Tucsonan's Cali band returns, Costello sells out Rialto

Tucsonan’s groove pop band returns for show

Oakland, California-based power trio Pistachio — featuring Tucson native Zach Briefer — is cycling back through Tucson, with a gig Thursday, April 7, at Sky Bar, 536 N. Fourth Ave.

The band debuted in Tucson last July, bringing its self-described “nutty groove pop” to Monterey Court.

The encore celebrates the release of Briefer’s debut album “Explorer,” which was recorded in the Chiricahua wilderness in Southeastern Arizona in December 2015. The band, comprised of University of California, Berkley grads, is an old-school rock band, one whose bread is buttered on the road in four-month stretches, hitting small towns and big cities and camping out on BLM land while “rejoicing in the old-fashioned model of a working band,” the band said in a written note.

The trio joins Tucson bands White Fuzzy Bloodbath and Periscope for Thursday’s 21-and-old show at Sky Bar. Admission is free and the show gets started at 9 p.m. Details: skybartucson.com

Tucson is the first of three Arizona shows for Pistachio, which also will play a gig in Phoenix and one in Flagstaff this weekend before zipping off to New Mexico, Dallas and points farther South.

Three reasons why we hate to miss Costello

Back in December when tickets went on sale for rocker Elvis Costello’s April 9 show at Rialto Theatre, we warned you not to dawdle.

Tickets sold out in days — possibly hours — and for good reason: As far as anyone can tell, Costello’s show at the Rialto, 318 E. Congress St., might be his first in Tucson since the 1970s.

And this promises to be one for the ages. It’s called “Detour” and it does just that — takes us on a journey along roads less traveled by the 61-year-old London native.

Here are three reasons why we wish we had gotten tickets to his show at 8 p.m. Saturday, April 9.

Intimate and up close: OK, so probably not living room close, but “Detour” is billed as an intimate show with multimedia elements. A screen on stage will flash family photos, those really great black and white ones, along with — we’re assuming and hoping — pictures of a young Elvis Costello with guitar slung over his shoulder in his early days.
The songs: It’s a safe bet “Alison” will come with a great story, and he might cast “Shipbuilding” against the tide of today’s terrorism-gripped world. We also hope “Radio Radio” and “Every Day I Write The Book” will get some good play.
Being part of Tucson music history: Let’s face it, if Elvis Costello waited this long to play Tucson, he won’t exactly rush back the next time he circles toward our general direction. This quite literally could prove to be a once-in-a-lifetime chance.