THURSDAY, APRIL 12, 2012 >>>

1. There are those who believe bluegrass should be played by only the traditional banjo-fiddle-guitar-mandolin-bass lineup - and that solos should be short. The success of Old And In The Way, and the subsequent rise of the Newgrass movement and the jazz-inflected, extended solo-playing Bela Fleck are abominations to them. Then there are those adore the jamming kind of bluegrass, which you'll discover at the Mandolin Café beginning at 6 p.m. What better way to recover from the frenetic activities of Easter and the past week than some hot foot-stomping, toe-tapping picking.

2. José Ignacio Valenzuela claims you must be proficient in the ways of mass media to advance your words. The rapidly-rising young novelist, playwright, and screenwriter from Chile, with a bookcase full of awards, says new technologies have not only changed the face of music, television, film, and entertainment. They have done the same with the publishing market, where booksellers and writers have had to learn to navigate new waters. Today, to write, sell, and promote, the author must be submerged in the mass media and have the appropriate skills and knowledge. Hear his thoughts on the matter at 7:30 p.m. inside the Rasmussen Rotunda on the University of Puget Sound campus.

3. Sight For Sore Eyes, Take Over, Navigator and Among Mayans perform an all-ages show at 6 p.m. inside Hell's Kitchen in downtown Tacoma.

4. Engine House No. 9 is housed in a firehouse built in 1907 and still retains some of original firefighting artifacts. Recently purchased by the X Group, the force behind Asado and Masa, there's new excitement regarding the food, which over time has been good, but not astounding-tastier than your typical pub food and still affordable. Rev. Colin hosts karaoke at E9 Thursdays and Saturdays, starting at 9 p.m. He possesses a wealth of oddball musical knowledge and a disarming ease for calling everyone "baby."

5. 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 playing The Royal Lounge at 9 p.m. with High Ceiling and Nefarious Jones, and their project is called Science! so they're OK by is (and, we suspect, Thomas Dolby). If you're busy tonight, they also play Saturday, April 14 at 4th Ave Tav.

LINK: More arts and entertainment events in the South Sound

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WEDNESDAY, APRIL 11, 2012 >>>

1. The Magic Lantern Society are not intergalactic peacekeepers led by a six-pack sportin' pretty boy with a lisp, but rather a group of Victorian-era lantern enthusiasts who will converge on Tacoma in June to project imagines on walls through hand-painted glass slides powered by candle or oil lamp powered lanterns. The magic lantern was the entertainment juggernaut of the 19th century, a familiar presence in theaters, schools, churches, even homes. Essentially, the magic lantern was a forerunner to the movie projector. Anyhoo, Lynette Miller, the Washington State Historical Society's head of collections, will cut the ribbon on a new exhibit, The Magic of Lantern Slides, full of these magical lantern slides, projectors and advertising materials at 10 a.m. inside the Washington State History Museum. Still, if you see the yellow energy of fear, do run.

2. The Point Defiance Zoo and Aquarium will be offering free admission to anyone who shows up with picture ID or other proof of residency. That's awesome.

3. A penny saved is worth two in the bush. And your burning bridges have been gathering moss lately, anyway. The time has come to rework your literary life (or maybe, to create a literary life). Too long have you lingered in the annals of John Grisham; the Classic Book Club may be just what you need. You will save your pennies (because the book club's novels are long; therefore you will take longer to read them, and therefore, go book shopping less - such logic, eh?) and keep moss from burning, ahem, your brain. And you'll become hopelessly intellectual and never make lame, extended jokes involving metaphors, ever. At 7 p.m. inside King's Books, the Classic Book Club turns the pages of H. Rider Haggard's She.

4. Set on a street corner in Manhattan's Washington Heights - Upper West Side Story, if you will - the Tony-winning 2008 musical In The Heights introduces one-dimensional black and Latino characters, each striving to buy the winning ticket to the American dream, through a series of loosely connected vignettes depicting turning points in the characters' lives. In The Heights hits the Washington Center stage at 7:30 p.m.

