Best of Tucson 1996: Best Club For Live Music

Best Club For Live Music

Club Congress
311 E. Congress St.

READERS' PICK: We once heard Congo king Danny Vinik remark dolefully that he "don't like bands that smile"; but he's managed to keep the rest of us smiling by booking an eclectic mix of local and national acts that've saved us a fortune on travel expenses in keeping our musical literacy up to par. Dedicated to the cutting edge, Club Congress takes a chance on new sounds and cult classics alike, showcasing everyone from Doo Rag to The Plimsouls. There's plenty of room to check out the bands, especially with their recent remodeling, and the three bars make it easy to quickly sate your thirst and get back to enjoying the music. Congress has gained a national reputation as the place to play in Tucson, which explains the increasing number of music biz folks who've made it a point to check it out when

they're in Arizona. This place just gets better every year.

READERS' POLL RUNNER-UP AND STAFF PICK: The Rialto Theater, 318 E. Congress St. The details are still sketchy, but we're sure we had one hell of a good time at the Rialto Theatre's riotous debut on New Year's Eve last year, a rockabilly fest featuring the Tailgators, The Paladins and the Forbidden Pigs. From what we can hazily recall, it was, like, the best time we've ever had ringing in the New Year. We think we might have even gotten into some kind of clinch at midnight. In the months that followed, Jeb Schoonover and Paul Bear resurrected a second coming of those much-missed El Casino Ballroom Houserockin' Parties with some truly outstanding shows: Son Volt, Big Bad Voodoo Daddy, Mose Alison, Ani DiFranco, Candy Kane and plenty more. Sadly, the Rialto has been out of commission for the past few months. But word on the street says the stage will come to life again soon, with a slew of weekend fundraising shows in the works for October. Godspeed and good luck!