FRIDAY, JUNE 3, 2011 >>>

1. At some point on this blog during the last few years, we know we've made mention of this simple (if shameful) fact at least once before: There is nothing so wonderful and so free as riding your bike around this gritty city while shitfaced. Yes, it is irresponsible and it is dangerous. But so is anything else that is part of your birthright of fun. It is with this moral dilemma in mind that we remind the Tacoma MOB Riders host another one of their glorious Bicycle Booze Cruz rides at 7 p.m. in front of the Acme Grub Cage. Titled the "Spring Exposure Ride," these adventurous folks will bicycle hop from bar to bar with the vague notion that this is a game/group hug/whatever. And everyone is invited. Just don't forget to put your kickstand up. Ow.

UPDATE: We apologize, the Roy Rodeo is Saturday and Sunday. 2. The Roy Pioneer Rodeo is not just a rodeo - although it bills its cowboyin' competition as the "Daddy of ‘em all." With the gates opening at 1:30 p.m., the rodeo also features a beer garden, spaghetti feed, homemade bake sale, an Old West town and, at night, concerts.  But ultimately, RPR is the rodeo, complete with hokey jokes - "If Texas is so great, why are Texans always somewhere else?" - and clowns, as well as steer wrestling, barrel racing, saddle-bronc riding, and that PETA favorite, calf roping.

3. Speaking of wrapped up in alcohol fun ... the Washington State History Museum's First Friday Pre-Pub Gallery Talk just so happens to be about the secrets of ancient beer making, as well as other mythological mysteries. Tied to the special exhibition Wrapped! The Search for the Essential Mummy, these 3:30 p.m. gallery talks are led by exhibit curator Stephanie Lile. And the treasure of the tomb? Special deals from fellow beer worshipers: The Harmon and Pyramid Ales.

4. Dare we call it egg-citing news that Evergreen's Riot To Follow Productions is opening Honk: The Ugly Duckling Musical? If they don't quack up, readers will cluck at us for making such a fowl pun. Yet the 1993 British musical update of the Hans Christian Andersen classic is itself undeniably punny. The Olivier-winning musical should prove to be good fodder for Riot To Follow. The play will be staged in The Washington Center's Black Box theater at 7 p.m.

5. Composed for the death of Gabriel Urbain Fauré's parents (his mother died after he had started working on it), Requiem is like a long-spun lullaby, far removed from the terrors of the Berlioz and Verdi Requiems. The Tacoma Community Choir and Orchestra will perform this gentle piece at 7:30 p.m. inside TCC Building 3 Auditorium. Included on the program are two other works, Mozart's Symphony No. 25 in G minor, and Troy Peters' (Tacoma represent!) "Between Hills Briefly Green."

PLUS: A Prefect Life Party and NWCZ Anniversary Bash details in The Weekend Hustle.

LINK: More arts and entertainment events in the South Sound

LINK: Movies open!

WEDNESDAY, MAY 4, 2011 >>>

1. Those moody bunch of post-punkers The Celestials bring their Billy Corgan-esque screeds, shoegaze blurriness and spacey ruminations to Le Voyeur at 10 p.m. with Tadoma opening.

2. When we hear "Pops on the Lawn," most of us think about our dads standing in the middle of the lawn in their ratty bathrobe with a hose in one hand and a coffee cup in the other - with an occasional wardrobe malfunction causing neighbor Gladys Kravtiz to call the cops. At 4 p.m. on the Karlan Quad at the University of Puget Sound, "Pops on the Lawn" means a performance by the  UPS Wind Ensemble led by student conductors. Watch out for that errant Frisbee.

3. Real to Reel - the youth led film and photography initiative that helps give vision to youth voice - will feature three short documentaries on violence created by youth from the community beginning at 6 p.m. inside The Grand Cinema. Come hear their story on violence and how it affects them. There will be a chance to talk with the members of each group following the showing.

4. Wailer No. 1, Kent Morrill, lead singer and keyboard player for seminal Tacoma garage-rock band the Fabulous Wailers, died on April 15 after a long battle with colon cancer. He was 70. But Morrill's musical legacy lives on when a who's who of classic Northwest rockers pays tribute to their fallen peer with a free show set for 7 p.m. at Tacoma's Temple Theatre. To read Ernest A Jasmin's full piece on the passing of Kent Morrill and the memorial show tonight at the Temple Theater in Tacoma, click here.

