The October edition of Resonance Monthly showcases the mad dubstep of Basshead, Lit Lords. At Gentle Ben's. Hvrdwood, DJ Mcwhite, Ramrod and Enri lend support... From the canons of G.P. Telemann to the Romanian folk dances of Béla Bartók, Laura Tagawa and Sam Bounkeua perform a lovely evening of classical violin duets. On the patio at Agustin Kitchen... "Clap Your Hands." Performing over 300 shows per year, country blues rockers Reverend Peyton's Big Damn Band know how to "Raise A Little Hell." At 191 Toole. The Haymarket Squares add appreciably to the hoedown... Indie and ambient sounds shall reach out, like an iron hand in a velvet glove, wrapping invisible fingers around the craw. SoCal's Creature Canyon and Moontrax are at Sky Bar... Drawing from a repertoire of acoustic originals and covers, Mark Insley with guitarist Damon Barnaby are Americana's Most Wanted. At Iron John's Brewing Company–Congress... Six performers, four original songs, taking turns round robin. Nashville music crusader Virginia Cannon presents a Thursday Night Live. At Monterey Court... And, Croatian pop rockers Jinx bring Sextasy, for all to witness, to the Club Congress stage. Carnival, Evergreen and Shutter Vision take part in the bacchanal....
Friday, Oct. 18
In the "Spotlight" again. Disciples gather to raise a cup to Lil' Peep. A rising star, this rapper/singer—described by Pitchfork as "The future of emo"—helped pioneer emo-rap. Peep's life took a tragic change of direction in Nov 2017 when he overdosed on fentanyl and Xanax on a tour bus prior to a performance at The Rock in Tucson. The "emo-trap heartthrob" was just 21. Recently, his mother filed a lawsuit against the agency/label that handled Peep's career for negligence, breach of contract and wrongful death alleging that her son was pushed to perform and plied with drugs. The Peep Show: A Hip-Hop & Metal Memorial to Lil' Peep is at the Rialto Theatre. Liquid Space, Atmosphere, Flying Half Full, Exit Dream, Tribulance, Peep Show, Decenvir and Beyond The Firewall attempt to fill the void... Che's Lounge, TallBoys and Wooden Tooth Records present Woodenstock. Featuring The Oblivians, DBUK, Lenguas Largas, Acorn Bcorn, The Exbats and Rocket 808. See woodentoothrecords.com for details... The Third Annual Desert Dweller Fest—a two-day Dionysian celebration of hardcore music—takes place at Global Justice Center. Featuring Absence of Mine, The Beautiful Ones, King Nine, Drain, Easy Money, Construct, Concrete Evidence, Jinx, Hands of God, Iniquity and many more. All-ages... Not everyone can claim to have worked with "Godmother of Punk Rock" Patti Smith. Guitarist Oliver Ray can. C'mon, is that not enough street cred to get your tired carcass off the couch? Along with the rock/soul/folk of Whiskerman, whose frontman Graham Patzner will crow like a medicine show preacher, and then murmur you into his lovesick arms. (Or so they claim.) On the plaza at Hotel Congress... In a Rabelaisian celebration of liberation from restraint and societal dogma, under the stewardship of Tucson Libertine League's Lola Torch, Reveal: A Debut of Burlesque Performances unveils itself at 191 Toole... Taco Sauce succeeds in marrying the swingin' swayin' groove of Martha and the Vandellas with the ball-busting swagger of Pussy Riot. Catch them at Club Congress with Sur Block and R&B artist Stevie Rose... These Cleveland nu metallists are known for their theatrical performances replete with costumes and scary masks that personify fantastical and unsettling music. Out on The Halloween Tour, nu metallists Mushroomhead tell Beautiful Stories for Ugly Children. At EncoreTucson. He Kill 3 and Dead Superstar rise from the dead to open the show... These local faves recently played the storied Viper Room in West Hollywood. Not every band can make that claim. Miss Olivia and the Interlopers are in the tasting room at Sand-Reckoner... Phoenix's Paper Foxes make their Pop Confessions at Passé. With Black Medicine and Weekend Lovers... Tracing back the roots of country music from the verdant trails of Appalachia to the gritty streets of Bakersfield, Freddy Parish hosts Dry 'n' Dusty at Exo Bar... Gila Byte, In Lessons and The Öhmlauts disrupt the magnetic field. At Irene's Holy Donuts... A double dose is better. Rolla Acosta celebrate their 10-year reunion at Saint Charles Tavern. With The Jacob Acosta Band... Where percussion, culture, poetry and dance intersect, this musical project was created with the vision of setting Afro-Latin music en fuego. El Tambó presents El Santo Golpe. On the Hotel Congress plaza. With resident turntablists Sonido Tambó dropping dope shizzle...
