Tucson Weekly: Cheap Thrills (January 8

Cheap Thrills SWAMP COOL: Kenny Neal's music has been called a combination of Louisiana swamps, oil rigs, Mardi Gras, gators, Cajuns, gumbo and voodoo. And that's a perfect description for the Baton Rouge native who learned the blues from his father, Raful Neal, and from notable pals like Lazy Lester, Buddy Guy and Slim Harpo.
After serving as Guy's bass player, Neal toured with a variety of groups ranging from the Downchild Blues Band to his own Neal Brothers Blues Band. Now he brings all that gut-wrenching experience to Tucson for a single night of swampy soul at the Boondocks Lounge.
Show time is 9 p.m. Wednesday, January 14, in the Boondocks, 3306 N. First Ave. Tickets are $8 in advance and for Tucson Blues Society Members. Tickets are $10 at the door. For information, call 690-0991.
GOOD COMPANY: Artsreach is an organization of poets and authors dedicated to bringing the art of imaginative writing to Native American youth. And as a founding Artsreach member, local author Kit McIlroy finds himself among good company, including the distinguished likes of Scott Momaday, Simon Ortiz, Sherman Alexie, Daryl Wilson and Joy Harjo.
Of course, McIlroy has enjoyed plenty of acclaim in his own right. The National Endowment for the Arts grant recipient landed the Flannery O'Connor Award for Short Fiction for his short story All My Relations. And Publisher's Weekly describes McIlroy's work as "possessing a spare elegance...grittily real...filled with the breath of life."
On Tuesday, January 13, the UA Extended University will host a free reading by McIlroy from 5:30 to 8 p.m. in the St. Philip's In The Foothills Episcopal Church, 4440 N. Campbell Ave. For information, call 626-2235.
TITANIC VISIONS: Back in the dark era of Dr. Strangelove, they ringed Tucson with a deadly embrace. Now, only one Titan nuclear missile survives, nestled in its subterranean home on the northern flanks of Green Valley. And it remains the only deactivated Titan site in the world that's open to the public.
On Saturday, January 10, the Titan Missile Museum will host a special open house, displaying areas that are normally off-limits, including the crew's quarters. Event runs from 6 to 8 p.m. in the museum. Admission is $5, free for children under age 10 and Arizona Aerospace Foundation members.
Take I-19 south to the Duval Mine Road, Exit 69. Drive west approximately one-half mile, following signs to the entrance. Call 625-7736 for details.
RARE DIG: The non-profit Old Pueblo Archaeology Center will offer the first-ever guided tour of a dig underway at the Roadrunner Vista prehistoric village near Huachuca City.
Located on a terrace overlooking the Babocamari River, and occupied around 1100 to 1200 A.D. by the Babocamari culture, this stunning site displays complex adobe-walled pit rooms, and painted ceramics similar to those found as far away as the Tucson Basin.
Tour runs from 10 a.m. to noon. Cost is $10 per person. For reservations and directions to the site, call 798-1201.

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