GRUV TEMPTS YOUR AFTER-HOURS TASTE BUDS >>>

For those who want to party (or at least dance) until the sun comes up, Tacoma's electronic music dance club, Gruv Lounge, will offer a late-night dining menu during extended hours of operation on Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays between 2 and 6 a.m. Aaron Grissom, the creative mind behind the unexpectedly good bar-fusion menu at Gruv Lounge, gave a few teasers last week as to what that will entail.

"Gruv aims to provide quality choices for hardworking hospitality industry folks just finishing their shifts," Grissom says. Besides the major chain restaurants like Denny's and Shari's that are open 24 hours a day, this might make Gr?v the only place to get an actual meal in a sit-down environment after midnight in Tacoma.

Hearty Harrison Ranch New York strip loin steak will be served with two fried eggs, crazy-good slab bacon, Parmesan gravy and Grissom's own style of butter-fried hash brown. A stand-out dish is Three Little Pigs, as Chef Grissom has dubbed it, a  house-made breakfast biscuit is sliced and placed open-face to hold a mound of pulled pork and maple sausage drizzled with Vermont maple syrup with bacon to complete the pork trifecta. Some items from the regular menu will be available, too. No alcohol is served during after-hours, so let the Red Bull flow.

Gruv Lounge and Nightclub

Late night dining - 2-6 a.m.
3829 Sixth Ave., Tacoma

SATURDAY, FEB. 5, 2011 >>>

1. Lakes High School graduate Donald Glaude taught himself to wreck records with a pair of mismatched turntables and a Radio Shack mixer in the '80s. He began to DJ anywhere he could in the Seattle and Tacoma area, working the same clubs as another up-and-coming DJ by the name of Dan. In short order the pair managed to spark a rave scene in Seattle and developed masses of underground fans. Today, Glaude travels the world anchoring nights, including tonight at the Gruv Lounge on Sixth Avenue.

2. 99 Bottles in Federal Way hosts a Snoqualmie Falls Brewing tasting from 4-6 p.m., including root beer floats for the kids.

3. Gig Harbor-based singer and guitarist Michael O'Neill has successful organized a monthly Americana music dinner show at Morso Wine Bar. Tonight at 8 p.m., singer/songwriter Templeton Thompson will draw from a deep well of influences that combine with her Texas roots to give her style of country music a distinctive, soulful edge. Reserve your spot at 253.530.DINE.

4. Tacoma Opera presents a local production of Emmanuel Chabrier's An Incomplete Education and Joseph Haydn's The Building Soprano at 8 p.m. inside the Theatre on the Square. This is original staging, with chorus members and orchestra players from our neighborhoods.

5. DJ Mauro will up the fog machine, hype the crowd in Spanish and spin his unique mix of Latin-infused music beginning at 9:30 p.m. inside Club Vanity at 56^th and South Tacoma Way. Witness the most intricate, talented and sensual dancing you'll ever see.

LINK: More arts and entertainment events in the South Sound

LINK: Wine tastings!

SUNDAY, JAN. 30, 2011 >>>

1. Tonight is your chance to check out Robbie Walden & The Gunslingers video at Big Whisky Saloon in downtown Tacoma. The country and bluegrass good times start at 7 p.m.

2. Want to be amazed and inspired? Sure you do. Luckily, the Kodo Japanese Drummers are in Olympia tonight for a performance at the Washington Center for the Performing Arts.

3. Today from 10 a.m.-4 p.m. the Tacoma Art Museum will be alive with Native celebration and art as the public is invited to experience the heritage and the arts of the Puyallup Tribe and other Coast Salish groups. The Coastal Native Celebration is an annual event featuring cultural performances and hands-on art activities for all ages. And here's the really good part: the museum is offering free admission all day.

4. If you're into all-ages indie rock shows, Sparrows Gate, Rad Cloud and Lee Baggett will do it to it tonight at Northern in Olympia. Click here for our entire live local music calendar.

