GO SEE A MUSIC MOVIE, DAMN IT
I'd like to urge you, if you haven't already, to check out the Pick of the Week in our City Week section. It's all about the Tucson Film and Music Festival, an annual film festival that focuses on films that are either about music or have some relation to the Southwest.
Each year, filmmaker Michael Toubassi (High and Dry) brings a slew of carefully selected documentaries, short films, narratives and music videos to town, many of which have won awards at previous festivals. He consistently puts together a fantastic program.
So why am I mentioning this when it's already been covered elsewhere in this publication? Because many of the TFMF events I've attended in the past have been woefully under-attended, and I'd like to see that change. I want the festival continue in Tucson for many years to come (this is its seventh year), and the only way to make that happen is for us to show up.
It won't be hard; there are some great films in the festival this year. I'm most excited about Color Me Obsessed, a film about The Replacements and their fans. But there are plenty other films that have me jazzed—films about everyone from Jay Reatard to Vince Guaraldi.
Please check out tucsonfilmandmusicfestival.com, and poke around at all the great films that will be showing at various theaters around town from tonight, Thursday, Oct. 6, through Monday, Oct. 10. And, most of all, go to a couple of them. Admission to individual screenings is only $6 before 6 p.m., and $7 for evening screenings. There are also festival passes available for $50.
If the aforementioned website doesn't sate your need for TFMF knowledge, head over to Café Passé, 415 N. Fourth Ave., which is the festival's headquarters. Their number is 624-4411.
SUPER SATURDAY
Since Tucson is considered a secondary market in the concert industry (read: smaller than Phoenix and Los Angeles), it's rare for us to have tons and tons of great stuff happening on a Saturday night. Touring bands usually reserve the big cities for the weekends, when they can draw huge crowds and maximize the number of people before whom they perform. (This is why Tucson gets so many touring acts on weekdays.)
But this Saturday, Oct. 8, is positively jam-packed with both touring and local acts, and if you can't find a show to hit up, well, you must not like music. For those who do, here are some options.
Presented by the Tucson Kitchen Musicians Association, Folkapalooza, a fundraiser for the 27th Annual Tucson Folk Festival, will take place on the patio at Hotel Congress, 311 E. Congress St., from 6:30 to 11:30 p.m. But instead of recruiting local folkies to perform at the event, the organizers have gone a different route: None of the six performing acts—the Wayback Machine, Combo Westside, The Modeens, Whole Lotta Zep, the Bryan Dean Trio and Heather Hardy—actually play folk music. However, for Folkapalooza, they will adapt what they normally play to fit the bill.
One example: Whole Lotta Zep, who performs the music of Led Zeppelin, will play the band's folkiest album, Led Zeppelin III.
Admission is a suggested donation of $10. For more information, call 622-8848, or head to hotelcongress.com.
Since this Saturday is the second one in October, that can only mean one thing: Second Saturdays Downtown, the free family-friendly gathering that goes down monthly, will be in full force. Musical highlights include The Mission Creeps (9 p.m.), Cheepness (7:30 p.m.) and Combo Westside (6 p.m.), all of which will perform at the Scott Avenue Stage. If music isn't your bag, there's plenty other stuff—food, vendors, street performers, etc.—to keep the whole family entertained. Head to 2ndsaturdaysdowntown.com for further details.
Heck, it might be fun to hit this edition of Second Saturdays just to see the reaction of buttoned-up families to the masses of Juggalos wandering the streets. That's right: Insane Clown Posse, the Detroit rap duo that is loved by the Juggz and hated by everyone else, will be performing over at the Rialto Theatre, 318 E. Congress St. The all-ages show gets underway at 8 p.m. with openers Twiztid and Blaze. Tickets are $35 in advance, or $38 on the day of the show. Head to rialtotheatre.com for more info, or hit 'em up at 740-1000. Fam-uh-lee! Fam-uh-lee!
