TUCSON ARTS, CULTURE, AND DESERT LIVING / SEPTEMBER 2018 / NO. 99
Zรณcalo
• September 24 • October 24
MetalArtsVillage.com
N
Dodge
3230 N. Dodge Boulevard • Tucson, Arizona In the Ft. Lowell Furniture and Arts District
Ft. Lowell
Alvernon
• November 24
September Highlights
& More!
A NON-PROFIT ORGANIZATION
7 SEPT 7:30pm
Piff the Magic Dragon 14
Ambrosia SEPT 7:30pm with peter beckett of player
16 SEPT 7:00pm
foxtucson.com
box office: 17 west congress 520-547-3040
SEASON SPONSOR
Melissa Etheridge 20 SEPT 7:30pm
Yes I Am - 25th Anniversary
Australian Pink Floyd
Straight from the Vegas Strip, Piff Favorite 70’s band’s perform hits like: LOW TICKET ALERT! Don’t miss your Performing note for note musical performs jaw-dropping magic as his “You’re the Only Woman,” “Biggest chance to see this amazing singer/ perfection, this critically acclaimed dry wit keeps you laughing all night! Part of Me,” “Hold On” & More! songwriter’s return to the Fox! tribute astonishes audiences worldwide!
22 SEPT 7:30pm
Live & Let Die
Music of Paul McCartney
Tucson favorite Tony Kishman (Beatlemania, Twist & Shout) performs all time greatest hits!
Amos Lee
Popovich’s
Benise - Fuego!
7:30pm My New Moon Tour 30 3:00pm Comedy Pet Theater 2 OCT The Spirit of Spain Soulful singer/songwriter performs Comedy & circus acts featuring world- Take a romantic journey of music and favorites from “Mission Bell” (recorded class artists and the help of over 30 dance! Hear such classics as “Granada,” here in Tucson) and new music. performing rescue animals! “Adagio,” “Moonlight Sonata” and more!
27 SEPT 8:00pm
Chinese Warriors The Simon & of Peking 12 OCT Garfunkel Story 7 7:30pm High intensity martial arts and breathOriginal film footage of this iconic duo taking acrobatics tell the tale of two rival accompanies these talented artists as martial arts disciplines in ancient China! they perform all your favorite S & G hits! OCT 4:30pm
4 ZOCALOMAGAZINE.com | September 2018
SEPT
I’m with Her:
15 7:30pm
OCT
Sara Watkins, Sarah Jarosz & Aoife O’Donovan
American/Folk multi-Grammy winning singer/songwriters have extraordinary chemistry and exquisite musicianship.
16
OCT 7:30pm
An Intimate Evening of Songs & Stories with
Graham Nash
TICKETS GOING FAST! An amazing set list inclues all our favorites from this legendary singer/songwriter’s career.
inside
September 2018
07. Sustainability 13. Desert 15. Events 17. Food & Drink 19. Roadside 22. Art Galleries & Exhibits 33. Fall Performing Arts Preview 42. Tunes
ON THE COVER: Steve McCurry, Dust Storm, Rajasthan, India, 1983 Fuji Crystal Archive Print ©Steve McCurry, courtesy Etherton Gallery. Read more on page 22.
Zócalo Magazine is an independent, locally owned and locally printed publication that reflects the heart and soul of Tucson.
PUBLISHER & CREATIVE DIRECTOR David Olsen CONTRIBUTORS Abraham Cooper, Jeff Gardner, Jim Lipson, Troy Martin, Gregory McNamee, Janelle Montenegro, Amanda Reed, Diane C. Taylor, Laura Reese, Hilary Stunda. LISTINGS Amanda Reed, amanda@zocalomagazine.com PRODUCTION ARTISTS Troy Martin, David Olsen AD SALES: frontdesk@zocalotucson.com CONTACT US:
frontdesk@zocalotucson.com P.O. Box 1171, Tucson, AZ 85702-1171
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September 2018 | ZOCALOMAGAZINE.com 5
Stunning light-filled Barrio home, built in 2005. 2436 sf, 650k
Representing Lots for Sale at the Mercado District of Menlo Park Explore the residential lot options and meet with experienced Mercado builders, to design your custom home in Tucson’s community just west of Downtown. At the modern streetcar’s westside stop is the bustling Mercado San Agustin and the Annex: shops, cafes, coffee roaster, and community. Residential lots range in size and price. Call or email me for a tour and to see options. You will love what you see and experience at the Mercado District of Menlo Park!
SUSAN DENIS 520.977.8503 susan.denis@gmail.com
habitation realty
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Specializing in Tucson’s historic neighborhoods, vintage homes, and infill projects of exceptional design
photo: Jeff Gardner
sustainability Z
How Climate Change Affects Our Desert By Jeff Gardner
WITH monsoon season rolling to a close and the desert landscape blooming vibrantly as ever, things are looking good in the natural world around Tucson. This may lead some to wonder: Is climate change hitting the Sonoran Desert, and if so, how? According to NASA and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, 16 of the 17 warmest years on record have occurred since 2001. For example, not only was 2016 the warmest year on record for its time, but eight of the 12 months of that year were the warmest on record for those respective months. California is battling the largest wildfire in its recorded history, and the British Isles and Japan are struggling through record-breaking heat waves. And of course, Tucson is hot – but isn’t that always the case? There are different schools of thought for climate change’s effects on the desert. Some may think that since the Sonoran Desert’s plants and wildlife are already adapted to extreme temperatures, they will naturally be more resilient toward climate change. Others may view desert life as more susceptible to
increased heat, considering that they already live at their physiological limits. But there are two particularly important aspects at risk in the Sonoran Desert: biodiversity and water. “There is no doubt that temperatures are rising and things are drying out,” says Katharine Jacobs, Director of the Center for Climate Adaptation Science and Solutions. “Desert life is resilient to heat, but only by so much.” From 2006 to 2009, Jacobs served as the Executive Director of the Arizona Water Institute, a collaborative effort of universities focused on water-related research and education in support of water supply sustainability. It is water, and climate change’s effects on water, that Jacobs studies and teaches about as a professor at University of Arizona. One of the most iconic and invigorative aspects of the Sonoran Desert is our monsoon season. These intense rainfalls allow over 500 plant species to grow, giving the Sonoran Desert the greatest diversity of vegetative life of any desert in the world. And it is the rainfall from these monsoons that Jacobs says is in jeopardy.
continues... September 2018 | ZOCALOMAGAZINE.com 7
Historic & Unusual Homes
TIM HAGYARD (520) 241-3123 tim@timhagyard.com timhagyard.com
Indigo Modern 3605 E. 3rd Street, $350,000, MLS# 21818747
s
sustainability Z
“Monsoons during global warming are still not quite understood,” Jacobs says. “We’re already seeing a decrease in average rainfall, but also larger rainfalls that are farther apart.” According to the Arizona State Climate Office, Arizona is currently in the 21st year of a long-term drought. 2017 saw Arizona’s hottest June and wettest July back-to-back, according to the National Weather Service. This has resulted in decreased rainfall, however, slightly paradoxically, this has also resulted in more intense monsoon seasons. This results from delays in smaller rain storms and shifting climate systems causing intense build up during monsoon season. Essentially, dryer winters and wetter, hotter summers. These more powerful deluges possess the power to flood and purge landscapes. “Anytime you have intense rainfall, it can lead to scouring and damage to riparian vegetation,” Jacobs says. “The most susceptible are aquatic species, things that rely on streams. The extent that we’re obliterating riparian habitats, there’s not much more to be done. We can rebuild them, but the original will be gone.” The increasing heat is expected to gradually reduce overall groundwater, despite increased precipitation in certain parts of the year. This would affect local streams, tributaries and groundwater levels. “Whenever you have hotter temperatures on average, you will lose more precipitation to evaporation, and lose groundwater,” Jacobs says. “The overall expectation is lower groundwater levels. And anything that is groundwater dependent will be affected, such as mesquite and cottonwood.”
This lack of groundwater and drying of desert flora is leading to the series of wildfires currently seen throughout Arizona, including the particularly bad 2017 season. This can be damaging to our Sky Islands, which host an incredible array of biodiversity. Over 40 percent of all terrestrial bird species found in the US can be seen here during some part of the year. “Climate change, with resulting shifts in natural resources available for ecosystems and human well-being, is the most significant threat facing the Sky Island region,” says the Sky Island Alliance website. “Disruptions in the amount, timing, and intensity of precipitation are already happening. Combined with increased temperatures and fire events, these disruptions are having considerable visible impacts on species, ecological systems and ecosystem service delivery.” So even if the increased heat and shifting weather patterns aren’t as obvious in our already hot and fluctuating environment, weather patterns point to climate changing in the Sonoran Desert as well as in Arizona as a whole. Our riparian habitats, our monsoons, and our sky islands can all be affected, and in a sense already are. But what is there to be done? Jacobs echoes the pleas of many climate scientists: human-caused climate change can be fixed by human answers. “At one level, what we need to do is reduce our emissions – that’s the tallest order,” Jacobs says. “But in the short term, we need to change the way we use water.” n
September 2018 | ZOCALOMAGAZINE.com 9
CHILL-OUT
in
HISTORIC “OLDTOWN”
SILVER CITY, N.M.
S T AY
MURRAY HOTEL
Art Deco elegance returns to Silver City 200 W. Broadway / www.murray-hotel.com 575-956-9400 / frontdesk@murray-hotel.com
dine
SHEVEK’S RISTORANTE
Italian comfort food, traditional and modern 619 N. Bullard / www.ohmy.restaurant 575-597-6469 / info@ohmy.restaurant
shop
CREATIVE HANDS GALLERY
Contemporary & abstract art, cigar box guitars 106 Yankee St. / www.creativeroadsart.com 303-916-5054 / creativehandsartstudio@comcast.net
WHY SILVER CITY?
• Cool, high mountain nights & warm, mild days • Walk from boutique hotels & lodging to dinner • Authentic “heirloom” (1800s) business district • Stroll the historic WNMU campus • Walk to the Boston Hill trail network from town • Shop at our Oldtown Food Co-op (est. 1974) • Watch first-run and current films at the Silco • Tour Syzygy & see how clay art-tile is made • Saturday Farmers market by the “Big Ditch” • More information at silvercity.org or gmcr.org
S T AY
ELEVATION 6,000 FT. Mention this ad in Zocalo if it helped you find us
CASA VIEJA
A gracious old town guest house 400 N. Arizona...and see us at Airbnb.com 575-654-1696 / casaviejasilvercity@gmail.com
dine
REVEL
Play with your food 304 N. Bullard / www.eatdrinkrevel.com 575-388-4920 / Info@EatDrinkRevel.com
shop
MARIAH’S COPPER QUAIL GALLERY
Something for every audience 211A N. Texas 575-388-2646 / facebook.com/mariahscqg
SILVER CITY, N.M.
