THURSDAY, FEB. 27 2014 >>>

1. What does your mind go to when you hear the names Miss Massive Snowflake and Rainstick Cowbell (two bands currently nearing the end of month-long west coast tour)? If you were picturing a pair of twee indie bands or cutesy folk-rock, you'd be wrong. Miss Massive Snowflake and Rainstick Cowbell are Shane de Leon and Scott Arbogast, respectively - two fiercely idiosyncratic Portland performers that manage to find common ground together. Read Rev. Adam McKinney's full feature on Miss Massive Snowflake and Rainstick Cowbell in the Music & Culture section, then check out with Dionvox at 10 p.m. in Le Voyeur.

2. Well holy crap. Honestly, we see an event title like "Sewing & Stitchery EXPO" and our eyes instantly glaze over. Sounds like about 11 old ladies in a double wide crocheting death certificates, right? Wrong. Completely false. As it turns out, the Sewing & Stitchery EXPO overtaking the Washington State Fairgrounds through Sunday is freaking gigantic - "the nation's largest event for sewing enthusiasts," according to hype. Apparently, "The Expo is the foremost venue for the home sewing industry attracting leading authorities including Susan Beck, Michelle Muska, Lisa Shaw, and Pati Palmer." Do we have any clue who those people are? Of course not. But they sound important. And we're not in the home sewing industry. Maybe, just maybe, after this weekend we will be. It runs 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. today.

3. The city of Olympia and The Washington Center for the Performing Arts will celebrate the new renovations at The Washington Center beginning at 5 p.m.  The celebration is open to the public. Featured entertainment includes Ballet Northwest, Masterworks Choral Ensemble, Student Orchestra of Greater Olympia and Ed Echtle, Historian, which begins at 6 p.m. if the whole program isn't funny enough for you, stick around for the Center's popular Comedy in the Box show at 7:30 p.m.

4. The folks at Valhalla Coffee Co in Tacoma take their roasted bean biz seriously and prove it by hosting #TNTNW - aka Thursday Night Throwdown Northwest - showcasing local barista talents making latte art from 7-9 p.m. The $5-buy-in-winner-takes-all event is open to the public. Festivities include beer, pizza, prizes and like-minded individuals for those who appreciate the fine art of coffee.

5. South Puget Sound Community College's production of Playboy of the Western World isn't about Hugh Hefner's life. Turns out this Playboy is a satirical look at Catholicism and Irish peasantry, and the "playboy" in question is actually a character named Christy Mahon who, true to the early-20th century meaning of the word, is a trickster or hoaxer. The original 1907 production supposedly caused a riot in Dublin when it was first performed, but don't expect the same reaction at 8 p.m. in the Kenneth J. Minnaert Center for the Arts Black Box Theatre.

BONUS: As we mentioned, Vicci Martinez plays The Swiss tonight.

LINK: Thursday, Feb. 27 arts and entertainment events in the greater Tacoma and Olympia area

WEDNESDAY, FEB. 26 2014 >>>

1. The descriptor "New York Times Bestselling Author" isn't exactly what it used to be. James Patterson literally craps bestsellers. Then again, if becoming a bestselling author was easy we'd probably do it ... you know ... instead of pounding out sentences late into the night for little to no recognition here in our Volcano-issue cubicle in Building 3 at Northwest Military Headquarters. Author J.A. Jance has published like a gazillion mystery and crime novels. She's a legitimate New York Times Bestselling Author, not to mention a half-time Seattleite. Jance's newest book in the Ali Reynolds series - Moving Target - was released Feb. 18. Jance will speak and sign books at the University Place Library at 7 p.m. Free tickets to the event are available from the library in advance.

2. Seattle-based artist Erich Woll will be working in the Museum of Glass Hot Shop as a visiting artist from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. The residency was awarded to Woll as part of his Juror's Choice prize, which he received for his piece "How Often Do You Get Burned" at the 2013 Red Hot Auction and Gala. Currently designing another piece for Bellevue Arts Museum, Woll will hang all week in the Hot Shop to continue working on the project, entitled "Mistakes Will Be Made."

