THE LOWDOWN ON WHAT'S UP THIS WEEKEND >>>

WEATHER REPORT

Friday: Rain, hi 39, lo 30

Saturday: Partly sunny, hi 41, lo 27

Sunday: Partly sunny, hi 43, lo 34

>>> SATURDAY, NOV. 19: WHITEOUT 9

Sometimes you've just got to dance, yo. For, like, ten straight hours. In the Tacoma Dome exhibition hall. Because you just don't give a fuck. Luckily, Saturday Phase 3 Events presents "Whiteout 9," easily the raviest thing to do in T-Town this weekend. With doors opening at 8 p.m. and the good times rolling until 4 a.m. Sunday, Whiteout 9 will bring electronic heavyweights like Alex Morph, First State, Kutski and a crapload of others to the gyrating masses.

• Tacoma Dome Exhibition Hall, 8 p.m. Saturday - 4 a.m. Sunday, $35-$75, 16+ to enter, bar w/ ID, 2727 East D Street, Tacoma,ticketmaster.com  

>>> SATURDAY, NOV. 19: OLYMPIA RECORD SHOW

Imagine an entire Elks Lodge filled with nearly 40 tables. Now imagine those tables teeming with rare records, lost VHS classics, band merchandise and memorabilia. Imagine you could swap, sell or purchase any of these precious items while listening to a DJ spinning sick-ass records and mingling with other connoisseurs. Oh, and did we mention the full bar with ID? Well, quit thinking about it and go do it! The annual Olympia Record Show happens this Saturday at the Elks Lodge in Olympia. While in the past there have been two Olympia Record Shows per year, from this point forward there will be only one - only magnifying the importance of getting your ass to this Saturday's affair.

• Olympia Elks Lodge, 5-9 p.m., all-ages, 1818 Fourth Ave., Olympia, olympiarecordshow.com

>>> NOV. 18 - NOV. 20: FAIR TRADE MARKET

Through three days the Fair Trade Market, hosted by St. Leo Parish and Urban Grace Church, promises a guilt-free way to start your holiday shopping. Running Friday, Saturday and Sunday at Catholic Community Services the annual event is your chance to get in on, "baskets, ornaments, linens, musical instruments, food products and more from vendors such as Ten Thousand Villages, Theo Chocolate, Laughing Lotus, L'Arche, and many more," according to pre-event hype.

• Catholic Community Services, 4-7 p.m. Friday, 3-7 p.m. Saturday, 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Sunday, free admission, 1323 S. Yakima Ave., Tacoma, 253.272.5136

>>> NOV. 19-20: ARTS SYMPOSIUM

Art at Work: Tacoma Arts Month - celebrating its 10th year and chugging along in fine fashion - continues this weekend with the much-anticipated Arts Symposium at the University of Puget Sound. In the simplest terms, the Arts Symposium is a weekend program geared toward local artists. It focuses on the practical side of art and involves panels, presenters and discussion sessions. More specifically, pre-event hype promises: "From nuts and bolts business information to legal advice to creative solutions, this event is designed to get your creativity flowing and push your career to the next level." Saturday, Gigi Rosenberg, author of The Artist's Guide to Grant Writing, will deliver the symposium's keynote address.  

• University of Puget Sound, 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday and Sunday, $20 for two days, $12 for one day, or $7 for one session, financial assistance available, 1500 N. Warner Street, Tacoma, 253.591.5191, tacomaculture.org

>>> SATURDAY, NOV. 19-20: ALL FREAKIN' NIGHT

Olympia has more traditions than most places. It's the kind of town where history is important. It's the kind of place where people keep things alive, breathe new life into them, and rally together to make cool shit happen. It's the kind of place where people go to college, grow a beard, graduate from college, get a co-op membership, go back to college, and never leave ...While it's doubtful that last part has much to do with anything, the Olympia institution that is All Freakin' Night is here once again - devouring the historic (there Olympia goes again with its history...) Capitol Theater Saturday night and into Sunday morning. For the uninitiated, or the new faces in the Invisible Man seminar, All Freakin' Night is an annual part of the annual Olympia Film Festival - now in its glorious 28^th year. A collection of cultish horror flicks and just plain strange stuff, All Freakin' Night has reached institution status because of a few things - not the least of which being its eccentricities, and the fact it literally offers Olympia the chance to sit in the Capitol Theater all freakin' night and hang out. Both are very cool, and what it's all about.