All photography by JayHemphill.com
dine
DIANE’S
Chose from fine or casual dining & live music 510 N. Bullard / www.dianesrestaurant.com 575-538-8722 / dianesrestaurant@gmail.com
shop
TATIANA MARIA GALLERY
Fine furnishings, jewelry, textiles, pottery 305/307 N. Bullard... Authentic everything 575-388-4426 / tmkgallery3@gmail.com
shop
WILD WEST WEAVING
Contemporary,traditional,Navajo & Spanish textiles 211D N. Texas / www.wildwestweaving.com 575-313-1032 / wildwestweaving@gmail.com
iles
Your Fall Getaway To
WEEKEND GALLERIES AT THE
October 5 - 8, 2018
Oct. 5-8, 2018 Silver City, New Mexico
• Gallery Receptions • Meet the Artists • Local Musicians
• Sunday Brunch Event • Live Theater • Fine Restaurants
ART
www.southwestprintfiesta.org
Silver City
Silver City
Association
silvercityart.com
September 2018 | ZOCALOMAGAZINE.com 11
desert Z
Alpenglow and the Magic Hour by Gregory McNamee
What color are the Santa Catalina Mountains? Are they red? Green? Blue? Black? The answer is—well, the answer is that the Catalinas are many colors at any given time of day, a living illustration of the truism that you can never step into the same river twice. Look at them in early morning after a monsoon rain, and they may be a green and gray reminiscent of the Appalachians. Look at them in June before the rains have come, and they may burn with an incandescent white outlined in strident ocher. The best time to try to answer that question of color is the “magic hour,” as photographers call it, when the sky is lightening just before the sun has come over the horizon or is darkening after the sun has sunk below it. It is then that the Catalinas change their complexion most visibly, going from black and dark purple through a range of greens and blues before lighting up with glowing shades of red and orange. Those reds and oranges tend to be more vivid at sunset than at sunrise because of a phenomenon called scattering—that is, the scattering of light in the air—which plays off small molecular-scale particles that diffuse blue and purple light, giving the sunrise its cool colors. In the evening, dust particles that have been kicked up by thermal winds during the day diffuse warmer colors, often to spectacular effect. Look at the mountains after a windstorm, and you’ll see just what that means. The larger phenomenon called alpenglow, which describes the rosy light on the mountain peaks, relates to how we perceive light. Our abilities in that regard aren’t all that great; many creatures see better than humans, whose eyes can see only a small part of the visible spectrum, the cluster of colors known by the acronym ROYGBIV: red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, and violet.
Throw all those colors together and you get what we perceive as white light of a piercing brilliance, the kind of light that so-called daylight light bulbs produce. In the desert of a summer noon, when the sun is directly overhead, the sun seems to be a ball of white light that translates directly into white heat. The sky surrounding it, though, is of a blue that deepens as your eye climbs the sky, almost to a purple in the highest reaches. (If we couldn’t perceive the green portion of the spectrum, the sky would appear to be purple, which lends all sorts of interesting possibilities to our interpretation of the world.) John Van Dyke, a student of art who celebrated this place in The Desert (1901), wrote of it, “You cannot always see the wonderful quality of this sky-blue from the desert valley, because it is disturbed by reflections, by sand-storms, by lower air-strata.” He added, “The report it makes of itself when you begin to gain altitude on a mountain’s side is quite different.” The atmosphere thickens as the day wears on, in good part because we busy humans are kicking up dust and sending up carbon emissions. Smoke and water add to the airborne goop. Throw in all the stuff that appears in the atmosphere, from water drops to blowing sand, and the quality of sunlight changes. At that hour when night is beginning to fall, the light from the sun passes through the thickest part of the atmosphere, which effectively blocks some of the spectrum but favors the red-to-yellow portion of the spread. Out where the sun still hangs in the sky, somewhere between Hawaii and California, the light is still blue, but the same beams are raining fire here, even as the mountains to the east of us descend into blackness. n September 2018 | ZOCALOMAGAZINE.com 13
Z events
september SAT 8 2ND SATURDAYS DOWNTOWN A free, family friendly urban block party! Winter Hours: 2pm to 9pm street vendors, 5-9pm stage performances. Art After Dark at the Children’s Museum from 5:30-8pm. Free family friendly movie at the Southern Arizona Transportation Museum. Downtown Tucson. 2ndSaturdaysDowntown.com SURREALIST DANCE PARTY The most bizarre, not to be missed art party of the year! This year’s theme is inspired by Les Diners de Gala, Salvador Dali’s surrealist cookbook. Join MOCA on this multisensory adventure with the “Ringmaster” celebrated performance artist and prankster, David Henry Nobody Jr. $100 (includes food and 2 drink tickets). 7pm to 11pm. Museum of Contemporary Art, 265 S. Church Ave. 520-624-5019. Moca-Tucson.org
SUN 9 MERCADO FLEA Over 40 vendors set up at this eclectic vintage market offering furniture, industrial, collectibles, vintage clothing, and everything in between. 8am to 2pm. Mercado San Agustin, 100 South Avenida del Convento. 520-461-1107. MercadoDistrict.com
SAT 15 17TH ANNUAL ROASTED CHILE FESTIVAL Fresh roasted Arizona gown green chilies, locally grown pesticide-free and organic fresh produce and fruit, artisans and crafters, great food, a beer garden, kid’s activities, and live music by John Grant & the Guilty Bystanders. 9am to 3pm. Rincon Valley Farmers & Artisans Market. 12500 E. Old Spanish Trail.
14 ZOCALOMAGAZINE.com | September 2018
SAT 15 LOOP THE LOOP
This free community bicycling event starts at any point along Pima County’s Chuck Huckleberry Loop. Cyclists ride from station to station meeting with El Tour charitable beneficiaries and sponsors. Ride: 6:30 to 10:30 am. After Party: 11am to 1pm at Ramada Tucson. 520-745-2033. PerimeterBicycling.com
SAT 22 & 29 GLOWFLUORESCENCE! and STEAMPUNK GLOW! Come enjoy the GLOW fluorescence! Created by a multitude of contributing artists. Brighten up the moonlit night with GLOW!ing fashions. Absorb the ambient sounds and visual delights along the paths, and dance the rest of the night away in the Barn Yard. Food and non-alcoholic drinks for sale. Each night limited to 500 people. Tickets available online. 7pm to 11pm. Triangle L Ranch, 2805 N. Triangle L Ranch Rd. Oracle. TriangleLRanch.com/Glow
NATIONAL PUBLIC LANDS DAY This fee free day provides a great opportunity to visit a new place or an old favorite. Free admission to National Parks. NPS.gov
SEPTEMBER 22 THROUGH OCTOBER 14 MT. LEMMON OKTOBERFEST
German beer and traditional food with live music and dancing. Family friendly. No dogs permitted. Noon to 5pm. Recurring weekly on Saturdays and Sundays. 10300 Ski Run Rd. 520-576-1321. SkiTheLemmon.com
SEPTEMBER 27 – 30 TUCSON GREEK FESTIVAL
Celebrate Greek culture with a variety of traditional foods, drinks, music and dancing along with goods for sale. St. Demetrios Greek Orthodox Church. 520-888-0505
SAT 29 PRIDE IN THE DESERT An annual celebration of Tucson Pride, Arizona’s oldest LGBT organization, founded in 1977. This year’s annual festival theme is Tucson Pride: New Beginnings, a theme that truly embodies the fresh new direction of our organization, our community, and the power of unity in fueling positive change. Parade begins at 11am. Parade route begins at S. Country Club Road at E. Manchester St. in Reid Park. 602-793-2337. TucsonPride.org
SUN 30 TUCSON HERITAGE FOOD & WINE FESTIVAL Spend an evening at Hacienda Del Sol for this second annual event by savoring Tucson’s unique flavors of beer, wine & food while benefiting local nonprofit organization, Tucson Village Farm. Tickets: $65 per person. Hacienda Del Sol, 5501 N. Hacienda del Sol Road. 520-529-3500. HaciendaDelSol.com. n
IF KNOWLEDGE IS POWER, HOW POWERFUL ARE SECRETS?
Throughout history, valuable information has been withheld, protected and obscured.
HIDDEN IDENTITIES, MYSTERIOUS ESCAPES AND ENCODED MEANINGS HAVE REVERBERATED ACROSS TIME AND AROUND THE WORLD. How have marginalized people used clandestine means to keep their culture alive? What different power can information have when it’s concealed? How have closely guarded secrets influenced human cultures?
