SUNDAY, SEPT. 1 2013 >>>

1. We've raved about the Fab-5 and the L.I.F.E. Program plenty. For those not in the know, Fab-5 created the L.I.F.E. Program (Living In Free Expression) in 2005 as a means of providing "relevant creative outlets" for our area's young people. The L.I.F.E. Program is described as, "an intensive series of urban arts workshops designed to allow youth to develop and explore their unique voices through a variety of different mediums," like DJ-ing, breakdancing, visual arts and creative writing. From 4-8 p.m. at Tacoma's 21st Street Park, join L.I.F.E. and Fab-5 for AFTERLIFE, a celebration of the culmination of this year's L.I.F.E. Program, an event featuring a 2x2 breakdance competition, live painting graffiti fleet, art showcase, photo booth and more.

2. The Weekly Volcano is synonymous with fun, so there's no way we would ever let Olympia Harbor Days festival pass without trumpeting it. Why? Because we love the hell out of some tugboats. And if there's one thing Oly Harbor Days is synonymous with, it's tugboats. And history. And fun. Is there another way we could use the word synonymous in this blurb? Probably. But why push our luck. The important thing is that you head down to Oly's waterfront for the annual tugboat races, which go down at noon.

3. Harlequin Productions' Five Women Wearing The Same Dress is every inch a live situation comedy. Its jokes veer from issue to expected social issue. Much of its acting is in expository sitcom style. The show's language, topics, and brief implied nudity make it too hot for network TV. That's to be expected, as its playwright, Alan Ball, is known for Oscar winner American Beauty and two HBO dramas, Six Feet Under and True Blood. In all those scripts, the female characters' dialogue possesses a certain oratory cadence that sounds less like women conversing and more like Alan Ball delivering a statement. That said, Laura Hanson (as Trisha) elevates the material she was given. All six actors are well-cast as individuals. Catch the show at 2 p.m. Read Christian Carvajal's full review of Five Women Wearing The Same Dress in the Music and Culture section.

4. Paesan Kitchen and Bar's patio is a lovely spot to while away a weekend afternoon, sipping cocktails and old world red wine and watch condo residents walk their dogs. Come Sunday afternoon, tables mean nothing as resident DJ Mr. Melanin and rotating guests spin an eclectic and extremely tasteful selection of lounge, bossa nova and electro soul music 2-6 p.m. This quadruple threat of delicious pizza, booze, sun and hip tunes is known as Tacoma's only daytime summer party, "Dayclub."

5. Picture your perfect Sunday night: the drinks are flowing, the tunes are cranking and you and your friends are dancing it up, having a grand old time. Now picture that evening exactly the same except you are covered in foam. We are not talking about the type of foam that resembles squishy Nerf balls; this is foam that is caused by soap. Soapy foam! Jazzbones hosts Foam Fest 6 with Bring Tha Noize DJ Drummer Duo at 9 p.m. Bring your goggles.

LINK: Sunday, Sept. 1 arts and entertainment events in the greater Tacoma and Olympia area

LIVE MUSIC TONIGHT IN THE GREATER SOUTH SOUND >>>

Bob's Java Jive Tacoma - Central. Vanguard, Sei Hexe, Tummler & Solomon. 9 pm. $5.

• I love it when Olympia and Tacoma music blends. It's like Korean barbecue washed down with PBR. Saturday, Vanguard, a favorite Olympia band, is playing at Bob's Java Jive, a favorite Tacoma venue. Vanguard's lo-fi punk metal sound use to be the work of an octopus for a drummer and a diddler of thrash metal guitar. Now, Vanguard is even more sexy and sophisticated with the addition of a backbone bass player and a vamped up sound - think early Metallica with that raw punk-garage that feels specific to Olympia. Rounding off the bill are Sei Hexe, an all girl metal band touring from Portland, and Tummler & Solomon, sludge rockers from T-town. - Nikki McCoy
  

Doyle's Public House Tacoma - Stadium District. Industrial Revolution, with D'Vonne Lewis, Evan Flory Barnes. 9 pm. NC.

Harmon Tap Room Tacoma - Stadium District. Autumn Electric, Cloud Chowder, The Past Impending. 9 pm.

