Cover Story
Solitary Justice
Don’t wear orange. Don’t wear brown. Don’t wear a shirt that shows collarbone. Bring change for vending machines. Bring identification. Two hours. Nothing more. In the parking lot of the Arizona Department of Corrections’ Browning Unit in Florence, I reach for the collar of my white shirt to make sure it’s buttoned up completely. My…
Apparently, the Threat to Make Ironwood Ridge HS “Famous” Was Simple Tomfoolery, Feds Decide
In case you missed it last night, a kerfuffle was raised when a user of the imageboard/scourge of the internet 4Chan posted a Google Maps satellite image, promising that Oro Valley’s Ironwood Ridge High School would be known world-wide by next week: Today, we learned, thanks to the Local Daily, that local and national authorities…
Good Oak Bar (Sort of) Opens Tonight
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The New Sleigh Bells Song Sounds Just Like Sleigh Bells
The first time I heard Sleigh Bells I told my wife they sounded like Andrew WK composing music for a cheerleading competition (that was before I’d seen the cover of their debut album, a retro-ish photo of cheerleaders), a description that doesn’t always hold up, but does sort of get to what you can usually…
HoCo Fest 2013: Rockin’ Down Memory Lane
When Hotel Congress launched the first HoCo Fest over Labor Day Weekend in 2005, the celebration featured popular Tucson bands and musicians who had been part of the Old Pueblo’s bubbling-under scene 20 years earlier, at a time when Arizona bands like The Meat Puppets, The Gin Blossoms, Green on Red, The Sidewinders (now Sand…
The Trailer for the New Season of “Eastbound and Down” Is Amazing
This week’s cover story (available around town nowish) is a look at the forthcoming TV season, and while for someone like me who considers television among my best friends, there’s a lot to look forward to over the next few months, the highlight of September is almost certainly the return of Eastbound and Down on…
Resilience in Getting Potted
I Marylee, Potted Desert Gardener Purple Fountain Grass – A Go To Performer in the Desest We did choose to live in the desert now didn’t we? For us die-hard gardeners, we still want our gardens to look good and provide us with color and interest around our homes. Obviously, we have no control over…
John McCain Laughs Off Poker Controversy
It’s possible John McCain hasn’t cared what people think about him for awhile, but if anyone thinks he’s going to show some sort of remorse for getting caught playing poker on his iPhone (better than Candy Crush, I guess) during hearings today about Syria, guess again.
Anthony’s in the Catalinas Has Closed
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City Pension Initiative Headed For November Ballot
The court battle over the proposed initiative to scrap the city’s pension system is over. Pima County Superior Court Judge James Marner issued a ruling today putting Prop 201 on the ballot, so voters will get to decide the issue in November. The city’s unions had tried to strike enough signatures from the petitions to…
Arizona Stadium’s North End Zone: A Review
For most people, last Friday’s UA football season opener against Northern Arizona was about seeing what the second season under Rich Rodriguez would bring for the Wildcats’ long-suffering, Rose Bowl-less fan base. How would RichRod replace the versatile Matt Scott at quarterback? Would the defense continue to resemble a gold sifting pan with oversized holes?…
Do You Miss Rewind Fees and Saloon Doors in The Adult Section? ‘Rewind This’ Brilliantly Captures a Lost Era
When’s the last time you popped a VHS tape in your VCR? I’ll assume it was around the last time you slipped an Al Stewart 8-track in your Hi-Fi stereo before you rushed down the street to call your buddy on the payphone. Yes, videotapes and VCRs are clunky relics of a bygone era. When…
Here’s a Gospel Take on an R. Kelly Song for Your Enjoyment
While I would consider myself a R. Kelly fan, sometimes I don’t always feel so good about the overt sexuality of nearly all of his music. Thankfully, someone on an Atlanta gospel TV program provided this “gospel version” take on Kells’ “Bump n’ Grind.” My ears are telling me no, but my soul…my soul is…
Fear Is a Politician’s Best Friend
Time’s Katy Steinmetz flags the work of UA political scientist Samara Klar, who has examined the role of fear in political rhetoric: Klar explored what happens when political rhetoric primes two different parts of a person’s identity. Her case study: Democrats typically support spending more money to extend social services; parents typically support reducing the…
Some of Tucson’s Best Bartenders Get National Recognition, Party in Warehouses
If you’re a craft cocktail fan that wonders what your favorite bartenders and mixologists do in their spare time, then have we got the video for you! Tanqueray Ginstitute, the professional education arm of Tanqueray that keeps your bartenders abreast with the latest in cocktail thought, came down to film some of Tucson’s best bartenders,…