humanitiesfestival.arizona.edu Join us for a FREE series of topical lectures, panel discussions, events and special guests, presented by the UA College of Humanities! INDIE GAMES IN CHINA: Film Screening & Discussion with Director Tiexin Liang Tucson Chinese Cultural Center, 1288 W River Road
SECRET LIVES: Hidden Identities in Global Popular Culture with Melissa Fitch, UA Spanish & Portuguese UA Poetry Center, 1508 E Helen St
SURPRISING VERMEER: An Artist in Delft, Delft in the World with Timothy Brook, University of British Columbia UA Museum of Art, 1031 Olive Road
REVISITING THE UNDERGROUND RAILROAD with Colson Whitehead, Pulitzer Prize Winning Author UA Memorial Student Union, North Ballroom
TO SPEAK OR NOT SPEAK: Women, Secrets and Sexual Violence with Martine Delvaux, Université du Québec à Montréal UA Poetry Center, 1508 E Helen St
SUBVERTING COLONIALISM: Keep it Secret, Keep it Safe with Andrea McComb Sanchez & Caleb Simmons, UA Religious Studies UA Poetry Center, 1508 E Helen St
LETTERS TO THE FUTURE: Black WOMEN / Radical WRITING with Editors Erica Hunt & Dawn Lundy Martin and Featured Poets giovanni singleton & Ruth Ellen Kocher Tucson Museum of Art, 140 N Main Ave
TRANSPARENCY & TRUST: How Open Diplomacy Advances Democracy with Andre Goodfriend, Director, U.S. Office of eDiplomacy & COH Alumnus of the Year UA Memorial Student Union, Sonora Room
CRUSHIN’ IT: Untold Stories from Hip-Hop’s Founding Days with DJ Rockin’ Rob & DJ Tony Tone Cans Deli, 340 N 4th Ave
SPELLBOUND: Film Screening & Discussion with David Soren, Humanities Seminars Program The Loft Cinema, 3233 E Speedway Blvd
food&drink Z
Hoagies, Torpedoes, Heroes The History of a Sandwich by Gregory McNamee
HEAD TO THE refrigerator. Take out whatever cold cuts you have on hand, along with cheese, bread, and assorted vegetables. Of all these things, make a sandwich, piled as high as you can get it and still fit it inside your mouth. What do you call this thing you have just made? If you’re older than 60 and a native of the western United States, the chances are good that you’ll call your sandwich a Dagwood. Indeed, almost every western city of any size used to have a Dagwood sandwich shop (Tucson’s Daggwood Café, with its inexplicable extra g, closed in 2014), testimony to the great popularity of the comic strip Blondie, its hero a briefcase-toting working stiff who had but a few releases from the daily grind of the Depression Era—and no, that’s not where “grinder” came from. One of those releases was a regular run to the kitchen, where the existentially weary Dagwood would assemble improbably high sandwiches and then try to devour them, usually unsuccessfully thanks to the terrible exigencies of his life. If you grew up in New York City, you might have eaten much the same sandwich, though with a crucial difference: You would have used a baguette or Italian roll, crusty and crunchy on the outside, soft but chewy on the inside. Your fillings might have tended, too, to what in fancier settings is called charcuterie or salume—that is, your cold cuts were probably not sliced roast beef, turkey, or ham, but instead cured meat such as bologna, capicola (beg pardon, “gabbagool”), mortadella, and salami. If an Italian theme seems dominant there, it’s for good reason: Italian Americans are the heroes (beg pardon again) of the sandwich story in America, and Italian ingredients are the mainstays of the sandwiches that, cousins to the Dagwood, are favorites today. That’s a story that begins north of New York, in coastal Maine, where, a dozen decades ago, an immigrant named Giovanni Amato began to sell sandwiches from a cart, using long Italian rolls and a variety of salume and cheeses. Sandwiches as such weren’t much eaten in Italy, but those ingredients certainly were, and it was Amato’s light-bulb moment to understand that a big
new country needed a big new kind of food and arrive at a happy solution to the problem. Amato called his concoctions “Italian sandwiches.” As the basic form traveled, the name changed. In New York, the sandwich was called “hero,” probably a borrowing from the Greek gyro, a sandwich of a different kind. Down the road a way, in Philadelphia, the Italian sandwich became a “hoagie,” probably named for Hog Island, where shipyard workers were devoted to the sandwiches that they called “hoggies.” The Tucson fixture called the Hogie House, which opened its doors in 1960, splits the difference, losing a g and skipping the a entirely, a story worth traveling to its web site to enjoy. North of New York and south of Portland, Italian Americans were prominent in the maritime communities of Connecticut and Rhode Island. During World War II, outside a submarine base in Groton, Connecticut, stood a sandwich shop that had been doing business serving sailors Italian sandwiches since 1926, well before the war broke out. To commemorate the Battle of the Atlantic, the story goes, that sandwich shop’s wares were billed as “submarines,” and hungry sailors were gobbling them up by that name, which soon traveled around the country—including here, as evidenced by East Coast Super Subs on Park Avenue just south of the University. Hoagie, hero, Dagwood, torpedo, grinder, submarine, zeppelin, blimpie, spuckie, bomber, rocket: Like pizza, the Italian culinary creation has been thoroughly Americanized for many years, varying from region to region. Out here in Tucson, in 1971, two kids, Ed Irving and Bob Greenberg, concocted a particularly delicious slushy lemonade and, driving a beat-up panel truck, took a batch to a construction site on Tucson’s east side. The construction workers loved the cold treat, but they clamored for food as well—specifically, submarine sandwiches. So it was that Eegee’s, formed from the first and last names of the partners, was born, a heroic tale indeed. n September 2018 | ZOCALOMAGAZINE.com 17
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roadside Z
The Thing? Arizona’s Roadside Wonder Gets Spruced Up for a New Era by Gregory McNamee
Y
ou’ve seen the signs, and from a long way off. The most distant I’ve clocked is nearly 300 miles from the thing that is called The Thing, but they’ve been spotted even farther away, painted on the signs of barns well east of the Mississippi River. Those signs beckon you with weird magic in the form of a pointed question: What Is It? Sometimes the question takes the form of a question mark alone, making it all the more beguiling. What is it? So they ask, and if you are possessed with a decent sense of curiosity, then doubtless you will have wondered the same. Now, you would be well within your rights to scoff at those billboards, which announce the famous tourist trap called The Thing up and down the interstates from El Paso to Albuquerque to Picacho Peak and points beyond. You would not be acting irresponsibly if you were to shun the pull-off just beyond Texas Canyon, sixty-odd miles east of downtown Tucson, leading to the spiffy new building where The Thing is enshrined. After all, you’re busy. We’re all busy. And you can always get a soda or an ice cream cone in Willcox or Benson, a few minutes down the road in either direction. But suspend your disbelief and elevated taste for a moment, for The Thing is a thing of wonder, worth taking the time for, a monument to the rube that lurks within each and every one of us. “Buy the ticket, take the ride,” to invoke the great chronicler of American weirdness Dr. Hunter S. Thompson, “and if it occasionally gets a little heavier than what you had in mind, well . . . maybe chalk it up to forced consciousness expansion.” Nothing is likely to get too heavy if you pull off I-10 at Exit 322. Cough up five lonely dollar bills, the price of admission for adults, and wander into the newly reopened exhibit, a roadside standby for more than half a century and now housed in museum-quality surroundings. Take in the mysterious Thing for yourself. It is, after all, a bona fide Arizona landmark, one of the places travelers passing through the southeastern quadrant of the state most readily recall having seen. Heaviness is a possibility, of course. There are some who attribute to The Thing weird and monstrous powers. Here’s this story, submitted for your consideration: A local musician, who for obvious reasons would not wish to be named, once told me that in a fit of 20 ZOCALOMAGAZINE.com | September 2018
photo: David Olsen
Z roadside
jolly felony, he and another musician stole a little statue from the parking lot of what is technically called the Bowlin Travel Center, where The Thing is housed. Off they went, pilfered icon in the trunk, this way and that, to Los Angeles and points north, then to Denver and Albuquerque and eventually home. Along the way, he reported, they suffered strange mechanical and nervous breakdowns. Incident after incident of bad luck befell them; their homes were burglarized, musical instruments were stolen, relationships crumbled, axles snapped. Under cover of darkest night, they returned the statue to its rightful station, taped a note to it apologizing for their miscreant behavior, bought a Coke, and headed home. The dark cloud of fate that had hung over them vanished, and today, grayhaired but content, they are making records and singing merrily. It could have been that they could have been driving a crappy van, as musicians are wont to do, or that the karmic visitations had nothing to do with this particular act of liberation. But never mind: The Thing had spoken, and even if the statute of limitations for statue stealing is long past, The Thing remembers. What is this curious, well, thing? Well—spoiler alert—let me start by recalling, from deep in memory’s ever murkier well, a sign that was posted at the door leading into The Thing’s sanctum when I first stopped by in 1975. It claimed that The Thing was the mummified corpse of a Native American woman, an equally mummified infant clutched to her breast, that had been discovered somewhere alongside the San Pedro River. Housed inside, within a metal shed shrouded in layers of dust, The Thing looked like nothing so much as a giant fingerling potato that had been left out in the sun for way too long, and a potato with appendages and a baby fingerling at its side at that. Issues of Native American funerary remains having long since become a politically sensitive issue, the sign disappeared a long time ago. In any event, until 1965 The Thing was once housed in another tourist trap hundreds of miles away, near Baker, California, where Hunter Thompson saw the spectral bats that open Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, and where the Exit 322 stop’s original owner hung his shingle. In those days, The Thing was said to have been discovered near Death Valley, but no matter: When a onetime University of Arizona law student named Thomas Binkley Prince pulled up stakes after his
Library of Congress Prints & Photographs Division
roadside Z Photo left: Homer Tate, 1940s, surrounded by some of his mummified curiosities. Below: the newly repurposed Thing museum, which reopened in late August.
photo: David Olsen
California digs were slated to be bulldozed to build Interstate 15, he relocated to his hilltop site alongside Interstate 10, and The Thing’s provenance was adjusted accordingly. The true provenance of The Thing, it appears—and let this be a spoiler alert, too—may well lie in the mad-science workshop of a fellow named Homer Tate, who holed up in Apache Junction in the 1940s with a supply of whiskey, glue, cardboard, animal bones, and stray strands of human hair—where they came from isn’t quite clear, apart from the heads of human beings—and created a weird world of his own. Born in Texas, Tate had a learned appreciation for the roadside attractions of the West, which has always had a much higher surrealism quotient than elsewhere on the planet. He also had a liking for strange tales from places like the Amazon and the jungles of Borneo, which he satisfied by making strange sculptures that were ever after sold in curio shops and sideshows as authentic shrunken heads from faraway cannibal kingdoms, just the thing, beg pardon, to rope in the rubes. Students of sideshow folk art have long suspected The Thing to have come from his workshop, though others think the source to be a supplier in Boston whose catalog helpfully claimed the house to be a leading purveyor of—yes, “mummified curiosities.” Tate, or some Beantown artist, or whoever concocted our object of concern was working from a long tradition, as American as—well, as P.T. Barnum, anyway, who sold glimpses of a similar bit of folk art that he claimed was the body of an actual mermaid brought back by some Ishmael from the Fiji Islands. Then as now, it seems safe to say, most people who produced the necessary coinage to see the “Feejee Mermaid,” a blend of parts from unlucky fishes and monkeys, knew that what they were seeing didn’t correspond to anything actually found in reality, but they were willing to go along with the joke. The price was right, and the gaff, as carneys used to call such fake exhibits, was a pleasant enough way to pass the time. Every time you see a jackalope head on an old-fashioned gas station wall, and every time you smile at such an oddball concoction of naturalist fakery, you’re dipping your toe in a wide river of Americana. But back to the gaff at hand. When he got hold of it, sometime in the 1950s, and turned it into a sideshow lure in the high California desert, it was up to Prince to give it a name. “The Thing” did the trick, recalling the name
of a popular science-fiction movie of the day and evoking the science-fictiony landscape of the desert, where plenty of creature features and alien-invader sagas were being filmed. A youngster of today might not believe it, but in those strange and innocent times, it was easy enough to accept the premise that giant tarantulas, killer atomic mutant rabbits and ants, Martians, and mummies ruled out there in the desert sands. The Thing was a perfect fit for an imperfect zeitgeist. Our own time is no less strange, which makes it a good fit for the here and now. Call it what you will—fakery, kitsch, or tidbit of vanishing roadside Americana—The Thing is as much at home in Arizona as, say, Biosphere II or Arcosanti. As an Arizona patriot, you owe it to yourself to stop in, buy a T-shirt, and admire the covered wagon and tractor and other transportation oddities, to say nothing of the Rolls Royce once reputed to have been owned by one Adolph—so the sign spelled it way back when—Hitler, now attributed to Winston Churchill, a statue of whom sits indomitably in the back seat. But wait—there’s more. If you’ll admit another spoiler, it should be said that the Rolls Royce is chauffeured by an ET of seemingly sinister bearing, even if he may be one of the good guys in the space opera that now surrounds The Thing. You’ll have to be the judge of that intention after reading the repurposed exhibit, which now has a storyline to do L. Ron Hubbard proud, a matter of ancient aliens alternately battling and aiding T. rex and primordial humans in the struggle for supremacy over this tortured little planet of ours. It’s anyone’s guess whose side the jackalopes hiding under the dinosaurs’ legs are on. The difference is, Hubbard expected people to take his bunkum seriously, while the folks at Bowlin know that it’s a lark. The Thing has grown up, and it’s a top-flight wonderland, no longer the stuff of a dusty tin shed and shrunken heads but a place of well-designed lighting, well-wrought brushwork, and wellwritten signage. Its origin story has morphed from solo roadside attraction to a much more elaborate plot that does more than adequate service to science fiction, one that fits the site into a context that joins the hills above Benson to Roswell and Area 51. Do not pass go; do not motor on. Obey the signs, buy the ticket, take the ride, and prepare to be astonished and amused. The Thing has spoken. n
Z art galleries & exhibits
Photographer Steve McCurry at Etherton Gallery Etherton Gallery presents its first exhibition of the 2018-2019 season, The Unguarded Moment, which features a selection of photographs made in Asia and the Middle East by legendary Magnum photographer Steve McCurry. McCurry is best known for his richly colored photographs of rural life, street scenes, and unforgettable portraits like the famed Afghan Girl (1984), arguably one of the most recognizable photographs in the world. In 2004 Steve McCurry established his own foundation, Imagineasia, a 501 (c) 3 non-profit organization dedicated to the education of girls…. whose mission is to work in partnership with local community leaders and regional NGO’s to help provide educational resources and opportunities to children in Afghanistan. Etherton Gallery will donate a portion of the proceeds from sales of McCurry’s photographs to ImagineAsia. The Unguarded Moment opens September 4 and runs through November 10, 2018. Steve McCurry will attend the opening reception and book signing 7-10pm, Saturday, September 8th. Etherton Gallery has also collaborated with the Center for Creative Photography and arranged for Steve McCurry to give a public talk at 5:30pm, Friday, September 7 at the Center. The format will be a conversation with the new Director of the Center for Creative Photography, Anne Breckenridge Barrett. Etherton Gallery is located at 135 South 6th Ave (Hours: Tues-Sat, 11am-5pm) or online at ethertongallery.com
Steve McCurry, Afghan Girl (Sharbat Gula), 1984 digital chromogenic print ©Steve McCurry, courtesy Etherton Gallery
Steve McCurry, Taj and Train, India, 1983 Fuji Crystal Archive Print ©Steve McCurry, courtesy Etherton Gallery 22 ZOCALOMAGAZINE.com | September 2018
art galleries & exhibits Z Desert Artisans’ Gallery presesents “Over the Moon” and “In My Dreams” Miniatures through November 4th, showcasing the works of Geri Bringman, Wanita Christensen, Paddie Flaherty, Darlene LeClair, Celest Michelotti and Richard Rohrbough (shown.)
