Where’s a good drought when you need one? (We kid)

It never rains in San Antonio. But last weekend the 11th Annual International Accordion Festival at La Villita suffered its worst nightmare: water. While the fest was able to get by not without problems on Friday and Saturday, Sunday delivered a mess of Noah’s Ark proportions. The rain started at 3 a.m. and didn’t finally let go until about 4 p.m. After a few cancellations and a schedule rearrangement, the show finally started in the late afternoon and L.A.’s La Santa Cecilia closed the show in style. Fortunately, the festival doesn’t rely solely on a cut of vendor sales, which were decimated on Sunday, to survive. They also receive a share of individual donations to keep them going. So while Sunday’s body blow won’t stop next year’s edition, it’s not making things any easier, either.

Why do I insist on plugging this festival, even now, a week after we gave it a full page of coverage? Because, unlike most festivals that bring the best cheap, mob-pleasing talent available, the Accordion Fest specializes in top-notch international talent in a variety of styles. Plus: it’s free. Let us hope God, Indra, or whoever controls the skies gives the festival a break in 2012. If you want to help, you can send your donation to International Accordion Festival, P.O. Box 39843, San Antonio 78218, or visit internationalaccordionfestival.org.

Meanwhile, if you’re into film, burlesque, freaks, or pole-dancing, chances are you might have seen/heard the Sandworms. The instrumental surf-rock quartet of CJ Von Dagger (guitar), Harvey McLaughlin (organ/guitar), Shirlee Shadows (bass), and Svia Svenlava (drums) work with burlesque troupes such as the Devil Bunnies and lend their music for live performances and films. But it all starts with the music, and this Friday, October 14 at the Korova ($5, 9pm, 107 E Martin, 18 & over), the trio is celebrating the release of Terror at Sunshine Park, their third CD.

“Our shows feature a dark atmosphere with church-like reverb to create ominous soundscapes for the artists to use during their performances,” said Von Dagger, who formed the band in 2007. “The album was created to capture the feel of a twisted, dark traveling carnival freak show while maintaining our core horror surf-rock sound.” See our CD review next week.

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