Thursday, November 24, 2016

The Weekly List: 20 Things To Do In Tucson In The Next 10 Days

Posted By on Thu, Nov 24, 2016 at 9:49 AM

Your Weekly guide to keeping busy in the Old Pueblo.

Pick of the Week: Local Black Friday & Holiday Shopping

Somehow, it happened. Despite months of intending to get holiday shopping done early, Thanksgiving has arrived and there are still gifts left to buy. Well, you might as well save some money. Ditch the mall this weekend and shop local this Black Friday and Small Business Saturday.

The annual Fourth Avenue Black Friday (and Small Business Saturday) deals look pretty good this year, including discounts and double stamps at Antigone, free admission to future Jellywink sexuality workshop facilitated by Ally Booker with any purchase from our favorite sex toy store, dollar drafts at Mr. Head's, discounted improv classes at Tucson Improv Movement and 20 percent off at How Sweet It Was, the Book Stop, Rustic Candle Company and some items at Pop Cycle. Check out the Facebook page for more details on when and where these discounts are going down.

Other small business to check out for holiday deals include: Wooden Tooth Records, Fantasy Comics and Heroes and Villains.  Need someone to watch the kids while you're fighting over discounted television sets? Register the kiddos for a day at Heart and Soul Kids Activity Center. Just need a drink? Casa Video's Film Bar is pouring black beers all day long.

But wait, more options await you throughout the weekend!

Holiday Arts and Crafts Fair: Holiday shopping is quickly approaching! Check out the Holiday Arts and Crafts Fair to find unique items from more than 100 vendors from all over the Southwest ranging from artists, crafters, photographers, painters, potters, jewelers and more at one of Tucson's most popular craft shows. Be sure to stop for food and refreshments from local vendors along the way. 9 a.m.-4 p.m. Nov. 26 - 27. Reid Park, 3400 E. Zoo Court. Free.

Native American Month Social & Indian Craft Market: Learn about the heritage, culture and art of different Native American tribal nations at this special event held every year on Thanksgiving weekend. There will be works by artisans, demonstrations of dance and song, and activities for children. There will also be a cultural presentation from award-winning hoop dancer Cecil Manuel, Tohono O'odham and Apache nations. Noon to 5p.m. Nov. 26-Nov. 28. Sheraton Hotel & Suites, 5151 E. Grant Road. Free admission & parking.


Cinema

The Big Lebowski at the Fox: Watch the Dude get into all kinds of shenanigans in this Coen brothers' 1998 dramatic comedy featuring Jeff Bridges, Julianne Moore, Steve Buscemi more of Hollywood's finest. You can catch this flick at the Fox for one days only. 7 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 27 Fox TucsonTheatre, 17 W. Congress. General Admission: $7, Students, military and kids under 12: $5 movies.

John Hughes Movie Night: Watch your favorite stories of high school angst and longing at Casa Video and Casa Film Bar. The new hang out at the old move stop will play a loop of John Hughes classics all Black Friday night long. 7 p.m. Friday, Nov. 25 Casa Video and Casa Film Bar, 2905 E. Speedway Blvd. Free, bring money for food and drinks.

Breaking Away: Chosen by the staff members of Tucson's movie theater gem, this Academy Award-winning comedy covers the frightening transition into real life from high school, chronicling the lives of teen recently-graduated teens. 7:30 - 9:15 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 20. The Loft Cinema, 3233 E. Speedway Blvd. General Admission: $6, Members: $5.

Friends Trivia: Friends has been on Netflix for about two years now, which means you’ve had ample time to memorize every moment from the television show that dictated our hair cuts and helped us name our kids in the late ’90s. Stop singing to your neighborhood smelly cat and leave your ugly, naked neighbor alone on Tuesday, Nov. 29 a 7 p.m. and show off your Central Perk knowledge. Make sure you know who “Ms. Chenandler Bong” is. The fun takes place at Casa Video’s Film Bar (2905 E. Speedway Blvd). 


Performance

The Sound of Music comes to Tucson: This musical classic will take to the UA's Centennial Hall for six days only presented by Broadway in Tucson in conjunction with UA Presents. The musical is under the direction of Tony Award winner Jack O'Brien with music by Richard Rodgers and lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II. times vary Nov. 29 - Dec. 4 Centennial Hall, 1020 E. University Blvd. $19 - $100.

