WE NEED YOUR NEW YEAR'S EVE INFO, STAT!
Is your club, restaurant or other type of venue hosting a New Year's Eve celebration that will feature live music? If so, I bet you're trying to get the word out about that event, since you've spent so much time and hard work planning it. I mean, it would be a shame if you jumped through all those hoops and nobody showed up, right? Man, have I got a deal for you!The Weekly will soon be publishing a special New Year's Eve Guide, and I need information about any and all music-oriented events in order to write the sucker. Send me complete details at musiced@tucsonweekly no later than noon on Tuesday, Dec. 12 (of course, the earlier the better), and I'll give your shindig some free publicity, no strings attached. Talk about a win-win! I will be patiently waiting at my computer for details to arrive.
RUN FOR COVER-UP
Looking for the most fun you'll have at a musical event all year and support a worthy cause in the process? Look no further.Tonight, Thursday, Dec. 7, marks the first night of the three-night extravaganza known as The Great Cover-Up, which is celebrating its 10th anniversary this year. The event boasts nearly 30 local bands and performers, who normally play their own music, instead performing a 20-minute set of covers by a well-known band or artist. It continues on Friday, Dec. 8, and Saturday, Dec. 9. All proceeds from the event benefit the Brewster Center, a local service organization that provides shelter, crisis intervention and advocacy for victims of domestic violence.
While we gave you a full rundown of the event last week, along with tonight's schedule, there have been some changes made since then (no more TBAs!), so we thought we'd fill you in. Here, then, is the most complete, up-to-date schedule of the entire event, as of press time.
Night One, Thursday, Dec. 7: 5ft2 at 8 p.m., Feed at 8:30 p.m., The Sound Guys at 9 p.m., The Distortionists at 9:30 p.m., Infernal Racket at 10 p.m., The Swim at 10:30 p.m., Latino Solido at 11 p.m. and the Provocative Whites at 11:30 p.m. (Please note that Thursday will end a bit earlier than Friday and Saturday, in order to accommodate Congress' regularly scheduled dance party The Optimist Club, which will follow the Cover-Up.)
Artists being covered on Thursday, in no particular order (you wouldn't want us to ruin the fun, would ya?): Bad Company, Modest Mouse, The Time, the White Stripes, Tower of Power, Siouxie and the Banshees, Wilco and Buzzcocks.
Night Two, Friday, Dec. 8: Al Perry at 9 p.m., Music Video at 9:30 p.m., The Splitters at 10 p.m., Ernie and the Hotrods at 10:30 p.m., Luca at 11 p.m., Lagoon at 11:30 p.m., Love Mound at midnight and Found Dead on the Phone at 12:30 a.m.
Artists being covered on Friday: Bjork, Eric Clapton, Sade, Eddie Money, Jay-Z, Nico, songs from the Reservoir Dogs soundtrack and Thin Lizzy.
Night Three, Saturday, Dec. 9: Saint Rorschach at 8:30 p.m., Redlands at 9 p.m., Ghost Lodge at 9:30 p.m., Sabatino Killers at 10 p.m., The Therapists at 10:30 p.m., Bombs for the Bored at 11 p.m., Spacefish at 11:30 p.m., Fukuisan! Go at midnight, Great American Tragedy at 12:30 a.m. and Los Sombis at 1 a.m.
Artists being covered on Saturday: Billy Idol, REO Speedwagon, Pavement, The Monkees, AC/DC, The Zombies, Sweet, My Bloody Valentine, Marilyn Manson and Shonen Knife.
As always, we urge you to arrive early and stay late, as each band has put in a lot of time preparing for its set, and you never know what sort of awesomeness you might miss if you decide to show up (un)fashionably tardy. The Great Cover-Up version 2006 takes place at Club Congress, 311 E. Congress St. Admission to the event is a suggested donation of $7 for one night, $12 for any two nights and $15 for all three. If those prices are too steep, feel free to attend anyway, and donate what you can. Call 622-8848 for answers to any questions you may have after visiting thegreatcoverup.googlepages.com, which contains more Cover-Up information than you could possibly ever need. If you're half as excited as we are, we'll see you there!
