june 12
Love! Valour! Compassion! Benefit Screening: The recently released film version of playwright Terrence McNally's dish-heavy dramedy about a summer of love and affection among a group of gay friends was directed by Joe Mantello, who helmed the original, Tony-winning off-Broadway production (and who, incidentally, received his own Tony nomination for his acting role in Tony Kushner's Angels in America). Love! Valour!, the movie, stars many of the stage show's original cast members, including John Glover, Stephen Bogardus and Randy Becker. A special fund-raising screening of the R-rated film, sponsored by Echo magazine, is scheduled for 7 p.m. Thursday, June 12, at Valley Art Theatre, 509 South Mill in Tempe. Admission is $5; proceeds benefit the Valley of the Sun Lesbian and Gay Community Center. For details call 266-0550 or 829-6668.
Fluffy: The English femme-punkers walk a thin line between low style and purposeful vile. While the all-woman group's image is calculated to arouse prurient interest, media attention and album sales (the band's press kit refers to lead singer/guitarist Amanda Rootes as "the Sharon Stone of punk," though she looks more like a Dickensian Drew Barrymore), Fluffy's members seem genuinely to subscribe to the hard-living punk ethic, and they can, more or less, play their instruments; think Hole lite. The Beat Angels, and Caroline's Spine share the stage on Thursday, June 12, at Gibson's, 410 South Mill in Tempe. The all-ages show starts at 8 p.m. Admission is $6, free for Arizona State University students with IDs. For details call 967-1234.
"Fiestas de la Vida: Devotion and Ritual in Mexican Folk Art": The exhibition includes ceremonial, decorative and political/historical objects related to the liturgical calendar of Mexican holy days: los Dias de los Muertos (the Days of the Dead), the Feast Day of the Virgin of Guadalupe, Carnival, Christmas and Easter/Holy Week; the pieces were drawn from the permanent collection of the Arizona State University Art Museum and from various private holdings. The show continues through Sunday, September 7, at the ASU Art Museum at Nelson Fine Arts Center, 10th Street and Mill in Tempe. Viewing is free; hours are 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesdays through Saturdays, 1 to 5 p.m. Sundays. For details call 965-2787.
Grease!: Tommy Tune's touring production of the '50s musical is back. This incarnation stars Adrian Zmed of the '82 movie Grease 2, former One Day at a Time co-star Mackenzie Phillips and All in the Family's Sally Struthers. Final performances are at 8 p.m. Thursday, June 12; 8 p.m. Friday, June 13; 2 and 8 p.m. Saturday, June 14; and 2 and 7 p.m. Sunday, June 15, at Symphony Hall, 225 East Adams. Tickets range from $29.50 to $43.50, available at Phoenix Civic Plaza and Dillard's box offices; call 262-7272 or 503-5555.
Yxta Maya Murray: Murray is an instructor at L.A.'s Loyola Law School, a contributor to Glamour and Buzz magazines and the author of the acclaimed new work Locas, a fictional portrait of two female gang-bangers. She reads from and signs copies of the book at 7 p.m. Thursday, June 12, at Borders Books & Music at 1361 South Alma School in Mesa. Call 833-2244.
JGB: The former Jerry Garcia Band features many longtime backers of the late Grateful Dead man, including Melvin and Elgin Seals, Gloria Jones and Jackie LaBranch. The all-ages show starts at 8 p.m. Thursday, June 12, at the Electric Ballroom, 1216 East Apache in Tempe. Tickets are $20, available at the club and Ticketmaster; call 894-0707 or 784-4444.
Phoenix Firebirds: The Triple A/Pacific Coast League affiliate of baseball's San Francisco Giants continues its 34th--and final--season in the Valley with games against the Albuquerque Dukes at 7:05 p.m. Thursday, June 12; and the same time Friday, June 13, at Scottsdale Stadium, 7408 East Osborn. Tickets range from $4 to $8, available at the scene and Dillard's; call 275-0500 or 503-5555.
friday
june 13
Megadeth: Dave Mustaine's long-lived metal crew hosts a sort of national release party for its eighth disc, Cryptic Writings, on Friday, June 13, at Mesa Amphitheatre, Center and University. The concert's sold out, but if you can't find a way in, catch the show on the radio: It's scheduled to be broadcast live across the country by various rock radio stations (locally, it airs on KUPD-FM 97.9). Showtime is 7 p.m. Call 644-2560.