5. Play bingo with those not just killing time before the Grim Reaper calls their number. Every Wednesday at 10 p.m. inside The New Frontier Lounge, bingo players are treated to a rather boisterous evening of number-calling by the lovely Brooke. The music rocks, the prizes are craptastic and sessions are free with $2 margaritas and $4 Cuervo Gold shots during bingo.

LINK: More arts and entertainment events in the South Sound

LINK: Live music and DJs in the South Sound

LINK: South Sound happy hours

TUESDAY, APRIL 10, 2012 >>>

1. It's Tuesday  - you should go support your local budding artists. The students of Hilltop Artists have created glass object based on the archaeological relics of a lost tribe of their own creation. We're curious if the Tempest Haggarty tribe will be represented. Wait. According to hype, "Each tribe has chosen its unique spirit animal and has created work reflecting the tribe's connection to nature, the cultural significance of food, the sacredness of water, and the values shared by all. The individual tribes have also created a petro glyph illustrating the mythos of their origin." Very cool. And creative. Lost Tribes of Hilltop opens today at 10 a.m. at the W.W. Seymour Botanical Conservatory. Check out the world of the Raven, Wolf, Cheetah, Snake, and Iguana tribes. There's no better way to support the fine arts and the fine artists - you know, those 12- to 20-year-olds who keep getting their funding cut? Plus, who knows, you may see someone's art, who could be world famous tomorrow. Then you can say you saw them when, and annoy absolutely every one you know in the process.

2. Joy Eckwood - Diversity Program manager at the Washington State Bar Association and the founder of Emergnz, an effort dedicated to helping individuals along the continuum of self-actualization - will discuss "Empowered to Emerge: Moving beyond America's Power in defining the norms of Race, Gender and Sexuality through Religion" at 12:30 p.m. in the West Coast Grocery Building, Room 104, on the University of Washington Tacoma campus.

3. The Grand Cinema will screen The Times of Harvey Milk at 2 and 6:30 p.m. as part of its Tuesday Film Series. The documentary, obviously, centers on San Francisco's first openly gay politician, city supervisor Harvey Milk. Shown in coordination with the Tacoma Art Museum and its Hide/Seek: Difference and Desire in American Portraiture exhibit, UWT Prof. Claudia Gorbman and Executive Director for The Rainbow Center Michelle Douglas will co-facilitate a discussion following the film's 6:30 p.m. showing.

4. Tacoma has a large segment of the population that is obsessively passionate and loves to read about and intelligently discuss food and restaurant-related topics. Feeding those hungry Tacomans are a group of food bloggers, who not only write on their own blogs, but also post and chat on each other's blogs and social media outlets. Tonight from 6-8 p.m. at Bluebeard Coffee, the Social Media Club gathers the local food bloggers for a panel discussion on the local food scene, social media and, yes, tasting the bloggers' favorite homemade treats. The panel of local food blogging aficionados includes Weekly Volcano scribe Adrienne Kuehl (A Big Mouthful), Marisa Mez (Clearance Cuisine) and Roxanne Cooke (RoxanneCooke.com) and will be hosted by SMC Tacoma board member Dawn Quinn (Vegan Moxie). RSVP: http://smctacomafood.eventbrite.com

5. Fireside Bookstore hosts a book launch party for Jim Lynch's new book, Truth Like the Sun, at 7 p.m in the Olympia Ballroom.  The book is an entertaining political novel about the cat-and-mouse story of urban intrigue in Seattle both in 1962, when Seattle hosted the World's Fair, and in 2001, after its transformation in the Microsoft gold rush. 

LINK: More arts and entertainment events in the South Sound

LINK: Live music and DJs in the South Sound

LINK: South Sound happy hours

MONDAY, APRIL 9, 2012 >>>

1. Had the British Establishment injected the female hormone oestrogen into London-born mathematician Alan Turing during World War II, the brilliant man wouldn't have broke the German military's secret codes, the British Navy wouldn't have won the Battle of the Atlantic and Hitler might have kept the upper hand. Instead, Turing was chemically castrated for being a homosexual in March 1952, and the man who laid the foundation of modern computers, and was named one of the 100 most important people of the 20th century by Time magazine, killed himself to escape the horror. In conjunction with the HIDE/SEEK exhibit at the Tacoma Art Museum, UWT's Queer Student Union and Diversity Resource Center present a 12:30 p.m. film screening of Decoding Alan Turing – the story of this great mathematician who was found dead at age 41 with a poisoned apple next to his bed – at the University of Washington Tacoma's Diversity Resource Center.

