WEDNESDAY, APRIL 27, 2011 >>>

1. Hands of Toil rocks the Wednesday Sessions at Jazzbones tonight. For some reason the Volcano's comprehensive live local music listings originally had the venue as Hell's Kitchen. We're not sure what's up with this, but we fixed it. Take a gander at the rest of Wednesday's musical offerings and let us know if there's anything else we botched ...

2. The Steilacoom Pub and Grill Steilacoom offers "Trivia with Dave" tonight. Sounds awesome, no?

3. The always awesome James Coates brings his game to the Tempest Lounge tonight from 7-9 p.m.

4. Vote for the sexiest South Sounders you know and help the Weekly Volcano round out its highly anticipated second annual Sexy Issue.

5. According to the hype, one can "Explore the use of oil pastels, acrylic paints, ink and watercolors," tonight starting at 5 p.m. at Tacoma Art Place. It's all part of the Materials and Techniques of Painting series which goes down every Wednesday.

MONDAY, APRIL 4, 2011 >>>

1. Even though their name might suggest wonderful softness, freshness and static control, The Fabulous Downey Brothers are not as soft as the Fabulous Baker Boys. Liam Downey and his older brother, Sean, bring the punk pop out of Olympia with such tunes as "Canadian Rum" and "Eat Dirt." No "Makin' Whoopee" here. Nope, they're charging hard with fellow bandmates Chandra Farnsworth, Myrtice Dobler, Freddy Dobler, Kenrick Ward, Jessica Geez, and J. Alex Link. Catch them with Boats at 8 p.m. inside the all-ages venue Northern in downtown Olympia.

2. Our planet is going down. Way, way down. To the mat, hard and painful, and with a sad moaning broken-boned crunch.  A diving Al Gore elbow off the top turnbuckle for the finish.  Down, I tell you. Humans are chewing Mother Earth up, spitting her out, stomping and gobbling and burning and gouging and drilling and sucking her dry. All we want is more and faster and with less consequence, and pretty soon our planet is gonna go, well, there you are, I'm finished, sorry, and boom zing groan, done. So ... celebrate our great planet while it's still here in the form of Bob Lane's natural images, landscapes and backyard scenes - in a variety of media including acrylic, oil, watercolor and charcoal - from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the Mary Boze Gallery inside the Tahoma Unitarian Universalist Church. His work will be on display through May 10.

3. We like cartoons as much as the next slacker.  Maybe even more. In fact, we like to think that we're moderately versed in cartoons. Still, we get intimidated when we ponder underground cartoonists. Underground cartoonists of the 1960s and 70s used to answer their shocked critics with the reply, "It's only lines on paper, folks." This continued into the Newave comix era of the 1980s when a small group of radical comic artists redefined the medium and pioneered the use of photocopy technology as a form of DIY publishing. Writer and veteran Newave cartoonist Steve Willis will trace these lines on paper from the 1960s to the present, and how our responses to them have changed our culture in a noon lecture at the State Capital Museum.

4. Awesome. Beginning today there's another reason to head to Old Town Tacoma (and, of course, end the trip with a beer at The Spar or a glass at Café Divino). Throwing Mud Gallery, a new gallery and pottery studio in Old Town, celebrates its grand opening from 5-8 p.m. with prizes and refreshments. Ceramicist Mark Hudak and his wife, Eileen, offer handcrafted pottery, jewelry, wood and glass, as well as clay classes. Check it out at 2212 N. 30th St.

5. Ah, the college years. Sleeping in, skipping classes and making eyes with Chad Hunkenstein. Who among us wouldn't want to go back, at least for a night? Well, now we can. Every Monday night, the best bounce shooters and beer drinkers in the area converge at Steilacoom Pub & Grill to battle it out in a weekly beer pong tournament. Cheap pitchers and food specials coincide with the Ping-Pong shooting madness. Sign up begins at 9 p.m.

LINK: More arts and entertainment events in the South Sound

FRIDAY, MARCH 18, 2011 >>>

1. If you're as hung-over as we are, you may well need something to balance you out on this day after St. Patrick's Day. Try a bit of yoga, maybe? Or, just try listening to writer Claire Dederer talk about yoga (and life) in Olympia.

2. Dukesbay Production's Java Tacoma: Episode 37, Ashes to Ashes, Cup to Cup is an ode to Tacoma and the unintentional (though very intentional here) humor and dramatic storylines of daytime TV ... which also plays off an undying adoration for everyone's favorite caffeinated beverage. Written by Curtis B. Swanson and directed by Randy Clark, Java Tacoma: Episode 37 is the first work to hit the stage in what is planned to be a yearly installment of this series. You've got two last chances to see it - today or tomorrow.

