Mark your calendars...
Thursday, May 17
Scotland's Trashcan Sinatras are out on their One Night, Two Albums Tour performing Cake and I've Seen Everything in their entirety, at Club Congress... Following the break-up of his acclaimed indie rock band, Smith Westerns, in 2014. Cullen Omori is out facing his separation anxiety and touring on the release of New Misery (Sub Pop), his solo debut. With The Gloomies and Mute Swan at 191 Toole... Kyklo bring the music of the Mediterranean to Agustin Kitchen... Natalie Pohanic walks on sunshine at Tap & Bottle Downtown... It's a live music dance party with Funky Bonz at Sky Bar... A thunderous pairing. Bisbee's The Exbats and The Rifle will split the stage in two at Cans Deli with Lotion...
Friday, May 18
Hey, so if the steroid fueled, diaphoretic hi-jinx of lucha libre body-slammed into rock 'n' roll lights your fire, then, Dia de las Luchas at The Rialto Theater is beckoning. With Los Torta (aka Pork Torta)... "Black Madonna, So Divine" is a beautifully melancholic rumination inspired by Marion Woodman's The Pregnant Virgin. Singer-songwriter Shane Renfro says, "It really resonated with my own inner struggle to comprehend the apparent state of things in our country." RF Shannon (psych-folk) and chanteuse June West are at Exo Roast Co... "Bamboléo"—a worldwide hit for this Gitano-French band—means wobbly. And apparently, after a few sangrias, that is the only way to live. Sway with flamenco/rumba/salsa popsters Gypsy Kings at The Fox Theatre... Singer-songwriter Lisa O'Neill & the Ocean (Americana/alt-country) at Owls Club... Absorbing the musical influences of German immigrants (polka), Spanish missionaries and Mexican norteño music, waila (also known as "chicken scratch"), originated with the Tohono O'odham. The 2nd Annual Waila Festival kicks off at Desert Diamond Casino Sahuarita... Saxophonist Neamen Lyles will fill the tepid night air with cool jazz at Main Gate Square... These kaiju-themed surf rock revivalists will bring music, chaos and fire to Sky Bar. Daikaiju with The Furys and Electric Shadow DJs... More than a New Age buzzword, the divine feminine is associated with "creation, intuition, community, sensuality and collaboration." Songstress Katie Haverly channels this beatific energy at Club Congress with the dreamy jazz of Mesquite...
Saturday, May 19
These Astoria, Oregon, folk-rockers strut through "Without Applause," jangly acoustic guitars ablaze. Appreciation (Kill Rock Stars), their sixth full-length, has a patently '70s vibe. While singer Justin Ringle exudes warm optimism, his lyrics continue to uphold the plight of the everyman. "Work it's overrated/I'd rather be no one than work in vain." Horse Feathers at 191 Toole with Jillian and the Giants. "The air is so kind..." Raised on a diet of funk and hip hop, Parisian producer/DJ Clyde P bumps tech house at 3113 with Atom Energy, Eliogold, Cat Child, H.R. Guerin and more... GLDN Records host Fiesta de Oro featuring Tommy Will, R3D, Jaca Zulu and Loud Cat Ent. at Solar Culture Gallery... Atlantan thrash metal with Tetrarch at The Flycatcher with Somewhere To Call Home, End of Eras and Amoras Bane... "Monday morning you sure look fine/Friday I got traveling on my mind." Ok, so it's on a Saturday. But a fine night nonetheless for Rumours: The Ultimate Fleetwood Mac Tribute to transport you back to the band's glory days. At The Rialto Theater with songstress Katie Haverly...
Sunday, May 20
Something old, something new, something borrowed. Effortlessly whisking together bossa nova, folk, jazz and Latin this Grammy-winning indie pop singer can make heartache sound inspiring. Natalia Lafourcade with Augusto Bracho at The Rialto Theater... Experience the "southwestern country magic" of Phoenix's Jared and the Mill at Club Congress... Sleepless Dreamer is this L.A. singer-songwriter's debut album. NME describes her as "a stoner Lana Del Rey." Pearl Charles brings her country-tinged pop to Cans Deli... Over the course of a 25-year career, these R&B hit makers have amassed 4 Grammy Awards. Boyz II Men croon at AVA Amphitheater...
Monday, May 21
Celebrating summer's oppressive heat and imminent doom, Baja Audio Heads is the site for a night of music and poetry with a house show featuring Jordan Collins, kllr, Deandra Binder, Zac Harris, Sophie Daws and Kyle Rees... If you can tear yourself away from your favorite manga cosplay game. Or not. Come as you are. Nerdcore rapper MC Chris is at 191 Toole with Bitforce...
Tuesday, May 22
Drawing from roots reggae and the traditional sounds of their native Hawaii, The Green have been issued "Marching Orders." At The Rock with Raging Fyah and Iya Lee...