5. OMG! It's "Sexy Sunday" at O'Henry's Sports Bar in Puyallup. Naturally, DJ El Guapo will lay it down.

MONDAY, JAN. 24, 2011 >>>

1. Blues Night at the Swiss is back! Join Maia Santell and House Blend tonight from 8 - 10:30 p.m. There will be room to get your groove on, good drinks, and no cover at all.

2. Drop in on Freeset Fest today at the University of Puget Sound's Wheelock Student Center Murray Boardroom. Freeset Fest is a day long festival "with all proceeds being donated to Freeset, an organic fair trade business which uses business to free women trapped in Calcutta's infamous sex trade," according to the U.P.S. website. Expect lots of music, and lots of art. You can learn more about Freeset here.

3. Leanne Trevalyan & Barbara Blue play the Harmon Brewery tonight. Trevalyan, of course, is part of the Junkyard Jane punch. She's also featured in the Bar-Bar-Barbizon glamour shot on today's full music calendar. Trust us, she's awesome. There's a reason she's a local favorite.

4. It's Euro Night at Surreal Ultra Lounge in downtown Tacoma. Head on down ... but lose the baggy clothes and baseball hats (club rules).

5. Get your uke on tonight at Yenney Music in Olympia on the Westside. Kate Power and Steve Einhorn lead some all-ages "Uke & Song."

FRIDAY, JAN. 21, 2011 >>>

1. Third Friday of the month means it's Beat Boxxx night featuring the best '80s New Wave, funk, hip-hop, freestyle and early house tunes - and righteous videos, too. This Friday, DJs Chris Savenetti and dAb will man the decks beginning at 9:30 p.m. inside the Tempest Lounge.

2. Katy Evans and Athena Hitson present Peanut Butter Space Jam - a group art exhibition featuring portraits rendered in oils, ink, acrylic and enamel on glass, and linocut print by Robert Evans, Chuck Knigge, and Audra Laymon - held at the new arts venue the Space (729 Court C, Tacoma ) from 5-11 p.m.

3. The Varsity Grill in downtown Tacoma will host their biggest beer event of the year - their annual outdoor Ice Block Party - from 5:30-8:30 p.m. Meet the brewers and/or beer experts of winter brews, taste at least nine winter beers, eat, listen to music and wine prizes.

4. Fiddle us this: What's the difference between a fiddle and a violin? A violin has strings and a fiddle has strangs.  So there ya go - can't remember who first said it, but it's an entire musical genre, an entire manner of thinking, an entire way of life all neatly summed up in one little word.  Don't believe it? Check out the 6:30 p.m. Olympia Community Bluegrass Music show at Olympia's First Christian Church and find out just how much of a difference one little letter (re: musical attitude) makes. It's a community fundraiser for The Thurston County Food Bank.

5. Tacoma Little Theatre's production of Frost/Nixon is suitably sparse. As with the interviews themselves, the centerpiece throughout the bulk of the show is simply a pair of chairs set up for a television interview. In lieu of a backdrop there is a series of screens that project, in turns, actual news clips and a live feed of the interview conducted on stage. The production hits the stage at 7:30 p.m. Read our review of the show here.

LINK: More arts and entertainment events in the South Sound

LINK: New movies open today

LINK: Concert go on sale today

TUESDAY, JAN. 18, 2011 >>>

1. The Post Pop/Pop Art Exhibition, put on by The Gallery at Tacoma Community College and gallery coordinator Jennifer Olson-Rudenko, is a hell of an idea. The exhibit, which opens today, is a collection of submissions - from professional artists and local school children alike - that will celebrate the time-honored practice of co-opting commercial art for "high art" purposes. It'll make for quite a spectacle - good thing the exhibit runs through May 3.