3. The folks at Pour At Four wine bar in Tacoma's Proctor District dig Powers Winery in Kennewick. Apparently the wines pour well across the board and are priced favorably. Drop by between 5:30 and 8 p.m. for complimentary tastes.

4. One of our favorite Far Side cartoons, by Gary Larson, depicts a pair of grizzled cowboys sitting around a campfire at dusk. One is handing the other a cup. The caption reads, "More cappuccino, Raoul?" Yes, times are changing. We have to co-exist with coyotes. How? Good news: The city of Gig Harbor, along with West Sound Wildlife Shelter, will host a presentation to discuss co-existing with coyotes, offering fun facts about coyotes and information about living in safety and harmony with these intelligent animals from 6-8 p.m. in the Gig Harbor Civic Center.

5. Larry Wayne Gatlin is an American country music singer/songwriter. He is perhaps best known for teaming up with his brothers Steve and Rudy in the late 1970s, becoming one of country music's most successful acts of the 1970s and 1980s. Hear a little history when the trio performs at 7 p.m. at the Little Creek Casino in Shelton.

LINK: Wednesday, Feb. 26 arts and entertainment events in the greater Tacoma and Olympia area

TUESDAY, FEB. 25 2014 >>>

1. Anyone who has seen them - dance enthusiast or not - can tell you that Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater is a feverish love poem to the human body. Ailey founded his company in 1958, with an emphasis on ballet lines in the lower body and modern movements in the upper body. Ailey II embodies Alvin Ailey's pioneering mission to establish an extended cultural community that provides dance performances, training, and community programs for all people. According to pre-show hype, "Ailey II is universally renowned for merging the spirit and energy of the most talented young dancers with the passion and creative vision of today's outstanding emerging choreographers." Under the artistic direction of Troy Powell, expect an exhilarating and diverse repertory of timeless classics and thrilling new works at 6:30 p.m. in the Kenneth J. Minnaert Center for the Arts Mainstage.

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MONDAY, FEB. 24 2014 >>>

1. It's been 50 years since the Civil Rights Act and the country is witnessing a renewed attack on voting rights, the re-segregation of public schools, gentrification, mass incarceration and entrenched job discrimination. Have something to say? University of Puget Sound organizations Black Student Union, African American Studies, Resident Student Association, and Spoken Word and Poetry Club host a "Civil Rights and Peace" poetry reading in celebration of Black History Month from 5:30-7 p.m. in the Tahoma Room at the Commencement Hall on the campus the University of Puget Sound.

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SUNDAY, FEB. 23 2014 >>>

1. Giuseppe Verdi's Messa da Requiem is one of the most dramatic and inspiring sacred pieces ever written, contrasting fiery climaxes with passages of heart-rending poignancy. Composed in 1874 as a memorial to the Italian poet and novelist, Allesandro Manzoni, the Requiem is one of the most moving works ever to flow from the heart of Verdi. At 2:30 p.m. in the Pantages Theater, the Tacoma Symphony Orchestra will open its concert of opera music with excerpts of the piece. That's a tough act to follow. Can baritone Kenneth Overton and the Tacoma Symphony Chorus move the audience along with lively and poignant selections from Aida, Il Trovatore, La Traviata and Carmen? Only Music Director Harvey Felder and crew know the answer. The "Major General Song" from Gilbert & Sullivan's Pirates of Penzance is on the set list, which means an "I am the very model of a modern Major-General" sing-along could bust out.

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SATURDAY, FEB. 22 2014 >>>

1. We couldn't think of a better way to spend a Saturday night than on a hot date with ourselves listening to loud rock and roll and watching tough-as-nails roller derby chicks knocking each other on their asses. Yes, our Saturday night will be spent with Dockyard Derby Dames characters such as Anita Hit Sum Won, Booty Trapp, Sass E Smaxx, LocoComotion, Hit O' Honey and Brat Capone crammed at the front of the flat track jumping around, screaming my lungs out, picking fights and hocking loogies. Being up close and personal blows away watching the action on television. Hell, with a beer garden, girls in fishnets, funny announcer guys, mascots in full-body spandex  - this is entertainment at it's fullest. The whistle blows at 6 p.m. in the Pierce College Health Education Building. After the bout everyone will head to the Fan Club Sports Bar in Lakewood.

