Tucson Weekly: City Week (January 7

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Thursday 7

FILM FRONT. The folks of Potential Urge Productions present a glimpse into the narcotics trade with Front. This film follows the nefarious adventures operation in and around this region, with a great soundtrack by various local bands. Tonight, several of those groups, including Greyhound Soul, Creosote and Al Foul and The Shakes, will be on hand for a screening of Front at 7:30 p.m. in the Rialto Theatre, 318 E. Congress St. Tickets are $10 at the door. For information, call 740-0126.
City Week ARMCHAIR TRAVELER. Trot the globe without leaving city limits with the Tucson/Pima Library, which hosts another installment of its ongoing Armchair Adventures lecture series.
Each free presentation in the afternoon series is led by a seasoned traveler, who shares his or her far-flung wisdom through a "spectacular slide show that will take people on a journey back through time or around the globe." This week's topic is "The 1998 Footsteps of Alexander the Great Tour." It starts at 1:30 p.m. in the Wilmot Branch Library, 530 N. Wilmot Road. Call 791-4627 for information.

Friday 8

SONORAN SOUND. Music promoter Zeitgeist continues its avant-garde march with a concert by Sonoran Consort. Consisting of percussionist Todd Hammes, pianist/keyboardist William Campbell and saxophonist Michael Hester, the newly formed Consort straddles the worlds of classical and jazz with an improvisational bent.
Hammes has steeped his percussive talent in various musical traditions, ranging from contemporary western to traditional Indian, and including studies with tabla master Pandit Sharda Sahai. He's also a member of the Tucson Symphony Orchestra. Campbell is currently completing a doctorate in composition at the UA; his multiple award-winning orchestral pieces have already been performed by several orchestras and chamber ensembles. Completing the trio is Hester, whose own tenure as a soloist and chamber musician has taken him around the globe, to stints in Mexico, Sweden, Australia and Spain. Besides contributing to CDs by James De Mars and R. Carlos Nakai, Hester has also recorded both of the "L'Arlesienne Suites" by Bizet with the Mexico City Philharmonic.
The Sonoran Consort performs at 8 p.m. in the Mat Bevel Institute, 530 N. Stone Ave. Tickets are $5 at the door. For details, call 882-7154.
MUSICAL JUNKET. The Greater Oro Valley Arts Council stokes the cultural flame with the kick-off of the Tucson Symphony Orchestra's Masterworks Series.
Tonight the series expands its global reach with "Tastes of Europe." Show time is 7:30 p.m. in Canyon Del Oro High School, 25 W. Calle Concordia. Tickets are $16, $5 for students, available at Beaver's Band Box, the TSO box office, or by calling 882-8585. The concert will be preceded at 6:30 p.m. by a discussion with the conductor.

Saturday 9

CLASS CONSCIOUS. The budding thespians of the Arizona Youth Theater company tackle class warfare in a humorous vein with their production of Mark Twain's The Prince and the Pauper. It's the story of a poor young bloke who trades places with England's Edward VI as the prince is preening for Henry VIII's throne. Luckily--depending on your perspective--this situation is rectified just before Edward is slated to take charge.
Performances are at 11 a.m., 2 and 4 p.m. in the Arizona Youth Theater, 5671 E. Speedway. Performances continue at 6 and 8 p.m. Friday, and 11 a.m., 2 and 4 p.m. Saturday, through January 30. Tickets are $6, $4 for children, available by calling 546-9805.
ANCIENT CHORDS. Now in its 17th season, The Arizona Early Music Society continues its dedication to preserving timeless music and musical styles with a performance tonight featuring Musica Pacifica.
Founded in 1990, this mixed ensemble of Baroque winds and strings performs 17th- and 18th-century music from Venice, which was Europe's cultural headquarters during the Baroque period. The concert will include virtuosi pieces "from Albinoni to Ziani," with trio sonatas by Castello and Turini, an oboe sonata by Platti, a violin sonata by Veracini, and a chamber ensemble piece by Vivaldi. Fanfare magazine describes the group as "warm, expressive, and intensely alive to every nuance."
Concert begins at 7:30 p.m. in St. Philip's In the Hills Episcopal Church, 4440 N. Campbell Ave. Tickets are $13, $10 for seniors, and $3 for students. Call 889-4310 for reservations and information.

