MORE ROCK FOR RAINER: The first series of music benefits for Rainer concludes this weekend with three scheduled events appealing to a broad range of musical tastes. On Saturday, March 9, Howe Gelb, the Phantom Limbs, Greyound Soul, Pete Fine and Beyond Words, Al Foul, 35 Summers, Brcdyet, Kestiny, Catacoustic Groove, the Sand Rubies, and Dog and Pony Show swarm Club Congress, 311 E. Congress St., from 6 to 11 p.m. Suggested donation is $5. Call 622-8848 for information. On Sunday, March 10, from 1 to 6 p.m., the Tucson Kitchen Musicians Association presents their annual fundraiser at Valley of the Moon, 2544 E. Allen St., featuring Ron Pandy, the Ronstadt Cousins, Ned Sutton, Titan Valley, Dennis Offret, Rancho Deluxe, Stefan George & Songtower and The Rusty Boys. Tickets are $5 general admission, $4 for TKMA, KXCI, TFTM and TBS members. In addition to raising needed funds for the annual Tucson Folk Festival, TKMA plans to donate half of the proceeds to Rainer. And that's not all: A number of folk musicians have donated their works, with all proceeds from CD and tape sales added to the pot. The TKMA Pick-Nic is an outdoor, family-friendly event. See the City Week calendar for details. Also on Sunday, March 10, Berky's on Fourth, 424 N. Fourth Ave., will be sponsoring the Good Blues for Rainer benefit with the Blue Lizards, Desert Blues Band, Jerry Glombecki, the Arnold/Klingenfus Ensemble, and the Cantrell, Mitzi & Peter trio. Not only will door and a portion of bar sales be donated, but organizers have gathered items for raffle, including a gift certificate to a famous ranch spa and music equipment from Guitars Etc. and Rainbow Guitars; and Basha's market has donated the food. This benefit runs from 1 to 7 p.m. and tickets are $5. Call 622-0376 for information. LAST NOTES: The Nixons blast The Rock, 136 N. Park Ave., on Friday, March 8. Constant touring has sharpened the edge on this Oklahoma City band that likes to play it loud and hard. Don't miss your chance to see them in all their rockin' glory. Tickets are $6, available in advance at The Rock. Doors open at 8 p.m. Call 629-9211 for information. Master of surf guitar Dick Dale returns to Club Congress on Friday, March 8. Merry bashers Dash Rip Rock play the middle slot, which should include their hit "Let's Go Smoke Some Pot." Big Joe opens the show in his last Tucson gig before Eddie Taylor and company move to Nashville. Tickets are $11 in advance from the club, and $13 day of show. On Saturday, March 9, Café Luna Loca, 546 N. Stone Ave., presents Thirty Ought Six. Passionate vocals and raw, energetic guitar express the raging emotion driving this intelligent, dynamic Portland band. Call 882-4488 for tickets and information. On Sunday, March 10, Jason Bonham, son of Led Zeppelin drummer John Bonham, appears with special guests at The Rock. Tickets are $10.70 in advance from Dillard's, Zia Records, Zips and The Rock. They'll cost $13 day of show. Jason Bonham conducts a free music clinic before the show at 6 p.m. Doors open at 8 p.m. for this 18-and-over show. And on Tuesday, March 12, Café Luna Loca welcomes Idiot Flesh in their Rock Against Rock crusade. The operating conceit suggests that rock music is our culture's main destroying force and the only device that will kill it is rock itself. When that hypothesis was tested in the '70s, punk rock was spawned. IF turns the other direction, shattering the genre by opting for bohemian arrangements, chaotic lyrics, operatics and theatrics. Oddly, it's enjoyable. Giant Ant Farm opens. Call 882-4488 for tickets and information. WE RULE: The Drakes, Paula Jean Brown, Friends of Dean Martinez, Giant Sand, Maryanne, Dan Stuart and Alana Swidler have been invited to showcase their talents at South By Southwest (SXSW), the sprawling annual musical extravaganza in Austin, Texas. Seven of the nine Arizona acts are from Tucson, and bitter pills at the Phoenix New Times report that, "Circumstances seem to support the sneaky suspicion held by so many in the Valley that, where SXSW is concerned, the fix is in for Tucson acts." It ain't so. First off, the show changed hands last year, with a new selection committee making the cuts. Secondly, Tucson bands send in their $10 processing fee just like everybody else. With Phoenix bands already eating up the major-label recording contracts, sour grapes over SXSW seems like pretty poor form. --Jennifer Murphy

		© 1995-97 Tucson Weekly . Info Booth