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New album spells elemental boogie woogie for Charlie Watts and friends

When he’s not playing drums with the Rolling Stones — which is most of the time these days — 71-year-old throat cancer survivor Charlie Watts likes to indulge his love of jazz and boogie woogie music.

Both predate rock ‘n’ roll, of course. Both are part of the wellspring that has fed rock music all these years. Think of the largely piano-driven boogie woogie as the blues-based cousin of jazz. 

It’s an extreme niche music today, far removed from its heyday in the ‘30s and ‘40s. It’s hard to find, harder to do well.

The late pianist Ian Stewart, who started the Stones with Brian Jones (also dead) in 1962, was an ardent devotee of the music. As a baby band in the early ‘60s, the Stones took its signature piano lines and turned them into Keith Richards’ and Jones’ raw twin-guitar tapestry, quietly propelled by Bill Wyman’s loping bass lines, Watts’ beat-focused stick work and Stewart’s bluesy piano flavoring.

That was a long time ago. The Stones are globe-trotting multimillionaires now. The band’s a lucrative part-time job. When that aging machine isn’t running, Watts turns to other projects to get his ya-ya’s out.

He used to have his own jazz groups, even had a jazz orchestra once. But since the Stones’ last performed in 2007, he’s taken up residence with a quartet known as the ABC&D of Boogie Woogie. The group takes its no-frills name from the first names of its four players — German pianist Axel Zwingenberger, British pianist (and Stewart disciple) Ben Waters, Watts and acoustic bassist Dave Green.

They performed exclusively in Europe until Thursday, when the group played New York’s Lincoln Center, followed by a four-show run at New York’s Iridium nightclub — where former Stones guitarist Mick Taylor played a few weeks ago — that ended Monday.

The band released its first album, “Live in Paris,” released last week on Eagle Records, which distributes a lot of the Stones’ side projects and videos in the States. It is in keeping with Watts’ other sans Stones affairs — simple, low-key, low-budget, club-level and highly fun.

It is, in essence, both an invigorating update and lively run through the history of a style that has been marginalized but remains a pervasive influence on so much that is popular in music today.

All too often the problem with modern-day advocates of old root musics tend to be more reverential than innovative. They regurgitate it. They don’t add anything to it. 

That’s not the case with the ABCD guys. They’re reverential all right, but, aside from Waters’ unimpressive vocals here and there, they also treat this music as a living, breathing organism, not a museum piece. Just listen to the way they swing on Leroy Carr’s “Low Down Dog Blues” and you’ll know what I mean.

They reclaim the piano as the central instrument of boogie woogie, but use a two-piano format in much the same way that Richards and Jones (and, later, Mick Taylor and Ron Wood) did within the Stones, weaving around each other like punching-and-jabbing boxers.

 Zwingenberger is a smooth player with a light touch, using his nimble subtlety to great jazz-like effect on “Street Market Drag,” one of seven originals on the 11-track album. He works well in tandem with Waters, the rawer-sounding of the two, on instrumentals like opener “Bonsoir Boogie!,” which they wrote together, and another original, “Blues Des Lombards,” named for the Parisian club where this was recorded in 2010.

The combo has the improvisational instincts of a jazz band that’s fixated on the dance side of blues music. Their selection of covers ranges from blues to early rock 'n' roll to Dr. John's voodoo boogie.

Watts has never been one to hog the spotlight, but he’s the silent star here, not just because of his high-wattage affiliation. Taking his cues from the great jazz drummers of the ‘30s, ‘40s and ‘50s, he knows his is a subordinate role. Besides, he’s busy throwing coal in the engine with Green, whose long, bouncing bass lines are reminiscent on Wyman’s. 

Watts stands out in his own inimitable way, especially on what amounts to a showcase, for him, “More Sympathy for the Drummer.” It’s one of several tracks (including “Encore Stomp”) where the band summons its collective firepower and cuts loose, Watts using his snare drum and more cymbal splashes than usual to earn the tune’s inside-joke title.

There are plenty inspired covers here, too, including the W.C. Handy standard “St. Louis Blues” and “Down the Road a Piece,” a boogie-woogie classic from 1940 that the Stones recorded in the mid-’60s (it’s a good example of how they extrapolated the piano lines to guitar).

