Now that he's pimped his own ride, Robert Aguilar will be rollin' with his homies from Mystical Car Club to the first Car & Music Show at Audio Express, 6710 West Camelback, on Saturday, July 17. After touring his custom 2000 Chevy Silverado (pictured) to 25 car shows in Arizona and California -- and scoring 23 first- and second-place trophies -- Aguilar and his Mystical brethren will evaluate the would-be competition, from Japanese makes to full-size trucks and Euro class. The Mystical judges then will hand out trophies for best paint job, best vinyl graphics, and the overall award: best in show.
For a little musical ambience, Aguilar's putting together an unfinished bill of local hip-hop groups and DJs, including M2 from Power 92 FM. But a car show needs some sex appeal. So, in addition to the wet tee-shirt and hardbody competitions, a "Shake Da ???" contest aims to prove who's got the most junk in their proverbial trunk.
"Anything goes in that contest," says Aguilar, who's put more than $34,000 into customizing his Silverado, not including the original $23K he paid for the truck. Anything goes, indeed.
Admission to the show, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., is $5. Call 602-820-1978. --Joe Watson
Swingers Party
Local jazz legends swing into summer
Fri 7/16
If you're horny and you know it, dry-clean the zoot suits, dust off the hoop skirts and swing on down to the Arizona Biltmore Resort, 24th Street and Missouri, where trombones, trumpets and horns aplenty sway to and fro for the "Big Band Dance Party," Friday, July 16. Starting at 7 p.m., Dennis Rowland (pictured) and the Extreme Decibel Big Band play a tribute to Count Basie. Tickets are $10. Call 480-824-5627. --Joe Watson
Cymbalism
That's Italian at Arcosanti
Sat 7/17
Hippies are always down with experimental music, but now they're going far out, man, as Arcosanti hosts Italian "musicologist" Andrea Centazzo, who'll fill the night air at the artists' commune on Saturday, July 17, with his electric, eclectic and eccentric sounds. With more than 60 albums of ambient and minimalist music under his belt, "Maestro" Centazzo punctuates his compositions with percussion-infused jazz harmonies, using instruments both traditional and electronic, in a multimedia-oriented supershow that "captures and expresses the rhythm and pulse of life."
Tickets, $30, include dinner, served at 6 p.m.; tickets for the show only, starting at 7, are $15. Arcosanti is located off I-17 Exit 262 in Cordes Junction. Call 928-632-6217 for more information. --Benjamin Leatherman
Body Language
Get in touch at Thoughtcrime
Sun 7/18
In these troubled times, maybe all we need to get through the day is some old-fashioned self-love (not in that way, freak). The progressive peeps at the Anarchist Library have the same idea, and they continue their discussion series with "Understanding Ourselves and Our Bodies," on Sunday, July 18, at Thoughtcrime, 1019 North Central. At first blush, it sounds like some touchy-feely, "I'm okay, you're okay" approach to physical and mental wellness, but the subject matter promises to be a bit deeper than shallow pop-psychology shtick. "It's about our bodies and our relations with them," says Elizabeth David, an event organizer. "It'll be whatever people want to talk about, but we'll be discussing bigger issues, like body image, health, illness, spirituality, sexuality, birth and death."
The discussion runs from 9 p.m. to midnight. Call 602-254-6397. --Benjamin Leatherman
Cold Play
Get wet behind the ears (and everywhere else too) at Tempe Beach Park
Sat 7/17
We'll make like little Fonzies (cool, dig?) this Saturday, July 17, when the Downtown Cooldown swamps Tempe Beach Park with water games, water slides and 50 tons of snow. For $1 admission, kids can chill from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m.; proceeds benefit the Caitlin Robb Foundation, which supports pediatric cancer research. Call 480-921-2300. --Jill Koch
Sky Hight
Fleming's hosts a stellar pairing
Wed 7/21
Mixing wine and astronomy, steaks and stars, we're in for more than an instructional evening about constellations at Fleming's Prime Steakhouse and Wine Bar, where the "Celestial Wine Flights" series continues. "I guess you could call it 'edutainment,'" says Steve Kates, a.k.a. "Dr. Sky," guest speaker on Wednesday, July 21, at 7:30 p.m. "You learn a lot about the romance of the sky while you learn about the science of the sky. It's light and educational." As guests sip two wine flights -- that's six two-ounce samples of different wines -- Kates speaks "about the beauty and splendor of Arizona's skies," with telescope on hand.
"I think it's a couples thing," says Fleming's Dan Schertzer, who confirms that the more wine one drinks, the more stars one sees. "And the better-looking your date is!" Fleming's is located at 20753 North Pima Road in Scottsdale. Call 480-538-8000 for reservations, $25 per person. --Joe Watson
Congressional Queering
Hedwig and the Angry Inch rocks Tucson
7/16-7/17
Hed will roll. After three sold-out weeks in Scottsdale, the Artists' Theatre Project's Hedwig and the Angry Inch trips to Tucson's Club Congress -- "your value leader in transgender rock opera." 'Wig out at 11 p.m. Friday, July 16; a DJ'd after-party follows the 8 p.m. show Saturday, July 17. Call 800-722-8848 for tickets, $10-$12. --Jill Koch
