Cover Story
Behind the Bar
The Surly One Photographer Yoohyun Jung and I are waiting outside of the Surly Wench Pub at 9:54 p.m., Friday, June 20. I’m wearing a purple-striped tie from Target that only an ex-girlfriend would love. I regretted strapping on this fashionable noose around my neck while standing in the smog coming from a group of…
Jacob Acosta’s For The People By The People
Singer-songwriter Jacob Acosta — who just moved from Tucson to Oakland — returns tomorrow night for a special, free CD release show at Flycatcher for his latest album, For The People By The People. Download the album (on a pay-what-you-want offer) at: jacobacosta.bandcamp.com. Acosta discussed the album and his music with the Tucson Weekly. Stay…
NSFW: Bridget Everett, Please Come to Tucson
Dear Bridget Everett, Whatever it is you do, we like it at Weekly World Central and we need you to do it in Tucson. We have tittles in Tucson of all sizes and shapes that bounce in all sort of great way. So yeah … please, this winter, when you need a break from that…
Craig Gass on Marc Maron’s WTF Podcast
Craig Gass is one of the best stand up comedians to come out of Tucson. Craig Gass is a New York transplant, but he still claims Tucson as his home. Everyone in his immediate family is deaf, so they relocated here because of the Deaf and Blind school. Gass was a guest on Marc Maron’s…
Garfield Needs a Home
The Humane Society of Southern Arizona presents Garfield, a 9-week-old, male, domestic short hair. Reference no. 785753. Meet Garfield, a lovable kitten with personality plus! Garfield is searching for his very first home at the Humane Society of Southern Arizona. The Humane Society will be closed on Friday in honor of Independence Day, but will re-open…
Downtown Futbol Fans Flood Congress St.
Downtown Tucson was buzzing on Congress St. by 1 p.m. today for USA’s Round of 16 World Cup match against Belgium. From its west end at Elliott’s On Congress all the way down to Hi Fi Kitchen and Cocktails, soccer diehards and fair-weather fans alike gave local businesses a spike in traffic on what normally…
Closing The U.S. Teaching Gap
Image courtesy of shutterstock.com Linda Darling-Hammond could have been our Secretary of Education. She was Obama’s education advisor during his 2008 presidential campaign. Instead, Obama chose his Chicago basketball buddy Arne Duncan, who was the CEO or Chicago Public Schools, overseeing one of those “groundbreaking” education reform programs which pretty much tanked. Obama made a…
Arizona Advocates Hail, Condemn Supreme Court Ruling on Contraception
By JULIANNE LOGAN Cronkite News Service WASHINGTON – Arizona lawmakers and pro-life groups hailed Monday’s U.S. Supreme Court ruling that “closely held” businesses cannot be forced to provide certain contraceptives as part of health-care coverage for their employees. But while supporters called the decision in Burwell v. Hobby Lobby a “victory for religious freedom,” opponents countered that…
Complete Spielberg Summer Guide at The Loft
Here’s a chance to see some of Steven Spielberg’s classic films on the big screen once again. In July, The Loft Cinema will screen several of his films on Thursday and Saturdays at 7 p.m. Admission is $8 general, $6 Loft members and children 12 and younger. The Loft is located at 3233 E. Speedway Blvd. Here’s the…
Watch Dolly Parton Cover “Yakety Sax” at Glastonbury
What better way to start off the month of July with some Dolly Parton playing the saxamaphone. Parton covered the theme for the old Benny Hill Show at the Glastonbury music festival on Sunday. After performing the tune once, she dared herself to play the song again but backwards. The 68-year-young country goddess can do no wrong in…
Obama’s New Border Strategy: Reaction from Congressional Candidates
President Barack Obama brought together two of the GOP’s favorite topics yesterday when he assailed House Speaker John Boehner for not acting on immigration reform and vowed to use whatever executive authority he had to push through administrative actions. Obama cited the new influx of unaccompanied minors from Central America as the latest humanitarian crisis…
Hobby Lobby Decision is Crazy, so Ease Your Pain with Ginsburg (And Think Michaels?)