2. The Squeak and Squawk Music Festival closes out its run with two shows: Si Si Si, The Rusty Cleavers and Secret Wives at 6 p.m. inside Tahoma Tea and Co. and Row House Orad, N. Dybevik and others at 9 p.m. inside The New Frontier Lounge.

3. Drink craft cocktails with the Graphic Novel Book Club as it discusses The Book of Genesis Illustrated by R. Crumb at 1022 South, Hilltop's book-themed cocktail lounge, beginning around 7 p.m.

4. The Jr. Hill Band will rock The Swiss beginning at 8 p.m.

5. The band Bandolier will perform and join DJ Melodica behind the turntables during the Monday Showcase at Magoo's beginning at 8:30 p.m.

LINK: More arts and entertainment events in the South Sound

LINK: Live music and DJs in the South Sound

LINK: South Sound happy hours

SUNDAY, APRIL 8, 2012 >>>

1. You're probably well aware that Oberhofer performs at the Squeak and Squawk Music Festival tonight. Since Oberhofer's last Squeak and Squawk appearance, Brad Oberhofer and Co. have gone on to perform worldwide, including dates at Austin's SXSW and, just a week or so ago, on Late Night with David Letterman. Oberhofer (the band) thrives with their jumpy, intricate guitar rock. As time has worn on, Oberhofer's music has only become tighter and more impressive. Mixing elements of '60s surf-pop and yelpy indie rock, Oberhofer have commendably stuck to their guns and retained all of the weird tics that made them notable to begin with. Get in on the party at 6 p.m. when Oberhoer, Pond and the Wheelies play The Space in downtown Tacoma.

2. Animal Farm closes its run at the Olympia Family Theater today at 1 p.m. Here's a quick refresher: the animal workers of Manor Farm stage a glorious revolution and drive away Mr. Jones, their despised human ruler. They institute a new democratic regime, but it turns out, as the famous line goes, "All animals are equal, but some are more equal than others." The pigs, you see, can read and write, and they use these abilities to dominate the other species and (pardon the expression) hog the fruits of their labor. Animal Farm tracks the rise to power of a ruthless porker named Napoleon, and if you know your 20th-century history, you'll have no trouble recognizing him as a stand-in for Stalin. Read Christian Carvajal's full review of Animal Farm in the Arts section at weeklyvolcano.com.

3. Hard to believe that the Tacoma Cult Movie Club has flipped on the projector for three years! But it has, and hosts Rev. Colin, Tobin Ropes and Holland Hume will throw a party beginning at 4 p.m. at The Acme Grub Cage - the movie club's ultra-appropriate home. Its membership of deviants, freaks, weirdoes and misfits invite the public to watch the greatest films screened that were, for the most part, overlooked this past year. In tradition of previous anniversary parties, there will be a potluck for anyone interested. "Please only partake if you participate," says Rev. Colin. "That's how we do it in the good old T-Stank."

4. Playmate and video DJ KayJay, aka Kristin Jackson, will be spinning at the Play-Bunny Party Easter night at the Backstage Bar and Grill beginning at 9 p.m. Awards will be given to the best female bunny outfit and rock star costume. Tattoo and piercing artists will be in the house. Joining KayJay in the musical resurrection will be Blackchurch, Black Diamond, Jason Childs Band, Corson Swift and DJ Omarvelous. Let us know if you need help finding the eggs.

5. Tonight's 21 and older Squeak and Squawk Music Festival show at The New Frontier Lounge offers Umber Sleeping, Red Hex and Hoot Hoots beginning at 9 p.m.

