Sound Impressions

By Robert Breckenridge and Noah Lopez
Arizona Daily Wildcat
April 24, 1996


Arizona Daily Wildcat

Davie Allan and the Arrows

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Once again, there is a host of shows for the avid music fan to check out this weekend. Here's an advance look at some of them.

Davie Allan and The Arrows, with Al Perry & The Cattle, and Helldriver
9 p.m. tomorrow at Club Congress
$5 advance, $7 day of show

Davie Allan ranks among the heroes of instrumental guitar rock. Alongside Link Wray, The Ventures and Duane Eddy, Davie Allan is a master of squeezing twangy, squealing and roaring sounds from his guitar. Far surpassing the warmed-over sounds of the recently revived Dick Dale, Davie Allan has a style that clearly symbolizes sleaze and raunch - without putting on an outlaw facade (a la Deadbolt).

Allan's band, The Arrows, released three albums, but is more well known for its soundtrack work in the late 1960s. The Arrows were lucky enough to be offered the soundtrack job for Roger Corman's 1966 biker flick "Wild Angels," and the pairing created a movement- the soundtrack was popular enough to spawn a top 40 hit (the often covered "Blue's Theme"), and the movie itself led to a spate of imitators, thus keeping the Arrows busy for the next five years. All told, the Arrows created over 20 soundtracks in this period, not including numbers of uncredited appearances on other projects.

Despite the prolific output of Allan and the Arrows, much of their work remains incredibly hard to find, leaving Allan's legacy of fuzzed-out psychedelic rock in question. Recent years have found Allan moonlighting as a side man and only recently has he begun to return to performing his own songs as an identifiable touring outfit. This show is likely to be one of the stellar rock events for quite a while, and is a highly recommended $7 expenditure.

Opening acts Al Perry and the Cattle are sure to provide a set of country-flavored rock songs, while Helldriver will display its hard-edged, soulless heart of rock-and-roll.

Masters of Celtic Fiddle: Natalie MacMaster, Brian McNeill, Martin Hayes
tonight at 8
Berger Performing Arts Center, $12 ($2 off for students)

Three of the finest fiddle players in Celtic music come to Tucson tonight, performing from three different Celtic traditions.

Brian McNeill, a veteran of the renowned Battlefield Band, throws a variation of slow airs and breakneck jigs and reels from Scotland into the group's mix, bringing with him more than 20 years of performing experience as well. The Irish toolings of Martin Hayes, however, are steeped in the older generations of musicians in his native locality of east County Clare, a part of Ireland known for its slow lyrical sound that colors Hayes' richly ornamental sound. Natalie MacMaster, a talented entertainer from Cape Breton, combines strong, passionate vocals with a dynamic playing style and an energetic step dance for a true visual and aural treat.

Each fiddler will play a set before coming together as a trio for a grand finale.

Judy Small
tonight at 7:30
Southwest Center for the Performing Arts, $10

The lesbian folk singer Judy Small brings her sensitive songs about women's lives and concerns to the Southwest Center for the Performing Arts tonight.

Small, a roly-poly Australian vocal powerhouse who also performed at the Beijing Women's Conference, says she's not a women's singer, but rather a political singer who sings about women's issues. In her off time, Small also puts in time as a lawyer and professor in her home country, and the small gathering tonight should be a relaxed, homey environment. There's even a potluck at 6:30 p.m., before the show.

Saffire-the Uppity Blues Women
tomorrow at 8 p.m.
Berger Performing Arts Center, $18

The Virginia-based acoustic blues trio and Alligator recording artists Saffire return for a witty, bawdy performance tomorrow night. The group is touring behind its fourth Alligator album, Old, New, Borrowed & Blue, a strange concoction of boogie woogie piano, blues guitar, harmonica, mandolin and the trio's powerful singing.

Saffire has played Tucson frequently in the past few years, never failing to wow audiences with its offbeat, women friendly humor and bluesful tunings.

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