Thursday 13
URBAN MUSIC. The award-winning Australian duo, The Velvet Janes, has included Tucson in their world tour.
Lucky us.
The Velvet Janes have been touring ever since they came together in Perth in 1996. With four albums and 500-plus shows, including national supports for Ani DiFranco, The Cowboy Junkies and Arlo Guthrie, The Velvet Janes have become a word-of-mouth phenomenon.
This Australian urban acoustic team brings sweet but powerful harmonies, gritty but delicate guitar sounds and unpredictable stage antics to every performance.
The Velvet Janes have combined their talents and unique sound to take urban acoustic in a new direction. Choosing to remain independent to maintain their integrity and sanity, The Velvet Janes are poised to take the United States by storm.
Tonight's performance begins at 7 p.m. at The Oasis Vegetarian Eatery, 375 S. Stone. For more information, call 884-1616.
BE SCENE. The Cinema La Placita film series' third season got underway last week with Casablanca, starring Humphrey Bogart and Ingrid Bergman.
Tonight, Audrey Hepburn and Gregory Peck take the spotlight in Roman Holiday, followed by The Big Sleep starring Bogart and Lauren Bacall on June 20; and Dial M for Murder, directed by Alfred Hitchcock and starring Grace Kelly and Ray Milland on June 27.
In case you're new to town or just kinda slow, the series is not new; every summer since the summer of 2000, a famous classic movie is screened each Thursday evening at 7:30 p.m. on the large outdoor screen in the plaza at downtown's La Placita Village.
There is no admission charge for the showings but $3 contributions are encouraged. The entrance to La Placita Village is at 110 S. Church St., near the corner of Broadway. Ample parking is available at the La Placita Parking garage on Stone Avenue, just south of Broadway.
TOGETHER AGAIN. Back in 1999, Sam Bush was in a band backing up Linda Ronstadt at benefit shows at the Temple of Music and Art.
Three years later, Bush and Ronstadt are teaming up again, this time for a concert at Berger Performing Arts Center.
A master musician and bluegrass rebel, Bush creates a seamless blend of music from reggae to rock, jazz to country, gospel to pop and bluegrass.
As founder and leader of New Grass Revival and the man who coined the term Newgrass, Bush's mandolin and fiddle playing, arranging and writing are now legendary.
Bush played with the Soggy Bottom Boys on In the Jailhouse Now on the O Brother, Where Art Thou? soundtrack, which won the 2001 Album of the Year Grammy. In Telluride, Bush is the cosmic glue defining the maverick spirit of the Bluegrass and Country festival each June.
He has recorded and performed with Ronstadt, Emmylou Harris, Dolly Parton, Béla Fleck, Edgar Meyer, Mark O'Connor and others.
Joining Bush and his band in the show will be Tucson's Ronstadt. The two have been working on an upcoming album and they'll be performing in Telluride together later this month.
The concert begins at 7:30 tonight at Berger Performing Arts Center at Speedway, west of I-10 at Arizona School for the Deaf and Blind. All seats are reserved. Tickets are $32 or $30 for seniors. Tickets are available at Antigone Books, 411 N. Fourth Ave., and CD City, 2890 N. Campbell at Glenn. Also charge by phone at 327-4809.
BATTER UP. As the Tucson Sidewinders continue the latest homestand, owner Jay Zucker brings some real fireworks to Tucson Electric Park--literally! Fans can enjoy a fireworks extravaganza after Friday's game against the Salt Lake Stingers, which starts at 7 p.m. Tonight is Thirsty Thursday, with all domestic beers and soft drinks costing a mere buck for two hours following the first pitch of the game at 6:30 p.m. On Saturday, the teams will play a double-header beginning at 5 p.m., with the first 2,000 fans getting a free Sidewinders cap. On Sunday, the game starts at 6:30 p.m., hot dogs will cost just 25 cents and, in honor of Father's Day, dads will be allowed onto the field after the game to play catch with their boys and girls. Bring your own ball and glove! Tickets range from $4 to $8. For more information call 434-1021.
