Whether your literary tastes skew more toward the risqué or you're a staunch First Amendment supporter, Bookmans on Ina Road has a club for you. The store's Banned Book Club will bring people together to read and discuss books that were banned in the past for one reason or another.

The first six months of the club will feature The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie in January, A Clockwork Orange by Anthony Burgess in February, Stolen Children by Peg Kehret in March, One Flew Over the Cuckoos Nest by Ken Kesey in April, In Cold Blood by Truman Capote in May, and Naked Lunch by William S. Burroughs in June.

The Banned Book Club kicks off on Sunday, Jan. 18 at 5:30 p.m. and will continue on the third Sunday of each month at that same time. To join the free book club, e-mail [email protected].

One of Tucson's best charity events rocks the stages of Club Congress and the Rialto Theatre this weekend.

The Great Cover-Up features local bands taking on the identity of other bands for quick sets. The show always offers great performances and wonderful surprises—seeing Sergio Mendoza and friends knocking it out of the park with an Earth, Wind & Fire homage was a highlight a few years back—and it's for a good cause. This year, the event will raise money for the Community Food Bank of Southern Arizona and the Southern Arizona Artists and Musicians Healthcare Alliance.

We'll have more in the dead-tree edition of this week's edition, but Friday night's show begins at 7 p.m. at Club Congress and Saturday's show starts at 7 p.m. at the Rialto Theatre. Get more details here.

An online auction to benefit the Lupus Foundation of Southern Arizona in memory of Nowhere Man and a Whiskey Girl, Derrick and Amy Ross, ends tonight at midnight. The auction and a two-venue evening of NMWG music last weekend was organized by friends of the late musicians to honor the one-year anniversary of their passing, but more importantly their musical legacy.

Link for the auction is right here, and there are plenty of wonderful things to get for yourself or those holiday people in your lives—lot of art made by many of our favorite Tucson artists and plenty of hand-crafted items. Get there now this rainy afternoson and help them end their fundraiser on the best possible note.

If you enjoy indie/alternative rock music and want to support a few of your local bands then head on over to Club Congress next Wednesday, Dec. 17, for performances by Indian Lakes, Signals, The New Classic and Spider Cider.

Indian Lakes is the only band that isn't local - having originated out of California, but is worth seeing. The band recently released its third album Absent Sounds on Triple Crown Records, which has gained much traction. The band will make its appearance at Club Congress at 5:30 p.m. Signals, The New Classic and Spider Cider will follow at 7 p.m. Tickets are available now for $15 at http://www.ticketfly.com/event/710869-from-indian-lakes-tucson/. Take a listen. You won't be disappointed.



A little taste of Signals.



The New Classic with "Keep That in Mind"



Timothy Brecht of Spider Cider gives us a little taste of "Where Your Feet Should Fall"

If you haven't been to the newest sex toy store in Tucson, Jellywink Boutique, then you are missing out, people. The store, owned by Ally Booker, is off Fourth Avenue at 418 E. 7th St. and is a great community, sex positive, queer friendly resource for everyone. I've been there twice and have yet to see Booker wince or balk at any question or comment thrown her way.

She's community minded, too.

Throughout the month of December, the store will do a charity gift wrap for a $5 donation or more with proceeds going to Youth On Their Own.

From Jellywink:

If folks haven’t yet checked out Tucson’s new woman and GLBTQI-friendly sexuality resource center and shop- Jellywink Boutique- the month of December would be a great time to do so because we are wrapping gifts in exchange for donations that will be going to Youth on Their Own (YOTO)- a non-profit organization dedicated to helping homeless teens graduate high school and continue down a successful path. Also, we have items that would make great gifts! ;)

The charity wrapping is happening at Jellywink Boutique (c) throughout the entire month of December during regular business hours.* Shoppers can get their gifts wrapped in exchange for a suggested donation of $5 (or more for those in the giving spirit who want to help out teens that don’t have a home of their own). Also, on Saturday, December 20th from 12p-6p, with the help of Summer Disney, we will set up outside the shop so that passerby 4th Ave shoppers can get to donate and get their gifts wrapped, too.

About Jellywink
While Jellywink is an 18 and over space and YOTO services teens 21 and under, we share some basic values that include education, empowerment, and respect. Jellywink is a safe and non-judgmental space to learn and explore aspects of sexuality and product use & safety. We have a diverse selection of books, lubes, tasteful toys, supplies for various segments of the GLBTQI community, a clean environment, and Ally Booker- the knowledgeable and friendly shop keeper that is happy to guide you!

*Regular store hours are:
Tues-Thurs 12p-8p/Fri-Sat 12p-10p/Sun 12p-6p/Closed Mondays
Also by appointment!

