Soundbites

THE CRAWL IS BACK

Even with the relatively recent proliferation of music festivals around town, there is still none bigger than the Weekly-sponsored Club Crawls. While the Spring Club Crawl^TM focuses entirely on local acts, the Fall Club Crawl^TM includes mostly local acts, with some regional ones thrown in, too. And consider this a string around your finger reminding you that this fall's event is just around the corner.

On Saturday, Oct. 7, 100 bands and performers will perform on 20 stages all over downtown and Fourth Avenue, and the time to get your wristband at CD City for the event is now. Why? Well, for one thing, you'll save yourself a couple of bucks: Advance wristbands are $8, and they'll be $10 on the night of the festival. Plus, the first 2,000 people who buy them will also receive a free copy of Club Crawl Volume 3, a compilation CD that features 15 songs by local acts. Drum roll please; those local acts are: The Year of Acceleration, The Jons, Dropsphere, Haley Jane, Chris Holiman, Bad News Blues Band, The Drakes (who incidentally are now going by The New Drakes), Ryanhood, Will Elliott, Creosote, Kings of Pleasure, Tryst, Los Gallegos, Fukuisan Go! and Troy's Bucket. Consider it our gift to you, as well as another tool to help you decide which bands you plan on checking out at the Crawl.

A full schedule of the event, as well as descriptions of each act, will appear in next week's issue. Until then, go get that wristband and CD, eh?

PICK YOUR PUNK

It's a fine week for the punks, with two fine shows headed our way.

We've been extolling the virtues of Denton, Texas' The Riverboat Gamblers' live show for quite a while, and now we've got company in that opinion. In case you need further persuasion to catch their show here this week, consider this: In the September issue of Spin magazine, the band was ranked at the No. 15 spot on a list of the "25 Greatest Live Bands Now!" The Gamblers' music combines elements of classic '70s British punk with early-to-mid-'80s American hardcore, and if you can chant "Hey! Hey! Hey! Hey!" you'll be able to sing along, even if it's your first exposure to them. The band is truly in its element in a live setting, with singer Mike Wiebe weaving his way through the audience and climbing, well, basically anything there is to climb in whatever room the band is performing in. First rate showmen, these guys.

Check 'em out for yourself on Tuesday, Oct. 3, at Plush, 340 E. Sixth St. San Francisco's Dead to Me open the show at 10:45 p.m. Admission is $7, and you can call 798-1298 for more information.

Here's one we should have mentioned last week, but ran out of room. If you're reading this on Thursday, Sept. 28--the day this issue officially hits the stands--and you miss the stupid-funny punk rock of the early '80s, you'd do well to check out The Trashies, Seattle's "No. 1 'shit rock basement sensations,'" according to their bio. Their recent album Life Sucks Trash Fuck (Mortville, 2006) includes 11 songs, only three of which bust the three-minute mark. Typical lyrics (from album opener "Bad Check"): "Can't afford what you want or need (Write a bad check, write a bad check) / You spend your money on booze and weed (Write a bad check, write a bad check)." It sounds like what being a smug teenager felt like.

The Trashies perform tonight at Vaudeville Cabaret, 110 E. Congress St., on a bill that also includes openers The Killed Kids and Test Pattern, and headliners The Cuntifiers. Things should get started around 10 p.m., and you can call 622-3535 for more details.

BIG SHOT ALERT!

Leon Russell has been called "pop music's most anonymous big shot," and that's a pretty fair assessment. In addition to recording as a session musician with Bob Dylan, Eric Clapton, the Rolling Stones, Jerry Lee Lewis, Frank Sinatra, Joe Cocker, and Jan and Dean, among countless others, Russell can play just about any instrument you can throw his way, and he's a hell of a songwriter to boot. Even the uninitiated will recognize his songs "This Masquerade" (a huge hit for George Benson) and his beautiful ballad "A Song for You," made famous by Ray Charles. We saw him play a show a few years ago and found him to still be in excellent form, his soulfully gruff vocal delivery fully intact.

Russell with perform a benefit show this week with proceeds going to the Tucson Downtown Sertoma Club, a local charity that aids the hearing and visually impaired. The event takes place at 7:30 p.m. on Wednesday, Oct. 4, at the Fox Tucson Theatre, 17 W. Congress St. Advance tickets are available for $50, $35 and $25 at the venue's box office, Nimbus Brewing Company, all Ticketmaster outlets, ticketmaster.com or by phone at 321-1000. For more information, call 624-1515.

BRING IN DA FUNK(EE)

Possibly the most gifted member of the immensely talented rap crew Hieroglyphics, Del tha Funkee Homosapien got his start in his cousin Ice Cube's crew, Da Lench Mob. But the two really couldn't be any more different. While Cube tries hard to be hard, Del dares to be funny, silly, topical and immersed in sociopolitical issues. And while his voice resembles that of Cube, Del is arguably the more gifted, lyrically dexterous rapper. His fans have been waiting for a new album for six years now, but get the chance to catch him perform in the flesh this week.

Del tha Funkee Homosapien takes the stage of the Rialto Theatre, 318 E. Congress St., on Monday, Oct. 2. The all-ages show begins at 9 p.m. with opening sets from Mike Relm, Motion Man, Bukue One and A-Plus. Advance tix are available for $21 at the venue's box office, online at rialtotheatre.com or by calling 740-1000. They'll be $26 on the day of show. Call the same number for further details.

ON THE BANDWAGON

Hailing from Denmark and signed to Epitaph offshoot Hellcat, HorrorPops mix elements of psychobilly (guitarist Kim Nekroman is a member of Nekromantix, and his wife, singer-bassist Patricia Day, fronts HorrorPops), the golden-age goth of bands such as Siouxie and the Banshees, and the L.A. new wave sound of, say, Missing Persons. They'll be at Club Congress, 311 E. Congress St., on Tuesday, Oct. 3, along with openers Charley Horse (which includes former Nashville Pussy bassist Corey Parks) and Tucson's Mission Creeps. This early, all-ages show gets underway at 6:30 p.m. Advance tickets are $12.

And, assuming tickets aren't sold out by the time you read this, Mexican rock en Español superstars Kinky will return to Club Congress on Monday, Oct. 2, for another early, all-ages show that also begins at 6:30 p.m. Advance tix are available for $15 at all Bookmans locations or hotelcongress.com. They'll be $17 on the day of the show. For more information on both shows, call 622-8848.

Soda Pop, a new, locally produced free magazine that seeks to appeal to those downtowner types who live for music, art and fashion, will be unveiled this week at a launch party at Plush. In addition to a fashion show, the event will feature live sets by three of Tucson's finest--The Deludes, The Solace Brothers and Al Perry and the Cattle. Music starts at 9:30 on Saturday, Sept. 30, and cover is a fiver. Plush is located at 340 E. Sixth St. For more info, call 798-1298.