5. Chopstix on Sixth Avenue has brought back its Wednesday dueling piano show beginning at 9 p.m.

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SUNDAY, MARCH 27, 2011 >>>

1. Don't fuck with Deborah Henson-Constant. We're not messing around. It takes a special kind of person to make the harp hardcore, and Henson-Constant just may have done it. At the very least, it appears she wears dreadlocks, and when she joins the Tacoma Symphony Orchestra at 2:30 p.m. inside the Pantages the pre-show hype promises "a powerful experience." That hype, available on the Broadway Center website, goes on to say that "Henson-Constant has revolutionized her instrument with vibrant passion and individuality." Did we mention she has dreadlocks? True story.

2. When Perry Farrell christened his groundbreaking alternative rock tour Lollapalooza in 1991, did he have any idea the word would someday be appropriated for everything from a parenting book written by John Lithgow to the Temple Beth Hatfiloh's Blintzapalooza celebration of the humble blintz?  Blintzapalooza - basically a bake sale with bagels and blinztzes - will also feature a challah baking contest and book sale. Join the fun from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Temple. Can we get a Brisketpalooza 2011, anyone?

3. The juggling dangerous objects shtick is old hat for the (moderately legendary) Flying Karamazov Brothers, at the Minnaert Center for a 2 and 7 p.m. show. And juggling is just one of the tricks up their sleeve. With a history dating back to the '70s, and more death-defying stunts under their collective belt than you and I will collect in a lifetime, not to mention multiple TV appearances and stints on Broadway, the Karamazov Bros and their "cheap theatrics" will leave the masses in awe.

4. Do you think it's time your child's version of Journey's beloved "Don't Stop Believing" to be heard in public for all to enjoy? Bring the child to the dueling piano bar Chopstix on Tacoma's Sixth Avenue for its all-ages Sunday show from 7-9 p.m.

5. Strange Boys, Natural Child and The Hive Dwellers rock the all-ages Northern space beginning at 8 p.m.

LINK: More arts and entertainment events in the South Sound

FRIDAY, MARCH 25, 2011 >>>

1. Paul McCartney used to be in a band before he went solo, something called the June Bugs, or the Millipedes. Anyhoo, a tribute band calling themselves Wings N Things will perform the music of Sir Paul at the all-ages Louie G's Pizzeria in Fife beginning around 8 p.m.

2. Tamara Murphy, an author in the collaborative first book TENDER: farmers, cooks, eaters, will sign the book, and demystify how to create great tasting food easily and, in most cases quickly, from 4-6 p.m. at Metropolitan Market in the Proctor District.

3. We can think of no better spot to hold an artist reception than at a wine bar that serves gourmet food. Such is the case from 6-8 p.m. when Linda Jacobus smiles before her show at Morso Wine Bar. Check out her dramatic use of natural light in her oil paintings and tip back a few glasses of the grape that Miles Raymond would no doubt enjoy.

4. Before some performances in Tacoma involving piano players, the audience has a good four or five drinks already downed before the show begins. And, during the performance, wobbly audience members will stuff cash into a tip jar. These two events most likely will not happen during the Puget Sound Piano Trio's 7:30 p.m. performance in Schneebeck Concert Hall at the University of Puget Sound, which showcases the talents of internationally acclaimed cellist and new faculty member David Requiro, and celebrated artists Duane Hulbert, piano, and Maria Sampen, violin. Although hearing Ludwig van Beethoven's "Kakadu" Variations, Opus 121a, Nicholas Omiccioli's Piano Trio No. 1 (2008), ?Gaspar Cassado's Piano Trio in C Major , and Johannes Brahms' Piano Trio in B Major, Opus 8 performed well certainly warrants a couple bucks in a violin case.

5. The Dockyard Derby Dames will host a Dance Party featuring Jello shots, prizes and rockin' country by Sammy Steele Band at 9 p.m. inside the Gruv Lounge on Sixth Avenue.

LINK: More arts and entertainment events in the South Sound

LINK: Movies open today!