The Stones played their first gig as the Rollin’ Stones in London in July 1962. Wyman joined five months later. Watts signed on in January 1963. It’s still unclear just how they’re going to celebrate that as a band, though a 2013 tour is looking more and more likely.

“Live in Paris” strongly supports the belief that no matter how, if or when these senior citizens tour to commemorate that milestone, the ever-classy Charlie Watts will just keep playing the music he loves — with or without the rock ‘n’ roll circus.

 

 

 

 

Concert update: MCAD drops Dancing in the City admission price

I guess not enough people are dancing in the city.

The city's Museums and Cultural Affairs Department has dropped the admission price to its third annual "Dancing in the City" concerts in the Arts Festival Plaza.

The third annual series features live performances, various bottom-shaking music styles and dance lessons before the band goes on.

It did cost $6 per person, $10 per couple to get in, but MCAD's dropping that for the rest of the season, starting with the next one on July 7, which will feature Austin disco band the Boogies.

The rest of the series will feature El Paso country group the Joe Barron Band (July 14), El Paso rockabilly group the Hillside Gamblers (July 21) and Chicago swing band Morry Sochat and the Special 20's (July 28).

Dance lessons are at 7 p.m. They're limited to 100 people. Music starts at 8. Capacity is limited to 200.

 

Theater review: Performances propel EPCC's 'Outrageous Adventures'

Here is C.B. Goldsmith's review of the first of the three EPCC Performers Studio plays, "The Outrageous Adventures of Sheldon and Mrs. Levine." It opened June 14-17 and will be staged again July 12-15 at the EPCC Transmountain Forum Theatre. He got the review in on time, but the edited version got eaten (along with my Dave Koz and BeBe Winans story, which I had to rewrite) by a power failure-induced computer glitch. I'm just getting around to editing and posting it now, and this review should run in the Living section on July 12. "Spring Awakening" runs tonight through July 1 and repeats July 26-29; "Avenue Q" returns July 19-22.

By C.B. Goldsmith

Summers in El Paso are filled with wonderful traditions, from Music Under the Stars to dominoes on the porch with our neighbors to reading that paperback book everyone is raving about. 

Well, add another one to the list. The El Paso Community College Performers Studio, now in its fifth season of summer repertory theater, is not to be missed.

This fine company is presenting a series of three plays, all local debuts, including two Tony Award-winning musicals. The series began June 14-17 with the dark yet uproarious comedy “The Outrageous Adventures of Sheldon & Mrs. Levine,” written by Sam Bobrick and Julie Stein.

It’s set in New York and details that classic connection between a Jewish mother and her son. The El Paso audience on opening night roared early and often at those funny, sad and maddening universal bonds between every obsessive mother and her only child. 

The main character is Mrs. Doris Levine, one of those larger-than-life women upon which great theater is built — Mama Rose in “Gypsy” and Gertrude as the mother in “Hamlet,” come to mind. The stage belongs to Doris. 

Talented Mary Jane Windle owned Doris — and the stage — from the moment the curtain rose. In lesser hands, Doris could have been cartoonish, but Windle made subtle, smart choices and used her consistently powerful voice. Her pace and her comedic timing were spot-on. 

The play features only two characters, Doris and her son Sheldon, who read and write letters to each other. But the performance requires huge energy, evenly paced over two acts. Windle was more than up to it.

Doris is an overbearing, neurotic nightmare. Her unmarried, 30 year-old son Sheldon is her equal in terms of phobic, fixated dysfunction. EPCC alumnus David Ruiz had no easy task sharing the stage with such a gigantic character as Doris and talent like Windle’s. But he more than holds his own in a part that is both difficult and daunting. 

Ruiz sang solidly, handled a parrot with flair and his accents were ample. He started a little unevenly, but found his voice and cadence in the  second act. His put-upon pathos was both touching and true.

The play was expertly directed by Elizabeth Gaidry, who is renowned for her work at Jefferson, El Paso, Bowie and Bel Air. She takes a play that could be ethnic caricature and steers her actors to perform with what best can be described as over-the-top understatement. 

 

Theater review: EPCC travels right road with inventive 'Avenue Q'

Here's another review from our theater fan, C.B. Goldsmith, who attended last week's opening of "Avenue Q" at the EPCC Transmountain Forum Theatre, where the EPCC Performers Studio repertory company is holed up for the summer. It returns July 19-22. Their next production, "Spring Awakening," opens tonight through Sunday, with a second run July 26-29.

