PARTICIPATE IN THE COVER-UP
There are lots of great shows happening around Ye Olde Pueblo this week, but before we get to that, a quick reminder that submissions for this year's Great Cover-Up, the annual charity event set to take place at Plush, Club Congress and the Rialto Theatre from Thursday, Dec. 13, through Saturday, Dec. 15, are now being accepted.
If you're interested in participating, e-mail greatcoveruptucson@gmail.com with the following information: your band name; what type of music you normally play; your top three picks for bands/artists you'd like to cover; and a contact name, phone number and/or email address.
For a full summary of what exactly the Great Cover-Up is, check out the Aug. 23 edition of Soundbites.
The event organizers (I'm one of them) are currently standing by, awaiting your awesome ideas. Thanks for playing.
THE RIALTO IN FULL 'BLOOM'
For the first time since they played at Solar Culture Gallery in 2008, the Baltimore-based duo Beach House—French-born Victoria Legrand and Baltimore native Alex Scally—return to town this week for a show at the much-larger Rialto Theatre.
It's not surprising that they've graduated to a larger venue. In 2008, the gauzy dream-poppers were critics' darlings, but in recent years, their popularity among the masses has caught up to the band's critical assessment.
I'll be honest here: Beach House is one of those bands I just don't "get." I don't dislike them; I just don't get what the fuss is all about—and I am definitely in the minority here, so I'll turn the gushing over to a couple of writers who love them as much as most people seem to.
The Tucson Weekly's former web producer, Dan Gibson, had this to say: "The group's latest album, Bloom, is among the best-reviewed albums of the year so far, and for good reason, since it's a gorgeous work of art, touching on what people liked about dream-pop acts like Mazzy Star and the Cocteau Twins without being derivative."
Meanwhile, Weekly contributor Michael Petitti called Bloom "revelatory," saying it captured "a group at the height of their powers."
He also wrote this: "The praise for Beach House's stunning fourth album, Bloom, is nearly (and deservedly) unanimous, but the consensus adjectives surrounding the album—gauzy, spacey, dreamy—obscure its true aural feats: an unexpected fullness and muscularity." So you can see why I feel a little left out of the uproar, huh?
Perhaps I'll give Beach House another shot when they perform at the Rialto Theatre, 318 E. Congress St., on Monday, Sept. 24. Former Ponytail guitarist Dustin Wong, whose latest album, Dreams Say, View, Create, Shadow Leads, was released on Thrill Jockey earlier this year, opens the all-ages show at 8 p.m. Advance tickets are $20 for general admission on the floor, and $24 for reserved seats in the balcony. To buy them, or for more information, head to rialtotheatre.com, or call 740-1000.
HARDCORE!
It's not unusual for a new genre of music to take a while to hit the mainstream—but it's also not surprising, given its relative inaccessibility, that hardcore punk took so long to do so.
While it came into full bloom in the early '80s, the genre had been around since the late '70s—Black Flag, for example, formed in 1976. But aside from skate punks and their cultural brethren who went to hardcore shows when they hit their towns, most people had never really heard it until 1983, when Venice, Calif.'s Suicidal Tendencies released their self-titled debut album.
That LP's single, "Institutionalized," marked the first time (and probably one of the only times, still) that hardcore punk received any considerable MTV airplay—or airplay of any sort. And, based largely on the fact that it appeared on the soundtrack for the 1984 cult flick Repo Man, as well as its unforgettable spoken-word verses about how parents just don't understand ("All I want's a Pepsi, and she wouldn't give it to me! All I wanted was a Pepsi, just one Pepsi, and she wouldn't give it to me! Just a Pepsi!"), it endures to this day. Though the band has released eight studio albums, not to mention singles, EPs, etc., I'd wager that a good chunk of the band's fans have only heard that first album.
The band was scheduled to perform at The Rock earlier this year, but had to postpone the show—until this week.
Suicidal Tendencies will finally perform at The Rock, 136 N. Park Ave., on Saturday, Sept. 22. Locals Flying Donkey Punch and Hillbilly Bo get things started at 8 p.m. Tickets for the all-ages show are $25 in advance, available at rocktucson.com. Call 629-9211 for more info.
