A 3 DRINK MINIMUM PREVIEW >>>

Missing olives, empty toilet paper rolls, stunned looks - sure signs that Weekly Volcano scribe Steph DeRosa has just left the bar after her 3 Drink Minimum research. In tomorrow's print version of the Weekly Volcano DeRosa will describe her three-drink experience at HG Bistro in Puyallup.

And as always, when a hot guy gets her drunk and then brings her whipped cream aside a flame-producing device, she pulls out the video camera.

Pick up the Volcano tomorrow as read the words that describe the above video.

[HG Bistro, 1618 E. Main, Puyallup, 253.845.5747]

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.

FUN WITH FRANCES >>>

Some people just make you curious. You want to see how their minds work, what their thought processes are. You want to go through their stuff. Now's your chance. Beginning the first Monday in April, Puyallup artist Frances Buckmaster will open her downtown Puyallup artist's studio/gallery for local artists to work together on a regular basis. Space will be available by subscription. A one-session fee will be $15 for three hours of studio time. Those making a prior purchase of 12 sessions will receive a 10 percent discount.

For more details, call Buckmaster at 253.831.6005.

YOU'VE ALMOST MADE IT >>>

You have dragged your weekend-weary, sorry self through the first day of work-week drudgery. It wasn't easy, though, and you deserve a little reward. When you buy a martini at Toscanos in Puyallup during the month of March, the café and wine bar will give you the hand-painted glass the drink comes in. Every week features a new glass so collect them all.

Interesting concept, huh? Sounds like just the after work reward you were looking for.

[Toscanos Café & Wine Bar, 437 29th St. NE, Puyallup, 253.864.8600]

LINK: Weekly Volcano's boozy section

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

A HOLE >>>

Happy Donuts in downtown Puyallup can't be happy about their sign tonight.

BRING ON THE WEEKEND >>>

Is it that time already? Time for another installment of Prefunk - your weekly guide to liver destruction, local events and feelings of morning regret?

Indeed.

While I've spent a decent amount of time in recent weeks explaining the idea of "The Prefunk" to newcomers, I'm hoping by this point anyone interested has already caught on. I'm also hoping people uninterested in pictures of dogs and cats drinking beer or receiving tips on ways you can heighten your weekend event-going experience through glue huffing and Scope mouthwash Jell-O shots have already tuned out.

SATURDAY, MARCH 6

Brooklyn Pool at Rocket Records - 3 p.m.

The band was once called As Far as Foxes Go, and before that - ever so briefly - Bearfeat. In truth, though, none of that matters. The moniker is officially Brooklyn Pool these days, and together Morgan Brown, Aaron Sweet and Jesse Goodrum are churning out some of our area's most intriguing indie pop. The melodies seal the deal. Saturday the kiddies get a chance to have at it, as Brooklyn Pool plays an all ages show at Sixth Avenue's Rocket Records.

PREFUNK: Here's a novel idea - make THIS your prefeunk. It's early enough, right? Getting totally wasted before a 3 p.m. all ages show would be moderately disgraceful, right?

Of course.

Here's what you do: The court ordered you to see your kids. This is a fact. It's also a fact that one of the main reasons you're in this predicament in the first place is you loved going to rock shows way more than being married to your crazy ex. Rub it in his/her face by taking the wee-ones out to a show that will surely sculpt their minds in a much more positive fashion than listening to mom and dad argue about dad's Adult Friend Finder account.

SUNDAY, MARCH 7

4X4 Off Road and High Performance Meet at the Puyallup Fair & Events Center - 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Sunday is the perfect day for off roading - or, at the every least, heading to the Puyallup Fair Grounds to get an off roading boner with a bunch of Carhartt partial, like minded folks.

Big tires. Big trucks. A love of mud. These are your people. Indulge.

PREFUNK: The event is associated with the Moonshiners Jeep Club - based out of Spanaway. The club emblem even features an old, bearded, Yosemite Sam looking dude bouncing out of the back of a jeep with a moonshine jug in hand.

Rather than spending too much time wondering about whether moonshiners should actually operate a jeep club, just join in the fun. Make some hard-hitting hooch in your tub (I hear in prison they use urine), guzzle down an old mason jar full of the stuff, and head on over to Puyallup. Once there, be sure to use the phrase, "down by the river" a lot - and get some mud on your clothes.

