone who has seen the Northwest Sinfonietta in action would have trouble arguing with these statements, as the musical body routinely wows audiences in Tacoma, Puyallup and Seattle. Saturday the Northwest Sinfonietta will be joined by violinist Marié Rossano for Tchaikovsky's Violin Concerto, referred to as a great violinist's rite of passage on the Broadway Center for the Performing Arts' website.

• Rialto Theater, 7:30 p.m., $19-$49, 901 Broadway, Tacoma, 253.591.5890

>>> SUNDAY, MARCH 18: TITO PUENTE JR.

Sure, we're kind of bitter that our parents didn't have any amazing talents to pass along to us. The genetic ability to down an entire box of pink wine in one sitting may prove beneficial in some settings, but we would have much rather had a parent with jaw-dropping musical skills to follow on the coattails of. Sunday, Mambo musician Tito Puente Jr., following in his father's footsteps and drawing from his musical catalogue, will hit Tacoma and the Broadway Center for the Performing Arts. According to hype, Puente, "brings the sounds of Latin jazz bursting with energetic rhythms and contagious melodies for a new generation." In addition to the music, Puente and KCTS 9 educator Antonio Gomez will take part in a pre-event lecture.

• Broadway Center for the Performing Arts, 3 p.m. pre-show lecture, 4 p.m. performance, $34-$46, 901 Broadway, Tacoma, 253.591.5890

>>> SUNDAY, MARCH 18: TITLOW TRAILS MUD RUN

Has it been a while since you got muddy? Like, really muddy? Or, if that sounds scary, just kind-of, sort-of muddy? Either way Metro Parks Tacoma has you covered Sunday with the annual Titlow Trails Mud Run, inviting participants of all ages to slog through the puddles and trails near Titlow Park. According to hype, the "course is muddy, and full of obstacles to crawl under, jump over, or get your attention!" However, the Metro Parks website also goes on to say, "The quantity of mud depends on the weather and the amount of slop that mother nature creates. We aren't planning on making any mud ourselves. At no time will participants be required to crawl through mud. (Unless you really want to, please feel free to do so.)" So that's good to know. Best of all: the $15 entry fee includes free running socks! There is no day-of-race registration, so anyone interested in participating is encouraged to sign up online at metroparkstacoma.org/races.

• Titlow Park, check in 11 a.m., race at noon, $15, ages 4+, 8425 Sixth Ave. Tacoma, metroparkstacoma.org/races

>>> SUNDAY, MARCH 18 & 25: TALL TALES AND SILLY SONGS

Entertainer and storyteller extraordinaire Elizabeth Lord returns to the stage this weekend in support of the venue she's been such a huge part of over the years - the Midnight Sun. Designed as an interactive variety show geared toward young audiences featuring the wit of Lord and the musical contributions of local favorites Scuff & Al, "Tall Tales and Silly Songs" is part of the "Save The Sun" benefit series, with proceeds going to Prodigal Sun Productions, the managing non-profit organization for The Midnight Sun Performance Space.

• The Midnight Sun Performance Space, 2 & 4 p.m., $5 youth, $10 adult, all ages, 113 N. Columbia Street, Olympia

WHAT SOME OF OUR STAFF MEMBERS ARE UP TO

CHRISTIAN CARVAJAL Theater Critic
We're seeing Enchanted April at Harlequin and Hello, Dolly! at Capital Playhouse. Then it's time for an Irish-themed "secret supper" with friends and, time permitting, the rest of Game of Thrones Season 1. Nerds!

NIC LEONARD Olympia Hip-Hop Writer
College baketball.  That is all.

.

ALEC CLAYTON Arts Critic
My big plans are for a very busy Saturday. I'm going to the opening party for HIDE/SEEK at Tacoma Art Museum and to check out Lynn DiNino's new show at Flow, and Saturday night we're going to see Enchanted April at Harlequin Productions in Oly.

JENNI PRANGE BORAN Arts and Feature Writer
I get to spend Saturday driving Academy Award-winning documentary filmmaker Dani Menkin around for Seattle's TheFilmSchool, and will sit in on his interview with Warren Etheredge at the SIFF film center. Sunday is catch-up day, writing and rewriting, then Irish nachos and dinner with friends at A Terrible Beauty in Renton.

NIKKI TALOTTA Music Writer
Going to eat corn beef and cabbage on Saturday and take the kiddos to see Tall Tales and Silly Songs at the Midnight Sun on Sunday. Other than that, maybe some reading and laundry. I will also be hoping for some damn sunshine.

JOSEPH IZENMAN Theater Critic
I don't know if I've made it properly clear recently that I am a huge nerd, but I'm volunteering at the state Knowledge Bowl (high school academic trivia competition) tournament on Saturday, and it'll bring back memories. Not as many as if it were still in Camas, as was the case the two years our team competed, but still. A multitude of good times were had on those trips, back in the day.

STEVE DUNKELBERGER Photographer
Lorax, and Lorax, and maybe take in Lorax.

.