By C.B. Goldsmith

To be young, just out of college and living in New York City. It reminds me of Robert Browning’s suggestion that “man’s reach should exceed his grasp or what is heaven for?” 

To have all that life offers so near but just beyond reach is a powerful theme within the El Paso Community College Performers Studio’s wonderful production of the Tony Award-winning musical “Avenue Q.”

The play follows Princeton, a recent college graduate who begins his journey towards the life he desires and the purpose that he seeks. Not such an unusual concept, but creators Robert Lopez and Jeff Marx, who wrote the music, and Jeff Whitty, who wrote the book, combine the aesthetic comedy and puppetry of “Sesame Street” with adult story lines. They basically they reinvent the musical into something refreshingly novel — and wildly entertaining.

It begins with the newly graduated Princeton, played splendidly by Juan Apodaca, learning what many young people who flock to New York City learn, that economics will relegate you as far from Manhattan as is physically possible. In the outer borough of Avenue Q, he is surrounded by peers who are just as far from their dreams as he is, yet each shares his youthful yearning and his need for more. 

Apodaca and his Muppet-like puppet express this longing beautifully in “Purpose.” His voice is rich and his charm is abundant. 

Princeton’s love interest, Kate, is played by Doris Velez. Though most young local actors share her enthusiasm, few have her considerable talents. Fewer still share her sheer magnetism. This combination illuminates the stage every moment she is on it and makes the love between these endearing characters and their puppets genuine and magical. 

The two lovers are supported amply by their well-drawn cast mates, who each lend particular voices and talents to this enchanted block. Paramount among the singers is Joel Anguiano, who as wannabe standup comic Brian, has a voice as plentiful and satisfying as his acting chops. 

His love interest is the Japanese immigrant Christmas Eve, who is equally well sung by Alexis Martinez. She also anchors much of the comedy as  the apartment’s resident therapist who regularly counsels her neighbor, Rod, who is conflicted and haunted by his emerging sexuality.

Rod is played by Alan Gonzalez, who, like Martinez, has fine comedic instincts, though both characters could have conveyed their identities less broadly and not risked offending the delicate among us (all three of the summer rep shows are not considered suitable for kids). Gonzalez showed his voice and movement skills to full effect in the very funny song “My Girlfriend Who Lives in Canada.”

In truth, every song in “Avenue Q” is either funny or touching. Often, they’re both. 

In addition to the unusual site of seeing so many actors accompanied by puppets, there’s the apartment building’s superintendent, Gary Coleman. Yes. That Gary Coleman. Tony Romero, who plays him, easily steals the first act with the song “You Can Be as Loud as the Hell You Want.”

The best of the puppeteers were Gilbert Bauman-Flores and Isaac Torres, who bring Nicky’s puppet to life.  Bauman-Flores and Velez give voice to their puppets so perfectly that we forget they’re acting. Sebastian Orozco combined a fine voice with solid puppetry as the porn-centric Trekkie Monster, helped by Gabriel Franco-Kull.

Conductor Cody Ritchey did a nice job adjusting the loud and soft tones of the music to accommodate the cast’s voices, but the sound mix could have been calibrated better on opening night.

With so many singing parts and so many challenging songs, “Avenue Q” is no easy road, on Broadway or a community college stage in El Paso. That EPCC’s Performers Studio conquered such a daunting work is testament to director Keith Townsend, who has this production firing on all cylinders. Townsend is clearly a gifted teacher and artist. 

“Avenue Q,” which returns to the stage July 19-22, is the second of three productions, all local debuts, in the summer rep this season. The two-person “The Outrageous Adventures of Sheldon and Mrs. Levine” returns July 12-15. The controversial, Tony Award-winning musical “Spring Awakening” debuts tonight through Sunday and repeats July 26-29.

The ambition path undertaken by this young, growing ensemble, now in its fifth summer, is changing the status quo in El Paso theater. They’re on the right road with “Avenue Q.”

 

 

PCFF: Play's the thing; readings accompany EPMA exhibits

In addition to Edith Head's costume designs and jewelry from various Paramount films that will go on exhibit next month at the El Paso Art Museum, there will be a few free play readings.

One play will feature Kathryn Smith-McGlynn, the actress wife of Sean McGlynn, who runs El Paso's Museums and Cultural Affairs Department, and cofounder of a new local theater troupe.