Contreras Gallery presents Rational Lampoons Artists and Cartoonists: Gary Aagaard, Rand Carlson, David Fitzsimmons, through September 29th. Image: “Being Jare (w/apologies to Chauncey Gardiner)” by Gary Aagaard.
ARIZONA HISTORY MUSEUM John Slaughter’s Changing West: Tombstone,
DESERT ARTISANS GALLERY Pop Up Birdhouse Show: Geri Bringman, Sage
Bullets, and Longhorns opens September 7. Permanent Exhibits include: History Lab, The Silverbell Artifacts, Geronimo Exhibit, Arizona Historical Society 150 Exhibit. Hours: Mon & Fri 9am-6pm; Tues-Thurs 9am-4pm; Sat & Sun 11am-4pm. 949 E. 2nd Street. 520-628-5774. ArizonaHistoricalSociety.org
Boyd, Dikki Van Helsland, Gretchen Huff & Cris Hager is on view September 8 from 10am to 1pm. Over the Moon and In My Dream Miniatures exhibition continues through November 4. Hours: Mon-Sat 10am-5pm; Sun 10am-1:30pm. 6536 E. Tanque Verde Rd. 520-722-4412. DesertArtisansGallery.com
ARIZONA STATE MUSEUM
ETHERTON GALLERY The Unguarded Moment: Steve McCurry, Takeshi Ishikawa opens September 4 with a reception September 8 from 7 to 10pm and is on view through November 10. Artist Talk: Steve McCurry in Conversation with Anne Breckenridge Barrett, Director of the Center for Creative Photography is 5:30pm to 7pm on September 7. Hours: Tues-Sat 11am-5pm or by appointment. 135 S. 6th Ave. 520624-7370. EthertonGallery.com
Long term exhibitions include, The Resiliency of Hopi Agriculture: 2000 Years of Planting; Life Along the River: Ancestral Hopi at Homol’ovi; Hopi Katsina Dolls; Woven Through Time; The Pottery Project; Paths of Life. Hours: Mon-Sat 10am-5pm. 520-621-6302. 1013 E. University Blvd. StateMuseum. Arizona.Edu
CACTUS WREN GALLERY
September Blues, 9am-2pm, September 8. Gallery hours: Everyday from 9am to 4pm. 2740 S. Kinney Rd. 520-437-9103. CactusWrenArtisans.net
IRONWOOD GALLERY Artists for Conservation 2018 Annual Exhibit is on view September 22 to November 25. Hours: Daily 10am-4pm. 2021 N. Kinney Rd. 520-8833024. DesertMuseum.org
CENTER FOR CREATIVE PHOTOGRAPHY A Conversation with Steve McCurry is September 7 from 5:30 to 7:00 pm. Longer Ways to Go: Photography of the American Road is on view to November 24 and The Heritage Gallery is on view to January 12. Hours: Tue-Fri 9am-4pm; Sat 1-4pm. 1030 N. Olive Rd. 520-621-7968. CreativePhotography.org
JOSEPH GROSS GALLERY Legacy: 40th Anniversary of the Joseph Gross Gallery opens September 6 and is on view through November 15. Tribute to Joe Gross and a reception in his honor is November 15 from 4 to 6pm. Hours: Mon-Fri 8am-4pm. 1031 N. Olive Rd. 520-626-4215. CFA.arizona.edu/galleries
CONRAD WILDE GALLERY Jessica Drenk: In Aggregate is on view through
LOUIS CARLOS BERNAL GALLERY
June 30 with a reception June 2 from 6-9pm. Hours: Tues-Sat 11am-4pm. 101 W. 6th St. #121. 520-622-8997. ConradWildeGallery.com
CONTRERAS GALLERY Aagaard, Carlson & Fitzsimmons: Rational Lampoons opens September 1 with a reception from 6-9pm and is on view to September 29. Hours: Tues-Sat 10am-3:30pm. 110 E. 6th St. 520-398-6557. ContrerasHouseFineArt.com DAVIS DOMINGUEZ GALLERY Lay of the Land is on view September 21 to November 3 with a reception October 3. Hours: Tues-Fri 11am-5pm; Sat 11am-4pm. 154 E. 6th St. 520-629-9759. DavisDominguez.com
DEGRAZIA GALLERY IN THE SUN The Way of the Cross and DeGrazia’s Hot Wax - Encaustic Paintings from the 1950s are on display through September 5. Hours: Daily 10am-4pm. 6300 N. Swan Rd. 520-299-9191. DeGrazia.org
Cielo opens Setember 4 with a reception and gallery talk September 13 from 5 to 7pm. Artist lecture by Io Palmer at 7pm on September 13. Hours: Mon-Thurs 10am-5pm and Fri 10am-3pm. Pima Community College, 2202 West Anklam Rd. 520-206-6942. Pima.Edu
MINI TIME MACHINE Power: A Closer Look at Queens Throughout History is on view to January 13 and Connie Sauve: Miniatures from the IGMA Guild School is on view to December 16. Jean LeRoy’s Buzzard Creek Ghost T opens September 25 and is on view to November 4. Hours: Tues-Sat 9am-4pm and Sun 12-4pm. 4455 E. Camp Lowell Dr. 520-881-0606. TheMiniTimeMachine.org
MUSEUM OF CONTEMPORARY ART Fall Fundraiser – Surrealist Dinner Party Featuring David Henry Nobody Jr. is on September 8 from 7 to 11 pm. Blessed Be: Mysticism, Spirituality, and the Occult in Contemporary Art opens September 15 with a members’ opening at 7pm and a public opening at 8pm and is on view through December 30. Hours: Weds-Sun 12-5pm. 265 S. Church Ave. 520-624-5019. MOCATucson.org
continues...
September 2018 | ZOCALOMAGAZINE.com 23
art galleries & exhibits Z
MOCA Tucson presents, Blessed Be: Mysticism, Spirituality, and the Occult in Contemporary Art September 15, 2018 – December 21, 2018. Opening Night Members’ Preview | 7:00 - 8:00pm. Public Reception | 8:00 - 9:00pm. A curated exhibition by Ginger Shulick Porcella examining the relationship between “cult” and “culture” and how museum spaces, like sites of worship, are places for sustained, concentrated attention and contemplation. Blessed Be links spiritual practice to artistic production, raising questions about the liminal spaces that exist between the sacred and the prosaic, and celebrates these renowned contemporary artists and visionaries, including the works of Genesis Breyer P-Orridge, Cassils, Leo Villareal, Matthew Day Jackson, and Tucson’s own Adam Cooper-Terán. The exhibition reveals the performance behind the ritual, and over the next several months a series of lectures, screenings, and performances will take place at the museum, including a special work by Ron Athey and collaborators at the Biosphere 2 (see MOCA’s Fall Calendar for dates). Opening Night Reception will include a special invocation ceremony at 8:30pm by the Church Ov Coyotel, a collective of artists based around the collaborations of Adam & the Reverend Steven Johnson Leyba, featuring special guests Lana del Rabies, Hannah Haddix (Psychic TV), Jeanelle Mastema (Coven of Ashes), and Karina Faulstich. Details at MOCA-Tucson.org
PORTER HALL GALLERY Year of the Tree featuring the work of Kate Breakey, opens September 17 and is on view to January 13. Hours: Daily 8:30am-4:30pm. 2150 N. Alvernon Way. 520-326-9686. TucsonBotanical.org
PHILABAUM GLASS GALLERY & STUDIO
See website for exhibition details. Hours: Tues-Sat 11am-4pm. Call for glassblowing viewing. 711 S. 6th Ave. 520884-7404. PhilabaumGlass.com
RAICES TALLER 222 GALLERY Cruzando Linas | Cruzando Fronteras group exhibition is on view September 8 to October 20. Hours: Fridays and Saturdays 1-5pm and by appointment. 218 E. 6th Street. 520-881-5335. RaicesTaller222.com
SOUTHERN ARIZONA TRANSPORTATION MUSEUM Dinner in the Diner is currently on display featuring original china and silver service from the named first class Pullman trains. 414 N. Toole Ave. 520-623-2223. TucsonHistoricDepot.org SOUTHERN ARIZONA WATERCOLOR GUILD Share our Walls (Area Arts Organizations) is on view to September 30. Hours: Tues-Sun 11am-4pm. Williams Centre 5420 East Broadway Blvd #240. 520-299-7294. SouthernAzWatercolorGuild.com
TOHONO CHUL PARK
Sonoran Stories continues through November 7. If it Doesn’t Have a Hole, It’s a Bowl | Art Planters for Plant People is on view through November 7 in the Welcome Gallery. Call and Response III is on view through September 30 in the Entry Gallery. Hours: Daily 9am-5pm. 7366 N. Paseo del Norte. 520-742-6455. TohonoChulPark.org
Dawn of American Landscape, Arizona Women Uncovered and True Grit. Hours: WedsSun 10am-4pm. 7000 E Tanque Verde Rd. 520-202-3888. TucsonDArt.Org
TUCSON MUSEUM OF ART
The Arizona Biennial and James G. Davis: A Tribute are on view through September 16. Ongoing exhibits include Pre-Columbian and Spanish Colonial Art, J. Knox Corbett House, and the La Casa Cordova. Hours: Tues-Wed & Fri-Sat 10am-5pm; Thurs 10am-8pm; Sun 12-5pm. 140 N. Main Ave. 520-624-2333. TucsonMuseumofArt.org
UA MUSEUM OF ART Current exhibitions include: Picture the World: Burhan Dogancay As Photographer on view to December 9; Tinkerlab on view through September 30 and Richard Slechta: Cascades on view through September 9. Ongoing exhibitions include, The Altarpiece From Ciudad Rodrigo. Hours: Tues-Fri 9am-5pm; Sat-Sun 124pm. 1031 N. Olive Rd. 520-621-7567. ArtMuseum.Arizona.Edu UA POETRY CENTER Puerto Rico in My Heart | Puerto Rico en Mi Corazon is on view August 20 to November 21. Hours: Mon & Thurs 9am-8pm; Tues, Weds, Fri 9am5pm. 1508 E. Helen St. 520-626-3765. Poetry.Arizona.Edu WILDE MEYER GALLERY Wonders of Worlds – Real and Imaginary opens September 15 with a reception from 5 to 8pm and is on view to September 30. Hours: Mon-Fri 10am-5:30pm; Thurs 10am-7pm; Sat 10am-6pm; Sun 12-5pm. 2890 E. Skyline Dr. Ste. 170. 520-615-5222, WildeMeyer.com WOMANKRAFT ART GALLERY Reflections is on view September 1 to October 27 with receptions September 1 and October 6. Hours: Weds-Sat 1-5pm. 388 S. Stone
TUCSON DESERT ART MUSEUM Joseph Labate – The Sawmill Fire is on
Ave. 520-629-9976. WomanKraft.org n
view September 5 to December 9. Ongoing exhibitions include: Desert Hollywood, The
September 2018 | ZOCALOMAGAZINE.com 25
Cactus Wren Artisans Now 64 Arizona Artists
Visit us at Cat Mountain Station 2740 S. Kinney Rd. (520) 437-9103
www.cactuswrenartisans.net
Open 7 days a week, 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Enjoy Coyote Pause Café, open 7:30 a.m. to 2 p.m.