FRIDAY, MARCH 11, 2011 >>>

1. You have wasted a lot of time perfecting a totally useless skill - Beer Pong, the distinctly college game in which competitors stand on either side of a table and hurl Ping-Pong balls into keg cups full of beer. It's time to use your skills to do some good. Dockyard Derby Dames team the Trampires host a Beer Pong tournament at 7 p.m. inside Cheers West Sports Bar And Grill to raise money for their trip to RollerCon in Las Vegas. Pony up to the table and toss balls toward a Trampire. You will find yourself caught in the dance of love and lust and a pointless, juvenile drinking game.

2. It's a scientific fact that the only thing that comes close to achieving the adrenaline rush of hurdling down a steep-ass, majestic mountain at warp speed strapped to a snowboard or skis is sitting in a theater, bucket of popcorn between your well-toned legs, watching people on screen hurdling down a steep-ass, majestic mountain at warp speed. Look it up. At 7:30 p.m., the Olympia Mountaineers presents the Banff Mountain Film Festival Radical Reels tour at the Capitol Theater - which should be snow porn at its best.

3. Oh, the farce - such ridiculousness, always treading the fine line between absurdity and hilarity. Tacoma Little Theatre's production, directed by Frank Kohel, of A Flea in Her Ear is no exception. For the production TLT chose a new version of George Feydeau's French farce as translated by David Ives. A Flea in Her Ear has all the classic elements one would expect - mistaken identity, misdirection, missed meetings, misunderstandings, double entendres, bawdy behavior and plain silliness. Read our full review of the show here before catching it at 7:30 p.m.

4. The Second City Chamber Series drops in on the Tacoma Art Museum for the first time for a 7:30 p.m. Masterpieces Series II concert. Pacific Lutheran University's Regency String Quartet will explore the music of Pulitzer Prize winning composer William Bolcom, his fellow Northwesterner and former student, Gregory Youtz, and Gig Harbor's "up and coming" composer, Alexandra Bryant, who also is an alumna of Second City Chamber Series' Young Chamber Players program. Yes, yes, they'll also perform a little Gershwin. During intermission, concertgoers will receive a special tour of TAM's Norman Rockwell exhibit.

5. In the grand, and unusual, tradition of skinny English boys bopping about in even skinnier ties to American soul and jazz music, local DJs Bobby Galaxy and dAb offer a night of soul, funk, jazz and rare grooves under the tag Rare Groove at 9:30 p.m. inside the Tempest Lounge. It's righteous, to say the least.

LINK: More arts and entertainment events in the South Sound

LINK: Concerts go on sale today

LINK: Movies open today

THURSDAY, MARCH 10, 2011 >>>

1. Lew Tabackin has been nominated for Grammys, yo - like plural Grammys. Freakin' 10 times. While there's no doubt the Black Eyed Peas et al. have cheapened that honor, it's still kind of a big deal ... although it may be the least impressive thing on Tabackin's resume. Dude's flute is "electric." His tenor sax style "distinctive" - these the words of people much smarter than us ... real heady jazz types. Did we mention his name is Lew Tabackin? Say that three times fast. He's at the University of Puget Sound at 7:30 p.m.

2. What's a good sign adult dodgeball has jettisoned itself into the mainstream, no longer a fringe activity engaged in by alt-types, Ben Stiller characters and nostalgia freaks? Well, when the Pierce County prosecutors office and local members of the defense attorneys bar face off in a dodgeball match (refereed by Superior Court Judge John McCarthy, no less) to benefit charity, it's a pretty strong indication. Starting at 6 p.m. at the People's Center (1602 Martin Luther King Jr. Way, Tacoma), that's exactly what will happen. The after party is at the SideBar Bistro, where they all hang out.

3. After the winter we went through, we could use a little tropical injection. Hanging in a coffee shop in Fircrest isn't going to cut it. However, when you add the topical musical stylings of Trio Tropical (and a flask full of rum), your smashed fender and broken arm from that trip to the grocery store in the snow just might disappear out of your mind (with enough rum). Check out the combo from 6:30-8 p.m. at The Greener Bean.