Jazzbones Tacoma - Sixth Avenue. E. Pruit Band, Shyan Selah and the Republic of Sound, Klyntel. 8 pm.

Le Voyeur Café and Lounge Olympia - Downtown. Hot Hoodoo, Lit End, Direct Divide. 9 pm.

Louie G's Pizza Fife. BlackLine. All Ages. 8 pm.

The Spar Tacoma - Old Town. Palmer Junction. 8 pm.

Stonegate Pizza Tacoma - South. Crosswalk. 9 pm.

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

SATURDAY, AUG. 31 2013 >>>

1. Ahhh yeah! It's that time of year! Time for getting it on! That's why Northwest Trek invites you to its "Get Out of the Rut Weekend," your chance to play peeping Tom on the breeding habits of moose, elk, deer and even sheep. You see, the "rut," refers to the breeding habits of hooved animals - and we all know hooved animals are the hottest of all! According to hype, "Watch and listen as they grunt, snort, bugle and spar. From wild romance to turbulent action, you won't want to miss this three-day kickoff to the most dramatic time of year at Northwest Trek." So hot.

2. It's been said the quickest way to a geek's heart is through his or her USB 3.0 port, but that's not true. We pop-cultural enthusiasts occasionally do take a break from mainlining second breakfast, Hot Pockets, and fourthmeal to eat real food-by which, of course, we mean good old (Mexican-)American barbecue. A sustainable solutions group called Americans for a Better World, or AFABWorld for short, has been pitting pitmaster against pitmaster in runoff events all summer long. Now the time has come to step into the hickory-scented culinary Octagon and see whose cuisine reigns supreme. Four tongs enter! Two tongs leave! Beginning with a chili cookoff at 11 a.m., Columbus Park will host a saucy, porcine Labor Day massacre. There's plenty of live entertainment, and yes, there will be tastings until 5 p.m.

3. The Tacoma/Pierce County hip-hop community and the Z53 Zulu Nation (Tacoma Chapter) host a Back 2 School Jam from noon to 5 p.m. at the D.A.S.H. Center in recognition of education and community. Today is an opportunity to learn about the Z53 Chapter and Zulu Nation, donate food and clothing, experience live graffiti, live DJs, live B-Boys/Girls, live open-mic along with haircuts, face-painting, free school supplies - all for free.

4. The Black Door Wine Company in Tacoma's Proctor District will be hosting a wine tasting from 4-6 p.m. Featured wines will include flavors from the Greek, Santorinian, Macedonian and Cretian regions. Sip and smell like you have travel plans. Bottles will be onsite to purchase and the Black Door team is delightfully knowledgeable when it comes to wine. Tickets are $5 to attend.

5. From the Lindbergs to O.J. Simpson, America loves a high-profile murder trial. And why not? What could be more theatrical than a gruesome case presented by suave attorneys with celebrity witnesses? Such a trial is satirized in the steamy award-winning musical Chicago, which kicks off its national tour Saturday in Tacoma at 7:30 p.m. You've seen the movie, but do you really need to experience a touring musical production of Chicago? The deal-clincher could be the presence of the one and only John O'Hurley - known to many as the catalog-company entrepreneur J. Peterman on Seinfeld - in the role of Billy Flynn. Even if you didn't know he won on the television show Dancing with the Stars, the mental image of Peterman belting "All I Care About Is Love" from behind his corporate desk is too sweet. Before catching the vaudevillian circus of greed, corruption and violence, be sure to join the Broadway Sizzle, a communal table dinner in the heart of Tacoma on Broadway before the show.

LINK: Saturday, Aug. 31 arts and entertainment events in the greater Tacoma and Olympia area

LIVE MUSIC TONIGHT IN THE SOUTH SOUND >>>

The Embers at Indian Summer Olympia. Tarik Bentlemsani. 6 pm. NC.

Emerald Downs Racetrack Auburn. China Davis. All Ages. 6-9 pm.

Le Voyeur Café and Lounge Olympia - Downtown. Rose Gold. 9 pm.