Wednesday, May 23
Out on the road commemorating their 50th anniversary, the legendary brass-driven R&B powerhouse Tower of Power blow into the AVA Amphitheater...
Thursday, May 24
Their fresh new album, Offerings, finds these film school dropouts exchanging B&W film stock for technicolor. Cults find hope in darkness at Club Congress with Reptaliens... Denver nihilists Primitive Man are out touring for Caustic, their second full-length. Overflowing with soul-crushing blackened doom, it should come with a caveat. With Infernal Coil, Hist and Blackened at Cans Deli... A night of punk 'n' roll awaits at The Loudhouse Rock & Roll Bar when Ted Riviera's Gunrunners, Los Perros and Ese (Houston punk/metal vatos) take to the stage... Taco Sauce (saucy girl group/surf punks), Bruja and the Coyote (existentialist desert punks) and Deschtuco (imaginative rockers with a tuba) are at The Flycatcher...
SHOUT OUT...
It's been 30 years since Billy Bacon & The Forbidden Pigs first walked onto the stage at Historic El Casino Ballroom. TW caught up with Bacon for a brief Q&A. So, what prompted a reunion? "We finally decided to go for it," says Bacon, who is teaming up with original guitarist Mike Hebert. "Playing with Mike will be a lot of fun. It'll be something to see." Bacon, a resident of San Diego, is looking forward to playing in Tucson again. "Seeing old friends and fans, eating great Mexican food. And, the dry climate is great for my joints," he expressed wryly. What can people expect to see at the show? "Some old guys up on stage feeling and acting like they're 20 years younger than they are. But really, playing some of the old songs we did at El Casino back in the day for KXCI's House Rockin' Series." Songs from High, Wide & Handsome, Billy Bacon & The Forbidden Pigs latest album, will also make it onto the setlist. Finally, what's next for Billy Bacon? "I'm planning to start recording a new album before the year is over. It's in my blood. I still feel I've got a lot of good ones inside of me wanting to come out. So stay tuned." Billy Bacon & The Forbidden Pigs reunite at 191 Toole on Friday, May 18, with Mike Herbert Prison Band and Mark Insley...
HOT WAX...
The title to Golden Boots latest EP, As You Remember Them (Baby Tooth Records), is a nod to the Time Life collection of record albums and booklets released during the 1970s. "It's both nostalgia and a shocking realization. Like the moment you jumped into water with a cellphone in your pocket," says Dimitri Manos. Perhaps, mirroring the prevalence of ADHD in our culture, As You Remember Them contains several interesting under-two-minute musical snippets. Like the utter chaos of "Satan the mp3," with discordant saxophone blasts delivered over a punkishly flailed acoustic guitar, at an alkaloid fueled tempo, sounding like John Zorn invoking protective magick to ward off maleficence. Or "Problem Child," clocking in at all of 20 seconds, with its Machito & His Afro-Cubans' style rhythm. Or "World of Z" whose appearance on a post-apocalyptic, action-flick score would fit hand-in-glove. For all that, hidden between layers of whimsical experimentalism, lay glistening gems of contradiction. "Buttercup"—with its unrelenting 4/4 beat and a monster guitar riff that would make Pat Smear grin—is a truly decadent, calorie-rich treat to be savored. The tasty offerings on As You Remember Them do not veer far from a familiar menu. Manos says, "I think it fits right in with our standard operating procedure of deconstructing music and not taking ourselves too seriously." Drugstore cowboys? No way. This is far from their first rodeo. Dripping with the eau de parfum of Avalon era Roxy Music, "Circuit Jerk" furtively wields knives. Penned by Ryen Eggleston, he notes, "'Circuit Jerk' is a gut reaction. In a world that's falling apart around us, we often seem more absorbed by the latest diversionary 'news' story or narcissistic phone activity. Analagous to a virtual cult of masturbatory frenzy." That's a mighty powerful commentary for a band that doesn't take itself too seriously. Golden Boots EP release celebration takes place at Cans Deli on Friday, May 18, with Nanami Ozone and DJ Ponytail Cruiser. As You Remember Them is available digitally and on cassette at babytoothtucson.bandcamp.com.
ON THE HORIZON...
Acclaimed singer-songwriter Richard Buckner shares his Americana glory at Club Congress on Tuesday, May 29... Garage rock revivalists Peach Kelli Pop bring their badassery to the Club Congress stage on Thursday, May 31. With jangle popsters Nanami Ozone... On Friday, June 8, musician/humanitarian/filmmaker Michael Franti & Spearhead usher the Stay Human Tour into The Rialto Theater. With Victoria Canal and Dustin Thomas... And, fans of old school R&B rejoice. The Isley Brothers and Commodores are set to perform at AVA Amphitheater on Sunday, June 10...
Until next week, XOXO...
