Soundbites

GOING NOWHERE AS FAST AS WE CAN

You’d be forgiven for assuming all the live music events happening around town this week are the requisite holiday concerts. Yes, there are some of those, but there’s a lot more, too.

Take, for example, this weekend’s Go Nowhere Fest Too, an ambitious, Arizona-centric music festival taking place at a few different locations on Friday, Dec. 17, and Saturday, Dec. 18. The event is spearheaded and organized by Mark Beef, who also plays guitar in Lenguas Largas, one of the bands that will be performing.

As you may have surmised from its name, this will be the second Go Nowhere Fest (alternate title: Beefstock). Beef held the first one two years ago at the Grumpus Room, an underground all-ages venue he rented and booked for a while, but this is an entirely different beast: Eight bands played at the first GNF, while this weekend’s event will feature nearly 30. When I asked Beef in an e-mail what the inspiration behind the festival was, he wrote back, “The impetus is to get bands from all over Arizona to play together that maybe normally don’t but are all likeminded ... bands that are pretty much GOING NOWHERE ‘cause they aren’t trying to make it, just trying to have fun.”

Works for me.

The GNFT shows listed below, aside from the one at Vaudeville, are all-ages, and the entire festival is free to attend. Asked how this is possible, Beef replied, “As for how we can pay bands and yet still have it be free, the Tea Party has agreed to sponsor us as long as we try to represent coffee in a negative light.” He went on to encourage attendees to bring money to buy merch from the bands.

Here, then, is the schedule for Go Nowhere Fest Too. (Bands are from Tucson unless otherwise noted.)

Friday, Dec 17, at the Red Room at Grill, 100 E. Congress St. (623-7621): JJCNV (Phoenix) at 10 p.m., Custody Battle (Flagstaff) at 11 p.m., Winelord at midnight, Pop Gestapo at 1 a.m. MC’d by Travis Spillers.

Saturday, Dec. 18, an afternoon concert at a centrally located but as-yet undisclosed spot; go to the Red Room on Friday night for info: Drone Throne (Phoenix) at 2 p.m., God of the Sea at 2:30 p.m., Logan Greene and the Bricks at 3 p.m., Hot Dog! (Phoenix) at 3:30 p.m., Otherly Love at 4 p.m., Good men die like dogs. (Tempe) at 4:30 p.m., Discos at 5 p.m., Cadillac Steakhouse at 5:30 p.m. MC’d by Terry Trash.

Saturday, Dec. 18, at Vaudeville, 110 E. Congress St. (622-3535): Truancy at 8 p.m., Gay Kiss (Phoenix) at 8:30 p.m., Negative Feedback at 9 p.m., Ultramaroon at 9:30 p.m., Elders (Phoenix) at 10 p.m., Rumspringer (Phoenix) at 10:30 p.m., Chainsaw Justice at 11 p.m., Cagematch (Phoenix) at 11:30 p.m., Standard Deviance at midnight, Avon Ladies (Phoenix) at 12:30 a.m., Limbless Torso at 1 a.m., The Besmirchers at 1:30 a.m. MC’d by Bob Spasm and Nikki Rosing.

Saturday, Dec. 18, at the Red Room at Grill: The Pods (Phoenix) at 10 p.m., The Creamys at 11 p.m., the Becky Lee Band (Phoenix) at midnight, Lenguas Largas at 1 a.m. MC’d by Mullarkey.

Buckle up, punk.


HERE’S TO SELF-SUFFICIENCY

Two of Tucson’s best and most-beloved world-music acts are teaming up to help out fellow musicians in need in Zimbabwe. The Key Ingredients of African Soul and Batucaxé will perform at Plush, 340 E. Sixth St., on Friday, Dec. 17, in a Benefit Concert for African Artists.

The event is the result of a trip Key Ingredients bandleader Mike Olson (aka Dr. Twang) took last summer to Zimbabwe with UA professor Praise Zenenga, who had worked with a band there, Iwisa, in the ‘90s. From a press release: “During their brief summer reunion with Iwisa, Praise and Doc Twang were touched by the harsh economic climate in which Zimbabwean artists exist and how they, especially those with families, are constantly struggling to make ends meet. Iwisa kindly (asked) if the Key Ingredients could help raise funds to kick-start their quest to become a more self-sufficient group.”

The Benefit Concert for African Artists begins at 9:30 p.m. Admission is a suggested donation of $5. Call 798-1298 for more information.


