Cover Story
Extreme Politics
When the dust cleared from August’s Republican primary in the race to replace the retiring Ann Day on the Pima County Board of Supervisors, Ally Miller emerged as the winner. Miller captured 37.6 percent of the vote in northside District 1, besting second-place finisher Mike Hellon by almost 6 percentage points. Now Miller faces Democrat…
The Best Song I’ve Heard All Damn Week: Jonathan Coulton’s ‘Baby Got Back’
It’s not helpful to listen to a song that makes you laugh this much when you’re attempting to do the things that you actually get paid to do, but I had to take at least two laugh breaks from putting together this week’s issue of Tucson Weekly (which is a doozy, by the way; photo…
Today’s Strange Food Trend: Peanut Butter and Pickles?
At least, that’s what the New York Times’s is saying in this story from Dwight Garner. From the Times: The PB&P has been a minority enthusiasm in America for generations, lingering just under the radar. The sandwiches appeared on lunch-counter menus during the Great Depression and in extension-service cookbooks in the 1930s and ’40s in…
‘Esquire’ Wonders How Twitter Changed the Debates
No matter the results of the 2012 Presidential election, its debates will be notable for three phrases: Big Bird; binders full of women; and horses and bayonets. If you’ve been on the Internet at all over the past month, you’ve seen the hallmarks of these new memes — the Tweets, the Tumblrs accounts and the…
A Quick Round-Up of Various Food Happenings Around Town
After many months of hectic restaurant action around Tucson, things have slowed down a bit this month. But there are still quite a few interesting little food-related tidbits going on across the city. Out west, it appears Taco Giro is opening a location in the old El Sabroso Oakwood Grill location at 610 N. Grande…
Talking Comics: A-Babies vs. X-Babies!
Witness Heroes and Villains’s Cynthia Gerriets’ ovaries grow three sizes in this, the A-Babies vs. X-Babies edition of Talking Comics!
Barber vs. McSally: The CD2 Forum
Congressman Ron Barber and GOP challenger Martha McSally met in their only televised showdown last night as Arizona Public Media brought you a forum from the UA Student Union. The candidate discussed the future of Medicare, the Affordable Care Act, tax policy, education issues and more.
Your Go-Home Video of the Day: The Pride of Arizona Plays Fun.
Seriously, the work day is just about over. Why not relax with the soothing sounds of the world’s first alternative music marching band? This is the Pride of Arizona rehearsing “Some Nights” and “We Are Young” from the indie band fun., as part of their second show this season; the first, of course, was their…
All Work, Heroic Play: Grueling Construction Jobs and Norwegian Lightning Strikes Can’t Dull Black Tusk
Jonathan Athon, bassist/vocalist for Savannah, Georgia, sludge-metal band Black Tusk, is a sweaty mess right now. But not because he has just wrapped up a show and stepped off the stage of an air-conditionless club. Instead he’s trapped in a stuffy, sawdust-clouded woodshop cutting rafters with a 24” reciprocating blade. Unlike many of his pampered…
Maricopa County Screws Up Again: More Documents Have Incorrect Election Date
Last week, it was revealed that Maricopa County officials sent out incorrect information to Spanish-speaking voters, naming Nov. 8 as the day of the general election, instead of the correct date, which is Nov. 6. Well, it turns out that printing the wrong date on the Spanish-language documents accompanying Maricopa County voter ID’s wasn’t an…
NYT’s FiveThirtyEight Blog Predicts That Arizona Will Soon Be a Battleground State
So, yet again, the New York Times has decided that Arizona is set to become one of our nation’s electoral battleground states, with helpful commentary from Arizona State University’s Bruce Merrill, David Berman and Joseph Garcia of the Morrison Institute for Public Policy. Interestingly, the article provides a voter analysis of the state, county-by-county, making…
Your Tuesday Afternoon Out-Of-Town Tune: Pigeon John, “Set It Loose”
L.A. based rapper Pigeon John isn’t coming by the Old Pueblo on his latest tour, but he’ll be swinging up to the Phoenix area, playing Tempe’s Stray Cat Bar & Grill on Oct. 26, accompanied by Sunspot Jonz, CC Beats, Dirty Napz, Sauce, YNOT, & Zilla. Tickets are only $8, which is a small price…
Keepin’ On Chooglin’ With John Fogerty
Jim Lipson reviewed last week’s John Fogerty show at AVA at Casino del Sol for Tucson Weekly. But who are we to say no when Al Perry sent us his own review of the same show? I’ll admit that while I don’t go out as much as I should, I’ve attended a few concerts at…
Tonight Is The Final Forum Between Ron Barber and Martha McSally. Will You Be There?
