FRIDAY, DEC. 7 2012 >>>

1. BARE Tacoma - Holiday, an a cappella performance Friday night at the Immanuel Presbyterian Church, presents 12 performers ranging from Tacoma School of Arts students to Northwest indie favorites such as Shenandoah Davis, Noah Gunderson, Sean Nelson (of Harvey Danger), Luke Stevens, Goldfinch, Colin Reynolds, Elk & Boar, Hannalee, Eternal Fair and others busting out a holiday song or two, as well as share their own songs and covers.

2. Bates Technical College's Fire Service program, and Santa Silvia, are hosting toy drives today. This morning, in the cold, the Bates crew and volunteers are canvasing Yakima Avenue from 11^th to Earnest S. Brazill streets from 6:30-10 a.m. collecting cash to buy food and toys for the needs. Fire Service students will continue the annual tradition of performing push-ups for donations, which is nice. From noon to 7 p.m. at the Varsity Grill in downtown Tacoma Silvia Cordova-Tapia will collect toys for the sick kids at Mary Bridge Children's Hospital. For 12 years Santa Silvia, as she is known throughout the halls of Mary Bridge, has collected toys for the kids.

3. You want some damn Christmas magic and you'll get it from Miracle on 34th Street, Tacoma Little Theatre's big-hearted paean to the man with the bag, which hits the stage at 7:30 p.m. Read Christian Carvajal's full review of Tacoma Little Theatre's Miracle on 34^th Street in the Weekly Volcano's Arts section.

4. The Jeff Buckley tribute show at 9 p.m. inside The New Frontier Lounge features Kurt Lindsay, RowHouse and Not From Brooklyn. It's the premiere Jeff Buckley event of the moment,and it's going to be awesome.

5. The Bucharest Drinking Team, a band that borrows stylistically from great Balkan brass bands like Fanfare Ciocarlia and Boban Markovic, mixes in a liberal shot of Romanian folk music and a penchant for '80s disco from behind the Iron Curtain to bring you a high-proof Eastern Bloc Party, complete with dancing, drinking, and music. Klezmer orchestra Erev Rav delivers a kaleidoscope of original compositions and traditional melodies infused with funk, reggae, bee bop, rock and Latin rhythms. Tonight at 9 p.m. inside the Olympia Ballroom, the two bands face off with you as the winner.

LINK: Friday, Dec. 7 arts and entertainment events in the greater Tacoma and Olympia area

THE WEEK OF DEC. 6-12, 2012 >>>

In this week's issue ...

Band practice spaces can be mysterious. Musicians and bands hide from the outside world in order to find the perfect sound through undisturbed collaboration - most of the time. The Weekly Volcano respects the secret spaces - kind of. We dispatched our scribes Nikki McCoy and Rev. Adam McKinney for a look behind the scenes at an epic space in Olympia and a couple eerie, concealed spaces in Tacoma.

Downtown Olympia's a tight knit community of artists, musicians and tradespeople that are all trying to make sense of Casey Heath's horrific death. This Saturday, at McCoy's Tavern, Heath's longtime friends are throwing a benefit to help with the funeral costs, but more importantly, bring together the Downtown Olympia Community to remember a dear friend.

South Sound artists, venues, galleries and organizations are surprisingly techie - most everyone is on the Facebook or the Twitter. There are so many artists, groups, and businesses online that it might be difficult to figure out who will keep you in the know. Not anymore. Kristin Kendle suggests nine Facebook pages to follow to get a grasp of the South Sound arts scene.

Two pub "gems" recently opened in Tacoma. The first is a combination bottle shop and taproom with a niche focus on Northwest craft beer located in the former Mario's Mercato Italiano space. The second is a working bike shop that serves canned beer on Hilltop Tacoma. Jackie Fender explores both.

What do you want from a Christmas play? If you're like most people, you want sparkly lights, a jolly Saint Nick with a real beard, tiny tots with their eyes all aglow, and a reminder of the true, commercial-free meaning of Christmas (brought to you by Coca-Cola). You want some damn Christmas magic, thank you very much, and you'll get it from Miracle on 34th Street, as Christian Carvajal discovered in Tacoma.