Caffinated Comedy: Enjoy a night of stand-up comedy at Cafe Passe's back patio hosted by Mo Urban and guest host Rory Monserat. Grab a cup of coffee, a pastry or some alcohol at the patio bar and make sure to get some laughs in at this open mic night. Sign-up: 6 p.m., Starts at 6:30 p.m. Wednesday, Nov. 30 Cafe Passe, 415 N. Fourth Ave. Free, bring money for food and drinks.

Lightwire Theatre, A Very Electric Christmas: "Brighten up your holidays" with Lightwire Theater’s A Very Electric Christmas, a magical tale of family, friendship and hope set to timeless holiday hits including Nat King Cole, Mariah Carey and Tchai. This show is open to people of all ages and will be a night to remember for the whole family! 6pm, doors 5pm Friday, November 25 Fox Tucson Theatre, 17 W. Congress Street $17 - $32.

An Evening with Garrison Keillor: Spend an evening with Garrison Keillor, one of America’s most renowned radio hosts and humorists, and learn about his life and success along the way. He is the host of the daily program The Writer’s Almanac and the editor of several anthologies of poetry. Keillor has also been awarded with a Grammy, ACE, and George Foster Peabody awards, the National Humanities Medal, and election to the American Academy of Arts and Letters. 7:30-9:30 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 29. Fox Tuscon Theatre, 17 W. Congress Street. $37-$84.

23rd Waila Festival at Old Tucson: Old Tucson is hosting their annual celebration of southern Arizona heritage and culture, with O'odham dancers and performances by the Waila Festival Band. In addition, there will be polkas, schottisches, and mazurkas as well as booths serving native desert food dishes and a barbeque. 6-10 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 26. Old Tucson, 201 S. Kinney Road. $10 per person.

Holiday Special, Home Alone in Concert: Are we in the part of the year where it is socially acceptable to start watching holiday movies yet? The Tucson Symphony Orchestra is featuring the famous Christmas comedy classic Home Alone on the big screen. But wait, there’s more: The screening will feature composer John Williams’ charming score performed by the Tucson Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Vinay Parameswaran. Add some hot cocoa and it sounds like the perfect start to holiday madness.  Saturday, Nov. 26 at 4 p.m., Sunday Nov. 27 at 6 p.m. Tucson Music Hall, 260 S. Church Ave.

Music

Bubba Sparxx: This son of a school bus driver has overcome lots of things to become Bubba Sparxx the rapper. For one thing, he was a high school football star, and he’s white, tubby, and he grew up in impoverished rural Georgia along a dirt road and his closest neighbor was a half mile away. Not exactly prerequisites to rap stardom. As a kid he discovered 2 Live Crew and then West Coast gangsta, and that, ultimately, connected him to world that was far more exciting than his own. It saved him, you could say. His 2001 debut album came out from absolutely nowhere, with Timbaland at the helm, went gold, and he became the go-to slinger of the white poor south, which made him a star. He’s also a master at country rap too. A real American story. With Yelawolf and Jelly Roll on Sunday, Nov. 27 at 7 p.m. Rialto Theatre, 318 E. Congress. $26-$29. All ages.

Tele Novella: Hurl a Timothy Leary tome in any direction and you’ll knock an indie psych band in the head. Yeah, we’d wager there are more so-called “psych” bands today than at any time in the mid to late 1960s. Many of them are just detached and self-indulgent, retro-vaudvillians who forget that part of their job is to entertain an audience while mistaking droning sounds for actual songwriting. Worse, many have never ingested hallucinogenics! But this Austin-based band, led by the ferociously skilled guitarist/singer Natalie Ribbons, has the show, the songwriting—the thought and the passion—that allows them to use the “psych” label without embarrassment. And the band is so much more than that too. The hook-filled songs move in welcome unpredictable ways, can flip from sunny to melancholy in an instant (sometimes with eerie Lynchian sonic turns). It’s the same sort of literate, song-y mindset that possessed everyone from Sky Saxon to Burt Bacharach to Jackie DeShannon to Ruthann Friedmann to ’60s-era Paul Williams … so it’s beautifully baroque, filled with sculpted twang and singsong choruses. But never does it sound like they’re lifting wholesale from the greats. Ribbons has a glorious lilt in her voice too, kinda like Mama Cass, and you can imagine her one day singing standards. No shit. We can’t recommend this band highly enough. With Tucson’s mighty nihilistic bubblegummers The Resonars at 8 p.m., Wednesday Nov. 30, Club Congress, 311 E. Congress. Free. 21+

