The rap genre lost one of its up-and-coming artists on Wednesday.

Fast-rising rap artist Gustav Ahr, or "Lil Peep" passed away before his show on Wednesday night at The Rock, with the exact cause of his death still under investigation.

The 21-year-old New York artist was pronounced dead at 9 p.m., according to the county's medical examiner, with The New York Times reporting that the rapper died from overdosing on the anti-anxiety medication, Xanax.

Lil Peep was best known for his songs "White Wine," "Benz Truck," and "The Way I see Things," which have gone viral on YouTube, with upwards of 12 million views per track.

Ahr was born on Nov. 1, 1996, and took to recording tracks after dropping out of high school, making music through online sites like SoundCloud and YouTube.

He released his first mixtape, Lil Peep Part One, in 2015—with his debut album,. Come Over When You're Sober released on June 2.

Ahr was known for the multi-instrumental aspect of his work, playing trombone and tuba on many of his tracks, and frequently described the close relationship he had with his mother, Liza, in many of his songs.

In all, Ahr released four mixtapes, one album and six EPs in his brief career, having been described as "The future of emo," by music magazine Pitchfork.

Your Weekly guide to keeping busy in the Old Pueblo.

Music

2017 International Tucson Guitar Festival. The guitar is one of those things that allows space for infinite improvement: You can practice for years and still only beginning to unlock your potential, because there are just that many possibilities. But the world-class guitarists coming to this event will blow you away with what looks and sounds a whole lot like mastery. Three-time Grammy Award nominee Berta Rojas performs at 7 p.m. on Saturday, Nov. 18 and Grammy Award winning composer/guitarist Sérgio Assad and Grammy Award nominated pianist/vocalist Clarics Assad perform at 1 p.m. on Sunday, Nov. 19. Cuban guitarrista Iliana Matos opens the festival at 7 p.m. on Saturday, Nov. 11 and the Beeston competition is at 4 p.m. on Sunday, Nov. 12. Holsclaw Hall, Fred Fox School of Music, 1017 N. Olive Road. Ticket prices vary.

A Celebration of Joni Mitchell with Kimberly Ford. It goes without saying that every day is a celebration of Joni Mitchell in its own way, or at least it should be. But treat yourself to an evening jam-packed with Joni by seeing this six-piece SoCal based band headed by Kimberly Ford on vocals. Let Kimberly and Joni remind you that we’re all stardust, and that sometimes sadness, when sung about in just the right way, can be overwhelmingly beautiful. 6 p.m. Friday, Nov. 17. Gaslight Music Hall of Oro Valley, 13005 N. Oracle Road, No. 165. $25.

April Verch Band: Canada’s Finest Fiddle & Stepdancer. Not many adults are doing the same things today that they were doing when they were 3, or 6 and a half. But those are the ages at which April Verch learned to stepdance and fiddle, respectively, and she’s been steppin’ and fiddlin’ away ever since. Also, she sings. And sometimes she does all three at once. She fiddled at the 2010 Olympic games, she’s fiddled in Vienna Austria, and she’s fiddled her way onto the pages of Rolling Stone magazine. Now, it’s time to let her fiddle, stepdance and fiddle her way into your heart. With Matt & Bekah Rolland of Run Boy Run. 6 to 9 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 19. Monterey Court, 505 W. Miracle Mile, Tucson. $15.

The Spirit of Argentina. They move quickly, dramatically and sensually, to the music composed by some of the most legendary figures in the world of tango. They are Tango Buenos Aires, known internationally as one of the most talented and authentic Tango dancers in the world. Contrary to popular belief, it doesn’t take two to tango. It takes a whole expert company of musicians, vocalists and dancers to bring you the cultural experience of a lifetime. (And don’t worry. You don’t have to tango.) 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 21. Fox Theatre, 17 W. Congress. $24 to $39.

Shopping

Made in Tucson Market. They say home is where the art is, and at this festival, you can find art and goods from dozens of vendors who make their goods locally. And while you’re picking up art prints, candles, jewelry, ceramics, kitchen supplies and other Tucson-made treats, you can chat with the artists (all of whom are Tucson residents) and learn about their processes. How sweet it is to stock up on holiday gifts, treat yourself and support local artists all at once. 10 a.m. to dusk. Saturday, Nov. 18. On Seventh Street between Fourth and Fifth Avenues. Free.