Sunday 10

COURT JESTERS. Among this country's odd, beloved traditions is a tall band of whistling gentlemen who travel the land performing amazing feats with a round rubber ball. Today, this much-lauded spectacle known as the Harlem Globetrotters arrives in Tucson for a display of what's ventured from athletic prowess to craft.
For seven generations, these guys have wowed crowds with mystifying slam-dunks, amazing ball handling and dribbling. Add the now-mandatory high-tech special effects, and you have the "World's Greatest Basketball Show."
Catch the 'trotters at 3 p.m. in the UA McKale Center, on campus west of Campbell Avenue and south of the main mall. Tickets range from $9 to $22, with discounts for children and military personnel. They're available at all Dillard's box offices, or by calling 503-5555.
GIMME SHELTER. Seeking shelter from the elements is taken to luxurious extremes at this weekend's Arizona State Home Show.
This is the Big Daddy of all Southern Arizona house-related gigs. With more than 500 displays, it's geared to "spawn ideas and help people make their homes a dream with all kinds of home-improvement, decor and entertainment products."
In addition, there will be a $16,000 "fantasy kitchen" giveaway, and foods prepared by top area chefs. Child care will also be available.
The show runs from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Thursday through today in the Tucson Community Center, 260 S. Church Ave. Admission is $5.50, free for children ages 16 and under. For information, call 791-4266.

Monday 11

BAT MAN. Ever wonder what could be draining your hummingbird feeders at night during the early fall?
Scan your cerebral belfry for a moment, and you might find a fascinating answer: Bats. Yep, those night-flying mammals that've long sparked intrigue could be the nocturnal culprits.
Dishing up info on this and other winged topics is naturalist and cave ecologist Bill Peachey, tonight's featured speaker of the Tucson Audubon Society. Peachey's discussion of Arizona's pollinating bats will focus on the endangered Lesser Long-Nosed, and the Mexican Long-Tongued varieties. Since 1988, he's studied the foraging habits of these desert dwellers. Both migrate to northern Sonora and Southern Arizona in late spring, just before the females are ready to give birth. Their diets consist of flower nectar and fruit of cacti like the saguaro, organ pipe and cardon.
To discover more about these fascinating flyers, attend the free lecture at 7 p.m. in the UMC DuVal Auditorium, 1501 N. Campbell Ave. Call 629-0510 for details.

Tuesday 12

LATIN LEADER. Jazz is in Pete Escovedo's blood. Born in 1935 in Oakland, he was steeped in the American sound when big bands passed through town. By high school he was delving into the sax, but soon switched to the vibes. That's when Bay Area pianist Ed Kelly asked him to play Latin percussion in his combo. Escovedo has since hit the keys with ensembles ranging from the Count Basie Orchestra and Santana to his 14-piece big band, Azteca.
Tonight, Pete Escovedo joins the Tucson Jazz Orchestra for a 7:30 p.m. concert in UA Centennial Hall, inside the main gate east of Park Avenue. Tickets are $12, $8 for TJS members and students, and are available at the TJS office and Hear's Music. Call 903-1265 for information.
WESTWORLD. Tombstone was among the frontier's orneriest towns, and it sat high in the Arizona desert, smack dab on millions of dollars in silver ore. So it should come as no surprise that its streets also entertained a slew of colorful characters. The Gaslight Theatre revisits those woolly days of "bar room brawls, stagecoach robberies and high-stepping saloon hall girls" in The Belle of Tombstone.
Directed by Peter Van Slyke, the cast includes Joe Cooper, Dan Gunther, Tim Gilbert, John Brownlee, Betsy Kruse, Dina Scalone and Nancy LaViola.
Showtime is 7 p.m. in the Gaslight Theatre, 7010 E. Broadway. Performances continue at 7 p.m. Tuesday through Thursday, 7 and 9:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday, and 3 and 7 p.m. Sunday, through March 20. Tickets are $13.95, $11.95 for students, seniors, and military, $6 for children ages 12 and under. Call 886-9428 for reservations and information.
SKYLIGHTS. The coming annum promises an extravaganza of celestial action. It's expected to include a total eclipse of the sun, and a blazing Leonid meteor shower. The UA Flandrau Science Center plans on having a front seat for this high-flying drama with its "Science-At-Sea" cruises.
But even if your bank account argues against watery junkets, you can still get a handle on the action locally, at a Flandrau-hosted seminar on the coming galactic events. Speakers include comet hunter David Levy, Hubble Space Telescope Astronomer Susan Stolovy, and eclipse chaser Eduardo Vega.
Lecture is free and begins at 7 p.m. in the Flandrau Science Center, on the northeast corner of the UA mall, at Cherry Avenue and University Boulevard. For more information, call 621-4515.

