ROCK OUT TO HELP ASSAULT VICTIMS

Even tough guys have hearts. Eight local hard-rock and metal bands
will join forces this week for a show to benefit the Southern
Arizona Center Against Sexual Assault, which is, according to a
press release, “a nonprofit organization that offers a full range
services to victims of sexual assault in Pima County and throughout
Southern Arizona. We serve primary and secondary victims and survivors
of recent and past sexual assault, and provide sexual assault education
and awareness to the general community.” It has done so for the last 30
years.

Performers at the all-ages benefit, which begins at 6 p.m.,
Saturday, May 2, at The Rock, 136 N. Park Ave., will be
Flesh Factor, Stone Cirrus, Cheepness, Sinister
Mustard, Blind Greed, Dealbreaker, Suicide
Parlor and Mr. Wiley. To raise additional funds, four
autographed guitars will be raffled off: one signed by Wiley Arnett
(Sacred Reich), one signed by David Ellefson (Megadeth, F5), and one
signed by all of the performing bands. Tickets are $8 in advance, or
$10 at the door. For more information, call 629-9211.

WHOLE HOG

In the midst of swine-flu madness (not to mention the relative calm
of the Tucson Folk Festival), another type of hog is invading Tucson
this week, as the Third Annual Tucson Thunder, aka the Arizona
State Harley Owners Group (HOG) Rally, takes over points around town
far and wide. From Thursday, April 30, to Saturday, May 2, the
rally will hold various events at several locations, including a HOG
Welcome Party in the parking lot of a Harley-Davidson dealership, and a
ride from the Tucson Convention Center to Old Tucson Studios with Mayor
Bob Walkup.

But this is, after all, a music column, we’d be remiss if we didn’t
mention that on Friday, May 1, and Saturday, May 2, the rally will
feature a full slate of live music by local acts on two stages: one at
La Placita Village, 110 S. Church Ave., and one in the Tucson
Convention Center Courtyard, 260 S. Church Ave. Here’s that
schedule:

Friday, May 1, La Placita Village: Michael P. (2 to 3:15
p.m.), Courtney Robbins (3:30 to 4:45 p.m.), Mitzi Cowell (5 to 6:15 p.m.).

Friday, May 1, TCC Courtyard: The Tall Paul Band (4 to 5:15
p.m.), Cochise County All-Stars (5:30 to 6:30 p.m.), The Last
Call Girls (6:45 to 8 p.m.).

Saturday, May 2, La Placita Village: Leila Lopez (3 to 4:15
p.m.), Al Perry (4:30 to 5:15 p.m.), Jeremy Michael
Cashman (5:30 to 6:45 p.m.), Stefan George (7 to 8:15
p.m.).

Saturday, May 2, TCC Courtyard: Cheepness (5 to 6:15 p.m.),
Mitzi Cowell and the Valiants (6:30 to 7:15 p.m.), The
El Camino Royales (7:30 to 8:15 p.m.), Whole Lotta Zep (8:30
to 10 p.m.).

All performances, like most of the rally’s events, are free to
attend. For more information, head to www.azstatehogrally.com.

THE MAIN COURSE

The Last Call Brawlers will headline a show this weekend that
doubles as a CD-release party. The band, which normally plays a potent
blend of punk and rockabilly (let’s call it punkabilly), is switching
gears a bit on Last Call Brawlers … With Beans and Rice on the
Side, a new EP the band is touting as a Tex-Mex detour.

They’ll be at The Hut, 305 N. Fourth Ave., on Saturday,
May 2. The show begins at 9:30 p.m. and also features performances
from Dead End Dragstrip and The Fisters. Cover is $4.
Call 623-3200 for more info.

DOUBLE DOSE OF HEAVY

Two fine touring heavy-rock acts team up for a sweet double bill
this week.

Headlining is Dredg, who have increasingly embraced prog and
pop elements as they’ve gotten a bit older. Their first new studio
album in four years, The Pariah, the Parrot, the Delusion, is
scheduled for a May 19 release, so expect to hear a preview of it at
the show.