According to an NBC/WSJ poll, 53 percent of Americans don’t agree with the Supreme Court majority opinion siding with Hobby Lobby that employers can be exempt from the Affordable Care Act’s requirement that employer health plans cover prescription birth control. From MSNBC: “This is a deeply troubling decision. For the first time, the highest court…
New York City, Chicago and Tucson’s University High
Image courtesy of shutterstock.com Part of TUSD’s desegregation order is that University High School’s student population must resemble the district’s student population more closely. Currently, just over 30 percent of UHS students are Hispanic, compared with over 60 percent of the entire TUSD student population. The school has made a timid expansion of its admissions…
Grijalva Responds to Executive Action on Immigration Reform
When word went out that President Obama would announce at a press conference today that—tired of the Republicans lack of backbone to address immigration reform—he was finally going to act using executive action—something immigration reform activists and DREAMERS had been begging, organizing and fasting for. Today’s press conference happened and it felt like maybe the…
Lupita Murillo Celebrates 36 Years at KVOA
She’s a living local icon who seems to get better with every year—36 to this day, to be exact. It’s Lupita Murillo, a KVOA nightly news mainstay since 1978, when she moved here from KRGV-TV in Weslaco, TX. She was South Texas’ first Hispanic female in broadcasting at the time, and continues to produce award-winning investigative reporting on…
For Your Enjoyment/Horror, Here’s a Photo of Joe Arpaio and Frankie Muniz
So, this happened. Meeting w/ Malcolm in the Middle TV star Frankie Muniz. He's a fan of mine. Now I'm a fan of his! May join my posse! pic.twitter.com/R0lrQggGwt— Joe Arpaio (@RealSheriffJoe) June 30, 2014 It’s amazing what they can do with wax figures these days. Wait, that’s actually Sheriff Joe. Point retracted. Cue a…
Tucson Tamale Company Opening Ina and Oracle Location
Jackie Alpers There won’t likely be much rest in 2014 for Todd and Sherry Martin, the owners of Tucson Tamale Company. They opened their second location, on the eastside at Tanque Verde and Sabino Canyon, in January and are now following that expansion up with a third location scheduled to open this October on the…
The Underwear Party is Back
Good news for you exhibitionists out there: The Underwear Party is back. The third annual underwear fiesta will begin at 9 p.m., Saturday, July 19, at Hotel Congress, 311 E. Congress St. There will be a live performance by B4skin, and The Human Terrarium is making a comeback. A professional photographer will be available to take your picture in front of an Ancient Roman backdrop.…
Dog Freaks Out When Owner Gives Him 100 Balls for His Birthday
Maymo, the internet’s favorite Lemon Beagle for the next 15 minutes, received the best Birthday gift a pooch can ask for. His owners gave him 100 balls, and his reaction is priceless. Maymo and his sister Penny will never appreciate all the different colored balls because they are color blind. If you want to keep up…
Bob Dylan’s “Like a Rolling Stone” Manuscript Sells For $2 Million
Bob Dylan’s four page manuscript for “Like a Rolling Stone” just sold for $2.045 million at auction. Rolling stone. A rock that rolls. Rock and roll. As a word guy (and a Dylan guy), I gotta love it. The farthest back I can go with the phrase is the Muddy Waters song “Rollin’ Stone,” recorded…
Last Chance to Vote for Best of Tucson
Today is the absolute last day to cast your votes for this year’s Best of Tucson. Please help us praise everyone and thing that helps makes this city so great. The polls close at midnight, so don’t wait another Tucson minute. We just want to thank everyone that has already voted. Big shout out to all the…
ASU PD Under Scrutiny for Arrest of Professor
In support of ASU Professor Ersula Ore, who was walking home from campus on May 21, 2014 and stopped and questioned by an ASU police officer, the Arizona Ethnic Studies Network released a statement recently in support of the professor and to call attention to her case. You can read the entire statement here. Snippet:…
TIHAN is Looking for Volunteers
The Tucson Interfaith HIV/AIDS Network is a wonderful group that provides support services to those living with HIV, but in order to to the work they do, they need volunteers. If you’re looking for some fun and great people to spend some time with, check this out: We’re seeking people who like to stay active…
Grijalva on Huppenthal: Alarming Behavior and Terrible Judgment
US Congressman Raúl Grijalva issued a statement today on Arizona State Superintendent of Public Instruction John Huppenthal and his letter to U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan calling for an investigation: In light of revelations that Arizona State Superintendent of Public Instruction John Huppenthal authored racist and offensive blogs, Congressman Raúl Grijalva (D-AZ) reiterated his…
Watch The ‘Doctor Who’ Teaser
The BBC’s most popular series is returning for its eighth season. Here’s a 18 second look at Clara and the new Doctor Who, Peter Capaldi. The high concept drama will return on Saturday, Aug. 23. Go here to keep up with the new, elderly Time Lord.