LINK: More arts and entertainment events in the South Sound

LINK: Live music and DJs in the South Sound

LINK: South Sound happy hours

SATURDAY, APRIL 7, 2012 >>>

1. The Museum of Glass presents Scapes, a new exhibition of work created by siblings Laura de Santillana and Alessandro Diaz de Santillana and executed in the Museum of Glass Hot Shop during two Visiting Artist residencies in 2010.  The four room-based exhibition - inspired by the Hindu belief that the world is a series of disks made up of wind, water and earth, upon which float four continents in a vast circular ocean - will open in the Museum's North Gallery today at 10 a.m. and remain on view through January 2013. 

2. Tacoma is a living, breathing example of the powerful positive impact art can have on a community. So it's not surprising to see today bringing an event at Tacoma Art Place simply known as Community Art Day from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. And the title pretty much says it all. Expect workshops, demonstrations and family fun all day, and all for free. A huge raffle will be part of this year's Community Art Day. For $10 each, you could win a two-night stay with breakfast in the Waddell Spa Suites at Courtyard by Marriott, three-course dinner for two at Pacific Grill, a Rasul Mud Chamber treatment at Clara Spa Salon & Studios or Republic of 253 gift certificates. These staycation goodies hit the $1,000 mark in value.

3. You might think swinging and flipping over high bars and prancing on two-inch-wide beams are skills only Olympic athletes like Mary Lou Retton can pull off with any degree of grace.  But the performers of the Jordan World Circus have mastered those gymnastic feats, and much more. Their show is full of extremely flexible performers who could wow even the most jaded Olympian. Where else can you watch men your dad's age twist their bodies into pretzel shapes? Marvel at the exotic animals, clap and rub your tummy simultaneously over the incredible balancing feats by Deiter Galambos, gasp in awe at the Dangerzone Rider in the globe of death, and be deeply, deeply frightened by the clowns at 11 a.m., 3 and 7 p.m. at the Puyallup Fairgrounds.

4. Happy National Beer Day! The Harmon Tap Room will be hosting an all day event celebrating said day with door prizes and giveaways, a cool / crazy / interesting hat contest, $3 pints all day, a special food menu and the debut of its spring seasonal Rajahs Royal IPA on draft and on cask. Harmon brewers will hang from noon to 3 p.m.

5. Swing Cafe & Wine Bar hosts guitarist Vince Brown and renowned gypsy jazz violinist Michael Gray from 9-11 p.m. Gray has performed at concerts and festivals around the world with Pearl Django and a recent stint at Seattle's Jazz Alley with master guitarist Martin Taylor. 

PLUS: More event suggestions in our Weekend Hustle

LINK: More arts and entertainment events in the South Sound

LINK: Live music and DJs in the South Sound

LINK: South Sound happy hours

FRIDAY, APRIL 6, 2012 >>>

1. How have you aged? Are there wrinkles and scars and flab and sag? Do you have stretch marks, age spots, bone spurs, droopy kneecaps and giant moles? Do you wish you could walk into a giant Photoshop Booth and come out the other side with an ass lift and the gray nose hairs gone? Yes, us too. Phoenix sculptor Jane Kelsey-Mapel and Tacoma painter Becky Frehse have joined artistic forces to the explore themes of aging and re-interpretation through ceramic sculpture, painting and assemblage constructions in their show ReConfigured, which opens Friday, April 6 at Gallery 301 by the Tacoma Dome. According to press release hype, the two artist, "will exhibit assemblage sculptures which reflect the duality inherent in their collaboration process as well as the metaphorical notion of ‘reinventing"' or ‘repurposing' one's identity at various states of the aging process." The reception runs 5-9 p.m.

2. The Grand Cinema reaches the big 15 officially on April 18, and with such a milestone approaching The Grand can think of no better present for its approaching celebration than your presence. The non-profit theater offers a different deal during each of the 15 days leading up to the big date. Today, The Grand offers free upgrades in concessions for any soda or popcorn - i.e. One medium popcorn for the price of a small popcorn.

3. Thousands of South Sound artists will descend upon Frost Park in downtown Tacoma at noon, turning its concrete into canvas for the opening of Frost Park Chalk Off Challenge Season 5ive at Ninth and Pacific Avenue. Be a part of history as Mayor Marilyn Strickland has proclaimed April 6, 2012 as "Frost Park Chalk Day." Remember to vote for your favorite chalk art through online voting on FeedTacoma.com.