The good news is, by this point, that bathtub hooch should have hit and there's a good chance you will have already fallen on your ass heading into the fair grounds - thus accomplishing the dirty, off roader look. Well done.

See you next week.

WHAT THE %@&*! HAPPENED TO COMICS? >>>

Ask 12 serious comic book fans what their favorite stories are, and you're likely to get 12-or more-different answers. But ask the same dozen for the works that truly elevated the medium, in content, scope and respectability, and you'll land on a few. Watchmen. The Dark Knight Returns. Maus: A Survivor's Tale.

Art Spiegelman was a professional cartoonist for 20 years before the first volume of Maus was published in 1986. The second volume came in 1991, and with it something new for comics-literary respect. Maus quickly became the first of only two graphic novels awarded a Pulitzer Prize.

Were this the only thing Spiegelman had accomplished, it would still be enough for a place as one of the comic book medium's most influential creators. But in a career closing in on 50 years in the making, it marks just one facet of his experience in the industry.

Read more...

SMASHING NEWS >>>

Watch people smash things. Smashing things is fun and cathartic. Watching others smash and smash and smash into each other can be equally entertaining and potentially cathartic in a vicarious kind of way. A sold-out crowd watched the Slamfest Demolition Derby at last year's Spring Fair in Puyallup. Afterward, families left the Fairgrounds with smiles, smashing their first together as if they were cars.

Therefore, Spring Fair folks have added Slamfest it to this year's spring shindig — April 17 at 6 p.m. and the large cars April 18 at 2 p.m. Both derbies will feature the oh-so-popular Rollover, Crazy 8 and Demo Derby Heat Races. New this year will be dare devil stunts with extreme automotive acrobats and fire walks.

Because it sold out last year, the Weekly Volcano suggests you purchase your Slamfest tickets when they go on sale this Friday at 10 a.m. through Ticketmaster outlets. Tickets are $30 for the Golden Derby box seats, $15 for your run-of-the-mill adult seats, $12 for those skipping their studies and $5 from ages 3-5. A special $50 family pack will also be available. All tickets include admission into the Spring Fair.

Did we mention the new sizzling stunts this year?

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

TONIGHT: Speakeasy Arts Cooperative has a First. Their first First Thursday Artwalk is a community art party featuring an art jam, potluck and yes, an opportunity to walk on art. 7-9 p.m., no cover, 746 Broadway, Tacoma 

FRIDAY: The Telephone Room Gallery will celebrate Drunk Dialing ... Kristen Ramirez's new exhibit featuring inscribed booze bottles. The show opens Friday night with an artist reception. 6-9 p.m., no cover, 3710 N. Seventh St., Tacoma

SATURDAY: Old people rule. Well, at least the Washington State History Museum thinks so. As part of their Icons of Washington History exhibit, the downtown Tacoma museum will bring Washington state historical figures to life as part of Ghosts of the Great Hall: Icons of Washington tours. 1-3 p.m., a tour every half hour, free with admission, 1911 Pacific Ave., Tacoma

SUNDAY: Want to view apocalyptic genius? Harlequin Productions presents a matinee performance of its End Days, a play Weekly Volcano theater critic Christian Carvajal calls "one of the richest productions of any new play I've seen in a decade." 2 p.m., $12-$20, 202 Fourth Ave. E., Olympia

MONDAY: bella! bellaballs studio - home of glass artist Diane Hansen and designer Lesli Jacobs-McHugh and their beautiful hand-blown glass floats, bellaballs — will host another bella social Monday night featuring cocktails, food and, you guessed it, bellaballs. 5-8 p.m., no cover, 747 Fawcett Ave., Suite B, Tacoma

TUESDAY: Arun Ghandi, the grandson of Mahatma Ghandi, will be in Puyallup to discuss his grandfather's philosophies on non-violence and racism. Noon, free, Pierce College, 1601 39th Ave. SE, Puyallup

WEDNESDAY: Russian animation master Yuri Norstein will discuss and screen his work in Olympia. His films Hedgehog in the Fog (1975) and Tale of Tales (1979) were voted the best animation films of all time by international juries in Los Angeles, Tokyo and Zagreb. 7:30 p.m., $5-$10, The Evergreen State College Communications Lab Building, 2700 evergreen Parkway NW, Olympia

LINK: Other South Sound happenings