FRIDAY, NOV. 16, 2012 >>>

1. As vocalist, lead guitarist and songwriter for Tacoma's Goldfinch, Aaron Stevens knows all too well the challenges of finding venues in Tacoma that serve the needs not only of musicians, but of the listener. It is Stevens' hope that Cathedrals will raise the bar for Tacoma's musical experience, nurturing the city's vibrant, but sometimes underappreciated music scene and drawing to Tacoma musicians that have found success in bigger markets. Tonight at 7:30 p.m., the historic walls of Tacoma's Immanuel Presbyterian Church will be filled with some very fresh sounds. Indie groups Drew Grow and the Pastors' Wives, Goldfinch and Pollens make up the impressive line-up for Cathedrals Tacoma: Part Three. 

2. Seattle poet and filmmaker Rose McAleese will be performing selections from her new book, Strong. Female. Character, at 7 p.m. inside Orca Books in Olympia. McAleese is a rising star in the Northwest slam poetry firmament.

3. Johannes Brahms was a German Romantic composer who aspired to be a Classicist in the Beethoven mold - to the extent that he refused to allow titles tacked onto any of his instrumental-genre works: symphonies, concertos, string quartets and quintets, piano trios and quartets, piano sonatas, etc. Any one of them is simply known as "genre" number N in "some" key, opus "some number." You listen for sound only and savor whatever mood it evokes for you. And savor is exactly what you should do tonight when the Tacoma Community College Orchestra performs music of Beethoven and Brahms, with Tanya Stambuk on piano.  The 7:30 p.m. concert is free and open to the public in TCC Building 2 Auditorium.

4. The BareFoot Collective continues its pop-up contemporary dance performances with an 8 p.m. performance inside Cork Wine Bar in Tacoma. The 30-40 minutes of innovative modern dance should pair nicely with a Cabernet.

5. Start talking about Mosquito Hawk's talent, hair, high tops and cute tooth gaps all rolled into one epic super group, and Olympia gets a little wet between the legs. The band drops in on McCoy's Tavern at 9 p.m. with Argonaut and All Hail the Yeti. It's going to be a hell ride of gut-wrenching, hair-raising, badass, mutha lovin' goodness.

PLUS: The Neo-Futurist and Tripod Slide Show events in our Weekend Hustle

LINK: Friday, Nov. 16 arts and entertainment events in the greater Tacoma and Olympia area

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

WEATHER REPORT

Friday: Mostly cloudy, hi 50, lo 44

Saturday: Rain on and off, hi 51, lo 41

Sunday: Cloudy with a few showers, hi 49, lo 43

>>> THURSDAY, NOV. 15: AKA AND THE HEART HURTS GOOD

Thursday night AKA and the Heart Hurt Goods will play its first show at one of Olympia's favorite venues, the Eastside Club, where dreadlocks, mohawks and ponytails all bob and weave through the dance floor to some of the regions best bands. AKA and the Heart Hurt Goods join the club with their fresh style of performance hip-hop. With a new CD under their belt, (release party coming soon!) the group is riding high on a wave of energy, bringing messages of love, both light-hearted and deep-seeded. The band has good looking merchandise, too. "We're very excited about playing at the Eastside," says Mark Bowen, AKA. "There is a large constituent of people that only go to the Eastside because they love really good beers, so go there we must. It's one of the last remaining venues in town we haven't got to rock yet." - Nikki McCoy

• The Eastside Club Tavern, with Jeff Campbell Band and Elbow Coulee, Thursday, Nov 15, 9 p.m., $3, 410 4th Ave E, Olympia, 360.357.9985

>>> FRIDAY, NOV. 16: THE NEO-FUTURIST

The Neo-Futurist, an experimental theater company from Chicago, are returning to Tacoma to perform their signature show, Too Much Light Makes the Baby Go Blind, inside the Norton Clapp Theatre at the University of Puget Sound.The show includes 30 short, original plays performed by the ensemble in just 60 minutes. The audience throws a wrench in the whirlwind pace by picking the order of the 30 plays from "menus" prepared for them by the troupe. It's perfect theater for those with short attention spans whom also wish they were directors. — Weekly Volcano