If you dig both indie rock and the spaghetti-Western soundtracks of Ennio Morricone, do yourself a favor, and check out the all-ages Spindrift show at Solar Culture Gallery, 31 E. Toole Ave. The Los Angeles-based mostly instrumental band, led by guitarist/vocalist Kirpatrick Thomas, combines those two things and adds in elements of psychedelia and an Old West vibe. This one starts at 9 p.m. with opening sets by locals Young Hunters and Louise Le Hir. Admission is $8, and you can head to solarculture.org, or call 884-0874 for more 411.
Philadelphia's Circa Survive began as a proggy emo-punk band, but on its last couple of albums, especially last year's Blue Sky Noise (Atlantic), the group has veered further toward the mainstream. They'll be at The Rock, 136 N. Park Ave., on Saturday, along with openers Maps and Atlases—an experimental Chicago-based band that merges math rock, folk and prog, and records for Barsuk Records—and States. The all-ages show begins at 7:30 p.m., and you can pick up advance tickets for $20 at Bookmans or ticketmaster.com (where you'll pay an additional $7.25 in fees). For more info, point your browser to rocktucson.com, or call 629-9211.
Hot on the heels of the release of their fifth album, The Nevers, Saint Bernadette, armed with the lovely vocal stylings of Meredith DiMenna, will perform at the Red Room at Grill, 100 E. Congress St. While I haven't yet heard The Nevers—which chronicles the breakup between DiMenna and her ex-husband and ex-bandmate—2007's In the Ballroom flaunts DiMenna's voice on sultry jazz-pop and bluesy pop à la Edie Brickell and the New Bohemians. New Jersey's Only Living Boy open around 10 p.m., and then serve as DiMenna's backing band. As always, admission is free. Need more details? Ring 'em up at 623-7621.
In conjunction with the Tucson Film and Music Festival, The Hut, 305 N. Fourth Ave., will feature a triple-bill: perennial rabble rouser Fish Karma; Al Perry teaming up with Los Angeles-based Skip Heller, a highly respected musician and producer who has dabbled in rockabilly, exotica, country and jazz; and the twisted folk of Los Angeles' GHIANT, who start the night off at 9:30 p.m. Admission is a fiver, and you can head to huttucson.com, or call 623-3200 for more information.
Elsewhere on Saturday, Oct. 8: EP-release show at Skrappy's for David Neff's My Name's David with Real Phony (last show), Neffland, Faster Than Light and No Children; Tridon CD-release party for Lucky #7 at O'Malley's on Fourth; TreeHouse Fire's farewell to Mike Peters with Leila Lopez and Sycamore Bends at Plush; Latin Legends featuring Tierra, Malo and El Chicano at the Diamond Center in Desert Diamond Casino; Celebrating Elvis With Robert Shaw: A Symphonic Concert Experience at the Fox Tucson Theatre; and The Outlaw Rebels at the Boondocks Lounge.
ON THE BANDWAGON
We've successfully covered one day out of the next seven, so this week would obviously be a good time to check out our listings sections for tons more great shows headed our way.
Here, in the meantime, are a select few: Katie Herzig and Butterfly Boucher at Club Congress on Tuesday, Oct. 11; Panic! At the Disco, Foxy Shazam and Patrick Stump (yes, the dude from Fall Out Boy) at the Rialto Theatre next Thursday, Oct. 13; Young Prisms and Big Troubles at Club Congress on Monday, Oct. 10; Electric Six, Kitten and Mark Mallman at Plush on Tuesday, Oct. 11; Star Slinger, Mux Mool, Shigeto and Zackey Force Funk at Plush on Monday, Oct. 10; Tech N9ne and more at the Rialto Theatre on Wednesday, Oct. 12; Corinne West and Kelly Joe Phelps at Suite 147 in Plaza Palomino on Friday, Oct. 7; HAIRSPRAYFIREANDGIRLS, Bleached (featuring two ex-members of Mika Miko) and Monster Pussy at Club Congress on Friday, Oct. 7; Benise: The Spanish Guitar at the Fox Tucson Theatre next Thursday, Oct. 13; Lara Ruggles and Leila Lopez at Plush on Wednesday, Oct. 12.