• Capitol Theater, doors at 11 p.m., $10-$15, 206 E Fifth St., Olympia, olympiafilmsociety.org

>>> SUNDAY, NOV. 20: FIFTY YEARS OF PIZZA AT THE CLOVERLEAF

Culminating a full week of celebration in the name of 50 years in the pizza business, Tacoma's iconic Cloverleaf will welcome the band Sunny 4 Cast to "rock out" on Sunday night. Not surprisingly, there will also be beer specials. There have been specials all week, in fact, from kids' nights, to happy hour beer prices all day, to pizza "squashing" contests. Good times have been had by all. As we're reminded by press release, "The Cloverleaf was established in 1951 and began serving our World Famous Pizzas in 1961. ...The purpose of this celebration is to thank our loyal customers. We could not have made it 50 years without them and that is why we are hosting this celebration, in their honor."

• The Cloverleaf, 8 p.m., 6430 Sixth Ave., Tacoma, 253.565.1111

>>> WHAT SOME OF OUR STAFF MEMBERS ARE UP TO 

ALEC CLAYTON Visual Arts Critic
Occupy Olympia during the day Saturday and the dance at 4th Av Tav with Pro Func Tunc Saturday night. But these old bones aIn't going to be dancing. Just drinking and listening to the music.

NIKKI TALOTTA Features Writer
Well, I saw the KARP documentary Wednesday night at the Olympia Film Festival, so anything that happens this weekend is small potatoes. But if you must know, I might go shopping for socks.

JOANN VARNELL: Theater Critic
Due to unfortunate accidents involving one of my large dogs and the carpet in my TV room, I will be getting my carpets cleaned this weekend. Fortunately a Living Social deal saved me from having to rent a steam cleaner and I get to see pros in action. Sadly, this is the most exciting thing scheduled all weekend. 

STEVE DUNKELBERGER Meat Market Photographer
I will be cleaning the yard at St. Mary's Church and School and attending a Murder Mystery Party and then do more cleaning.

JENNIFER JOHNSON Food & Lifestyle Writer
Hosting a 5-course, quadruple double date dinner party at my apartment then going to see Savior of the World followed by fro-yo at Gibson's on Friday evening. Workout Saturday morning, meet girlfriends for Zoo Day at Pt. Defiance (hopefully it wont be raining), then quality time with my couch for movie night at home. Church and friend/family dinner Sunday.

CHRISTIAN CARVAJAL Theater Critic
All I have planned for this weekend is Christmas Story rehearsals and hoping it doesn't snow.

LINK: More arts and entertainment events in the South Sound

THURSDAY, NOV. 17, 2011 >>>

1. Blues legend B.B. King visits the Little Creek Casino tonight - the kind of musical opportunity you rarely have on a Thursday. Take advantage of it. Find details on the show here.

2. As a society, it seems (and to put it lightly), we've got some things to talk about. As a community we can start tomorrow with a public forum at the University of Washington Tacoma titled "What is the Occupy Wall Street Movement? (And where is it going?)." Both Occupy Tacoma and Jobs with Justice will have representatives in the discussion. According to the press release, "This event includes panel presentations, an open forum, and exploration of the goals of the current movement as well as its historical roots and potential political consequences."

3. There's all sorts of cultural to be had today, including a free performance of WaT is DaDa? - described as "an original Dada Theatre Cabaret, conceived by Neo-Dadaist Marilyn Bennett and University of Puget Sound theatre arts students." Tonight (and tomorrow's) performance starts at 8 p.m. at Norton Clapp Theater on the UPS Campus. You can also catch  WaT is DaDa? Saturday at Toy Boat Theatre (1314 Martin Luther King Jr. Way, Tacoma) at 8 and 10 p.m. All the performances are free.