CD-RELEASE MANIA
In recent weeks, we've been blathering about the number of local CD release parties this time of year; lo and behold, this weekend will see the release of no fewer than five CDs, in four shows around the downtown area. Here are your fresh-off-the-burner options.Art-metal locals Sin Machine (think System of a Down crossing paths with Rage Against the Machine and Marilyn Manson, with a bit of screamo tossed in), who have a penchant for rhyming song titles ("Bitches Need Stitches," "Virgin Surgeon"), release Romanticizing Violence in a joint CD release party with You Apart, whose What Hides in Dreams hits the shelves (or merch tables, as the case may be) the very same night. Toss in openers Ph8 and Stands With a Fist (the band, not the Kevin Costner movie) and you've got yourself a heavy, heavy night out on the town. It all goes down at 7 p.m. on Saturday, Dec. 9, at The Rock, 136 N. Park Ave. Cover is $7 and all ages are welcome. For more info call 629-9211.
The dance-punk unit known as Feel Good Revolution collides '80s guitar riffs à la Pat Benatar and Rick Springfield into vintage synth sounds and yelping vocals. One song even rips off the chord progression of Sweet's "Love Is Like Oxygen" (though the band's members are young enough to convince you they might think they made it up themselves). They'll be at Dry River, 740 N. Main Ave., at 8:30 p.m. on Friday, Dec. 8, celebrating a new CD along with openers Sev v. Evan, Shakey Bones and Nowhere Man and a Whiskey Girl. All ages are welcome and cover is a donation. For further details, head to dryriver.org.
Fans of Faun Fables, Cat Power and Ani DiFranco's percussive guitar style would do well to drop into Solar Culture Gallery, 31 E. Toole Ave., where on Saturday, Dec. 9, they'll find singer-songwriter Leila Lopez performing at 7:30 p.m. in honor of her new CD, The Roots and the Crops. Cover charge is TBA, but all ages are welcome. Call 884-0874 for additional info.
The Tryst merge ethereal female vocals with a jazz-funk sensibility on their debut CD, Thirsty World, which makes its way into the world on Saturday, Dec. 9, at The Hut, 305 N. Fourth Ave. Opening at 9 p.m. are Feta and Shiraz and Ghost Cow. Cover is a measly $3. Questions? Ring 'em up at 623-3200.
ON THE BANDWAGON
The only thing better than a good rock show is a good, free rock show, and that's exactly what you'll get at Club Congress, 311 E. Congress St., on Wednesday, Dec. 13, when two of Tucson's finest new acts--The Crowd and The Swim--will open for the David Letterman-approved Shiny Toy Guns. It's all in honor of the unveiling of issue No. 3 of Soda Pop magazine, a glossy monthly devoted to all things pop culture in Tucson. Stuff gets kicking at about 9 p.m., and the number to call for more details is 622-8848.That Del Tha Funkee Homosapien show that we told you about back in October was subsequently postponed--until this week. Del and his pals (that's openers Mike Relm, Motion Man, Bukue One and A-Plus) will finally deliver the goods at 8 p.m. on Friday, Dec. 8, at the Rialto Theatre, 318 E. Congress St. Advance tix for this all-ages show are available at the Rialto box office for $21; they'll be $26 on the day of show. Call 740-1000 for more info.
Vinyl enthusiasts best drop in to the 17th Street Market Vinyl Roadshow, which runs from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturday, Dec. 9. Expect vinyl vendors, vinyl assessment from the pros at Twist & Shout and Cassidy Collectibles and entertainment courtesy of DJ Carl Hanni. The 17th Street Market is located at 810 E. 17th St., and admission is free to all. Call 624-8821, ext. 145, for further details.
We're out of space, and we haven't even begun to scratch the surface of all the shows going on around town this week, including appearances from +44, Jet, Gary Hoey, and Ozomatli. Check those listings, won'tcha?
