SUNDAY, FEB. 12, 2012 >>>

1. The Kareem Kandi Band will play the Mandolin Café in Tacoma today, an early all-ages show that runs from 2 - 5 p.m. Then, at 6 p.m., Denny Foreman and Friends take to the Mandolin stage.

2. Big band leader Rich Wetzel, no stranger to snappy sports coats and even snappier jazz numbers, isn't afraid to make a big promise. So, when he proclaims today's performance at Stonegate Pizza as "the Super Bowl of live entertainment," we shouldn't be surprised. Does this mean we should expect four-plus hours of pomp and Madonna at halftime? Probably not. But what we can expect is a damn entertaining show from Wetzel and his 15-piece jazz rock orchestra.

3.Galumpha hits the Broadway Center in Tacoma and the Pantages Theater today. According to hype, Galumpha offers "(s)tunning acrobatics, striking visual effects, physical comedy and inventive choreography bring to life a world of imagination." Today's show starts at 3 p.m. with tickets running $15 - $29.

4.Sunday means it's time for another Sunday open mic with Jeanlizabeth at the Steilacoom Pub and Grill. There's no cover and the tunes start at 8 p.m.

5. Tonight's JazzLive at Marine View Presbyterian Church in Northeast Tacoma features the Janette West Group. It's all ages and starts at 5 p.m. with no cover.

LINK: More arts and entertainment events in the South Sound

LINK: Live music and DJs tonight

LINK: Still time to seize the weekend with the Volcano's WEEKEND HUSTLE

SATURDAY, FEB. 11, 2012 >>>

1. It's another huge night in live music for the South Sound. Legendary Bay-area hip-hopper Too $hort will be in Olympia at the Royal Lounge, while Olympia's own Calvin Johnson will trek north to Tacoma  with his band the Hive Dwellers for a show at The Space. The Weekly Volcano's comprehensive live local music listings have all the answers you need.

2. Tacoma's GLBT Book Club meets today at Tully's Coffee downtown on Broadway to discuss Geography Club by Brent Hartinger. The Volcano's Jenni Prange Boran recently profiled the GLBT Book Club and its organizer Matt Lemanski.

3. Tacoma Metal Arts Center offers the bold and the curious a chance to learn "electroforming in copper," which is probably just about as awesome as it sounds. According to hype, "Electroforming is an exciting technique which allows you to 'grow' copper over almost any form. You will learn how to use this process to create a shell of copper over things like glass, wax carvings and organic materials (seed pods, dried flowers, etc) to name a few. Electroforming can be used to create complex hollow forms in copper for sculpture or jewelry." This is a two-session class that kicks off today and concludes next Saturday, Feb. 18. Cost is $135 plus $15 materials fee, and instruction is provided by Amy Reeves.

4. Prior to a Valentine's Day performance in Tacoma with T-Town's Gritty City Sirens, Olympia's own Tush burlesque troupe will take to the Capitol Theater. As event hype points out, Tush will be joined by Seattle's own Paris Original, Olympia's Wednesday du Monde, and the music of Portland's Autry. Doors open at 8 p.m., show starts at 9 p.m., and it'll cost you $10-$15.

5. At Jazzbones, it'll be a night of hip-hop featuring Ra Scion, The Breaklites, City Hall, Josh Rizeberg, DJ Reign and DJ Minus. Show starts at 8 p.m.

LINK: More arts and entertainment events in the South Sound

LINK: Live music and DJs tonight

LINK: Still time to seize the weekend with the Volcano's WEEKEND HUSTLE

FRIDAY, FEB. 10, 2012 >>>

1. Musically, it's a huge night. The Cherry Poppin' Daddies (straight from the ‘90s) play Jazzbones on Sixth Avenue. Former Volcano scribe Heather Loepp and Santee play the Space tonight as part of a benefit for the Squeak & Squawk music festival in April. And let us not forget the Variety Hour's CD release show tonight at Hell's Kitchen. Boom.

2. If it's laughs you're looking for find comedian Chris Franjola at Tacoma Comedy Club and Duane Goad at the Grit City Comedy Club. Both shows will run you $15.

3. If you're like most people, there's part of you that really enjoys shaking your ass without regret. Luckily, Tacoma's Camp 6 is holding its first "Commence Dance Party" (in what's to be a regular series of dance parties) at the New Frontier Lounge.

4. Poet and author Jane Alynn joins the Distinguished Writer Series tonight at King's Books. With two published collections of poems to her name, Necessity of Flight and Threads & Dust, Alynn is an award-winning wordsmith who should be enjoyable to hear read. The event starts at 7 p.m.

5. In Olympia, the first-ever Oly Music Awards Pre-show - generating hype and excitement for the forthcoming first-ever Oly Music Awards - will go down at Le Voyeur, bringing Jabi Shriki to the stage in celebration of a new record, as well as Fight for Change, Elbow Coulee (in the band's first show back with a new lineup) and the debut of Brian Carsten's Point Process. Things kick off at 9 p.m.