Interview: Amy Miller on Comedy, Dads and Dogs in Vests
I feel sorry for the fool that doesn’t catch an Amy Miller performance this weekend. Miller was voted Portland’s Funniest Comedian by the Willamette Week in 2013. She hosts a hilarious podcast titled Sorry About Your Dad. She has performed in comedy festivals all over the country. Miller is hosting four shows this weekend at Laffs Comedy Café, 2900 E. Broadway.…
Huppenthal’s Perverted Worldview “Borders on Holocaust Denial”
Sam Kleiner, a third-generation Arizonan, a fellow at the Yale Law and Information Society Project and an occasional Tucson Weekly contributor, weighs in on the controversy over Superintendent of Public Instruction John Huppenthal’s anonymous blog comments: It is truly frightening that the man responsible for educating Arizona’s children grossly misrepresents the origins and nature of…
NPR Music Premiered Prom Body’s New Video ‘Guttuggering’
This has to best summer of Michael Fay’s life. National Public Radio premiered Prom Body’s latest music video “Guttuggering” on Friday. The band has been slowly leaking new tracks with different media outlets (most of them can’t seem to spell Tucson right) before Naughty By Natural ships on Aug. 1. You can pre-order the LP/cassette here. Here’s the latest…
Tucson Throwback Thursday: Daniel Buckley and Dolly Parton
Last week, we celebrated Throwback Thursday with Sir Paul McCartney a day after his 72nd Birthday. Daniel Buckley, veteran journalist and filmmaker, shared a charming photo of himself and the legendary Dolly Parton on his Facebook page. He was kind enough to allow me to share it on The Range. The photo was taken 34 years old when Buckley was…
A Message From the Wingspan Board of Directors
Here is the official statement from the Wingspan Board of Directors on the future of Tucson’s LGBT community center Wingspan has provided the Tucson and southeastern Arizona LGBTQ communities with an emotionally safe and discrimination free community center over the last 26 years. Wingspan has served thousands, providing advocacy, services and valuable programming to the…
Yikes is Selling its Quirky Goodness Online
Yikes Toys! at 2930 East Broadway Blvd., the purveyor of fun toys, cool kids’ books and quirky stuff (And Best of Tucson readers’ favorite on and off over the years), is now selling online. Move over Archie McPhee, our own desert quirk-stop is now on the internets and preparing to take over the world. At…
Shorter Huppenthal Press Conference: I Renounce, Repudiate And Apologize For My Hurtful Comments. But Damn, I’m Doing A Great Job As Ed Supe!
For people who like drinking games, I have a new one for you. Watch Huppenthal’s complete 30 minute press conference and take a sip every time you hear the words “hurtful,” “renounce,” “repudiate,” “apologize,” “love” and “heart.” Only a sip, mind. Otherwise you won’t make it past the first five minutes. And be sure to…
Hip-Hop Reunion Show at District Tavern Friday Night
What’s with all the reunion shows this weekend, Tucson? Chronicles Presents, Tucson’s self-proclaimed premier Hip Hop showcase group, are going back to basics and reuniting for a free show at 9 p.m., Friday, June 27, at The District Tavern, 260 E. Congress St. The home of the $3 shot of whiskey and High Life. The current…
Officials: Investors Often Overlook Indian Country Development Opportunities
WASHINGTON – A Mesa executive told a Senate panel Wednesday that there is plenty of opportunity for economic development in Indian Country, but not enough investment to make it happen. Gary Davis, president and CEO of the Mesa-based National Center for American Indian Enterprise Development, was one of several witnesses at a Senate Indian Affairs…
What if Game of Thrones Were Released on VHS in the ’80s
I guess we can totally concur that the 1980’s was a serious time for drugs and television. I’d liked you to take a moment and think of that happier time and place, and picture what it would be like Game of Thrones was a hit HBO series in the eighties. It would look and feel…
True TV
Rapture-palooza Rake Friday, June 27 (Fox) Series Finale: Try and follow this: The now-canceled Rake, starring Greg Kinnear as a rakish (get it?) screw-up who also happens to be a brilliant defense lawyer, debuted in January with its second episode. Fox continued to air episodes out of running order for several Thursdays before moving it…
Cap’n Al Calls It Quits
