February 25, 2013

double header concert weekend in downtown tucson. ra ra riot + the xx.

last weekend had all the ingredients for the making of a fantastic weekend. and that it was.
downtown tucson + hotel congress (where we met) + two stellar bands + the rialto… amaze.
a few months ago, i saw that both Ra Ra Riot and The xx (two of d’s favorite bands that i’ve seen live, but he hasn’t) were going to be playing back-to-back nights at Club Congress and The Rialto – i jumped on tickets and booked a room at the Hotel Congress, the place we met but have never stayed.
like all things you plan in advance, the weekend totally snuck up on us. we woke up saturday morning, threw some things in a bag and off we went. it’s just an hour and a half south, but felt like such a mini vacation. i highly recommend you spend a weekend in downtown Tucson. stay at the Hotel Congress and you won’t have to get in your car all weekend. all the great restaurants, bars, music venues and coffee shops are within walking distance. we were so impressed and felt like we were in a mini portland or something. it was nice to avoid the dreaded “sunday night” feeling of vacay by staying thru sunday night and just waking up early on monday, grabbing coffee and driving to work straight from there. here’s a glimpse into our weekend in one of the desert’s hippest downtowns.
downtown t-town as seen from the highway.
soakin’ up the february patio weather.
the bar and lobby at the hotel congress.
first snack of the day. $5 happy hour eats.
i think this in-between brunette is going to stay longer than anticipated.
“the playgound” – a restaurant / club / bar in downtown tucson
inside “the playground” bar
the hotel congress.


the hip place to be in downtown tucson. lots of live music. cool people. tasty cocktails.

the band – ra ra riot – in the teeny club congress. the poor things looked exhausted. it was good, not great.
the first time i saw Ra Ra Riot here.
my concert view.
day #2: breakfast of champions
exploring downtown tucson
such a funky little desert town.
so close to the border… and it shows.
fantastic corner side coffee shop / wine bar called “Sparkroot” kitty corner from Hotel Congress.
our view from sparkroot’s community table.
ting filming his first “Vine” video at Sparkroot.
yup! we’re now on vine – follow along.
what’s Vine? it’s a new app. like Instagram but for 6-second looping videos.
get creative and follow along: @teribockting & @dancendan
so. much. construction.
but so worth it — downtown is definitely coming along.
thanks to social media, erinn and john saw that we were also in tucson so the four of us connected for drinks at hotel congress and super fun (& tasty) dinner at 47 Scott before The xx show.
the line for The xx outside of The Rialto as seen from our hotel room at the Hotel Congress.
super stoked for The xx.
erinn, a happy concert pal!
for The xx we opted for balcony seats and they did not disappoint. the xx is pretty dark and we were unsure how they’d translate to a concert. it. was. amazing. probably one of the better shows we’ve seen in a while. you could hear and feel each note they played – super crisp and clear – and the lights were perfectly choreographed to the music to give the show the drama it needed. fantastic. it was the very last stop on the band’s tour and the tucson crowd was super into it. everyone, including the band members, were feeding off the energy. we didn’t want it to end.
outside patio at the rialto.
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