By Benjamin Leatherman Since the global retail industry has decided in it’s great wisdom that the day after Halloween is the official starting point for the annual Christmas season, we feel it’s our duty to inform the public of the following: You’ve only got 43 shopping days left to track…
By Benjamin Leatherman The Vegetarian House in east Phoenix: part restaurant, part temple. (Courtesy of VegGuide). Everybody deserves a second chance. Case in point: In 1999, my sister — who was at the time a hardcore vegetarian — treated me to dinner at the Vegetarian House (3239 East Indian School…
The Fell City Shouts are scheduled to perform tonight at the The Lost Leaf. Tonight’s the monthly First Friday art walk in downtown Phoenix, and — as always — we’ve put together a list of some of the musical and performers who’ll be doing their thing along Grand Avenue and…
By Benjamin Leatherman The Dirty Heads are scheduled to perform tonight at the Clubhouse Music Venue in Tempe. It’s been three days since President-elect Barack Obama made his historic ascension to the White House and we’re certain man of you still feel like celebrating (well, at least 44 percent of…
By Benjamin Leatherman The beat-spitting boys of Silver Medallion: Oren J. (left) and Carnegie. Oren J. and Carnegie have seen their fair share of excess going down in Scottsdale. Whether its chicas and dudes getting it on in the darkened corners of nightclubs or big ballas rolling around in their…
Back in the day (read: a few years ago), it would’ve been unwise to give Pete Didonato any lip when he was working the mixers. Chances are the fierce-looking former bouncer might’ve answered back with his fists. “My temper got the best of me back then and people usually got…
By Benjamin Leatherman Hip-hop, R&B, and other urban jams have always been big sellers at Circles Records & Tapes, 800 North Central Avenue. So it’s only natural a majority of the shop’s top 10 best-selling albums for this week are chartbusters from those genres. For instance, the No. 1 album…
By Benjamin Leatherman Governor Janet Napolitano began ecstatically cheering, clapping, and dishing out high-fives mere moments after CNN announced that Barack Obama will be the next president of the United States. Napolitano was in attendance at a packed Democratic Party rally at the Wyndham Hotel in downtown Phoenix amidst hundreds…
By Benjamin Leatherman The four-inch version of the “Majik Mushroom.” I’m not a pothead. In fact, I’ve never tried grass in my life. Ever. Not even once. Now don’t go thinking I’m sort of stodgy, anti-drug fundamentalist. Some of my best friends in the world smoke the reefer (including one…
By Benjamin Leatherman Saturday night is your last chance ever to get assaulted by E.T.T.S. I deal with a crapload of local bands as Clubs Editor for the Phoenix New Times. Each and every week I sift through hundreds of web pages, flyers, and e-mails in the process of assembling…
Hoobastank is scheduled to perform tonight at the Tempe Marketplace. There’s no shortage of cool shit to do aound the Valley this weekend. Besides all the usual concerts and music events happenings over the next 48 hours, there’s also the added mayhem of Halloween. (Click here for our annual guide…
By Benjamin Leatherman The brothers Calabrese have a rather vampish video they wanna show you. After weeks upon weeks of seemingly endless hype, the wait is paractically over. The big day is almost here, and no longer will we have to endure scary tales of doom and gloom that are…
We aren’t allowed to tell you about Dagger Deathrace II. In fact, organizers would probably prefer it if you weren’t reading this, particularly if you’re a po-po. Why? Because DDR is a crazy-ass underground urban bicycle race (a.k.a. an “alleycat”) that will take to the streets on Friday, October 31…
Oppressed smokers of the Valley, cheer up: Dave Attell feels your pain. Whether surviving a smoking ban or forking over a fiver to satisfy a nic fit, the 43-year-old comedian, who lights up the Tempe Improv this weekend, is familiar with the trials and tribulations of tobacco use. “In New…
We were watching The Daily Show the other night when the comedy/news program’s corespondents screamed into the camera “Just End It!” And frankly, we’re inclined to agree. Witnessing this year’s race for the White House unfold is kind of like watching your favorite team in the seventh game of the…
Stephen Strange should teach a class in time management. Not only does the local freakazoid co-produce the hilariously whacked Television Noir, but he also performs with the Strange Family Circus, raises his two daughters, and organizes the Phoenix Annual Parade of the Arts (a.k.a. PAPA). And he does it well,…
As any 18- to 21-year-old will probably tell you, our fair city is in serious need of places where underage types can party. The folks behind The Spot at Johnny’s Uptown, 40 East Camelback Road, must’ve thought so, too, as they’ve launched a weekly after-hours shindig that’s sure to pack…
We’re mere days away from one of the most important elections of our lifetime and it seems like peeps on either side of the race for the White House (be they supporters of McCain or Obama) are pulling out all the stops. For instance, the PHX’s hip-hop scene is putting…
When it comes to hip-hop, it doesn’t get any more old-school than KRS-One. The 43-year-old MC is an icon and living legend who’s spent the past two decades educating many rhyme-spitting rappers on coming correct. He’s had particular influence on PHX artists, including a recent collaboration with Cut Throat Logic…
When it comes to hip-hop, it doesn’t get any more old-school than KRS-One. The 43-year-old MC is an icon and living legend who’s spent the past two decades educating many rhyme-spitting rappers on coming correct. He’s had particular influence on PHX artists, including a recent collaboration with Cut Throat Logic…
Life’s been pretty damn scary lately. Between the double-fisted drama of the über-contentious race for the White House and the roller coaster stock market, we’ve been hoping this is all just some titanically bad nightmare everyone’s gonna wake up from. Needless to say, some letting loose is most definitely in…
By Benjamin Leatherman The oh-so-spicy “Buffalo ’66” wrap. I’ve got a somewhat scandalous confession to make. While I’m 100 percent heterosexual, I freely admit to having something of a man-crush on Damon Brasch. You can’t blame me, since the thirtysomething chef/restaurateur is the pimpest cat in the Valley’s vegetarian/vegan scene…