Capitán Koala: Straight out of Hermosillo, Sonora, this monster power-chording, Spanish-singing, roust-the-dead rock ’n’ roll outfit play as if their lives depend on it. They back up songs about eternal indifference and pawnshops with a kind of fist-pumping verve we’ve not heard out of a so-called “rock band” in ages. (It’s only more kickass that they’re Mexican.) Cross our hearts, this young quartet (one EP out, the punchy “Luciana”) make contemporary combos like the Foo Fighters sound even more bland and mediocre than they already are. They’re huge in Tijuana too. See them twice in Tucson: Saturday, Dec. 3 at Brodies Tavern, 2449 N. Stone. 7 p.m. 21+, and Sunday, Dec. 4 with Snailmate, at The Loudhouse, 915 W Prince Rd., 7 p.m. 21+.

Too $hort: Raised in South-Central L.A., Too $hort was an original West Coast gangsta rapper, slinging rhymes of porno-like schtupps and murderous suckerpunches that millions of white kids in middle America were eating up by 1990. $hort is infamous for many other things too, like collaborating with both The Notorious B.I.G. and 2Pac when they were huge. Now he’s one of the rare rappers who’s entered an age of his own nostalgia, where his fanbase is still strong but aging. And that says a lot about how his words and mad rapping skills have evolved with audience. He’s can be considered classic rap now, sort of like the Paul Simon of hip-hop. With Mistah F.A.B. on Saturday, Dec. 3 at The Rialto Theatre, 318 E. Congress. $25-$30. 7 p.m. All ages.

Seu Jorge: This badass-haired singer/songwriter helped to popularize samba beyond South American borders. You may have seen him too: He was Knockout Ned in 2002’s Oscar-nominated City of God, and he co-starred in Wes Anderson’s The Life Aquatic with Steven Zissou, in which he beautifully covered David Bowie songs in Portuguese. (Bowie himself was moved by Seu Jorge’s versions). Over the years he has also covered the likes of Leiber & Stoller, Tim Maia, Serge Gainsbourg and others to incredible effect. As evidenced on his many albums, the madly charismatic Jorge is blessed with one of those voices that can seemingly tackle anything—he’s equally at home lilting over dancefloor-slamming South American rhythms as he is crooning over beds of soul or funk. It’s no surprise that his tours do great business—his sets move effortlessly between somber acoustic-guitar strummed beauties and sweat-soaked, horn-drenched sambas. And he’s doing the David Bowie stuff on this tour. Thursday, Dec. 1 at the Rialto Theatre, 318 E. Congress. 7 p.m. $38-$59. All ages.

House of Stairs: This quartet’s comely and effortless-seeming blend of fusion jazz, pop and soul mixes well with J. Dilla-inspired beats, varied electronics and loops. It doesn’t hurt that singer Holly Pyle has a graceful, liquid-like voice, sort of like Rickie Lee Jones, or that band member Shea Marshall plays a multitude of instruments, including bass clarinet, saxophone, harmonica, accordion and synth. Their song “Zoloft”—a blend of fusion, horns and unpredictable time signatures—manages to sound like how you feel when you actually “want to feel again,” but in the best possible way. With Katie Haverly on Friday, Dec. 2, at the Flycatcher, 340 E. 6th St. 9 p.m. 21+

Henry Rollins: The author, actor, columnist, book publisher, songwriter, podcast host, political activist, radio voice, forever punk rocker, and one-time Black Flag frontman is still kicking ass and taking names, despite the gray hair. (And no, we still would never go anywhere near his protein drink.) This protean wonder, whose finely wrought opinions are as sculpted as his gym-assisted torso, is bringing his angry/funny/enlightened spoken-word riot to these parts, and from what we understand the show is one sidesplitting anecdote to another. It’s also filled with charged screeds directed at mouthbreathing practitioners of sexism, racism and homophobia. He’s a man of the people, a poet of the proletariat, and if you don’t believe us, just go up and try telling him he’s not. Then see what happens. Friday, Dec. 2 at 7 p.m. Rialto Theatre, 318 E. Congress. $27-$36 All ages.