• Norton Clapp Theatre, 10:30 p.m., price determined by the roll of a dice, 1500 N. Warner, Tacoma, 253.879.3555
  

>>> FRIDAY, NOV. 16: TRIPOD SLIDE SHOW

The wilderness does strange things to people. Isolated from the hustle and bustle of the city, surrounded by pine trees and reclusive coots, the mind can begin to play tricks on folks, causing them to see shadows in the forest when they're out walking alone or hear voices in the breeze. Sometimes, you even have to cut your arm off with a pocketknife. Friday, three local photographers will show slides of their latest adventures in the wilderness. Nina Rook introduces GREEN! ... The Olympia Peninsula.  Dan Fear presents Mountain Climbing Vistas in Nepal and Peru photographed by Ron Fear (b 1944 - d 1973). Kathy Gore-Fuss shares Grand Canyon: Foot by Foot. Get there early. Seats go fast. — Ron Swarner

• Madera Furniture Company, 7-8:30 p.m., $5, 2210 Court A, Tacoma, 253.572.1218
  

>>> SATURDAY, NOV. 17: TACOMA CASH MOB

If you picked up last week's edition of the Weekly Volcano, then you know all about Katy Evans and her involvement with the greater good of Tacoma. Saturday, 1 p.m., catch her and other like-minded individuals (yourself included?) in action as they embark on a very special Tacoma Cash Mob. This holiday inspired event has its very first sponsor who will be handing out prizes to the first 80 adults that claim a ticket. Meeting spot is Rainier Room of the Landmark Convention Center. After a hug, everyone will venture to mystery spots to spend cash, help local businesses, knock out some holiday shopping and pick up their special gift. Evans writes, "And when I say special, I mean REALLY special - the motherload really, thanks to a very cool cash mob sponsor!" — NM

• Landmark Convention Center, Rainier Room (2nd Floor), Tacoma Cash Mob, Saturday, Nov 17, 1 p.m., 47 St Helens Ave., Tacoma, www.facebook.com/tacomacashmob

>>> SUNDAY, NOV. 18: FANTASY LIGHTS WALK

It gets cold out there, but it sure is fun and the crisp air sparks the holiday spirit in even the most curmudgeon among the walkers. A family tradition in the South Sound is walking through the Fantasy Lights displays at Spanaway Park. The 2.5 mile route is open to walkers for a preview. Beginning Nov. 22 you can drive the loop to see some 300 light displays that range from a skiing snowman to a tank firing snowballs to a pirate ship and jumping rain deer. Fantasy Lights, now in its 18th year, is the Northwest's largest drive-through holiday lights display. — WV

• Spanaway Park,5-7 p.m., $4, $12 family, 14824 S. C St., Spanaway, 253.841.8515

WHAT SOME OF OUR STAFF MEMBERS ARE UP TO

CHRISTIAN CARVAJAL Theater Critic
I'm seeing Avenue Q in Seattle and, should the literary gods so grant, finishing Michael Chabon's Telegraph Avenue.

REV. ADAM MCKINNEY Music Writer
Saturday, I'll be hitting up The New Frontier for one of my favorite local bands, the Riffbrokers. Time permitting, I'll also be spending some more time considering whether or not I should see The Perks of Being a Wallflower. Everyone's saying it's good, but they also said that about that dumb book, too. Fool me twice? We'll see.

ALEC CLAYTON Arts Critic
I'm going to see A Christmas Survival Guide at Harlequin Productions in Olympia and maybe ... just maybe if we can get five very busy people together at the same time we're going to rehearse the staged reading from my new book, Return to Freedom.

