A rolled taco is a happy taco.
There are two possible responses to Phoenix’s extreme summer heat, after one eliminates the option of staying indoors with fruit-infused mixed drinks poured over copious quantities of ice. Seek shade or seek the underbelly of Phoenix civilization. The latter won’t actually be any cooler, but it doesn’t require wasting a shower or a fancy outfit on the experience of being choked by heat and dust.
So I headed south, in the manner of a migratory bird with a faulty datebook, to see what lay between the Salt River and South Mountain. The intersection of barrio, suburbia, farmland, and the mountain fortifications of the wealthy seems to belong to another world.
The current temperature makes it a no-brainer to start the Daytrotter accompaniment with Canadian dance-punk band Hot Hot Heat (official site). The band started as hardcore, but, y’know, stuff happens. And that applies to development south of the Salt River, too. Buckle up and come along.
Read the rest of this entry »
