Soundbites

TAMMIES TIME

Those of you who can't be bothered with the important stuff in this rag, and instead turn directly to the music section each week (yeah, I know ... wishful thinking), may not have noticed that it's time once again to pay props to your favorite local musicmakers. Or, as our giant-pant-wearing pal MC Hammer might say, if we had bothered to seek him out for comment: "It's TAMMIES time!"--the TAMMIES, of course, being our cutesy li'l name for the Tucson Area Music Awards.

Lurking somewhere within these pages (on Page 60, to be exact) lies the key to your voice being heard in the voting process. Some call it a ballot. Well, actually, pretty much everyone calls it a ballot. But not everyone bothers to fill one out and send it in, which is why this little reminder is here in the first place.

Over the past few years, we've worked diligently to improve the entire enterprise that is the TAMMIES, but the only way to truly make it work is with your honest and widespread participation. Thus, we hereby implore you to take part in the Reader's Poll by mailing your completed ballot to us so that we receive it no later than the end of the business day on Wednesday, May 18. A complete list of rules can be found on the ballot page, so we won't bore you with that stuff here. We will, however, warn you that our esteemed editor, Jimmy Boegle, becomes part-time P.I. this time of year to verify ballots, and he takes the job awfully darn seriously. In other words, please don't ballot-stuff, because you'll likely be doing more harm than good to whomever it is you're trying to make win. And, if that's not enough to dissuade you, remember: God hates a cheater.

Good luck to all and thanks for voting.


TAKE SOME TIME TO CELEBRATE

It was damn near impossible to avoid Rilo Kiley last year. The release of their third album, More Adventurous (2004, Brute/Beaute), brought gushing spreads in just about every magazine known to man, along with the requisite late-night talk show appearances, and they seemed poised to take over the world.

While they surely must have sold considerably more copies of More Adventurous than they did their previous releases, world domination didn't exactly happen. In a world where the Bravery and the Killers are bickering about who stole whose thunder as their albums fly off shelves (answer: You both stole the same thunder, and it's called the '80s), this is kind of a shame. Because Rilo Kiley didn't rip off anyone. They merely put out an excellent modern guitar-pop record, chock full of winning songs with well-written lyrics. The audacity!

In retrospect, the lyrics to the album's first song, "It's a Hit," somehow seem prescient. Alternating between a thinly veiled indictment of the current president and crappy bands everywhere, Jenny Lewis (who was also Ben Gibbard's duet partner in the Postal Service) sings, "Any idiot can play Greek for a day / and join a sorority or write a tragedy / and articulate all that pain / and maybe you'll get paid / but it's a sin when success complains ... Gotta write a hit, I think this is it ... And if it's not / then it's a holiday for a hanging."

Save Rilo Kiley from their dreadful holiday by heading to Club Congress, 311 E. Congress St., on Tuesday, May 3. This early, all-ages show kicks off around 8 p.m. with a set from recent Bright Eyes tourmates Neva Dinova. Advance tickets are available for $10 at www.hotelcongress.com/club. They'll be $12 at the door. What's that? You've got questions? Well, put down that Magic 8-Ball and dial up 622-8848 instead.


THE OTHER O.C.

Ignore the silly name and the crappy cover art that adorns their latest CD. Forget the fact that they're from Detroit. Abandon all preconceptions while listening to Outrageous Cherry's seventh (!) album, Our Love Will Change the World, and you will be handsomely rewarded.

Probably the only band hailing from the Motor City these days that can't be described as "sleazy" or "garagey," the OC instead favor the brand of utterly infectious psychedelic pop-rock that makes the Nuggets box set worth splurging for. In fact, Our Love Will Change the World sounds so much like the vintage stuff--and is of such high caliber--that it could be released as a long-lost Nuggets volume and no one would be any the wiser. It's like a killer oldies station from an alternate universe where bands like the Creation, Strawberry Alarm Clock, the Zombies, or even the Dukes of Stratosphear never existed. Highly recommended.

Outrageous Cherry dock their microbus at Plush, 340 E. Sixth St., on Sunday, May 1. If all the members of Galactic Federation of Love were currently in town, they'd no doubt open this show. Since they're not, GFL side project Golden Boots get that honor, along with The Rise and Fall of Amy Rude. The action begins at 9:30 p.m., and cover is a mere fiver. For more info, call 798-1298.


EARLY BIRD SPECIALS

Because the Weekly comes out on Thursdays, we usually try to give you fair warning for Thursday night shows by writing about them the previous week. But since it's a relatively slow week, and there are two fine shows hitting town tonight, we thought we'd reward those who pick us up the day we come out (or earlier online). Hey, rules are made to be broken, right?

Nomeansno arrive in town this week as a stop on an increasingly rare tour. More than 20 years into their career, the mysterious men from Vancouver, B.C., are still combining the politics and humor of their onetime labelmates the Dead Kennedys, the punk-funk of the Minutemen, and the mystery and weirdness of The Residents. Catch 'em while you can at Vaudeville Cabaret, 110 E. Congress St., on Thursday, April 28. For further details, call 622-3535.

The very same night, Cursive frontman Tim Kasher returns to town with his other outfit, The Good Life. The band's latest release, Album of the Year (2004, Saddle Creek), is a song cycle of sorts, comprising 12 songs--one for each month of the year--that chronicle the demise of a relationship. While all this may sound familiar to Kasher's fans, the good news is that Album of the Year is the best Good Life release yet. Kasher no longer sounds like he's been listening to nothing but the Cure, and while the subject matter isn't exactly uplifting, there's an underlying sense of hope among the longing here. Good stuff.

Fans of the late Denali should arrive early, as openers Bela Lea feature that band's frontwoman, Maura Davis.

The Good Life, Bela Lea, and Consafos perform an all-ages show at 9 p.m. on Thursday, April 28 at Solar Culture Gallery, 31 E. Toole Ave. Admission is $10. Call 884-0874 for more information.