The Skeletones: The new-ska big band from Riverside, California, also mixes in healthy doses of jazz, reggae and rock. Station, and Jimmy Rig share the bill. Showtime is 8:30 p.m. Friday, June 13, at Boston's, 910 North McClintock in Tempe. Tickets are $6 in advance, $8 the day of the show. For details call 921-7343.
"Fiestas de la Vida: Devotion and Ritual in Mexican Folk Art": See Thursday.
Grease!: See Thursday.
Phoenix Firebirds: See Thursday.
saturday
june 14
Juneteenth Celebrations: Juneteenth, also known as "Black Independence Day," honors June 19, 1865, the day slaves in some Southern states found out they'd been legally freed on January 1, 1863, by President Abraham Lincoln's Emancipation Proclamation. This year's major Valley commemorations are scheduled from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday, June 14, at Eastlake Park, 16th Street and Jefferson (call 249-6168); and from 5 to 11 p.m. Saturday at Chandler's Folley Park, 601 East Frye (call 899-3022). For details about a related basketball tourney at Eastlake Park, see the Sports listing.
"Elusive Nature: The U.S. Representation From the 1996 Cuenca Bienal of Painting": The exhibit, curated by Phoenix Art Museum's David Rubin and featuring nature-themed paintings and works on paper by New York's Katherine Bowling and Joan Nelson, Santa Fe's Michael Kessler, Chicago's Andrew Young, San Francisco's Eva Bovenzi and Connecticut's Timothy McDowell, makes its only stateside stop at PAM, 1625 North Central. The show's sextet of artists represented America at last year's Bienal in Cuenca, Ecuador. The installation opens Saturday, June 14, and continues through Sunday, September 14, in the museum's Orme Lewis Gallery. Viewing is free; hours are 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesdays through Sundays (to 9 p.m. Thursdays and Fridays). For details call 257-1880 or 257-1222.
Arizona Sandsharks: The Continental Indoor Soccer League franchise opens the regular home season with a game against the Portland Pride at 7:05 p.m. Saturday, June 14, at America West Arena, First Street and Jefferson. The squad's next home game is at the same time Friday, June 20, versus the Seattle SeaDogs. Tickets range from $6 to $18, available at the scene and Dillard's. For details call 833-7150, 379-7800 or 503-5555.
Mainly Mozart Festival: Jeffrey Siegel, noted for his "Keyboard Conversations" series, is artistic director of the 12th annual tribute to Wolfgang and friends, which concludes Saturday, June 14. Orchestra concerts featuring all-Mozart programs are scheduled at 3 p.m. at La Sala, located in the University Center Building on the Arizona State University West campus, 4701 West Thunderbird in Glendale; and at 8 p.m. at Paul V. Galvin Playhouse at Arizona State University's Nelson Fine Arts Center, 10th Street and Mill in Tempe. A family concert titled "Music for the Young and the Young at Heart" precedes at 10:30 a.m. at the Tempe facility. Tickets are $20 and $23 for the orchestra performances, $10 for the family show, available at Dillard's; call 503-5555. For general information, call 543-6057.
"Phun Wit Shkspr": The "Borders Benefit Days" series continues with this fund raiser for Actors Theatre of Phoenix. Highlights include the title program by ATP's "Reduced Shakespeare Company"--i.e., the cast of the ensemble's The Compleat Works of Wllm Shkspr (abridged), a revival of which opens Friday, June 20, at Herberger Theater Center--and a presentation by noted prop designer Cat Dragon. The event's scheduled for 2 to 6 p.m. Saturday, June 14, at Borders Books & Music at Biltmore Fashion Park, 24th Street and Camelback, Suite 200. Admission is free; 15 percent of the proceeds from Saturday's store sales benefit the troupe. For details call 957-6660.
Drive Against AIDS Golf Tournament: AIDS Project Arizona sponsors the fourth annual tourney, which tees off at 7 a.m. Saturday, June 14, on the Indian Bend Course at the Camelback Golf Club, 7847 North Mockingbird Lane in Scottsdale; registration precedes at 6. All proceeds are divvied up between APAZ and the Malta Center. For details call 265-2437.
Phoenix Guitar Show: New, used and classic instruments are on display and on sale at the sixth annual mecca for ax aficionados, scheduled for 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday, June 14, at the VFW hall at 4853 East Thomas. Admission is $4. For details call 496-8906.