4. Drive Thru Junkies, Pizzacat, Silent Planet, Murder Wizardz and Superpro will play an all-ages show tonight at The Red Room in Tacoma. It starts at 6:30 p.m. and cover runs $5.

5. Catch the Seattle Comedy Competition semifinals tonight at the Washington Center of the Arts in Olympia. Hosted by Jim Short, the night of laughs is part of Washington Center's Comedy in the Box series, even though ticket demand has been so intense festivities have been moved to the main stage theater.

LINK: More arts and entertainment events in the South Sound
LINK: Live music tonight

LINK: This week's freebies

SUNDAY, NOV. 6 2011 >>>

1. Every year in Memphis the top blues act in the world gather for one of the biggest blues competitions known to man - on Beale Street, of course. Also, every year the South Sound Blues Association holds a competition (usually in June) to choose one lucky band to represent them and the entire region at said competition in Memphis. This, naturally, takes money - which is where today's fundraiser at The Swiss in Tacoma comes into play. But the action isn't just about raising money - it's also about catching an amazing array of local blues talent. Starting at 4 p.m., the Back To Beale Street 2012 Fundraiser bill includes Jumpin' Josh and Felicia, Blues Buskers, Fingertips, Blues Redemption, the CD Woodbury Band and the Red Hot Blues Sisters. South Sound Blues Association members pay $8 at the door, everyone else doles out $10 - but it's all worth it.

2. The Tacoma Buddhist Temple hosts a free Fall Food & Crafts Bazaar from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. (food costs vary). Bobble Tiki loves the sound of that and was all set to go, until he discovered that Buddhism helps you wake up and find your true self. Bobble Tiki has made a career of being both unconscious and shallow, so maybe this event isn't for him. But it just might be for you.

3. It's your last chance to catch ...Like There's No Tomorrow in Tacoma. It's snow porn at its finest. Ski bums and snowboarding enthusiasts will surely flock to Tacoma's Broadway Center for a chance to catch this latest Warren Miller Entertainment joint, shot in India, New Zealand, Chile, British Columbia "and beyond," according  promotions. U.S. skiing legend and gold-medalist at the 1998 Nagano Winter Olympics Jonny Moseley narrates and hosts the film, which will show once today after screening twice yesterday.

4. Feeling jazzy? Drop in on Butch Harrison in the Piano Lounge at El Guacho starting at 6 p.m. The food and vibe is amazing, and a name like Butch Harrison can only improve things.

5. Today marks the second and final day of the Art At Work: Tacoma Arts Month studio tours. Don't let this yearly favorite pass you by without getting involved. Find all the info you'll need right here.

EXTRA CREDIT: Set your clocks back, yo!

LINK: More arts and entertainment events in the South Sound

LINK: Live music tonight

FRIDAY, NOV. 4, 2011 >>>

1. As an MC, Macklemore is somewhat difficult to pin down. His lyrics can venture into proud declarations of heritage ("Irish Celebration"), sentimental ruminations on his hometown and childhood ("My Oh My," which he recently performed on the grass of Safeco Field, in honor of Dave Niehaus), or the absurd (as in "And We Danced," a patently ridiculous party jam featuring Macklemore affecting a faux-serious British accent). All the while, his flow remains strong, and his voice distinct. Frequently, though, Macklemore's greatest strength is the music created for him by his producer, Ryan Lewis. Especially effective is the sampling of Beirut's gorgeous "Scenic World" accordion line in Macklemore's "Irish Celebration." It gives the song an air of epicness and importance beyond the power of the rhymes. Macklemore and Ryan Lewis play the Capitol Theater in Olympia tonight.