The exhibits "Designing Woman: Edith Head at Paramount" and "Reel Glamour: Jewelry from the Paramount Archive" open July 14 at EPMA.

They're part of the fifth Plaza Classic Film Festival, which returns Aug. 2-12 and will feature appearances by Al Pacino, Eva Marie Saint and Tippi Hedren, along with more than 80 films. Tickets for all events go on sale July 13.

The exhibits, which are free, will be up through Sept. 11.

They include costumes and designs by the eight-time Academy Award winner. The "Reel Glamour" show features jewelry from various films, including crowns Claudette Colbert wore in "The Sign of the Cross," plus items from "Samson and Delilah."

There will be three readings of two plays, Samuel Taylor's "Sabrina Fair" and Tennessee Williams' "This Property Is Condemned," the film versions of which featured Head's creations. The film "Sabrina" will be shown during the festival.

Camilla Carr, a former Hollywood writer and actress, will perform and direct the productions. She's a founder and co-artistic director of El Paso's new Frontera Repertory Theatre Company, which will make its debut with the war-themed "Re-Entry" during Tom Lea Month in October.

Smith-McGlynn is a cofounder of Frontera who has appeared in several stage productions and on network TV, including last year's "Scoundrels" on ABC.

She will be among the cast of readers for "Sabrina Fair," the first act of which will be read at 7 p.m. July 19, the second act at 7 p.m. July 26.

Other cast members include Beth Leffler, Elizabeth  Dahl, her daughter, Leighton Kohloss Dahl, Emily Campion and Carlos de la Garza-Garcia.

"This Property Is Condemned" will be read at 2 p.m. Aug. 5 and will feature actors Alexandra Dipp and Orlando F. Rodriguez.

 

KTEP to air EPSO conductor candidates concerts

It's late June and the 10-member search committee still hasn't announced who the next conductor of the El Paso Symphony Orchestra will be.

In the meantime, you can hear all six candidates' performances when KTEP (88.5 FM) airs recordings of their concerts at 8 p.m.Tuesdays beginning July 3, the day before assistant conductor Andy Moran leads the orchestra in its second "Pop Goes the Fort" free concert at 7:30 p.m. at Fort Bliss' Biggs Park.

Here's the broadcast schedule, including program highlights and the conductor's name:

• July 3 — The September program, with conductor Kenneth Raskin and pianist Michael Gurt in a program that included Saint-Saens' Piano Concerto No. 2 and Mahler's "Titan" symphony.

• July 10 — The October program, with conductor David Handel and guitarist Pepe Romero in a program that included Rodrigo's "Concierto de Aranjuez" and Berlioz's "Fantastic Symphony."

• July 17 — The November program, with conductor Lawrence Loh and pianists the Naughton Sisters in a program that included Mozart's Concerto for Two Pianos and Brahms' second symphony.

• July 24 — The January program, with conductor Michael Butterman and violinists Soovin Kim and Ik-Hwan Bae in a program that included Bach's Concerto for Two Violins in D Minor and Tchaikovsky's Symphony No. 5.

• July 31 — The February program, with conductor Peter Rubardt and violinist Chee-Yun in a program that included the Sibelius Violin Concerto and Dvorak's Ninth Symphony.

• Aug. 7 — The April program, with conductor Mariusz Smolij and cellist Zuill Bailey (of El Paso Pro-Musica) in a program that included Elgar's Cello Concerto in E minor and excerpts from Prokofiev's "Romeo and Juliet."

 

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Theater update: Python, 'Beast,' 'Chicago' for UDT's 30th season

Man, it's hard to believe the UTEP Dinner Theatre will turn 30 this coming season.

Looks like founder-director Greg Taylor and his talented crew plan to celebrate in a big way, a Broadway blockbuster way.

They'll open the season with "Monty Python's Spamalot," Eric Idle's sendup of their "Holy Grail" classic, Oct. 12 through 28.

They'll follow that with "Chicago" Feb. 1-17 and a 30th anniversary edition of "Disney's Beauty and the Beast" April 19 through May 12.

From the looks of it, the UDT folks are expecting those blockbusters to add extra performances to those shows if ticket demand warrants it.

The company will close out its 2012-2013 season next summer with "In the Heights," a 2008 Tony Award winner for Best Musical (and Pulitzer Prize nominee), about three days in the lives of various characters in a Dominican neighborhood in New York.