Tonight marks the final forum between the candidates running for Arizona’s Congressional District 2, current Democratic CD 8 representative Ron Barber and Republican challenger Martha McSally. The two will be squaring off at the University of Arizona Student Union Memorial Center Grand Ballroom, where they’ll be asked questions by a panel of journalists, including the…
EJ Montini: ‘Polls Are For Suckers’
Arizona Republic columnist E.J. Montini has come to a conclusion: Polls are for suckers — like journalists. He’s reflecting on the news that U.S. Senate candidate Richard Carmona’s campaign has an internal poll showing Carmona ahead of his opponent, Jeff Flake. Flake’s campaign, of course, has a similar poll showing Flake in the lead. Is…
Get Excited, Caffeine Addicts: Tucson Coffee Crawl Events Have Been Posted
If you love our local coffee shops (and you damn well should, considering the both the quantity and quality of cafés in this town) then you need to check out Tucson Coffee Crawl. Adam wrote a bit about it last week, but now their website is finally completed and includes a list of upcoming events.…
Precious Problems
While it was unfortunate that the fundraiser and screening of the documentary Precious Knowledge was cancelled Thursday, the biggest casualty was a former Mexican-American studies student who planned to raise money selling concessions during the show. Crystal Terriquez also happens to be a student featured in the documentary about the MAS classes, program, teachers and…
No Weekend Lull in CD 1
The weekend was no vacation for the candidates of Arizona’s First Congressional District. On the heels of a Washington Post announcement that the race shifted from “Leans Dem” to “Toss Up,” the Rothenberg Political Report changed their ranking from “Leans Democrat” to “Toss-up/ Tilt Democrat.” Friday saw new information about Paton’s supposed payday loan industry…
You CAN Eat The Flowers!
With so much (understandably) emphasis on sustainability, I thought it time to talk about flowers in our gardens that can also come to the dinner table. Those of us who want our colorful gardens and also want to grow some vegetables and herbs, can mix the two knowing that it all can come together in…
Your Preview For the Third Presidential Debate
We’re only fifteen minutes away from the final Presidential debate of the election season, coming to us from Lynn University in Boca Raton, Florida. The moderator for tonight’s debate will be Bob Schieffer of CBS News and host of CBS’s “Face the Nation.” So, what can we expect tonight? For one, terrible ratings. From the…
One of College Football’s Greatest Pranks: Stanford’s Fake “Daily Cal”
Simply put, this is one of the greatest pranks that I’ve ever heard of. Four days after Cal beat Stanford with “The Play,” a kickoff return that’s as famous for its numerous laterals and on-field chaosas it is for the Stanford trombonist that was run over in the end zone, brilliant members of the Stanford…
Your Monday Afternoon Jazz Break: Clifford Brown, “Joy Spring”
Clifford Brown, by the time of his death at age 25, was one of Jazz’s next great trumpet superstars. Unfortunately, his life was claimed by a car accident between gigs in Philadelphia and Chicago, leaving a great sadness in and thoughts of what could have been for a man who exhibited talent beyond his years.…
Today In Interesting Photo Projects: Marines Before, During and After Serving
Claire Felicie Slate has the word on this series of photos by Dutch photographer Clair Felicie entitled “Here Are The Young Men.” The series depicts the face of 20 Dutch Marines before, during and after their tours in Afghanistan. Slate’s Heather Murphy captured the feeling in the photos perfectly here: What’s interesting about this project…
Activists for Mexico’s Kidnapped to Felipe Calderón : ‘We Want An Answer…For Us Right Now We Are Dead While Living.’