2. Gems, a band playing the New Frontier tonight as part of the Umber Sleeping CD release party, take the synths out on auditory explorations. The band's songs are equally built for black lights and full dance floors as they are solo listening in the dark of one's home. This is a show of different, yet simpatico bands, rounded out by the on-the-rise Not From Brooklyn - yet another band that manages to synthesize the electronic and the analog.

3. Since her days on The Tonight Show in the 1970s, Joan Rivers has been a comedic icon. Now 78, Rivers, as captured in Joan Rivers: A Piece of Work (last year's film documentary about her life) seems to fear just one thing: a blank calendar. Co-host of E! Entertainment TV's Fashion Police, she also stars with her daughter, Melissa, on their reality show Joan & Melissa: Joan Knows Best? - which has been renewed for its second season on WE network starting in January. When not lambasting celebs for their sartorial mishaps or videotaping Melissa in the shower, Rivers travels the country performing stand-up. Tonight Rivers lands in Tacoma, playing the Pantages Theater with Brad Upton.

4. Want to get up close and personal with the Weekly Volcano's Steve Dunkelberger? Who doesn't? Better yet: want to improve your nighttime photography skills in the process? All of these irresistible opportunities collide tonight at Tacoma Art Place when Dunkelberger leads a "Basic Nighttime Photography" class from 8 - 10 p.m. According to the hype, Dunkelberger's class will demonstrate "that great photography doesn't demand expensive camera equipment." Find more info here.

5. The evocativeness of the name Tender Forever is unusually representative of the music that Tender Forever (AKA Melanie Valera) creates. It may be somewhat hard to track amongst the invigorating percussion that permeates the music, but Tender Forever's lyrics have a strong center in the intimate and revealing. Valera's slick arrangements do their part in creating a wall around the personal revelations that inhabit her songs, but a tender, beating heart lives in her music. Tonight Tender Forever plays the Midnight Sun in Olympia, a show co-produced by the Olympia All-Ages Association and Northern.

LINK: More arts and entertainment events in the South Sound

LINK: Live music tonight

LINK: Freebies this week

THURSDAY, NOV. 3, 2011 >>>

1. Tonight, the Tacoma Arts Commission kicks of the tenth annual Art at Work: Tacoma Arts Month with an opening reception and the presentation of the 2011 AMOCAT Awards. The celebratory good times run from 6 - 8:30 p.m. at the Museum of Glass. Expect fire dancing, a molton iron and ice pour, juggling by Jeremy Gregory and more. Find more info here.

2. Last year's Mark Lindquist-powered "Autographed Book & Wine Auction" at King's Books went over so well that the taller-than-average Pierce County Prosecutor just had to do it again. While he's not running for re-election this year or fending off attacks from bizarro candidates, that doesn't mean Lindquist can't raise a little money for his cause tonight, in the form of what promises to be a local politico-filled evening of who's-who handshakes and ass grabs. Benefitting People for Prosecutor Mark Lindquist, expect a live auction featuring fancy wines and signed books from authors Ann Rule, Garth Stein, Bret Easton Ellis and, of course, Mark Lindquist. Pre-event hype also advertises "libations, food and spicy discourse."

3. Hailing from Mexico City, Mexico, Los Headaches makes crisp and catchy garage pop that nominally vacillates between the notions of love and lust - with regards to girls. Sometimes these feelings are expressed with a kind of blushing, bashful naivete; other times - as in "Never Again," which finds Los Headaches wishing they could find a girl to please them, so they'd never again have to please themselves - these feelings approach the pure state of the undeniably sophomoric, yet admirably honest. Tonight Los Headaches play the New Frontier Lounge in Tacoma.

4. If you have yet to check out the acoustic open mic hosted by Mike Coucoules at Medi's Pizza & Pasta on Sixth Avenue in Tacoma on Thursday nights (the space formerly home to Sluggo Music), now is your chance. Even better: It's all ages until 10 p.m., so feel free to bring the kids, Mama Cass.

