FRIDAY, DEC. 14 2012 >>>

1. After 17 years of Stardust holiday schmaltz-fests, Harlequin director Linda Whitney outsourced her holiday revue-writing to James Hindman and Ray Roderick of Miracle or 2 Productions, authors of 2003's A Christmas Survival Guide. From a critical standpoint, it's a welcome change, especially since this anthology's aimed squarely at cynical adults weary of the hustle, bustle, and rabid commercialism of 21st-century holidays. It plays to the Whitneys' principal strengths: live pop music, technical design and intelligence (in no particular order). It also introduces diminutive spitfire Amy Shephard, newly returned from grad school at Exeter, to the Harlequin stage, where she joins revue regulars Antonía Darlene and Christian Doyle at 8 p.m. Read Christian Carvajal's full review of A Christmas Survival Guide in the Weekly Volcano's Arts section.

2. Tonight at 7 p.m. the Happy Sock Club will collect Happy Socks (colorful wool or cotton socks) and donations for The Toy Rescue Mission at Cork! Wine Bar. TRM serves Tacoma and Pierce County infants, children and teens during the holiday season every year. Everyone is welcome to attend, especially if you bring Happy Socks.

3. 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. Epect Obscure Robot vs. Infrared, Black, Kord and a 45 minute free-form collective jam at 8 p.m. inside at Metronome Coffee.

4. Justin Stang, usually of Sideways Reign, and Jim Elenteny, ordinarily of Seattle band Nefarious Jones, unite to form the side project Science! We know three things about Stang and Elenteny: they were voted Best New Band in our 2012 Olympia poll, they're holding a CD release party at Southbay Dickerson's BBQ at 8 p.m., and their project is called Science! so they're approved, we suspect, by Thomas Dolby.

5. Downtown Olympia was rocked Dec. 3 by the senseless murder of one of its own, Casey Heath. Tonight at 9 p.m. inside the Urban Onion Restaurant & Lounge, Heath's longtime friends are throwing a benefit to help with the funeral costs, but more importantly, bring together the Downtown Olympia Community to remember a dear friend. Fitz of Depression, The Dirty Birds and C Average will join for an incredible night of music. There will be a suggested donation of $5.

LINK: Friday, Dec. 14 arts and entertainment events in the greater Tacoma and Olympia area