LINK: More arts and entertainment events in the South Sound

LINK: Live music and DJs tonight

LINK: Plan your weekend with the Volcano's WEEKEND HUSTLE

THURSDAY, FEB. 9, 2012 >>>

1. Local indie label Maurice the Fish Records is connected to many of our area's most talented acts. Rafael Tranquilino, Gina Belliveau and Heidi Vladyka, to name but a few, have all been part of the Maurice the Fish roster. Tonight at the Swiss get in on the Maurice the Fish Records Showcase, starting at 8 p.m.

2. Thursday at the University Washington Tacoma, this year's Urban Studies Forum will focus on "Urban Industrial Futures." According to the UWT press release, the forum is a "one-day event designed to spur community conversation about how to balance industrial and post-industrial urban development strategies." Speakers for the forum include Joan Fitzgerald, professor and director of the graduate Law and Public Policy program and senior research fellow at the Dukakis Center for Urban and Regional Policy at Northeastern University, Brian Coleman, CEO of Greenpoint Manufacturing and Design Center - a nonprofit industrial developer in New York, and Dean Amhaus, executive director of the Milwaukee Water Council. The Urban Studies Forum is free and open to the public, but registration is required.

3. Phillip Roebuck if freakin' amazing. No seriously. We're not just saying that. We've seen the "one-man-band" schtick before, but Roebuck, usually plucking a banjo with a kick drum strapped to his back, goes above and beyond. He's the kind of one man band you just don't go out and see, you buy the record when he's done performing. Tonight Roebuck will be at Hell's Kitchen with local favorites Swampy Draws, and Henry Kammerer along with the Cottonwood Cutups. Show starts at 9 p.m.

4. Get in on the Ram Restaurant and Brewery's version of the Geeks Who Drink pub quiz tonight by heading to the Ram on Ruston Way. Starting at 8:30 p.m. there'll be questions and drinking and more questions and plenty of fun.

5. Tonight at the Washington Center for the Performing Arts in Olympia the Silent Movie Series will feature The Last Laugh with Dennis James on the Wurlitzer. The event is all ages and starts at 7 p.m.

LINK: More arts and entertainment events in the South Sound

LINK: Live music and DJs tonight

WEDNESDAY, FEB. 8, 2012 >>>

1. Pacific Lutheran University and the school's School of Arts and Communication kick off the fledgling SOAC Focus Series today with an exhibition of printmaking from around the country. Designed as an annual event, this year's first-ever SOAC Focus Series will center on a theme of compassion. According to hype, the series will have a goal of bringing together "talented students and faculty each year," with "a common theme will be selected and discussed through a multi-disciplinary approach. ...  Each year, the theme selected will be relevant, timely and appropriate to the mission of SOAC and PLU." Today sees the opening of the National Print Exhibition: The Human Experience, a collection of juried printmaking entries from around the country that are apparently, "as varied as the human experience," and feature, "many touchstones that speak to us in different ways and tie one individual to another through the love of art and a broader understanding of each other."

2. Do you enjoy comedy? Do you like bliss? Then you'll want to catch the musical Newsday called "blissfully funny," Mel Brooks's adaptation of Young Frankenstein, in its final day today  at the Washington Center for the Performing Arts in Olympia. The production, developed in Seattle in 2007 and hit Broadway two years late, is a mostly faithful translation of the 1974 movie. It includes all your favorite moments: "Abby Normal," "Puttin' on the Ritz," Frau Blücher's way with horses and one enormous schwanzstucker. (Voof!)

3. There was a time when the Big Friction Jam at Jazzbones was THE place to be for Sunday night maxin', relaxin' and jammin'. Powered by the groove-heavy leanings of saxophonist Brett "Big Friction" Cummings, the Big Friction house band took the stage, laid down the funk and groove, and magic ensued, with a cast of talented locals streaming through to take the stage and get down. TonightJazzbones will welcome back the Big Friction Jam for an evening that's sure to blow your usual Hump Day plans out of the proverbial water. If you're down to jam on it (or enjoy when others jam on it) this one's for you.

4. In all-ages musical action, tonight at the Mandolin Café Really Old Airplanes will play from 6 -7 p.m., and singer/songwriter Gina Belliveau will lay it down from 7-8 p.m.

5. The Northern Pacific Coffee Co. in Parkland holds its renowned open mic tonight from 8 - 11 p.m. There's no cover, and sign-ups star at 7:30 p.m. Bring the kids, because the NPCC open mic is totally all-ages.

