WEDNESDAY NIGHT AT TOP OF TACOMA BAR AND CAFÉ >>>

Tacoma loves booze. Fancy microbrews, dented cans of PBR, a snobby Cabernet or a shot of Jack - we love it all. But lonely drinkers we're not. We Tacomans go out to get our drink on because we know a good time has more to do with location than beverage.

Top of Tacoma Bar and Cafe has been a destination bar for the booze hopping set since it opened three years ago in the largely residential McKinley neighborhood. Neighborhood regulars, the Tacoma music scene, college coeds and bearded longshoremen call this place their unofficial livingroom, shooting pool and chowing down on the tasty grub.

Last Wednesday night was not different. The age span of the 30 or so beer chuggers was easily 40 years. But the vibe was cool.

What made the night interesting was the way co-owner Jaime Kay Jones handled a drunken douche who was hassling a cute young woman who was out with friends. The douche not only sat down uninvited to the hen party, but also kept asking his target her name, her job and where she lived - over and over. When she pointed out the fact that his questions were asked and answered, he got pissy. Jones simply told his friends outside that she wanted to talk to him. Once outside, she handed him is tab to sign. Problem solved.

‘Women make a bar, if they don't feel comfortable, they won't stay," she said as she went about her business.

Top of Tacoma Bar and Café

2 p.m. to 2 a.m. Monday-Friday
noon to 2 a.m. Saturday-Sunday
3529 McKinley Ave. E. Tacoma
253.272.1502

LINK: More photos in the Photo Hot Spot

WHAT WILL HAPPEN TONIGHT? >>>

Paddy Coyne's is a traditional Irish Pub with a Northwest spin. Its Tuesday night fair includes dark ales flowing from the tap on a regular basis and emceed trivia courtesy of Joe Korbuszewski. For the last two years Korbuszewski has tossed questions to the Coyne's crowd that range between home improvement tips and politics to geography, pop culture and automotive repair. No subject is out of reach, which makes sense since the average score on his 25-question rosters hovers at about 60 percent.

Last Tuesday, Alexander Scotland Wilson brought his bagpipes and belted out a few tunes during the lulls in trivia. He has been playing pipes for 12 years after blowing the sacks under the pipe major of the Black Watch and pipe major of the senior Scottish Regiment of the British Army, Alexander "Sandy" Hain. Anyone who knows pipes knows that such training is a big deal.

Tuesday Night Pub Quiz

7 p.m. Tuesday, no cover
Minimum of two people and a maximum of 6 people per team
$2 per person entry fee and the winning team takes all
Paddy Coyne's Irish Pub
815 Pacific Ave., Tacoma
253.272.6963

A NEW WAY TO GET CARDED >>>

If your image of bingo is a sort of purgatory, a cafeteria filled with grannies clutching cigarettes with three-inch ashes as they listen to the numbers being called, you need to check out Rock & Roll Bingo Night at The New Frontier Lounge in Tacoma. Every Wednesday night sprightly bartender Brook Pawlicki emcees the games that offer the beer-chugging patrons chances to win campy prizes with every "Bingo" yell.

Last Wednesday brought a light crowd of regulars that ranged from members of Tacoma's music scene to 30-somethings out on the town tossing down $3 wells and $2 Session lagers with pizza and fries.

Prizes I saw dolled out included a Pillsbury Dough Boy doll, a Best of Country Music of 1968 record and low-budget porn from 1996.

The campy vibe allows patrons to mix and mingle while still concentrating on their Bingo cards. The music is low and steady but the pace of bingo can be fast and furious as the numbers drop toward the end of the card.

Rock & Roll Bingo

Wednesdays, 9:30-11:30 p.m., no cover
The New Frontier Lounge, 301 E. 25th St., Tacoma
253.572.4020

LINK: More bingo photos in our Photo Hot Spot

WE SCENE IT WEDNESDAY, SEPT. 22 >>>

Matt Coughlin and the Growlers performed Wednesday, Sept. 22 at The Swiss in Tacoma. The large crowd was a happy lot - hugging and smiling while the band's soulful roots-rock sound filled the downtown Tacoma bar. Check out the photos we snapped here.

UNOFFICIAL SERVICE INDUSTRY NIGHT >>>

Magoo's Annex & Eatery not only hosts northend Tacoma regulars and University of Puget Sound student every Sunday night, but it's also the unofficial information center and after-shift spot for those in the dining, entertainment and arts set. Such was the case this past Sunday night when servers and bartenders tossed back pints and shots followed by their odd customer stories. A constant stream of laughter was only interrupted by more shots.