4. Hell's Belles, Zero Down and Resident Kings rock the Capitol Theater beginning at 7:30 p.m.

5. The lovely folks at the Lacey Parks and Recreation host an Adult Flashlight Egg Hunt at 9 p.m. You can now have an egg-ceptional (no, really, ceptions of eggs) time hunting for the eggs hidden on the Regional Athelitc Complex ball fields.

LINK: More arts and entertainment events in the South Sound

LINK: Live music and DJs in the South Sound

LINK: South Sound happy hours

THURSDAY, APRIL 5, 2012 >>>

1. Squeaking. Squawking. Rocking. And rolling. The Squeak and Squawk Music Festival kicks off today in Tacoma full of indie posturing, a dollop of wacky costumes, a healthy dose of experimenting and a heaping helping of tight pants and ironic haircuts. You'll find the back story and full schedule here. One band you won't want to miss is The Back Pockets from Atlanta, Ga. Some 10 or a dozen members fill out the band, including some people seemingly specifically recruited to wear masks and make whooping sounds. The band's music can be poorly encapsulated as art-folk-punk, but the performance adds up to so much more than that. The Wimps and the Cutwinkles join the Back Pockets at 9 p.m. inside The New Frontier Lounge.

2. Democrat Tim Farrell, who represents Tacoma on the Pierce County Council, seeks to change the Pierce County Assessor-Treasurer office by commanding it. On his "Elect Tim Farrell for Pierce County Assessor-Treasurer" website, Farrell list his most important priority if elected to the position, is to "... run a professional office where staff, constituents, and fellow public servants are treated with respect." Hear his plan at 5 p.m. at Amocat Café in downtown Tacoma.

3. As you no doubt heard, and stated several times on the Weekly Volcano's website, the HIDE/SEEK exhibition currently residing at the Tacoma Art Museum is the first major exhibition to explore homosexuality in American art, featuring more than one hundred works spanning from the late 19th century to the 1980s. The exhibit seeks not to offend but rather to explore - and what exploration it offers is surprisingly moving. Wait for it. ... The Tacoma Runners explore the streets and bars of Tacoma every Thursday, and their running attire is often surprisingly moving. Yea, that doesn't make sense. Tacoma Runners will meet at the Tacoma Art Museum at 5 p.m. for a 3-mile jaunt around downtown Tacoma. Afterward, the group will check out HIDE/SEEK and have some drinks. There.

4. For baseball fans looking for that small town community feeling that minor league baseball exudes, the Tacoma Rainiers are ready to provide another season of wholesome family entertainment. The Rainiers, the Seattle Mariners' AAA affiliate, kick off their 2012 campaign with the club's home opener at 7:05 p.m. against the Salt Lake Bees. In celebration of the season opener, beers will be $2.

5. The McKassons are way more talented than your family. Brother and sister Ryan and Cali McKasson put their Celtic/Scottish magic on full display every time their feet touch the stage, especially when Ryan's wife Brooke McKasson and Cali's husband Matt Jerrell join the band. Tonight at 8 p.m. Ryan escapes the family for a show at the Lakewood Playhouse. Dig fiddle? Get there.

LINK: More arts and entertainment events in the South Sound

LINK: Live music and DJs in the South Sound

LINK: South Sound happy hours

WEDNESDAY, APRIL 4, 2012 >>>

1. Imagine our surprise when we found out that there's controversy at Meconi's Tacoma Pub & Eatery's Wednesday trivia night. Go ahead, imagine it. Our mouth was all "O," Home Alone-style. Yup, apparently host Rev. Colin wants to oust a team because the four dudes are too good. Dave Graham, John Kephart, Joe Taylor and another guy named Joe win Wednesday after Wednesday. Your team should show up at 8 p.m. and try to knock them off their barstools. Rumor is Cheryl Gorsuch's team of ladies is going to give it a shot.