If you've been riding around town without lights or a helmet, it's time to mend your evil ways and start riding the legal way. This evening beginning at 5 p.m. until supplies run out, Mayor Jonathan Rothschild will be handing out light sets and helmets to riders at the popular biking intersection of Campbell Avenue and East 3rd Street.

The giveaway is part of an initiative to promote bicycle safety on the streets by handing out lights and helmets every month in a new location. According to the Living Streets Alliance, more than 400 light sets and 65 helmets have been given away since October. 

It's not just about safety though. Riders caught without a white headlight visible up to 500 feet away and a red reflector visible up to 300 feet away can face fines of  $184.

So basically, go grab some free lights or pay $184— tough call, right?

For 12 years Rich Hopkins has shown a lot of love to Casa Maria Catholic Worker Community the South Tucson soup kitchen that in turn shows a lot of love to people less fortunate in our city and anyone fighting the good fight.

Hopkins returns to Tucson tonight for the 12th Thanksgiving Casa Maria benefit he's organized, Tuesday, Nov. 25, at Club Congress, 7:30 p.m. $7 donation or bring a nonperishable foods donation.

Besides Rich Hopkins and the Luminarios, other performances tonight from Cesar Aguirre y Amigos, Cesar Gonzales and our Tucson cumbia lovies, Chica Dust.

This weekend, The Tucson Museum of Art will be hosting its annual Holiday Artisans Market, featuring more than 100 local artists selling their wares in the museum's courtyard. For hours and details, click here.

The market will be open Friday through Sunday—and as a special bonus, Saturday is this year's opening of El Nacimiento, the museum's extraordinary nativity display.

Vox Urbana is one of my favorite Tucson bands, but that's not the only reason I'm telling you to see their show tomorrow night, Friday, Nov. 14 at Tanline Printing Studios, 14 W. 35th St., 8 p.m., $5 cover. You should see this show for two reasons: because you understand the value of dancing your cumbia-loving ass off or if you don't know the value, this is the best way for you to learn. Go!

This cumbia group is part of ourTucson soundtrack and tomorrow night's show celebrates the release of their new record La Pitaya.

From the Vox folks:

Throughout the southwest and Mexico, Vox Urbana have “established a cult following thanks in large part to the group's highly entertaining shows, a bevy of skillful instrumentation and shake-your-hips rhythms." (Flagstaff Live!) Recently Vox Urbana has been garnering attention not just for their high-energy shows but also original songs whose lyrics tell stories of the political and personal realities of the borderlands they call home. Songs such as “La Piedra y La Bala,” which relates the recent tragedy of Jose Antonio Elena, a Mexican teenager shot dead through the US-Mexico border fence by Border Patrol agents. Or “Pepe Arpia,” a scathing and comic indictment of Maricopa County’s infamously racist and media-pandering Sheriff, Joe Arpaio. These new songs appear on La Pitaya, as well as other songs whose lyrics and rhythm find the middle ground between dance parties and grass roots political protest.

Brought together by Tucson’s diverse and bustling live music scene, Vox Urbana formed in 2010 and has undergone multiple instrumental and stylistic shifts, with several personnel changes resulting in the current six-man lineup that features a driving rhythm section, muscular horn arrangements, and harmonized group vocals. The band’s ability to write and play cumbia, salsa, funk, huapango, cha-cha, trova, and Latin soul are indicative of its member’s wide-ranging U.S. and Latin American musical backgrounds.

This year Vox Urbana was awarded grants from the Tucson Pima Arts Council and Puffin Foundation for its “Cumbia Corridos” project, which seeks to create storytelling songs inspired by interviews the band has conducted with Tucsonans whose voices may not always be heard in public discourse. The Cumbia Corridos project is set to debut in early 2015.

Enjoy this video from an equally loved Tucson creator, our friend Heather Gray:

Viva la cumbia

There's already a bunch of trivia nights around town and an adult spelling bee, so why not a Cards Against Humanity night? Unplugged Tucson, the wine bar at 118 E. Congress St, is giving it a shot and for $5, you can win prizes, be inappropriate and eat free pizza. Hard to see a downside.

For those who don’t know: Cards Against Humanity is nothing like the party games you've played before, it is just as wicked and objectionable as you and your friends.

The game is very simple. Each round, the person whose turn it is asks a question or reads a statement with information omitted (like MadLibs) from a black card, and everyone else answers with their funniest white card. The true challenge is being able to offer a white card in reply that best fits the sense of humor of the person who has asked the question or offered the prompt, as they decide the winner. The more deplorable the better with Cards Against Humanity!

Believe me, you will crack a million laughs with this, specially over wine!

Tickets are $5 and include a spot in the tournament with the chance to win a prize for showing off your tasteless skills, and FREE PIZZA!

The tournament starts at 7 p.m. and runs until 10 p.m. More info at unpluggedtucson.com.