Road Trip: "The Rocky Autograph Picture Show" in Tucson: Some of the vintage "stars" scheduled to make appearances at this TV/movie memorabilia blowout include Maggie Peterson and Jean Carson (who portrayed Charlene Darling and one of the "Fun Girls," respectively, on The Andy Griffith Show), Johnny Crawford (Chuck Connors' son on The Rifleman), Sue Ane Langdon (of the Elvis Presley vehicle Frankie and Johnny), Beverly Washburn (of the cult-fave flick Spider Baby) and a passel of second-tier actors from The High Chaparral, including Don Collier, Ted Markland, Roberto Contreras and Bobby Hoy. Hours are 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday, June 14; and the same on Sunday, June 15, at Old Tucson Studios, 201 South Kinney, in Tucson Mountain Park. Admission is $14.95, $9.45 for kids ages 4 to 11; half-price coupons are available at Old Pueblo-area AlphaGraphics locations. Call 1-520-883-0100, extension 1.
"Fiestas de la Vida: Devotion and Ritual in Mexican Folk Art": See Thursday.
Grease!: See Thursday.
sunday
june 15
rex: Those who long for the days of lounging on the floor umbilically attached to the stereo by a set of headphones the size of Princess Leia's buns will dig this "chamber rock" (prog-rock, sorta) trio from New York, which is often likened to the Red House Painters and Tortoise and, less convincingly, to Galaxie 500 and the Velvet Underground. Those who don't won't. rex is scheduled at 10 p.m. Sunday, June 15, at Stinkweeds Record Exchange, 1250 East Apache, Suite 109, in Tempe. Call 968-9490.
John Stewart: Stewart's been one of folk-pop's mainstays from his Kingston Trio days to "Daydream Believer" to "Bad Rats" to "Gold" (with Stevie Nicks) to "Runaway Trains" to "Sweet Dreams Will Come" (with Nanci Griffith). He returns Sunday, June 15, for one of his semiannual shows at Anderson's Fifth Estate, 6820 East Fifth Avenue in Scottsdale. This one's in support of Stewart's new disc, Rough Sketches From Route 66. Tickets are available at Dillard's. For details call 994-4168 or 503-5555.
"Elusive Nature: The U.S. Representation From the 1996 Cuenca Bienal of Painting": See Saturday.
"Fiestas de la Vida: Devotion and Ritual in Mexican Folk Art": See Thursday.
Grease!: See Thursday.
"The Rocky Autograph Picture Show": See Saturday.
monday
june 16
Tour of World Figure-Skating Champions: Nancy Kerrigan, Oksana Baiul, Brian Boitano, Michelle Kwan, Elvis Stojko and Viktor Petrenko are scheduled to perform, along with numerous other up-and-coming blade runners, at this touring show, slated for 7:30 p.m. Monday, June 16, at America West Arena, First Street and Jefferson. Tickets are $30 and $45, available at the arena and Dillard's; call 379-7800 or 503-5555.
tuesday
june 17
The Frantic Flattops: The Rochester, New York-based trio--comprising guitarist/vocalist Frantic Frank DeBlase, drummer Too Tall Paul and upright bassist Sid Baker--plays "demon rock 'n' roll" (a.k.a. rockabilly). Touring behind their new disc, Cheap Women, Cheap Booze, Cheap Thrills, the Flattops perform at 9 p.m. Tuesday, June 17, at the Rhythm Room, 1019 East Indian School. The cover is $4. For details call 265-4842.
"Elusive Nature: The U.S. Representation From the 1996 Cuenca Bienal of Painting": See Saturday.
"Fiestas de la Vida: Devotion and Ritual in Mexican Folk Art": See Thursday.
wednesday
june 18
Smokin' Joe Kubek Band featuring Bnois King: Dual guitarists Kubek and King are the heart and soul, respectively, of this righteous Dallas act, which has been on a steady rise since its 1991 debut, Steppin' Out Texas Style. Still touring in support of its latest disc, the excellent Got My Mind Back, the group performs at 9 p.m. Wednesday, June 18, at the Rhythm Room, 1019 East Indian School. The cover is $7. For details call 265-4842.
"Elusive Nature: The U.S. Representation From the 1996 Cuenca Bienal of Painting": See Saturday.
"Fiestas de la Vida: Devotion and Ritual in Mexican Folk Art": See Thursday.
