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

WEATHER REPORT

Friday: Rain, hi 52, lo 36

Saturday: Rain, hi 50, lo 37

Sunday: More mf-ing rain, hi 50, lo (our motivation)

>>> FRIDAY, MARCH 30: Edible Book Festival

The Weekly Volcano will eat anything. For instance, take Poppers Mini-Taquitos ... just not from us (bada boom). Sucking liquefied meat from an edible straw - a mere dream until recent advances in mini-taquito technology. Anyway, what we have never eaten are books. Why would we? Sure, we've eaten our words. And we've been in plenty of binds. But books? Well, people will eat books Friday at the University of Puget Sound. Collins Memorial Library at UPS dedicates itself to protecting books, but come Friday it will eat them at the University's sixth Edible Books Festival. What is an edible book? Duh. An edible book is made of food and inspired by literary titles, characters or authors - such as Lord of the Onion Rings.

• Collins Memorial Library, Friday, March 30, 11 a.m. to 4 p.m., 3:30 p.m. awards ceremony, no cover (get it!), North 18^th Street and North Warner Street, Tacoma, 253.879.3669

>>> FRIDAY, MARCH 30: Tacoma Noise Radio

The Weekly Volcano is not here to make this stuff up. Truth happens. Reality pinches, rides up, makes you start and shiver in utter amazement. The Tacoma Noise Rodeo returns to treat the denizens of Sixth Avenue to experimental electronic music. No, not guitar feedback synced with loud Ultimate Fighting DVDs the neighbor kids cranks in his basement Friday nights. Rather, glorious modular synthesizers, patch cables and Commodore 64 machines producing extremely loudly, wicked alchemical magic, meaty pulsing rhythms, monster drone and giant washes of sound, all making you want to run a marathon while eating raw meat, naked. Show producer Chris Lehfeldt will showcase his band Bagger 288 along with Obscure Robot and Four Dimensional Nightmare at Metronome Coffee on Sixth Avenue.

• Metronome Coffee, Friday, March 30, 7 p.m., all ages, no cover, 3518 Sixth Ave., Tacoma, 253.301.2375

>>> FRIDAY, MARCH 30 & SUNDAY, APRIL 1: La Boheme

Tacoma Opera will stage the classic, much-loved opera La Boheme in its original Italian, although there will be English subtitles provided for the unwashed heathens in the audience who don't know the story of young love with a tragic ending - as all operas seem to have. Uncultured Gen Xers will better know the story as Rent, a high-quality blockbuster knockoff of the earlier Puccini work.

• Rialto Theater, Friday, March 30 8 p.m., Sunday, April 1 2 p.m., $25 an dup, 310 S. Ninth St., Tacoma, 253.627.7789

>>>SATURDAY, MARCH 30: Dockyard Derby Dames season opener 

Derailed, like many things, by snowmaggedon 2012, the Dockyard Derby Dames will officially kick off season six Saturday night inside the Pierce College Health Ed Center in Lakewood. The Dames open with hot roller debry action featuring the Marauding Mollys battling Season 5 champions The Trampires, followed by the Hellbound Homewreckers taking on the Femme Fianna. Bring the whole family, won't you?

• Pierce College Health ed Center, Saturday, March 31, 6 p.m., doors at 5 p.m., beer garden, $12 advance, 9401 Farwest Dr. SW, Lakewood, www.dockyardderbydames.com

>>> SUNDAY, APRIL 1: Wayz And Means: Letterpress Film Festival

You can't help be jealous of letterpress artists. They both intelligence and creativity, and when they collaborate, you get a massive-shot of talent. A massive shot is exactly what will go down Sunday when King's Books hosts Wayz and Means: Letterpress Film Festival screening short films celebrating letterpress and book arts. Tickets are $20 and include popcorn, liquid refreshments, and - of course - cake. The event will raise funds for the Stadium District bookstore's annual Wayzgoose: Letterpress and Book Arts Festival. Apparently, filmgoers will also have the opportunity to purchase early Wayzgoose raffle tickets.

• King's Books, Sunday, April 1, 6-8 p.m., $20, 218 St. Helens Ave., Tacoma, 253.272.8801

WHAT SOME OF OUR STAFF MEMBERS ARE UP TO

CHRISTIAN CARVAJAL Theater Critic
I need to devote quite a bit of time to opera rehearsals, but I'm also hoping to catch a performance of Someone Who'll Watch Over Me at Tacoma Little Theatre. I hear it's amazing.

ALEC CLAYTON Arts Critic
We're going to the Jazz Night Out fundraiser for Capital City Pride Saturday night. It's at the Urban Onion.

JENNI PRANGE BORAN Arts and Feature Writer
A bowling alley I walk by almost everyday reputedly has karaoke on the weekends. ... So the husband and I might be spending Friday night at Pacific Lanes revisiting '80s hits via cheap beer. Sunday will be spent, as April 1 is every year, thinking of ways to fool various family members.

NIKKI TALOTTA Music Writer
I'm slinging drinks for Friday happy hour then headed up to Hell's Kitchen to catch one of my fave bands of all time - Stone Axe! Saturday, the garden calls. And on Sunday, I plan to round off the weekend with a free aerialist show at the Brotherhood Lounge. Thank you Puget Sound for making my weekend stellar!

JOANN VARNELL Theater Critic
This weekend is the official start of my spring break! We'll kick it off with dinner with friends. Saturday morning will find us bleary-eyed and headed to SeaTac for an early flight to Colorado. Sunday we will pack up a car with the toddler and the in-laws for a 10 hour drive to South Dakota. Giant dogs and friends will hold down the home front until we return.

MOLLY GILMORE Arts and Feature Writer
I'm seeing Enchanted April at Harlequin Productions and Pina at
the Capitol Theater.

STEVE DUNKELBERGER Photographer
I have the kids through spring break, so the list of fun will include a trip to Gibson's for some fro-yo and then the Dave Graham love fest at The Swiss, followed by a movie or a walk around the waterfront.

JOSH RIZEBERG Music Columnist
This Friday at 6 p.m. I'll be teaching my Spoken-Word/Poetry class at the D.A.S.H. Center for the Arts. The class is available for students of all-ages to sign-up, drop-ins are also encouraged. After my class I'll hit-up the new Club In on 728 Pacific Ave. where I'll check-out the Reggae Rapfest, performing is D'Rocc and Second Family and others. It's $8 presale or $12 at the door. Saturday I'm keeping it local and hitting Hell's Kitchen for the "Working Class Artists Spring Tour" featuring AKA, Mike Drastic and The Krisis. This show starts at 9 and is only $5 to get in. On Sunday the Northwest M.C. League is getting-down on Ninth and Broadway at the Graffiti-Garages! This event is always free and always all-ages.

JOE IZENMAN Theater Critic
Beginning the most epic of all possible Risk campaigns with certain pillars of the Tacoma nerd community? Could be. Fishing for culture at Tacoma Symphony Chorus's presentation of Faure's Requiem? Might be. Trekking up to the geekstravaganza that is Emerald City Comic Con? Probably. Celebrating the commencement of Proctor Farmer's Market season? Definitely.

JOSHUA SWAINSTON Features Writer
Joshua Swainston will be dreaming of Tacoma while sailing around Prince
Williams Sound, Alaska. Oh ... and working on my next Volcano article, of
course.

LINK: Even more local events that we recommend

LINK: Comprehensive South Sound Arts & Entertainment Calendar