Writer and director Chad Ruin and producer Scott Stone dropped in after an editing session on their upcoming movie, The Perfect Life, for a couple of beers with bartenders from the Swiss, Asado and the Parkway.

Anchoring the bar was bartender and Australian transplant Ceara Nicholson. She's charming, to say the least.

LINK: More photos from Magoo's Sunday night

TIGHTWAD THURSDAY >>>

Riding the popularity of its Tightwad Tuesday night – $2 tacos, $2 beers, $2 wells - Hell's Kitchen in downtown Tacoma will introduce $3 Thursdays – $3 wells, $3 beers, $3 for two hot dogs – this Thursday with a free show featuring I Defy, Dead Peasants, Sickamore and My Eternal.

I SCENE IT WEDNESDAY, SEPT. 8 >>>

I dropped in on Masa to witness the mating dance of the homo sapiens. The females of the species paradeD in their colorful plummage, while the males showED off their bravado. It was a sparce crowd for Masa's College Night Wednesday.See more photos of the night here.

PHOTO HOT SPOT >>>

Photography Steve Dunkelberger dropped in on this party Monday night. The next one goes down here.

PLEASURE DOME >>>

Summer is in the air, and all the little boys and girls are wondering with bleary eyes where their next nightlife fix is coming from. We suggest the Cedarwood Dome in Milton.

Levi Lyon of Lyon Pride Music has loaded the nightclub up through June with reggae on Friday nights and rock music on Saturdays. You can peruse the schedules here.

The more interesting note regarding these nights is what's happening around the music stage: glassblowing, fire dancing, drum circles and a Hookah Lounge.  Yup, the Cedarwood has gone Arabian Nights on Milton.

Lyon has opened the Dome's loft to give you a taste of Persian decadence. I caught up with him for the details.

WEEKLY VOLCANO: Tell us about the Hookah Lounge.

LEVI LYON: Its on the third floor overlooking the stage, the Tinder Box has sponsored the nearly 30 flavors of tobacco and our other friends at the Green Room have donated several of our hookahs. Lyon Pride Music provides the free tobacco.

VOLCANO: Describe the feel of the Lounge.

LYON: It's very loungey with five to six table with four to six seats at each table. The prime seats over look the stage so for patrons that get there early they get the hookah experience with a show.

VOLCANO: Is there a cost to get into the Lounge?

LYON: Just admission into the show which ranges from $5-25 usually depending on the talent. The Hookah Lounge is free if you become a VIP member. Patrons can sign up at the club or Text LPM to 68398 to receive VIP treatment.

This weekend the Vinyl Tribe and Dub Lounge International will be working the deck during "Reggae Fridays," and Third Law of Motion, Blue Helix, Ice On The Wing, Actual Depiction and Level rock the Dome's "Smokin' Saturdays." Both nights begin at 8 p.m.

Cedarwood Dome

7404 Pacific Hwy. E., Milton
253.922.5727

WHAT'S SPINNING >>>

House is not a business; it's a community of people who like to dance. In order for the community to maintain and grow, the people that make up this community have to continually contribute. And that contribution can be anything from coming to dance to the music, to introducing others to this sound, to providing a night for the community to gather, to producing the music, or from a DJ standpoint, playing the music provided by the community. It is circular, and is essential for survival, because without one of those elements it cannot continue.

The Tempest Lounge's House Blend shows - featuring a community of DJs spinning house music - have built a community every first and third Saturday. For this Saturday's version, DJ Bilori Howard, along with DJs dAb and Sticky J, will spin house during the "House Blend CD Release Party" beginning at 9:30 p.m. I caught up with DJ Bilori for a quick chat.

WEEKLY VOLCANO: When did you start spinning?

BILORI HOWARD: I received my first pair of decks in 1999 for my birthday from my girlfriend at the time. We were really into the underground house/techno music scene in Seattle.

VOLCANO: Who were your influences?

HOWARD: I have to say my biggest influence was by DJ Mark Farina and his ability to seamlessly blend track after track keeping the energy at a peak level, where you could literally dance all night. I grew up listening to various styles of music from jazz and blues, new wave, rock and roll - but I was a major hip-hop head for years.

I told you it was a quick chat.

Free promo CDs will be handed out tonight, too.

To grab a taste of DJ Bilroi's talents, check out his SoundCloud page here. He downloaded several mixes including my favorite T Town Lounge - a collection of downtempo/trip-hop tracks.

House Blend CD Release Party

With DJs dAb, Sticky J and Bilori
Saturday, June 5, 9:30 p.m., no cover
Tempest Lounge, 913 Martin Luther King Jr. Way, Tacoma
253.272.4904

LINK: Facebook page for tonight's event