5. At Olympia Little Theatre, catch Welfarewell tonight, a play reviewed by Volcano theater critic Christian Carvajal in this week's paper. As Carvajal says, "Nice is all over Welfarewell, currently making its Northwest premiere at Olympia Little Theatre. Not only is the play harder to resist than a Snuggie full of kittens, but its author, Cat Delaney, wrote OLT a program note from Nova Scotia: ‘Big hugs! ... Theatre makes the world smaller and far more civilized.' Awwww." To read Christian Carvajal's full review, click here.

LINK: More arts and entertainment events in the South Sound

LINK: Live music tonight

THE LOWDOWN ON WHAT'S UP THIS WEEKEND >>>

WEATHER REPORT

Friday: Rain, hi 53, lo 44

Saturday: Cloudy, hi 57, lo 43

Sunday: More rain, hi 51, lo 43

>>> FRIDAY, OCT. 28: FALL BREW FEST

Your routine come fall is fairly predictable. The flannel shirts come out. Your motivation level slows to that of a nearly-hibernating American black bear. And your consumption of beer goes WAY up. That's why Friday's annual Fall Brew Fest at Varsity Grill in downtown Tacoma is so perfect for you. Entry fee earns you nine fall beer samples, a variety of appetizers and all sorts of fun. Plus, 950 AM KJR sports radio will be broadcasting live until 7 p.m., and the always awesome RockBot live-band karaoke will take over after that. A good time will be had by all.

• Varsity Grill, 5:30-8:30 p.m., $10-$15, 1114 Broadway, Tacoma, 253.627.1229

>>> FRIDAY, OCT. 28: WALKING WITH ERIK HANBERG

On Friday the Downtown On The Go-sponsored fall walking series will conclude with a stroll from downtown to Hilltop with Metro Parks Commissioner and City Club Executive Director Erik Hanberg. Yes, it's true, you probably remember visiting with Hanberg in a park not long ago. Now is your chance to walk with him in the flesh. Ask questions. Keep pace. Compliment his beard. The world is your walkable oyster. Friday's walk meets at noon and begins at 11th and Broadway in front of the Woolworth Building

• Woolworth Buidling, meets at noon, free, 11th and Broadway, Tacoma,downtownonthego.org

>>> SATURDAY OCT. 29: 3 GLORIAS FLAMENCO EN VIVO

For the uninitiated, there are apparently three main components of flamenco: cante (voice), toque (guitar) and baile (dance). From what we understand it takes all three to make flamenco magic, and that's just what 3 Glorias Flamenco en Vivo should offer up Saturday at the Broadway Center in Tacoma. Bringing singer Saray Muñoz (all the way from Spain) to the stage, along with accompaniment from renowned guitarist Pedro Cortes, 3 Glorias Flamenco en Vivo should entertain and provide a bit of culture - which is way better than anything another Saturday night in front of the boob tube is going to do for you.

• Theatre on the Square, 8 p.m., $12-$25, 915 Broadway, Tacoma, 253.591.5890

>>> THROUGH NOV. 6: THE HOUND OF THE BASKERVILLES

Despite three good actors and a director I respect, signs augured trouble as the metaphorical curtain rose on Theater Artists Olympia's co-production (with the Outfit Theatre Project) of The Hound of the Baskervilles in TAO's quirky new digs, the Eagles Ballroom basement. I relaxed within seconds, I'm happy to report, because Baskervilles is instantly funny and stays that way. It owes as much to Monty Python's Flying Circus as it does to Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. If you've seen Shakespeare Abridged or, for that matter, Airplane, you have a feel for its tone: linear narrative cohesion has been sacrificed gleefully at the altar of one goofy joke after another. It even follows the Shakespeare Abridged model to the extent of restaging previous scenes in fast-forward, probably in the hope that this will help us make sense of the plot. It almost does. ... -- Christian Carvajal

• Eagles Ballroom basement, 8 p.m. Fri-Sat, 2 p.m. Sun, $12, 805 N. Fourth Ave., Olympia, 360.790.1138

