Record Heat: Comicon Blues by Brad Dwyer

See also: Vixens and Sexy Super-heroine Nerdettes of Phoenix Comicon 2012 Once a year, the nerds unite and take over. Phoenix Comicon can be exhausting (there are only so many back issues and vintage clamshells you can look over), but it’s worth the effort for the people-watching alone. Wonder if…

Happy Memorial Day, Everyone

Hey, friends, we’re taking it easy today in honor of Memorial Day. Enjoy our weekend wrap-up and our favorite May party shots (you write the caption). We’ll be back in full force tomorrow. Enjoy your day and try and reflect a little on what exactly earned us the day off…

Nadia Ali and Ladylike Over the Weekend

Ladylike at Crescent Ballroom In this week’s music feature the men of Ladylike, the Tempe-based pop combo that packed Crescent Ballroom last night, discussed the difference between a live show and a recording, noting that limiting their approach in the studio in favor of their live setting only hampers both…

Ladylike, Crescent Ballroom, 5/25/12 (Video)

Ladylike, Factories, Gospel Claws, Steff Koeppen and The Articles Crescent Ballroom Friday, May 25, 2012 See also: Ladylike Approaches ’70s Pop With Sharp Tools In this week’s music feature the men of Ladylike, the Tempe-based pop combo that packed Crescent Ballroom last night, discussed the difference between a live show…

Ladylike Says the Honeymoon Is Over

See also: Ladylike Approaches ’70s Pop With Sharpened Tools Records don’t often sound as effortless as Ladylike’s self-titled debut. The Tempe-based power-pop combo subtly incorporates disparate elements of ’70s pop, piano rock, and Queen bombast, topping it all off with effervescent melodies. The band, made up of Rob Kroehler, Ryan…

Download: Dead Eyes of London’s Strutting “You’re My Queen”

See also: Dead Eyes of London Aim For Loose Grooves In this week’s issue of New Times, Lauren Wise speaks with modern-rockers-turned-retro-garage-soul fetishists Dead Eyes of London. “[Our music is for] the fan that has listened to punk rock and matured,” guitarist Chan Vallarino says. “[It’s] heavy and darkly romantic…

From Print: Blogs Teased in Our May 24 Issue

This week, New Times ran a list in our print publication highlighting some of the most interesting posts published at Up On The Sun over the past week. Here are links to those posts. What are deceased Bee Gee Robin Gibb’s best songs? How does Ian Astbury of The Cult…

Ladylike Approaches ’70s Pop With Sharpened Tools

Free online music service Spotify has plenty of fans (and nearly as many vocal detractors) but let’s stick to the facts. According to the music library, Ladylike is a “rock-oriented version of The Pussycat Dolls,” a “contemporary girl group comprised of four striking vocalists.” Below the description, you can listen…

Bill Horist @ Trunk Space

“I’m not of the ‘avant-garde über alles’ mindset,” guitarist Bill Horist says on the phone from Seattle, where he’s lived and launched tours since 1995. “I like all kinds of music. People say they like all kinds of music, and sometimes they do, sometimes they don’t. I like a lot…

Reggie Watts @ Crescent Ballroom

Don’t worry if you have trouble categorizing what exactly Brooklyn-based artist Reggie Watts does. Is it performance art? Music? Comedy? It’s mostly best to just listen. “I can exist in both worlds — comedy and music,” Watts says over the phone. “It’s just something natural. I like to travel between…

Ear Candy Teams With Scottsdale Leadership

Valley charity Ear Candy — which gets instruments out of closets and sheds and into the hands of Arizona school kids — has teamed up with some notable names. Like the dance party residents at Sticky Fingers, for example, or local indie-poppers Bears of Manitou, and AOR kings Blue Öyster…

Record Heat: Minibosses at Bookmans in Mesa by Brad Dwyer

See also: Three Nerd Concerts to Celebrate Phoenix Comicon A lot of the time, I open Record Heat with some flimsy parallel between the world of comics and music — worlds that have been well connected forever, from Crumb’s brilliantly scuzzy album covers to Adrian Tomine’s classic Weezer poster to…

Spiritualized, Crescent Ballroom, 5/19/12

Spiritualized Crescent Ballroom Saturday, May 19 See also: Spiritualized’s Jason Pierce on Sweet Heart Sweet Light See also: Spiritualized’s Jason Pierce on How Amazing The Liver Is J. Spaceman didn’t say a word to the crowd. No small talk, no nervous chatter. Wearing a white tee and white jeans, with…

From Print: Blogs Teased in Our May 17 Issue

​This week, New Times ran a list in our print publication highlighting some of the most interesting posts published at Up On The Sun over the past week. Here are links to those posts. Ever wonder what’s acceptable in a mosh pit? We discuss. How did Chilean MC Ana Tijoux…

Sparta @ Crescent Ballroom

When famed post-hardcore/art-rock spazz combo At the Drive-In broke up in 2001, the lines were clearly drawn. Vocalist Cedric Bixler-Zavala and Omar Rodriguez-Lopez (the two with afros) took off for the cosmos with The Mars Volta, while the rhythm section of bassist Paul Hinojos, drummer Tony Hajjar, and guitarist Jim…

MC Trap Taps ’80s Drama and Real Life in Equal Measure

In 2008, NBC tried to reboot the legendary ’80s program Knight Rider, casting Justin Bruening as the son of David Hasselhoff’s Michael Knight, and casting Val Kilmer as the voice of KITT, a hyper-intelligent car. Ty Patterson — the Phoenix-based MC who raps as Trap — was not onboard with…