|
|
 |
BUCKNER IS BACK: Tucson again receives the unqualified
pleasure of a Richard Buckner performance--he pulls in
behind the wheel of his pickup to play at the Club Congress,
318 E. Congress St., for Multi-Media Monday on June 29.
Buckner arrives armed with an album's worth of new material to
complement past tried-and-true favorites from Devotion + Doubt
and Bloomed. The much-anticipated new album, Since,
is due in stores August 11, and his Tucson appearance precedes
a lengthy national support tour.
Over the past few months, Multi-Media Mondays have become a favored weekly highlight at the Club Congress, featuring a series of short films by local and regional filmmakers early in the evening (see The Weekly's Cinema section for titles), followed by live music at 10 p.m. Thus far bands have spanned the spectrum from John Wesley Harding to Bubba Grubz. Call 622-8848 for information. STATIC ALERT: As fans of Radio Limbo (103.3 FM) are already aware, the station has been off the air since the middle of last week. I noticed the absence when I was begrudgingly forced to listen to Click and Clack instead of the ambrosial dialogue of the ever-entertaining raconteurs of "Action Chat." Speculation that Radio Limbo closed down in response to the recent U.S. District Court decision against the pirate station Radio Free Berkeley have proven false. U.S. District Judge Claudia Wilken granted the F.C.C. authority to shut down the Berkeley station on the basis that the station never applied for an F.C.C. license, even though the F.C.C. offers no licenses granting affordable access to the airwaves for low-power, local stations. The claim is that by its structure and procedures, the F.C.C. violates our First Amendment right to free speech. The case is central to the cause of grass-roots, low-power radio, and it was the legal limbo created by this particular case into which Radio Limbo was born, and takes its name. Radio Limbo's resident electronic genius assures that the static is of electrical rather than federal origin. Radio Limbo recently went down for a few days in order to upgrade systems, thereby increasing their signal to broadcast across the valley. The new equipment is simply on the fritz, a mire of wires and very complex gadgets that are being repaired as quickly as possible. They hope to have the station up and running in short order--perhaps even by press time--so hold tight and stay tuned. If you have an interest in free radio and its Constitutional implications, check out the website www.freeradio.org for the longer story.
Another band joining the Warped Tour by way of Tucson is MxPx, a band that, following their Monday, June 29, appearance with locals Pasta Rocket and Poot at the Double Zero, 121 E. Congress St., head up to the Valley of the Sun for the opening Warped date on Tuesday, June 30. MxPx is building a buzz for their recent major label debut, Slowly Going the Way of the Buffalo. They'll be sharing the Surf Stage with seven other bands, but all ages can catch them in downtown Tucson's only basement-bar for a tidy $8 in advance. Call 670-9332 for information. Skrappy's, 3710 N. Oracle Road, scores yet another coup with "the band that kicks harder than all of Orange County's Ska Punks combined," The Suicide Machines, on Saturday, June 27. Would you expect an attitude any different from a band from Detroit? The Suicide Machines are on the warpath with Battle Hymns, a harder, more assiduously punk effort than their highly successful major label debut, Destruction by Definition. This tour promises a better representation of the band's bombastic live performance. Tickets are $7. Call 408-9644 for information.
And one thing leads to another...yeah, yeah. If the Warped Tour
is too bent for your tastes, you can eat your '80s in heaping
mawfulls at The Rock, 136 N. Park Ave., where The Fixx
step up to the plate on Tuesday, June 30. Yes, that early-'80s
MTV Fixxture of dreamy white horses and red skies at night have
a new label, a new record--Elemental--and aspirations to
do it all over again. I thought they were pretty okay the first
time around, even if they did borrow heavily from the Talking
Heads. Tickets for the show are $8 in advance, and $10 at the
door. Call 629-9211 for information.
--Lisa Weeks
|
 |
Home | Currents | City Week | Music | Review | Books | Cinema | Back Page | Archives
|
 |
© 1995-97 Tucson Weekly . Info Booth |
|
Since is unmistakably Buckner--an uplifted, edgier, less
languorous, consistently poetic and masterfully melodic Buckner.
Since is more stylistically consistent and approachable
than the preceding Devotion + Doubt, but shares with that
record the beautifully blended admixture of traditional country
strains. Since is something like Devotion minus
some of the Doubt. The former San Francisco street performer
is known for his captivating stage presence and constant retooling
of older songs with new approaches. Live or recorded, Buckner
is imminently listenable--his songs head straight for the heart
and dwell there. This show is a must-see, and a great opportunity
to check out the raw, onscreen talent of Multi-Media Mondays,
if you haven't already done so.
TROUBLE TO GET INTO: KFMA has given great radio play to
Sprung Monkey's "Trouble We Could Get Into, "
and why not--it's a fun song by a tight, versatile young band.
Unlike many other hopefuls that find their way onto alternative
playlists with their one hit that sounds nothing like the rest
of the record, Sprung Monkey is fairly well represented by this
signature song. "Trouble" doesn't define the limits
of the band's stylistic repertoire on the recently released Mr.
Funny Face, but by way of comparison, the San Diego's quintet
stands on the ground between Rage Against the Machine (less some
of the rage) and Tool (minus the spacey Pink Floyd overtones).
Their songs combine lingering melodies, thick, funky rhythm, lots
of noisy noodling, and heavy, loaded guitars guaranteed to spawn
moshing wherever they go. Sprung Monkey opens for The Urge
on Wednesday, July 1, at the Club Congress, 311 E. Congress
St., before continuing on to join the Warped Tour for a series
of eastern and southern dates in late July. Wednesday's "Wrockin'
Royale Cage Match" will also host openers Two Skinny J's
and Kottonmouth Kings. Tickets to the 21-and-over extravaganza
are $10 in advance, $11 day of show, and are available at Strictly
CDs, CD Depot and the Hotel Congress. Call 622-8848 for more information.