Welcoming Scratchboard Artist Joseph Robertson
PETER CONNER PHOTOGRAPHY peterconner.com
On permanent exhibit at: Cactus Wren Artisans Cat Mountain Station 2740 S. Kinney Rd. Tucson, Arizona 85735 (520) 437-9103 cactuswrenartisans.net Open seven days a week
26 ZOCALOMAGAZINE.com | September 2018
nighttime Z
september
Harwood Steiger OUT WEST Fabric.
Fiber & Found: The Craft of Tucson’s Mid-Century Modern Artists Reception Sat, Sept 8 The Sunshine Shop presents Fiber & Found: The Craft of Tucson’s Mid-Century Modern Artists, which features works by Charles Bode, Charles Clement, Nik Krevitsky, Harwood Steiger, Elsie Waite, and Berta Wright. Opening reception Oct. 8. Exhibition runs through Oct. 28. 5-8:30pm. Free. Sunshine Shop, 2934 E Broadway (Hirsh’s Shoes Bldg), 389-4776, SunshineShopTucson.com
Flam Chen’s “Cannibal Cabaret” Sat, Sept 15 - 9pm to midnight Flam Chen launches their 2018 Fall season at the Mercado San Agustin Annex’s “Culture Collider,” with an interactive, world beat, live circus performace Club Night – Interactive audience games, fire performance, high flying aerial and stilt acrobatics. Their “Fly Safe” crew takes you on a journey with the magical DJ/Capt. Stranj, spinning the best beats from around the world. Details at flamchen.com
Flam Chen performs Cannibal Cabaret at the MSA Annex. Photo by Kathleen Dreier Photography. Courtesy Flam Chen. September 2018 | ZOCALOMAGAZINE.com 27
COCKTAIL BAR OF THE YEAR 139 S. EASTBOURNE, ACROSS FROM BARRIO BREAD OPEN DAILY TILL LATE, HAPPY HOURS TILL SIX
28 ZOCALOMAGAZINE.com | September 2018
performances Z
Janos at the Temple Chef Janos Wilder Pairing Dining Experiences with Arizona Theatre Productions
at the Temple offers “A Garden Arizona Theatre Company and Chef BBQ” featuring aristocratic food Janos Wilder have formed a new themes with English garden elements collaboration, pairing dinner with sharing a table with south of the theatre. border fiesta fare. Among the dinner Janos at the Temple premieres selections are English Garden Salad, with Arizona Theatre Company’s 2018 Southwest Caesar, Potatoes au - 2019 season-opening performance Gratin, Chilaquiles, Warm Broccoli of Native Gardens, Sept. 8-29, and with Lemon and Parmesan, Grilled will offer unique dining experiences Chicken, Cochinita Pibil and desserts tailored to complement each ATC Mini Ancho Chocolate Brownies, production at the Temple of Music & Mexican Wedding Cookies and Art, 330 S. Scott Ave. English Tea cookies. Janos at the Temple will open 90 Following Native Gardens, minutes before every matinee and the collaborations on culinary-andevening performance offering lunch theatrical delights focused on Erma and dinner buffets that tease culinary Bombeck: At Wit’s End, by Margaret themes from the plot lines of each Engel and Allison Engel, directed by play. The menus will be tasty, quick Metal sculpture in front of the Temple of Music and Art, Tucson. Casey Stangl (Oct. 20-Nov. 10); The and price conscious at $14.50 for the Music Man, Music and Lyrics by Meredith Willson, Book by Meredith Willson lunch buffet and $24.50 for dinner. The buffets will be complete meals offering and Franklin Lacey, directed by David Ivers (Dec. 1-30). Two Trains Running, by a variety of salads, main dishes and desserts while providing a whimsical August Wilson, directed by Lou Bellamy (Jan. 19-Feb. 9); American Mariachi, glimpse at the performance ahead. by José Cruz González (March 9-30) and Things I Know to be True, by Andrew “Joining forces with Janos is not only thrilling but it reinforces our Bovell, directed by Mark Clements (April 20-May 11). engagement with community while deepening our legacy as we celebrate not Single show tickets are on sale at the box office and through the website only theatre arts, but culinary arts as well,” says David Ivers, Artistic Director arizonatheatre.org as are a range of flexible season-ticket packages for the six of ATC. “We are delighted to make space for our esteemed colleague…. Bring shows or combination of them. Single tickets prices start at $25 including fees. extra napkins!” Additional fees may apply. Group ticket prices start at $30 for groups of 10 or For this year’s opening comedy, Native Gardens, that pits two couples more. Janos at the Temple dinner prices vary. See arizonatheatre.org with their generational and cultural differences against one another, Janos September 2018 | ZOCALOMAGAZINE.com 29
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Fall Performing Arts Highlights
Arizona Friends of Chamber Music presents JULLIARD STRING QUARTET, December 5
ARIZONA FRIENDS OF CHAMBER MUSIC See website for event locations. 520-577-3769. ArizonaChamberMusic.org BLAKE POULIOT VIOLIN - October 14, 3:00 pm. A recital for violin and piano featuring Blake Pouliot, grand prize winner of the 2016 Montreal Symphony Orchestra’s Manulife Competition. ST. LAWRENCE STRING QUARTET - October 24, 7:30 pm. Two superb Classical-era quartets frame two recent works written for the St. Lawrence Quartet by colleagues at Stanford University (where the St. Lawrence has been quartet in residence since 1998). Berger’s tango, with its twittering introduction, is an especially apt partner for Haydn’s “Bird” Quartet. MODIGLIANI QUARTET WITH PIANIST FABIO BIDINI - November 14, 7:30 pm. Four 30-something string players wield the instruments; two 30-somethings and one kid in his 20s provide the scores as the Paris-based Modigliani Quartet returns with experimental music by Mozart and Stravinsky, and an unsettling masterpiece by Brahms—the latter featuring Fabio Bidini, moonlighting from his job as pianist with Trio Solisti. JULLIARD STRING QUARTET - December 5, 7:30 pm. The Juilliard Quartet was founded as primarily a new-music ensemble, but it quickly established a reputation for finesse in the Viennese classics. In this concert, the Juilliard drapes elegant exemplars by Beethoven and Haydn on either side of a new work written for AFCM by St. Paul Chamber Orchestra composer in residence Lembit Beecher, whose music has been called “hauntingly lovely and deeply personal.” DANIEL HSU PIANO - December 16, 3:00 pm. A solo performance by the bronze medalist of the 2017 Van Cliburn International Piano Competition. His competition performances were so gripping that we decided to present him rather than the gold medalist!
ARIZONA OPERA Temple of Music and Art, 330 S. Scott Ave. 520-293-4336. AZOpera.org MARIA DE BUENOS AIRES - October 6, 7:30 pm and October 7, 2:00 pm The sensual rhythms of tango combine with operatic passions in Maria de Buenos Aires. Born in the slums of Buenos Aires, Argentina, “on a day that God was drunk,” in her quest for freedom, Maria turns her back on her former,
innocent life. As her world devolves into darkness, the gritty streets claim her as their own. However, Maria’s spirit survives, returning to haunt the city of her birth in death. This gripping, surreal tale is sure to move, shock, and provoke. CHARLIE PARKER’S YARDBIRD - November 17, 7:30 pm and November 18, 2:00 pm. A journey through the mind of a great jazz legend, Charlie Parker’s Yardbird delves into the personal purgatory of the great American saxophonist. Told through a series of interconnected scenes following his death, Parker attempts to compose his final masterpiece while examining the demons that propelled his genius. Swiftly paced and pulsing with energy, this journey into the mind of a legend will captivate you from its first, blue notes to its final rest.
ARIZONA REPERTORY THEATRE See website for locations. 520-621-1162. Theatre.Arizona.edu LIKE HEAVEN - September 17 to October 8. April dreams of singing the blues, but life and love are in the way. Her little sister can’t let her go and her friend Trudy worries about her eternal soul. Enter a mysterious stranger who unwittingly provides a path to escape. Filled with heart and humor, Like Heaven is a new comedy by award-winning playwright and University of Arizona Professor Elaine Romero. SISTER ACT - October 15 to November 5. Up-and-coming singer Deloris Van Cartier aspires to be the next Donna Summer in 1970s Philadelphia. Her life is changed forever when she witnesses her boyfriend, Curtis, commit murder. She is ordered by the police to take refuge in a convent whose parish has fallen on hard times. Though the sequin-free lifestyle doesn’t agree with her, Deloris finds her calling working with the choir. She breathes new life into the dusty convent and discovers a sisterhood she’s never had before. Based on the hit 1992 film of the same name, this 2011 Tony nominee will raise the roof! THE CRIPPLE OF IRISHMAAN -November 5 to December 3. Off the west coast of Ireland, on the remote Island of Irishmaan, word arrives that a Hollywood film is to be shot on a neighboring island. The one person who wants to be in the film more than anybody is young “Cripple Billy,” an orphan in search of escape from the oppression of his daily life. Bringing his signature wry wit and biting social irony, playwright Martin McDonagh has crafted a painfully funny coming of age story that employs a series of whiplash reversals and false expectations. continues... September 2018 | ZOCALOMAGAZINE.com 33
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Fall Performing Arts Highlights
photo: Ed Flores
Z
Artifact Dance Project presents POSITIONS OF POWER - Sept. 20, 21 & 22
Ballet Tucson’s Opening Night Gala, featuring SPIRIT GARDEN, Oct. 12.