 

Theater review: 35th annual 'Viva' is lively, but could use some updating

I sent C.B. Goldsmith out to review "Viva! El Paso" on opening night with plans to post his review in this space that weekend and get it in the paper the following week. But I couldn't get either accomplished last week, so I'm posting his review now. It will run in print in our Living section on June 29. "Viva!" continues its 35th annual run through Aug. 12 in the McKelligon Canyon Amphitheater.

By C.B. Goldsmith

I’m a proud El Pasoan, but I never seen “Viva! El Paso" until it opened its 35th season recently.

This gave me the chance to see the show, a musical pageant covering four centuries of our history, with fresh eyes, as if I was an out-of-town visitor.

There is much to love and recommend about this proud and impressive tradition, but there are some problems, too.

The venue, the McKelligon Canyon Amphitheater, is awesome and glorious, beautifully placed amidst the power of our beloved Franklin Mountains on the city's Northeast side. 

The production often uses this natural setting to wonderful effect.

I went opening night a couple of weeks ago. About a third of the amphitheater's 1,500 seats were filled. No programs were available nor did their website have enough current information, so forgive my not singling out some of the individual performances.

Dance drives “Viva! El Paso.” From beginning to end, the dance numbers are mostly highly skilled and spectacularly delivered. The costumes are equally splendid and complement the performers.

Because of the enormity of the stage and canyon backdrop, some of the early numbers — with fewer dancers — were less impressive than they could have been. 

But each time the stage filled with the 52-person cast, one could feel both the power and awe of the gifted performers.

Unfortunately, the sheer size of the massive ravine, boulders and trails behind the stage are a blessing as well as a daunting challenge for the production. 

At times, the show's artistic staff used the generous spaces to full effect, at others the vast landscape overwhelmed the choreography and special effects, diminishing the performances’ power.

In the second act, however, the addition of sets behind the action and the supremacy of the dancers’ returned.

The long, multi-faceted history of El Paso is the glue that connects the show's pieces, including singing and narration. The finest storytelling device is the use of a single tree to connect the dots of our 400-year history, cleverly turning one families’ story into one representing many El Pasoans.

A modern-day bride and her abuela start the story under the tree, and return to it again and again, creating a narrative tracing our evolution from the days when native people roamed to the arrival of the Spanish conquistadors, the coming of the mestizo population, the arrival of the railroad and our Wild West ways.

Regrettably, the book, or story, could use some freshening up. The show uses the same boy-meets-girl, girl’s-family-objects story too often and it gets a bit stale and predictable.

The history “Viva!” presents is lighter than it could be. It could be updated to reflect more modern views of the roles of women, indigenous people and the European invaders played in our history. That could provide more teachable moments for kids.

“Viva!” shined brightest when dancers told the story center stage as singers precisely accentuated that story from the sides of the stage. The familiar “La Bamba” appeared more than once, touching upon our rich border heritage and love for ranchera and Tejano music. But more diverse musical styles would have been nice, as would additional musicians to fill the stage.

Because much of the show’s action takes place on the sides of the stage, the sound opening night could have been a lot better. The sheer size of the venue demands it.

Two early and important scenes involving conquistadors and a church confessional were lost to it. In a production so rich with wonderful lighting, visuals and production values, this deficit was surprising.

There is a lot to like about this. Clearly, the audience on opening night enjoyed seeing our traditions and story played out on the amphitheater stage. It must be intimidating to present a pageant of this size, and importance to the community, every year. There may be a temptation to revise it, but little incentive, given a previous attempt in 2003 proved disastrous.

Seeing “Viva! El Paso” for the first time is both a blessing and a curse. You want to celebrate the past but some changes are needed.

Shortcomings aside, there are several elements that remind us of how powerful and unique our story is, such as when when the missions are illuminated for the first time far up the mountain. I was touched and felt connected to my home in a way I had not expected.

As its talented young cast danced and sang with faces as bright as their costumes, “Viva! El Paso” delivered on its now 35-year-old promise to put us in touch with our past.

Performances are at 8:30 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays, with four Sunday performances  at 7:30 p.m. July 8 and 22 and Aug. 5 and 12, through Aug. 12 at the McKelligon Canyon Amphitheater. Barbecue dinners are served two hours before each performance; call 231-1100 for reservations. Tickets are $18 and $24, $16 and $22 for military and seniors, $14 and $20 for children and groups of 20 or more. Sunday performances are $14, except July 29, a Spanish performance, when they are $18. Tickets are on sale at the box office on performance nights, Ticketmaster outlets, ticketmaster.com and 800.745.3000.