From Mexico City, Marta Molina filed this recent report in Waging Nonviolence on the Movement for Peace with Justice and Dignity’s actions to remind the Meixcan government that its lack of transparency and resolve means there remain no answers for those who grieve over the 80,000 killed and disappeared. The series of actions are especially…
Throw Out Your CDs and Hard Drives: The Storage Medium of the Future is the Cassette Tape
This is proof positive that everything old is new again. From New Scientist, it turns out that hard disks are on their way out as mediums for high-density information storage, as a result of the physical limitations of hard disk technology. The solution, interestingly, is related to what’s currently sitting in my nearly-old-enough-to-buy-beer pickup truck:…
In Case You’ve Missed It: ‘Wildcat’ Editor Kristina Bui’s Apology For Last Week’s Comic Kerfuffle
Last week, the Arizona Daily Wildcat student newspaper got into some hot water for publsihing a comic that was as unfunny as it was offensive (you can check out our reactions to it here and here); as a result, the comic’s creator was canned and Wildcat editor-in-chief Kristina Bui heard numerous calls for her to…
Billy Sedlmayr Set to Record Solo Debut
The music he’s playing now is a long ways off from the punk rock bands he came up with in Tucson three decades ago. But in those years, Billy Sedlmayr has amassed a lifetime of stories that he’s putting into song. And he’s captured the attention of a new generation, forging an unlikely collaboration with…
Border Patrol Death May Be Result Of Government Gridlock
Earlier this month, Border Patrol agent Nicolas Ivie was killed when he and two other agents responded to an alarm raised by a faulty ground sensor on Oct. 2nd. Now, the L.A. Times has revealed that Ivie’s death may not have occurred had a plan to update security systems along the border not stalled. From…
The Truth, Period.
Yep. I can’t stop watching the Body Form video made in response to a man’s post on the company’s Facebook page regarding women’s periods being depicted in commercials as joyous, adventurous occasions. Oh, dear lord, I too wish that monthly visitor brought such happiness to the world. His Facebook post: Hi , as a man…
Bus Riders Union: ‘Save the Ronstadt Center’
On Monday, Oct. 22, the Bus Riders Union will meet at 4 p.m. at the Ronstadt Transit Center (at Sixth Avenue and Congress Street) to discuss “the possible destruction or downsizing of the Ronstadt Center due to downtown developers’ desire to squeeze profits out of this prized downtown piece of land.” From the press release:…
Family of ‘Toñito’ Demands Justice in Nogales March
Josh Morgan From right to left: José Antonio’s mother, Araceli Rodriguez; his grandmother, Taide Elena; and Selma Barrón, the mother of Ramses Barrón, another Nogales youth killed under similar circumstances by Border Patrol in early 2011. The three women were standing in front of the clinic on Saturday near the U.S./Mexico border where Elena Rodriguez…
Political Roundtable: Rounding Up the Props
On Arizona Public Media’s Political Roundtable last night, Pima County Democratic Party chairman Jeff Rogers, Tucson City Councilman Steve Kozachik and political strategist Sam Stone discussed some of the more controversial propositions on the November ballot, including the open primary, the sales tax, the road bonds and the proposed changes that would give the governor…
Tomorrow: A Screening of “Made In LA (Hecho En Los Angeles)”
Tomorrow, Saturday, Oct. 20, the Univeristy of Arizona’s Center for Latin American Studies will be screening “Made in LA (Hecho en Los Angeles,) a documentary film in Spanish and English with bilingual subtitles. It follows garment workers, many of them Mexican immigrants, in their long fight with clothing giant Forever 21 in an effort to…
Today in Local Kickstarters: Daniel Martin Diaz’s “Soul of Science”