3. Beyond the Bridge Café on Tacoma's Sixth Avenue is the extended living room for musicians and musicians-in-the-making every Friday night during its all-ages open mic. People - ranging from members of the silver haired set to tweenies - read, surf the Net, chat or kick back with a beer or a mug of joe and listen to music strum and holler from the stage. Check it out tonight. Or, click here for the Volcano's comprehensive live local music listings.

4. Sometimes the best possible therapy is blasting someone with a paintball gun. Are we right, or are we right? In this spirit, try checking into Freak Fridays at Tacoma Tactical today.

5. It's "Family Night" at Edgeworks Climbing in Tacoma - meaning your family of scalers can meet other families of scalers. Awesome.  

GOT PLANS THIS WEEKEND? NOW YOU DO ... >>>

While it may be off some of your radars, there's no way in hell the Weekly Volcano is going to let anyone forget that the 2011 Pokemon State Championships will be held this Saturday at the Greater Tacoma Convention and Trade Center. Believe it or not, the action will start at 8:30 a.m., though, considering the excitement this card game can incite, this really should come as no surprise.

According to the official press release, the 2011 Pokemon State Championships is a free event and open to all players. Among other prizes, an invitation to the 2011 Pokemon National Championships will be on the line.

All of this, of course, is almost as exciting as the time this kid got the Blastoise card ...

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

FAT TUESDAY, MARCH 8, 2011 >>>

1. "When - in the first five minutes of an animated film - there is a cameo from Hunter S. Thompson, I think it's safe to say you are not dealing with your standard kiddie fare," writes our own Rev. Adam McKinney of the film, Rango. Discover where the film is screening today here.

2. Culture, culture, cultures, there has to be some culture on Fat Tuesday, culture culture ... here we go: Weekly Volcano art critic Alec Clayton digs the group show at American Art Company, which happens to be open today from 10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. "There's something very comforting about seeing familiar works and something very nice about seeing slightly new directions from familiar artists," states Clayton. Read his full review here before heading to the show.

3. So you just shot a triple bogey to end the round at 29 over. Who cares if you lost six balls off the tee? Who cares if your dream of becoming a scratch golfer is slipping faster than Tiger Woods' endorsement deals? Set down your clubs, brush off your shoes and head into Capital City Golf Club's FireCreek Grill & Ale House. There you'll find everyday happy hours from 3 to 6 p.m. and again from 9 p.m. to close. During happy hour they have cheap well drinks and draft beer. Half off pizzas, too. A slice to fix your slice. Now if only they had something to cure your short game.

4. The Young Professionals Network of Pierce County claim they're the next generation of community leaders valuing leadership, philanthropy, networking and fun. And you can experience all four of their values tonight as the group scheduled their Prospective Members Mixer from 5:30-7:30 p.m. at the Varsity Grill, during the downtown Tacoma sports bar's Mardi Gras party. See the YPN LEAD you through the restaurant in a conga line. Try to resist their GIFT of upside down margaritas. MEET new people at the Quarters Table. Ah, youth ... and leaders.

5. Harmon Tap Room hosts Gold Fish Races beginning at 8:30 p.m. Winner receives $50. Expect $2 Rainer pints and $3 jumbo pizza slices, and some pissed-off fish.

We posted a list of several Fat Tuesday parties early today. You're welcome.

LINK: More arts and entertainment events in the South Sound

MONDAY, MARCH 7, 2011 >>>

1. According to Weekly Volcano scribe Jason Baxter, Olympia band Masters and Johnson's music is "full of orgasmic climaxes and colossal walls of distortion, but also has the capacity for lulling, post-coital ambient passages and ... hyperactive noodling. Catch them at 8 p.m. with This City Defects at Northern in Olympia.

2. Galleries at both Pierce College campuses - Fort Steilacoom and Puyallup - will celebrate the work of more than 30 artists and writers with a special show highlighting 30 years of CrossCurrents magazine from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Featured artists include Yvette O'Neill, David Roholt, Rick Mahaffey, and Joe Batt.

3. If you've noticed we're pushing local breweries lately, you've caught us. We can't stay away from local beer. Plus, there's something about a local brewery that screams perfect date night. A couple pints of lager, a couple side salads, a doggy bag for the happy couple. ... Powerhouse Restaurant and Brewery in Puyallup offers a pasta and pint combination every Monday that's easy on the wallet. Buy pasta off the menu and get any one of Powerhouse's seven beers free of charge.

4. Award-winning operatic soprano Kathy McNeil will sing to music distinguished by agile runs and leaps beginning at 8:30 p.m. inside the Abbey Church at Saint Martin's University.

5. Oh, we know it sounds simple enough: They call a number, you stamp it, when you have five in a row you yell "Bingo." But grownup bingo has a ton of variations. The Weekly Volcano discovered that the standard bingo game matched with witty banter between host Charles Jaffries and the crowd at the gay-friendly Mix on Monday nights felt like Thanksgiving dinner. The sea of mostly gay chaps joked around like they were in their own living rooms, the sort of fun a great bar offers. Check it out beginning at 9 p.m.

