Tucson, AZ

We were all saddened to hear that after 10 years of hosting the “Locals Only” segment featuring local music from the Tucson community, Don Jennings was ending his tenure at KXCI radio. To give him a proper send off, his final show, a free Chango Malo performance, was to be recorded live at Club Congress. Friends and I converged for this early show on a Sunday evening.

It always feels a little strange to be at Congress during the daylight, but it was a refreshing change of pace to sit on the patio outside the Tap Room enjoying the cool evening air and chatting while we were waiting for the band to set up.

Around 8:00pm, the band was ready to play. We changed locations from the patio to the stage inside the club. The dance floor, typically host to some late-night booty-shaking, was filled partially with tables and chairs for those who preferred to enjoy the performance sitting down. We moved to front of the stage, with plenty room to move around under the blast of fans and swamp coolers. The performance this night included members of the local band The Jons, contributing their horns to the mix, as well as a special appearance by Al Perry, who had written a special song of appreciation for Don. Applause and cheers filled the air for our soon-to-be-missed deejay and at the end of the performance there was hardly a dry eye in the joint.

Another band was slated to play after Chango Malo, so we migrated to the Tap Room (one the five bars at the Hotel Congress) to be able to chat without shouting over the band. There, we socialized and snapped pictures together. My friend Nikki was getting hungry and was lucky enough to put an order in for a cheeseburger from hotel restaurant, The Cup Cafe, before their kitchen closed at 10:00pm. Once her order was ready, we made our way through the bar to parking lot, with plans to attend the “Locals Only” CD release party at Plush later in the week. As I walked to my car, parked in the lot just east of the Rialto Theatre, I mused over the fact that I was heading home from a night at Club Congress at a reasonable hour, a rarity!

For more information about Club Congress and upcoming performances slated for the historic venue, visit http://www.hotelcongress.com. For more information about local community radio visit http://www.kxci.org.