>>> SUNDAY, OCT. 30: LE NOIR BIZARRE

Julia Jones may have found Tacoma's Halloween Pulse. She's the mind behind Le Noir Bizarre, a three-floor, dark holiday extravaganza happening Sunday at Sanford and Son Antiques. Jones has a couple dozen craftspeople, performers and assorted weirdoes lined up for this romanced/goth/steampunk celebration, and promises there will be plenty of skulls, goggles, lace, fire, demons, devils and tons of stuff made from pieces of animals and old clocks.  Surprisingly, Le Noir Bizarre does not translate as "the new weird." It means "The Dark Market," which only describes about half of what Jones has lined up. Expect all sorts of creepy and mysterious goodness. To read Paul Schrag's full feature, click here.

• Sanford & Son Antiques, noon to 5 p.m., 744 Commerce St., Tacoma
  lenoirbizarre.com

>>> WHERE OUR STAFF IS GOING

ALEC CLAYTON Visual Arts Critic
I'm going to see the Folk Treasures of Mexico at Tacoma Art Museum.

.

REV. ADAM MCKINNEY Music & Features Writer
This weekend will be a mad dash to try and fit in as many Halloween-y shows as possible. In addition to the shows I wrote about, there's the Nightmare on 25th St. DJ show at the New Frontier, and Not From Brooklyn, I Will Keep Your Ghost, Umber Sleeping at the Space--all on Saturday, to say nothing of the Night of the Living Tribute Bands in Olympia. Tough call.

BRETT CIHON Features Writer/Meat Market Correspondent
Halloween is like the meat market's Christmas. Sexy costume this and sexy costume that. Tacoma clubs, here I come.

NIKKI TALOTTA Features Writer
It's my first Halloween weekend off in nine years! So Saturday night me and the hubs are gonna hit every party in town, especially The Brotherhood's Halloween Bash! I'm dressing as Flo from the Progressive commercials and he's Keith Stone from the Keystone commercials. Together, we're gonna bundle that smoothness. Cheers!

CHRISTIAN CARVAJAL: Theater Critic
Amanda and I are finally going on our honeymoon! We're flying to Orlando this weekend, where we'll catch Blue Man Group and occupy Halloween Horror Nights at Universal Studios plus Islands of Adventure and all four boroughs of Disney World. Y? Because we like to.

JOANN VARNELL: Theater Critic
My amazing husband snagged a Living Social (or Groupon or something) for a family getaway to Vancouver, BC where we will eat crepes and do some shopping on Robson Street. The drive there and back will be the most amount of time our nearly 15 month old will have spent strapped to a car seat. Thankfully, he doesn't know how to say, "Are we there yet?"

JENNIFER JOHNSON: Food & Lifestyles Writer
Friday Forum luncheon at the LDS church. Homework. October birthdays dinner that night. Homework. Gladiator Run event in Kent Saturday morning with "Team Stinkin Rushforth Wheels." Homework. Wedding reception that evening. Homework. Church on Sunday. Fall into an exhausted comma Sunday night. Homework.

STEVE DUNKELBERGER Meat Market Photographer
I will be doing the St. Mary's Harvest Fest and the Marcus Walker Way dedication at Lakewood Playhouse with the kids on Friday, the Comcast movie morning at the Grand Cinema Saturday, followed by the Tacoma Youth Choir family performance in the afternoon and the "Bogey men and Beaver Pelts" ghost stories at Fort Nisqually that night. Sunday will bring church and a screening of "Puss in Boots 3-D" in the comfy chairs at the Lakewood Towne Center.

STEPH DEROSA Person, Place or Thing Correspondent
Believe it or not, I will be participating in the Gladiator Rock N Run this Saturday at Kent Speedways.  (And I use the word "participating" loosely.)  I am part Team Stinkin' Rushforth Wheels.  If you can guess which two business entities developed our team name I will award you with a lavish tongue kiss just moments after eating forty cloves of raw garlic and a bag or Doritos.