ARIZONA THEATRE COMPANY
ARTIFACT DANCE PROJECT
Temple of Music and Art, 330 S. Scott Ave. 520-884-8210. ArizonaTheatre.org
See website for locations. 520-235-7638. ArtifactDanceProject.org
NATIVE GARDENS - September 8 to 29. An absolutely hilarious new comedy that’s anything but neighborly! ERMA BOMBECK: AT WIT’S END - October 20 to November 10. We’ve come a long way, baby… A loving tribute to the Ohio wife and mother turned longtime Arizona resident, who made herself into a national superstar as a best-selling author and syndicated journalist lauded for opening up the secret world or the mother and housewife. Discover the story behind America’s beloved humorist who championed women’s lives with wit that sprang from the most unexpected place of all – the truth. THE MUSIC MAN - December 1 to 30. The irresistible musical tribute to the power of makebelieve marches onto the ATC stages – and into your heart – with trumpets blaring. By turns wicked, funny, warm, romantic and touching, The Music Man is American musical theatre at its best.
POSITIONS OF POWER - September 20, 21 and 22 at 7:30 pm and September 23, 2:00 pm. Artistic Director Claire Hancock premieres her adaptation of Thomas Cullinan’s novel, A Painted Devil, about a Union soldier who finds himself in an all-female boarding house entangled with rivalries and jealousies in the Confederate South. Hancock also remounts her version of Edgar Allan Poe’s short story, The Oval Portrait, about a painter who becomes so obsessed with creating a lifelike painting of his wife that he deprives her of real love in the process.
BROADWAY IN TUCSON
OPENING NIGHT GALA - October 12. Highlights include: Spirit Garden – Renowned artist Lawrence W. Lee, the music of Tucson’s Calexico, and the company’s artistic team collaborate on his original work commemorating the tradition of Dia de los Muertos. Boler-O – Pulsing, energetic rendition of Maurice Ravel’s iconic masterpiece with visually compelling images and fresh choreography by Daniel Precup. I’ll See You in My Dreams (premiere) – A tribute in dance to the Great American Songbook from the 20s & 30s performed to live music by The Great Banjo Summit. FALL CONCERT - October 13 & 14. FOOTPRINTS AT THE FOX - November 11. New Works Concert. Cheer the next generation of dance makers at the historic Fox Tucson Theatre with engaging new works created by our professional company of dancers. Innovative, entertaining, moving, and suitable for the entire family. Audience members vote for their favorite piece and winners will be announced and awarded a cash prize.
Centennial Hall, 1020 E. University Blvd. 520-903-2929. BroadwayInTucson.com LES MISERABLES - September 4 to 9. Set against the backdrop of 19thcentury France, Les Misérables tells an unforgettable story of heartbreak, passion, and the resilience of the human spirit. Featuring the beloved songs “I Dreamed A Dream,” “On My Own,” “Stars,” “Bring Him Home,” “One Day More,” and many more, this epic and uplifting story has become one of the most celebrated musicals in theatrical history. ON YOUR FEET! - November 13 to 18. From their humble beginnings in Cuba, Emilio and Gloria Estefan came to America and broke through all barriers to become a crossover sensation at the top of the pop music world. WAITRESS - December 4 to 9, 2018. Brought to life by a groundbreaking all-female creative team, this irresistible new hit features original music and lyrics by 6-time Grammy® nominee Sara Bareilles, a book by acclaimed screenwriter Jessie Nelson, choreography by Lorin Latarro and direction by Tony Award® winner Diane Paulus.
BALLET TUCSON See website for locations and complete schedule. 520-901-3194. BalletTucson.org
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September 2018 | ZOCALOMAGAZINE.com 35
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Fall Performing Arts Highlights
Live Theatre Workshop presents THE GRAND CANYON MYSTERY September 9 to November 11 .
Pima Community College presents THE MAGIC RAINFOREST September 26 to October 7.
THE GASLIGHT THEATRE
PIMA COMMUNITY COLLEGE
7010 E. Broadway Blvd. 520-886-9428. TheGaslightTheatre.com
PCC West Campus, 2202 W. Anklam Rd. 520-206-6986. Pima.edu
THE VAMPIRE OR: “HE LOVED IN VEIN” - August 30 to November 4. SCROOGE: A GASLIGHT MUSICAL - November 8 to January 6
THE MAGIC RAINFOREST - September 26 to October 7, Proscenium Theatre This story travels deep into the Amazon with a young boy named Aki on a quest to save his home. When a fire demon threatens to destroy his village and the surrounding sacred forest, Aki departs on an adventure into a mystical world where each animal and plant has its own remarkable voice. On this epic journey he begins to understand his place in his fragile Amazon home amidst the clash of nature and the modern world. Visually spellbinding it’s the perfect stage production for families with children. TARTUFFE - November 8 to 18, Black Box Theatre Tickets: $17, Pima students $10. Directed by Chris Will. Written by Moliere, this sardonic comedy set in the era of King Louis XVI of France. The story takes place in the home of wealthy Orgon, where Tartuffe – a fraud and a pious imposter – has insinuated himself. He wins the respect and devotion or Orgon, then tries to marry his daughter, seduce his wife and steal the deed to the property.
INVISIBLE THEATRE 1400 N. First Ave. 520-882-9721. InvisibleTheatre.com THE ABSOLUTE BRIGHTNESS OF LEONARD PELKEY - September 4 to 16. One actor portrays every character in a small Jersey Shore town as he unravels the story of Leonard Pelkey, a tenaciously optimistic and flamboyant fourteenyear-old boy who goes missing. THE BUSY WORLD IS HUSHED - October 30 to November 11. Faith, love, and loss collide in this staggeringly beautiful new play.
LIVE THEATRE WORKSHOP 5317 E. Speedway Blvd. 520-327-4242. LiveTheatreWorkshop.org EVERY BRILLIANT THING - Through October 6. You’re 6 years old; mum’s in the hospital and dad says she’s ‘done something stupid.’ So you start to make a list of everything that’s brilliant about the world – everything that makes life worth living. THE GRAND CANYON MYSTERY - September 9 to November 11 FOGNeR (The Fraternal Order of the Great Northern Rim) is holding its annual Autumn meeting to make sure everything is ready to go for the upcoming winter on the Grand Canyon’s north rim. Winter coats? Check! Sufficient warm shelter? Check! Food supply? Uh-oh! The food supply that the animals have worked all fall to save up is gone!
ROGUE THEATRE The Historic Y, 300 E. University Blvd. 520-551-2053. TheRogueTheatre.org GALILEO - September 6 to 23. A fictionalized telling of the struggles of Galileo Galilei and his confirmation of the Copernican Model of the solar system and its cosmological and religious implications, resulting in a harrowing confrontation with the powerful Catholic Church. THE CURIOUS INCIDENT OF THE DOG IN THE NIGHT-TIME - November 1 to 18. In a rushing, shifting theatrical style, the story is told of a brilliant autistic boy of fifteen and his amateur investigation of the killing of a dog. He discovers a family secret and takes maters into his own hands, and eventually succeeds in his advanced math exam.
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Fall Performing Arts Highlights
Tucson Symphony Orchestra presents LIGHTS! CAMERA! POPS! film scores, October 27 & 28. Scoundrel and Scamp Theatre presents EURYDICE, October 11 to 28.
TUCSON REGIONAL BALLET 2100 N. Wilmot, Suite 302. 520-886-1222. TucsonRegionalBallet.org
SCOUNDREL AND SCAMP THEATRE 738 N 5th Ave. 520-448-3300. ScoundrelandScamp.org
A SOUTHWEST NUTCRACKER - December 15, 2:00 pm and 7:30 pm, December 16, 2:00 pm
EURYDICE - October 11 to 28. The story of Orpheus & Eurydice told through love letters lost between Hell & Earth. Directed by Clair Marie Mannle.
TUCSON SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA See website for locations. 520-882-8585. TucsonSymphony.org
SOUTHERN ARIZONA SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA See website for locations. 520-308-6226. SASOMusic.org Mexican Independence Day Concert - September 15, 8:00 pm. Vocalists from Mexico’s San Luis Opera Festival and Dr. Linus Lerner International Voice Competition team up with SASO and a mariachi ensemble for an evening of opera arias and Mexican classical orchestral music. Free admission! Saddlebrook DesertView Performing Arts Center - October 20, 7:30 pm. St. Andrew’s Presbyterian Church Concert - October 21, 3:00 pm. Saddlebrook DesertView Performing Arts Center - November 17, 7:30 pm. St. Andrew’s Presbyterian Church Concert - November 18, 3:00 pm.
TUCSON CONVENTION CENTER See website for locations. TucsonConventionCenter.com WWE Live - September 22, 7:30 pm. BOB DYLAN AND HIS BAND October 5. THE KEVIN HART IRRESPONSIBLE TOUR - November 4. A SOUTHWEST NUTCRACKER - December 15 to 16.
SEASON OPENING: BEETHOVEN ODYSSEY - September 21, 7:30 pm and September 23, 2:00 pm. Celebrate the 90th season with music from 2001: A Space Odyssey on its 50th anniversary. Featuring one of Beethoven’s best known works, Violin Concerto, played by violin superstar, Anne Akiko Meyers, the top selling classical instrumentalist of 2014 on Billboard’s traditional classical charts. MOZART & SCHUBERT - October 6 & 7. BRAHMS SYMPHONY No. 1 - October 12, 7:30 pm and October 14, 2:00 pm. The U.S. premiere of the Violin Concerto by the Oscar winning composer of the music for the film classic Il Postino, Luis Enriquez Bacalov, performed by the violinist it was composed for, Paolo Morena. LIGHTS! CAMERA! POPS! - October 27 & 28. Film excerpts with scores played by Tucson Symphony Orchestra. MIDORI - November 2. MOZART PIANO CONCERTO NO. 27 - November 9 to 11. COPLAND & GOODMAN - November 17 & 18. STAR WARS: A NEW HOPE - November 24 & 25. Luke, Leia, Han Solo and Darth are leaving a galaxy far, far away and coming to Tucson. Star Wars™ A New Hope projected onto the big screen. RACHMANINOFF SYMPHONY NO. 3 - November 30 to December 2. MESSIAH - December 15 & 16. A CIRQUE HOLIDAY WITH TROUPE VERTIGO - December 22 & 23. A spellbinding Christmas show that will dazzle you into the holiday spirit! Features classic Christmas music played by the full Tucson Symphony Orchestra. continues... September 2018 | ZOCALOMAGAZINE.com 39
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Fall Performing Arts Highlights
Fox Theatre presents Macy Gray, September 24.