Anniversaries abound as Kansas comes to Street Fest

When you've been around as long as the band Kansas has, the anniversaries start piling up.

The group, which performs June 30 at the 11th annual El Paso Downtown Street Fest (with Candlebox and Blue Oyster Cult), is celebrating the 35th anniversary this year of its blockbuster album "Point of Know Return," and their biggest hit, "Dust in the Wind."

Next year? The band turns 40.

"When you think about how many bands make it to 40 years, it's pretty special," drummer Phil Ehart said by phone recently.

One reason they've made it to 39, he added, is "we just go out there and play and do what we do."

That may be simplifying it a bit.

The rock music landscape was much different when Ehart, violinist Robbie Steinhardt, singer-guitarist Kerry Livgren, guitarist Rich Williams, singer-keyboardist Steve Walsh and bassist Dave Hope started playing a progressive form of rock in 1973.

Expectations, for one thing, were much lower for a fledging band at a time when radio was king, glam rock was coming on, the Rolling Stones and Led Zeppelin dominated and touring had become big business.

"We thought, God, it would be great to have one of our songs on the radio," the 62-year-old Ehart remembered.

After establishing its rep as a solid live band and album-oriented group with its first three albums, Kansas broke out big with 1976's "Leftoverture," which included its first big radio hit, "Carry on Wayward Son."

It was the beginning of a run of platinum-selling albums and headlining tours, not to mention some tensions with singer Walsh, who split briefly during the making of "Point of Know Return," an even bigger album that sold 4 million copies in the U.S. and yielded Kansas' other big hit and classic rock staple, "Dust in the Wind."

What Ehart calls the "revolving door" of membership started turning in the early '80s, as Walsh, Hope, Livgren and Steinhardt packed their bags.

They disbanded altogether in 1984 before regrouping with Ehart, Walsh, Williams, journeyman guitarist Steve Morse (of Dixie Dregs and, later, Deep Purple fame) and new bassist Billy Greer a year later.

A few more have come and gone since then, including Livgren (who left again) and current violinist David Ragsdale, who left a few years later and rejoined a few years ago. The current lineup includes Ehart, Walsh, Williams, Greer and Ragsdale.

The band has perservered well beyond the days when once-powerful record moguls used to try to brainwash groups like Kansas into thinking they'd be nowhere without all that executive muscle.

"The bands are still around but the record companies are gone," Ehart said. "How weird is that?"

The drummer said the band is taking time during its show to acknowledge the role "Point of Know Return" has played in its legacy. The group recently published a book about it, "Dust in the Wind."

He said their motivations may have changed over the years. They still have the passion, he said, still get a kick out of the high of performing. The work ethic is still there — Kansas averages 80 shows a year.

But, Ehart added, there's one other element that , their has kept what started out as "bumpkins who basically knew nothing about the business" going all these years.

"Did we surpass every goal," he asked. "Pretty much, yes. But we're very thankful our fans and everybody that stood with us."

Tickets for the Street Fest are $15 in advance at 7-Eleven Fina stores (and Pic Quiks in Las Cruces), $20 at the gate; $5 for children 12 and under.

 

 

Concert update: Old 97's, Hot Water Music, Margarita Shake-Off, Hellyeah and more

Looks like Tricky Falls will be ratcheting things up for the fall — and late summer.

The club at 209 S. El Paso, part-owned by At the Drive-In's and Sparta's Jim Ward, will host the third stop on  the Old 97's "Too Far to Care" tour on Aug. 26.

The tour is named for the alt-country band's 1997 major label debut, which will be reissued by Omnivore Recordings, a new label devoted to out-of-print titles, in the fall.

"'Too Far to Care' was a magical moment for the 97's," singer Rhett Miller said in a press release announcing the tour and re-release.

Miller will perform with the band, and will open as a solo act. Nashville's Those Darlins and El Paso's the Lusitania also will open.

Tickets are $16 in advance, $20 day of show. They're on sale now at holdmyticket.com and will go on sale July 6 at All That Music & Video, Bowie Feathers (inside Tricky Falls) and Maria's Closet.

