LET'S CHANGE THE MOOD FROM GLAD TO MADNESS >>>

Glam metalists L.A. Guns will appear – presumably all decked out in Spandex and hair plugs and ready to help you take a trip back to a time when the 5.0 Trans Am was king, Andrew McCarthy had a acting future and Hollywood actually rocked – April 7 at Jazzbones. Opening will be Terry Mriglot's the pUrPs and the band High.

Tickets are $10.

IT'S HAPPENING THIS FRIDAY >>>

Tacoma natives Tyler Willman (vocals), Steve Ross (guitar), Dan Kempthorne (guitar) and Bob Martin (drums) began jamming together in 1991 as the neo-punk band Inspector Luv and the Ride Me Babies.  Then they added bassist Mary Anne Braeden, changed their name to Green Apple Quick Step and released the 1993 Wonderful Virus on a Warner affiliate.

That's where the Weekly Volcano picks up the story:

• Drummer Geoff Reading tells how he got the GAQS gig here.
• Editor Matt Driscoll interviews Ty Willman here.

Green Apple Quick Step performs Friday, March 26 at Hell's Kitchen.

[Hell's Kitchen, with The Jet City Fix and Broken Cannon, Friday, March 26, 9 p.m., $10, 928 Pacific Ave., Tacoma, 253.759.6003]

Psst: We're giving away a pair of tickets to see Green Apple Quick Step at Hell's Kitchen tomorrow morning through our Morning Quickie Newsletter. Sign up on our homepage and get in on the action.

FUTURE THINGS ARE COMING >>>

When I was 10 years old, Bach was the bane of my existence. During childhood piano lessons, time spent struggling with the German composer's Inventions 1 through 5 forced me to miss out on crucial bike-riding time and numerous episodes of Captain Caveman and the Teen Angels.  But if anyone can help me overcome my aversion to the music of Johann Sebastian, it's the Northwest Sinfonietta.  Director Christophe Chagnard and company present "Back To The Future" Saturday night featuring Bach's Suite No. 2 and the immortal Brandenburg Concerto No. 5, as well as Georg Philipp Telemann's Don Quichotte and Heitor Villa-Lobos' Bachianas Brasileiras No. 9. Telemann was a contemporary of Bach.A lover of Bach's music, Villa-Lobos paid the ultimate musical compliment to a past master with his series of nine "Bachianas Brasileiras" - works that weld Bach's baroque forms to 20th century Brazilian rhythms and melodies. His "Bachiana Brasileira No. 9," a prelude and fugue, is arresting music with sultry Brazilian inflections.

"No matter how often we play his music, it is always humbling and awe-inspiring," the Sinfonietta states on the Broadway Center's Web site. The Sinfonietta accomplishes something that I never could - they, in the words of my piano teacher, "make zeee music come aliiiive, dahling!" 

[Rialto Theater, Saturday, March 27, 7:30 p.m., $19-$49, 310 S. Ninth St., Tacoma, 253.591.5894]

BORN TO BE BAD >>>

The Runaways were a teen-girl band of the '70s whose influence reverberates to this day. Its members included Joan Jett, Cherie Currie and Lita Ford.

The film The Runaways, which opens Friday at The Grand Cinema, follows Currie and Jett who become fast friends, drinking pilfered booze under the Hollywood sign and eventually front the teen proto-punk band brought together by weirdo/record producer Kim Fowley (Michael Shannon). Jett, incidentally, is being played by Kristen Stewart (Twilight) and Dakota Fanning stars as Currie.

The Real Thing

The Fake Thing

FUTURE THING IS COMING >>>

Live Nation has announced that international pop star Lady gaga will bring her Monster Ball Tour to the Tacoma Dome Saturday, Aug. 21.

"It's still called Monster Ball, but it's more of a musical and less of a concert," Lady Gaga said in a February interview with KIIS-FM's Ryan Seacrest. "It has a New York theme, it's a story, and the story is that me and my friends are in New York and we're going to the Monster Ball, and we get lost."

Tickets for The Monster Ball go on sale in select markets including New York, Vancouver, Toronto, San Jose, Los Angeles, and Boston beginning March 19 at LiveNation.com. Tickets prices and on-sale date for the Tacoma Dome show haven't been announced.

For tour and ticket information, visit: www.ladygaga.com

BOBBLE TIKI CAN GO FOR THAT >>>

The year is 1984 and the song is Hall and Oates' "Out of Touch." Bobble Tiki can't say for sure where you were, dear reader, but the average thirtysomething was in the backseat while her mom rocked out to the synth-fueled rock 'n' soul masterpiece up front in the driver's seat. By the time they made that hit, the Philly natives had become the biggest-selling duo in the history of recorded music.

Seriously. If you're in for a good dose of nostalgia and want to remember why they sold so many records in the first place, consider this the summer of Hall and Oates. Daryl and John are touring behind the title "Do What You Want, Be What You Are Tour 2010," which will bring them to the Puyallup Fair Wednesday, Sept. 22 for a little "Rich Girl," "One on One" (anyone for a little adult edu-cay-shun?), "Maneater," "I Can't Go for That (No Can Do)" and on and on. Listening to their collection you can't help but be impressed. Hall and Oates' "She's Gone" is a little slice of pop/R&B 1970s perfection, with flawless harmonies, uncomplicated and Hemingwayesque lyrics, a lovely hint of strings and a classic ABA structure that, with a simple key change, brings the song to a burning, soulful climax.

Aw. If nothing else, the songs will bring you back to a time when white musicians emulated black soul legends. Uh, wait. Guess some things never change.