LINK: More arts and entertainment events in the South Sound

LINK: Live music and DJs tonight

TUESDAY, FEB. 7, 2012 >>>

1. Bring your love of the bagpipes out of the closet and into full view today when Dick Hensold, billed as "one of America's finest traditional bagpipers," drops in on Tacoma for a performance brought to us by the Old Town Music Society and Puget Sound Revels. Dabbling in Northumbrian smallpipes, reel pipes, seljefloyte, sackpipa and piborn according to promotion - in traditional and historical styles including Cape Breton, early Scottish, Northumbrian, Scandinavian, Irish and medieval - Hensold seems certain to blow the roof off the joint.

2. Tonight at Varsity Grill join the United Way of Pierce County's Project:U for a fundraiser and food drive event. The Varsity Grill will donate 20-percent of all sales proceeds to the United Way of Pierce County cause, and canned food donations will be collected for area F.I.S.H. food banks.

3. Saint Martin's University in Lacey will celebrate the 200^th birthday of Charles Dickens today with what's described as "a marathon reading of the renowned author's works." According to hype, Saint Martin's English Department and the English honor society Sigma Tau Delta will host the event from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. in Harned Hall. Expect excerpts from Great Expectations, A Christmas Carol, A Tale of Two Cities and more.

4. Tuesday means it's time for another Ha Ha Tuesday at Jazzbones, a night of comedy hosted by the venerable Ralph Porter. After the comedy, stick around for Jazzbones' hot weeknight DJ action.

5. It's open mic night at Tugboat Annie's in Olympia. Bring your geetar or your best songs and show the world what you've got (and by "world" we mean the collection of Thurston County folks on hand at the favorite local watering hole).

LINK: More arts and entertainment events in the South Sound

LINK: Live music and DJs tonight

MONDAY, FEB. 6, 2012 >>>

1. Catch the Greta Jane Quarter tonight at the Fourth Ave. Tavern in Olympia, as, after a long run at the Royal Lounge, Ms. Greta Jane Pederson's jazz combo featuring Cary Black, Vince Brown, and Andrew Dorsett reclaims Monday nights at a new downtown Oly locale.

2. Throw on your best aging t-shirt and limber up your devil horns, because Monday means it's time for yet another Metal Monday at The New Frontier Lounge. The head-banging starts at 9 p.m.

3. Monday night is trivia night at the Tacoma Comedy Club on Market Street. There's no cover to get in, and the questions kick off at 7 p.m. In addition to the general thrill of victory, cash and prizes are also advertised.

4. Speaking of trivia, one of the best trivia nights in the area goes down each Monday at the Harmon Tap Room in Tacoma's Stadium District. It runs from 6 -8 p.m., with the winner of each round a $50 cash prize according to hype.

5. Common sense might suggest getting loaded on a Monday night and singing your ass off at the China Clipper's "Late Night Karaoke" might be a questionable idea. But screw common sense. With the karaoke starting at 9 p.m., we suggest sucking down a couple of the Clipper's notoriously strong drinks and then letting it all hang out.

LINK: More arts and entertainment events in the South Sound

LINK: Live music and DJs tonight

SUPER SUNDAY, FEB. 5, 2012 >>>

1. The musical Hair is much like a jam band concert: it's multi-sensual, it elicits an emotional ride, and it's probably about 15 minutes too long. That said, director Heidi Fredericks shakes every last nugget from Hair's theatrical dime bag at Capital Playhouse at 2 p.m. Read Weekly Volcano theater critic Christian Carvajal's review of the show here.

2. You spend hours wandering around consignment stores, yard sales and ... nothing. Stroll into a store and the floor models, the displays, the marked up, trendy, full-price, why-wait-for-a-sale-when-you-can-have-it-now stuff? You love it. You want it. You need it. Break the cycle. Rethink your thought process. Antiques. The older they are the better. And, unlike the average retail giant merchandise, you can sometimes get a deal. So come check out "America's Largest Antique & Collectible Show" and see the previously owned and "family friendly" (thank heavens) art and antiques. From 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. at the Puyallup Fairgrounds.

3. All told, there were more than enough laughs in the script and performance for all sides, compressed into a remarkably short runtime - less than two hours including intermission. Lakewood Playhouse's Play It Again, Sam - which hits the stage at 2 p.m. - proved to be a great deal of fun for everybody involved. Read Weekly Volcano theater critic Joe Izenman's review of the show here.

4. According to the Merriam Webster online dictionary, Xanadu is an idyllic, exotic or luxurious place. How that translates into a roller disco is a question best answered by early-1980s pop stars and Tacoma Musical Playhouse. The musical Xanadu, on stage at 2 p.m., tells the story of 1980s chalk artist Sonny Malone and his involvement with the Greek Muses. Sonny is unhappy with his art and determined to commit suicide when he's visited by the Muses who travel to Venice Beach, Calif. to inspire him. Because of Zeus' rules, Clio (Leah Wickstrom in TMP's production) must disguise herself; she does so by wearing roller skates and leg warmers, sporting an Australian accent and calling herself Kira. Read Weekly Volcano theater critic Joann Varnell's review of the show here.

