BC70 – a bicoastal custom with guitar
One of the issues they do not warn you about once you develop into a neighborhood music columnist, group radio programmer and/or hometown music aficionado is that you just’re going to inevitably develop into an envoy of types and get to know the oldsters that ALWAYS SHOW UP at each stay present. In addition they don’t inform you how great that’s going to be. Whereas most native music scenes nowadays are largely composed of a fantastic massive community of musicians taking part in for crowds of fellow musicians, there’s one thing about pure, unfettered, unapologetic fandom that’s damned contagious and really pleasant.
In Tucson for the previous few years, Bob Colby has been a type of guys, a well-known face at Che’s Lounge or Habitation Speakeasy devoting his retirement years to watching stay rock and roll. Your humble scribe sort of needs to be that when she grows up.
Don’t let his mild, delicate, post-punk wallflower demeanor idiot you both. It is a dude who lower his enamel listening to the Trendy Lovers play stay in Boston circa 1970 or so and was pals with the likes of Mary Lou Lord, amongst different Boston luminaries. If Bob is impressed together with your band, your band is spectacular.
Identified in his hometown for epic, birthday-themed exhibits, Tucson is fairly fortunate to host birthday quantity 70, with an enviable lineup made up of a few of Bob Colby’s favourite native expertise.
Your rock and roll chronicler not too long ago checked in to search out out extra.
Tucson Sentinel: Hello, Bob! I’m so excited for the present Saturday evening! I additionally know the way massive a deal it’s on your to have a Tucson birthday present, however a few of our readers don’t know you, so would you be so type as to share some context? I do know you used to ebook exhibits again once you have been a part of the Boston indie music scene, proper?
Bob Colby: “I’d been going to exhibits in Boston for a number of a long time after I determined to throw myself a musical birthday celebration known as ‘BC60’ for my sixtieth birthday in 2012. It was a lot enjoyable I made a decision to begin doing month-to-month exhibits as nicely.”
“That continued for about 5 years till I did one other birthday celebration, ‘BC65’ in 2017. That was the final present I produced in Boston as I used to be starting to consider transferring.”
TS: And then you definately got here right here. The place we’re tremendous glad to have you ever, by the best way.
BC: “I arrived in Tucson in September 2018. At first I didn’t know the place to look to discover a like-minded musical group. By happenstance I managed to search out my option to a Resonars present at Che’s, and I used to be so delighted I needed to discuss to them.”
TS: You’ve received first rate style, my good friend!
BC: “My first actual dialog with a ‘music scene’ individual was with Matt Rendon. I couldn’t have picked a greater individual to level me within the course of what I ought to try. And issues have continued very properly since (excepting the COVID shutdown instances.)
TS: Ha, I feel Matt may deny being a “music scene” individual, however he was completely the precise man to run into. Now inform us extra in regards to the upcoming present!
BC: “When my seventieth birthday started to strategy, I made a decision that I now knew sufficient nice acts (and folks) to try ‘BC70’ and I consider I’ve put collectively a invoice that displays each the buddies I’ve made on this city in addition to the vary of my musical style”
TS: You might have certainly. New Misphoria, Watercolor, Exbats, Feminine Gaze and Weekend Lovers!
BC: “Additionally, I couldn’t be extra happy that one of many acts (the Exbats, who’re top-of-the-line storage rock bands within the nation) now contains Matt Rendon! Full circle, you may say.
TS: Might the circle be unbroken.
BC70 at Habitation Realty Speakeasy takes place Saturday, Sept. 3, at 3:30 p.m. at Habitation Realty, 641 N. tenth Ave. The present lineup contains Watercolor, New Misphoria, the Exbats, Feminine Gaze and Watercolor. It’s an all-ages occasion and masks use is inspired. A $10 donation on the door is recommended.
Hoco Fest or NoCo fest? A rock fan’s dilemma
The principally annual Labor Day occasion turned self-described “boutique pageant” referred to as HoCo Fest has returned to Lodge Congress after a short COVID respite. And it’s returned in an enormous manner, as a 5 day pageant (the occasion kicked off on Thursday) with a mixture of well-known and rising bands from throughout and a bit little bit of native illustration taking the stage all through the lengthy weekend. Past simply the exhibits, HoCo Fest affords a plethora of occasions from trade panels and document festivals and movie screenings to meals tastings, pool events, DJ units and semi-secret afterparties, as a day lengthy “Sonoran Desert Sustainability Summit” known as Regenerate AZ on Saturday.
On the one hand, HoCo Fest is sort of an enormous deal for Tucson. It’s gained a stable fame in nationwide music pageant circles and it’s one thing of a draw for out-of-towners and a catalyst for folk to fall in love with Tucson and its music scene (and hopefully spend a bit of money at native institutions whereas they’re right here.)
The flip facet of this, after all, is {that a} pageant that grew out of Tucson’s legendary Desert Rock scene and that was as soon as virtually absolutely immersed in native music historical past and spirit has morphed into one thing that appears to be largely not meant for native audiences, although a cross part of native bands are represented, together with Mute Swan, Feminine Gaze, Flagstaff band Sci-Fi Nation and Tucsonan-by-retirement Child Congo Powers. Tickets, particularly full-day passes, are prohibitively costly for the largely service trade and retail employee crowd that makes up a variety of Tucson’s native music prolonged household and several other occasions are “password solely” or in any other case quasi-exclusive and, very similar to Nightfall Competition, the opposite main Tucson primarily based annual music fest, a variety of the main target appears to be on the names the pageant has landed and its place among the many pageant scene itself, slightly than the city that hosts it.
With all that stated, this 12 months’s HoCo Fest has a powerful lineup and might be well worth the funding when you have some disposable earnings and wish to get a large quantity of musical bang on your buck.
This music author might sight and complain about this in the identical manner yearly, however there’s at all times an opportunity that subsequent 12 months I’ll change my tune.
Within the meantime, you can discover out extra at Hocofest.com.