PLUS: A bunch of great music this week

PLUS: A look at the new exhibit at Pierce College

THURSDAY, DEC. 6 2012 >>>

1. After several months of silence Broken Water has emerged. This serves as a relief to those concerned about the state of the band following the groups critically acclaimed LP, Tempest. Tonight at 8 p.m. inside Dumpster Values, Broken Water will perform with Ni-Hao from Japan, Vex featuring HPP bassist Aaron Larsen, and a new super-group of sorts featuring Abigail Ingram and Kanako Wynkoop from Broken Water and the Need's Rachel Carns.

2. After work and dinner, and while your better half gets the kids to bed, why not get some holiday shopping out of the way at Tacoma's Antique Row? Thursdays, now through Christmas, the 70 merchants that make up Antique Row offer free parking after 6 p.m. and have extended hours until 8 p.m. So pick up the perfect book for your niece, grab an original framed local art piece for your mom, or find that great shabby chic nightstand for yourself. 

3. The Saint Martin's University community invites the public to share in the joy of the upcoming holidays with the University Chorale and the American Legion Band in a Christmas concert and carol sing-along at 7 p.m. inside Saint Martin's Marcus Pavilion. This free event, a collaboration of the Chorale and the Office of Campus Ministry, will launch the Christmas season with a concert of familiar carols, followed by a tree blessing celebration.

4. Speaking of free holiday concerts, three vocal ensembles from Tacoma Community College - TCC Singers, TCC Voices and the TCC Gospel Choir - present a fall choral concert at 7:30 p.m. inside TCC Building 2.

5. Green Drinks Tacoma holds its final gathering of the year at 6 p.m. inside Doyle's Public House. The social organization that mixes sustainability, conservation and environmental conversations with cocktails asked Dana Lyons to perform at its meet-up since wrote a song bout the coal trains blazing through Tacoma. Read an interview with Doyle's co-owner Russ Heaton regrading tonight meeting/show.

LINK: Thursday, Nov. 6 arts and entertainment events in the greater Tacoma and Olympia area

ONLINE CHATTER >>>

Yesterday's comments of the day come from Kirsten and Kamala in response to our posting of a benefit concert for Casey Heath whose life was tragically taken Monday night in downtown Olympia.

Kirsten writes,

I will be there to celebrate you Casey. Miss you.

Kamala writes,

Such a tragic sad loss for Olympia, friends & family. We <3 you Case!!

WEDNESDAY, DEC. 5 2012 >>>

1. On Dec. 5, 1933, Americans regained the freedom to imbibe, and 79 years later, Wednesday, Dec 5, 2012 at 6 p.m., the Olympia Film Society (OFS) presents its second annual Repeal Prohibition Day Celebration at the historic Capitol Theater in downtown Olympia. The event encourages period clothing and is complete with pre-prohibition handcrafted cocktails, burlesque with the girls of TUSH!, photo booth, live music with Scuff & Al and the Greta Jane Quartet - all hosted by Oympia's lord of storytelling Elizabeth Lord. Doyle's Public House in Tacoma encourages liquor consumption today, too.

2. If you brush away the budget issues, traffic congestion, potholes, rain gardens, painted black bridges and 20-year-old laptops, you will see local public officials have a love for puzzles, a joy for knitting — with Tacoma Makes playing cards in their spokes and Green Day, Beyoncé and "Stairway to Heaven" in their ears. Today from 6-9 p.m. Tacoma's public officials will mix small talk with small drinks at the Public Officials Holiday Reception at the LeMay Car Museum.

3. The chaps at Feather & Oar host a Menswear workshop from 6-8 p.m. Whether your looking for a style upgrade, new styles to add to your wardrobe or shopping for the holiday season, the Spaceworks Tacoma store cordially invites you for an evening of style, food, refreshments and camaraderie.

4. After you correct your wardrobe issues at Feather & Oar, swing around the corner to The Mix and catch the awesome R&B powerhouse that is Kim Archer at 8 p.m. remember, Archer will perform at the Franciscan Polar Plaza ice skating rink at 7 p.m. Saturday.

5. Meconi's Tacoma Pub & Eatery amps up its Wednesday night trivia with Rev. Colin by adding a birthday celebration for Weekly Volcano's nightlife correspondent Steve Dunkelberger. Expect $6.99 fish and chips. $1 off craft beer and hijinks.

LINK: Wednesday, Dec. 5 arts and entertainment events in the greater Tacoma and Olympia area

TOMORROW NIGHT >>>

After two-and-a-half years, the Tallhouse Arts Consortium is back in full swing with its first Wednesday of the month free performances at The Brotherhood Lounge in Olympia.