Saturday, Oct. 19
On "Room 13," braving the paper-thin walls, and the sin that echoes throughout the hallway in the dead of night, singer-songwriter Jesse Malin—with a little help from Lucinda Williams—"Spent some time in a hotel room/Thinking about love." With former Lonely Astronaut/one-man band Joseph Arthur... Vogue has called this band "equal parts heartthrobs and fashion risk takers." From Dripping Springs, Texas, the neo-traditional country of Midland permeates the night air at AVA Amphitheater... Accompanied by upright bassist Thøger Lund and vibraphonist Ben DeGain, Gabrielle Pietrangelo, sings romantic songs from the 1930s and '40s. In the courtyard at Mercado San Agustin... Striding away from the ill-lit gloom, walking the "Straight Line" again, post-punk/shoegazers Early Black sing of love, life and murder. At Sky Bar. With Soda Sun and Andrew Gardner... Citing the Civil Rights Movement, the Vietnam War and folk music revival of the 1960s as influences, musical storyteller/political satirist Charlie King performs at Unitarian Universalist Church. All donations to benefit People's Defense Initiative (sponsoring Prop 205) to make Tucson a Sanctuary City... Desert Dweller After Show—with Get A Grip, Plague Years, Lead Dream, Skin Ticket and others—takes place at The Dive Bar... An afternoon of storytelling and darkly beautiful music is on the menu when For Love or Absinthe perform at The Madhatter's Tea Party. At Monterey Court... Later, force of nature vocalist/instrumentalist Connie Brannock celebrates her 64th birthday with her crew. The Little House of Funk are throwing a dance party. At Monterey Court... Folding together three-part harmonies with Americana and rock, The End of America tell tales of dystopia and other things. At Club Congress. With award-winning alt-folk duo Ryanhood... Celebrating unity through music, Reggae in the Park sees DJs Papa Ranger, Jahmar International and FreshWaves spin. Lion Brimstone and Dub Society perform. At Historic Fort Lowell Park... "For those about to rock/We salute you." The Jack: The ultimate tribute to AC-DC perform at Nam to Sand Jam 2019. At the Reid Park Bandshell... In the weeks following the release of Promised Land—a three song EP recorded in an old converted barn/recording studio in the Catskills with acclaimed producer Simone Felice—this Phoenix folk band was streamed over a quarter million times on Spotify and then was licensed for overhead play in Starbucks nationwide. The Senators bring their winning formula to Exo Bar. Rebekah Rolland is first up at the mic... Club Sanctuary presents Spooktacular. DJs Plastic Disease, Black Flagg and special guest Mijito spin industrial/EBM/electro. At Surly Wench Pub. Proceeds to benefit the Health & Wellness Community Resource Center... Bi-coastal synth/electronic enchantress L'Freaq brings the alluring dark-hued confection—inspired by R&B and edgy pop—that is found on Weird Awakenings to Passé...