Daniel Martin Diaz, proprietor of the Sacred Machine Museum and Curiosity Shop, and one of the most prominent artists in the Tucson area, has created a Kickstarter project to raise money for his newest book, “Soul of Science.” And incredibly, though the project began only this week, its already surpassed its goal, with more than…
Coming Tonight to the Rialto: araabMUZIK and Sleigh Bells
Tonight at the Rialto Theatre, Maryland-based music producer araabMUZIK is hitting the stage with his incredible ability to repeatedly smash an MPC and create fantastic beats as part of his dual-headliner tour with Brooklyn’s Sleigh Bells, who were the subject of a feature in this week’s Tucson Weekly. And as a preview for tonight’s show,…
If Casino Del Sol Isn’t Part of Your Halloween Plans, Here’s Why it Should Be
Is that costume you’re planning to wear for Halloween contest-worthy? Is it one that would also enable you guzzle drinks, gamble and gyrate to devil-themed music? Or do you just want to see other people look silly doing all of that? Then Casino del Sol should be part of your Oct. 31 itinerary this year.…
Today in ‘Things I Thought I’d Never See’: The County Promo-ing an Afrojack Concert
But that’s exactly what I saw in my inbox today, because it turns out that he’s playing at the county-owned Kino Sports Complex a week from today. The press-release deets: Grammy Award-winning DJ and producer Afrojack bring his massive dance beats and electrical new stage show to Kino Sports Complex on Friday, Oct. 26 as…
ASUA Pride Alliance on That Dumb ‘Wildcat’ Cartoon
In a piece published in the Arizona Daily Wildcat, the co-directors of the ASUA Pride Alliance offer their thoughts on that now-infamous cartoon. As we move forward from this point, Pride Alliance asks a few things. Similar to what many have been saying and what has been posted by the Wildcat, we ask for more…
Arizona Daily Star Loses Another: Brady McCombs to Join AP
It looks as if the Arizona Daily Star is losing yet another one of its staffers — Brady McCombs, a reporter on the border and political beats, has taken a job with the Associated Press. The Weekly’s Media Watch scribe John Schuster obtained this comment from McCombs: “I will be the AP’s Supervisory Correspondent in…
Kirkpatrick-Paton Congressional Race: Now a “Toss-Up”
Arizona’s Congressional District 1 race is now “tossup,” according to The Washington Post’s Chris Cillizza. Previously he had ranked the district as “leans Democratic,” but Cillizza now notes: Former congresswoman Ann Kirkpatrick (D), who is trying to win a district with a slight GOP lean, just got passed over for the Arizona Republic’s endorsement. “We…
This Week in Tucson Bicycling
Mountain biking legend Gary Fisher was in town this week to help raise money for Living Street Alliance. He led a community bike ride with hundreds of Tucsonans and said officials needed to to more to encourage people to ride their bikes for transportation. Instead of adding bike racks when people have to lock to…
Will You Be Attending Tucson’s First Porktober Event?
If so, will you opt for the $3-per-plate option or the $21 all-inclusive “Pork Pass?” Either way, there will be plenty of pork to go around at Tucson’s first Porktober event on Friday, Oct. 26, at Mercado San Agustin at 100 S. Avenida del Convento. Several local food trucks – including Planet of the Crepes…
Stateside Presents Does Your Dirty Work for You
The fine folks at concert promotion outfit Stateside Presents have created a playlist of songs by acts coming to Tucson in coming weeks, in order to make it easier for you to decide which shows to go see. Shameless promotional tool? Sure. Totally useful and a great listen? Yep, that too. Track list: *One Second…
It’s Friday. Why Not a Cat Video?
Thanks to ABC News, we now have a list of 20 top Internet cat videos. Here’s one for you kitten fans out there. It only has 65.6 million views as of this writing. Go figure.