NIKKI MCCOY Feature Writer
After recovering from a night of HUMP! I plan to take it easy tonight, although there a lot of fun shows. I will probably re-arrange my furniture, to be honest. Friday will be the usual happy hour shenanigans, with a walk down to McCoy's Tavern in Olympia for a bitchin Mosquito Hawk, Argonaut and All Hail The Yeti show. Saturday is always laundry. Sunday will be Thanksgiving prep. Re-reading this, I realize, damn, Friday night is where it's at. I wish I could stay there all weekend, as I don't care for laundry or cooking, and I do love me some good ole dirty rock 'n' roll.

JACKIE FENDER Food Writer
Sadly my weekend is mostly uneventful. Ill be slinging breakfast and booze at Dirty Oscars. Then having an after work Manhattan if I'm so inclined.

JOANN VARNELL Theater Critic
This weekend is chock full of theater! I will be reviewing Lakewood Playhouse's production of Shakespeare's Twelfth Night. Sunday, I will be heading to Seattle for Wicked, which will make all of my friends happy since they will finally be allowed to talk about how great they thought it was when they saw it (weeks ago). I will be spending the rest of the time trying to get my adorable two year old to learn new party tricks in time for the upcoming holiday season.

TIMOTHY GRISHAM Music Writer
Music history has been full of individuals mining horror imagery for tying the macabre with rock n' roll. From Screaming Lord Sutch on one end, to perhaps more contemporary examples such as GWAR, "shock rock" is entertainment personified. Alice Cooper, who helped solidify the genre with the Alice Cooper Group performs his set of classics this Sunday (Nov. 18) at the Emerald Queen Casino. Take it as a somewhat rare opportunity to see Cooper perform in a venue that is not a small arena.

JOSH RIZEBERG Music Columnist
Friday night I'll be at Backstage in Tacoma to watch Alabama transplant Bama Da Prince. He's performing and local Johnni Boi will be hosting the night. Saturday at 1 p.m. I'll be teaching my Spoken-Word/Poetry class at D.A.S.H. My class is part of the Art of Hip-Hop project. A.O.H.H. is compused of hip-hop culture classes, rhyming, writing and recording. Saturday, my hip-hop group Beanz & Rize has a show in Centrailia. Sunday, I will be recovering.

JENNI BORAN Features Writer
I'll be tackling the Mustache Dache 5k at Magnuson Park in Seattle. I hear the event has a mechanical bull. Bonus!

STEVE DUNKELBERGER Photog About Town
I will be hitting the Truman Middle School Orchestra concert tonight to admire the violin section. Friday will bring Tacoma Brewing Tap Night in the Triangle District. I will be leading a photo safari class on low-light picture taking Saturday, space is still available. Sunday will likely mean hanging out with some guy named Alice Cooper at the Emerald Queen.

NIC LEONARD Music Writer
Friday night I will be attending the Portland Trailblazers game.  I'll be spending the rest of my weekend in Portland as well, at various bars.

ROCKFORD ROWLEY All-Ages Music Columnist
Hanging out at Bluebeard Coffee.

LINK: Even more local events that we recommend

LINK: Comprehensive South Sound Arts & Entertainment Calendar

LIVE MUSIC TONIGHT IN THE SOUTH SOUND >>>

Dawson's Bar and Grill Tacoma - South. Billy Shew Band Open Jam Session. 8 pm. NC.

The Deltan Club Tacoma - Downtown. The Knux, The Breaklites, Thunders of Wrath. Bar with ID. All Ages. 8 pm. $5.

Eastside Club Tavern Olympia - Downtown. Elbow Coulee, The Jeff Campbell Band, AKA & The Heart Hurt Goods. 9 pm. $3.

