HERE WE GO AGAIN >>>

A facelift and another name change are scheduled for the revolving door at 728 Pacific Ave. Currently Club Kokonut operates out of the space, which sits across the street from The Office Bar and Grill in downtown Tacoma. Club In General Manager Suzie Gaultier reports under building owner Thomas O'Connor's LLC Good Old Dog, Club Kokonut will become Club In - not INNightclub as its Facebook reads.

"The name on Facebook is wrong. I had to spell it differently to get a page," explains Gaultier regarding the name confusion.

As you may recall, the gay-friendly club On the Rocks operated out of the space before it briefly became Club Kokonut in the summer of 2008, followed by the Surreal Ultra Lounge in April 2010. At the end of last year, Club Kokonut re-opened in the space.

"There was too much drama," says Gaultier of Surreal.

A liquor license has been applied for under Good Old Dog LLC. The business is currently open and will see an interior overhaul up until the grand opening party Saturday, March 3 when it will officially launch as Club In.

"We are changing everything. We'll have a very basic menu, it'll be happy hour food - sliders, honey hot wings, simple foods we all enjoy," says Gaultier. "Most clubs do a lot of shots. I want to do more martinis and special cocktails - more classy stuff."

As for the music, anticipate DJs and maybe a few surprises.

"I'm pretty open to music, you never know what I might have," explains Gaultier. "It will be a mix of everything: Top 40 mash-ups on the weekends, dubstep and electro during the week, as well as live hip-hop shows."

A dress code will be enforced on Friday and Saturday.

Gaultier says she wants to bring the missing piece to Tacoma.

"People from Tacoma drive to Seattle, get drunk and party then drive home. You want your community to keep their money, not spend it in Seattle."

She admits she's still trying to figure out just what Tacoma needs in order to stay put.

She also vows she'll connect with the community by "throwing events and helping neighboring businesses to discover each other."

Above all she wants patrons to "be happy and comfortable" at Club In.

Good call.

[Club Kokonut, 728 Pacific Ave., Tacoma]

THAT'S QUICK >>>

Earlier this month MetroGruv Nightclub boasted a recent remodel on its Facebook. Now Tacoma Commerical Real Estate posted "Available" signs on the club's front windows.

MUSICAL CHAIRS >>>

We dropped by Club Kokonut Friday night. The new old dance club on Pacific Avenue was dead.

We're talkin' crickets.

Apparently, what was the gay-friendly On The Rocks dance club then Club Kokonut then Surreal Ultra Lounge then back to Club Kokonut will soon be the INNightclub. The INN has created Facebook and Twitter accounts.

Stay tuned.

TUESDAY, DEC. 13, 2011 >>>

1. This year's Classical Tuesdays Wine & Song Benefit in Old Town Tacoma will feature "American Arias and songs from operas, musicals and movies," according to the press release. It will also - more importantly - feature soprano Christina Kowalski and tenor Gino Lucchetti accompanied by pianist Denes Van Parys - doling out tunes by Gian Carlo Menotti, Bernard Herman, Samuel Barber, Oscar Hammerstein and others. This annual event benefits the free Classical Tuesdays in Old Town chamber music series. Starts at 7 p.m. at Connelly Law Offices in Old Town.

2. It's not every day that you get a chance to cook with Linda Evans. Are we right, or are we right? But by the grace of God himself, today just happens to be one of those days when you DO have the chance to cook with Linda Evans - today from 6 - 8:30 p.m. at the Bayview School of Cooking. Pimping her book, Recipes for Life: My Memories (and signing it from 5-6 p.m.), Evans promises "food and conversation," as well as her "Famed Artichoke Dip, Ham Dani, Warm Butternut Squash Salad and Buche de Noel." Pre registration is required, and seating is limited. The cost is $75 per person, or $95 with a copy of Evans' book. Call 360.754.1448.

3. The Royal Lounge in Olympia offers a Comedy Lounge night every Tuesday, featuring an open-mic from 9-9:30 p.m. and headlining comics from 9:30 - 11 p.m.

4. Tribes, Sloths and Trey The Ruler will play an all-ages show tonight at the Red Room in Tacoma. It starts at 7 p.m. and will cost you $5 to get into.

5. Get your groove on tonight in Parkland. DJ Adam Ant spins during "Twisted Tuesday" at Lady Luck Cowgirl Up, offering Top 40 action and karaoke. The good times start at 9 p.m.

LINK: More arts and entertainment events in the South Sound

LINK: Live music tonight

SATURDAY, DEC. 3, 2011 >>>

1. According to the hype, tonight "The Space is going to be filled with so much fun and excitement you will be unable to contain it. You might even dance!" How's that for a promise? And there's good reason to believe it, with a bill that includes local favorites Not From Brooklyn, Moonjuice and headliner Ravenna Woods. Celebrated in indie circles for a percussion driven approach to the hipster folky shit that's considerably more gray and foreboding than the overpopulated genre usually allows, Ravenna Woods - while orbiting many contemporary indie clichés - offers the kind of creativity and originality that keeps live music interesting. Saturday's show at the Space is the first in a string of fundraising events for the non-profit all-ages venue, according proprietor Athena Hitson. Don't miss this show.

2. It's time again for Drag n' Dance Saturdays with host Aphelia Bottom at MetroGruv in Tacoma. You know ... the place with the forboding looking rainbow unicorn mural on the side. Should be awesome. Starts at 9 p.m. and there's a $3 cover.

3. Catch up with Grown Folk Saturdays with DJ C-Luv at Last Call Bar in Lakewood, promising old-school dance hits from the ‘70s, ‘80s and 90s.

