On Thursday, October 22, evening, we will be holding a Welcome Banquet, with a light meal at the Desert Botanical Gardens (http://www.dbg.org), a 140 acre collection of arid flora from around the world, started in the 1930s by a Swedish botanist (naturally). For your listening and dancing pleasure, we will be joined by Gertie & the Boyz, a celebrated Waila band. While many associate mariachi music with the broader Sonora area--and rightfully so--Waila represents some of the crossroads of the southwest. It is closely associated with the Tohono O'odham people and draws from a wide range of influences (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chicken_scratch). If your ears are in the mood for more, there are a wide range of opportunities to get out of the conference hotel and listen or dance: 1. "The Book of Mormon" arrives in Phoenix on October 20 at Grady Gammage, a Frank Lloyd Wright-designed theater on the ASU campus. Ticket sales open officially on August 3, but if you go to http://www.asugammage.com/ and use the code INSIDER (because, as AoIR members, what else could define you?) you can get access to the pre-sale. Perhaps unsurprisingly, the pre-sale has nearly sold out for the first week of the show, but there are some seats still available. 2. Maybe you would prefer an Imperial March? On October 25th, the day after the conference, the Phoenix Symphony is playing "Star Wars: The Music." If John Williams is a bit high-brow for you, the night before, they are doing "The Sound of Speed 2," a celebration of music that encourages high velocity, along with a presentation of collectors cars from Barrett Jackson, the world's largest automotive auctioneers: https://phoenixsymphony.org/ 3. Phoenix boasts some great small venues, hosting everything from punk to salsa and all points between and beyond, but the best known is certainly the Crescent Ballroom (http://www.crescentphx.com/). Mudhoney is playing there on the 22th (after our Welcome Banquet!), Toro Y Moi & Astronauts, Etc. is playing on the 23rd, and Flamenco por la Vida (winner of last year's Mayor's Arts Award) plays a free show on the 24th. Gang of Four and Eagles of Death Metal are playing earlier in the week. If you are looking for somewhere cozier to dance you might stop by Char's Has the Blues ( http://www.charshastheblues.com/). 4. Too small? Blues Traveler is playing the 21st, Madonna and Korn are playing on the 22nd (not together--I might pay to see that), Chucho Valdés is playing on the 23rd, and Sufjan Stevens is playing the 25th. 5. The Arizona Jazz Festival (http://www.arizonajazzfestival.com/) runs from the 23rd to the 25th, and features a great line-up of artists. The Nash (http://www.thenash.org/), a nationally recognized jazz venue hasn't posted their October schedule yet. 6. The Musical Instrument Museum (http://mim.org/) is a collection of over 15,000 instruments from around the world, and is the best-rated museum in Phoenix over on TripAdvisor. I know one of the head curators, who is hoping to collect instruments from the only two countries that are missing from their collection. They house the only octobass--and person who can play one--in the western hemisphere. They also have a wonderful live music hall, and during the week of the conference will have concerts by Angèle Dubeau & La Pietà, Peter Asher and Albert Lee, Gypsy Soul, and Te Vaka, covering three continents in a week. 7. On the other end of the spectrum, Organ Stop Pizza ( http://www.organstoppizza.com/) provides entertainment on an old Wurlitzer pipe organ, which powers a large range of instruments along with its pipes. The place claims to serve pizza, but having been a customer of Organ Stop for more than four decades, take it from me: you should not plan to eat here. The organ, however, is quite a bit of fun: mostly for the under six and over sixty crowd, but also for those young/old at heart. But you should register for IR16 before you buy any concert tickets. Earlybird deadline, in case you haven't heard, is AUGUST 1! - Alex -- // Alexander Halavais, Sociologist, Semiologist, and Saboteur Extraordinaire // Associate Professor of Social Technologies, Arizona State University // http://alex.halavais.net/bio @halavais -- // Alexander Halavais, Sociologist, Semiologist, and Saboteur Extraordinaire // Associate Professor of Social Technologies, Arizona State University // http://alex.halavais.net/bio @halavais