LINK: Even more local events that we recommend

LINK: Comprehensive South Sound Arts & Entertainment Calendar

Q&A WITH THE MAN BEHIND BACONNAISE >>>

Did you think the era of bacon-mania was over?

Fat chance pork breath.

Justin Esch, co-founder of bacon-laced dressing Baconnaise and BaconSalt, will speak at the great American Casino Tuesday, March 20. The Tacoma-based speaker-series business IGNITE-U grabbed Esch and his bacon for the Lakewood engagement.

For $20, you may hear tales of bacon flavoring, and ask questions ... then go play cards.

[Great American Casino, Tuesday, May 20, 6-9 p.m., $20, 10117 South Tacoma Way, Lakewood, reserve your tickets on Facebook]

MORE LIVE THAN YOU'LL EVER BE >>>

Drawing inspiration from the British folk-rock of the '60s and '70s, as well as the more bombastic elements of Britpop - and occasional dips into dream-pop territory - A Leaf's music is absorbing and soothing, while still carving out moments that surprise and delight in equal measure. This is music fit for listening to on a sunny spring drive, or alone, in a darkened room, as rain steadily raps on your windows. A Leaf is a band fully formed, clear of intent and vision, a continuing bright spot in Tacoma.

[The New Frontier Lounge, with Cadence, special guests, 9 p.m., cover TBA, 301 E. 25th St., Tacoma, 253.572.4020]

FRIDAY, MARCH 16, 2012 >>>

1. Every traveler has had that Moment. The Moment you know you will look back on six months (or a year, or 10 years) from now and laugh. Laugh and laugh and laugh, just laugh hysterically that you could be so wrong about a flight time, or that performing street monkeys could have such light fingers. If you'd like to remember that Moment when the young French fella stole all your cash while you were kissing along the Seine, and laugh to yourself, the Second City Chamber Series continues its "Hallowed Halls" season of exploration in regards to music with a program entitled "Paris Conservatoire" featuring works for wind instruments from the French tradition. At 7:30 p.m. inside The Great Hall of Annie Wright School, the Principal Winds of the Tacoma Symphony Orchestra (Mary Jensen, flute; Selena Greso, oboe; and John Ruze, bassoon) join pianist Oksana Ezhokina for compositions by French composers Jules Demersserman, Marin Marais, Francis Poulenc, and Alexandre Tansman, as well as by the Canadian/American composer, Bill Douglas. Go to expedite your transition to the laughing place. Just go.

2. Who serves the best Cloud Chowder in Tacoma? Tonight, the Mandolin Café does. The recently formed rockin' blues improv trio will explore the space at 6 p.m.

3. Metrosexual: (noun) "Of or pertaining to a straight, urban male who is eager to embrace and even show off his feminine side, especially when it comes to expensive haircuts, designer suits, and $40 face cream." At 7:30 p.m. inside Orca Books, poet Bill Kelly will sing the praises of th emetrosexual when he reads from Kindness Is In Me: Poems in Praise of Men. The poems in this book, and the photos accompanying them, offer a much needed corrective to the masculine images so prevalent in the media. All proceeds from the sale of the book at the event will go to the Boys & Girls Clubs of South Puget Sound.

4. Jazzbones hosts the VetsMeetVets Military Appreciation Fundraiser with Cee Cee James, Voxxy Vallejo and Stacy Jones beginning at 7:30 p.m. All proceeds benefit VetsMeetVets.org, with 20 percent off bar and food tabs for those with military ID.

5. The Harmon Tap Room Underground continues to hone its new music room with an Automatic Theory and Bodybox show at 9 p.m.

MORE THINGS TO DO: The Weekend Hustle

LINK: More arts and entertainment events in the South Sound

LINK: Live music and DJs tonight in the region

LINK: South Sound happy hour food and drinks

>>> VOTING CLOSED FOR MARCH 16 <<<

Breakfast. It's the most important meal of the day. And everyone has a favorite spot for breakfast. Loyalty? No other foodstuff can inspire the rabid fandom of a true breakfast devotee. The South Sound turned out in force to vote in yesterday's kickoff of the Tournament of Breakfast competition. Car pools were diverted. Office meetings were scheduled earlier. Computer labs were invaded. Our poor little blog had to work overtime as droves voted in First Round action.

Yesterday's Results

Marcia's Silver Spoon Cafe, with its quarter-inch thick slice of grilled ham as big as a Frisbee and line out the door crushed Ben Dew's Clubhouse Grill with 71 percent of the votes. After running the numbers, it appears Marcia's Silver Spoon Scramble with its mound of home fried potatoes, four eggs, ham and peppers was the deciding factor. Unfortunately, Ben Dew's Clubhouse Grill paid little interest to the lumberjacks - a big mistake. Marcia's big portions captured the lumberjack vote, and the Nalley Valley restaurant advances to the second round.

