Cover Story
Tucson’s Music Month
Tucson, are you ready to rock? Are you really ready to rock? Because the Music Gods are smiling upon the Baked Apple. April is going to bring you more rock ‘n’ roll than this town may have ever seen in a single month—not to mention blues, gospel, roots and all that jazz. You’ve got Joe…
Take Back the Night: March from Downtown Library to the Mercado
To speak out against sexual violence, Tucson’s Take Back the Night returns today at 4:30 pm at the Joel D. Valdez Library downtown, 101 N Stone with a march ending at the Mercado San Agustin, 100 S. Avenida del Convento in Menlo Park off Congress Street at 6:30 pm. From Take Back the Night organizers:…
Fox Theatre to Spotlight 4 Tarantino Films in May
Photo courtesy of the Fox Theatre. What are your favorite Quentin Tarantino films you would like to see on the big screen again or for the first time? If you said Reservoir Dogs, Pulp Fiction, Kill Bill 1 & 2, then here’s some good news. The Fox Theatre has decided to pay homage to the…
Is it Natalie, Keira or Winona?
Who is that sassy glamour-puss, that sexy altogether Bond-y seductress in the Coco Chanel commercial? If you can’t tell, you’re not alone. Sorting out the Natalie Portman from the Winona Ryder from the Keira Knightly is not a singular problem, as it turns out. Rotten Tomatoes even has a memory test for you. Almost 110…
170 Local Non-Profits to Support on Arizona Gives Day
Every day should be Arizona Gives Day. The good people of Grand Canyon State will have the opportunity to take part in a 24-hour statewide initiative to raise money for non-profit organizations that are in need of your support. The responsibility is becoming greater with the increasing budget cuts and dwindling support from government. From…
Arne Duncan Edges Toward Not-So-Common Core Standards
The push for Common Core Standards has taken hits from the right and the left. True, the two sides have different problems with the standards-and-tests package, but the attacks from both sides are having an effect. Poor AZ Ed Supe John Huppenthal has been taking a beating from right wingers during town halls he’s held…
Drink With Tucson Weekly Employees at Bashful Bandit
Time flies when you’re turning 30 years old every month. We are celebrating our Dirty 30 Dive Bar Birthday Celebration every second Wednesday through 2014. The Weekly has been going to everyone’s favorite dive joint around town to drink and talk about the good old days. We are celebrating our Birthday party from 5:30 to…
NSFW Video of the Day: Topless Florida Woman Destroys a McDonald’s
Some McDonald employees leaked a NSFW disturbing video of a topless woman in a thong breaking cash registers, destroying fixtures and eating icecream by hand at their resturant somewhere in Florida, according to UPROXX. The Tampa Bay Tribune hasn’t been able to pin-point the exact location. Tampa Bay Police is unaware of the incident and…
Fox Anchor Names UConn’s Basketball Team the “NAACP National Champs”
The University of Kentucky Wildcats lost to University of Connecticut Huskies 54 – 60 during Monday night’s national championship game at the AT&T Stadium in North Texas. The emotions were high and people get worked up; especially, Fox News. Fox & Friends morning host Heather Childers goofed and said, “The UConn Huskies are the 2014…
Confluence Center’s Show & Tell: CIA Arcade Machines to Sex Toy Video Games
First, The University of Arizona has nurtured and made a space for the Learning Games Initiative Research Archive (has one of the largest video game collections in the world) … Second, the Archives co-curators Ken McAllister and Judd Ruggill are coming back to downtown on Wednesday, April 9, from 6 to 7:30 p.m. at Playground…
White Lies Cancels Show at Rialto
We have some bummer news, White Lies fans. “We’re sorry to announce that due to circumstances our date in Tucson has been cancelled,” the gothic band stated on their Facebook page. Refunds are available at the point of purchase, according to the Facebook status. No reschedule date has been set at this time.