4. Greasy rocker Meatloaf sang, "There's evil in the air and there's thunder in sky, and A killer's on the bloodshot streets / Oh and down in the tunnel where the deadly are rising / Oh I swear I saw a young boy down in the gutter / He was starting to foam in the heat. The song, of course, is "Bat Out Of Hell." The Weekly Volcano wasn't able to confirm if Paul Richards' "Bat Out of Hell" - performed tonight by saxophonist Fred "Don't Call Me Henry" Winkler and the TCC Symphonic Band - is of the same ilk as Meatloaf's version. If it is, the 7:30 p.m. show inside TCC Building 3 will be sure to incite an encore call, which we can only hope will feature Winkler busting out "Paradise by the Dashboard Light." 

5. Project:U, the United Way of Pierce County offshoot loaded with young cool cats, hosts comedian Ty Barnett at 8 p.m. inside the Tacoma Comedy Club. The Tacoma Comedy Club will donate 20 percent of their post tax ticket sales - and Barnett will toss in another $2 per ticket - toward United Way's local charities, which is nice.

LINK: More arts and entertainment events in the South Sound

FRIDAY, FEB. 18, 2011 >>>

1. Marcia Ball, Tab Benoit and The Voice Of The Wetlands All-Stars perform at 7:30 p.m. inside the Washington Center in Olympia.

2. Poetry in the 253 - Mouths & Mics, a spoken word open mic hosted by the 2009 Soul of the City Tacoma Poet Laureate and Speak Your Soul poet Antonio Edwards, runs from 7-9 p.m. at the Rain City Café in downtown Tacoma.

3. Pianist Eugene Skovorodnikov will perform classics by Franz Liszt at 7:30 p.m. inside the Schneebeck Concert Hall at the University of Puget Sound.

4. The Bridge nightclub in the Emerald Queen Casino might be the best nightclub in town to meet a love interest. Why? Because the Bridge has live bands every Friday and Saturday night. Tacoma favorites like Idol Eyez (9 p.m. tonight and Saturday) and Raeanns Groove will finish out the month of February. That's two straight weekends of rocking, grooving and dancing in one of the biggest nightclubs in Tacoma. And since it's one of the biggest clubs, it also attracts some of Tacoma's sexiest singles. Gotta like those odds.

5. Taist Of Iron, Under Sin, Hidden Casualties, Feared Alive, Stript and Systemik invade Hell's Kitchen beginning at 7 p.m.

LINK: More arts and entertainment events in the South Sound

LINK: National touring concerts go on sale today

LINK: New movies open today

SATURDAY, JAN. 22, 2011 >>>

1. Led Zeppelin is arguably the greatest rock band of all time, a powerhouse quartet who exploded in an ecstasy symbolized by fog-machine smoke, epic guitar distortion, and the tightest pants in rock and roll. The Tacoma-based Kasmir comes damn close to reenacting the swagger and strut of forebears Page-Plant-Jones-Bonham. The band hammers is down at 9 p.m. inside The Kamel Toe between Parkland and Spanaway. We hear they're opening with "The Rover," "Rock ‘N Rock," Immigrant Song," and "The Ocean."

2. You, with your ignorance of classical music and vast knowledge of every note and lyric in the White Zombie catalog, are not cutting it at high society dinner parties. People are talking. Do you want your kids to grow up with the same issue? Say no. The Tacoma Philharmonic will host another Koncerts 4 Kids at 10 and 11:30 a.m. at the Theatre on the Square. The series exposes classical music to children to help them develop academic, intellectual and life skills - traits that don't fully develop in folks who have "Electric Head, Pt. 1 (The Agony)" as a ringtone.

3. The Silk Strings will jam on koto and other Japanese instruments at 3 p.m. inside the Tacoma Art Museum. The $5-$15 ticket also includes a docent-led tour of the cool Edo to Tacoma print exhibition prior to concert.

4. It was 20 years before Frank Wedekind's 1890 play Spring Awakening: A Children's Tragedy could be performed in its native Germany. At first only legendary director Max Reinhardt had enough juice to produce it. The play was considered so pornographic that only a single performance was allowed for a limited audience in New York City, and it was still being censored in England well into the 1960s. It's the story of a teenage boy and girl who have sex, and the bittersweet repercussions of their passionate tryst in a hayloft. It's playing at 3 and 8 p.m. inside the Pantages Theater. Bone up on it here.

