Summertime
A note from the editor.
City Week
Big doings in Tucson this week.
Down With the Ship
The game Live Theater Workshop cast can’t quite salvage this sinking production
Mailbag
Howls of outrage and squeals of delight from our astonished fans.
Delightful Destruction
The special effects carry “The Day After Tomorrow,” which would have been better if the ‘actors’ had shut the hell up
Top Ten in Books
Reader’s Oasis bestsellers for the week ending May 28, 2004 Making the Perfect Pitch: How to Catch a Literary Agent’s Eye Katharine Sands, Kalmbach Publishing Co. ($18.95) There’s a Bobcat in My Backyard: Living With and Enjoying Urban Wildlife Jonathan Hanson, University of Arizona Press ($16.95) MoveOn’s 50 Ways to Love Your Country: Finding Your…
Cascabel
Where ostriches and furry cows roam–just be sure not to call it a “town”
Cancel This Flight
Bad taste, unfunny jokes and annoying cast members doom “Soul Plane”
Noshing Around
Monkey Box Two random words, chosen by Bill Mackey and Rachel Yaseen because both can be used as verbs and nouns, make up the name for the husband-and-wife duo’s new 1,000-square-foot downtown restaurant, at 100 N. Stone Ave., in the Pioneer Building. Yaseen also owns Rachel’s Market in the same building. Monkey Box boasts a…
Florence
Prisons define this town one hour north of Tucson–and money from those prisons may be the key to the town’s renaissance
Now Showing at Home
“Monster,” “Aileen: Life and Death of a Serial Killer,” “Bubba Ho-Tep,” “Broken Lizard’s Club Dread,” “Spider-Man: Deluxe Edition”
Eastside Discovery
A Wrightstown Road strip mall is home to an amazing restaurant with strong New Orleans influences
Hummingbird Haven
Jesse Hendrix has a lot of hungry feathered friends
Top Ten in Movies
Casa Video’s top rentals for the week ending May 30, 2004 The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King New Line Bubba Ho-Tep Silver Sphere Big Fish Columbia The Last Samurai Warner Brothers Miracle Walt Disney Paycheck Paramount Scary Movie 3 Dimension In America 20th Century Fox The Fog of War Sony Pictures…
The Fast and the Curious
Sam Lowe’s guidebook speeds through Arizona’s mildly unique roadsides
Amado
Master chef Micki Voisard teaches healthful cooking–for your pet
Uncommonly Good
The Shins work hard to describe things in new ways
Brushed Off
A county wastewater employee says he was canned for speaking out against a private company–on his own time
Democratic Instrumentals
Tortoise experiments, refines and collaborates to get their music just right
Packing Orders
A change in management at Arthur Pack Desert Golf Course could mean substantial improvements
Check Your Head
This year’s Plea for Peace tour focuses on voter registration
All Over for the Overpass
Business owners fret as the county prepares to tear down the Palo Verde Bridge
Soundbites
ORGANIC LOVE Ron Sexsmith has no desire to get it on with Morrissey, and he’s heard the jokes before, thankyouverymuch. Rather, he’s a Canadian singer-songwriter who counts Elvis Costello, John Hiatt and Paul McCartney among his fans. In other words, he’s a singer-songwriter’s singer-songwriter. But that’s not to say his songs can’t be enjoyed by…
Death of a Teacher
Lewis Dexter, beloved band director at Rincon University High School, suffers a heart attack and passes away suddenly
Nine Questions
David Slutes
The Skinny
SO YOU SAY YOU WANT A REVOLUTION? The recent budget squabble at the Arizona Legislature neatly demonstrates the split within the state’s Republican Party. After the state Senate passed a budget with the expectation that the more conservative House of Representatives would trim spending, GOP moderates in the House revolted against their own leadership and…
Live
U.S. Maple, Plush, Saturday, May 29
The Range
A recap of last week’s news
Top Ten in Music
CD City’s top sales for the week ending May 26, 2004 Slipknot Vol. 3 (The Subliminal Verses) (Roadrunner) Twiztid CC3 (Psychopathic) Alanis Morissette So Called Chaos (Maverick) Various Artists Rock Against Bush Vol. 1 (Fatwreck Chords) Los Lonely Boys Los Lonely Boys (Sony) D12 D12 World (Shady) Lenny Kravitz Baptism (Virgin) Prince Musicology (NPG/Columbia) Modest…
T Q&A
Tucson Q&A with Christopher Valdez, tough-guy mentor
Rhythm & Views
Fourteen years after her last album, ’80s R&B songstress Teena Marie returns with an album that transcends the proverbial “triumphant comeback” tag. La Doña is an enjoyable celebration of Marie’s still-amazing soprano, groovealicious attitude and instrumental chops. This 48-year-old mom is able to convincingly pull off sensual ballads and down ‘n’ dirty funk workouts. Marie…
Danehy
If a kid doesn’t go to high school, then that kid should not be able to play high school sports
Police Dispatch
Humping Around West Ruthrauff Road and North La Cholla Boulevard, May 16, 7:51 p.m. According to a Pima County Sheriff’s Department report, several witnesses at a bar accused a man, who was singing karaoke, of “dry humping” and berating a fellow patron. Witnesses said the man walked up to the alleged victim, who was seated,…
Eclectic Aesthetic
Hesitant hipsters, circus oddballs and political apathy make up this dance ‘Crescendo’
Downing
The power of the photograph is finally opening everyone’s eyes to the nature of U.S. involvement in the Middle East
Media Watch
COMMUNITY CLEAR CUTTING Noncommercial radio usually plays music that appeals to about as many people as are fluent in Aramaic. It’s not bad music; it just doesn’t draw enough of an audience to make a station attractive to advertisers. Then there’s community radio station KXCI, 91.3 FM, which during the past six years has been…
Rhythm & Views
Having grown up musically since their first album, Alaskan-bred 36 Crazyfists are back with A Snow Capped Romance. Combining a likeness of label-mates Killswitch Engage with Thursday, and Thrice with a set of balls, 36 Crazyfists are out to challenge themselves and their fans. A noticeable difference from the band’s debut disc, 2002’s Bitterness the…
Guest Commentary
PR charades notwithstanding, Fort Huachuca wrote the book on prisoner abuse
Pick
Park After Dark 2004
Rhythm & Views
While there isn’t a film accompanying the second installment of Soundtracks, the intent is plain: This atmospheric collection of jazz-inflected anti-arias conjures up numerous cinematic scenarios in the listener’s mind–the protagonist goes grocery shopping at the edge of the universe (the kinetic “Breakfast at Datura”); a chase sequence involving golf carts (“Naima,” featuring a gloriously…
