Downtown Tucsonan - February 2009 - (Page 11) Downtown by Jamie Manser Live Gloom Cookie Cathy Rivers www.cathyRivers.com available at Bohemia, 2920 E. Broadway Blvd. cost: $15 we’re all gloom cookies when it comes to loss, change and death and Rivers channels her pain into heartrending lyrics and songs with a charged strength and intensity that dances with a dark goddess. I propose Kali. Rivers immediately lays it out with track one, Death Rides In. the haunted song sets the stage for the rest of the album, a creative outlet which was Rivers’ artistic salve. “I had experienced a lot of death over the last eight years and these songs came to be the exploration of the different stages of mourning and finding out who I was in the process.” the musician is a talented singer who adroitly, and passionately, belts out tales of sorrow and depression. though melancholia is the overriding theme, it does have a silver lining – especially for those of us who share the same struggles. this is particularly true in LBC. “a little black cloud with no name/follows me in vain/asking ‘who do you think you are?’/contends with my self-worth/that’s how he wastes his time on Earth/at least I know/at least I’m not alone/ a companion since my youth/sparks the fiction/shrouds the truth.” Come on Come on Girl is also a hopeful song, reflective of the evolution of one’s identity and how other people can help us along the way. “no, you can’t be the saboteur, because your angry heart is way too pure/You can’t be divine work, classically misread/But you could gladly join us here/on our battle wounds instead of fear/You can be a come on come girl, instead/ You can be a come on come girl, that’s what he said.” the quality of the music on the 11 tunes perfectly matches the affecting words, with instrumentations performed by teddy Morgan, Richard Medek, Jimmy carr, carl Broemel, Howe Gelb, Joey Burns, John convertino and david Jacques. Rivers said a cd release may happen “at some point. It took me a long time to get this cd finished so I’ve been playing these songs for a while now. I’m ready to start work on the next album.” Bands for Breasts – Fundraiser the Hut, 305 n. 4th ave., 623-3200. Friday, February 6 @ 7pm; saturday, February 7 @ 8pm; sunday, February 8 @ 4pm cost: $10/night or $25/weekend drummer Ryan Janac (sunday afternnon & Luca) has enlisted 25 local bands for a weekend musical extravaganza in an effort to raise money to help his mother pay medical bills incurred from fighting breast cancer. she was diagnosed in 1994, went into remission, and relapsed in 2007. Please see the music listings for the phat line-up! on Monday, February 9, Ivan neville’s dumpstaphunk will be performing at the Hut and donating a portion of door and merch sales to the cause. the press release describes the band as weaving a vocal and musical tapestry from key members of dave Matthews & Friends, Harry connick Jr. and neville musical families. check ‘em out online at www.dumpstaphunk.com. Live at Dante’s House The Rosano Bros Virtual Quartet www.Myspace.com/ virtualquartet Release Party: Friday, February 27 @ Plush, 340 E. 6th st. time: 9:30pm-1:30am cover: $5 Photo: Gary Mackender Positively 17th Street 17th Street Band www.17thstreetBand.com Release Party: saturday, February 21 @ 17th street Guitars & world Music, 840 E. 17th st. time: 11:30am-3:30pm cover: $5 donation to KXcI as the sun shines and the tax man collects, you can be sure that any musical conglomeration tom walbank is a part of is going to be freaking rad. Besides his work with the ambassadors, walbank is the lead vocalist, harp player and slide guitarist with the 17th street Band. walbank also writes lyrics and music for a few of the tunes on Positively 17th Street. the 13-song disk features the who’s who of crazy good tucson talent that performs blues of the rock, honky-tonk, and juke-joint variety. the musicians include darryl Roles (drums), Harvey Brooks (bass), tom Kusian (guitar), dustin Busch (lap steel/guitar), arthur Migliazza (keyboards). Guest artists are amochip dabney (tenor & soprano sax), Jose Luis Puerta (classic guitar) and Ralph Gilmore (drums). The CD is available at the market for $15. the 14-tracks on this fabulously fun release sonically sweep us back to the popular music of the 30s and 50s, along with some originals and more modern day pop music. the duo showcases their chops by playing jazz, klezmer and Broadway tunes via baritone sax, hi hats, melodica (Marco), piano and cornet (dante). Performance perspicacity and lots of practice pays off as the horn instrumentals come across as vocals. the men literally make their brass sing while keeping the rhythm and tickling the ivories. Many of the songs covered hearken back to early jazz and blues, but a few darling delights include the super Mario Brothers theme and Michael Jackson’s Billie Jean. Marco said they thought it would be funny to include Jackson’s 1983 hit, and admitted it’s one of the hardest songs they play. the lone tune with singing, I Remember the Time, is a Marco original and fondly recollects the days “when soda was a nickel and a movie was a dime.” The disk will be available at the show for $10. It can also be purchased from cdbaby.com/cd/rosanobros. The gig includes performances by Loveland and Silver Thread Trio. february.09. downtown tucsonan 11 http://www.CathyRivers.com http://www.dumpstaphunk.com http://www.MySpace.com/virtualquartet http://www.17thStreetBand.com http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/rosanobros
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