Here’s This Year’s KFMA Day Lineup
KFMA, the station formerly at 92, now over at 102 on your FM dial, announced its annual KFMA Day (May 24 at Kino Stadium) lineup this afternoon and hey, great news, Korn’s not on the bill. Instead, we get Linkin Park (who you might know as the band that guy singing with Stone Temple Pilots…
House and Senate Strike Deal on Budget
The House and Senate struck a deal on the budget this afternoon. When the Senate met on the floor, they had named three of their members to a conference committee with the house for the budget negotiations. The three Senators were Sen. Don Shooter (R-Yuma), Sen. Andy Biggs (R-Gilbert) and Sen. Cajero Bedford (D-Tucson). They…
Louisiana Congressman Caught Smooching With Staffer
26 seconds. That’s how long Louisiana Congressman Vance McAllister lustfully kissed one of his staffers in a surveillance video that was surfaced by The Ouachita Citizen. According to the Citizen, the incident occurred at McAllister’s congressional office around 1:39 p.m. on Dec. 23, 2013. The Republican lawmaker built his race to replace Rep. Rodney Alexander…
Peter Mayhew Officially Cast in Star Wars: Episode VII
Disney’s latest Star Wars film starting last Wednesday, and the cast and crew is full of rumors. But the Hollywood Reporter finally confirmed one cast member, and it’s none other than 69-year-old Peter Mayhew. Mayhew will reprise his role as the ferociously charming Wookie, Chewbacca. From THR: Mayhew played the legendary Wookiee and Han Solo’s…
Witness Dan Gibson Perform (Improv) Stand up at Plush Tonight
Fun Tucson Weekly Editor fact: Dan Gibson is a closet stand up comedian. You might have noticed how quick and witty our editor is, but it’s almost funnier in person. Jacob Breckenridge and professional comedian Pauly Casillas are hosting their monthly improv comedy show The Switch tonight from 9 p.m. to 11 p.m. at Plush,…
Are Speech Patterns Becoming More, Like, Nuanced?
Image courtesy of shutterstock.com When I was a high school English teacher, I wasn’t a card carrying member of the Grammar Police. I didn’t believe in rigid enforcement of some of those ridiculous, Latin-based rules which grammar books love to dwell on. And I rarely criticized student speech patterns. I love people-generated language — the…
Thar’s Gold In Them Thar “Education Reform” Coffers: Walton Family Edition
Image courtesy of shutterstock.com Wanna get your message out about where education should be heading? Well, if you’re part of the “education reform” movement, meaning the conservative/corporate “education reform/school choice” movement — you know, dismantling public education by cutting funding and demonizing teachers unions while pushing for ever more vouchers and charter schools — it’s…
Photos: Hullaballo 2014
Alan Davis Putting the “Hulla” in Hullabaloo on Saturday, April 5. Alan Davis Kokopelli was one of the many giant puppets that took part in the parade at Hullabaloo. Alan Davis Alan Davis Alan Davis Alan Davis Ballet Folklorico Tapatio Alan Davis
AZ Illustrated Politics: City Budget, Congressional Races, Campaign Finance & More
On Friday’s AZ Illustrated Politics: Arizona Education Network President Ann-Eve Pedersen, Tucson Metro Chamber Vice President for Government Affairs Robert Medler and Arizona Daily Star political reporter Joe Ferguson looked back on the week.