Wha huh? Were all the Burs supporters napping, or haven't they discovered the Internet yet? The Lakewood landmark was edge out by the fairy new Spring Lake Café by 30 votes yesterday. Sure, the Spring Lake's fancy chicken fried steak has the edge on Burs. However, the freakin' Lions Club, Chamber of Commerce, Lakewood United and that one group of guys in the front booth regularly meet at Burs. It's surprising those groups didn't rally the troops. Congratulations Spring Lake Café. Your food advances you into Round Two for a date with Marcia's Silver Spoon Café March 23.

In perhaps the most hotly contested match of the first day, automotive-themed Carrs Restaurant blew a tire trying to take on long-time favorite Homestead Restaurant. Carrs came out of the garage strong with massive portions and booze. Homestead came to the table with its Rancher Angus Steak and Eggs. As good as Carrs is, you can't compete with home-style breakfasts served in a barn. And Homestead delivered everything ordered.

Fifteen percentage points. That's the margin of victory Babblin' Babs Bistro had over Kelly's Café in Gig Harbor. Was it Chef William's homemade sausage that advanced his Babs to the next round? Maybe it was the Proctor District bistro's own line of seasonings. Whatever it was the little gourmet treat will need it March 23 when it faces the Homestead and its loyal crowd. Families will be torn apart that day.

Let's weed through the powdered sugar. The following are advancing to the next round:

• Marcia's Silver Spoon Café
• Spring Lake Café
• Homestead Restaurant
• Babblin' Babs Bistro

The daily breakfast battles here on Spew are sponsored by Shakabrah Java on Tacoma's Sixth Avenue.

OK, let's check out today's First Round breakfast battles. Vote for one breakfast joint per battle. Voting for today's breakfast battles ends at 11:45 p.m.

LIVE MUSIC TONIGHT IN THE SOUTH SOUND >>>

Dirty Oscar's Annex Tacoma - Sixth Avenue. Phasers On Kill. 7 pm.

Harmon Tap Room Underground Tacoma - Stadium District. Automatic Theory, Bodybox. 9 pm. $5.

Hell's Kitchen Tacoma - Downtown. Righteous Vendetta, The Forerunner, Myself Aside, Kidsajoke, Through Darker Tides. All Ages. 6 pm. $8-$10. Madcap Reunion Show, with BND, Keeping The Gates. 10 pm. $5.

Jazzbones Tacoma - Sixth Avenue. VetsMeetVets Military Appreciation Fundraiser, with Cee Cee James, Voxxy Vallejo, Stacy Jones. Proceeds benefit VetsMeetVets.org. 20% off bar & food tab till 12 pm with Military ID. 7:30 pm. $10, $7 w/Military ID.

Le Voyeur Olympia. Stumblebum Brass Band, Vir, Levator. 10 pm. NC.

• The Stumblebum Brass Band is an entity that banks on novelty, but does its best to surpass it. The band succeeds in spades. Theirs is a collective of brass-band punk dudes, to put it bluntly. To incorporate marching/school assembly band elements into a punk outfit is not unheard of, but the Stumblebum Brass Band does well with making hay of the unlikely combination, and the band's recordings are lively fucking affairs. Having a gaggle of guys singing a rousing chorus in drunken unison, accompanied by belching tubas and squealing trumpets is something of a thing of beauty. One thing that the Stumblebum Brass Band can rightly be accused of is being more than the sum of its parts. Part of the band's M.O. is to melt your ears and brain, and they somehow manage it, in one gigantic swoop. - Rev. Adam McKinney

Louie G's Pizzeria Fife. Half Of Infinity, Far From Given, Faces Pale. All Ages. 7 pm.

Mandolin Cafe Tacoma - Central. Cloud Chowder. All Ages. 6 pm. Sanjaya Malakar. All Ages. 7 pm. Rafael Tranquilino. All Ages. 8 pm.

Maxwell's Speakeasy Tacoma. Lance Buller Trio. All Ages. 7-10 pm. NC.

The New Frontier Lounge Tacoma - Dome District. Sources In Code, Variety Hour, Tallest Tree, Loose Buoys. 9 pm.

The Red Room Tacoma - Downtown. Oblivion, Prestige, Dead Weight, White Heat, Bad Influence. All Ages. 7 pm.

Spar Cafe Olympia. Jabi Shriki. 8 pm. NC.

Uncle Sam's American Bar & Grill Spanaway. Blurred Vision. 9 pm.

Washington Center for the Performing Arts Olympia - Downtown. Playing For Change Band. All Ages. 7:30 pm.

• By now you may have heard the remarkable tale of Grammy Award-winning producer Mark Johnson's Playing For Change Band, set to hit Olympia and the Washington Center for the Performing Arts this Friday. Originally birthed as part of a PBS documentary Playing For Change: Peace Through Music, according to hype "Johnson traveled the world recording street performers of different faiths, backgrounds, and ethnicities and blended their contributions into a single unified, moving performance." In 2009 at SXSW a group of musicians from the film came together for a live performance as the Playing For Change Band, offering an "exhilarating mix of blues, gospel, reggae and Afropop," in addition to the straight-up neatness factor of seeing such a collection of varied street musicians jell. All of this will be on display tonight in Olympia. – Weekly Volcano
  

LINK: More live music tonight in the South Sound