The club also has booked Ward's friend and one-time touring mate, Chuck Ragan, and the rest of Hot Water Music on Sept. 27.

The band is touring behind new album, "Exister," which came out last month (they've got a line of watches coming out, too!).

Opening acts have not been determined yet.

Tickets are $15 in advance, $18 day of show. They go on sale at 10 a.m. June 29 at holdmyticket.com, and at 10 a.m. July 6 at All That Music, Bowie Feathers and Maria's Closet.

In other news:

• Bri Bagwell, the Las Cruces native making inroads on the Texas country scene, will headline the free State Line concert series at 8 p.m. today.

She'll be back in the area Aug. 30, when she performs at 9 p.m. at Hurricane Alley in her old hometown.

Chris Baker and Matt Morgan will open.

Tickets are $15 and will go on sale Aug. 14 at the club.

• Yours truly, having developed a taste for margaritas since moving here four years ago, will be one of the judges in the first Margarita Shake-Off at 4 p.m. June 30 at Aceitunas.

Bartenders and mixologists from about a dozen local watering holes (including, I'm told, Cafe Central and the Dome Bar) will vie for bragging rights.

They'll start whipping up their concoctions around 6 p.m., judging at 7, with local band Summary Judgement going on around 8:30 p.m.

Admission is $5 at the door. A portion of the proceeds wil go to the Humane Society of El Paso.

And don't worry. We judges only get a sip from each entry. We don't get to swig 'em.

• El Paso's Bulletproof Tiger marks its return from some tour dates with a show at 10 p.m. June 30 at the Black Market.

The duo is trying to raise money for its first shows in Chihuahua.

Snappy Crotch Kicks (gotta love that name) will open the 21-and-older show.

Cover is $5.

• Tejano singer Shelly Lares is among the headliners for this year's Ysleta Mission Festival, a fundraiser for the historic mission.

She'll top the entertainment bill at 10 p.m. July 13, followed by El Paso's River City Band at 10 p.m. July 14 and local salsa group Sobredosis del Sabor at 8 p.m. July 15.

This year's festival will be 5 p.m. to 1 a.m. July 13, 3 p.m.-1 a.m. July 14 and 3-10 p.m. July 15 at the mission, 131 S. Zaragosa.

Also performing: the Starliners and Grupo Vizion on July 13; Involvidable and We B Fore on July 14; and Guitar Slim with Tito Luja, folklorico and matachine dancers on July 15.

It's free, but there will be plenty of food, cooked by mission family members, cerveza and other beverages for sale.

Funds raised go to the mission's restoration and maintenance.

Go to ysletamission.org for more info.

• Local filmmakers who want their flicks considered for this year's Plaza Classic Film Festival have until June 30 to submit their work.

Selected films will be shown as part of the fifth annual festival's Local Flavor series. This year's festival, which will feature more than 80 films and appearances by Al Pacino, Eva Marie Saint and Tippi Hedren, will be Aug. 2-12.

Tickets will go on sale July 13.

Go to plazaclassic.com for more info on submissions.

• What's an appropriate way to hype the upcoming male stripper movie "Magic Mike"?

Bring some male strippers to town.

That's just what the folks at Warner Bros. will do when they bring Fuego Latino, a regional group of six-pack bearers, to Club 101 at 9 p.m. June 28.

Cover (pun intended) is $5.

Tickets to "Magic Mike," and other prizes, will be handed out that night.

Director Steven Soderbergh's look into the lives of male dancers and their romantic interests stars Channing Tatum, Matthew McConaughey and Olivia Munn. It opens here June 29.

• Austin lo-fi duo Not in the Face, who played here last month for the opening of Wet-n-Wild Waterworld, will return to a drier environment for a July 12 show at the Lowbrow Palace.

The Lowbrow also has added a free show by Thomas Wynn and the Believers on July 30 (it's $3 for those 18 to 20), and a ticketed stop by Saint Motel, with Races on Aug. 6.

Tickets are $8 in advance, $10 at the door; $11 and $13 for 18 to 20 year olds, on sale at All That Music & Video, the Headstand, Hommework, Le Trendy and holdmyticket.com.

• The makeup date for that postponed Hellyeah show is July 27. The band was scheduled to play the KLAQ Balloonfest at Wet-n-Wild last month and had to postpone when its tour bus broke down.

Tickets for the original date will be honored at the makeup date.