The concert, part of the Columbia Bank's Puyallup Fair Concert Series will start selling tickets on Saturday, March 20 at 10 a.m. at Ticketmaster. Ticket prices are $65 for the Golden Circle, $40, $30, $25, and include Fair gate admission, and seats are reserved.

BLACK AND WHITE, YET NOT >>>

Austrian Michael Haneke can be a frustrating filmmaker. His film Caché (2005), while fascinating, moved at a slow pace with an ending that could be maddening to viewers who expect answers out of their mysteries. His latest work, The White Ribbon (Das weisse Band) - a black-and-white drama set in a small German village on the eve of the first World War - also moves at a snails pace, and again, you're given only the suggestion of what the events you witness mean. Yet, it's more than clear how things will end.

The White Ribbon opens at The Grand Cinema Friday.

As Roger Ebert describes it, The White Ribbon "tells a simple story in a village about little people and suggests that we must find a balance between fear and security." Ebert loved the film, tagging it with four stars, and applauding its cinematography - as did the Academy, which nominated the film for Christian Berger's chilly cinematography. The film also received a nod for Best Foreign Language Film.

LINK: Roger Ebert's review of The White Ribbon

JAZZIN' UP THE PUYALLUP FAIR >>>

Jazz trumpeter Chris Botti and singer Natalie Cole will do the Puyallup Fair Friday, Sept. 17. Tickets are $60 for the Golden Circle, $35, $30 and $25 - which will go on sale Saturday, March 13 at noon at Ticketmaster outlets.

LINK: Stuff about Botti

LINK: Stuff about Cole

LINK: Stuff about last year's Puyallup Fair

AN INTERESTING EVENT A DAY KEEPS THE DOCTOR AWAY >>>

TONIGHT: The Rev. Colin will host Sing Like A Crooner Dress-A-Raoke tonight at the Tempest. With props plucked out of the, er, prop chest, singer will compete for Crooner Bucks, which may be turned in for fabulous prizes. Got get your Sinatra on - wearing a feather boa. March 4, 8 p.m., no cover, Tempest Lounge, 913 Martin Luther King Jr. Way, Tacoma, 253.272.4904

FRIDAY: It's the first Friday of the month and that means only one thing: Dance Oly Dance. Head on over to TCTV Studio A on Olympia's Westside and dance to DJ PhilosoBitch's bumpin' set on TV! March 5, 8-9 p.m., no cover, TCTV, 440 Yauger Way SW, Olympia, lukon100@hotmail.com

SATURDAY: Local actors bring Washington state historical figures alive to discuss unsolved mysteries during Ghosts of the Great Hall: Unsolved Mysteries at the Washington State History Museum. Hunt for lost treasure with D.B. Cooper. Listen to the sole survivor of the Andelena shipwreck. Chat with a Can Can girl from Steve's Gay 90's in the '70s (haven't confirmed this one yet). March 6, 1-3 p.m., $6-$8, 1911 Pacific Ave., Tacoma, 253.798.5877

SUNDAY: If James Cameron made a four-hour movie about paint drying, chances are it still wouldn't be as pointless as watching the Oscars. Check that - it wouldn't be as pointless as watching the Oscars alone in your sad little hobble. Watching the Oscars amongst friends at The Grand Cinema's annual Academy Award Party, on the other hand, is sure to be far more captivating than anything involving funny looking blue aliens. Hosted by Tacoma City Councilmember Marty Campbell, maestro Gavin Guss and "Tinseltown legend" Quinton Loyne-Packard, the Grand's Oscar party is sure to be a hoot. March 7, 4 p.m. red carpet, $15-$18, Rialto Theater, 310 S. Ninth, Tacoma, 253.572.6062

MONDAY: The dorky Graphic Novel Book Club will discuss DMZ, Vol. 1: On the Ground by Brian Wood and Riccardo Burchielli, which may be purchased at King's Books. It's the story about the ultimate embedded war journalist trapped in a most unlikely war zone: the streets of New York City. March 8, 7 p.m., no cover, 21 and older, 1022 South lounge, 1022 S. J St., Tacoma, 253.272.5801

TUESDAY: Take a break from the slots to watch Danny Vernon performs his dead-on Elvis impersonation.  March 9, 6:30 p.m., no cover, Red Wind Casino, 12819 Yelm Hwy. SE, Olympia, 360.412-5000

WEDNESDAY: Kirk Larson of the Social Security Administration will present "Social Security 101" at Cascade Park Vista assisted living community. Afterward, all the visiting children will cry. March 10, 6:30-8 p.m., Cascade Park Vista, 242 Saint Helens Ave., Tacoma, 253.627.3833

THURSDAY: The crafty group Tacoma Is For Lovers hosts another Craft Night, this time welcoming Tacoma artist Chris Sharp who will introduce collage using a 1980s book on breakdancing as source material. Bring your own cardboard for impromptu head spins. March 11, 7 p.m., $15 fee for materials, King's Books, 218 St. Helens Ave., Tacoma, 253.2672.8801

TWANGY GOOD IDEA >>>

San Francisco's porch band Trainwreck Riders will be rolling into Olympia Friday for a show with Southern Skies and Tilted Stilts at Northern. Their debut album, Lonely Road Revival, harkens back to a golden age of Americana, when folk, country and blues musically intertwined.

Anyway, I found a video of Trainwreck Riders' on Youtube. The band performs their song "Slow Motion Cowboy" inside a subway car. It got me a thinkin' that we need more live band performances on the Tacoma Link. It would make the trip from Freighthouse Square to beautiful Commerce Street more fun.

You can read a preview of Southern Skies in tomorrow's Weekly Volcano.

[Northern, Southern Skies, Tilted Stilts, Trainwreck Riders, 9 p.m., all ages, $5, 321 Fourth Ave., Olympia, olympiaallages.org]