• Hailing from Bozeman, Mont., Rose Gold make uniquely difficult music to anticipate or describe. What generally starts as sort of the fuzzy, meek alt-rock songs tend to descend into howling madness without much notice. Much of this is due to lead singer and bassist Birdie Bowie. Her voice has a vulnerability to it that intensifies into strikingly emotional shrieks. At times, Rose Gold are quite reminiscent of Hole, an observation that their blood-curdling cover of Hole's "Retard Boy" confirms. If you were to ask Rose Gold to describe themselves, though, they'd probably use the term "nightmare-pop," which is their self-defined descriptor. It's a provocative notion, nightmare-pop, and I think it does well to describe the shaky beauty of Rose Gold - that prettiness that always teeters on the verge of dread. - Rev. Adam McKinney
  

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The weekend is and we don't want you caught on the couch. Prior planning is key, so here are a few dining and drinking suggestions around the South Sound this Labor Day Weekend.

Billed as "a world of flavors," Babblin' Babs Bistro doesn't disappoint. William and Shannon Mueller fuse French techniques with a casual flair, crafting exquisite breakfast dishes from locally sourced and organic (when possible) products.  Gracing BBB's menu are two must-eat dishes. The small Manhattan Pizza dons fresh Chelan cherries bathed in Bourbon with thyme, basil and fresh orange juice. Baked on Babblin' Babs Bistro's famous flambe tart crust and finished with goat cheese, orange segments and extra virgin olive oil, the flavors are amazing. The True Grits with Shrimp dish features shrimp marinated in olive oil and Savannah's Chill 'n' lime seasoning, oven roasted with double thick hickory bacon and placed on a bed of hominy style stone ground grits cooked up rich, buttery, and thick (not to thick). 2724 N. Proctor St., Tacoma

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Primo Grill has been serving up delightful, date night worthy Mediterranean dishes while maintaining an unpretentious, swanky appeal since the late l'90s. Did you know they also host cooking courses? The Tacoma restaurant's fall class schedule dropped today. Classes are $65, which includes recipes, instruction with your lunch and a glass of wine.

The Cuisine of Tuscany: Saturday, Oct. 12

The Cuisine of Spain: Oct. 19

Making Fresh Pasta: Nov. 2

The Cuisine of Northern Italy: Nov. 9

A NW Holiday Feast: Nov. 16

Call Jacqueline at 253.383.7000 to reserve your spot.

Every week in the Weekly Volcano print edition, we highlight a national food holiday in the Buzz-o-Meter. It's ridiculous, really - the food/drink holidays, that is. No government agency has officially recognized most of them. Industry folks say they have no clue how national food days are determined. Yet, someone, somewhere has declared a day of recognition for every edible imaginable; there's National Tempura Day, National Rhubarb Pie Day, National Crabmeat Day, National Beans 'n' Franks Day, and, of course, National Leftovers Day the day after Thanksgiving. There's a national food holiday every day of the year.

Yesterday, apparently, was National Cabernet Day.

While it's easy to dismiss this "Day" as just another excuse to tie one on, in truth it's a good reason to learn more about "The King of Red Wine Grapes." Cabernet Sauvignon reigns as one of the world's most popular grapes, showing up as the main variety in some of the most renowned (read: expensive) wines on the planet. According to Bob Kinnaman, co-owner of the Wine Bank & Beer Vault in University Place, Cabernet Sauvignon is, "one of the most widely planted varieties on the planet - particularly in California - where pricey Napa Valley lays claim to nearly a quarter of the state's total Cab crop." The grape actually is a cross between two grapes: Cabernet Franc and Sauvignon Blanc.

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FRIDAY, AUG. 30 2013 >>>

1. If you're a geek of a certain age or, for that matter, anyone who loves cinematic comedy, you know exactly what happens when someone says the name "Frau Blücher." You know how to bring home the chorus of "Puttin' on the Ritz." You know who made a yummy sound, and you suspect Mel Brooks's 1974 masterpiece Young Frankenstein may be one of the greatest comedies in American cinema history. Whether you've seen it or not, we insist you follow your grentfadda's footshtops to the Washington State Capital Museum, at 9 p.m. where "Movies at the Mansion" presents an outdoor screening of the film. If it's brisk that night, some varm milk, perhaps?