What to Eat with What You Drink. Don’t understand wine pairings, or wine in general? Hey, same here. Well, here’s your opportunity to get a little more cultured. Dive in with Tana at Sand-Reckoner Vineyards, and find out what food tastes best with what wine. Unlock the mysteries of wine and maybe, for once, drink it because you enjoy it, not just to get drunk.
5:30 to 6:30 p.m. Nov. 16. 510 N Seventh Ave, Unit 170. $27

Fifth Annual Arizona Bacon Fest. Did you know eating bacon actually makes you lose weight? Well, that’s not true, but you might feel like flying after having an awesome time at the fifth annual Arizona Bacon Fest. Tucson’s best chefs converge for one day to make some of the tastiest plates, and they all include bacon! And if you thought there wasn’t going to be beer, congratulations: you just proved you’ve never been to this festival before, so now you have no excuse not to come. In addition to craft beers, there will be live music and NFL games. Honestly, what more could you ask for? 2 p.m on Sunday, Nov. 19. At 260 S. Church Ave. $38. Purchase tickets beforehand.

Chili Cook Off and Car Show. Yes, you read that title right. The only thing hotter than the homemade chili will be the cars, trucks and motorcycles. Once the car show and chili tasting are finished, it’s time for the awards. So whether you want to eat, hang out, or battle it out for the chili bragging rights, this is your place. And if none of that has convinced you, there’s also a swap meet! What won’t be taking place there? 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Nov. 19. Fred’s Arena Bar and Steakhouse. 9650 S Avra Road. Free entry.

Pints & Poses. If you have trouble maintaining your balance and poise while doing yoga, try adding beer to the mix. How would that help? Good question, it actually comes after the yoga as a reward. Pueblo Vida Brewing seems to have it all worked out for you. Do yoga and then once you’re tired and zen, get even more centered with their find craft beers. Say namaste and drink away. 10:30 to 11:30 a.m. on Sunday, Nov. 19. 115 E Broadway Blvd. $5 /21+

Pie Exchange. One pie enters, one pie leaves! (Or three, if you’re feeling ambitious.) Desert Dove Chapel is hosting a magical event to really bring the community together in harmony. Show up with a pie of your own and trade it for a totally new one. If your tastebuds are feeling adventurous, be sure to check this out. (Please, no store-bought pies.)
Tuesday, Nov. 21 at 9:30 to 11:30 a.m. Desert Dove Chapel, 5385 E. Ironwood St.

It was a night to remember inside a half-packed 191 Toole on Monday night, as college rock favorites Deer Tick shredded through a two-set masterpiece.

The Providence, Rhode Island-based quintet—touring in support of their new double EP (Deer Tick Vol. 1 and Vol. 2)—brought their typical punch-drunk energy to the Old Pueblo, blasting through two sets of music, as part of their Twice is Nice Tour, to the small but thoroughly energized contingent.

Perhaps the biggest surprise of the night though came not from the band itself, however, but in the dry whit and charm put forth by standup comic Solomon Georgio.

Georgio's opening set revolved was a self-effacing monologue about the struggles of growing up as a gay man in a immigrant family, hailing from Ethiopia, mixed in with stories about his personal life.

His routine drew wild applause and laughs from the crowd, before yielding the stage to the main act—who started the evening with an all-acoustic set.

The band tore through their first set, playing a mixture of new songs from Vol. 1 and peyote and whiskey-soaked classics, from albums of yole.

Singer John McCauley bounced between his stool and the keyboard nestled into the far-righthand corner of the stage in the opening set, providing the dulcet tones that we've come to love over the years.

The band was tight all night, wasting no time between songs, and making the most of their time on stage, hitting all the high notes and low-tempo valleys in-between.

A new perspective

It was my first time seeing the band in five years—since seeing them shortly after the release of Divine Providence—a college radio favorite full of songs about drunken debauchery and youthful dumbassery.

That show, in which Deer Tick was the opening act for Athens, Georgia heavyweights The Drive-By Truckers, had a completely different vibe—with McCauley and company toeing the line between drunken discord and beautiful harmony, with several screw-ups in between.

There were no such mishaps Monday, showing the strides the band has taken in its maturation since that night a half-decade ago in Washington D.C.

Leaving on a high-note

It's clear that this iteration of the band is much more focused on music, and less on the self-destruction they were known for during the War Elephant and Black Dirt Sessions albums of a decade or so ago.

