Weekend preview: a sixpack to go

Here at the Sentinel, we would like to commemorate National Poetry Month's end by invoking Baudelaire's poetic imperative to "Get Drunk." Not that this necessitates the imbibing of potent potables (this editor is herself a frequent teetotaller); Baudelaire goes on to direct readers to intoxicate themselves "On wine, virtue, poetry, whatever!"

The following are six opportunities to do just that, to intoxicate yourself with the best cultural pleasures Tucson has to offer this weekend. Stay safe out there.

Friday

Sonora Review fundraiser at Club Congress

Sonora Review is the literary magazine associated with the writing program at the University of Arizona. While lit mags are considered by many to be effete and merely academic in nature, the Sonora Review staff, helmed by local poet Jake Levine, has an evening in store programmed to be anything but stuffy.

Poets Levine and Lisa Robertson will read from their work on the patio at 7, with musical sets by local folk outfits The Get-Right Rounders and Sunny Italy. Levine's poems in particular lend themselves to the bar setting; hip, multi-voices lyrics, his latest series is a crash course in contemporary life as an artist, frequently colliding with the various discursive modes of high and low culture.

Later, the party annexes the club proper for a dance night with the best of Congress' DJs, as Optibang! hosts an inside/outside dance party with Optimist collective O/W/L/S, McCoy, Dewtron, Pc Party, and Critter Camp.

Dive Bar at Candelabra Gallery

Apparently, the artists constellating around the Candelabra Gallery have gone all meta- about one too many nights at the Best Western on Stone. Friday, the gallery will be transformed into the installation "Dive Bar."

The gallery will be filled with vintage bar memorabilia from Powhaus DJ Dan Shapiro's private collection. There will be karaoke, hosted by Dmitri of Mr. Free and the Satellite Freakout. Candelabra adjunct performance artists and poets, including Abram Cooper, will assume the roles of "planted barflies" and interact with unsuspecting patrons. Appropriately, there will be PBR on tap.

Of course, a true dive bar always has some interesting action going on in the parking lot. Event organizer Adrienne Lake describes the phenomenon thusly: "The 1973 canary yellow Nova with the giant rear wheels, the Gremlin with dried vomit on the passenger door and the pickup with flames painted on the sides... but the crowning jewel is the van. It's got floor to ceiling shag carpeting, mirrors in unusual places and is often a'rockin'." One hopes rumors about an "art van" parked outside as part of the installation prove true.

Candelabra Gallery, 412 E. 7th St. 370-1465. Show starts at 10 p.m.

Sandrubies, Van Christian, Silverbell at Plush

For those wanting to intoxicate themselves with nostalgia for the 80s/90s phenomenon known as "desert rock", local legends The Sandrubies (formerly The Sidewinders until a legal challenge forced a name change) will celebrate their 25th anniversary at Plush this weekend.

For several years, The Sandrubies, led by singer David Slutes and guitarist Rich Hopkins, were Tucson'd favorite export, releasing several major label efforts and touring the US and Europe. Throughout the years, there have been over 50 Sidewinders/Sandrubies, as displayed at Hopkins' San Jacinto website, and a teaser for the show promises the appearance of several "old faces," so perhaps some of these alums will take a turn onstage with the band.

Opening the show will be Van Christian, another desert rock allstar and the former leader of 80s/90s outfit Naked Prey, who released records on hip indie label Frontier Records and toured extensively. Relative newcomer Betsi Scarinzi and her band of veterans, Silverbell, start the evening's entertainment.

Sandrubies, Van Christian, Silverbell at Plush, 340 E. 6th St. 798-1298. Doors 9 p.m. $5 cover

Saturday

Black Cherry Burlesque at Surly Wench

Perhaps your version of intoxicated inspiration is the art of the burlesque. If so, the girls of Black Cherry have a new program for you. The invitation describes the evening as "Dames, debauchery, drinks and more!"

The local troupe, as described in detail here, has enough charms alone to make the trip to the Wench worthwhile, but Saturday's shows also feature three guest performers.  Miss Astrid hails from New York city, and she is credited with the revival of the city's burlesque scene. Black Cherry says Astrid "will bring us enough attitude to sink the Bismark."

Flame Cynders hails from San Francisco, and was featured in Fluff Girl's World Domination tour. Rumor has it Ms. Cynders "is a breathing version of that calender girl from you dad's garage." And Pyra Sutra, Queen of the Blazing Bustier, returns from Phoenix, Arizona.

Black Cherry Burlesque at the Surly Wench, 424 N. 4th Ave. 8 p.m. and 10 p.m. showtimes. Admission $10/$20 for preferred seating. Call 882-0009 to reserve seats.

Sketch Comedy at Beowulf Alley

Saturday marks the last night of the run of "Grendel's Mom," a sketch comedy revue at Beowulf Alley. Featuring comedians Brandy Bellais, Josh Booty, Evan Engle, Brian Hanson, Meagan Jones, Josh Parra, Tristyn Tucci and Kyra Weinberger, a night of sendups and laughs may be just what the culture doctor ordered in the wake of a serious news week.

The evening will feature music by Skads Muskie featuring Bellais and Tucci. Sketches on the program include "The Al Pacino Factory," "Purple Behinds at the Baboon Bar" and "Christopher Walken versus Godzilla." According to the show's producers, "this performance has adult themes and language, though it’s occasionally quite childish."

"Grendel's Mom" at Beowulf Alley, 11 S. 6th Ave. 882-0555. Showtime 10:30 p.m. Tickets $8. 

Flobots at Rialto Theatre

The rap world may seem riddled with bling and shorties, but Flobots bring an entirely different ethos to their hip-hop hybrid project than the vast majority of current radio jams. "Backpacker" hip-hop is smart even to the point of nerdiness, but still has a beat you can dance to.

The sextet arrives in Tucson just in time to bring a lively and intelligent musical remedy to the younger generation's feelings of powerlessness and anomie. They describe their mission in a press release. "Everywhere, we are encountering limits. Enter the Flobots once more. The situation is more complicated now. The populace is cautious and jaded. The old slogans will not suffice. What is needed is new story."

The new story arrives in the form of a new record, "Survival Story," on which the band conjures "a vision of hope for a world facing its limits." Flobots will perform songs from the new effort along with past favorites, and will be joined by Trouble Andrew and Champagne Champagne.

Flobots at the Rialto Theatre, 315 E. Congress. 740-1000. 7 p.m. doors/8 p.m. show. Tickets $16.