Richard Donner Says ‘Goonies’ Sequel is in The Works
Unfortunately your browser does not support IFrames. ‘Goonies’ Director Richard Donner — Sequel is Happening! – Watch More Celebrity Videos or Subscribe Prolific Hollywood director Richard Donner told a TMZ photographer that a Goonies sequel is in the works. Donner said it’s unclear if the original actors will reprise their roles. But why wouldn’t they?…
Catch a Glimpse of the Space Station
Photo courtesy of Shutterstock/Denis Tabler. I encourage you look up tonight. The NASA space station will be visible briefly tonight and every night until next Wednesday, April 9. I have taken the liberty and posted the Tucson sky schedule, or click here to find out where you can spot the pie in the sky in…
Sunbones & Friends at Plush Tonight
Here some local music 101 for you. Local indie up-and-coming band Sunbones was featured in a short documentary that gives a good retrospect and a good perspective of how they seem themselves. Charley Brown and Rusty Boulet-Stephenson interviewed the band members and recorded their Jan. 24 performance at Cartel Lab downtown. We have been known…
UA Student Falls to Death on Campus Dorm
University of Arizona freshman Michael Evan Anderson accidently fell to his death from a roof-top structure on the Colonia de La Paz dormitory early Friday morning, according to University of Arizona Public Information Officer Filbert P. Barrera. The 911 caller witnessed Anderson, 19, and another unnamed student scaling a 20-foot tower on the three-story hall…
Video of Dogs Shaking Their Heads Will Make Your Friday
Dogs do the most darndest things, and the human eye isn’t fast enough to capture every charming moment. American photographer and animal trainer Carli Davidson published Shake late last year, but it’s new to us. The 144 page book is comprised photos of four legged goofballs in mid-shake, and it’s glorious. Check out a video…
Tucson Man Arrested For Sexual Exploitation of A Minor
Photo courtesy of Tucson Police. Earl Bogedain, 28, was arrested on 10 counts of Sexual Exploitation of a Minor. Tucson Police arrested Earl Bogedain on suspicion of 10 counts of sexual exploitation of a minor. The 28-year-old suspect was arrested on April 3 at a home on the 3300 block of East Presidio Road, according…
James Franco Admits That He Did Hit on Teen
So, James Franco was caught trying to meet with a 17-year-old Scottish tourist he met on Instagram earlier this week. The two made a connection when the lassie posted a video of the Spider-Man star on her Instagram account, and started exchanging (desperate) messages that were published on the Internet for the whole world to…
Chamber Lab to Play Along to Buster Keaton’s ‘The General’ at the Fox
This is the closest to being in the year 1926 you will get. Tucson’s alternative classical quintet will perform the soundtrack to Buster Keaton’s silent film The General on Saturday, April 19 at the Fox Theatre, 17 W. Congress St. From the press release: ChamberLab composers Chris Black, Dante Rosano, Marco Rosano, and Tony Rosano…
“Teach For America” And Sunnyside, Continued
I wrote a longish post Tuesday about the possibility that Teach for America (TFA) will set up a program in the Sunnyside School District. I still don’t have official confirmation for the story, but I haven’t heard any denials either. As I wrote in the earlier post, the information, though not official, is well enough…
Target’s Employee Training Video: Big Bad Unions Hate Us!
When we did a story on Target employees and employee-discrimination allegations back in 2010, ill-will against the Minneapolis-based company surfaced that went against the retail conglomerate’s efforts to seem like it worked on the kinder-side of corporate: the anti-WalMart. But every once in a while, someone will leak the ever-interesting Target employee training videos. The…
David Letterman to Retire From The ‘Late Show’ in 2015
Northfoto / Shutterstock.com Suspense is dead because Twitter killed it. Surprisingly, R.E.M. bassist Mike Mills overheard that Late Show host David Letterman will be announcing his retirement in 2015 Thursday evening. Dave just announced his retirement #2015 #muchlovedave— Mike Mills (@m_millsey) April 3, 2014 David Letterman announces he's retiring next year. More tonight @CBSEveningNews— Jeff…
