Some racers are gonna be running like the wind, while others might just sit still and lick their junk. Although there’s no telling what the pint-sized participants in this year’s edition of Chandler’s annual chihuahua races will wind up doing on the race course during Saturday’s competition, we’re absolutely certain…
The mysterious mind of sci-fi fantasy artist John Picacio is a colorful and fantastical place, if not a little bit unusual. The magnificent and madcap landscape populated by devilish sword-wielding demons, fantastical techno-organic creatures, and rocket-propelled primates is the reason that he’s repeatedly consulted to create vibrant illustrations for novels…
The Mayans didn’t screw around when it came to sports. After all, the extinct civilization regularly executed athletes who failed to secure victory on the ancient ball courts of the Mesoamerica. (Talk about the agony of defeat!) Luckily, the participants at this weekend’s Cuervo Games in Old Town Scottsdale won’t…
Dirty dubstep beats, dope dames, and wild times are what you’ll find every Thump Day down at School of Rock in Tempe. The Mill Avenue nightspot is filled with plenty of bass-heavy beats courtesy of such DJs as HavocNdeeD, which shake School of Rock to its very foundation. Club Candids…
It’s time to set the record straight, cabron: Cinco de Mayo is not Mexico’s Independence Day. (That happens in September.) Nor is it considered to be a national holiday for our neighbors to the south. While the Cinco largely includes plenty of culturally oriented celebrations and fiestas for Hispanics (both…
According to comic book lore, Superman is blessed with an enormous arsenal of powers, including heat vision, superhuman strength, and the ability to leap tall buildings. A sense of good timing, however, apparently isn’t in his repertoire. Last week, the iconic DC Comics superhero made headlines when he renounced his U.S…
When news broke last night that vile terrorist Osama Bin Laden had been killed, millions of Americans began celebrating in cities across the nation. In Washington, D.C., thousands gathered in front of the White House to chant and cheer in fervent fashion into the early hours of the morning. Meanwhile, a…
Sometimes the coolest things can by found in the unlikeliest of places. Take the Hobo Joe statue, for instance, in Buckeye. He’s a rather jovial and jaunty figure, and at 25 feet tall, the old-timey vagabond sticks out (in more than one way) from slaughterhouse behind him. Hobo Joe’s a…
Grand Opening @ Open Source Project One of the best places to see and be scene amongst artists and creative types will undoubtedly be the opening night fiesta this evening at Michael Witham and Ryan Gentry’s collaborative art space on University Drive. Debut nights are a big deal for any…
If you’ve never checked out Mantis Claw do his twice-weekly gigs at Kazimierz World Wine Bar, there’s only one opportunity left. Tomorrow night will be the last hurrah for the DJ and local music scene veteran, as he’s about to relocate to the great northwest (more specifically: Eugene, Oregon). We…
If you didn’t make it out to Soundwave Music Festival a few weeks back, we don’t blame you. It was downright freezing as an unseasonably cold storm drenched the entire Valley and kept people away from the outdoor dance music massive in droves. And, man, did they miss out. Those…
Most days you can find Corey Busboom in any of the dozen or so Goodwill locations dotting the Valley. Or perhaps at Savers, or the nearby Salvation Army, or even the Saint Vincent De Paul shops. The 31-year-old artist/musician/scrounger hits up local thrift stores with a vengeance, looking for treasures to…
It’s been a helluva year for Sticky Fingers. The weekly hipster wingding created by William Fucking Reed has hosted plenty of taste-making indie rock, electronica, and DJ acts (Database, Flosstradamus, Pictureplane), changed venues, and helped reinforce the hepcat reputation of Bar Smith, 130 East Washington Street. The night’s one-year anniversary…
According to local legend, ghouls and ghosts are quite the regulars at the Hotel San Carlos. Whether it’s the specter of Leone Jensen (who leapt to her death in 1928) haunting the seventh floor or the spirits of schoolchildren randomly roaming the hallways, the vintage hotel is a hotbed of…
A word to the wise: Gnomish alt-comic Patton Oswalt might be diminutive in stature, but the 5-foot-7 jokester isn’t a pushover by any means. Although he portrayed geekazoid extraordinaire Spencer Olchin on TV’s The King of Queens for nine seasons, and his stand-up sessions overflow with nerdy references aplenty, Oswalt…
Nightlife options have been pretty scarce at CityScape since the downtown Phoenix development opened last year. Sure, you can grab an after-dark drink at Arrogant Butcher or throw some gutterballs at Lucky Strike, but this weekend, you can welcome comedy club Stand Up Live to your agenda. The 600-seat venue,…
Don’t look now, but the Diamondbacks are on the doorstep of their first series sweep of the season. And it’s against one of the best teams in Major League Baseball no less. Arizona beat the Philadelphia Phillies 7-5 last night at Chase Field in the second game of the series…
Don’t be surprised if you find comedian Patton Oswalt thumbing through the bins at Gotham City Comics in downtown Mesa sometime Thursday. Or at nearby Evermore Nevermore checking out the shops’ selection of steampunk gear. After all, the diminutive comedian is a major consumer of nerd culture (and a ginormous comic…
Note: this post has been updated to include up-to-date tour information. If you check out any of the three different Jane’s Walks that will be taking place both in Phoenix and Mesa during the first Saturday in May, you might learn that the first buildings constructed in Sunnyslope in 1911…
The art world has a longtime yen for reinventing some of the more milquetoast mainstays of Americana culture into something unique, hip, and memorable. Knitting used to be the boring pastime of housewives and grandmothers until Stitch ‘n’ Bitch came along almost a decade ago. Ditto for crafting, gardening, or…
Easter weekend is upon us, but there’s more to do than suck down candy and hunt for gifts from invisible bunnies. Much more. David Sedaris is appearing at ASU Gammage, drift racers will be burning rubber down at Firebird International Raceway, and the final Black Pearl Poetry Slam is taking place…
Name: Chris Hernandez AKA: DJ Decipha Best Known For: DJing on 101.5 Jamz Current gigs: Right now I do Fridays at Airia and Saturdays at Lucky Strike. Genres spun: I like old school hip-hop and R&B. Lots of New Jack Swing too, like TLC, SWV, and Jodeci from that era…
