THE JIMMY BUFFETT OF THE SOUTHWEST
So the other night at the Wolf Parade show at the Rialto, I was shooting the shizz with a co-worker--OK, it was Jim Nintzel.He told me that I needed to embrace modern culture (I'm an incorrigible Luddite) by ditching my gimpy PC for a shiny new Mac, abandoning my beloved turntable and not only embracing the phenomenon of blogging, but "branding" myself via the blogosphere. (The genius of Jim Nintzel--or, more accurately, one facet of the genius of Jim Nintzel--is that I've known the guy for a decade and consider him a good friend, yet I still can't tell when he's joking and when he's being serious.)
Now, that's just not me. I'd rather sell you a used pair of shoes than establish a branded identity for myself. But later, I bowed down to a dude who's got that whole branding thing down pat.
After the show, I stopped into the Rialto office, where talk turned to the upcoming Roger Clyne and the Peacemakers show. For the uninitiated, Clyne has, by way of anthemic songs that celebrate the beachcombing, tequila-drinking lifestyle native to these parts (and especially those south of here), endeared himself to a band of loyals so, well, loyal, that it inspires visions of sombrero-wearing, pancho-sporting lemmings screaming "uno mas!" as they fall into the abyss. Jimmy Buffett, a clear inspiration of Clyne's in style and identity, may have his parrotheads, but Clyne's got his ... well, he's got fans just as devout.
And that identity thing? It's just another word for "branding." His fans snatch up Peacemakers everything: jewelry, "drinkware," cowboy hats--hell, the dude's even got his own brand of tequila (Roger Clyne's Mexican Moonshine). And so, I hereby proclaim Roger Clyne to be the Jimmy Buffett of the Southwest.
Roger Clyne and the Peacemakers perform at the Rialto Theatre, 318 E. Congress St., on Saturday, July 26 (but the devoted already knew that, right?). The all-ages show starts at 8 p.m. with a set from Telescope. Advance tickets are available for $21 at the venue's box office, online at rialtotheatre.com or by calling 740-1000. They'll be a buck more at the door, and you can use that same number for more info.
WHY TUCSON NERDS ARE SMILING THIS WEEK
When Rush appeared on The Colbert Report last week, their first TV appearance in more than 30 years, our humble servant asked the band this genius question: "You're known for your long songs; have you ever written a song so epic that by the end of the song, you were actually influenced by yourself at the beginning of the song?" Well, New York-based quartet Coheed and Cambria take that whole "epic" nerd-metal thing to new heights.The group's fourth album, No World for Tomorrow (Sony, 2007), is the conclusion of the ongoing saga of Claudio Kilgannon, who has spent the last few C&C albums, as well as a series of comic books called The Amory Wars, avenging his parents' death (their names were Coheed and Cambria Kilgannon). (Apparently, the band's next album will be a prequel of the same story.)
I won't give you any spoilers here, except this one: Expect a bunch of dudes who have never touched a girl in the audience when Coheed and Cambria perform at an all-ages show this week, along with co-headlining Chicago post-rockers Russian Circles and Dallas-based Secret Machines, who combine influences from Led Zeppelin to krautrock and wrap them up in a tidy indie-rock package.
It all goes down at the Rialto Theatre, 318 E. Congress St., at 7:30 p.m., Monday, July 28. $23 gets you through the door. Call 740-1000 for further details.
And for all you supernerds: C&C frontman Claudio Sanchez will be chatting up fans and signing copies of his latest comic, The Amory Wars: The Second Stage Turbine Blade, Vol. 2, at 1 p.m., the same day, at Heroes and Villains, 4533 E. Broadway Blvd. Call 321-4376 with questions about that.
GET YOUR BROOD ON
Before first going solo, then teaming up with his current backing band, Two Part Beast, Imaad Wasif did stints in Lowercase, Alaska!, and The New Folk Implosion, and served as a touring guitarist with Yeah Yeah Yeahs. On his latest album, Strange Hexes (self-released, 2008), Wasif and his band engage in dark neo-psychedelic rockers and brooders, at once backward-looking and modern-sounding, to engaging effect.Imaad Wasif and Two Part Beast perform at Plush, 340 E. Sixth St., on Wednesday, July 30. The show starts at 9:30 p.m. with openers El Olio Wolof and RCougar. Cover is $7. Call 798-1298 for more information.