Community Meets G.I. Joe
If you needed a reason to stay home tonight, this is it. Tonight’s animated episode of the Community might look familiar to some of you children of the 80s. The show will pay homage to the Hasbro 30-minute toy commercial affectionately known as G.I. Joe. From Spin Off: In tonight’s mostly animated episode, titled “G.I.…
Cinema Showdown: Patriotic Superheroes and Leather-Clad Antiheroes Edition
I’m not much of a comic book movie guy, but I know a lot of you are. Hell, rumor has it Tucson Weekly Online Editor Henry Barajas sleeps with a worn VHS copy of Tim Burton’s Batman under his pillow. That’s dedication, and I can respect that. Speaking of dedication, are you gung-ho enough to…
Video: Mario Kart is Back
Photo courtesy of Nintendo. Mario will never catch up to Princess Peach. The highly addictive Nintendo racing game Mario Kart is back for the Wii U. The eight installment of the semi-simplistic go-kart franchise will be available wherever video games are sold on Friday, May 30. All your favorite characters are back with some new…
Soundbites
DIXIE CUPS AND JARS It feels a little strange including more writing about music in this issue, considering we have the rest of our weekly content from this section, plus the cover story running down the month in music AND some stuff in City Week, but there are still plenty of shows left over (including…
Your Music Month Schedule
Your Music Month Schedule While we’ve tried to gather as much info about the national touring acts coming to town, we’ve probably missed something, plus bands will likely be added and maybe someone will end up cancelling. So, check our regular listings each week and/or check with the venue to make sure the show of…
Sports
Now that the UA’s basketball season has come to an end in typically heartbreaking fashion—not winning the title qualifies as a painful end around these parts, right?—it means there are slim pickings when it comes to getting that hoops fix and avoiding round-ball withdrawal. Sure, the Final Four will be on this weekend, and the…
Ask a Mexican
Dear Mexican: I’m a second-generation Orange County-raised pocho. Both sides of my family have been civil rights activists since the 1940s. My mother’s family took part in the landmark case Mendez, et al vs. Westminster, et al. in 1946. My father was a Chicano activist in the 1960s and 1970s. From the time I was…
Police Dispatch
USING (IN) THE RESTROOM TUCSON MOUNTAINS BEAT FEB. 12, 10:15 P.M. A woman admitted to puffing on a meth pipe in a convenience store bathroom after a deputy was called to the store because she had been in the bathroom for more than 20 minutes, according to a Pima County Sheriff’s Department report. When a…
The Nearly Last Words of J.M. Smith
Editor’s note (well, not really, but go with it): We regret to inform you that J.M. Smith was discovered earlier this week, lying motionless in a pool of his own blood, vomit and urine, gripping an iPhone 4s (thank God for Siri) after he sent us a text. He was able to communicate, using only…
Lead Me On
Although there are certainly people reading this who won’t consider this fact a positive thing at all, but I doubt I’d be writing for a living without the music of Amy Grant. This might be a little bit of a stretch, but the beginning of my career goes like this: wash out of the music…
Now Showing at Home
513 Degrees After doing prison time for a crime he didn’t commit, Mike (Avelawance Phillips) and his brother (Malik Barnhardt) agree to make one last “delivery” for underworld criminals, because …? Like every DVD, also starring Danny Trejo. (eOne) Apocalypse Kiss A serial killer with OCD sets out for vengeance against the lesbian duo who…
Poetry at Play
31st Annual Tucson Poetry Festival Mari Herreras Thursday, April 3-Saturday, April 5 Hotel Congress 311 E. Congress St. 622-8848; www.tucsonpoetryfestival.org Poetry and poets take over Hotel Congress this weekend for the free three-day TPF XXXI “Poetry at Play,” the 31st Annual Tucson Poetry Festival—poetry workshops, poetry talk and some music and poets and poetry lovers…
Holy Wave: Relax