The Spectacular Successor to Gangnam Style: CollegeHumor’s “Mitt Romney Style”
Our love for Korean sensation PSY’s “Gangnam Style” is well-documented around these parts. So with that in mind, we bring you the political parody song of the season: “Mitt Romney Style”
Check Out A Panel That Runs the Political Spectrum Talking Civil Liberty Tonight
Tonight, the public is invited to attend a panel discussion presented by the University of Arizona chapter of young Americans for Liberty, featuring liberal writer Glenn Greenwald, conservative lawyer and former Associate Deputy Attorney General Bruce Fein and libertarian commentator Jacob Hornberger as the trio of disparate political opinions come together to discuss “The War…
Your Final Reminder to Send in Submissions for The Great Cover-Up
(Note: Crossposted from We Got Cactus) This is the last of these reminders I’ll subject you to, but this is the final notice that submissions are due tomorrow — Friday, Oct. 19 — if you’re interested in participating in this year’s Great Cover-Up. This year’s event will take place at Plush on Thursday, Dec. 13,…
Wat Buddhametta’s Thai Buffet Is This Weekend
If you decide to go to Wat Buddhametta’s monthly Thai buffet at 5 p.m., this Saturday, my suggestion is to arrive early. Last month’s event was absolutely packed, and the line was still almost out the door nearly an hour after it started. I wouldn’t keep talking about this event if it wasn’t so tasty,…
Your Final Reminder to Send in Submissions for The Great Cover-Up
This is the last of these reminders I’ll subject you to, but this is the final notice that submissions are due tomorrow — Friday, Oct. 19 — if you’re interested in participating in this year’s Great Cover-Up. This year’s event will take place at Plush on Thursday, Dec. 13, Club Congress on Friday, Dec. 14,…
Martha McSally and Ron Barber Square Off In Sierra Vista
Ron Barber and Martha McSally, opponents in the race for the open seat in Arizona’s new Congressional District 2, met last night in Sierra Vista, in the first of two debates between the two. We have this account from reporter Bill Hess, of our sister publication, the Sierra Vista Herald. Check out the story, as…
About That ‘Wildcat’ Cartoon: Everyone Calm the Heck Down
So the ill-advised Arizona Daily Wildcat cartoon is now national news, at least in media and LGBT circles. A Change.org petition that calls for the figurative heads of the Arizona Daily Wildcat cartoonist, editor and copy editor (Huh? Copy editors don’t look at cartoons!) as of this writing has around 3,250 signatures. Jim Romenesko, the…
Ally Miller Continues Campaigning From Fantasyland
Tucson Weekly’s cover story delves into Tea Party Republican Ally Miller’s tendency to get the facts wrong when discussing Pima County. Miller, who is facing Democrat Nancy Young Wright in the race to replace the retiring Ann Day on the Pima County Board of Supervisors, responded to an editorial by Thelma Grimes of the Explorer…
Deron Miller’s Kickstarter Project Has Some Nice Incentives
Deron Miller (CKY, Foreign Objects, World Under Blood) created a Kickstarter project yesterday to record a solo album and have it released by next year. The incentives aren’t all that bad and the ten bucks really comes out to be a pre-order when you consider it. After one day and with thirty-one days left the…
Tagg Romney Wanted To “Take A Swing At” Obama and a Salon Writer Made It About Race
Taggart Romney, son of Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney, was interviewed by North Carolina radio station WPTF following the second Presidential debate, and was asked by host Bill Lumaye what it felt like to have President Barack Obama call his father a liar (starting at 00:35 here). Tagg’s response?: “[you want to] jump out of…
Arizona Opera Season Begins on Saturday
Lisette Oropesa stars as Lucia in the Oct. 20 performance. Arizona Opera opens its season with Lucia di Lammermoor at 7:30 p.m., Saturday, Oct. 20, and 2 p.m., Sunday, Oct. 21. Tickets range from $25 to $125. For information, visit www.azopera.org. For tickets, visit www.ticketmaster.com. Opera Synopsis: In the Scottish highlands, a feud drives men…
It Appears Mazage Cafe Is Setting Up in a New Spot
Mazage Cafe and Hookah Lounge has shut down its original location at 1545 N. Stone Ave., but further investigation shows the place is setting up shop in what was most recently the extremely short-lived Auntie Dora’s Front Porch at 903 E. Fort Lowell Road. The restaurant’s sign is already affixed to the outside of the…
Arizona Daily Wildcat Publishes Really, Really Dumb Comic
Yesterday, the Arizona Daily Wildcat ran a comic that was, well … let’s just call it dumb. I don’t feel like republishing it here because looking at it makes my head hurt, but there’s a link to it here, for those interested in seeing it. The problem with the comic is two-fold. For one, it’s…
The Skinny
Carmona and Flake continue to trade blows in a tough U.S. Senate race … Ron Barber rolls out a group of Republicans who are crossing party lines to support him, while GOP challenger Martha McSally calls it “petty politics of division” … You can see Barber and McSally debate next week … and more!