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FRIDAY, FEB. 21 2014 >>>

1. Do you love animals? How 'bout dark comedy? Do Sarah McLachlan ads for the ASPCA make you projectile weep? If you answered yes to any of these questions, then do we have the show for you. Elliot Weiner (pronounced "winer") is a playwright, actor, and director most recently seen in The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe at Lakewood Playhouse. Sadly for Tacoma, he's moving eastward next month. His going-away present to the South Sound is a one-act play called What About Grandma? that purports to reveal how far a grandmother might go (sink?) to protect the people she loves at 7:30 p.m. in Tacoma Little Theatre. The only admission cost is a donation to the Tacoma Humane Society's Cinderella Program for Spay and Neuter or the Northwest Spay and Neuter Center. Bob Barker will love you for it.

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THURSDAY, FEB. 20 2014 >>>

1. Poppet, AKA Molly Raney, is a hard act to do any justice in describing. Just one woman, a keyboard and a looping pedal, yet it amounts to so much more than the sum of its parts. Clad in a spandex green onesie, Raney commands the stage with inventive melodies and whimsical interpretive dance. Setting aside the clear complexity and thought that goes into her music, Poppet's performance has a very childlike quality to it. Even though her impressive voice and lively arrangements betray a sure hand, Poppet still feels like a little girl who has come down to the living room to put on a show. Read Rev. Adam McKinney's interview with Poppet in the Music and Culture section, then catch Poppet with Mirrorgloss and True Holland at 9 p.m. In The New Frontier Lounge.

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WEDNESDAY, FEB. 19 2014 >>>

1. Flamenco dancer Savannah Fuentes presents El Sol de Medianoche, Flamenco en Vivo: a night of powerful Spanish flamenco music and dance featuring singer Curro Cueto of Seville and guitarist Jose Vega of Cadiz at 8 p.m. in The New Frontier Lounge. Let the mix of music and traditionally costumed dancing beauty transport you to Spain.

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ERMAHGERD! There's going to be a Goosebumps movie, you guys!

Continuing the exhausting phase of mining every little bit of nostalgia for the increasingly apathetic eyes of '90s children, the once-beloved book series of cheesy lite horror for kids is coming roaring to the big screen.

The audience for such an adaptation has got to be vanishingly low, right? We're talking adults in their mid-20s to early 30s (because I doubt children are still reading them, and adults back then didn't read them) who fondly remember reading the Goosebumps series (I read them, but can't remember a single thing about them) and who care so deeply that they'll jump at the opportunity to see some interpretation of it in a movie theater.

While the project has been in works for some time, it was recently announced that Jack Black will star as R.L. Stine, the author of the series, which lends a level of unwelcome meta commentary, for me. Remember when the book The Time Machine also existed in the universe of the movie The Time Machine? Or when Bo and Luke Duke in the movie version of The Dukes of Hazzard can be seen watching the TV show The Dukes of Hazzard? No? Neither of those? Well, it was infuriating.

If there's one ray of positivity surrounding the Goosebumps movie, it's that idiosyncratic screenwriter Mike White (School of Rock, Chuck & Buck) had a hand in penning the script. After his run with the criminally overlooked HBO series, Enlightened, this will be White's first return to movies since his disappointing Year of the Dog in 2007. If anyone can inject an off-kilter earnestness into what is essentially a nostalgia-exploiting cash grab, it's Mike White.

WEDNESDAY, FEB. 26: C.L.A.W. OPEN SWIM

C.L.A.W. sounds like a sinister cartoon shadow organization, but that's only partly true. The Cartoonist's League of Absurd Washingtonians is a collective of artists - including Tacomic creator and all around provocateur RR Anderson - who meet up to share their work and create new works together. Their Open Swim event is an opportunity for non-members to come around and participate in the mad cartooning.

Artists will collect a word from a mystical fez, and will then be expected to incorporate that concept into their drawing, in addition to general commiserating. It's geeky fun for creative types who want to share their work with likeminded weirdos - sort of like the Internet, but with real live people for you to not make eye contact with. Fun! 7:30 p.m., King's Books, 218 Saint Helens Ave., Tacoma, 253.272.8801

Until next time, super perfundo on the early eve of your day!