Sunday, Oct. 20
Two decades after these SoCal metalcore mavericks first left their imprint, drummer Brandon Saller says their latest, In Our Wake (Spinefarm Records, 2018, "is the record that people will remember our band by. We've loved each other. And we've wanted to kill each other. Somehow, 20 years later, I feel like we've never been more on fire than we are now." Atreyu roll The 20 Year Anniversary Tour into the Rialto Theatre. Whitechapel, He Is Legend, Tempting Fate and Santa Cruz bring party favors... Utilizing instruments he has designed, musician/instrument builder Nick Demopoulos has performed his unique interactive computer music at Lincoln Center, and has been featured on the Discovery Science Network. Smomid is at Solar Culture Gallery... The Miss Gay Metropolis America Pagaent take place at the 191 Toole. Perfect Illusion: A Night of Gaga honors Coco St. James... The Sofia Rankin Trio, John Hisey, The Turnouts and The County Line will perform at First Responders Music Fest: A benefit for Southern Arizona Disabled Firefighters. On the Hotel Congress plaza... Four stages of live music, food trucks and fun for all. Yes, it's Porch Fest. In the Garden District... Mattea will perform at The 2nd Annual Electric Witch Workshop. This year's workshop will focus on music production, sound engineering and "The Theater of the Mind" (radio). At Xerocraft...
Monday, Oct. 21
With a voice that ranges from softly melodic to impassioned caterwauling, at the peppy age of 14, this singer-songwriter/author founded art-punk band Throwing Muses with her step-sister Tanya Donelly back in 1981. In continuum, as a solo artist her prolific output is an assemblage of jagged emotional edges tempered by plain-spoken folk. "The songs keep on writing themselves, and I really love them. It's as close as I get to a religion." In a special solo acoustic performance, Kristin Hersh is at 191 Toole...
Tuesday, Oct. 22
A New Orleans treasure, they came up from playing the streets of the French Quarter to festival stages all over the world. Their hip-shaking sound upholds brass band traditions while adding ladlefuls of savory funk and hip-hop into the stockpot. Rebirth Brass Band brings the non-stop party machine to The Rialto Theater... Like the biblical pestilences—water turning to blood, locusts and hail, darkness and the killing of firstborn children—that ran through Ramses' Egypt, Plague Vendor proselytize at 191 Toole. Up first, sans supervision, No Parents run amok... With an eye to the future, POSIS8N presents Underground Rising Vol 2. Featuring up-and-comers Rated-R, $lim Tuc, Trippboi x Lil Skank, Dame X Chuxxi and others. At Club Congress... Although the songs on Begin the Glimmer (2018) were crafted with workmanlike precision, once in the studio this singer-songwriter—playing every instrument on the album himself—approached recording with an eye toward the unrehearsed. "I just wanted to be less precious with the performance." From Memphis, Stephan Chopek performs acoustically at Sky Bar... In 2001, "Click Click Boom" and "Superstar" landing on The Fast and the Furious soundtrack significantly altered these Tennesseans musical trajectory. Grammy nominated nu metallists Saliva return talking "Some Sh*t About Love." At EncoreTucson. Locals Drop D kick things off...
Wednesday, Oct. 23
In a program that features works by Dvořák, Hindemith and Schnittke, Arizona Friends of Chamber Music presents The Russia String Orchestra. At the Leo Rich Theatre... Embodying the spirits of Hank Williams, Ernest Tubb and Bob Wills in his hooch-sodden, smile-through-the-pain honky-tonk, "The world's finest purveyor of juke-joint swing," Wayne "The Train" Hancock cuts loose. At 191 Toole... This installment of Ladytowne Live—your favorite local feminist variety show—features a comedy set by Andrea Salazar. A performance by Rambo Rose. Interviews with Racheal Rios, Julie Jennings Patterson and friends from KMKR Radio 99.9 FM. At Club Congress...
Thursday, Oct 24
Singer-songwriter Joe Peña's distinctive blues songs bear enough heart to prompt St. Peter to give this sinner a pass. He performs on the patio at Agustin Kitchen... Pianist and composer Larry Redhouse leads a world class ensemble whose repertoire incorporates straight-ahead jazz, latin, funk and reggae. The Larry Redhouse Trio play the Lookout Bar and Grille at the Westward Look Resort...
On The Horizon
On Friday, Oct 25, those fishnet clad mistresses of maritime trauma, The Surfbroads raid their closets for titillating surprises in advance of raining theremin-drenched hi-jinx and sunny oblivion at this year's Nightmare on Congress. At Hotel Congress...
Until next week, XOXO...