Wednesday 13

FRETTING FRIENDS. Just when you were overdosing on Garth, along comes music with actual integrity. We're talking none other than the Guarneri String Quartet, presented by the Arizona Friends of Chamber Music.
Featuring Arnold Steinhardt on violin, Michael Tree on viola, John Dalley on violin and David Soyer on cello, the New York-based Gaurneri is the longest continuing quartet in the world. And their acclaim steadily grows: Following a concert of Beethoven's work, the Los Angeles Times noted that they "looked like hardworking musicians, but they played like angels."
Tonight's repertoire should include Jan Crisóstomo Arriaga's "Quartet No. 2 in A major," Zoltán Kodály's "Quartet No. 2 in D major," and Edvard Grieg's "Quartet in G major."
Performance begins at 8 p.m. in the TCC Leo Rich Theater, 260 S. Church Ave. Tickets are $14, $4 for students, and are available by calling 577-3769.
BORDERLANDS BUNCH. Twenty years back they were our collective mammies--those TV matrons like Florence and Shirley who knew their way around a stain-remover and still shared plenty of quality time with their teens and tots. Borderlands Theater pays twisted tribute to our small-screen matriarchs with Christi Stewart-Brown's The Gene Pool.
Updated for the '90s, this comedy-with-a-bite focuses on a pair of "nutty moms" parenting a growing son. Their fun really begins on the kid's 18th birthday, when he poses the question: "Moms, who is my dad?"
Zaniness of course ensues, not to mention motorcycle chases, a bizarre kidnapping, and a search for the "sperm-donor dad." Those are just a few contemporary sizzlers in a comedy that broke box office records at Washington, D.C.'s Woolly Mammoth Theatre company last year. The Borderlands production stars Suzi List, Carlisle Ellis, Michael Yarmea, Danielle Coleman and Dwayne Palmer.
Preview performances are 8 p.m. today and tomorrow in the PCC Black Box Theatre, 2202 W. Anklam Road. Tickets are $9, $7 for students, and are available at Antigone Books, the PCC Center for the Arts box office, the Borderlands Theater office, and by calling 882-7406. The opening celebration performance is at 8 p.m. Friday, January 15. Tickets are $15. Regular performances are 8 p.m. Wednesday through Saturday, and 2 p.m. Sunday, continuing through January 31. Tickets range from $7 to $11.

City Week includes events selected by Calendar Editor Tim Vanderpool. Event information is accurate as of press time. The Weekly recommends calling event organizers to check for last-minute changes in location, time, price, etc. To have material considered, please send complete information at least 11 days prior to the Thursday issue date to: Tucson Weekly, P.O. Box 2429, Tucson, Arizona 85702, or fax information to 792-2096, or email us at listings@tucsonweekly.com.

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