THURSDAY, AUG. 22 2013 >>>

1. On Happy Noose's self-titled debut, the charged punk instrumentation in concert with frontman Ryan Scott's deep, morose vocals went a long way toward connecting musical dots in the listeners' minds: clearly, Happy Noose is a band that takes its cues from early '80s UK New Wave, early Goth like Bauhaus, and other contemporary poets of melancholy punk. Tonight at Le Voyeur, Happy Noose hosts a party for its new release, Amagosa, which finds the Olympia band embracing the darker, more romantic side of their sound, even as their hooks become bigger, catchier and more anthemic. Where their earlier output was spunky in that youthful punk sort of way, Amagosa signals the natural maturation of a still relatively new band circling and landing on its voice. Red Hands Black Feet and Iconoplasty join Happy Noose for the 9:30 p.m. show.

2. On March 5, 2007, in the middle of the Iraq War, a car bomb devastated the literary and intellectual heart of Baghdad, ripping through booksellers, cafes, and tea shops, killing 30 people and wounding more than 100. San Francisco poet and artist Beau Beausoleil and British scholar Sarah Bodman responded to the devastation by asking artists and poets from around the world to create artists' books as a show of solidarity with those slain and injured. The response - the national traveling exhibit Al-Mutanabbi Street Starts Here - can be seen atCollins Memorial Library at University of Puget Sound from 7:30 a.m. to 5 p.m.

3. The barista's life is a frenetic one: pre-dawn openings, strung-out customers, the howl of steaming milk. Sometimes they just want to throwdown. The Northwest Latte Art Competition will go down at 7 p.m. at the new Olympia Coffee Roasting Company on Capitol Boulevard. Soemone's going to get steamed.

4. There's a big hip-hop show at 9 p.m. in El Potero on Tacoma's Eastside. The FRESHCOAST Summer Bash will feature 9 p.m. DJ Eddie Monster. 9:30 p.m. JG & Elz, 9:50 p.m. SIC ILL, 10:10 p.m. Thunderbird Coogi, 10:30 p.m. Nate Jerz, 10:50 p.m. Victor Herman, 11:10 p.m. NW Doughboi, 11:30 p.m. Jai Dash, 11:50 p.m. Coo Beanz, 12:10 p.m. New Vision and at 12:30 p.m. Golden Brown Entertainment will close out the night.

5. The term "Latin dance" covers many styles, including salsa, bachata, cha-cha, mambo, merengue, samba, Afro-Latin rhumba and a little reggaeton, all of which will meld tonight during "Carnivale" at Encore Nightclub. The swanky downtown Tacoma spot hosts Latin fusion music every Thursday at 10 p.m.

LINK: Thursday, Aug. 22 arts and entertainment event sin the greater Tacoma and Olympia area