UNDER THE LIGHTS >>>

The Hype: Thanks to Calvin Murphy, the South Sound has danced its ass off for the last 11 years. Murphy's DJ conglomerate Ocean Grooves produced many popular DJ shows and weekly series over the years, including its initial series at Tacoma's 6th & Proctor Bar & Grill in 1999 featuring regulars Donald Glaude, Omar and dAb. Last night, Murphy launched a whole new venture as manager of Jason Rim's new Gruv Lounge and Nightclub - in the same spot once occupied by the 6th & Proctor B&G, as well as the more popular Hell's Kitchen. Besides booking and running the show, Rim allowed Murphy to design the club - the DJ booth, lighting, video screens and color schemes. To give Gruv's grand opening an extra boost, Murphy hosted his annual Ocean Grooves Halloween Bash in the joint featuring Los Angeles DJ Uberzone and local DJs dAb, Jason Diamond and Mr. Clean. Read more on the new club here.

The Show: Based on last night's grand opening don't expect lots of v-neck-t-shirt-wearing guys doing that up-and-down motion with their arms in appreciation of the music, and perfectly groomed and tanned girls dancing in circles around their purses as that drunk girl high-fives the DJ for playing "Fantasy" by Mariah Carey while she sucks on a rock-candy ring. Instead, a very unpretentious crowd danced, chatted and drank – when they weren't hugging Murphy saying, "It's about time you brought this to Tacoma." The DJs riled up the crowd with fearsome house music and boogie-man beats while Murphy's LED lights constantly changed the interior colors of the club. Oh, and local artist James Allan Tucker's mural in the dance room is very cool. The Weekly Volcano Meat Market correspondent Brett Cihon was in the house. Look for his review in next week's rag.

The Crowd: A large crowd including curious local DJs scoping out the place, plus Bert and Ernie, Spock, Ron Burgundy, Mr. Heatmiser, Iron Man, cats, and a bunch of scary guys.

Overheard: "Man, I should've gotten stoned for this!"

By The Way: Donald Glaude, DJ dAb and Omar will spin Saturday, Nov. 6 at the Gruv.

LINK: More Gruv photos in our Photo Hot Spot

SAX ON A SATURDAY NIGHT >>>

SAX Restaurant and Lounge slaps a big ol' FUZION logo on their Saturday nights, hosting three DJs spinning Top-40, some house and hip-hop. They toss in "The FUZION Girls" and their ridiculous furry boots, Jell-O shots and drink specials bringing in a crowd more concerned about dancing, hooking up and having a great time than frontin'. It's a diverse crowd, which included the gay community and one grandmother this past Saturday.

DJ Mike Yoda and guests will spin during The FUZION Oct. 30 Halloween Party, which includes a costume contest with $500 in prizes, and no doubt more ridiculous boots worn by the FUZION chicks.

FUZION

Saturdays, 9 p.m., $5 cover after 10 p.m.
SAX Restaurant and Lounge
2309 Sixth Ave., Tacoma
253.572.0588.

LINK: More photos of last Saturday's FUZION

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.

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

WHO NEEDS A LAUGH? >>>

Earthquake, tsunami, economy, oil spill ... Let's face it, we could all use a good laugh. So do yourself a favor and enjoy a little levity courtesy of Ty Barnett tonight at Jazzbones' Ha Ha Tuesdays night. This talented comedian was inspired by Chris Rock and Richard Pryor and has appeared on The Tonight Show many times. The Army vet and single parent found breakthrough success in 2006, when he was the runner-up on season 4 of the NBC reality show Last Comic Standing. Hosted by Ralph PoRter, Ha Ha will also feature Rodger Lizaola.

And after you're good and loose from laughing, why not stick around for DJ Omar and dancing?

Ha Ha Tuesdays

With Ty Barnett and Rodger Lizaola
Tuesday, June 1, 8 p.m., 21 and older, $10
Jazzbones, 2803 Sixth Ave., Tacoma
253.396.9169

TRIPLE SHOT OF THE SURREAL >>>

Thursday, May 27

AMBI3NT N1GHT: Avant-garde musicians Ben Paris, Phil Harty, Lucas Webster and Nicholas Hartzell will mess with time, space and dimension via ethereal soundscapes and minimalist tones while Kris Crews' abstract video commands the wall space tonight at the Fulcrum Gallery.

"I plan to screen a mixed bag. Several of the featured artists are providing video to accompany their sets," explains Crews.

For example, Ben Paris will bring a multi-media collage of found video samples that Crews will mix between Paris' eccentric video clips with a live video mixer that allows Crews to tweak and distort the video in real time. He calls the Paris project Ethereal Weeping.