State Sen. Al Melvin called it quits this week. The Saddlebrooke Republican finally acknowledged what many had said since he announced his candidacy: He simply had no chance of winning a race for governor. Melvin blamed his departure on his failure to collect the necessary 4,500 $5 contributions to qualify for Clean Elections funding. Melvin,…
Fourth Avenue/Downtown Shopping Crawl
Hot dogs, apple pie and baseball may be as all-American as Chevys, but we’d bet that going shopping is another popular American pastime. Shoppers get their own holiday of sorts with Independents Week (June 29 to July 6) and a Golden Coupon, offering 20 percent off a purchase at participating local businesses. To kick off…
DVD Roundup
Afflicted Two buds traveling the world filming a web series find their trip cut short when one of them hooks up with a vampire in Paris and, upon realizing that he can’t die and must feed, becomes a vigilante Dexter vampire. There’s your web series. (CBS Films) Helix: Season 1 Investigating a viral outbreak at…
Wellness Welcome
While plans to open an LGBT-focused health and wellness clinic in Tucson are slightly delayed due to construction permit issues, the clinic is moving forward, according to Joe Nutini, Living Out Loud Health and Wellness Center program coordinator with CODAC Behavioral Health Services. In March, CODAC announced that early this summer the organization planned to…
Soundbites
2ND HOUR CONSTITUTION Who doesn’t enjoy reunion shows? Heck, I basically went to Coachella in April just for reunions (Outkast and the Replacements) and was willing to be surrounded by young people and airborne dust just for the opportunity to see groups I had a sentimental attachment to. For turn-of-the-century Tucson music fans, Saturday night,…
Live
It’s an interesting concept: Put a few somewhat traditional acts from the local heavy music spectrum in an environmentally friendly Tucson brewery that normally hosts shows that feature quiet, singer-songwriter types and see what happens. Finely crafted guitar solos, pleasant mosh pit etiquette, a deeply refreshing experience — call it artisanal metal. It was good.…
The Round Table
There was a time when being an “intellectual snob” was not such a bad thing; a time before former Vice President Spiro Agnew attempted to discredit his detractors by calling them “effete intellectual snobs.” Not so effete were the witty literati that made up the famed Algonquin Round Table in New York City in the…
Nine Questions
Shannon Hebert (one of the subjects of our cover story this week) has been making drinks for a living for the past 13 years. Hebert used to pour coffee at Safehouse and now she makes cocktails infused with espresso. You can find the photographer/fashion designer holding down the day shift at The Flycatcher. Ask for…
9 Song Sampler
There’s a certain fringe of rock ‘n’ roll’s eternal wellspring of youth that always believes, generation after generation, they’re doing something dangerous. They’re the enemy and a threat to the state. The music they make and the subculture they identify with is just gonna knock down the pillars of society and cause some kind of…
Love, Satire Style
David Wain and Michael Showalter, two of the funniest men on the planet and longtime collaborators, have put together a great goof on romantic comedies with They Came Together, the perfect vehicle for Paul Rudd and Amy Poehler. Wain directs from a script co-written with Showalter, and it turns out to be a nice companion…
Sounds of the Summer
By day, Cassie Van Gelder ensures that the various sets of 88 keys at the UA School of Music sound crisp and intune as their head piano technician, but she extends her keyboard expertise to playing in Proper Operator, a duo with fellow-former-Seashell-Radio-er Courtney Robbins, who are scheduled to take the stage at the Flycatcher…
Editor’s Note
As some of you have noticed already, the last few issues of the Weekly, we’ve been trying out some design changes—a more readable font, better use of photos, a few things moving around. Honestly, some sort of print redesign was a long time coming for us, even prior to the sale, simply because any publication…
Danehy
A couple weeks ago, the Weekly ran a letter written by the son of the guy who was taking sanctuary in a southside church to avoid being deported. The letter detailed the crappy existence the family leads because they have to be careful not to get pinched by La Migra. They can’t go to Disneyland;…
Ask A Mexican!
