TUESDAY, APRIL 16 2013 >>>

1. Receiving a lot of hype and mostly deserving it, Savannah's Cusses dual-twist punk angst/frenzy and down and dirty southern rock like rosy, freshly-pierce nipples. Born star Angel Bond belts it and struts like product of a Siouxsie Sioux/Karen O/Mick Jagger three-way. This is a festival band, folks. Their explosive, crushing riffs and powerful, fiery vocals will knock the New Frontier sign off the wall at 9 p.m. The real stunner will be when Bond kicks the sign hitting the kid with tight pants in the front row ... and he won't take his eyes off her for a second.

2. The Diversity Film Festival begins today at The Grand Cinema with each film a meditation on the theme of cultural diversity. The concept began a few miles (and years) away from The Grand, at Tacoma Community College. Dr. Scott Earle, a TCC English and Humanities instructor since 1999, along with fellow teachers and staff, has hosted on-campus film screenings of this sort for some time. A suggestion was made to Earle and his colleagues in late 2010 to graduate their young program - let it leave the classroom and test its wings in the community. Today at 2 and 6:15 p.m., the Grand will screen Mosquita y Mari, A coming of age story that focuses on a tender friendship between two young Chicanas.

3. If hearing the sound of your own cackling voice echoing off the walls of your shower stall has you craving the sound of something a bit more harmonious, check out the local songbirds and storytellers at Victory Music Open Mic from 7-10 p.m. inside the Antique Sandwich Co. It's guaranteed to be jam-packed with gorgeous sounds and humbling verses, as the South Sound's greatest up-and-coming acoustic musicians bare their souls impromptu-style.

4. We might not see the High Five'n White Guys or the Lame List, but a couple Almost Live! veterans will Billy Quan their way onto Tacoma Comedy Club's stage at 8 p.m. John Keister, who hosted and much of the writing the regional sketch comedy TV show from 1984 to 1999, will be joined by fellow "Almost Live!" star and well-known as a Seattle radio personality Pat Cashman, and Cashman's son, Chris, host of the game 1 vs. 100, for a "Gluten free evening of laughs and sneak previews of the TV show." The trio is producing The [206] - a new TV show shot in front of a live standing audience at Mighty Media Studios in a former fire station in Bellevue.

5. Two of our favorite Tuesday night trivia are at Fish Tale Brew Pub in Olympia and Farrelli's Wood-Fire Pizza in Tacoma, both start at 8 p.m. In terms of food, Farrelli's pies are hand-tossed, firm but chewy with a flop at the tip. The Jack & John Pizza - Italian sausage, Provolone/mozzarella blend, green and black olives, green onions, artichoke hearts, mushrooms - is so yum! At Fish Tale, go for the ham and Brie. Loaded with deli ham, smothered in nutty melted Brie and nestled between two slices of grilled sourdough, this one takes the trophy with the inclusion of sliced granny smith apples and mellow horseradish.

LINK: Tuesday, April 16 arts and entertainment events in the greater Tacoma and Olympia area