2. The Karpeles Manuscript Museum has an evolution load of manuscripts from Darwin's Descent of Man; excerpts pertaining to "man's classification," Natural Selection, and Darwin's Theory of Evolution; responses to critics; and letters from Thomas Robert Mathus and Alfred Russsel Wallace. Take a gander at the manuscripts from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

3. Apple pie. Yum. The texture of the apple is wonderfully balanced to showcase softness with a bite. The sweetness and spice complement the natural tartness of the apples, and the cream in the binding adds just the right amount of silkiness. Holding it all together, is an exceptionally lovely crust. And we all know pie pairs well with Broadway Center Executive Director David Fischer's presentations on upcoming shows at the Center. The texture of his voice, the binding of his jokes, the sweetness of his smile make for a lovely afternoon inside the Pantages Theater Lobby, specifically at 4, 5 and 6 p.m. There will be door prizes, too. Sweet!

4. Artist Patty McPhee will discuss adding dimension to paintings during the Rainier League of Arts monthly meeting at 7 p.m. inside the Pierce Co. Library PAC, 3005 112^th St. E.

5. Ur Majesty and Sticky J will spin house music beginning at 8 p.m. inside the Gruv Lounge on Sixth Avenue.

LINK: More arts and entertainment events in the South Sound

FRIDAY, JAN. 7, 2011 >>>

1. In Olympia, the King's birthday has become synonymous with one man: Robert Washington - one of the world's top Elvis impersonators (see the film Almost Elvis) ... and a guy who just happens to be black. To some this is controversial. To Washington, it's simply his calling. "I don't really think about it. I'm not going to let my color prevent me from being the best," Washington told the Weekly Volcano in 2004. At 7:30 p.m. Washington will be back in Oly for the Elvis Birthday Bash at the Capitol Theater.

2. The Puyallup Home, Remodeling and Garden Show will assist homeowners in all stages of remodeling, landscaping and decorating their homes, with hundreds of exhibits, and product demonstrations, plus new products and expert advice from the pros from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Crowds will flow through gardens and around hottubs, yearn for kitsch, and fall prey to every kind of huckster. You know who you are.

3. Tacoma Little Theatre hosts To the Sea, two new short plays performed by an ensemble from Western Washington University at 7:30 p.m. Dr. Rich Brown directs the one-hour program, which includes a short play by Dan Erickson (Convention seen at TLT's 2009 festival of new works) and former TLT playwright-in-residence, Bryan Willis.

4. The Tacoma Comedy Club is off and running with a full head of steam, drawing national touring comics to the Gritty City on an almost weekly basis. Hell, the club even booked Skippy from Family Ties. This week, Clinton Jackson will be holed up, doling out the laughs to anyone interested. 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. Check him out tonight at 8 and 10 p.m.

5. Things traditionally slow down for shows in the South Sound around this time of year, but don't worry, there are still some great places to dunk yer whiskers into some suds without any fear of encountering pesky MySpace kids and a DJ trying to sneak in a Smiths tune on ya. At 8 p.m., Olympia's home of absinthe - the Cryptatropa Bar - hosts DJs spinning metal. Satan, laughing, spreads his wings, oh Lord, yeah!

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THURSDAY, JAN. 6, 2011 >>>

1. Load up your sack lunch with peanut butter and jelly sandwiches with the crusts cut off and head to the Tacoma Art Museum for Tacoma historian and former City Councilman Thomas R. Stenger chat, "Hotel Living: From the Tacoma to the Hobo" at 11:30 p.m. It's party of the awesome Mighty Tacoma: Photographic Portrait 2010 exhibit.

2. The "Green" community hugs it out over drinks from 5:30-8 p.m. inside Primo Grill in Tacoma as part of the monthly Green Drinks gathering. It's an informal affair that's meant to be fun. If someone tries to make you sign something or ask you for money, they'll be banished to the Yellow Drinks group.