LINK: More arts and entertainment events in the South Sound

WEDNESDAY, MARCH 2, 2011 >>>

1. Hey, poser! Did you know the New Frontier Lounge hosts Rock and Roll Bingo every Wednesday? It's true! Check it out tonight!

2. OK. So maybe you like bingo but don't want to get all drunk and shitty and pathetic. We can understand that (though it'll never stop us!). If this sounds you, perhaps the all-ages free bingo night at Applini's Two Clean and Sober Club in Puyallup is your cup of tea ... literally. Find out tonight with action starting at 6 p.m.

3. Pining for some grownup music? Pastiche on Sixth Avenue in Tacoma hosts John Phillips & Gary Crooks at 6 p.m. For the Weekly Volcano's comprehensive live local music listings, go here.

4. It's the first Wednesday of the month, which means it's time for Story Time With Leroy at the Tacoma Art Museum - for the kiddies, of course. Do we know exactly who Leroy is? No. Does it matter? Not really. The guy will read stories to your kid for a whole hour, 11 a.m. - noon. And the books are picked by ARC volunteers and based on current exhibits at the museum.

5. How do you appeal to the "Tweens" these days? Try putting "OMG" in the title - literally. That's the tact the Lakewood Pierce County Library has taken with its "OMG Teen Gaming Club," which meets every Wednesday from 3-4:30 p.m.

WEDNESDAY, FEB. 16 >>>

1. Kids can be major dicks, especially to gay kids. With homosexuality becoming a more prominent theme on television, and in movies and music, kids are coming out earlier and earlier, and being around others kids, doesn't it puts them right in line for some old-fashioned playground bullying. Tacoma Art Museum is opening an installation on today in the George and Mary Davis Gallery that presents a selection of works by David Wojnarowicz with online access to the It Gets Better Project, the program started by Seattle columnist and author Dan Savage to inform LGBT youth that, yes, it does indeed get better. Artist Wojnarowicz narrowly escaped a viciously abusive family life to wind up as a homeless, underage street hustler in Manhattan in the early '70s dealing with HIV/AIDS, homophobia and dicks. Check it out the art of Wojnarowicz from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.

2. Project:U, the 20- and 30-somethings who party and raise money for the United Way of Pierce County, will take over CORK! A Wine Bar from 4-10 p.m.  Owner Nick will donate 20 percent of the proceeds over the party people for them to do good. It's awesome, really.

3. Singer-songwriters Neal Woodall and Lisa Kuhlman will perform on the indoor porch of A Rhapsody In Bloom Florist & Cafe Latte beginning at 7 p.m.

4. Ya mon, Jazzbones' Wednesday Sessions welcomes Higher Vibes at 8 p.m.

5. Doyle's Public House's Knowledge Night Team Trivia games is so awesome they hold it twice every Wednesday - 8 and 9 p.m.

LINK: More arts and entertainment events in the South Sound

LINK: Half-price wine bottlepalooza

TUESDAY, FEB. 15, 2011 >>>

Photojournalist and documentarian Melanie Burford was a member of The Dallas Morning News photo team that won a Pulitzer for its 2006 coverage of Hurricane Katrina. She returned last spring to document the human cost of the BP disaster, and next week she's taking a break from her teaching gig at Columbia University to bring these stories to the University of Puget Sound. Her 6:30 p.m. lecture in the Rasmussen Rotunda will consider the topic, "The Monster Under the Water: Delacroix Island Fishermen Defend Their Marsh Against the BP Oil Spill." Her second lecture, tomorrow evening at 6:30 p.m., will be in Kilworth Chapel and cover the "Eyes of the Storm: The Photographic Story of Hurricane Katrina From the Photographers at The Dallas Morning News." Both presentations are free, and the general public is encouraged to attend. Read the full story here.

2. The 8th annual Middle East Film Festival kicks off today screening 30 films through Feb. 23 at The Evergreen State College (Tacoma and Olympia) and Capitol Theater. The films range in length from short documentaries to feature-length productions. The festival will also feature 10 or 11 different speakers. Admission is free to see all films and speakers. Read the full story here.

3. The Banned Book Club will discuss Jay Asher's Th1rteen R3asons Why at 7 p.m. inside the Tempest Lounge. Half-price appetizers for all book club participants are the norm.

4. Poet, scholar and teacher J. P. Newell will discuss Celtic spirituality at 7 p.m. inside the Immanuel Presbyterian Church at North Ninth and J Street in Tacoma. Formerly warden of Iona Abbey in the Western Isles of Scotland, Newell is currently Companion Theologian for the American Spirituality Centre of Casa del Sol in the high desert of New Mexico.

5. You've seen the photos. Now experience the Harmon Tap Room's goldfish Races for yourself beginning at 8:30 p.m.

LINK: More arts and entertainment events in the South Sound