Pima County School Superintendent on Anonymous Hernandez Flier: “The Individuals Who Have Committed These Acts Need To Be Held Accountable”
On Friday, Aug. 30, Pima County School Superintendent Linda Arzoumanian issued a statement in response to the anti-gay fliers against Sunnyside School District board member Daniel Hernandez and Congressman Raul Grijalva’s call for an investigation. Yep, the attacks are bad, she says, but her office doesn’t have the authority to conduct an investigation: Congressman Raúl…
HoCo Fest: Latin Dance Night, Friday, Aug. 30
C. Elliott Left to right, Sergio Mendoza on keyboards, Gabriel Sullivan, Camilo Lara, Salvador Duran Sergio Mendoza y la Orkesta topped a bill of Latin-dance bands aimed at giving the fans a workout on the dance floor. Camilo Lara of the Mexican Institute of Sound and Gabriel Sullivan of Taraf de Tucson sat in, having…
In Case You’ve Already Forgotten, The Tucson Padres Cease To Exist
It’s worth noting that more than 8,000 people came out to Kino Stadium last Thursday for what most certainly will be the final minor league baseball game in Tucson in quite some time. It was a nice gesture from the local baseball faithful, although a backhanded compliment all the same because the attendance figure was…
McCain: “Assad Regime’s Use of Chemical Weapons Requires a Military Response by the United States”
U.S. Sen. John McCain issues a joint statement with Sen. Lindsey Graham on President Barack Obama’s decision to consult Congress before taking military action against Syria: We believe President Obama is correct that the Assad regime’s use of chemical weapons requires a military response by the United States and our friends and allies. Since the…
Following The Money: Who’s Got What as the City Council Campaigns Heat Up
Last week’s primary election was perhaps the sleepiest in The Range’s memory. All five candidates on the ballot ran unopposed, so suspense was in short supply on Election Day. ’Twas a time in this town, not so long ago, that primaries were the best slugfests of the election cycle, given that Democrats have such a…
US Rep. Barber on Syria: “I Look Forward to the Debate in Congress”
Congressman Ron Barber issued a brief statement regarding President Barack Obama’s announcement this weekend that he would consult Congress before making a military strike on Syria: I am pleased that the president is seeking consultation and approval from Congress on this important decision for our nation. This use of chemical weapons is a terrible assault…
AZ Illustrated Politics: Grijalva Calls RNC’s Opposition to Path to Citizenship “Politically Naive and Stupid”
Congressman Raul Grijalva did not hold back in assessing the Republican National Committee’s recent vote to oppose a path to citizenship as part of comprehensive immigration reform, calling the proposal “politically naive and stupid when—and I hate to admit that—the Republican Party does have some ability to inroad to the Latino community. But when you…
You Can Listen to The 1975’s Debut Now
Tucson is a great city for a number of reasons, but for me, one of those is that we tend to catch some shows here by musical acts on the rise, especially considering our population and location somewhat in the middle of nowhere. Most music fans who have lived here any significant length of time…
Today’s Your Last Day to Vote Tap & Bottle As One of America’s Best Beer Bars
Tucson Weekly readers, so far you’ve done your part in defending Tucson’s craft beer-loving honor by voting the new-but-excellent establishment Tap & Bottle as a finalist in CraftBeer.com’s Best American Beer Bar competition — what say we keep it going? Today’s the last day for you to vote for Tucson’s beer bar representative to win the…
AZ Illustrated Politics: Grijalva Talks Immigration, Rosemont, Syria & More
On tonight’s AZ Illustrated Politics: Congressman Raul Grijalva stops by to talk about the prospects of immigration reform in the House of Representatives; his concerns about a anti-gay flier targeting Sunnyside School Board member Daniel Hernandez; his opposition to the Rosemont Mine; and his concerns about potential military action in Syria and the NSA’s surveillance…
Apparently, Tucson Is a Hipster Town Now (Although We’re Too Busy Making Pickles to Care)
Why on earth someone would try to predict the next big hipster city, I don’t know (or if the very nature of naming a city as somewhere hipsters might proliferate diffuses the appeal of a city to hipsters, which I believe might be part of the plot to the sequel to Inception), but CultureMap is…
Slaid Cleaves Sings the Battle Heroic
Slaid Cleaves finds poetry in humanity, one struggling soul at a time. Accompanied by “Scrappy” Jud Newcomb on guitar, he shared his story songs at a Rhythm and Roots concert on Aug. 28. C. Elliott’s photos follow. Find out more about Cleaves and his music in Gene Armstrong’s Tucson Weekly feature, Songs and Stories. C.…