Friday 14
ROCKIN' CLUB CONGRESS. Don't think there's anything going on in the Old Pueblo? Think again and again, because you can just plunk yourself down in Club Congress and be entertained all weekend.
Tonight, Guided by Voices and My Morning Jacket will take the stage.
GBV singer Bob Pollard rubs his truly remarkable rock-and-roll success story in your face as he dances and drinks and kicks and sings--all requisite abilities for a good frontman. My Morning Jacket was one of the highlights of this year's South by Southwest music festival in Austin, Texas.
Tickets are $10 advance and $12 day of show, which starts at 9 p.m.
On Saturday, M. Doughty of Soul Coughing and a special to-be-announced guest will roll into downtown. Doughty rocked the late '90s with a taut, bass-driven vengeance with his former outfit Soul Coughing. The show is being staged in the Hotel Congress Banquet Room, aka The Room. Paid admission gets you into the Club as well, for Techno night. Tickets are $10 and the show starts at 9 p.m.
Club Congress is located at 311 E. Congress St.
Saturday 15
MAD AS HELL. Critics of forest fees say 50 percent of the money collected goes directly to administration and enforcement.
Other funds collected at the base of Mount Lemmon and at Sabino Canyon as part of the National Forest Fee Demonstration Program go into absurd and unnecessary developments such as the new "stretching area" at Sabino.
Many people are plenty peeved about the nickel-dime extortion taking place and are doing something about it.
"The Forest Service is attempting to manufacture consent for the fee demo program," says Sky Jacobs of AZ Earth First! "If visitors to the forest don't agree with the 'demonstration' program but pay the fee in fear of getting ticketed, they'll be counted as a supporter of the program. If you cannot afford to pay the fee you will be denied access to your public lands."
A good old-fashioned protest, part of a National Day of Protest, is scheduled for 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. today at the Mount Lemmon fee tollbooth on Catalina Highway.
HOWDY, PADRE. A hearty dinner. Stories around a campfire. A night under the stars.
If you're looking for a unique experience this Father's Day, join the Schwennesen family for an authentic ranch dinner, followed by campfire readings from James Ohio Pattie's diary describing his 1823 expedition to this area.
Sleep as he did--under the stars, surrounded by the relaxing sounds of an undisturbed desert cooling off from a long, hot day. Watch the diamond-studded sky through the distinctive silhouettes of saguaros and creosote as a gentle breeze caresses the campsite.
The group will gather at 6 p.m. Saturday for a short walk to the "cowboy camp." As evening sets in, you'll be encouraged to create your own distinctive "fresca" salsa from onion, tomato, garlic and fresh jalapenos while the main course simmers in a traditional cowboy dutch-oven.
On Father's Day, after a night in the great wide open, you can take an early morning walk up into "Marbles Canyon," where you can enjoy the natural wildlife and classic desert scenery.
When you return to camp, a good solid breakfast will see you off on an early departure, before the heat sets in.
The cost is $60 and a $25 deposit is required. For more information, call Eric or Jean Schwennesen at 357-6515 to leave a message, or email schwennesen@juno.com.
STRUMMING ALONG. Doesn't really matter what kind of guitar music you enjoy--a concert tonight featuring five outstanding players promises something for everyone.
Prepare for an exciting and unpredictable show, as each guitarist will present a variety of styles, from classical pieces to pop and funk, and steel string picking to folk singing.
Randall Avers became the youngest guitarist to make it into the finals of the Guitar Foundation of America Classical Guitar Competition in 1991, placing second at age 17. He is returning to Tucson to record a classical CD of Spanish composers.
Michael Lich, who will graduate with a master's degree in classical guitar this fall, is equally comfortable writing original folk melodies, many of which can be heard on his CD Uraka.
Ben McCartney is pursuing his doctoral degree in classical guitar and also performs Brazilian music and writes pieces for steel string.
David Rose made it to the finals of the 2001 National Fingerpicking Championship playing original pieces from his CD, The Journey.
Benjamin Silva, also a recent UA alumni, will return to Tucson to round out the evening with pieces from the classical repertoire as well as some funk.