STRETCH YOUR MUSICAL DOLLAR
During the current recession, er, economic slowdown, it can be tough scraping together enough scratch to go see live music. Because I feel your pain, I hereby present to you a pair of local-centric shows that give you a good amount of bang for your buck. In hopes of spurring a lawsuit from the consumer-goods entity, let's call them Best Buys.First up, a pair of Phoenix-area bands team up with a pair of Tucson bands in attempt to heal the (pseudo) Interstate 10 rift. The Phoenix bands are Dear and the Headlights, who play inspired, melodic, piano-driven pop tunes and are fresh off a tour with Jimmy Eat World; and What Laura Says Thinks and Feels, whose upcoming album of whimsical, harmony-rich pop songs, Thinks and Feels, is actually a remastered version of their debut. It'll be out Aug. 19 on Terpsikhore, the label owned by North Carolina's Annuals. In the Tucson corner, we've got the '60s-inspired goodness of The Holy Rolling Empire and the slightly rootsy hook-laden pop of Crossing Sarnoff.
The whole shebang hits Club Congress, 311 E. Congress St., at 8 p.m. on Friday, July 25. Cover is a mere five bucks. Call 622-8848 for more info.
Meanwhile, over at Plush, there's a triple bill featuring the always engaging Naim Amor; Champaign, Ill.-based foursome Elsinore, who approximate what indie-rock might have sounded like if it existed in the 1970s; and the out-of-hibernation-once-again La Cerca, who over the course of countless incarnations have never disappointed.
This one starts at 9:30 p.m. this Thursday, July 24. Plush is located at 340 E. Sixth St. Cover is a paltry $4. Call 798-1298 for answers to your questions.
ON THE BANDWAGON
Now-defunct Tucson band Whiskey Bitch come out of retirement every now and then for a gig, and this week brings one of those "now and again"s. The Bitch bring the heavy-duty rawk to the Surly Wench Pub, 424 N. Fourth Ave., on Friday, July 25. Also on the bill: L.A.'s A.D.H.D. and Legend. Call 882-0009 for more information.The Brotherhood Tour, which features two fine bands with "Los" instead of "The" in their names--Los Lonely Boys and Los Lobos--hits AVA at Casino del Sol, 5655 W. Valencia Road, at 7:30 p.m., Sunday, July 27. Advance tickets are available for $29-$69 at avaconcerts.com or by calling (877) 840-0457.
Out to prove that third-wave ska isn't quite dead yet, Less Than Jake take you back to the land of old-school ska-punk on their latest album, GNV FLA (Sleep It Off, 2008), and at an all-ages show at 7 p.m., Wednesday, July 30, at the Rialto Theatre, 318 E. Congress St. Tix are $17 in advance, $18 on the day of the show. Call 740-1000 for more info.
Get down tonight or, more accurately, get down at 7 p.m., Wednesday, July 30, when the discolicious KC and the Sunshine Band bust out the grooves at Desert Diamond Casino, 1100 W. Pima Mine Road. Advance tickets are available for $27 at the casino's box office, all Ticketmaster locations, ticketmaster.com or by calling 321-1000. They'll be five bucks more on the day of the show. Call (866) 332-9467 for further details.
Finally, a pair of local bands are holding all-ages CD-release parties this week. Captain Squeegee and the Soap Suds will be at Club Congress, 311 E. Congress St., on Sunday, July 27. Opening at 7 p.m. are Kool Shades. Cover is $5. Call 622-8848 for more info. And A Breath Before Surfacing will be at The Rock, 136 N. Park Ave., on Monday, July 28, along with As Blood Runs Black, Blood Stands Still, Murder Victim, Betrayal, Burning the Masses and a few other bands with "scary" names. This one kicks off at the witching hour of 5 p.m. For more info, call 629-9211.