• Thursday night AKA and the Heart Hurt Goods will play its first show at one of Olympia's favorite venues, the Eastside Club, where dreadlocks, mohawks and ponytails all bob and weave through the dance floor to some of the regions best bands. AKA and the Heart Hurt Goods join the club with their fresh style of performance hip-hop. With a new CD under their belt, (release party coming soon!) the group is riding high on a wave of energy, bringing messages of love, both lighthearted and deep-seeded. The band has good looking merchandise, too. "We're very excited about playing at the Eastside," says Mark Bowen, AKA. "There is a large constituent of people that only go to the Eastside because they love really good beers, so go there we must. It's one of the last remaining venues in town we haven't got to rock yet." — Nikki McCoy
  

The New Frontier Lounge Tacoma - Dome District. Word 3rd Thursday featuring Silent Lambs Project, Kept See, Un Tha Rhyme Hustla & Boombox Massacre, Cam the Viking, 6 Deep The Messenger, The Tough Breaks, plus eeetree the selector and hosted by Mr. Von and Rizeberg. All Ages. 9 pm.

• People, this month's Word 3rd Thursday is packed with hip-hop goodness. Hosted by Mr. Von and Weekly Volcano's columnist Josh Rizeberg, the show at The New Frontier Lounge will be dope. The show is a regional showcase featuring Silent Lambs Project (Seattle), Kept See (Almighty Universal Zulu-Nation), Un Tha Rhyme Hustla & Boom-box Massacre (first performance), Cam the Viking (Gonzo Family), 6 Deep The Messenger, The Tough Breaks (Olympia) and music by eeetree the selector. Rizeberg gives props to all the performers, "It will be a well-rounded night of eclectic hip-hop." Rizeberg has special prop to Silent Lambs Project. "They are one of the most influential, conscious, politically-minded, hip-hoppers to ever come-out of Seattle," says Rizeberg. "Before Blue Scholars and Macklemore, it was Silent Lambs Project that got all the critical acclaim." Rizeberg also touches on 6 Deep, "He mixes poetry, live-music, and hip-hop into a stunningly deep performance." — NM
  

Northern Olympia - Downtown. Sei Hexe, Shadows, Vanguard. All Ages. 9 pm. $5.

The Red Room Tacoma - Downtown. Acoustic Night: The Learning Process, Jason Kay, Rodney Mitchell and Cooper Inveen. All Ages. 7 pm. $3.

Spar Cafe Olympia - Downtown. James Coates. 8 pm. NC.

LINK: More live music and DJs tonight in the greater Tacoma and Olympia area

REVIEW OF HUMP! FILM FESTIVAL >>>

If there's any lingering doubt about the mainstreaming of porn, even low-fi amateur porn, reflect that it launched the highly lucrative careers of a whole coven of Kardashians. We love porn. So while there were some timid faces in the crowd at Olympia's first-ever screening of Hump! last night, there was also an electric, anticipatory vibe. Whatever your taste, there's little chance you were disappointed.

The Hump! anthology of locally-made porn is the brainchild (loinchild?) of Dan Savage, editorial director of The Stranger, author of the syndicated advice column Savage Love, and spiritual leader of the anti-bullying "It Gets Better" project. Hump!'s rules are straightforward: no critters, no minors, no messy bathroom stuff. This leaves a wide-open field for creative expression - so wide, in fact, that it'll be difficult to describe the shorts without transgressing my editor's liberal subject policy. (Heh. I said "shorts.") Let's put it this way: I counted five different bodily fluids, plus a dollop of axle grease.

The first of no less than 27 flicks was a cartoon, Rumpy Pumpy, in which the phrase popularized by Roger Ebert is used to describe a parade of cartoon phalli and clams. (I'm referring to the bivalve. I swear!) What followed was a mixed bag of production values, narrative intents and proclivities. Whatever you're into, there was something to turn you on. There was also something to turn you waaaayyy the hell off. I'm looking at you, Mansmash! ... but only from the corner of my eye. Yikes!