Grijalva Calls For Investigation Into Anti-Gay Flier Targeting Daniel Hernandez
Congressman Raul Grijalva is calling for an investigation into the recent recall flier attacking Sunnyside School Board member Daniel Hernandez for being gay. The press release from Grijalva’s office: Rep. Raúl M. Grijalva will hold a press conference at 12:30PM Arizona time to discuss the recent aggression directed at Sunnyside School Board Member, Daniel Hernandez.…
Twitter Feed Follow Friday: UA vs. NAU
The crowd for tonight’s game between Arizona and Northern Arizona should be a decent one, though it won’t sell out. If 50,000 make it out to Arizona Stadium for the 7 p.m. kickoff that would be considered a success, seeing as it’s a Friday and it’s Labor Day Weekend. If you’re not among those going…
There’s a Jingle for the Forthcoming “Michigan Lefts” So It’s All Going to Be OK Now
Apparently these “indirect lefts” that will going in up and down Grant are actually going to be a thing that we have to figure out as drivers, but thankfully, the RTA has this happy (and very brief) jingle to assist with the process. Put it on repeat and sing along! [HT: Reddit Tucson]
Charles Bradley Puts the Soul Back Into Soul at the Rialto Theatre, Aug. 22
Read the current Tucson Weekly for Joshua Levine’s Live review, and enjoy more of C. Elliott’s photo coverage right here. C. Elliott Charles Bradley Aug. 22 at the Rialto Theatre C. Elliott Charles Bradley Aug. 22 at the Rialto Theatre C. Elliott Charles Bradley Aug. 22 at the Rialto Theatre C. Elliott Charles Bradley Aug.…
The Apache Drive-In in Globe Is Closing
Joe Bob Briggs, the esteemed Drive-In movie critic, once wrote the only way to enjoy watching movies was “out under the stars, like God intended, in the privacy of my own automobile.” Sadly, that experience is just about cooked. In Tucson, those days died when the De-Anza Drive-In was demolished in 2009. As of this…
Polyphonic Spree and the Gospel of Light
Dallas Josephy Polyphonic Spree at Club Congress, Aug. 26 With more than 25 players onstage at at Stubbs BBQ, an outdoor arena the size of a football field , Polyphonic Spree debuted at SXSW in March, 2003, less than a week before the U.S. invaded Iraq. Song by song their performance elevated what was then…
Here’s a Chance to Get Some of the Money You Spent on Expensive Juice Back
My memory is so terrible that I never remember which of these class-action settlement forms I’ve filled out, but yet, every time I hear about one, I dutifully enter my information in the hope that I’ll receive a surprise check down the road in the mail. So, while I make no guarantees about whether you’ll…
A Nice, Blunt Take On The Ongoing Pac-12/DirecTV Kerfuffle
I am a DISH Network subscriber, have been for more than three years now. And while it’s not the greatest provider in the world, it gets the job done. Besides, I also get to yell HOPPAH! all around the house as I bask in the ability to record six shows at once and watch them…
This Week in Dubious Achievements: Mike Polak Edition
To anyone vaguely connected to the media, political campaigns are notable for the volume of emails they send out. Any achievement, endorsement or event prompts an electronic communication to a distribution list. For some reason, I ended up on a list for a Phoenix City Council candidate recently and his people would send an email…
Football And Gambling: Kissing Cousins
As much as the National Football League and the NCAA would like you to believe otherwise, there’s no denying the unofficial — some would say unavoidable — link between college and professional football and the concept of wagering on said sports. Go to any sports book in Las Vegas, and football is far and wide…
Your Desert Potted Garden in August – What to Do This Month
August Potted Garden Tips Marylee, The Potted Desert Summer Desert Potted Color We have made it to August and as the sun rises a little later each morning, we can try to coast into September.HOWEVER, as I write this it is hot and windy out so I am not sure if you will agree with…
Media Watch
KFFN’S OEHLER MOVES TO PHOENIX SPORTS-TALK STATION On a national scale, sports-talk radio is the fastest-growing format in terrestrial radio, and in larger markets, where ratings are more precisely tabulated, its popularity is bordering on saturation. Take Phoenix, for example. The Valley has four sports-talk stations, all with a local host presence. In a business…
Tale of Two Visits
Let’s say you visit a restaurant twice. The first time, the service is solid, the food is good and the experience is generally satisfactory. The second visit, everything goes wrong. Dishes are ordered and never hit the table. The service, while well-meaning, is a mess. The food that does make it out is lukewarm (at…
Ask a Mexican!