The aerialists, whose Facebook profile states, "Farting rhinestones since... ah, we can't even remember," will delight audiences with its strong and sturdy flips, flying and artistic trapeze. The group brings in interesting songs, unique performances, flirty fun and guest trapeze artists - all for free.

They do happily pass around a hat at the end of the show. Tipping is strongly encouraged.

"They were stoked to come back again," says Pit Kwiesinski, owner of The Brotherhood.

"I think what I love most is about the Tallhouse Arts Consortium is that it takes a good bar environment and turns it upside down. It's not a bar anymore; it's a circus!"

THE BROTHERHOOD LOUNGE, WEDNESDAY, DEC. 5, 8 P.M., NO COVER, 119 CAPITOL WAY, OLYMPIA, 360.352.4153

TUESDAY, DEC. 4 2012  >>>

1. Today, Red Robin is awarding every person with the first name of Jim a free Sweet Jim Beam Bacon Swiss Burger. That includes you too Jimbo! It's a dine-in only promotion for those 18 and older. Burgers are served a la carte; fries, drink and tip are not included. And, Jimmy, no one is going to sing to you.

2. The Greater Tacoma Community Foundation's Foundation of Art Award has been recognized as one the most notable art awards in the South Sound region. To celebrate the fifth anniversary of the Award, the Foundation is hosting a culminating exhibit featuring 40 talented artists that have been nominated for this Award, including winner Oliver Doriss, at the B2 Fine Art Gallery in Tacoma, which opens today at 11 a.m.

3. The Grand Cinema screens The House I Live In at 2:15 and 6:55 p.m. as part of its Tuesday Film Series. The film looks at the heart-wrenching stories from individuals at all levels of America's War on Drugs. From the dealer to the grieving mother, the narcotics officer to the senator, the inmate to the federal judge, offering a definitive portrait and revealing its profound human rights implications.

4. CANCELED: Robert Michael Pyle has laryngitis. "It is interesting to contemplate a tangled bank, clothed with many plants of many kinds, with birds singing on the bushes, with various insects flitting about, and with worms crawling through the damp earth, " wrote Charles Darwin in The Origin of Species. In the Tangled Bank, Northwest naturalist Robert Michael Pyle explores Charles Darwin's contention that the elements of such a bank, and by extension all the living world, are endlessly interesting and ever evolving. Hear Pyle's discoveries at 7 p.m. inside Orca Books in Olympia.

5. Winnipeg filmmaker Guy Maddin's My Winnipeg is a ficto-documentary of, yup Winnipeg filmed in Maddin's signature Vigo-esque Super 8 black-and-white, bizarre re-enactments-cum-exorcisms. Check it out at 8 p.m. inside Northern in downtown Olympia.

LINK: Tuesday, Dec. 4 arts and entertainment events in the greater Tacoma and Olympia area

MONDAY, DEC. 3 2012 >>>

1. FlowerHouse Tacoma, an installation by Duncan Price in the Hilltop neighborhood a few blocks west of downtown, lights up the dark days of winter with an unexpected glow. Made possible through a grant from the Tacoma Artists Initiative Program (TAIP), Price has transformed his home into a colorful urban conservatory. While a traditional hothouse reveres cultivated blooms, FlowerHouse illuminates invasive species with 28 photographic panels featuring resilient brambles, dandelions and thistles depicted on a heroic scale. It's up through Dec. 31 at South 15th and South G Street.

2. The Pacific Northwest Chamber Orchestra will perform classical favorites such as Bizet's "Prelude to Carmen" and Tchaikovsky's "Capriccio Italien," as well as selections from "The Polar Express" and longtime holiday favorite "Sleigh Ride" in a 7:30 p.m. free concert inside the Centralia College Corbet Theater in Centralia.

3. Jazz saxophonist Kareem Kandi will be joined by Rob Hutchinson on bass and Andre Thomas on drums at 8 p.m. inside The Royal Lounge in Olympia.

4. It's Monday, which means Dj Melodica brings his Monday Showcase show to Magoo's Annex in Tacoma's North End neighborhood. Joining Melodica tonight behind the decks will be DJ Continental Breakfast and the band Green Tea out of Olympia. It should be a funky, groovy time beginning at 9 p.m.