To vote for best in show is to summarize one's sexual preferences. With that in mind, my choice was the very funny Magic Love, in which a straight couple (and, if memory serves, an extremely close friend) is stop-motion animated through a series of good-natured liaisons. I specify straight because gay content was represented in bacchanalian abundance. If that's a problem for you, Hump! will never be your cup of tea. If, however, you want to watch a dominatrix force two Rubenesque young women to eat meringue pies, your desires will be met.

I, on the other hand, preferred Dungeons & Dragons Orgy, in which rolls of a 20-sided die determine who'll pair up (or triple up) with whom. Then there's Dueling Dames, in which two bored women vie for the title of sexual champion, all in the style of a vintage silent movie. The encounter of Alice and Miles is as sultry and polished as a Shakira video. Speaking of which, the program concludes with a music video, the parodic Boyfriend, and it also features a rendition of Peter and the Wolf that'd give Prokofiev the screaming fantods.

I'd be remiss if I didn't praise the surprisingly affecting and empowering Krutch, in which a young woman with a disability entertains herself using one of her crutches. This activity is jarringly intercut with her struggle to get to a bus before it pulls away from the curb. Work like this gives the lie to the narrow-minded notion that all porn is antifeminist or otherwise diminishing. Emcee Lindy West suggests Hump will return to Olympia next year. Judging by last night's audience packed with flushed and appreciative spectators, I suspect they'll be deluged with Thurston county contest submissions.

I know. I said "submissions." Would "entries" have been any better?

CAPITOL THEATER, OLYMPIA FILM FESTIVAL, THROUGH SUNDAY, NOV. 18, $4-$10, 206 FIFTH AVE. SE, OLYMPIA, 360.754.6670

LINK: Olympia Film Festival schedule

THURSDAY, NOV. 15, 2012 >>>

1. Tacoma's Third Thursday Artwalk is awesome ... the only trouble is it's completely unwalkable. Thankfully, for the last two-plus years Tacoma has had the Art Bus to rely on - the creation of T-Town's own Angela Jossy, and pretty much the bestest idea there ever was. Each Third Thursday the Art Bus shuttles riders from gallery to gallery, and from museum to museum, accomplishing more than any one person could ever dream of on foot, and at the same time building a communal vibe that's worth its weight in gold. Tonight's Art Bus celebrity host Sen. Jeannie Darneille will help guide you through such stops as Poppy & Co., 253 Collective, Creative Forces/Hotel Murano, Nine Lives Vintage, Anew Thyme, Merlino Arts Center and The Social. Tickets are $10 regular admission and $20 for VIPs. VIPs get gift bags with items from lots of local businesses and participate in a raffle. The Bus pushes off from the Tacoma Art Museum at 6 p.m.

2. The Tacoma Historical Society hosts its 6th Annual Membership Meeting & Reception at 7 p.m. inside the Old Post Office at 1102 A St. in downtown Tacoma. Yes, the organization will discuss business and it's plans for the coming year, but it will also include architectural and historical chats about the Old Post Office. Believe us, no one will mail in this talk. Arrive early for at 6:30 p.m. tour of the joint.

3. Olympia Coffee Roasting Company is one of Olympia's Godsends. The roasting house helps state workers crank through Excel files, it adds bounce to college students' steps and it puts a smile on everyone's face that comes through its front door. OCR will celebrate its major awards, and second year in business, tonight with a bash featuring Olympia indie garage band duo, The Maxines.

4. It's semi-finals week of the 33rd annual Seattle International Comedy Competition, and the field has been narrowed. Producers officially announced the 10 comics from Week 1 who will be going on to the semi-finals that takes over the Washington Center's Comedy In A Box slot at 7:30 p.m. Nate Abshire (Minneapolis), Ryan Clauson (Hanover), Ricarlo Flanagan (Detroit), Solomon Georgio (Seattle), Joe Klocek (San Francisco), Landry (Atlanta), Justin Leon (Kansas City), Michael Malone (Los Angeles) Elliot Maxx (Seattle) and Tacoma's Tyrone Hawkins will bust out 10 minutes of their best bits in hopes of grabbing some sweet prize money.