2. Happy National Walking Day! It's the perfect day to kick off the Downtown On the Go Walk Tacoma series of guided walks. In celebration of the national holiday, three notable folks will lead today's walk. Held in Wright Park, the kick-off event includes a power walk led by fitness trainer Paige Van Der Vliet of Tacoma Living Fit, and a historical walk led by Melissa McGinnis AND Erik Hanberg of Metro Parks. The 1.5-mile walk will begin at noon on the south side of Wright Park by the lion sculptures. If you're into knowledge, check out the booths from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. No registration is necessary, so if you change your mind and hit the office candy box instead, you'll be the only one who feels bad.

3. Big brain Carlos Fuentes - an award-winning novelist, diplomat, activist and scholar - will chat up "magic realism" at 8 p.m. inside Schneebeck Concert Hall on the University of Puget Sound campus. Nope, magic realism has nothing to do with a bunny. According to hype, "Fuentes is known for deploying ‘magic realism' in his fiction to express the often indeterminate mixture of myth, fantasy, and reality in the political dynamics that shape salient historical issues such as the pursuit of Mexican national identity, Latin American revolutions, and the enduring mark left by Spanish imperialism on modern South America." Sometimes going with the hype quote is a must.

4. It's the first Wednesday of the month, which means Weekly Volcano hip-hop columnist Josh Rizeberg is hosting an open mic at Jazzbones at 8 p.m. Spoken word? Of course. Hip-hop? Serious. Acoustic? You bet. Comedy? Josh likes comedy and says it's cool too.

Last year, readers of this fine rag voted the Top of Tacoma Bar and Cafe the best bar in Tacoma. This was due in no small part to its well drink Wednesdays. $1.50 well drinks after 7 p.m. Are you kidding? That's, like, riding the train to funkytown for only eight bucks. Yes, please.

LINK: More arts and entertainment events in the South Sound

LINK: Live music and DJs in the South Sound

LINK: South Sound happy hours

TUESDAY, APRIL 3, 2012 >>>

1. At noon inside the Lagerquist Concert Hall, the Ung Youth Sinfoni from Bergen, Norway returns to PLU to perform works from their tour repertoire, including the "100 Folk Tunes of Hardanger" by Geirr Tveitt, "Spring" by Edvard Grieg, and "Fanfare and Chorale" by Kjell Seim. The youth Symphony will be joined by violinist and Hardanger Fiddler, Eldbjorg Hemsing, regarded as one of Norway's most promising young artists. What you'll hear will be nothing short of beautiful. So much so, that you'll quickly forget about the diet of dried cod and salted reindeer testicles that the denizens of Norway are forced to subsist on. Plus, it's nice to see a Norwegian use a horn for something other than announcing a Viking raid.

2. Maria Callas was one of the 20th century's most legendary opera singers. Born to Greek parents in 1923 in New York City, Callas received operatic training in Athens before making her official debut at Italy's La Scala in 1951. Now, more than 33 years after her death, Callas remains one of opera's most popular recording artists. Norm Hollingshead, a Seattle Opera preview lecturer, will speak on Callas at 10:30 a.m. inside the Garfield Book Company.

3. Jobs are personal. If you don't have one, you're probably job-obsessed. If you don't like the one you have, then you are probably looking for a better one. Both scenarios will have an opportunity to connect with a wide range of employers from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. in the Marcus Pavilion on the Saint Martin's University campus. The fair provides a valuable opportunity to gather information, polish your professional image, make connections for future employment, and learn to market yourself more effectively.

4. Vegucated is one of the newest documentaries on the block attempting to expose the realities of food systems and the threat to our health and the environment. The feature-length documentary follows three meat-and-cheese-loving New Yorkers who agree to adopt a vegan diet for six weeks. Vegucated plays at 2 and 6:45 p.m. at The Grand Cinema in Tacoma. We're eating a carrot as we write this.

5. Ricky J's Restaurant and Sports Lounge in Puyallup doesn't exactly sound like the name of a meat market haven. But in fact, Ricky J's has some of the most reasonably priced meat in town. Every Tuesday night Ricky J's offers a bar steak special for $4.95. That's a heaping pile of meat for under $5. Other specials include free pool and $1 off draft beer. But what's that you say? What about the chicks? Jeez, here we mention cheap meat and you're still concerned about chicks. ...

LINK: More arts and entertainment events in the South Sound

LINK: Live music and DJs in the South Sound

LINK: South Sound happy hours