A DECADE OF LA CERCA

Ten years ago this month, local indie-pop band La Cerca played its first show at Che’s Lounge. Singer-songwriter-guitarist Andrew Gardner had been fronting the band Wise Folk Malcontent before that, and considering both bands’ lineup changes over the years, for fans, the formation of La Cerca amounted basically to a name change.

In the ensuing decade, La Cerca has released an album, 2001’s Goodbye Phantom Engineer, and gone through lulls, breakups, tours and Gardner trying new cities on for size—as well as the aforementioned lineup changes.

But La Cerca circa 2010 is enjoying the steadiest roster of members since it formed: Drummer Ernie Gardner has been with the band since 2001; Bill Oberdick has played guitar with them since 2005; and bassist Miguel Villarreal, a neighbor of Gardner’s who initially came over to his house to jam after La Cerca broke up following a tour, has been a constant presence for the last few years. The band is currently prepping the release of a new album, Rock ‘n’ Roll to the Rescue, and you can bet the prolific Gardner has a few other albums’ worth of material he’s just champing at the bit to record.

Celebrate a decade of La Cerca when the band returns to the place it all started, Che’s Lounge, 350 N. Fourth Ave., on Saturday, Dec. 18. Music should start around 9:30 p.m., and you can call 623-2088 for more details. Admission is free.


AND NOW, ABOUT THOSE HOLIDAY SHOWS ...

As mentioned earlier, there’s a spate of timely holiday-themed events going down this week. Here’s a sampling.

The Tucson Kitchens Musician Association’s Holiday Party and Fundraiser, a benefit for the annual Tucson Folk Festival, takes place on Saturday, Dec. 18, at the Unitarian Universalist Church, 4831 E. 22nd St. The event runs from 5:30 to 10 p.m. and will feature performances by Havin’ a Blast, the String Bean Orchestra, Roman Barten-Sherman, Greg Morton, Don and Victoria Armstrong and The Canyonaires. John Coinman will appear as a special guest. Admission is a suggested donation of $10; kids get in free with a parent. A Mexican fiesta dinner will be available for $7. For more information, head to tucsonfolkfest.org, or call 409-9900.

Renowned as much for their comical, snappy banter as their well-crafted songs, acoustic folk-pop duo Ryanhood is one of the few local acts that can pack the Rialto Theatre, 318 E. Congress St., and that’s where they’ll perform their Seventh Annual Christmas Concert at 8 p.m., Saturday, Dec. 18. Advance tickets are $15 for general admission seats; they’ll be $17 on the day of the show; students with a valid ID get in for $10. Call 740-1000 with questions.

Local jazz-blues duo Diane Van Deurzen and Lisa Otey have released a new Christmas CD, Meet Me Under the Mistletoe (Owl’s Nest Productions), which you can read about in this week’s feature article, and to celebrate, they’ll be performing a trio of area CD-release shows this week: at 7 p.m., Friday, Dec. 17, at the Community Performing Arts Center, 1250 W. Continental Road, in Green Valley ($15; 399-1750); 3 p.m., Sunday, Dec. 17, at the Desert View Performing Arts Center, 38759 S. Mountain View Blvd., in SaddleBrooke ($16 in advance, $21 at the door; 818-1000); and 7 p.m., Monday, Dec. 20, at the Z Mansion, 288 N. Church Ave. ($20; 370-5912). For more info, head to lisaotey.com.

Community radio station KXCI FM 91.3 will broadcast its annual holiday-themed Sonic Solstice program, which gathers local musicians playing seasonal tunes both live in the studio and recorded from past years, from 5 to 9 p.m., Monday, Dec. 20. Among this year’s live performers are Silverbell, Salvador Duran, Leila Lopez, Thru-Liner and Michael P. Nordberg and Cristina Williams. Jason Repko, Dr. Dan Twelker and Laurie Starr will host the broadcast. For more information, head to kxci.org.


ON THE BANDWAGON

Béla Fleck and the Flecktones Holiday Tour at the Rialto Theatre on Sunday, Dec. 19; Tejano Takeover with Se Salen and others at The Rock on Saturday, Dec. 18; Tommy and the High Pilots, Butterfly Turbulence and others at Dry River Collective on Friday, Dec. 17; Sam Adams at the Rialto Theatre on Friday, Dec. 17; Allstar Weekend at The Rock on Friday, Dec. 17; Amy Bleu at Plush on Tuesday, Dec. 21; Antique Scream at The Hut on Sunday, Dec. 19.

There’s a whole lot more, so be sure to check out our listings this week.