The show starts at 7 p.m. at Grace St. Paul's Episcopal Church, 2331 E. Adams St., north of Speedway between Tucson Boulevard and Campbell Avenue. Advance tickets are $7 and are available at www.dotucson.com or Hear's Music at 2508 N. Campbell. Tickets are $10 at the door. For more information, call 790-8477. To hear some of the music from these musicians, visit www.daveguitar.com.
AN EVENING OF IMPROV. Tony Furtado is a master of folk-blues and jazz improvisation.
Furtado is known for his fusion of old-time Appalachian folk, Celtic melodies and Delta blues.
The multi-instrumentalist brings his award-winning solo act to Cushing Street Café and Bar, 198 W. Cushing St. The all-ages show starts at 8 p.m. today. Tickets are $10.
HEAL THYSELF. In his book, Quantum Touch: The Power to Heal, Richard Gordon writes that you really can heal yourself.
Natara Landrau, a certified instructor/practitioner, will share Gordon's Quantum Touch, a simple and revolutionary form of hands-on healing that claims to enable anyone to become a healer.
The Quantum-Touch workshop is today and Sunday at the Atria Valley Manor, 5566 E. Pima St. For more information and registration, call 531-8495 or visit www.quantumtouch.com.
Sunday 16
A POEM OR TWO.
Your next love, said the psychic
will come with the ease
of dew settling on grass.
And so you did.
--From Jim Sullivan's Ease
Make a date with poet Jim Sullivan, who has studied poetry with Allen Ginsberg, Anne Waldman and Gregory Corso.
Sullivan has lived in the West his entire life, residing in six states, including Alaska and Hawaii.
He's the director of Poetry in the Gardens, a reading series at Tucson Botanical Gardens, and has served on the Mayoral Selection Committee for Tucson's Poet Laureate.
His poems have been published in several literary journals and magazines. Owner of Sonorascapes, a landscape design company, he divides his time between Tucson and San Carlos, Mexico.
His poetry is clean, making a direct line from metaphor to heart to life.
Open reading will follow Sullivan's talk during the event from 6 to 8 p.m. today at Sharkys Urban Sports Grill (in the basement), 800 E. University, at the corner of University and Euclid. For more information, call 360-5269.
Monday 17
WRITE ON. Old Pueblo Playwrights, a playwriting support group, will read mini-plays written by members.
Writers interested in the group, as well as the general public, are invited to attend tonight's meeting, which starts at 7 p.m. at Arizona Theatre Company's rehearsal hall above The Temple of Music and Art at 330 S. Scott Ave.
There is no admission fee. For more information, call 529-2937.
Tuesday 18
REALLY GREAT SHOTS. Neon signs and the gleaming chrome of lunch counters are hallmarks of a style perfected by the likes of Robert Bechtle, Richard McLean, John Baeder and Jack Mendenhall.
Photo-Realism is a type of realist painting which emerged in the 1960s and 1970s whose subject is the photograph, or the photographic vision of reality.
Organizers of a new exhibition at Tucson Museum of Art have gathered up some great examples for As Real As It Gets: Super Realism and Photo-Realism from Private Collections and the Tucson Museum of Art Permanent Collection.
The show, which runs through Aug. 18, includes several new acquisitions from the past two years as well as special works of art borrowed from local private collections.
Tucson Museum of Art is located at 140 N. Main Ave. Hours are 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday and noon to 4 p.m. Sunday. General admission is $5, seniors are $4, students 13 and older are $3 and members and children 12 and under are free. Sundays are free family days. For more information, call 624-2333 or visit www.tucsonarts.com.
Wednesday 19
HEAR, HEAR. If you've never heard of Simon Ortiz, perhaps it's time you did.
The popular former Tucsonan poet will read today from his new book, Out There Somewhere, a beautiful and personal work.
Considered by many to be one of the finest poets around, Ortiz has been a witness, participant and observer of interactions between the Euro-American culture and that of his Native American people for many years. In this collection of new work, he confronts moments and instances of his past and finds redemption in the wellspring of his culture.
Ortiz, who now teaches at the University of Toronto, will speak from 7 to 8:30 p.m. today at Reader's Oasis, 3400 E. Speedway in the Wild Oats plaza. For more information, call 319-7887.