5. The Java Jive Appreciation Society hosts a Jive Turkey Disco karaoke night beginning at 8 p.m. at, you guessed it, the Java Jive. Dress in your favorite duds from the '70s.

LINK: Thursday, Nov. 15 arts and entertainment events in the South Sound

COOKING SHOW MANIA >>>

It would seem that the South Sound region is making it big as far as culinary broadcasts are concerned. Two weeks ago, Guy Fieri bopped around Tacoma, Olympia, Puyallup and Lakewood. This past week celebrity chef Roger Mooking visited Olympia.

Canadian chef, and super approachable Mooking is a man of many talents. Mooking is the co-owner and executive chef of several fine-dining establishments in Canada. He's authored a cookbook. Hell, the man even has an R&B album! Not to mention being host to several cooking shows, Everyday Exotic, Heat Seekers (with co-host Aaron Sanchez also on the popular Chopped series) and Man Fire Food.  In each endeavor he seems to genuinely have a good time.

"I like to make things whether it's a dish, a cookbook or an album," Mooking told me over the phone. "Being able to do the two things I love so much is quite a blessing."

The Cooking Channel's Man Fire Food is exactly what it sounds like. Mooking visits locations throughout the nation discovering different ways that man (and woman) use fire to cook. Open flame, smokers, BBQing and other options use the primal element to infuse flavor into our feasts. While in Olympia, Mooking and crew visited with the Nisqually Tribe for a MFF episode centered on seafood feasts.

"It was really amazing to get a sense of what happens locally there," said Mooking. "The Nisqually Tribe has been cooking this certain way for centuries and generations and preparing these king salmon. They catch them from this body of water, skin them and smoke them over a fire. They let us in on that world, which was really special." 

They also prepared clams, mussels and oysters underground - much like a clambake.  

He referred to the Seattle and Portland areas - a forgivable blanket term used by out of towners to designate all of us here in the Northwest - as a "vibrant food city" and talked about how every region he visits has a totally different energy that conveys itself in its culinary community.

I was hoping he had the opportunity to discover some other gems while here in Olympia but Mooking says, "The shooting schedule is really aggressive, we are in and out."

You can catch his visit with the Nisqually Tribe on the Cooking Channel Tuesday, Nov. 20 at 7 p.m.

WEDNESDAY, NOV. 14, 2012 >>>

1. Director Olivia Baumgartner, a senior at Saint Martin's, appears to relish Cloud 9's provocative pansexuality. It's a play that refuses to condemn any sexual behavior, including pedophilia. "I don't know when I've felt an Olympia audience squirm so consistently, even as they were laughing," says weekly Volcano theater critic Christian Carvajal. Cloud 9 hits the stage at The Midnight Sun Performance Space at 7:30 p.m. Read Carvajal's full review of the show in the Arts section at weeklyvolcano.com.

2. Lynnae Schneller of Lynnae's Gourmet Pickles has placed eight jars of pickles in local businesses and on historic Tacoma monuments for fans to locate and win $1,200 worth of prizes in celebration of National Pickle Day. Tacoma's Mayor Marilyn Strickland will announce the first clue for the location of the first jar of pickles via her Facebook page at 10 a.m. followed by seven remaining clues that will be posted every half hour on the Lynnae's Gourmet Pickles Facebook page.

3. The opening reception for the Art Students Annual exhibit at the University of Puget Sound's Kittredge Gallery will be held from 5-7 p.m., with merit awards presented at 6 p.m.

4. In 2009 The American Institute of Architects for Southwest Washington awarded architect and now Tacoma City Councilmember David Boe a merit award in the Un-Built Category for his "Imagine Tacoma" columns that ran for 18 months on Exit133. It was an awesome series, to say the least. Tonight at 7 p.m. inside the Madera Furniture Company, Tacoma artist Lynn Di Nino hosts a special version of her TRIPOD slide show with Boe as the sole presenter, delivering slide after slide of his urban planning visions for Tacoma.

