Listen to us, the children of the night. What music we make! This is Nerd Alert, the Weekly Volcano's recurring events calendar devoted to all things nerdy. I myself am a Star Wars fan, mathlete, and spelling bee champion of long standing, so trust me: I grok whereof I speak.
I've been a fan of Orson Scott Card's Ender's Game (though not his far-right politics) since I was in high school. So why am I so dubious about the movie, which opens Nov. 1? Is it because Harrison Ford has been on Ambien since 1990, or because Ender's trailer boasts the best visual effects of 2006? Let's hope director Gavin Hood displays the mastery he brought to ... uh ... X-Men Origins: Wolverine. Uh-oh.
FRIDAY, OCT. 25
This may seem a tad self-serving, but OM effing G, I'm so geeked out about my weekend plans! Why? Because I'm one of the actors in Lakewood Playhouse's live, radio-style revival of Orson Welles's The War of the Worlds! Not only will we be performing the 1938 radio drama live before your ears to commemorate its - and the Playhouse's - 75th anniversary, but you'll also get sound effects created to order. That's not even the best part! No, we'll also be paying tribute to a certain expat Kryptonian Boy Scout for his silver birthday, plus a horror short called "The Giggler." You can hear me as a deranged German and Gott knows what else by the time our triple feature is through. (I was this close to playing Superman's pal Jimmy Olsen!) It's a fun night out, but beware: you only have two nights to catch it. And stay away from that crater in Grovers Mill! There's something not at all right about that place.
THE WAR OF THE WORLDS, 8 p.m., Friday, Oct. 25 and Saturday, Oct. 26, Lakewood Playhouse, 5729 Lakewood Towne Center Blvd., Lakewood, $20-$25, 253.588.0042
SATURDAY, OCT. 26
The only down side to being in War of the Worlds is I'm missing this year's Night of the Living Tribute Bands, which is a sobbing shame because They Might Be Giants, you guys! We're talkin' Triangle Man hates "Particle Man." Get old with "Ana Ng." "I Palindrome I," you son of a bitch! If that doesn't put a little "Birdhouse in Your Soul," then I don't know what ... other than to note that the Beasties, Iron Butterfly, the Pixies, Queens of the Stone Age, Siouxsie and the Banshees, and the Specials will all be on the line-up as well. So yeah, it's pretty much pop-rock paradise for Gen X-ers.
NIGHT OF THE LIVING TRIBUTE BANDS, 8:30 p.m., Capitol Theater, 206 5th Ave. SE, Olympia, $8-$10, 360.754.6670
TUESDAY, OCT. 29
If you're the age of our typical reader, then you grew up with Harry Potter, Hermione Granger and Ron Weasley. They and their fellow Gryffindors at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry have become part of the Muggle world mythology; still, that doesn't mean we can't have a few laughs at their expense. Comedians Daniel Clarkson and Jeff Turner send up all seven Potter novels and stage a live match of Quidditch in only 70 hysterical minutes in Potted Potter: The Unauthorized Harry Experience. We're talking 300 characters, many female, with a variety of accents from Beauxbatons in France to the highlands of Scotland. Oh, and what the hell, let's throw in a fire-breathing dragon - live on stage. The show opens on a Tuesday, so you have literally nothing better to do that night.
POTTED POTTER: THE UNAUTHORIZED HARRY EXPERIENCE, 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 29-Saturday, Nov. 2, also 9:30 p.m., Friday, Nov. 1 and 3 p.m. Nov. 2-3, Rialto Theater, 310 S. Ninth St., Tacoma, $38-$59, 253.591.2013
Thursday, Oct. 31 is All Hallow's Eve, so check out the Rutledge Corn Maze in Tumwater (302 93rd Ave. SE), the high-tech Hell's Gateway in Tacoma (202 Fawcett Ave.), Lacey's My Morbid Mind haunted mansion (4548 Marvin Rd. SE) and Halloween Hellmouth in Lakewood (8415 Lawndale Ave. SW). Or you could just build and activate a Speak & Spell radio with your pet alien.
Until next week, may the Force be with you, may the odds be ever in your favor, and may your enemy's gate always be down.