Top Ten in Books
1. A Safeway in Arizona: What the Gabrielle Giffords Shooting Tells Us About the Grand Canyon State and Life in America Tom Zoellner, Viking ($26.95) 2. The Tools: Transform Your Problems Into Courage, Confidence, and Creativity Phil Stutz and Barry Michels, Spiegel and Grau ($25) 3. Knocking on Heaven’s Door: How Physics and Scientific Thinking…
Soundbites
A BIG BLUES WEEKEND Because I’m a member of an international coalition that has sworn off the use of the portmanteau that occurs when one combines “rock” and “October,” this seems like the perfect time to give some other genres their day—or, in this case, week—in the sun. The Southern Arizona Blues Heritage Foundation (SABHF),…
Change vs. Stability
Should he stay, or should he go? Issues, approaches and philosophies aside, the 2012 election for Pima County sheriff comes down to that one basic question. After 32 years in office, should Clarence Dupnik get a ninth term based on his long and successful track record, or is it time to shake things up and…
Featuring: A Moron!
I enjoy watching Ethan Hawke getting the shit scared out of him. He spends much of Sinister in this mode, so I enjoyed the film, to a certain extent. Sinister is a kooky stew of horror themes, including the isolated writer, found-footage deaths, haunted houses and scary children. They are presented in a sporadically creepy…
From Familiar to Fresh
Alexis Krauss of Sleigh Bells—the experimental pop duo from Brooklyn who combine aggressive guitars, bubblegum-sweet vocals and pummeling electronic beats—says her band is polarizing for many reasons. “I guess the first thing is the volume,” she says. “Our live shows are very loud, and we want you to feel the music, and there are strobe…
Payday vs. Kickback
Republican Jonathan Paton’s official Southern Arizona campaign headquarters are tucked into an ordinary strip mall on West Ina Road, but most of the Congressional District 1 candidate’s campaign has been run on the road. “I don’t really have an office,” said Paton, 41, during a recent interview at his campaign headquarters. “My office is my…
Top Ten in Cinema
1. Prometheus 20th Century Fox 2. Dark Shadows Warner Bros. 3. The Raven 20th Century Fox 4. Rock of Ages Warner Bros. 5. The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel 20th Century Fox 6. The Cabin in the Woods Lionsgate 7. Hysteria Sony 8. A Cat in Paris New Video 9. Red Lights Millennium 10. Werewolf: The…
Top Ten in Music
1. Between the Buried and Me The Parallax II: Future Sequence (Metal Blade) 2. Muse The 2nd Law (Warner Bros.) 3. Mumford and Sons Babel (Glass Note) 4. Coheed and Cambria Afterman: Ascension (Xenon) 5. All Time Low Don’t Panic (Hopeless) 6. Sleeping With Sirens Let’s Cheers to This (Rise) 7. MGK Lace Up (Est19XX/Bad…
Media Watch
Barbara Grijalva earns Silver Circle honors; former Citizen reporter finds a new home ‘downtown’
A Family at War
Marcel Pagnol’s influence on French cinema goes back to the 1930s. He made his early mark as a director, but Pagnol’s bigger contribution, at least by volume, was his writing. Many of his screenplays, stage plays and novels have been revisited time and again. This is the first remake of his 1940 film, The Well…
Nine Questions
Fook, the morning-show host at KFMA FM 92.1/101.3, moved to Tucson last year from Chicago, where he was a DJ for Q101. Ever since, he’s been waking up KFMA fans with sarcasm and hilarity. What was the first concert you attended? Public Enemy with Neil Young—at the time, what I thought was the most-bizarre pairing…
The Issue of Admission
Five people are running for two Pima Community College governing board seats, including the two incumbents—but only three of the five were willing to talk to the Tucson Weekly about their campaigns and the issues the college faces. Marty Cortez, who has served for three six-year terms, said she wants to return to complete the…
Now Showing at Home
The re-release of Magical Mystery Tour; the director’s cut of Little Shop of Horrors; and the collector’s edition of Ridley Scott’s Prometheus all come home.