This Austin-based psychedelic-garage band finds its inspiration somewhere between Rubber Soul and the Nuggets-era revolution. On its second proper full-length album, the group proves everything old is trippy again. The opening track, “Can You Feel It?,” sets the tone, building a joyful haze from a throbbing bass line, simple reverberating guitar figure, cheesy organ wheezes…
Contest-Winner Concerto
Southern Arizona Symphony Orchestra April Concert 3 p.m. Sunday, April 6 St. Andrew’s Presbyterian Church 7650 N. Paseo del Norte 297-7201; www.sasomusic.org The Southern Arizona Symphony Orchestra has assembled another top-notch lineup for its April concert, with selections from Tchaikovsky, Liszt and Rimsky-Korsakov. It’s the kind of performances SASO has become known for since 1979.…
Reverend Horton Heat: Rev
Since 1985, Reverend Horton Heat has lit a fire under fans with a singular—and slightly psychotic—blend of country, surf, punk and rockabilly. Moving to the hardcore punk Victory Records for its 11th studio release, the band sounds reinvigorated, a bit more untethered and energetic. The full tank is evident from the get-go, with “Victory Lap,”…
Eat, Drink and Be Local
Viva La Local Food Festival 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday, April 6 Rillito Downs Park 4502 N. First Ave. 293-5011; www.vivalalocalfoodfest.com The food scene in Tucson is as good as it’s ever been, with a growing list of locally owned restaurants and breweries and a seemingly limitless supply of vendors populating numerous farmer’s markets.…
Editor’s Note
So Much Music Somehow this publication has become a catalog of my interests the last two weeks, with last week’s 100 Essential Dishes issue and this week, a celebration of the synergy of a thousand (est.) great bands coming to town in the month of April. Yes, we have Coachella to thank for a significant…
Happy Anniversary
An homage to Rodin. A classical ballet set to Mendelssohn. A lament for TUSD’s Mexican-American studies program. These are just a few of the divergent dances that fans can see in town this weekend, when two dance companies—the long-running Ballet Tucson and relative newcomer Safos Dance Theatre, a modern troupe—celebrate anniversaries in separate concerts. Ballet…
True TV
Game of Thrones Sunday, April 6 (HBO) Season Premiere: “Two Swords,” is as lighthearted and humorous as Game of Thrones gets, thanks mostly to series vets Peter Dinklage (Tyrion is the master of the stoic WTF? face) and Lena Headey (have another drink, Cersei), though The Only TV Column That Matters™’s new favorite character has…
Neanderthal Disco Party
Up in Oro Valley, the Great American Playhouse is making progress establishing itself as the place to go for lighthearted entertainment. Its goal is to feature good-natured scripts in the broad style of melodrama, complete with absurd plots that lean heavily on puns and anachronistic references, as well as energetic renditions of songs (also usually…
Borts Minorts: I Want to Live
With I Want to Live, Borts Minorts fashions a minimasterpiece of disorientation and unencumbered confusion by acknowledging no psychological or musical boundaries. This New York City-by-way-of-San Francisco artist combines the recreational mental illness of the Stooges’ Fun House with the cubist tendencies of Captain Beefheart’s Trout Mask Replica, but only conceptually. The funky garage rock…
Tucson’s Festival Weekend
First and foremost, streets were created to provide devoted transportation routes from point A to points B through X. But somewhere along the line—probably when that fancy Model T came off the assembly line—we forgot that transportation can consist of more than just cars, trucks and SUVs. It’s a tendency so ingrained in people today…
Live
I regret not having the space to cover the spellbinding sets at this show by opening acts North, Sex Prisoner, and Destruction Unit, and highly recommend these bands to any fan of aggressive music. Headliner Deafheaven has received the level of universal acclaim over the last year that superstars like Jay Z would have to…
Taco Time
There are few genres of food that have the versatility of tacos. They can be basic, cheap and simply prepared, or they can feature the most delicate, exquisite combinations of exotic ingredients prepared in intricate and complex ways. Either way, deliciousness has the potential to occur. And either way, a taco is a taco is…