LINK: More arts and entertainment events in the South Sound

SATURDAY, OCT. 22, 2011 >>>

1. As we've mentioned before, Perry Acker is named like a single dude, but it's actually a band ... a band that's on the rise. Not only did Perry Acker win a Ford earlier this year (as part of the national battle of the bands - Ford "Gimme The Gig" contest), but the band has been gaining steam locally through a string of memorable live performances and a lot of hard work. Tonight, Perry Acker will throw a CD release show at the Rialto Theater for the band's latest record, Path To Freedom. This should be a good one.

2. As far as worthy causes go, it doesn't get much worthy than this. Today, the AIDS Housing Association of Tacoma will present its fourth annual Halloween Ball & Auction, running from 6-11 p.m. at the Greater Tacoma Convention and Trade Center and this year packing a theme of, "The Silver Screen." Naturally, money raised will go toward the AIDS Housing Association of Tacoma. You can register online here. If you're still on the fence, here's a look at the AIDS Housing Association's purpose statement: "To provide services which ensure that persons ill with AIDS, and in need of supportive living, are provided enriched housing - including the opportunity to stabilize their condition, to achieve the medical adherence necessary to prolong life, or to receive support for end-of-life issues in an atmosphere that emphasizes individual dignity, respect for diversity and human connectedness."

3. I Low is the latest persona of Colin Reynolds, a local Tacoman who cut his teeth in the Dear Records community under the name Tree Roots in the Basement. Reynolds later refined his considerable skill for performing in the subways of New York. Initially beginning his musical life emulating indie rock icons like Death Cab for Cutie and Minus the Bear and continuing on through roots rock, I Low has emerged as a composite of all the sights and sounds Reynolds has taken in while busking on the streets or taking the stage. Frequently vulnerable lyrically, the music of I Low trades equal time in downtrodden analog pop and serenely drifting folk. It's unclear where the evolution of Reynolds will end, but it's safe to say that we haven't reached it yet. Tonight catch I Low and others at Metronome Coffee in Tacoma.

4. Tonight the Capitol Theater in downtown Olympia will host a Los Angeles-based band that crosses musical boundaries, meshing rock, Americana, folk, funk, hip-hop and much more.  Quetzal Flores created the band Quetzal in the early ‘90s to push the limits of Chicano music - and he definitely ended up doing so, finding plenty of musical success in the process. See the band live tonight.

5. Tonight comedian Susanne Lee/Lucky DeLuxe will be at the Grit City Comedy Club in Tacoma.

LINK: More arts and entertainment events in the South Sound

LINK: Live music tonight

THURSDAY, OCT. 20, 2011 >>>

1. Art Chantry practically invented the poster art and album cover art associated with grunge. He's done album covers for Nirvana and Hole, and posters for Hempfest. His art has been shown in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, Museum of Modern Art, Seattle Art Museum, the Smithsonian and the Louvre. Right now, under the title Parkland is Burning, you can see a large selection of Chantry's work at Fulcrum Gallery. Even better? Tonight, hear the artist himself delve into his four-decade career. It promises to be awesome.

2. Was it always destined that bluegrass and punk would make such a happy marriage? In hindsight, it seems like a natural fit, but the first person to bring a banjo or washboard into a punk band had to have had such brilliant intuition. The Load Levelers continue in this tradition, slamming together the most recognizable tropes from punk and Southern music into a freakish amalgam that also finds the time to inject some speed metal into the affair. These parts have been privy to the Load Levelers for many years, in various incarnations. The band earned a reputation early on for wild and unpredictable shows. Though it's many years on, but you can probably expect to see some pretty crazy shit tonight when they burn through Hell's Kitchen.