Live
Tucson’s Go Nowhere! Booking has recently brought some great underground rock bands to town, many of them signed to Burger Records, a California-based label that specializes in recordings on cassette. All three bands at this show happen to be working with Burger. Pop Zeus is the name under which Mikey Hodges, from Brooklyn, N.Y., records…
Weekly Wide Web
If you weren’t paying attention on the morning of Sunday, Oct. 14, then you missed out on a tense yet entertaining bit of human history. Austrian stuntman Felix Baumgartner jumped out of a helium-driven capsule, fell 24 vertical miles and parachuted down safely to the ground, breaking a few world records—and the sound barrier. In…
A Special Sauce
When I reviewed Mr. K’s BBQ nine years ago, I wrote: “Mr. K’S BBQ may be the most unattractive restaurant I have ever eaten at. … Having said that, Mr. K’s BBQ has some of the better barbecue I’ve ever laid my lips on.” Well, a lot has changed since then. A little more than…
Nicki Bluhm and the Gramblers: Driftwood (Little Sur)
Soul, country and classic hippie-rock all mix together in this immediately likable album from San Francisco’s Nicki Bluhm and the Gramblers. Bluhm’s vocals shine—a honeyed blend of Linda Ronstadt, Sheryl Crow and Bonnie Raitt—while the band expertly navigates its way around laid-back oldies, groovy jams, barroom rave-ups and even hootenannies. Driftwood might be a history…
Police Dispatch
A case of mistaken vengeance ruins both a paint job and a horned lizard’s day; a part-time lover gets riled up by some clear liquors.
Noshing Around
A preview of Tucson Food Day; Tucson’s burger scene continues its expansion; the secret pulled pork at Goodcents
Bowerbirds: The Clearing (Dead Oceans)
Bowerbirds’ third album is like a table that’s been reset from a simple homemade breakfast to an elegant dinner. The band’s raw talent and charm shine through, untouched, yet there’s a clear upgrade that goes beyond any cosmetic change. Lush production and arrangements do more on The Clearing than boost the song presentation; they give…
More Metal!
When people think about the Tucson music scene, and the bands that are generally associated with it, it’s a good bet that people aren’t thinking of heavy metal and all of its wide-ranging genres and subgenres. Hopefully, that will change this Friday and Saturday. Thirty-two extreme musical acts from Tucson, the Southwest and all the…
Perfume Genius: Put Your Back N 2 It (Matador)
After an impressive debut, Learning, Seattle’s Mike Hadreas returns with the excellent Put Your Back N 2 It. It’s an album that locates power in fragility and tenderness in dissonance, and—for a tight 32 minutes—remains stunningly potent. Hadreas spins sad and redemptive songs in purposefully oblique fashion. Closer “Sister Song,” balanced on a plinking, wintery…
The Swing District
The only thing standing between Democrat Sharon Bronson and a fifth term on the Pima County Board of Supervisors is Republican Tanner Bell. Bell, a former offensive tackle on the UA football team, hopes to bring an end to Bronson’s 16-year career representing District 3. The District 3 race is the key battleground for those…
Not Quite as Controlled?
The lawyers are at it again, shoving legal briefs and filings and arguments down each other’s throats and generally trying to rip new assholes in each other for the benefit of all mankind. This time, I am referring to a federal case brought by Americans for Safe Access, a medical-marijuana-advocacy group that has been fighting…
Buddhist Warriors
See the Shaolin Warriors at 3 p.m. on Sunday, Oct. 21 at Centennial Hall.
City Week
Digging Native American culture; Susan Meiselas’s documentary photography; a look at 10 years of FOUND Magazine; and family fun with FAME
Danehy
I have a few questions (rhetorical and otherwise): • OK, ‘fess up: Who thought it was a good idea to run Gabby Saucedo Mercer against Raúl Grijalva? Somebody high up in the Republican Party had to have had a “fight fire with fire” moment, and then others had to have agreed. She’s H-O-R-R-I-B-L-E! • A…
T Q&A
In collaboration with the Alliance for Global Justice, Tucsonan Frida Espinosa Cárdenas is staging a production of Beyond the Walls: A Visit With the Women of El Buen Pastor, Patio Six. The play is part of Woman, Mother, Political Prisoner: A Colombian Reality, an event at 6 p.m., Saturday, Oct. 20, in Guadalupe Hall at…
Ask a Mexican!