Unkind Cuts
Tucson-Pima Arts Council Executive Director Roberto Bedoya called it a “budget nightmare.” He was talking about a proposal from Tucson City Manager Richard Miranda to reduce funding for his non-profit agency from roughly $400,000 a year to just $100,000. “I was not expecting this at all,” Bedoya said. “I knew it would be difficult for…
Noshing Around
Eat Like an Emperor Harvest Moon, 12125 N. Oracle Road, is hosting its Man Ham Emperor Feast at 5 p.m., Sunday, April 6. Chef/owner, Wanda Zhang is serving up a great six-course Chinese dinner with wine pairing for $50 a person. The meal includes such gems as wok-seared lobster and Peking duck roll. Also check…
Nine Questions
David Rodgers, 40, is the co-founder of Southwest Terror Fest and a member of local metal group Godhunter. The Terror Fest has been hosted at The Rock for the last two Octobers, but this year’s eclecticly loud music festival will relocate to the Rialto Theatre and District Tavern. Godhunter released their latest album City of…
Possibly a dream come true for Christian Slater-pooping-in-bed fetishists, but otherwise Nymphomaniac: Vol. I sucks
I like Lars Von Trier’s films. Actually, I love the majority of them. Antichrist, Melancholia and Dancer in the Dark are all movies that I deeply admire. When Von Trier’s name is on a film, I anticipate something special, or at least something so demented it has a certain unique character. I didn’t love Dogville…
Danehy
It was at a high-school girls’ basketball game that I met Yuanqi “Kylie” Zhang, who had recently won the Gold Prize in the Shing-Tung Yau High School Mathematic Awards. The competition pitted over 400 teams from Europe, Singapore, China, Taiwan, and the United States. The second-year international (as opposed to foreign exchange) student at St.…
Even More Marvel
The Avengers wing of the Marvel universe reached its commercial zenith a couple of summers ago, when the movie that finally brought together Iron Man, the Hulk, Captain America and Thor toppled the box office for more than a billion dollars. As good as The Avengers was, it also demolished New York City in the…
Media Watch
CICALA BOUNCES BACK FROM TUMBLE SEEN ‘ROUND THE WORLD KVOA Channel 4 sports director Paul Cicala found out just how viral the modern media landscape can be. Cicala was doing a live standup report from outside the MGM Arena in Las Vegas before one of the UA men’s basketball team’s Pac-12 Tournament matchups. In an…
Like Mom’s Mashed Potatoes
Southern Comforts is a boy-meets-girl, boy-loses-girl, boy-gets-girl-back play that adds nothing to the age-old formula except age. The “boy” is cranky 70-year-old widower Gus Klingman and the “girl” is widowed Amanda Cross, a septuagenarian with a sunny disposition. But there are two reasons that Kathleen Clark’s thin and unsurprising comedy works so well at Live…
The Skinny
DEFYING HER ROYAL MAJESTY Pima County Supervisor Ally Miller sure does feel threatened by retired businessman and former teacher Bob Dorson. At a recent town hall, Miller asked a sheriff’s deputy to boot Dorson out of the room because she didn’t like the way he asked the crowd a question about the Rosemont Mine. The…
Army Soldiers Take a Selfie During Fort Hood Lockdown
Associated Press is reporting that a gunman opened fire at Fort Hood Wednesday afternoon. 14 people were injured and the shooter may have died from a self inflicted wound, according to AP. It’s been five years since Army psychiatrist Nidal Hasan took 13 lives and injured 30 people at the Texas Army post, so this…
Listen to OFF!’s New Album ‘Wasted Years’ For Free
Photo courtesy of The New York Times. Click here to listen to OFF!’s latest album “Wasted Years” before it hits record stores on Tuesday, April 8. Hardcore punk band OFF! will be debuting their sophomore album Wasted Years on Tuesday, April 8. The New York Times is currently streaming the whole kit kaboodle so you…
Tucson Dine-in Movie Theater Coming in the Fall
Photo courtesy of Roadhouse Cinemas. Roadhouse Cinemas is expected to open in the fall. Tucson moviegoers are going to have to decide if they want beer or wine with their entrées while watching a film, at least at one theater this fall when Roadhouse Cinemas takes over the Grand Cinemas Crossroads 6 theater located in…