It's all the better, to be honest, as they performed at a meteoric level on Monday, leaving the crowd in a sober stupor, after an electrified second set that hit on a lot of the band's greatest hits.
Perhaps the highlight of the night for me was hearing them play an old-time classic, "Baltimore Blues No. 2," from War Elephant, that I used to play the cover off of when I was a college radio DJ in Fort Collins.

That song, about my de facto hometown (I was born in Annapolis, Maryland), was wonderfully performed on Monday, with McCauley hitting his notes perfectly, as a chorus of imitators lovingly belted out the lyrics in the peanut gallery.

The final song of the night, fittingly enough, was a tongue-in-cheek rendition of Joe Cocker's "You are So Beautiful," a fitting end for an awesome night of rock music.

It was a beautiful night for jangly guitars and raw energy—it was a perfect rock and roll night in the Old Pueblo.

Somebody was smoking some laced wild shit and licking frogs when they put together Thor: Ragnarok, a film so nutty it easily surpasses the Guardians of the Galaxy films as the screwiest offering in the Marvel universe.

When you hand the keys to the Thor franchise over to a director like Taika Waititi, you know you are going to get something bizarre, and Waititi doesn’t disappoint. Waititi is the New Zealand comic actor/director responsible for the hilarious vampire faux documentary What We Do in the Shadows and the funny family drama Hunt for the Wilderpeople. There’s really nothing on his resume that screams, “Hey, let’s have this guy direct an action-packed, highly expensive Thor film!” But he got the gig, so there you go. Sometimes the wild card pays off.

Borrowing from a host of Marvel comics, including the famed “Planet Hulk” storyline, the hallucinogenic plot drops Thor (Chris Hemsworth) on a crazy garbage planet bent on round-the-clock, violent entertainment and led by Grandmaster (Jeff Goldblum, finally getting a high-profile role worthy of him outside of a Wes Anderson film). The Grandmaster cuts Thor’s hair, dresses him in gladiator gear, and throws him into the ring for a weaponized bout with his prized competitor. That prized competitor is the Hulk, held captive on the planet for the past couple of years. He’s been nothing but the Hulk the whole time, with Dr. Bruce Banner (Mark Ruffalo) trapped inside him.

Thor and Hulk have a battle royale for the ages, followed by some great scenes where the Hulk actually speaks. Ruffalo provides the voice, and this is the first time in the recent Marvel films where Lou Ferrigno isn’t providing Hulk’s growls. There’s a whole other apocalyptic subplot going on, where Thor’s long-lost sister Hela (a striking and devilish Cate Blanchett decked out in black) is causing major havoc on his home planet of Asgard. Blanchett immediately sets herself high in the ranking of Marvel movie villains. She’s played a baddie before, but never this entertainingly.

The stampede of Republican lawmakers retreating in horror from Alabama Senate candidate Roy Moore is quite the spectacle. Moore, who appears to have crawled straight from the pages of a particularly icky Stephen King novel, has become so toxic that GOP senators can’t tweet out their disapproval fast enough. Both of Arizona’s senators have called for him to exit the race. (and Flake has even said that he would vote for the Democrat in Alabama!) Yesterday, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said that he believed the women making accusations against Moore.

But there’s a possible Senate candidate in Arizona who has yet to say anything regarding Moore. According to well-sourced press accounts, Congresswoman Martha McSally has told colleagues that she’s getting into the Senate race but she has yet to announce her plans. (C’mon, Martha, it’s time to get this fucking thing done, don’t you think?)

McSally has a lousy record on women’s health, having repeatedly voted to restrict abortion rights and to deny low-income women the ability to choose their own healthcare provider (if that healthcare provider happens to have the initials PP). But she has held herself up a champion of women’s rights and has chaired the House of Representatives’ Women in the 21st Century Working Group, a panel McSally launched in July 2016 to “dig into the root causes of barriers that women face.”

Well, given what we’ve heard in recent months, we think there’s a “root cause” that could use some discussion the next time the working group gets together to discuss barriers in the workforce. (That doesn’t happen often; in the 15 or so months since it was formed, the working group has had two meetings in which they have heard testimony from companies that expanded opportunities for women. There’s been no associated legislation and McSally herself has said that she’s not sure government even has a role in this arena. And given that she's likely moving on to that Senate race, we're guessing this House of Reps dog and pony show has about run its course.)

Anyhoo: We reached out to McSally spokeswoman Kelly Schibi yesterday to see if Congresswoman (and possible Senate candidate) McSally wanted to comment on the creeper who was reportedly hanging out at malls in his mid-30s to pick up high school girls, but she didn’t get back to us.