"For Lucas Webster And Nicolas Hartzell's sets, I will be doing more of the same, but mixing between clips that I have personally produced. Phil Harty has shot and self-produced a video to accompany his set. Harty calls his multi-media project Smile For The Sky, which will be his first live performance of the work."

Fulcrum's Ambi3nt N1ght provides an opportunity for Crews to get really abstract with visual effects.

"It is a kaleidoscopic eye-candy explosion within an expanding universe of sound," he adds. "I really do show kaleidoscopic video; that's not just a fun adjective. 7 p.m., all ages, $5, Fulcrum Gallery, 1308 Martin Luther King Jr. Way, Tacoma, 253.250.0520

Friday, May 28

VINONLY: Tacoma DJ collective Vinly Tribe resides at the Tempest Lounge every Fourth Friday. This week they'll spin strictly vinyl concentrating on the ‘90s. 9:30 p.m., no cover, Tempest Lounge, 913 Martin Luther king Jr. Way, Tacoma, 253.272.4904

Saturday, May 29

ARTIFAKT: The Artifakt folks are back at Jazzbones with another packed night of artwork and hip-hop. Logics, Fatal Lucciauno, State Of The Artist and DJs Hanibal and Reign provide the tunes. Artwork by Tyler Haney, Xavier Lopez, Jeremy Gregory and Julie Luke will don the walls. Luke will also be performing live art. 9 p.m., $5 before 10:30 p.m., $8 after, Jazzbones, 2803 Sixth Ave., Tacoma, 253.396.9169.

LINK: South Sound music calendar

EVERY SECOND FRIDAY AT THE TEMPEST >>>

In the grand, and unusual, tradition of skinny English boys bopping about in even skinnier ties to American soul and jazz music, local DJs Bobby Galaxy and dAb offer a night of are soul, funk, jazz and rare grooves under the tag Rare Groove.

Back in the day, Brits loved obscure American soul records almost as much as they loved mayonnaise and cucumber sandwiches. Galaxy and dAb celebrate this phenomenon by playing authentic, obscure soul, funk and jazz records. It's the kind of music that would have been heard at all-night parties in Manchester or Blackpool back in the day.

Bring your own skinny tie.

Rare Groove

Second Fridays, 9:30 p.m. to close, no cover
Tempest Lounge, 913 Martin Luther King Junior Way, Tacoma,
253.272.4904

TODAY IN LAKEWOOD CLUBBING >>>

Everybody needs to party. There's nothing like a night of serious clubbing to blow off steam.

But the scene is an ever-changing monster. New clubs constantly open. The music constantly changes, the fashions constantly evolve. When I started clubbing years back, the style was raver. Everywhere you went you saw glow sticks and visors, baggy pants and backpacks. After a while, those godawful pimp-inspired getups took over. (If I never see another pimp hat or fuzzy green leopard-print coat, it'll be too soon.) Nowadays, fashion is a slicker and a bit more urban. A few years back, no one would dare wear a pair of jeans out - now they're all over.

Beginning Friday, Lakewood will have another chance to dance. The Longhorn Saloon & Restaurant reopens with an interior remodel including a brand spanking new dance floor. They cut the bar in half and shoved it back to make room for the Electric Slide.

No word yet who will be spinning on the weekends. We assume they'll still serve those freakishly strong Jell-O shots.

[Longhorn Saloon & Restaurant, reopens April 2, 10011 Bridgeport Way SW, Lakewood, 253.581.2580]

NEW DANCE NIGHT AT THE CLIPPER >>>

Slip on your Cleopatra Jones afro or your dad's toupee and slide on over to The China Clipper for the "Funky Empire Strikes Back" funk-soul-electro-eclectic mix with DJ El Goonie tomorrow night. His new Saturday night dance party series will be full of rubbery grooves, slick licks and hi-tech keys caked in stardust.

Goonie and his band of rotating DJs - tomorrow night features DJ The Jessica - created the dance night to fill a gap in the Olympia scene. Their goal is to created a spot to chill, have a few drinks, and if you feel the funk, then boogie.

Goonie wants to stress that it will be an eclectic mix with funk as the underlying bass - from today's music reaching back to the mid-60s.

"It's gonna be more fun than selling fake insurance on closeout cell phones at a mid-mall kiosk in Tacoma," state Goonie.

Yea, I have no idea what that means.

[The China Clipper, every Saturday, 10 p.m., no cover, 402 4th Ave. E., Olympia, 360.943.6300]