SUPPORT THIS SCHOOL
Local surf-rockabilly combo The El Camino Royales will headline a benefit this week for Origins Society/Project Origins, which, according to Royales drummer the Mighty Joel Ford, is "a nonprofit school for adults and children with disabilities" here in Tucson. Ford has been working with adults with developmental disabilities for the last few years, and, as he succinctly puts it in an e-mail to the Soundbites desk, "With the lack of support from this wonderful state, it ain't easy."
Sunny Italy and The Procell will perform prior to The El Camino Royales at the benefit, which takes place from 5 to 9 p.m. at the Tucson Racquet and Fitness Club, 4001 N. Country Club Road, on Saturday, Sept. 22. You need not be a member to attend. Tickets are $10 per person, or $25 per family (yes, it's a family-friendly event), and will be available at the door. The evening will also include some raffle action. Plus, who can resist little kids dancing to surf-rock? There's an event page on Facebook if you need more info.
GOODBYE, FOR NOW
Two local bands are heading out on respective tours this week, but they'll each be playing shows in town before they leave.
Infectious indie-rockers Logan Greene Electric will take the stage, er, floor, at Sky Bar, 536 N. Fourth Ave., tonight, Thursday, Sept. 20, before hitting the road. The Sadie Hawks, featuring Matt Milner, the magnanimous host of KXCI FM 91.3's Locals Only show, will get things started around 8 p.m. For more info, call 622-4300.
The husband-and-wife duo Quiet Please is taking it to the highway for a week for shows in Texas and New Mexico "with the whole family in tow—Josephine (11 months) and Vaeda (12 years old)—a family gypsy kinda thing," according to band member John Sweeden. But prior to that, they'll headline a tour kickoff show at La Cocina, 201 N. Court Ave., on Friday, Sept. 21. The night's activities begin around 10 p.m. with opening sets by Fur Family and Main Squeeze. Call 622-0351 for more details.
And, since we're on the topic of La Cocina, we'd be remiss if we didn't mention that Chris Black is reviving his all-star band the Ashes of Love this week for "A Happy Hour for Them That Ain't"—i.e., covers of the saddest country songs ever written, performed by Black, Emilie Marchand, Gabriel Sullivan, Connor Gallaher and Nick Coventry. The band was a staple at the late, lamented Red Room at Grill, and we're thrilled to see 'em back in action. They'll be at La Cocina around 10 p.m. tonight, Thursday, Sept. 20.
Admission to all these shows is free, but donations are always welcome.
ON THE BANDWAGON
More good stuff headed our way this week: The Soft Pack, Heavy Hawaii and Caught on Film at Plush on Saturday, Sept. 22; 2 Chainz at the Rialto Theatre on Saturday, Sept. 22; Bonnie Raitt and Randall Bramblett at UA Centennial Hall on Wednesday, Sept. 26; Zac Harmon at Plush, tonight, Thursday, Sept. 20; Jerry "Ya Ever Notice ... ?" Seinfeld at UA Centennial Hall on Friday, Sept. 21; Christopher Lawrence at Club Congress on Friday, Sept. 21; Attaloss, Armastus, Bethany Heights, One After the Other and others at The Rock on Friday, Sept. 21; Tejano Showcase featuring La Mafia, Hermanos Farias Reunion, Los Garcia Brothers and Rio Jordan at AVA at Casino del Sol on Saturday, Sept. 22; Sean Paul, Jahmar International and Neon Prophet at the Rialto Theatre on Wednesday, Sept. 26; MEOWmeow Productions and Wingspan present Puertas Abiertas Cumbia Night featuring DJ Dirtyverbs, Vox Urbana, Jaime J. and Lola Torch at Plush on Friday, Sept. 21; Whole Lotta Zep at Boondocks Lounge on Saturday, Sept. 22; Try a Little Tenderness: A Salute to Otis Redding and Stax Records at the Fox Tucson Theatre on Friday, Sept. 21; Race You There and Roll Acosta at Sky Bar, next Thursday, Sept. 27; POW/MIA Recognition Day with Shovelhead Road at The Bashful Bandit on Friday, Sept. 21; The Disgustingtons, Bricktop and Industry at Surly Wench Pub on Friday, Sept. 21; Wyatt Easterling at Abounding Grace Sanctuary on Saturday, Sept. 22.