In October Robin Hiller, executive director of Voices for Education, sent an email to her mailing list with the subject line, “Protest DeVos/Trump/McSally Monday.” The email asked people to attend a “Public Education Rally” in front of Rep. Martha McSally’s office Oct. 9.

The day before the rally, Hiller received the following email in reply.

Love em all !!!
Great Americans !!!!
You and big bird burned public education to the ground,
Made Americans morons again !
Fire all the teachers union employees and members.
Start over.
We are coming for you !

The sender’s name was Chris Bannon.

“At first I thought it was a joke,” Hiller said. “I looked at the name and wondered if it was someone pretending to be Steve Bannon but didn’t know his first name.” She forwarded the email to a friend who thought it sounded ominous, especially the threatening last line, “We are coming for you!”

Hiller took a closer look. She hadn’t heard of Chris Bannon, but she recognized his email address as belonging to the University of Arizona. She googled his name and found he was connected with UA’s Biosphere 2.

Chris’s brother Steve Bannon, one-time chief strategist for President Trump and current head of Breitbart News, had been acting CEO of Biosphere 2 in the 1990s. Later, Chris became general manager. His current title at the University of Arizona is Development Officer, Economic Development in the Life Sciences department.

According to Hiller, she contacted the head of Chris Bannon’s department at the university, who in turn contacted personnel. Next, she called the office of her city councilman, Steve Kozachik. His office contacted the Tucson police department, which said it would have a police presence at the Oct. 9 rally.

Before the rally began, a police car pulled up on the sidewalk 50 feet away and remained there. The rally went on without incident.

Hiller received a call from the university telling her that because Chris Bannon’s email came from a university address, the matter was sent to the personnel office, but she would not hear anything further about it. I sent Bannon two emails asking if he wanted to clarify anything about the email he sent to Hiller. He did not respond.

"Beware of all educational enterprises that require billionaire entrepreneurs." Henry David Thoreau wrote that, or almost wrote that. His actual words were, "Beware of all enterprises that require new clothes." I just updated it a bit.

Bill Gates has put many hundreds of millions of dollars into education improvement schemes, with minimal success. Now he's joining his billions with Mark Zuckerberg's billions to push personalized learning, which means more computers, more educational software and less interference from those unpredictable, unreliable humans known as teachers. Sounds like a sure-fire road to success, doesn't it?

Case in point. Max Ventilla is a serious-but-not-too-serious Yale grad in his thirties who favors jeans and t-shirts—the very picture of the modern major tech guru. He founded AltSchool in 2013, with the help of about $175 million in venture capital. Mark Zuckerberg was one of the venturers. Ventilla opened seven schools where he could try out the educational technology he's creating. His plan is to use "big data" to help schools tailor education to each student's individual needs. That means cameras monitoring every student down to facial expressions, infrared cameras keeping track of everything students touch, and, of course, microphones recording every word they say. It also means lots of screen time, monitored down to the keystroke, of course. Amass all the data, Ventilla believes, and the result will be vast reservoirs of information which can be sliced and diced to help us understand how students act and learn at the most intimate level. The Big Brother-like surveillance also means an immense treasure trove of data which can be used to tailor commercial pitches to students and their parents in the short and the long term, but that's not the purpose of the data collection—not the stated purpose anyway.

To send a student to one of the schools costs parents over $25,000 a year, which isn't much problem for a select group of folks in Palo Alto, San Francisco and New York where the schools are located. These students are on everyone's "most likely to succeed" list, so it's hard to understand what Ventilla thinks he'll learn about educating the other 99.9 percent of the population from this rarified collection of children.

Four years after opening, Ventilla is closing one school and consolidating others. Why? Not because the schools aren't working, according to AltSchool, or because it's running short of cash. It's a business decision. Ventilla says he wants to devote more of the company's energy to tapping into the growing demand for software promoting personalized learning.

"We're being realistic," Ventilla said. "In a few years time, when we raise our next round [of venture capital], we will have to show not only great success in the schools we run, but real progress in extending our platform to other schools."

Parents are upset about the sudden closures and the effects the dislocation will have on their children, but business is the business of business, not the negative impact of business decisions on former customers.

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It’s been 232 days since we last saw Arizona basketball coach Sean Miller and his band of sweaty teenagers take to the court, but alas that streak will be snapped tonight.

