Thursday, Sept. 6
During the summer of 1992, singles "Hey Jealousy" and "Found Out About You"—penned by the late Doug Hopkins—catapulted New Miserable Experience (A&M) out from the dive bars of Tempe into the top 40. The Gin Blossoms are at AVA Amphitheater with Big Head Todd and The Monsters... Overcoming a turbulent past, rife with abuse and hardship, has fueled Monti's moody synth/electro pop. With Crystal Radio and Language Barrier at Cans Deli... Tucson Tropical: EDM/Bass/Mashups. Resident DJ Clay Steele spins at O'Malley's... "The antithesis and antagonist of Nashville pop drivel," Hank Topless Band at Tap + Bottle Downtown... This international EDM artist has performed alongside Skrillex and Steve Aoki. Out on her No Filter Tour, South African DJ/producer/model MADDS throws down at Club XS...
Friday, Sept. 7
The AVA Amphitheater is Where It's At when "Small Town Boy" Dustin Lynch promises all the "Good Girls" one "Hell Of A Night..." Mosh For Mental Health Benefit: Featuring Pyrotechnica, Sorrows Ruin, Spear Brittany, Decayer, Minutes to Midnight and Bury Me Alive. All proceeds to benefit Coyote Task Force, a non-profit organization whose mission is to provide employment-focused services for adults recovering from mental illness... Who said that disco is dead? Tucson Libertine League presents Dark Days of Disco—from the reckless abandon and excess of disco at its apogee to the nu-disco movement of today—at 191 Toole... Bourbon Street jazz and R&B in The Old Pueblo? The Muffeletas will whip you into a dance frenzy at Monterey Court... Rawk at House of Bards with Drop D, Push, The Endless Pursuit and One Block West... Santa Pachita's horn-infused blend of rumba, salsa, cumbia and ska will cause involuntary body movement on the rooftop at Playground... Natalie Pohanic performs dreamy folk at Saint Charles Tavern... Naim Amor's A Jazz Trio play timeless classics at Exo Roast Co... Free Machines (rock 'n' roll), Lenguas Largas ('90s indie and noise rock with post-punk overtones and undertones), The Gem Show (members of Wanda Junes and Whispering Wires) and Freezing Hands (power pop) tear down walls at Cans Deli... Pianist Nick Letson entertains at Westbound... From the unaired depths of the Los Angeles underground—deemed "The Weirdest Band in the World"—Punk Bunny with Texas Trash & the Trainwrecks at Sky Bar. Guard your children...
Saturday, Sept. 8
Art + Poetry + Music + Magic + Dance = Chick Magnet: Art Poetry & Music Fest. Featuring the rad sounds of Acorn Bcorn, Cool Funeral, Feverfew, Bitch Bank, Dovi, Lano and West Oasis. At 191 Toole... A revolving cast of DJs spin at Westbound... Michael P. & The Gully Washers (Americana) ride their big "Pink Bicycle" onto the patio at Mercado San Agustin... On "Nothing Wasted," singer-songwriter Bernie Diffin comes to terms with lost love. "There is nothing wasted that I've called mine/Then I'll keep my memory of you." Dash Pocket share earnest Americana at Blackrock Brewers... Theirs is a rich sound that spans centuries. Tannahill Weavers bring haunting Celtic melodies, fire-driven instrumentals and a dose of humor to the Berger Performing Arts Center... Cans Deli is the place for Pushing Buttons: A Monthly Producer Getdown. Hosted by Roch. Featuring 'Timwinn', Saebah, J Lugo Miller, Kalter Trost and John Ruiz... "Searching for the difference between." Their latest album, Content, rife with angst and dance grooves, generates an algorithm for modern life. Joywave mete out "Doubt" and the "Little Lies You're Told" at Club Congress...
Sunday, Sept. 9
In Ireland, their name is slang for toilet. Just saying. The Jacks offer up "Just a Little Bit" of their British Invasion influenced rock 'n' roll at Club Congress. With Wyves... These "Soul Suckers" ask existential questions. "How is true inner peace reached and scratched onto paper?" San Diego's Lead Pony (heavy blues rock) attempt to solve mysteries without any clues at Cans Deli. With Black Medicine... Their bluesy sound stems from having one foot in the church lighting candles and the other in the local juke joint, devil-may-care. J.J. Grey & Mofro promise a "Night To Remember" at The Rialto Theater. With Dragondeer...
Monday, Sept. 10
Hailed by Noisey as "The Heart of Chicago's Music Community," their innovative new release Parts draws from diverse influences: St. Vincent's Marry Me and Brian Eno's Here Come The Warm Jets come to mind. Ohmme at Club Congress. With Mute Swan and Citrus Clouds... Having more in common with a short story writer, singer-songwriter John Darnielle crafts lyric rich vignettes, like "The Best Ever Death Metal Band in Denton." Lo-fi indie folksters The Mountain Goats at 191 Toole. With Al Riggs... For Jorma Kaukonen and Jack Casady, what started as a side project from their "day job" with Jefferson Airplane back in '69 hit a high water mark when they were both fêted with Lifetime Achievement Awards at the 2016 Grammy Awards. Psychedelic blues institution Hot Tuna arrive with legacy trailing. Opening the show, "Jerry Garcia's favorite guitarist" Steve Kimock at The Rialto Theater...
Wednesday, Sept. 12
Known for his inventive slang—"My Shit Bang"—and animated rhymes, rapper E-40 brings "The Gift Of Gab" to The Rialto Theater. Backed by OMB Peezy, Nef The Pharaoh... Losers' Lounge welcomes Miss Lana Rebel & Kevin Mayfield for an evening of spaciously pretty, progressive country at Owls Club...
Thursday, Sept. 13
Songstress June West celebrates the release of her self-titled debut album at Exo Roast Co... Rich in Spirit, Kaia Chesney searches for "Deeper Water" at Tap + Bottle Downtown... A night of reggae awaits. Fayuca, Of Good Nature and Black Bottom Lighters skank at Cans Deli...
On The Horizon...
Their punchy staccato horn blasts, majestic and commanding, have summoned legions to the dancefloor, on "Jungle Boogie," before Robert "Kool" Bell's sinisterly wicked bass riff explodes and annihilates all left standing in proximity. Young cadets, this song is the shit; a definitive funk masterpiece. Get schooled. Old skool with Kool and the Gang at Desert Diamond Center on Friday, Sept. 14... Contentious to the end, The Reid brothers recently declared that "pop is dreadful." The Jesus and Mary Chain apportion "Damage and Joy" in squalls of feedback at The Rialto Theater on Saturday, Sept. 15... Melissa Etheridge will be at The Fox Theatre on Sunday, Sept. 16, celebrating the 25th anniversary of Yes I Am, her critically acclaimed fourth album... Finally, Wednesday, Sept 26, sees Fall Out Boy's MANIA Tour descend into unbridled psychotic frenzy with auditory hallucinations at the Tucson Arena. With Machine Gun Kelly and L.I.F.T...
Until next week, XOXO...