Dear Mexican: I think I might be Mexican—but there are some people who might disagree. Being that you are the source of all knowledge mexicano, I thought I might ask you. Here’s the deal: My ancestors left the US in 1847 knowingly and entered recognized territorio mexicano. The U.S. and Mexico were in the middle…
Welcome to the Neighborhood
Everyone has their preferences for a good neighborhood bar, but one thing is key: feeling like you belong. That’s one of Sidecar’s great strengths—whether you want to lounge, chat with friends, sidle up to the bar or watch the sun go down at a patio, you’ll have a spot to do it in Broadway Village’s…
NY State of Mind
There was a lot of rejoicing when New York finally passed its medical marijuana bill last week. Every time these laws pass, Facebook lights up with a flurry of dancing in the cyber-streets from Broadway to Ventura Boulevard. But as far as I’m concerned, the New York law barely counts, and in some ways it’s…
Police Dispatch
GOING BATTY Foothills Area May 23, 9:41 a.m. A psychologically unstable man beat a trailer with a baseball bat after resisting mental-health treatment—and ended up in the clink rather than a clinic, according to a Pima County Sheriff’s Department report. A female trailer-park resident told the PCSD she found her trailer severely banged up, shortly…
Cinema Showdown!
OPTIMUS PRIME TIME Explosions. Power ballads. Incoherent plots. That’s right, it’s Michael Bay time. If you’ve got a vehicle or military fetish, head on over to Cinemark El Con on Thursday, June 26 for all the mayhem and destruction you can handle. Starting at 6:15 p.m., it’s a Transformers double feature. First up is the 2007 live-action…
The Legend of the Masked Marshal
Sometimes it’s not easy to tell the bad guy from the good guy in a Western. This holds true for the new show The Legend of the Masked Marshal at Trail Dust Town, 6541 E. Tanque Verde Road. The audience is invited to “join the Masked Marshal as he rides once again to ride the…
Bistro Bizarre
Viva’s Bistro is a juxtaposition of elements: tablecloths and beer pong tournaments; nachos and tiramisu; combination restaurant, sports bar, nightclub, karaoke bar, dance club. Identity is the core feature of success in the restaurant industry: Pick a concept and be the absolute best at it that you can be. Rarely does the mishmash “little bit…
Accepting the Inevitable
For an album that deals heavily with death, Young Widows lined up its most intense sonic assault yet. The Louisville trio, formed in 2006, plays with a powerful, tenacious style, combining elements of post-punk noise rock hardcore with a creeping sense of doom, but until this year’s Easy Pain LP, the band had never truly…
Hottest Day of the Year Ride
We can’t confirm that Saturday, June 28, will be the hottest day of the year, but BICAS is throwing caution to the sun and is hosting a Tucson-style beach party called the Hottest Day of the Year Ride. That means plenty of sun, sand and waves—in the pool, that is. BICAS (Bicycle Inter-Community Art & Salvage)…
Independence Inconvenience
Life will throw you for a loop sometimes. For Donna Stern (Jenny Slate), it’s a merry-go-round of big surprise after big surprise. One night, her boyfriend breaks up with her. Days later, the bookstore where she’s worked for five years announces its closing. Then she gets blotto drunk before going on stage to perform stand-up…
Dead Retina: Two Young Cops
Dead Retina’s debut 7-inch Two Young Cops is a speedy, tuneful record that combines the artlessness of second-wave New York punk with the reductivist Stooges aesthetic found in the same era of pre-hardcore Los Angeles. Signposts of Dead Retina’s forebears prop up often—from the Raymond Pettibon-influenced black and white cover art to the nihilistic lyrics…
Nine on the Line
Jonathan Landeen is Chef/Owner/Restaurateur of the famed Jonathan’s Tucson Cork, known as much for his iconic mustache and chef’s hat as he is for his fine-dining, Southwestern cuisine. He has been a staple in the Tucson restaurant scene for more than 30 years, with his namesake endeavor nearing its 20th anniversary as a must-dine fixture.…
Noshing Around
NOW THAT’S A-SPICY-A SUMMA Tavolino Ristorante Italiano, 2890 E. Skyline Drive, is offering a few summer promotions that should want to get you out of your AC cave, including a three-course meal for just $20.14 per person that includes an ensalata mista, a choice of lasagna, spaghetti pomodoro or chicken cacciatori, and a scoop of…
The Skinny
WATCHING THE WATCHDOG Clean Elections Commission is the latest agency to investigate AZ attorney general The hits just keep on coming for Arizona Attorney General Tom Horne, who is the subject of a new investigation by the Citizens Clean Elections Commission. Sarah Beattie, a former staffer in Horne’s constituent-services section, filed a complaint last month…
