Nate Adams blasts the engine of his Yamaha YZ 250 motorbike to nearly 10,000 RPMs, assaulting spectators with a machine-gun-like staccato and fresh dirt, which explodes from underneath his tires. He launches himself into a death-defying back flip, wraps his legs around his arms above the handlebars in midair, and…
Sat 6/12 An old Sesame Street ditty (“One of these things is not like the others . . .”) will prove useful this Saturday, June 12, when Hamburger Mary’s hosts the AIDS Walk Arizona Launch party at 5111 North Seventh Street. The myriad events at the fund raiser include Chelle’s…
Fri 6/11 If genetic soda jerks made a milk shake of Allen Ginsberg’s, Baxter Black’s and George Carlin’s DNA, they’d get JL Reed — beatnik, cowboy, social critic — who appears from 8 to 10 p.m. Friday, June 11, at the Trunk Space, a First Friday stop on Grand Avenue’s…
6/3-6/6 George Balanchine once opined, “In my ballets, woman is first. . . . They are not equal to men: They are better.” Well, the old Russki would be proud, as Ballet Arizona’s celebration of the legendary choreographer’s 100th birthday spotlights women — one woman, to be exact: Yen-Li Chen-Zhang…
6/4-6/6 Attention mortals: Steer clear of Chandler this weekend, as the suburb will be overrun by vampires, werewolves and similar hellspawn . . . at least in the minds of the perverse playmakers at Tinhare 2004. Put away the pitchforks and hang up on Buffy and Willow, because the gathering…
Fri 5/28 “We have acrylics, oils, photography from color [to] black and white,” says Jessica Jordan, manager and part-owner of Tempe’s Wet Paint Art Supply & Gallery. “Basically, if it comes through my door, I’ll put it on my wall.” Wet Paint is the ultimate transvestite. By day, it’s an…
Zac Barnholdt isn’t shy about his favorite pastime. “It’s really fun shooting people,” he says. “It’s very exciting, with the adrenaline rush and all. I mean, there’s nothing better than hunting humans.” Don’t worry — the soft-spoken Phoenix resident (it’s always the quiet ones) won’t be rolling through your neighborhood…
Diana Taurasi stands flush with victory in the Phoenix Mercury locker room, fielding softball questions from local sports journos quizzing her on her golf game and how she’s dealing with the triple-digit temps. Finally, they pop the question that’s been dogging the six-foot phenom since she was the first pick…
Thu 5/20 Remember when the motorcycle was the ultimate symbol of outsider rebellion? Those who’ve grown up with a perception of the motorcycle as only slightly less threatening than the Toyota Corolla might be surprised to know that, once upon a time, bikes and those who rode them were actually…
5/13-6/25 Being the hard-core culture warriors we are, we’ve considered joining the annual pilgrimage of peculiars to Burning Man in Nevada. But roasting in 127 degrees at the late-August mecca of eccentricity is daunting. We’re down with the bohemian spirit, but not a killer case of heatstroke. We’re more than…
Sat 5/8 There is a place for those who yearn for blue-collar intellectualism, pale-skinned nymphs, and the melancholic moodiness of Morrissey. And it isn’t 6,000 miles across the Atlantic, thanks to “Trash!”, a new monthly event at The Clubhouse, 1320 East Broadway in Tempe. To kick off its homage to…
If you know Donato Giancola, you might find your likeness in the unlikeliest of places — immortalized on bookshelves or idolized by millions of geeks the world over. The renowned sci-fi and fantasy artist, a guest of honor at this weekend’s LepreCon 30, taps both friends and family members as…
4/29-5/23 When Icarus donned wings to reach the sun, the gods rewarded his boldness by throwing him back to earth. Varekai, the latest incarnation of the famed Cirque du Soleil, reveals what happens when he lands. The word “varekai” (ver•ay•’kie) means “wherever” in the language of the Gypsies. Based on…
Sat 5/1 In a battle for Valley skateboard supremacy, who’s shredding who this Saturday, May 1, when two of the state’s newer skate parks — in Chandler and Glendale — host their first contests? If you’re looking for humility, don’t ask CJ Cowie of Industrial Skate & Boards, co-sponsor of…
4/22-4/24 Don’t expect Jose Gonzalez to dismiss the unflattering perception of young improvisers like himself — that is, those melodramatic, overly extroverted speech and debate geeks whom Broadway will never acknowledge. “Oh, we’re all that and more!” proclaims Gonzalez, a 26-year-old member of local improv troupe Galapagos. “I sympathize with…
Fri 4/23 “I don’t want the audience to blink,” says Hodgie Jo, artistic director for Imation Dance Company, “not even once, throughout my show.” It’s a stiff mandate, but one he just might pull off. The debut performance of his modern jazz dance company, Footsteps, is an amalgam of Cirque…
Wed 4/21 “I prefer to write plays that fuck with the audience’s mind on the drive home afterwards,” says Chris Danowski, writer of ApoCalypso, Theater in My Basement’s latest surrealistic production. “I know when I see a play, I like to be bombarded with a lot of ideas, emotions and…
Tonight’s Red Bull Thre3Style showdown is being touted as a “battle of the best of the best.” And that ain’t just a marketing slogan.Eight of Phoenix’s most premier DJs are gonna to fire up their laptops and fire off their pimpest remixes at the Venue Scottsdale tonight for both the…
4/1-4/2 East and West, past and future . . . Desert Dance Theatre and New York’s H.T. Chen & Dancers prance across cultural and spatial divides in Looking Back, Dancing Forward. The bridge has largely been one of incorporation. Think modern dance peppered with hints of classical Chinese dance and…
Sun 2/29 Face it — the invite to Sunday’s 76th Academy Awards wasn’t lost in the mail. So instead of spending a king’s ransom on Vera Wang couture or an Armani tux in hopes of sneaking in, better go with Plan B. The Oscar Night America Gala at the Ritz-Carlton…
These aren’t your usual bunch of tossers. No, the muscular men and women who’ll descend on the Valley this weekend for the 40th Annual Highland Games won’t be heaving heavy objects just for the hell of it — they’ll be doing it for Gaelic guts ‘n’ glory, and maybe some…
Greasy food and cheesy tchotchkes are staples of almost any Valley festival. But the Rathayatra Parade and Festival in Tempe on Saturday, February 14, promises something a bit different — a chance to touch the ethereal plane. Such spiritual transcendence comes by way of pulling a towering, 20-foot-high, crimson-domed, garland-anointed…
