TFMF TIME
It wasn't for nothing that the Tucson Film and Music Festival (TFMF) was the Pick of the Week in our City Week section last week. Since it starts today, Thursday, Oct. 7, and runs until Monday, Oct. 11, we thought we'd mention it again—because a reminder is warranted.
You can find a full schedule of events, which take place at a number of locations around town, at www.tucsonfilmandmusicfestival.com, but here are a few highlights: Rise, Ride, Roar, a David Byrne concert film (7:30 p.m. at the Loft Cinema, 3233 E. Speedway Blvd., on Friday, Oct. 8); Everyday Sunshine: The Story of Fishbone, one of America's greatest ska-funk bands, narrated by Laurence Fishburne (9 p.m., Rialto Theatre, 318 E. Congress St., on Saturday, Oct. 9), which will be followed by a performance by Fishbone—and if you've never seen them live, do yourself a solid and be there; and Mars, an animated sci-fi comedy about the inaugural manned mission to Mars, with Howe Gelb in the lead role; he scored it, too, with contributions from others, including Neko Case, Victoria Williams, Jason Lytle, Kristen Hersh, John Convertino and Bill Elm (7 p.m., Sunday, Oct. 10, at the Fox Theatre, 17 W. Congress St.).
Consider those few highlights a mere tease for the fantastic program that former Tucsonan and High and Dry director Michael Toubassi has put together for our collective enjoyment. Check out the rest at the aforementioned website.
SCARY ON PAPER; GREAT IN REALITY
Warpaint is one of those bands from the newly revived L.A. scene that, on paper, you should be wary of: four women—Emily Kokal (vocals, guitar), Theresa Wayman (vocals, guitar), Jenny Lee Lindberg (bass, vocals) and Stella Mozgawa (drums/keyboards)—whose debut EP, Exquisite Corpse (Manimal, 2009), was mixed by former Red Hot Chili Peppers guitarist John Frusciante.
Do not be afraid of the potential suckiness: That EP, and especially the band's live shows (they've played at both Solar Culture Gallery and Club Congress previously), are stunning.
Blending dreamy, ethereal song structures with unusually rhythmic bass and drums (I'll stop short of calling them funky), they'll lull you into a groove, and might or might not reward you with a money shot of tension release. Whether that release ever comes is kind of beside the point. It's the journey, not the destination, silly.
The band's debut album, The Fool, will be released by Rough Trade later this month.
Warpaint performs at Club Congress, 311 E. Congress St., on Tuesday, Oct. 12. Mostly Bears open this 21-and-up show at 9 p.m. Tickets are $10. For more information, call 622-8848, orhead to hotelcongress.com.
NOW 6 MEMBERS AND A SOUND
Formerly a duo of singer-guitarist Israel Nebeker and drummer Ryan Dobrowski, these days, Portland, Ore.-based Blind Pilot usually sports a six-person lineup for touring purposes. They're still touring on the strength of a 2008 debut album, 3 Rounds and a Sound (Expunged), which features 11 acoustic pop gems that are pretty much irresistible, regardless of what you've got on your iPod.
Nebeker has a knack not only for pleasing pop melodies, but also lyrics that paint a picture without getting into specifics. On "Poor Boy" he sings, "When you come to, you'll be asking yourself just one question: Was I always this way?" On the shuffling "Paint or Pollen," he sings, "Milk in your water / black in your primer / wood in your brush / now I am your claw / whatever you want / the best is upon us."
Blind Pilot performs at Plush, 340 E. Sixth St., on Tuesday, Oct. 12. Cory Chisel opens at 9:30 p.m. Tickets are $10. Head to plushtucson.com, or call 798-1298 for further details.
GRAND LAKE IN THE DESERT
Port O'Brien's 2008 album All We Could Do Was Sing was one of our favorites from that year, and this week, we're graced with a visit from Grand Lake, whose frontman, Caleb Nichols, was once in that band. We're further impressed by their taste in recent cover songs—a beat-heavy, seriously lo-fi take on Pavement's "In the Mouth a Desert" and a woozy, glacially paced version of the theme song from The Adventures of Pete and Pete, originally performed by Miracle Legion frontman Mark Mulcahy's short-lived outfit Polaris. The Oakland, Calif.-based band released its second album, Blood Sea Dream, on Hippies Are Dead Records earlier this year.
Grand Lake headlines an 8 p.m. show at Dry River, 740 N. Main St., on Sunday, Oct. 10, that also features Forrest Day, The Hopheads, Freedom Assault and Alley Cat's Cradle. No cover charge info was available at press time, but Dry River usually asks for donations. Head to dryriver.org for more information.
ENIGMA TIME
Enigmatic and accomplished singer-songwriter and former Pedro the Lion frontman David Bazan, who now apparently performs as Bazan + Band, will headline a show at Club Congress, 311 E. Congress St., on Wednesday, Oct. 13. Opening are Wye Oak and Phoenix institution Reubens Accomplice. This all-ages show starts at 8 p.m., and tickets are $13 in advance, or $15 on the day of the show. Head to hotelcongress.com, or call 622-8848 for info.
ON THE BANDWAGON
Jerry Seinfeld at the Tucson Music Hall at the Tucson Convention Center on Friday, Oct. 8; BeauSoleil at the Rialto Theatre next Thursday, Oct. 14; Langhorne Slim and Dry River Yacht Club at Plush on Sunday, Oct. 10; Raw Power, Inoculara, Vanish Twin and Limbless Torso at Vaudeville next Thursday, Oct. 14; Tech N9ne with E-40 and others at the Rialto Theatre on Tuesday, Oct. 12; Matt Costa at Club Congress on Saturday, Oct. 9; Tea Leaf Green and Tauk at Plush on Friday, Oct. 8; Matt Hires and Courtney Robbins at Solar Culture Gallery on Monday, Oct. 11; Dirt Nasty and Andre Legacy at The Rock on Saturday, Oct. 9; Camp Wildcat Benefit with Coyote Grace, Seashell Radio and Leila Lopez at Club Congress on Sunday, Oct. 10 (see City Week for more information); Saves the Day, Broken End Stereo and Dead Western Plains at The Rock on Tuesday, Oct. 12; Gabriel Iglesias at AVA at Casino del Sol on Saturday, Oct. 9.
