Soundbites

NO TIME FOR NAPPING

My goodness, there's a lot going on this week. From the Mercury Portal at Monterey Court Studio Galleries (see this week's City Week section), to a unique art opening with several great local acts, to the release of three local CDs (Silver Thread Trio, Silverbell and Gridlokt)—and that's just the local stuff—there's really no excuse for music fans to not get out and see some live music.

There's no way all of it will fit in this column, so I implore you to check out our club listings for further options.


ART AND AIRPLANES

If you've already gone back and read City Week as I instructed you to do (and you did, right?), then you already know the gist of Return Trip: Art From the Boneyard Project, an exhibit opening this weekend at the Pima Air and Space Museum for which dozens of artists, including Shepard Fairey, Mark Kostabi and our own Daniel Martin Diaz, painted and repurposed old military artifacts (airplanes, airplane cones, cluster bombs) into art objects. Eric Firestone is the man behind the show (along with Carlo McCormick and Viejas del Mercado), which is a pretty big deal in the art world—Juxtapoz magazine recently ran a photo gallery of the show on its website—and it's certainly worth checking out on its own merits.

The show will remain on display through Thursday, May 31. I would, however, recommend getting out there for the show's opening. Sure, it's going to be crowded, and you could always wait to go when it will be less so, but Firestone knows how to throw one hell of an opening party, and you'd be missing out on a killer lineup of performing local acts.

Outside of the main hangar, where the planes will be on display, the aural entertainment will be provided by Saint Maybe (6:45 p.m.), Cadillac Steakhouse (7:45 p.m.), Acorn Bcorn (8:45 p.m.) and Holy Rolling Empire (9:45 p.m.). There will be a bonfire outside, too. Meanwhile, inside the hangar, where the other pieces in the show will be displayed, DJ Likedaang (best DJ name ever?) and O/W/L/S will be spinning tunes. Food and beverages will be served all night long.

The opening for Return Trip: Art From the Boneyard Project runs from 6 to 11 p.m., Saturday, Jan. 28, at the Pima Air and Space Museum, 6000 E. Valencia Road. Admission is $5. You can learn more at pimaair.org or by calling 574-0462.


THERE MIGHT BE A SELLOUT

Quirky is a word that gets (over)used an awful lot when talking about music, but, in a word, there's no better way to describe They Might Be Giants.

Over a 30-year career (!), the two Johns—Flansburgh and Linnell—from Brooklyn have always forged their own path. Whether it's their Dial-a-Song phone line (a new song would appear each day on their answering machine), their foray into smart children's music at a time when the kiddies still thought Raffi was the hippest dude around, or playing early shows as a duo with a boom box fleshing out the sound, They Might Be Giants have always taken risks.

Aside from the fact that I think they're brilliant and absolutely love them (how could you not?), I hold a special place in my heart for TMBG. In either my freshman or sophomore year at the UA, armed with a fake ID and cab fare (one of the last old-school Checker cabs came to pick me up, and I had never felt cooler), I made my first trip to Club Congress to see them play, by myself, because no one I knew at the time had heard of them.

It was still just the two Johns and the boom box in those days (they've been playing with a full band for years now), and there were maybe 50 people there to see them put on a terrific show. The Johns seemed pleased as punch to be selling and signing merch from the stage, which is pretty unimaginable these days.

But back to that word: quirky. It describes not just their M.O., but also their music, which is like a world tour of styles and genres with songs that range from annoyingly catchy to just plain odd. This is a band, after all, that regularly uses an accordion and writes songs about touching puppet heads, being kissed by Jesus, and a battle between Particle Man and Triangle Man. (If you have to ask ...)

They Might Be Giants return to the Rialto Theatre, 318 E. Congress St., on Monday, Jan. 30. Jonathan Coulton opens at 8 p.m. Reserved floor seats run $25 to $31, and you should get them quickly, as the show will likely sell out. No one under 14 will be admitted, even if accompanied by parent or guardian. For more info, head to rialtotheatre.com, or call 740-1000.