3. Volcano music scribe Nic Leonard is perhaps better known as Nicatine of Olympia-based rap outfit Free Whiskey. Or, we mean, he's the dude with the mustache. Now are you picturing him? Good. Anyway, Free Whiskey has been gaining steam for a while now [thanks, in no small part, to Nic's mustache and the track "Man's Best Friend (Mustache Song)"], and tonight the group will release a much anticipated EP, What Am I Going To Tell My Mom?, with a show at the Royal Lounge. Sure, it's a conflict of interests of sorts to promote the show of someone who writes for us, but it's also going to be dope - so we did what we had to do. Free Whiskey for all. 

4. Check out the "Open Jam" at Stonegate Pizza tonight with Billy Roy Danger & the Rectifiers.

5. Head to The Ram Restaurant and Brewery on Tacoma's waterfront to get in on the "Geeks Who Drink" pub quiz. The trivial good times kick off at 8:30 p.m. and there's absolutely no cover ... though you'll probably want to bring enough coin for a drink or two (it's in the name, after all).

LINK: More arts and entertainment events in the South Sound

LINK: Live music tonight

TUESDAY, OCT. 18, 2011 >>>

1. As part of both the University of Washington's Grad School 2011-2012 public lecture series, and the Tacoma-based Paulsen Lecture Series, Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Seymour M. Hersh will visit UW Tacoma tonight. Hersh, who writes about the military and national security, is best known for his work exposing the My Lai massacre during the Vietnam War. Writing predominantly for the New Yorker, Hersh has also spilled plenty of ink over the Iraq War and the Abu Ghraib prison scandal.

2. Billy Farmer's Diamond Experience show will be staged tonight at the Red Wind Casino. This is definitely one event that should make your Tuesday less mundane.

3. It's Tightwad Tuesday and Casey's birthday at Tacoma's iconic Hell's Kitchen today. Check out bands Sok & the Faggots, South 11th, Absence of Grace and Deathbed Confessions while throwing a few cheap ones back.

4. In this week's Volcano, which drops Thursday (of course), visual arts critic Alec Clayton reviews Beyond Crayons & Finger Painting 2.0 Youth Art Exhibition at B2 Fine Art Gallery. Spoiler alert: there's a ton of good stuff. See for yourself today.

5. See Tucker & Dale vs. Evil tonight at Tacoma's Grand Cinema. Here's what Volcano film critic Rev. Adam McKinney had to say about the film.

LINK: More arts and entertainment events in the South Sound

LINK: Live music tonight

SUNDAY, OCT. 9, 2011 >>>

1. All across the world, but particularly in the Pacific Northwest - and especially in Tacoma - the influence is still felt. The impact of certain bands called the Sonics, the Wailers, the Ventures and others still reverberates. These were groundbreaking bands in the late '50s and early '60s that helped pave the way for punk, grunge and everything generally loud that came to follow. The Sonics poked holes in their amps to attain that sweet level of distortion, and out of those holes burst decades of garage rock spirit and punk rock attitude. Tonight, the Tacoma Historical Society will gather for its 5^th Annual Destiny Dinner, although this time the focus will rest on the rock 'n' roll pioneers of the Pacific Northwest. To read Rev. Adam McKinney's full feature, click here.

2. Julia Massey & The Five Finger Discount will perform today at Metronome Coffee in Tacoma. The Jesus Rehab and Terrapin are also on the all-ages bill. Show starts at 7 p.m.

3. Catch the second day of Fall Free For All at the Broadway Center, featuring the musical likes of Voices Of The City, Professor Humbug's Flea Circus, CityHall, Hurtbird, Gina Belliveau, Pearly Gates Music, Muh Grog Zoo, Sons Of Warren Oates, Kelli Schaefer, Koncrete, Theatre Simple, Vaud Rats and Laura Gibson.

4.The Tacoma Film Festival continues today. It's a packed schedule, including family and international shorts, along with the TFF Closing Weekend Showcase.

5. It's Swing Dance Night at the Urban Onion in Olympia, meaning lessons at 7 p.m., and music at 8 p.m. There's a $7 cover.

LINK: More arts and entertainment events in the South Sound

LINK: Live music tonight