Dear Readers: The Mexican wants to beat you to the carne asada case this Labor Day fin de semana, so behold two oldies-but-goodies I amazingly haven’t yet passed off as new in this columna. The first one is extant and one of the favorite questions the Mexican ever got; for the second respuesta I’ve added…
Downworld Downer
How many young adult fantasy novel adaptations have to die before they stop? Harry Potter, Twilight and The Hunger Games have been massive. But up on blocks in the front lawns of studio heads are the rusting remains of Narnia, The Golden Compass, Beautiful Creatures, Eragon, Lemony Snicket, Inkheart, The Host and as of this…
Northwest Side Strains
The Tucson metro area is edging ever closer to a full complement of cannabis dispensaries—we have 11 of an eventual possible 12—and Nature Med, Inc. on the northwest side is among recent local openings. The Oro Valley dispensary opened last month in a nondescript, steel box on the north side of Ina Road just west…
Camping and Working
At the beginning of his feature-directing career, David Gordon Green looked as if he was aiming to be Terrence Malick’s heir apparent. Films like George Washington and All the Real Girls had that distinctive, deliberate Malick pacing along with that graceful, poetic dialogue. After a couple of more dramatic offerings (Undertow and Snow Angels) Green…
Editor’s Note
As a preface, I want to state up front that whenever a local business closes, I generally believe that to be a bad thing. I understand how dreams, economic stability, emotions and more go into any family business venture and that the failure of ambition to sustain itself can be rough. Getting that out of…
The Waves Have Come
Chelsea Wolfe likes to create music that emphasizes contrasts. It’s in that spirit that she describes her latest album, the most electronic to date of her eclectic career, as a “love letter to nature.” “It didn’t really seem weird to me,” she says. “I like the idea of a song sounding light but the subject…
Borderlands Shell Game
Interstate 19 weaves past quaint villages and metastasizing suburbs on its way from Tucson to the Mexican border. But peek beyond the bucolic veneer of this meandering roadway and you’ll find a bristling army of law enforcement, from Border Patrol agents and Highway Patrol down to local sheriff’s deputies. That means plenty of busts along…
Danehy
A few things before we blessedly leave August behind: • A columnist (or even a normal person) cannot speak his mind in public and then not expect stuff to come back his way. In fact, it’s rather disappointing when stuff doesn’t come flying back a columnist’s way. But every now and then, the return stuff…
Stoner Rock’s Best Kept Secret
It’s a long stretch of land and sea between the icy forests of Sweden and the hot, dusty deserts of Southern California, but don’t tell Truckfighters that. Truckfighters, named after a 1970s action-packed book series, are a heavy three-piece band from Örebro, Sweden. They fit snugly in that catch-all classification that’s associated with most bands…
Serraglio
Shortly after moving into our house two years ago, my partner and I noticed thick webbing on the kitchen floor in the narrow crevice between the refrigerator and cupboard. There was a robust population of black widow spiders in the yard, so we assumed that one had gotten into the house, which made us anxious…
Nine Questions
The Electric Blankets started off as a side project for members of the Provocative Whites and the Ghost of 505. Steven Yanez Romo, the drummer, was the last member to join the band. Romo says that a couple of years and a few quality songs later, the band decided to take the project more seriously.…
People and Places
Colin Chillag takes a camera with him wherever he goes. Not, mind you, to shoot the sunburst sunsets of Phoenix, where he lives, or its towering mountains. No, he makes pictures of his daily life, the friends he hangs out with, the stores where he shops. Then he turns these snapshots of the ordinary into…
Noshing Around
Olive The Pizza, Please A quirky little—and I do mean little—artisan pizza place has opened at 931 W. Congress St. Los Olivos Artisan Pizza serves thin-crust pies and features standbys such as pepperoni, Margherita and sausage and peppers. But it also has some unusual offerings such as a trio of mushroom varieties on top of…
More Melodrama
There’s a new kid on the theater block, and that block now extends all the way to Oro Valley. The Great American Playhouse raised its curtain last weekend, launching the greater Tucson area’s second theater specializing in melodrama, that rather low-brow genre featuring the good guys versus the bad guys and groan-worthy pranks and puns.…
Pedersen on Sports
With the calendar soon turning from summer to fall—a literal thing in most parts of the country but just a figure of speech here—the parks, playgrounds and open grassy areas of Southern Arizona have been infiltrated by the soccer masses. Youth football, too. Children of all ages are kicking balls or making tackles, scoring goals…