FOX TUCSON Fox Theatre, 17 W Congress St. 520-547-3040. FoxTucson.com PIFF THE MAGIC DRAGON - September 7, 7:30 pm. SUICIDE GIRLS - September 8, 9:00 pm. AMBROSIA WITH SPECIAL GUEST PETER BECKETT – “THE VOICE OF PLAYER” -September 14, 7:30 pm. THE AUSTRALIAN PINK FLOYD - September 20, 7:30 pm. LIVE & LET DIE – THE MUSIC OF PAUL MCCARTNEY - September 22, 7:30 pm. MACY GRAY - September 24, 7:30 pm. AMOS LEE – MY NEW MOON TOUR - September 27, 8:00 pm. POPOVICH’S COMEDY PET THEATER - September 30, 3:00 pm. BENISE – FUEGO - October 2, 7:30 pm. THE THOMPSON TWINS’ TOM BAILEY - October 5, 7:30 pm. UNA PAREJA DE 3 - October 6, 8:00 pm. CHINESE WARRIORS OF PEKING - October 7, 4:30 pm. MAGIC MEN LIVE. October 8, 8:00 pm. THE SIMON & GARFUNKEL STORY - October 12, 7:30 pm. I’M WITH HER: SARAH JAROSZ, SARA WATKINS & AOIFE O’DONOVAN - October 15, 7:30 pm. AN INTIMATE EVENING OF SONGS & STORIES WITH GRAHAM NASH - October 16, 7:30 pm. GHOSTBUSTERS – PRESENTED BY THE HEARTH FOUNDATION - October 21, 3:00 pm. DHOAD, GYPSIES OF RAJASTHAN - October 24, 7:30 pm. SESAME STREET LIVE! C IS FOR CELEBRATION - October 26, 6:30 pm. Your friends from Sesame Street are throwing a celebration and the whole neighborhood is invited. Sing and dance with Elmo. Marvel at Abby’s magical moments. Shake it up with Cookie Monster. Be amzed as Super Grover flies. And move to the music with Rosita. WORLD OF DANCE - October 27, 7:30 pm. JOAN BAEZ - October 28, 8:00 pm. COMPANIA FLAMENCA EDUARDO GUERRERO - October 31, 7:30 pm. RICKIE LEE JONES & ANDERS OSBOURNE - November 8, 7:30 pm. TAPESTRY – THE MUSIC OF CAROLE KING - November 9, 7:30 pm. A MAGICAL CIRQUE CHRISTMAS - November 26, 6:30 pm. A holiday entertainment blockbuster with jaw dropping magic, breathtaking circus acts, and angelic voices singing your favorite Christmas carols with live musicians on stage. Be transported to the golden age of entertainment by the mind blowing talents, stunning costumes, rollicking comedy and more! AN EVENING WITH BRUCE HORNSBY - November 30, 7:30 pm. UNDER THE STREET LAMP – HIP TO THE HOLIDAYS - December 3, 7:30 pm. AN IRISH CHRISTMAS - December 4, 7:00 pm. TRACE BUNDY | ACOUSTIC NINJA - December 7, 7:30 pm. ALAN CUMMING: LEGAL IMMIGRANT - December 11, 7:30 pm. A collection of musings on his 10 years as a U.S. citizen, in a style Alan calls “a true old fashioned cabaret, a smorgasbord of genres, styles, and tales; laughter, tears and, of course, provocation!” WIZARDS OF WINTER – TALES BENEATH THE NORTHERN STAR - December 13, 7:00 pm. WINDHAM HILL’S WINTER SOLSTICE - December 14, 7:30 pm. JOHN PRINE - December 15, 8:00 pm. IN THE CHRISTMAS MOOD: A HOLIDAY MUSIC SPECTACULAR - December 21, 7:30 pm
ZUZI DANCE The Historic Y, 738 N. 5th Avenue. 520-629-0237. ZuziMoveIt.org NO FRILLS – A DANCE HAPPENIN’ - November 3. A variety of choreographers throughout Tucson and Southern Arizona come to share fresh and innovative works from various stages of the creative process. The works range from serious to silly and some are presented here for the first time. 40 ZOCALOMAGAZINE.com | September 2018
OPEN TUES - SAT
SUMMER HOURS 11AM-4PM
DOWNTOWN 711 South 6th Avenue 520-884-7404 philabaumglass.com
UA Presents BEIJING GUITAR DUO - With Meng Su & Yameng Wang. November 15.
UA PRESENTS Centennial Hall, 1020 E. University Blvd. 520-621-3364. UAPresents.org LES MISERABLES - (Presented by Broadway in Tucson), September 4 to 9. JAZZ AT LINCON CENTER WITH WYNTON MARSALIS - October 5. Spaces combines modern dance with big band jazz in a playful and wildly entertaining exploration of the animal kingdom. Performed for the first time (to sold-out crowds) in 2016, Wynton Marsalis’ new dance suite for the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra is visually captivating. Marsalis and the orchestra are joined by the Astaire Award winning tapper Jared Grimes and the ground breaking ‘jooker’ Lil Buck, leaping, sliding, flipping, and tap dancing across the stage. SCOTTY MCCREERY - October 24. CHIARA IZZI - November 3. IMAGO THEATRE, FROGZ - November 4. MARTHA GRAHAM DANCE COMPANY The Eve Project, Celebrating the Many Facets of Womanhood, November 8. ON YOUR FEET! - The Story of Emilio and Gloria Estefan (Presented by Broadway in Tucson), November 13 to 18. UA DANCE “PREMIUM BLEND” - November 14 to 18. BEIJING GUITAR DUO - With Meng Su & Yameng Wang. November 15. WAITRESS - From the music of Sara Bareilles (Presented by Broadway in Tucson). December 4 to 9
WINDING ROAD THEATER ENSEMBLE See website for locations. 520-401-3626. WindingRoadTheater.org GOOD PEOPLE - November 1 to 18. Welcome to Southie, the inner city Boston neighborhood where Margie Walsh has just been let go from the Dollar Store. “Only a single paycheck away from desperate straits”, Margie thinks an old fling who’s made it out of Southie might be her ticket to a fresh start. But can either of them escape their pasts? With his signature humorous glow, LindsayAbaire explores the struggles, shifting loyalties and unshakeable hopes that come with having next to nothing in America. Good People was nominated for two Tony awards, including Best Play. Winding Road is pleased to present the first local production of this darkly hilarious script. ZUZI DANCE - The Historic Y, 738 N. 5th Avenue. 520-629-0237. ZuziMoveIt.org. NO FRILLS – A DANCE HAPPENIN’ - November 3. A variety of choreographers throughout Tucson and Southern Arizona come to share fresh and innovative works from various stages of the creative process. The works range from serious to silly and some are presented here for the first time. n September 2018 | ZOCALOMAGAZINE.com 41
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YESTERDAY, August 27, I woke to a Facebook post alerting me to the news of Gene Ruley’s death. He had recently suffered his second heart attack of the last few months. Gene was a great guitar player best known for his work with the River Roses, a jangly Byrdslike band playing original music from the late 1980s, and then later with the Drakes. The Roses’ first recording, Phoenix 99, a 3 song EP (with special guest Rainer Ptacek), remains a hidden gem within the annals of locally produced product. But as good as he was a guitar player he was an even nicer guy, completely unfazed by any kind of notoriety that came with being a guitar hero. I had the pleasure of sharing the stage with him a handful of times during my brief tenure as a member of the Zsa Zsas, a band whose comedic shtick (insulting eastern European lounge act turned rock and roll wannabee) was more than matched by its strong musicianship and especially good guitar chops. Gene was a mere 54 years’ young and his passing saddens a generation of folks who came of age coming to shows at Club Congress. Expect longtime pal and head Zsa Zsa David Slutes, to put some kind of tribute together at the Congress before the month is out. And then there is John McCain. On the political side I found it unconscionable that McCain, the self-described maverick, could vote to confirm some of the least qualified cabinet appointments in the history of the republic (see Betsy DeVos, Ben Carson, Scot Pruitt and Rick Perry). And yet, it was hard not to enjoy his disdain for the current occupant of the White House. As the tributes pour in, and as we learn a bit more, it is also hard not to have a full-on appreciation for McCain as a lawmaker, statesman and just decent human being, something we don’t see a lot of in Congress these days. Despite his party’s disdain for such things, he remained a strong advocate for Immigration and campaign finance reform while often reaching out to democrats in an attempt to actually get something done. While his story as a POW is well known, lesser known are the delegations he led to Vietnam and the key role he played in normalizing relations with that country that imprisoned (and tortured) him from 1967-1973. But what I’ll remember most is the way he handled himself at one of his presidential campaign Town Halls when a woman stood up to accuse then candidate Obama of being an Arab and how he could not be trusted. McCain would have none of it and shut her down mid-sentence, then praising his opponent as a decent human being and family man, deserving of respect. Agree, disagree or bemoan his failings, we’ll not see the likes of his kind again. And then there is Aretha Franklin. As a teen, she made the move from church music and gospel to things more secular and there was no one like her. There isn’t much I can add to the discussion around Aretha that hasn’t already been said. But I can refer you to two pieces of video that are simply stunning. One is her performance of Carole King’s “Natural Woman,” for King at her Kennedy Center Honors show in 2015. Playing the piano and obviously well past her prime, she could still belt it out in what was probably her last great performance. The other is the 1998 Grammy Awards where she filled in for Luciano Pavarotti when he got sick. And by filling in I don’t mean just taking the slot and doing one of her hits, but actually learning and singing the operatic aria that Pavarotti was going to sing. And nailing it. And finally there is Susana Mincks. You won’t Find her on any album credits or in the news but she was my friend and she did love music and dancing, single handedly spearheading Hot Fest, an annual summer music
photo: Kim Black
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Iron and Wine at the Rialto Theatre, September 29.
event in New Mexico’s Gila Wilderness. She can actually be seen in Bev Seckinger’s recent documentary Hippie Family Values, as the Chairperson of her community’s Fun Committee. A true force of nature, she’s been the sole caretaker for her husband Stephen, wheelchair bound these past 15 years, with Multiple Sclerosis. At 81 and with more energy than someone half her age, it could be argued she died young. But because she gave everything she had in every moment she had, there was simply nothing left. As reported by her son, she died with a smile on her face. Not a surprise. Here are some things for September... Hot Tuna – September 10, Rialto Theatre – This has got to be the longest running side project in the history of rock. Originally formed as an acoustic duo to help balance out their respective roles as a part of the very electric Jefferson Airplane, Jorma Kaukonen and Jack Casady, have been making blues and Americana in their own image since 1970. Along the way they have been supported by many great Bay area musicians, but in the end it will always be about Jorma and Jack. Be warned, this show is being billed as Electric Tuna. Bay area guitarist with Grateful Dead roots, Steve Kimock opens. Seldom Scene – September 14, 191 Toole – One of the original east coast progressive bluegrass bands, this five piece has continued to thrive due to their non-traditional bluegrass approach to country, rock and even pop. They’ll be here fresh off their appearance at Flagstaff’s Pickin’ in the Pines. Pickin in the Pines, September 14-16, Flagstaff, AZ – This is Flagstaff’s version of the Tucson Folk Festival, 13 years running now. This year’s headliners include the great banjo master Bela Fleck, the Del McCoury Band,
the Infamous Stringdusters, the Travelin’ McCourys (including Del’s kids) and the Seldom Scene. Although this is a great lineup of headliners, most of the magic can be found in the many other artists dotting the schedule. One of the state’s premier music festivals. Macy Gray – September 24, Fox Theatre – Representing a new generation of soul singers, Macy Gray at times combines unequal parts of Norah Jones, Diana Ross and Ertha Kitt if you can believe that. With 10 albums and multiple Grammys, MTV and Billboard awards behind her, Gray easily crosses over between soul, R&B, jazz, pop and even hip hop. Hoodie Allen – September 25, Club Congress – Born Steven Markowitz from Long Island, this rapper has grown from an internet sensation into a genuine indie fave and has become one of frat-rap’s biggest stars (whatever frat rap is). Amos Lee – September 27, Fox Theatre – People are still talking about the last time Lee was here in 2013 when he recorded Live From the Artist’s Den, also at the Fox. This show was a tour de force and included several special guests including members of Calexico. His blend of acoustic funk, folk and light jazz has evolved into a sound all its own. Iron and Wine – September 29, Rialto Theatre - Iron & Wine is the musical project of singer-songwriter Sam Beam. Born in South Carolina and currently residing in North Carolina, the former film professor got his start making home recordings before landing on venerable Sub Pop Records. The band first came into prominence locally through their collaboration with Calexico, In the Reins from 2005. Indie folker/rocker Erin Rae opens. n September 2018 | ZOCALOMAGAZINE.com 43
Photo courtesy fosterthepeople.com.