5. It's karaoke with a live band. Earn your rockstar status tonight during Rockaraoke at Jazzbones beginning at 9 p.m.

LINK: Monday, Dec. 3 arts and entertainment events in the greater Tacoma and Olympia area

SUNDAY, DEC 2 2012 >>>

1. Few instruments allow you to rock out at Christmas like a ukulele - no, really. The Ukulele Festival showcases jazz guitarist turned ukulele powerhouse Michael Powers, Monday Ukulele Ohana, other musicians, hula dancers and Hawaiian food. This is basically your only chance to pretend we live in a warm climate. Take it! Tickets are $5. The event starts at 11 a.m. at the Asia Pacific Culture Center, 4815 S. Tacoma Way.

2. If you're one of those people who lock themselves in the bathroom when you go to parties at other people's houses so you can go through their medicine cabinets in peace, the 2012 Holiday Tour of Historic Homes is the ideal way to indulge your voyeuristic habit. From noon to 4 p.m. the tour will take you through sixvproperties built between 1890 and 1940 on the west side of Olympia, as well as the pioneer Bigelow House. Tickets are $15 and include refreshments at the Bigelow House on the day of the tour.

3. They're still going strong, and still swarming The Swiss to do good, get loaded, raffle stuff off and enjoy the spirit of the season. The Friends of the Holidays benefit from 3-10:30 p.m. at The Swiss, and the T-town institution shouldn't disappoint: Mark Riley Trio, Tahoma Souls Alive, Junkyard Jane, Gin Creek, T-Town Aces, Fingertips and Tumbling Dice will all be doing their part for underprivileged families this year. Look, these times are tough for everyone, but if you can have a fun night out while also making someone else's life a little better, We call that Yahtzee.

4. For years, trumpeter Rich Wetzel and his big band Groovin' Higher Orchestra has been popping up in local bars and restaurants, introducing folks to jazz of years gone by, as well as a few current numbers. At 5 p.m. Wetzel and crew will celebrate the holidays with bag band tunes inside Stonegate Pizza.

5. The routine is simple. You look through the songbooks scattered around the joint, write down a song title and your name on a piece of paper, and hand it to the deejay. In a few minutes, you'll hear him say, "Dave, c'mon down," and the fantasy begins. You're Bob Dylan or Shania Twain - or whoever the hell you want to be. It's cheap therapy, if nothing else. The Mix in Tacoma's Triangle District will fire up its karaoke at 9 p.m.

PLUS: Several events going down today are highlighted in the Weekly Volcano's Weekend Hustle

LINK: Sunday, Dec. 2 arts and entertainment events in the greater Tacoma and Olympia area

LIVE MUSIC TONIGH TIN THE SOUTH SOUND >>>

C.I. Shenanigans Tacoma - Northend. KC Brakes presents pop folk rock night. All Ages. 7-10 pm. NC.

Doyle's Public House Tacoma - Stadium District. Twang Junkies. 9:30 pm. NC.

Jazzbones Tacoma - Sixth Avenue. Mickey Avalon, Pinkbead Federation, The Chicharones, Sky Pilot. 6 pm. $19.95.

Le Voyeur Café and Lounge Olympia - Downtown. The Deceptives, Simon The Leper, Vanguard, Kim Jong Illin'. 10 pm. NC.

The Lochs Tacoma - Downtown. 3 Inches Of Blood, Huntress, The Hookers. All Ages. 7 pm. $12-$15.

Louie G's Fife. Mr. Von's Slice of Hip-Hop 3. All ages. 8 pm. $5.

Lucky Eagle Casino Rochester. New Blues Brothers. 9 pm. NC.

The New Frontier Lounge Tacoma - Dome District. Lozen, Hot Victory, Argonaut, Mosquito Hawk. 8 pm.

Olympia Ballroom Olympia - Downtown. Stonewall Youth's 9th Annual Winter Gayla. All Ages. 6 pm.

The Spar Tacoma - Old Town. Still Got It. 8 pm.

Stonegate Pizza Tacoma - South. Crosswalk. 9 pm.

Tollefson Plaza Tacoma - Downtown. Electric Salchow Stage at Polar Plaza: Igneous Rocks. All Ages. 7-9 pm. NC for music.

Traditions Cafe and World Folk Art Olympia - Downtown. Baby Gramps. All Ages. 8 pm. $8-$12.

Uncle Sam's American Bar & Grill Spanaway. Tyranny Theory, TUT, Devils Of Loudon. 9 pm.

LINK: Saturday, Dec. 1 live music in the greater Tacoma and Olympia area