Trouble on the homefront; what, exactly, is a huipil?
Messina
By day, they are moms, call-center workers and restaurant employees. By night, they are a fierce and competitive sisterhood ready to fight tooth and nail for victory. It’s OK if they break some teeth, get black eyes or purple-colored bruises. These are the women of Renegade Rollergirls of Tucson. Playing nice isn’t an option. Wanting…
A Farce That Flails
The star of Steven Dietz’s play, Becky’s New Car, is Steven Dietz. The show is being produced by Sacred Chicken Productions, utilizing the facilities of the Beowulf Alley Theatre. In general, we are treated to a group of satisfactorily skilled theater folks investing their earnest efforts in this—ahem—vehicle, which is often quite funny. But what…
Editor’s Note
For obvious reasons, the big political races—for U.S. president, U.S. Senate and so on—are getting a lot of attention from media and the public alike. However, many not-so-big races are not getting a lot of attention—and they should, because what these elected officials do affects all of us, directly and often immediately. Some examples: •…
Mailbag
Mark Napier stumps for the Weekly readership; a reader makes his case for an endorsement of Ethan Orr; an Independent voter asks us to reconsider our stance on Prop 121.
Evolving Views
Last weekend, Tucson celebrated Pride, a festival for the lesbian, bisexual, gay and transgender community. Meanwhile, two Tucson theaters were showing very different theatrical productions that could be said to have “queer” themes—the UA’s Arizona Repertory Theatre opened the contemporary musical Avenue Q, while Live Theatre Workshop resuscitated Noël Coward’s 1925 farce Fallen Angels. Both…
Guest Commentary
The American economy is suffering from a severe case of the “uns”—unemployment, underemployment, unfunded mandates, unaffordable health care and unsustainable debt. Congress is adding to the problem by creating uncertainty by failing to address these challenges in a bipartisan, thoughtful, pragmatic way. We have had (until recently) the longest stretch of high unemployment (43 months…
After the Storm
A tropical storm blew into Hawaii during Thanksgiving week in 1982. Raging across the tropical paradise, it reached hurricane strength, leveling thousands of buildings. Artist Barbara Rogers was visiting the islands, planning to soak up inspiration for her magical realist paintings. But Hawaii’s Hurricane Iwa not only tossed houses by the hundreds into the sea,…
Volts and Revolt
Cottonwood-laced stretches of the San Pedro River are a bird-watcher’s Xanadu, home to blue grosbeaks and green kingfishers, Western tanagers and crissal thrashers. But if power-industry honchos have their way, those feathered denizens may soon be dodging 130-foot steel-lattice towers and 500-kilovolt transmission lines. Still, the success of any such undertaking is only as good…
Drugs and Prophecy
It’s not just the international borderline that gets crossed in the new Del Shannon crime thriller, Crossing Sonora; you’ve also got marriage-vow lines, legal lines and loyalty lines. And then there’s the normal/paranormal line. Or not. When last we saw Del Shannon, she’d been blasting away at a shooting range to exorcise the demons from…
The Sleaziest Thing About Food Writing
Writing about food is pretty much as innocent as it gets. Venture out, find things people might like to eat and write about it in a way that is useful. But there’s a sleazy side to it that most food writers don’t like to bring up. This dingy side of it concerns restaurants giving free…
Bizarre Foods With Andrew Zimmern Might Be Coming Back to Tucson
This just arrived in my inbox: My name is Stacie Simonpietri and I am a production researcher with the Travel Channel program, Bizarre Foods with Andrew Zimmern. After such an enjoyable experience filming our “Arizona” episode in 2009, we are looking into producing another episode entitled, “Arizona Desert.” It would be in and around the…