City Week
Yukking it Up for a Cause Laughs at the Loft 5:30 to 7:30 p.m., Tuesday, Sept. 3 The Loft Cinema3233 E. Speedway Blvd. 795-0844; loftcinema.com When David Fitzsimmons isn’t writing his column or penning an editorial cartoon for the Arizona Daily Star, he’s performing stand-up comedy, something he’s been doing for more than 20 years.…
Growing Tucson’s History
Tucson’s own edible museum is now open for tours. Mission Garden is a re-creation of the Spanish colonial-era walled garden that was part of Mission San Agustín. The new gardens are on the old gardens’ original spot at the corner of Mission Road and Mission Lane—at the foot of “A” Mountain. “It’s built over the…
To a Connected Life
According to Tejpal (one name only), a healing practitioner at Tucson’s Miraval Resort and Spa, every human being comes into the world endowed with a unique purpose. Sadly, she laments, only a small percentage of us are actually in touch with our calling. And that, she says, can lead to a lot of dissatisfaction. “Until…
Soundbites
THINGS CAN ONLY GET BETTER In 2005, Hotel Congress decided to throw a birthday party for Club Congress. It had been exactly 20 years since the hotel had begun hosting events and live music in the club room, and entertainment director David Slutes knew a good opportunity when he saw one. The three-day event was…
The Skinny
JUICY DUCEY For months, our GOP friends have been telling The Skinny that Arizona Treasurer Doug Ducey is the front-runner in next year’s GOP gubernatorial primary. Ducey, who built a fortune peddling Cold Stone Creamery franchises before making his political debut with the 2010 race for treasurer, can’t formally announce that he’s running for governor…
Rocky Path
Two weeks ago at its annual summer meeting, the Republican National Committee waded into the ongoing battle over immigration reform with a resolution that opposed any path to citizenship for undocumented people now in this country. The resolution, authored by Arizona National Committeeman Bruce Ash and overwhelmingly approved by his fellow GOP leaders, calls instead…
TQ&A
Wesley Fawcett Creigh moved to Tucson in 2005 and has been involved in border issues as an activist and artist. But her most recent project, “Painting by Numbers: Women in AZ Detention Centers, Bringing Numerical Statistics to Life,” which came about through a Tucson Pima Arts Council award, has received the most attention. She’s always…
Police Dispatch
RAT WHISPERER FOOTHILLS AREA JULY 15, 7:49 A.M. A man in a wheelchair who allegedly broke into a garage showed that he really didn’t need the wheelchair by jumping out of it and running across a golf course. He also was seen talking to a dead rodent, according to a Pima County Sheriff’s Department report.…
True TV
On Monday, Sept. 2, FX launches spin-off network FXX. If that’s not confusing enough—most viewers aren’t going to notice that extra “X,” no matter how many promos you beat over their heads—the new net is taking three of FX’s biggest players in the switch (well, two and a late-night talk show seen by more critics…
Now Showing at Home
Cockneys vs. Zombies The undead are taking over East London, and it’s up to the McQuires to save their grandfather, some bank-robbery hostages (whole ‘nother story) and themselves in the zombie comedy that’s totally not like Shaun of the Dead. (Shout Factory) Empire State When a luckless armored truck employee (Liam Hemsworth) gets inadvertently caught…
Scout Niblett: It’s Up to Emma
The anger that burns at the core of “Gun,” the striking song that kicks off Scout Niblett’s seventh album, is not the chaotic wail of a jilted lover, but the calm plotting of one intent on revenge. “I think I’m gonna buy me a gun, a nice little silver one / And in a crowd…
Prom Body: Creep the Strange
Let’s get one thing straight: There is simply not enough room in a pithy album review to fully grasp even half a dimension of Prom Body’s astonishing debut, Creep the Strange, so consider this a series of pointers before you, dear listener, take the inevitable plunge. Michael Fay, drummer for instrumental post-rockers Sleep Like Trees,…
Live
Charles Bradley, aka the Screaming Eagle of Soul, was unknown and unrecorded until recently. The 65-year-old has just released his second album, Victim of Love, on neo-soul label Daptone Records. Last Thursday, his backup band played a few gritty instrumentals before Bradley walked onstage and unleashed a scream louder than the Big Bang. It sounded…
The Grahams: Riverman’s Daughter
Although this is the official debut by the wife-and-husband team of Alyssa and Douglas Graham, they’ve played together for many years in different contexts, most notably on two excellent jazz-folk solo albums by Alyssa. Riverman’s Daughter was written as the New York City-based Grahams traveled the length of the Mississippi River, inspired by the lives…