5. The routine is simple. You look through the songbooks scattered around the joint, write down a song title and your name on a piece of paper, and hand it to the deejay. In a few minutes, you'll hear him say, "Dave, c'mon down," and the fantasy begins. You're Bob Dylan or Shania Twain - or whoever the hell you want to be. It's cheap therapy, if nothing else. The Mix in Tacoma's Triangle District will fire up its karaoke after its Super Bowl Party.

LINK: More arts and entertainment events in the South Sound

LINK: Live music and DJs tonight

LINK: Local happy hours

SATURDAY, FEB. 4, 2012 >>>

1. A wonderful therapeutic effect happens when people and horses connect. The same can be said when people connect with comedians. Although, sometimes the comedians make fun of your mother. Anyway, the folks at Changing Rein in Graham, where self-discovery and healing happens through working with and riding horses, hosts a fundraiser at 5 p.m. at the Grit City Comedy Club in Tacoma. Tacoma comedian and entertainer Mike Agostini headlines the benefit show.

2. Zumba officially began in 2001, combining hip-shaking Latin-inspired dance moves and aerobics. Now in more than 125 countries, it has a fan base that is almost cult-like in their devotion. If you want to see the phenomenon for yourself, Zumba big-wig Kass Martin will drop in on Tacoma's Studio 138 at 10 a.m. for two hours of craziness.

3. Tacoma author Marissa Meyer will discuss and sign her book Cinder at 2 p.m. inside the Wheelock Library. Come listen to what happens when a cyborg girl finds herself at the center of an intergalactic struggle.

4. Playwright August Wilson is best known for his Pittsburgh Cycle - a series of 10 plays each set in a different decade recalling the struggles and comedies of the African American experience in the 20th Century. That's what happens when you win two Pulitzer Prizes for Drama for something. At 3 p.m., the Broadway Center, Northwest Playwrights Alliance and hosting venue Washington State History Museum bring us Two Trains Running, part of Wilson's Pittsburgh Cycle recalling Civil Rights Era Pittsburgh in 1969. Hype on the Broadway Center website describes the play, saying "In spite of the political and social change that sweeps through the nation, many of the characters are too cynical and down-trodden to experience hope for the future or even rage for the ongoing tragedies."

5. I Defy, CFA, Attitude Adjustment, Konkhra and Contrast The Water will rock Hell's Kitchen beginning at 9 p.m.

PLUS: Scrapartsmusic show details in our Weekend Hustle

LINK: More arts and entertainment events in the South Sound

LINK: Live music and DJs tonight

LINK: Local happy hours

FRIDAY, FEB. 3, 2012 >>>

1. In the tradition of Django Reinhardt, Hot Club Sandwich has captured the essence of string swing bands from the early 20th century and has brought it to contemporary audiences who long for the organic sound of this obscure genre of music. Formed 10 years ago during a chance meeting on a front porch in Olympia, the gypsy jazz band's complex arrangements and musical harmonies blend with flawless precision. The band returns, for the millionth time, to Olympia's Traditions Café for an 8 p.m. show.

2. The Jackie Stephen Rogers All Star Jam Fundraiser featuring artists from Kashmir, Chrome Molly, Reloaded, SubViinyl Jukebox, Jerry Miller Band, Steve Cox, O'Dark 30, Kickstart, Tatoosh, Palmer Junction and Classic Case begins at 5 p.m. inside Stonegate Pizza.

3. Harlequin productions urges the ladies to, "Dress up gorgeous or come as you are, but grab your girlfriends, turn off the tube and treat yourself to something special! Gather in our swanky lobby with friends you may or may not know from 7:00 to 7:30 and enjoy complimentary champagne and chocolate." Afterward, the main attraction to Harlequin's "Ladies Night," will be a staging of Conor McPherson's The Seafarer - where thefirst 40 minutes offers old Irish alcoholics wailing abuse at each other. Oh my. We should note that Weekly Volcano theater critic Christian Carvajal recommends the show.

4. Soul Shop open mic talent showcase with poetry and music, hosted by 6 Deep the Messenger, kicks off at 7:30 p.m. inside the Native Quest Native American Cultural Center in downtown Tacoma.

5. The Tacoma-based band Voxxy Vallejo joins Blues Redemption for at 7:30 p.m. show at Jazzbones. Lead vocalist Sherrie Voxx Minter, who many call the "Janis Joplin of Tacoma," pours her emotions through her blues soul and rock & roll.

PLUS: Love Panel & Dessert Party, The Phantom Tollbooth, Wish You Were Here reception, Tacomapocalypse II, Styx and other events today in our Weekend Hustle.

LINK: More arts and entertainment events in the South Sound

LINK: Live music and DJs tonight

LINK: Local happy hours