4. If you're looking for the perfect spot to get your rock on tonight, consider dropping by The New Frontier Lounge in Tacoma's Dome District, where Mico De Noche, He Whose Ox Is Gored, The Electric Falcons and Green River Thrillers will deliver it in spades. The good times commence at 9:30 p.m.

5. If you're up for a ferry jaunt, or perhaps you already live on Vashon Island, consider getting festive with the Vashon Christmas Carolers, led by Joe Farmer tonight at Café Luna. It's an all-ages event, and there is no cover.

LINK: More arts and entertainment events in the South Sound

LINK: Live music tonight

LINK: This week's freebies

WEDNESDAY, NOV. 30, 2011 >>>

1. Scout Niblett, originally hailing from England, manages to wring more tremulous menace out of her guitar than seems quite possible. A singer/songwriter with a taste for the ominous, Niblett has a way of making songs that straddle the line between intimate and violently standoffish. The moment her vocals lull you into a feeling of personal connection, a guitar stab crashes in to create a separation. Echoes of Nirvana and the Beatles run through Niblett's music, which tends toward the minimal. Rarely are more than a guitar and drums featured, and this starkness transforms the music into a sort of void, open, waiting to be fallen into. Tonight Scout Niblett plays the Capital Theater Backstage in Olympia.

2. Can you guess what "Pin a Dorito on an American" is about? This art installation by Lynn Di Nino is part of the Greater Tacoma Community Foundation's Fourth Annual Foundation of Art Award exhibit show, which itself is a part of Spaceworks Tacoma, a program that utilizes vacant storefronts to display various forms of art. "Dorito" features five sculptures of people, each around 16-inches tall, and each enormously fat. Di Nino says her inspiration came from the United States' unhealthy relationship with corn byproducts. It's humorous examination of what is quite a real problem. Catch Di Nino's "Dorito" today at the Chamber of Commerce Building in Tacoma between 5 - 7 p.m. as part of a celebration of (and showing of work from) the Greater Tacoma Community Foundation's artist of the year nominees.

3. This week's installment of Wednesday Sessions at Jazzbones brings the hot country licks of Aces Up. The best part: It's all ages. The show kicks off at 9 p.m.

4. MetroGruv on Tacoma's Sixth Avenue (formerly Hell's Kitchen) busts out the burlesque shows tonight - surely enough to get the rainbow unicorn painted on the front of the building all riled up.

5. And it's "Quiz Night" at Engine House No. 9 - get your smarty-pants on.

LINK: More arts and entertainment events in the South Sound

LINK: Live music tonight

LINK: This week's freebies

HOWDY DOWNTOWN OLY >>>

Spit-shine your cowboy boots and dig out your hats, y'all! In just two weeks, Big Whisky Saloon will put its shit-kickin' foot stomp on a 12,000-square-foot plot of land in downtown Olympia. OK, it's moving into the former Vault nightclub spot, but exciting nonetheless.

According to Roger Rahil, Big Whisky Saloon's operating partner, and former owner of the Vault, the mammoth bar and live music venue will take over the space Friday, Sept. 16. Rahil co-owns the Big Whisky Saloon with business partner Jon Tartaglia.

"One of the elements that excites us about this project is we are bringing something completely different to downtown Olympia," explains Rahil. "There are numerous venues that play the same style of music but we get an opportunity to set ourselves apart from the masses and cater to a completely different crowd."

A seven-week remodel has kicked up dust in the joint as the 1,500 square-foot-hardwood dance floor and 72-foot prize wheel are hauled in. The audio and video system will be updated, which will be important since the club will play country and rock videos similar to the downtown Tacoma Big Whisky.

"The renovations are absolutely amazing," says Rahil. "I believe people will see a lot of similar aspects between the Tacoma location and here. The only major difference between the properties will be that we can present some large name national touring acts."

Yippie-yi-ya!

LINK: We hung out at the Big Whisky in Tacoma

ONLINE CHATTER >>>

Today's comment of the day comes from Kelsey Smith, chiming in with an update on last week's cover story, Truth about Northern.

Smith writes,

Sadly, the space on State Street fell through. We're still looking for a new venue - all leads in the downtown Olympia area are welcome!

Weekly Volcano wrote: "Just as we're about to send this story to our eagerly awaiting editor, we get word that Luz‘s finger-crossing has paid off. Provided there are no issues with city inspections, Northern will be in its new home, 112 State St., by Sept 1."

That's not good.

THURSDAY, AUG. 4, 2011 >>>

1. Get down with Jazz Under the Stars tonight, featuring David Deacon-Joyner and Anton Schwartz at the Mary Baker Russell Music Center.

2. If you haven't jumped on the Varsity Grill comedy train yet, tonight might be perfect for it. Comedian Nate Jackson performs every Thursday at the Varsity Grill.

3. The Oly Mountain Boys drop into the Spar in Olympia tonight at 8 p.m. Best of all: there's no cover charge.

4. It's a Three Dollar Thursday at Hell's Kitchen, with bands Offtrack, Phaser on Kill, the Last Internationale, Cardiac Kidz and BND.

5. Its "SpecOps" Ladies Night at Vanity in Tacoma. Check here to see what that means. (Hint: it involves ladies and cheap booze).

LINK: More arts and entertainment events in the South Sound

LINK: Live music tonight!

The new 1230 Room in Olympia (former Otto's Bakery space) definitely warrants a full-size Meat Market article, but if we wait another week or two, you might miss out on all the action. By action we mean lounge chairs, mood lighting and a hip-hop soundtrack. We mean security guards with monogrammed uniforms and girls in frilly dresses. We mean high-priced cocktails and high-priced suits. By action we mean action that is rarely seen in the capitol of crusty dive bars.

A new Olympia lounge?

We couldn't make you wait too long for that sweet action.

[1230 Room, $3 cover weekends, 111 Washington St. NE, Olympia]