3. Enjoy riding Pierce Transit to Point Defiance Park? How about riding it to the grocery store? Due to an ugly drop in sales tax revenue and an effed-up economy, like many transit agencies across the country, Pierce Transit is facing drastic revenue shortfalls.  Tacoma Mayor Marilyn Strickland will have none of it. The good mayor and community leaders will kick off a "Save our Buses" campaign at 6 p.m. inside the Hub Event Space in Tacoma's Stadium District. The goal? Convincing folks to vote for a 0.3 percent sales tax in February.

4. The Come Out And Play Open Mic at Tempest Lounge is hosted by the uber talented Kim Archer and Nick Sandy. Get your song on from 7-10 p.m.

5. Big Whisky Saloon in downtown Tacoma hosts country dance lessons at 7:30 p.m. followed by DJ Tyler spinning rock and country videos from 10 p.m. to close. The Weekly Volcano's Nosh League will taste whiskey before next week's dance lessons. RSVP to our Jan. 13 tasting here.

LINK: More arts and entertainment events in the South Sound

LINK: Happy hours!

WEDNESDAY, JAN. 5, 2011 >>>

1. Art Chantry is to rock posters what Bobble Tiki is to boxed wine consumption - quite simply, the very best. Having created for labels like Estrus, Rhino, Sub Pop and Chuckie-Boy, and worked with just about everyone there is to work with - from the Center on Contemporary Art to Hempfest and beyond - Chantry‘s imagery is iconic, as are the punk ideals they're based upon. He also punched his time card four different times as art director for the Rocket music rag. At 7 p.m., he'll be at the Tacoma Main Library. Do yourself a favor and check it out.

2. The Olympia Supply Company hosts green minded DIY home improvement workshops every Wednesday from 6:30-8:30 p.m. That cracked Y-connector in your sewer line isn't going to fix itself.

3. Big Chunk, Phantom Power, Big Quinn & The Broken Hearts and Woodshed will rock Hell's Kitchen beginning at 8 p.m.

4. Sellers' Inspector Clouseau (in his second outing after The Pink Panther) - convinced sexy suspect Elke Sommer is innocent (despite leaving in-his-face murders in her wake) - trails her through Paris and to an even-more-picturesque nudist colony, donning a strategically-placed guitar ... Not now Kato! ... en route in the film A Shot In The Dark (1964), screening at 9 p.m. inside the Capitol Theater.

5. Your Girlfriend's Favorite DJ spins beginning at 10 p.m. during College Night at Masa Comida Mexicana.

LINK: More arts and entertainment events in the South Sound

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TUESDAY, JAN. 4, 2011 >>>

1. On weekends all the bartenders are in a bad mood because people are forgetting to tip them and throwing toilet paper around the bathroom. However, Tuesday is when a neighborhood bar wipes its brow and smiles. But it can take a little coaxing to get your fellow officey friends to come with you on a Tuesday. How to break them down? Bingo! Every Tuesday from 7-9 Mama Glo hosts barstool bingo at Gloria's Bar & Grill in Tacoma. It's Glorious.

2. Tim Hall will host an open jam at the Summit Pub in Puyallup tonight. If a Tuesday night open jam at the Summit Pub doesn't scream for some top-notch blues - the kind Hall is known to provide - we don't know what does.

3. Be honest. The holidays didn't go well for you. Shake off some of that anger tonight at Jazzbones during Ha Ha Tuesday - as always, hosted by Ralph Porter. Tonight's headliner is Brett J, and also features comic Ash-Ley Deon. DJ Omar spins after the show.

4. Elvis' annual birthday celebration is just around the corner. You can just smell those peanut butter and friend banana sandwiches, can't you? Warm you Elvis-loving ass up with Danny Vernon's Illusions Of Elvis show at 6:30 p.m. inside the Red wind Casino.

5. How are you doing with those two turntables and a microphone you scored for Christmas? Ready for the bing time? While your name – DJ Scratch-n-Sniff might not knock anyone over, your DJ skills might. Test them out tonight during Gruv Lounge's Open Deck Night beginning at 8 p.m.

LINK: More arts and entertainment events in the South Sound

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