2. The Weekly Volcano is synonymous with fun, so there's no way we would ever let Olympia Harbor Days festival pass without trumpeting it. Why? Because we love the hell out of some tugboats. And if there's one thing Oly Harbor Days is synonymous with, it's tugboats. And history. And fun. Is there another way we could use the word synonymous in this blurb? Probably. But why push our luck. The important thing is that you head down to Oly's waterfront 5-8 p.m. as well as Saturday and/or Sunday and get in on a late-summer rite of passage. Of particular interest are the annual tugboat races, which go down Sunday at noon.

3. The Odd Life is a Very Special Movie about a Very Special Boy who has Very Special Leaves growing out of his legs, and who helps a Very Special Town save its Very Special Pencil Factory. This Special Film screens at dusk - after a Special Performance by jazz guitarist Michael Powers, which begins at 5 p.m. at Point Defiance Park. Special.

4. "I'm on a boat!" Any bets if that's an artwork title at the 11th Annual Open Juried Art Show at the Harbor History Museum, which opens today? The museum nestles the water in downtown Gig Harbor. You can't walk the length of a plank without stumbling into a nautical reference. It seems like a safe bet for at least one of the 150 works by the 90 artists the Peninsula Art League curated would have a sense of humor. The show represents the second component of the 2013 Museum Art Series and follows the Maritime Art Exhibit which closed Aug. 25. An artists reception will go down 6-8 p.m. Why not be on a boat when you arrive?

5. No one ever accused the Night Beats of being a lazy band, and their most recent activity has been no different. With the release of their wild-eyed music video for their song, "The Seven Poison Wonders," off of their upcoming LP, Sonic Bloom, the psych-rockers have kept themselves very busy. Their show tonight at The New Frontier will be their last in these parts before the road warriors take off on yet another extended tour of the U.S. and Europe in support of their new album. Hang with MILK, Bath Party and the Night Beats beginning at 9 p.m.

LINK: Friday, Aug. 30 arts and entertainment events in the greater Tacoma and Olympia area

THURSDAY, AUG. 29 2013 >>>

1. Musical performances during openings at B2 Fine Art Gallery are nothing new, but the gallery is branching out into music in a big way with the first of a two-part series of art celebrating music. SPIN 1: American Vinyl Exhibition is the first of two shows with portraits of musicians in photography and paint augmented with vinyl records to buy, sell and trade; gallery talks and musical performances throughout the duration of the exhibition. This first show focuses on gospel, blues, country and folk, and includes art and photography celebrating giants of music from Woody Gutherie and Robert Johnson to Dylan. Check it out from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Read Alec Clayton's full feature on the show in the Music and Culture section.

2. We got a fever, and the only prescription is more ukulele. Olympia's biggest ukulele band, Uke Oyster Cult, will perform Americana, hapa-haole and sing-alongs from 7:30-9 p.m. at the Olympia Timberline Library.

3. The Kareem Kandi Band will fill the lobby of the Hotel Murano with jazz from 8:30 to 11:30 p.m.

4. Remember how excited you were when you learned the Tacoma Craft Beer Festival was moving to Cheney Stadium? Weekly Volcano food scribe Jackie Fender has the scoop on the Sept. 7 event in our Bars & Clubs section. Also damn exciting is the Tacoma Craft Beer Festival kickoff show featuring The Jilly Rizzo and The Brownsville Rhythm Combo performing at 8 p.m. in The Swiss.

5. Pre Funk Thursdays hip-hop show features SIC ILL, Don P, Awall, Shorte Ru and JUI at 9 p.m. in El Potrero on Tacoma's Eastside.

LINK: Thursday, Aug. 29 arts and entertainment events in the greater Tacoma and Olympia area

Organizers at the D.A.S.H. Center and members of Z53 Zulu Nation have been hard at work preparing a Back To School Jam for Tacoma area families.

The event takes place noon to 5 p.m. Saturday, and includes a potluck, school supplies giveaway, free haircuts, DJs, breakdancers, a graffiti wall, markers, paint and paper and an open mic.

"School supplies are expensive and many families could use help obtaining these items," says Josh Rizeberg, event coordinator. "The list of school-supplies has grown since I was a kid and they just need so much stuff nowadays. They need a lot more than just paper, pens, pencils, and a binder. We'll hopefully have flash-drives to give-out to the older students."

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