5. Jazz saxophonist Kareem Kandi hosts a jazz open mic at The Swiss beginning at 8 p.m. If that wasn't awesome enough, The Swiss will cut the price of its wine in half. Nice.

PLUS: HUMP! at the Olympia Film Festival

LINK: Wednesday, Nov. 14 arts and entertainment events in the greater Tacoma and Olympia area

FUTURE THINGS ARE COMING >>>

It's time again for the Olympia Record Show, growing bigger yet again in its fifth year of providing a space for dealers, collectors and amateurs to rub elbows, move merchandise and treasure hunt.

"It gets better and better," says Michael Dixon, event curator. "It's getting really big, we have to open up a side room."

The Elks Lodge on Fourth Avenue houses the event.

DJs will be spinning tunes while 40 record dealers from all over the Northwest sell thousands of records, CDs and pieces of memorabilia spanning all genres, styles and price ranges.

Admission is $2.

This event offers an early bird entry of $15, for those who want to peruse during set-up.  Dixon says this is the ideal time to pick and choose.

"It's when all the serious dealing goes on," he says. "The dealers like to buy all the good stuff."

There are still a few tables left, going for $25 to $30, so if your wife and/or mom is nagging you to clean out your closets, or maybe you need a little extra holiday cash, this is the place for you.

And if you are on the other side and need to bulk up your collection or find that hard-to-find gift for somebody special, the Olympia Record Show is the place for you, too.

It's an all-ages show, but there's a full bar to celebrate your major score.

For more information, or to get a table, contact Dixon at olympiarecordshow@yahoo.com.

ELKS LODGE, SATURDAY, NOV. 17, 5-9 P.M., $2, 1818 FOURTH AVE. W., OLYMPIA

SUNDAY, NOV. 11, 2012 >>>

1. Organized in large part by China Davis' Ben Fuller the 253Heart Music Festival, which includes multiple events and will benefit the Emergency Food Network, is yet another outgrowth of the Music Giving Back organization, a local enterprise that's been busting out the musician driven benefits since 2009, and which Fuller is also a co-founder. Just to get the heart pumping for 253Heart's big Thanksgiving weekend festivities, a smaller 253Heart Fest will flow through The Swiss today featuring the likes of Midnight Salvage Co., China Davis, Hannah Mendenhall, Kim Archer and Chris Hyde, The Trasholes and Science! 4 p.m., admission free with canned food donation, The Swiss, 1904 Jefferson, Tacoma

2. Olympia Little Theatre's presentation of the classic thriller Night Must Fall  - about a wealthy elderly woman who falls under the spell of a dashing young stranger and winds up dead - will hit its stage this afternoon. Read Weekly Volcano's theater critic Christian Carvajal's review of Night Must Fall in the Arts section at weeklyvolcano.com. 1:55 p.m., $10-$14, 1925 Miller Ave. NE, Olympia

3. Olympia Film Society presents incredible lineup of screenings, events, guests and awards that is the 29th annual Olympia Film Festival. Today's film action includes Garlic is a Good as Ten Mothers at 2 p.m., Charlie Chaplin's Monsieur Verdoux at 4 p.m. and Almayer's Folly at 7 p.m. Through Nov. 18, $7-$10, Capitol Theater, 206 E. Fifth Ave., Olympia

4. Internationally acclaimed as "the best mariachi in the world," Mariachi Vargas was originally founded in 1897 by Don Gaspar Vargas López, Manuel Mendoza and two violinists in the town of Tecalitlan, Mexico. Credited with modernizing the genre, Mariachi Vargas' meticulously crafted arrangements helped propel national pride for what would become Mexico's classical sound. The definitive mariachi ensemble will perform at the Pantages Theater this afternoon. 3 p.m., $35-$125, 901 Broadway, Tacoma