5. Jazz band Aqua Velva - Kevin England on trumpet, Bill Barnett on piano, Mike Slivka on drums and Tom Brooks on bass - will be the band of choice during Pastiche Wine Bar's grand opening party, which runs 5:30-11:30 p.m. They have a dance floor people - and no cover.

LINK: More arts and entertainment events in the South Sound

LINK: Wine tastings!

SUNDAY, JAN. 9, 2011 >>>

1. Unless you're completely dead on the inside, there should still be a bit of childlike wonderment that comes from seeing someone do something remarkable. The Peking Acrobats from China - a skilled touring troupe of jugglers, gymnasts, cyclists and tumblers - have the ability to instill such wonderment - and have been doing so for more than 50 years. At 3 p.m., the Peking Acrobats will bring their "Silver Anniversary Tour" to the Pantages in Tacoma.

2. A reception for local printmaker Mirka Hokkanen's Animal Encounters show will be held at 12:15 p.m. inside the Mary Boze Gallery at the Tahoma Unitarian Universalist Church on South 56th Street.

3. The Second City Chamber Series presents "Flags of the World: France" at 4 p.m. inside the First Lutheran Church on I Street. Tenor James Brown and pianist Shelby Rhodes will be front and center in a program that features, duh, chamber music from France.

4. There's a reason the Tacoma Cult Movie Club speaks to you - it's because you're human, and you're not embarrassed to admit it. Goddamnit, you love beer, popcorn and long-lost movies about hot slutty chicks in prison! Furthermore, you love the Acme Grub Cage, because your friends think you're a badass for drinking there, and because deep down you know it's secretly one of the friendliest and most hospitable watering holes around. At 7 p.m., the Tacoma Cult Movie Club will meet for the first of their two monthly get-togethers - celebrating (or revisiting, as the case seems to be) "women ... in prison" (insert the behind-bars boob shot where the ellipses is). The evening will be called, "Back in the Slammer."

5. Clinton Jackson will work the Tacoma Comedy Club tonight, performing a "clean" show at 7 p.m. Sure, your kids might recognize Jackson from appearances on That's So Raven or iCarly, but we all know a good comic never turns down a little Nickelodeon money. You can't hold it against him.

LINK: More arts and entertainment events in the South Sound

LINK: Let's go to the movies!

MONDAY, DEC. 20, 2010 >>>

1. So the tree and the fairy lights are up, you have enough booze and unhealthy snacks to sink the Titanic, and your television is about to explode in a flurry of consumerism and romantic schmaltz. But there's something missing. That's right, folks: it just wouldn't be a happy holiday without some singing about God. And for that, there's no beating Handel's "Messiah," a piece for choir, orchestra and soloists that has delighted audiences worldwide for more than 250 years. As 18th-century music historian Charles Burney once said, ""Messiah" has fed the hungry and clothed the naked, fostered the orphan, and enriched succeeding managers of Oratories more than any single musical production in this or any other country." We're not totally sure what that means, so check it out yourself at 7:30 p.m. inside the Washington Center when the Student Orchestras of Greater Oympia presents their version, which so happens to be a sing-along. Nice.

2. "He sees you when you're sleeping, he knows when you're awake..." growls the tongue-in-cheek voice-over during the trailer for Rare Exports: A Christmas Tale, a Finnish import screening at 3 and 7:45 p.m. inside The Grand Cinema. Will this sinister Santa flick unravel into nostalgic camp like its '80s predecessors, Christmas Evil or Silent Night, Deadly Night? Find out for yourself.

3. The Harmon Brewery and Eatery has launched a Monday night blues series kicking it off with HD Hobson from 7-10 p.m.

4. The Tacoma Cult Movie Club is a collective of people who enjoy cinema on the outer fringe of the spectrum. They'll convene at 7 p.m. inside the Acme Grub Cage to enjoy a double feature based on a theme "Don't Feed The Plants" plus with shorts, trailers, film serials, and the lifeblood of the TCMC: the raffle.

5. The Jerry Miller Band will perform at 8 p.m. inside The Swiss.

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