PUNK PICK

Fans of punk rock are no doubt jazzed about this week's Social Distortion show at the Rialto Theatre (see the Rhythm & Views review of Frank Turner for more info), but there's another interesting punk-ish show flying a little further under the radar that should be pretty great, especially for those who are also partial to metal and boogie-rock.

Dallas Taylor was the singer for Christian metalcore band Underoath from 1997 to 2003, when he was given the boot. By the following year, Taylor had founded a new band, Maylene and the Sons of Disaster, which built on Underoath's metal roots but added a Southern-rock element. Imagine if 38 Special had grown up listening to Earth Crisis, and you're somewhere in the vicinity of what Maylene sounds like.

Maylene and the Sons of Disaster perform an all-ages show at Skrappy's, 191 E. Toole Ave., on Wednesday, Feb. 1. Lionize, Lariats and Georgianna Hawkins are also on the bill, which starts at 7 p.m. Tickets are $12. For more info, call 358-4287.


SHORT TAKES

It's not hard to imagine Chicago's A Lull becoming a Next Big Thing. Fans of Sigur Rós will dig the etherealness found in their expansive soundscapes; Animal Collective nerds will enjoy the upfront percussion; and the vocal tics of singer Nigel Evan Dennis will keep all listeners interested and on their toes.

A Lull performs at Club Congress, 311 E. Congress St., on Saturday, Jan. 28. Deleted Scenes and Dream Sick open the all-ages show at 7 p.m. Tickets are $8 in advance, or $10 on the day of the show. For more information, head to hotelcongress.com/club, or call 622-8848.

Clarence Greenwood got his start in the music biz by performing on a pair of albums by Baltimore hip-hopper Basehead in the mid-'90s. Since then, under the name Citizen Cope, he's been signed to no fewer than three major labels and, according to him, been mishandled by all of them. Last year, he took his patented sound—a blend of mellow pop imbued with shades of jazz, hip-hop, reggae and the blues—the independent route, releasing his fourth album, The Rainwater LP, on his own Rainwater Recordings imprint.

Citizen Cope performs a solo acoustic show at 8 p.m., Saturday, Jan. 28, at the Rialto Theatre, 318 E. Congress St. Reserved seats for the all-ages show are $21 and $26. For more info, head to rialtotheatre.com, or call 740-1000.


ON THE BANDWAGON

Todd Snider and Sara Petite at Club Congress on Wednesday, Feb. 1; Gridlokt reunion and CD-release show with Godhunter, We Killed the Union and others at The Rock on Friday, Jan. 27; He's My Brother She's My Sister, Adam Faucett and Dry River Yacht Club at Plush next Thursday, Feb. 2; August Burns Red, Silverstein, Texas in July and I the Breather at the Rialto Theatre on Tuesday, Jan. 31; Nathan and Jonathan McEuen at Abounding Grace Sanctuary on Saturday, Jan. 28; Allstar Weekend, Hollywood Ending, The After Party and others at The Rock on Tuesday, Jan. 31; 2 Chainz and Travis Porter at the Rialto Theatre next Thursday, Feb. 2; Opti Club featuring Fabian at Club Congress next Thursday, Feb. 2; "Every Fifth Sunday" singer-songwriter circle with host Mark Insley and special guests Duncan Stitt, Susan Wenger and Randy McReynolds at Boondocks Lounge on Sunday, Jan. 29; Tesoro and Ghazaal Beledi World Music and Dance with Va Va Voom Burlesque at Plush on Friday, Jan. 27; Jamie O'Brien at La Cocina on Saturday, Jan. 28; Rita Rudner at the Diamond Center in Desert Diamond Casino on Sunday, Jan. 29; The Jons at Che's Lounge on Saturday, Jan. 28; The Early Black and Havarti Orchestra at Surly Wench Pub on Friday, Jan. 27; Dave Manning at the original Nimbus Brewing Company tonight, Thursday, Jan. 26.