Photo courtesy silvercloudexpress.com.
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Silver Cloud Express appears at Cans Deli on Sunday, September 23.
Foster The People performs at The Rialto Theatre on Friday, September 21.
LIVE MUSIC
Sat 15: The Quarter Band
CLUB CONGRESS
CANS DELI
Schedules accurate as of press time. Visit the web sites or call for current/detailed information.
340 N. 4th Ave. 775-0226 cansdeli.com Sat 1: S.H.I.T., Destruction Unit, Gnarface, JSNMSK, Tozcos, Get A Grip Mon 3: The Lucky Devils Band Showcase Wed 5: MysterE, Juju Fontaine, Cool Funeral Thu 6: Monti, Crystal Radio, Language Barrier Fri 7: Free Machines, Lenguas Largas, The Gem Show, Freezing Hands Thu 13: Fayuca, Of Good Nature, Black Bottom Lighters Sun 16: Egg Princess, TWGS, Cereal Milk, Tiny Bird Tue 18: Divy, Demonyms, Quaker Folk Wed 19: Mr. Free & The Satellite Freakout, Tight Fright, Whispering Wires, SSI Thu 20: Witch Ripper, Wrought, Napalm Strike Fri 21: Mike Krol, Rough Night Sun 23: Blooming Fire, Silver Cloud Express, Sean Louie, Leza Mon 24: Black Metal Night Wed 26: Woe, Wvrm, Suicide Forest, Olden Sun 30: Kosha Dillz
311 E. Congress St. 622-8848, HotelCongress.com/club Wed 5: Street Blues Family Sat 8: Joywave Mon 10: Ohmme, Mute Swan, Citrus Clouds Tue 11: Amped Up Open Mic Fri 21: Gat Rot, Lariats, The Gallery, DJ Bonus Sun 23: Deaf Wish Tue 25: Hoodie Allen Wed 26: Geographer, Infinite Souls, Sur Block Thu 27: Creek Boyz
191 TOOLE 191 E. Toole Ave. rialtotheatre.com Sat 1: The Marcus King Band, Bishop Gunn Sat 8: Chick Magnet Mon 10: The Mountain Goats, Al Riggs Fri 14: The Seldom Scene, Ronny Chieng Sat 15: Black Heart Charity Show— Vinney Mendez, Jaca Zulu, Kings Over Squares, Street Blues Family, Y Not w Funk Row, Tommy Will, EZ Goin’ Tue 18: Olivia Gatwood, Joaquina Mertz Thu 20: Mike Pinto Sat 22: Shonen Knife Tue 25: Hinds Thu 27: Nothing But Thieves, Grandson, Demob Happy Sat 29: Satisfaction Pride Dance Party
2ND SATURDAYS DOWNTOWN Congress Street, 2ndSaturdaysDowntown.com Sat 8: See web site for more information
BORDERLANDS BREWING 119 E. Toole Ave. 261-8773, BorderlandsBrewing.com Fri 7: Mustang Corners
CHE’S LOUNGE 350 N. 4th Ave. 623-2088, ChesLounge.com Sun 30: Miss Olivia & The Interlopers
LA COCINA 201 N. Court Ave. 622-0351, LaCocinaTucson.com Sat 1: Nathaniel Burnside Sun 2: Mik and the Funky Brunch Wed 5: Miss Lana Rebel & Kevin Michael Mayfield Thu 6: Freddy Parish Fri 7: Greg Morton & Friends Sat 8: Eb Eberlein Sun 9: Mik and the Funky Brunch Wed 12: Miss Lana Rebel & Kevin Michael Mayfield Thu 13: Louise Le Hir Fri 14: Greg Morton & Friends Sun 16: Mik and the Funky Brunch Wed 19: Miss Lana Rebel & Kevin Michael Mayfield Thu 20: Mitzi Cowell Fri 21: Greg Morton & Friends Sat 22: Kaia Chesney Sun 23: Mik and the Funky Brunch Wed 26: Miss Lana Rebel & Kevin Michael Mayfield Thu 27: Hank Topless
Fri 28: Greg Morton & Friends Sat 29: Eric Schaffer and Russell James Sun 30: Mik and the Funky Brunch
CULINARY DROPOUT 2543 E. Grant Rd. 203-0934 culinarydropout.com/locations/ tucson-az/ Sat 22: Tiny House Of Funk
CUSHING STREET BAR & RESTAURANT 198 W. Cushing St. 622-7984, CushingStreet.com Fridays: Pete Swan Trio featuring Matt Mitchell & Scott Black Saturdays: Jeff Lewis Trio
FINI’S LANDING 5689 N. Swan Rd. 299-1010 finislanding.com Sat 15: Brothers Gow
FOX TUCSON THEATRE 17 W. Congress St. 624-1515, FoxTucsonTheatre.org Sat 1: The Greatest Love of All—The Whitney Houston Show Fri 14: Ambrosia, Peter Beckett Sun 16: Melissa Etheridge Thu 20: Time: The Australian Pink Floyd Sat 22: Live & Let Die—The Music of Paul McCartney Mon 24: Macy Gray Thu 27: Amos Lee
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September 2018 | ZOCALOMAGAZINE.com 45
Shonen Knife appears at 191 Toole on Saturday, September 22.
HACIENDA DEL SOL 5501 N. Hacienda Del Sol. 299-1501, HaciendaDelSol.com Nightly: Live Music on the Patio
THE HUT 305 N. 4th Ave., 623-3200 www.facebook.com/TheHutTucson Sundays: Acoustic Open Mic, with Cadillac Mountain Thursdays: Mockingbirds Saturdays: Mike & Randy’s 420 Show with Top Dead Center
MONTEREY COURT 505 W. Miracle Mile, 207-2429 MontereyCourtAZ.com Sat 1: General Tchefary Sun 2: Sunday Brunch with Nancy Elliott & Friends, Wally & The Stragglers Tue 4: Josh Glenn Experiment Wed 5: Nick McBlain & LogTrain Thu 6: Don Armstrong & The Whiskeypalians Fri 7: The Muffulettas Sat 8: Bryan Thomas Parker & Friends, Shane Cooley & The Midnight Girls Sun 9: Sunday Brunch with Nancy Elliott & Friends, Frank n’ Steel Tue 11: Bobby Ronstadt Wed 12: Oscar Fuentes Thu 13: Touch of Gray Fri 14: East 2 West Sat 15: Little House of Funk Sun 16: Sunday Brunch with Nancy Elliott & Friends, Jacques Taylor & The Real Deal Tue 18: Tucsonics
Wed 19: Eric Schaffer & The Other Troublemakers Thu 20: Virgina Cannon Presents Fri 21: Tommy Tucker, Giant Blue Sat 22: Bluesman Mike & the Blues Review Sun 23: Sunday Brunch with Nancy Elliott & Friends, Wild Women Thu 27: Titan Valley Warheads Fri 28: Sounds From The Pinebox Tour Sat 29: Key Ingredients of African Soul Sun 30: Sunday Brunch with Nancy Elliott & Friends, P.D. Ronstadt
Photo courtesy melissaetheridge.com.
Photo courtesy bandsintown.com.
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Melissa Etheridge performs at Fox Tucson Theatre on Sunday, September 16.
Dragondeer Mon 10: Hot Tuna, Steve Kimock Wed 12: E-40, OMB Peezy, Nef The Pharaoh Fri 14: Fanna-Fi-Allah Sat 15: The Jesus and Mary Chain Tue 18: Future Islands, Ed Schrader’s Music Beat Thu 20: Wolfmother Fri 21: Foster The People Sat 22: Parkway Drive, August Burns Red, The Devil Wears Prada, Polaris Mon 24: Lake Street Drive, Jillian and the Giants Sat 29: Iron & Wine, Erin Rae
Sat 8: Leila Lopez & Brian Green Fri 14: Miss Olivia & The Interlopers Fri 21: Dan Stokes Fri 28: Reno Del Mar Beth Daunis
SEA OF GLASS CENTER FOR THE ARTS 330 E. 7th St., 398-2542 TheSeaOfGlass.org Sun 23: Gary Farmer & The Troublemakers Sat 29: Refugee Youth Empowerment Concert & Film Event
SKY BAR TUCSON
RIALTO THEATRE
SAINT CHARLES TAVERN
536 N. 4th Ave, 622-4300. SkyBarTucson.com Tue 4: Tom Walbank, Dos Muñoz Wed 5: Open Mic Thu 6: Eric Schaffer & The Other Troublemakers Tue 11: Tom Walbank, Steff Koeppen Wed 12: Open Mic Fri 14: Cirque Roots Tue 18: Tom Walbank, Dos Muñoz Wed 19: Open Mic Tue 25: Tom Walbank, Steff Koeppen Wed 26: Open Mic Fri 28: Cirque Roots Sat 29: Bordertown Devils
318 E. Congress St. 740-1000, RialtoTheatre.com Sat 1: Ben Harper and Charlie Musselwhite Fri 7: Mosh For Mental Health— Pyrotechinca, Sorrows Ruin, Spear Brittany, Decayer, Minutes To Midnight, Bury Me Alive Sun 9: J.J. Grey & Mofro,
1632 S. 4th Ave Sat 22: Bryan Thomas Parker, Bradley Palermo, Ghost In The Willow
SOLAR CULTURE 31 E. Toole Ave. 884-0874, SolarCulture.org See web site for information
SAND-RECKONER TASTING ROOM
TAP & BOTTLE
THE PARISH 6453 N. Oracle Rd. 797-1233 theparishtucson.com Mondays: jazz & blues Fridays: live local music Sundays: Andy Hersey
PUBLIC BREWHOUSE 209 N. Hoff Ave. 775-2337 publicbrewhouse.com Sun 2: Whose Blues Wed 5: Kevin Pakulis Sun 9: Paul Charles Wed 12: Little Cloud Sun 23: Tiny House Of Funk
46 ZOCALOMAGAZINE.com | September 2018
THE ROCK 136 N. Park Ave. rocktucson.com Sun 2: Badflower Sat 15: Speak of the Devil: Equality Gone Too Far Tue 18: Shoreline Mafia Sat 22: Skizzy Mars
ROYAL SUN LOUNGE 1003 N Stone Ave (520) 622-8872 BWRoyalSun.com Sun-Tue: Happy Hour Live Music
510 N. 7th Ave., #170, 833-0121 sand-reckoner.com/tasting-room Fri 7: Heather Hardy
403 N. 6th Ave. 344-8999 TheTapandBottle.com Every Thurs: See website n
FOR SALE
Ochoa Court Condos - 594-614 S. Convent Ave., $218,000- $298,000
315 N. Indian House Rd, 4 Acres, $785,000
519 S. Convent Ave., $690,000
520.977.6272 • BethJones.com • bethj5@yahoo.com