5. The Olympia Symphony will pay tribute to members of the armed forces with a Veterans Day concert, "Honoring America's Freedom" tonight at The Washington Center. Hear patriotic works by Copland, Suppe, Hayden and Sousa.  7 p.m., $20-$50 with a discount for those with military ID, 512 Washington St. SE, Olympia

LINK: Sunday, Nov. 11 arts and entertainment events in the greater Tacoma and Olympia area

LIVE MUSIC TONIGHT IN THE SOUTH SOUND >>>

4th Ave Ale House Olympia - Downtown. Philly's Phunkestra. 9 pm. $5.

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. Kareem Kandi Band, with Delmar, Jacques Willis. 9 pm.

Elks Lodge #186 Olympia - Downtown. Swing/Ballroom Dance, with Lakewood Community Jazz Band. All Ages. 5 pm.

Harmon Tap Room Tacoma - Stadium District. Tiger Fighting Freemasons, Steady Skies. 9 pm.

Jazzbones Tacoma - Sixth Ave. Roman Holiday, True Holland, Cadillac Radio. 9 pm. $10. 

• As I've said for a long time, now, there is no other band in Tacoma that surpasses Roman Holiday in terms of big, national potential. The band already sounds like it has been vetted on adult contemporary radio for years. This is not to say it is a prepackaged band, but, rather, it's a completely successful accompaniment to huge stadium acts like Kings of Leon and Coldplay. Above all, Roman Holiday is the king of melodrama, experts in the act of building tension and then, in one fell swoop, releasing in gigantic hooks and choruses. The band fetishizes each triumphant rise and each melancholy fall. Being that Roman Holiday was born in the recording studio, it's sound is predictably polished and honed to near-perfection; the joy is seeing it replicate this polish live on stage. — Rev. Adam McKinney
  

Le Voyeur Café and Lounge Olympia - Downtown. Assassinators, Coniption Fits, Kill Shot. 9 pm. NC.

Live Room Sumner. Innocent Bystander, Cell Phone Parking Lot. All Ages. 7 pm. $8 advance, $12 at door.

Louie G's Pizzeria Fife. Nolan Garrett, Dudley Taft, Larry Mitchell. All Ages. 8 pm.

Northern Olympia - Downtown. Jeffrey Lewis & The Junkyard, Kimya Dawson, Stephen Steinbrink. All Ages. 8 pm.

• Jeffrey Lewis and the Junkyard joins Kimya Dawson and Stephen Steinbrink for a performance at the Olympia All Ages Project venue Northern. It's a reunion, of sorts, for Lewis and Dawson. During New York's anti-folk scene in the early 200s, Lewis and Dawson crossed musical paths - often Lewis would perform and collaborate with Dawson and her Moldy Peaches project. The collaboration led to a K Records LP, The Bundles, and critical praise as an anti-folk supergroup of sorts. According to Lewis, he doesn't mind the anti-folk label. "I think it's a cool title. The fact that no one knows what it means, including me, makes it kind of mysterious and more interesting than saying that you're a singer/songwriter or that you play indie rock." After Peaches, former Evergreen State College student Dawson returned to Olympia to larger audiences - thanks to her Juno soundtrack -  and continue the musical collaboration path. Her most recent album, Thunder Thighs, features collaborations with Aesop Rock and pro-wrestler Daniel Bryan. — Timothy Grisham
  

The Spar Tacoma - Old Town. Wickerman. 8 pm.

Traditions Cafe and World Folk Art Olympia - Downtown. Alan Reid, Rob Van Sante. All Ages. 8 pm. $12-$18.

Uncle Sam's American Bar & Grill Spanaway. Law's Welcome Home From Afghanistan Bash, with Far From The Genuine, Liberterrorists, Seventh Silence. 9 pm.

LINK: Saturday, Nov. 10 live music and DJs in the South Sound