Miami’s Torche released one of the best hard-rock/metal
albums I’ve heard in a while with last year’s Meanderthal (Hydra
Head). Though songs like “Healer” and “Piranha” might be compared to
the work of smart hard-rock bands like Queens of the Stone Age, the
group also likes its sludgy stoner rock, but with an oddly uplifting
twist. Great stuff.

Dredg and Torche perform an early, all-ages show at Club
Congress, 311 E. Congress St., on Wednesday, May 6. Showtime
is 7 p.m. Advance tickets are $13, and they’ll be $2 more on the day of
the show. Questions? Ring ’em up at 622-8848.

BASS IS BLISS

Best known as the bassist for underground rock revolutionaries
Fugazi, Joe Lally has released a pair of solo albums in recent
years: 2006’s There to Here and 2007’s Nothing Is
Underrated, both on Dischord, natch. While Lally’s unmistakable
bass sound is often front and center on the albums, his solo work
rarely sounds like Fugazi—especially on Nothing, he favors
less-jarring, hypnotic grooves that maintain a bit of an edge.

Check it out for yourself when Joe Lally performs at an all-ages
show on Tuesday, May 5, at Solar Culture Gallery, 31 E.
Toole Ave. Opening at 9 p.m. is David Stone Scott. Admission is
a 10-spot. Call 884-0874 for further details.

SHORT TAKES

Following last week’s inaugural concert in the Zuzi! Music Series,
which featured Victoria Williams, the series continues this week with a
performance from Marc Anthony Thompson, aka Chocolate Genius,
who specializes in hopping around from soul to gospel to blues to rock
to funk to hip-hop, all with a literary bent. He’ll play two sets at
the Zuzi! Theater in the Historic Y, 738 N. Fifth Ave., on
Saturday, May 2. Doors open at 8 p.m., and tickets are $20. For
more info, call 629-0237.

There are three weeks left in the Tucson Jazz Society’s Jazz Under
the Stars series, and this week’s installment brings a dose of bossa
nova as Nossa Bossa Nova performs a tribute to the late
Brazilian singer Elis Regina at 7 p.m. on Sunday, May 3, at the
St. Philip’s Plaza courtyard, on the southeast corner of
Campbell Avenue and River Road. Tickets are $15 for TJS members, $20
for the general public, and $10 for students, and may be purchased at
Bookmans or tucsonjazz.org, or by
phone at 903-1265. Get there early for pre-show performances by
local jazz students.

Vaudeville, 110 E. Congress St., hosts a killer bill of
Arizona acts on Saturday, May 2. Tempe’s Earthmen and
Strangers headline the show, which also includes Digital
Leather and Lenguas Largas, whose ranks include Isaac from
Shark Pants and occasional Tucson Weekly contributor Mark Beef.
Things get underway around 9 p.m., and the number to call with
questions is 622-3535.

Starting Wednesday, May 6, DJ Don Miguel’s Punk Rock Happy
Hour makes a move from Tuesday evenings to every Wednesday,
from 6 to 10 p.m., at Club Congress, 311 E. Congress St. Check
out the finest in new and old-school punk while taking advantage of
some killer drink specials: 2-for-1 Buds, or a Bud and a whiskey for
$4. Free. 622-8848.

ON THE BANDWAGON

Damien Jurado and Laura Gibson at Club Congress on Friday, May 1; hed (p.e.), The Dirtball,
Mower and Dgaf at the Rialto Theatre on
Wednesday, May 6; Sleepytime Gorilla Museum at Club
Congress on Tuesday, May 5; Mae, Person L,
Barcelona and Tokyo at The Rock on Friday, May
1; Vienna Teng and Ben Sollee at Club Congress on Saturday, May 2; The Runaway Five, The Modlins and Seashell Radio at Plush tonight, Thursday, April
30; The Chop Tops, Desolate Graves and Rogues
Gallery at Club Congress on Sunday, May 3;
Charo at the Desert Diamond Casino tonight, Thursday,
April 30; Molehill Orkestrah, the Kate Becker Project and Loveland at Club Congress on Friday, May
1.

Finally, if you don’t already have tickets to see Kenny Rogers at
the Desert Diamond Casino on Sunday, May 3, it’s time to hit up eBay:
The show is sold out.

This article appears in Apr 30 – May 6, 2009.