Miller and company kick off a highly-anticipated campaign at 8 p.m. tonight against the Lumberjacks of Northern Arizona University in what should be a glorified scrimmage.

It’ll be the first opportunity for Wildcat faithful to watch the nation’s third-ranked recruiting class play their first game against a Division I opponent.

It’ll be the first time for many of the 14,655 fans that pack the hallowed hard plastic seats at McKale Center to watch the athletic freak that is 7-foot tall center DeAndre Ayton—the number-one ranked center in this year’s high school recruiting class.

It’ll be the first chance to listen to the dulcet tones of the verbal acid trip wrapped in an enigma that is Pac 12 Network commentator Bill Walton, who will call both games in Tucson this weekend (the other being Sunday’s matinee against UMBC).

After an offseason chocked with FBI investigations, possible suspensions, Final Four droughts and NBA Draft departures, it’s sure to be a relief to Miller and Wildcat fans alike that we’re finally able to focus on the relative reprieve that is actual basketball.

It’s a new day in Tucson, with the Wildcats having the better part of eight months to shirk off their two-point heartbreak against 11th-seeded Xavier University in the Sweet 16.

The Wildcats, according to the always-reliable bookies in Vegas, have the third best odds to win a national championship, sitting at 8/1 as of Friday.

It’s time, my friends, to put away the sadness pillows and bottles of whatever spirit has lifted your spirits since that two-point Sweet 16 catastrophe, for a new season brings about new hopes of a brighter tomorrow.

Without further ado; here are the three storylines to follow ahead of tonight’s season opener:

1.  Keeping your eyes on the Baby Cats: The aforementioned Ayton, as well as guards Emanuel Akot and Brandon Randolph should get heavy playing time this weekend, with sophomore guard Rawle Alkins out for 8-12 weeks with a broken foot. Both Akot and Randolph, as well as fellow freshman guard Alex Barcello of Phoenix, and forward Ira Lee should see heavy minutes early, which will test the youngsters ahead of conference play, which kicks off against ASU on Dec. 30. This might be the most loaded team top to bottom that Miller’s ever had, which is both a blessing and a curse. How will he and first-year assistant Lorenzo Romar (of University of Washington lore) spread the ball out, and make sure that no one plays the type of hero ball that ultimately killed the Cats last spring? We’ll all have to tune in to find out, I suppose…
2. The calm before the storm? Anyone not living under a rock knows about the FBI’s investigation into alleged misconduct by former Arizona Associate Head Coach Emanuel “Book” Richardson, who is alleged to have taken bribes from a disgraced former sports agent in return for at least one Arizona player’s future services. What’s not understood, as of now, is whether the NCAA will eventually decide to strike against Arizona, or any of the other teams mentioned in the FBI’s investigation to this date (a list including fellow Pac 12 heavyweight USC, as well as Louisville, Miami, Auburn and more). Will Arizona be forced to pull any of its players because of said investigation? It’s hard to tell, but given Alabama’s decision to suspend whiz-kid freshman guard Collin Sexton for the season opener and Auburn and Louisville both firing at least one coach and/or administrator (in Auburn assistant Chuck Person and Louisville head coach Rick Pitino and Athletic Director Tom Jurich). Arizona’s already fired Richardson, but the rest of the Mess O’Potamia, to paraphrase Jon Stewart, is far from finished; the worst may yet to come for the Wildcats, given how slowly the NCAA moves when investigating a program.
3. How will Miller keep everyone happy? As mentioned above; the main issue Miller may face this season is keeping everyone on the team content, given the plethora of star power on their roster. The team’s two exhibition games, against Division II teams Eastern New Mexico and Chico State, saw junior guard Allonzo Trier and the freak of nature that is Ayton take over—with Trier scoring 32 points total, while Ayton scored 52 points with two double-doubles for Arizona. Fellow freshmen Akot and Randolph looked stellar against Chico State as well, scoring 14 and 10 points, respectively, dishing out seven assists between them. The Wildcats have the horses to make it to San Antonio (where this year’s Final Four is behind held), but can they fill roles and coalesce as a unit between now and then?

How to watch: Arizona’s games against NAU (tonight at 8 p.m.) and the University of Maryland-Baltimore County (Sunday at 4 p.m.) will be televised on the Pac 12 Network

How to bet: Arizona is currently a 34.5-point favorite over the Lumberjacks. The line for Sunday’s
game against UMBC has not been posted, as of Friday afternoon.