MONDAY, MARCH 17 2014 >>>

1. There are better ways to spend St. Patrick's Day than sitting at home in front of a big-ass bowl of Lucky Charms. Plan your Irish wake here.

2. Meet the creators of Use Your Noodle Doodle - a book based on a true story about a grandma and an overenthusiastic dog that takes readers on a journey from mishap to celebration, with many life lessons for the entire family - at 7 p.m. in the University Place Library.

3. MLKBallet Contemporary Master Class with Spectrum Dance Theater's Alex Crozier is an open class that will explore creative movement and improvisation with an emphasis on level changes, varying dynamics of movement and partner work. It's an intermediate level class, and Crozier has a lengthy list of awesomeness, so you won't be able to fake your way through it. It begins at 7:30 p.m. in the Urban Grace Church.

4. Weekly Volcano music critic Rev. Adam McKinney says there are vocal similarities between Kurt Lindsay and late cult singer-songwriter Jeff Buckley. The Rev. says, "Lindsay's voice, like Buckley's (though, of course, no one can truly touch Jeff Buckley, vocally), is simultaneously full of bravado and wounded timidity. It quivers with feeling, though it might be noted that Lindsay's voice often comes across as more lost, searching, which adds a nice element to what is largely music that errs toward modern rock, with some detours to friendly mixers like R&B and folk." See for yourself over a green beer or three at 8 p.m. when Lindsay performs at the Steilacoom Pub & Grill.

5. State to State's influences are as plain as day, but they earn points for never shying away from that. They'd be the first to tell you that U2, Radiohead and Jeff Buckley wrote their playbook. Still, State to State could only be judged for their idolatry if they were bad at impressions, which isn't the case. Their melancholy anthems, dramatic vocals, and chiming guitars all explicitly point at those classic artists, but it's an effective pastiche. Catch the band with Wonder and Roo at 9 p.m. inside Le Voyeur.

LINK: Monday, March 17 arts and entertainment in the greater Tacoma and Olympia area