George Strait at US Airways Center Wow, I truly underestimated the amount of country fans in Arizona. Rising to their feet for the only and only “King of Country,” George Strait walked onto the stage and the crowd went crazy. They whistled so loud that my ears continue to ring…
Brad Dwyer, who writes and draws our weekly comic strip, Record Heat, has had a hell of a week. Dwyer was hospitalized last week on Wednesday due to complications involving his asthma. Dwyer is doing okay — though keeping him in your thoughts or wishing him well certainly wouldn’t hurt…
William “Fucking” ReedWelcome to Pop Quiz, a new recurring series where we sit down notable folks about town and force them to take a geeky pop culture test. Today we feature electronic maven William Fucking Reed. Look out First Friday — Sticky Fingers, the weekly electronic bash that goes down…
It’s official, folks: Emo is cool again. Don’t believe me? Listen to “Fall In,” the third track on the highly buzzed about Attack On Memory from Cloud Nothings. The song is straight out of the late ’90s/early ‘aughts emo playbook: Strained vocals, frantic drums, and the kind of guitar tone…
Philadelphia indie-rockers Dr. Dog are an interesting bunch. Able to appeal as much to granola crunching jam-banders and Urban Outiftted indie kids, the band’s new record Be The Void (due out on ANTI Records on Tuesday, February, 7) finds them returning to the freewheeling looseness of their early work, aided…
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 does James Fella of Gilgongo Records think of songs from Nathaniel Nichols, Seas Will Rise,…
It’s hard to make a comeback, but it helps if you went out on a high note. Ignoring a digital-only EP in 2005, The Jealous Sound’s last big blast of noise was Kill Them with Kindness (2003). And what a blast it was — the swaggering, confident sound of emo…
We’re knee deep in finishing up our 100 Greatest Songs of Arizona list (to be released next week). It’s been a lot of fun digging through Arizona’s musical past and present, and also pretty mind blowing to realize the contributions Arizona’s artists have made to America’s musical culture as a…
I’ve never spent any time in Philadelphia, but I feel as if I have. Two of my favorite records of 2011, Kurt Vile’s Smoke Ring for My Halo and War on Drugs’ Slave Ambient both came from the town, sharing a blue-collar yet still out-there aesthetic. Adding the works of…
You know, if Coachella didn’t sell out in record time, I’d argue that a lot of Phoenicians wouldn’t really need to head out to Indio to catch some big-time shows. M.Ward and fIREHOSE? Coming to Phoenix. Florence and the Machine? Coming to Phoenix. At the Drive In, Refused, Godspeed You…
Heard the news? Jack White is coming out with a solo album. If first single “Love Interruption,” is any indication, Blunderbuss will be loaded with fluttering woodwinds, electric piano, and White in full-tilt gospel mode. It’s pretty good — I mean, not quite as daring as that ICP collab –…
One of our favorite Kickstarter success stories was last year’s Unite and Take Over, a graphic collection of songs inspired by the lyrics of The Smiths. Editor and writer Shawn Demumbrum took to the crowd-funding site to raise the $3,000 needed to press the comic. It worked. The book debuted…
Citizen Cope at Marquee Theatre I’ve been to more exciting Citizen Cope shows over the past few years, but last night’s solo acoustic gig was still a tight show for different reasons than I’m used to. Clarence Greenwood sounds fabulous when he plays with his band, but he held his…
Here’s to “intentionally flowery-bullshit.” In this week’s installment of Record Heat, Brad Dwyer remembers the urge to push to the front of the crowd and dance at a show. In light of our “Don’t Be an Asshole or: A Few Words On The Subject of Concert Etiquette,” it’s important to…
They Might Be Giants Marquee Theatre Sunday, January 29, 2012 How many F-bombs can you drop in a PG-13 movie? Is it one? Two? However many, last night’s They Might Be Giants show certainly earned its 14-and-over “rating,” with the “Johns,” Flansburgh and Linnell, peppering their set with colorful language…
Sundown Showdown IV (Night Two): TOAD, Sleep Money, Destruction Unit, Radio Moscow, Graveyard Yucca Tap Room Friday, January 27 See the full Sundown Showdown slideshow here. Let’s contrast, for a minute: During opening band TOAD’s (it’s an acronym: Take Over and Destroy) second song, “Midnight Hunger,” a few straggling Yucca…
Welcome to the latest installment of our weekly feature, Sound Off, in which Jason P. Woodbury is joined by a different guest each week to listen to and discuss three tracks from local Phoenix artists. If you would like your songs to be considered for future Sound Off columns, please…
Okay folks, start ‘yer engines: It’s looking to be a pretty good weekend for music in the Valley of the Sun. You’ve got a lot of choices to make. Do you want to take in the hippie-dippy good vibes of Citizen Cope? The anything goes, doom metal-to-psych punk Sundown Showdown…
Hey, I know we already did an Incoming Concerts post this week, but I’m getting drowned in show announcements here at UOTS HQ. So let’s dive in: The rap collective Odd Future head back to Marquee Theatre on Friday, March 9. Will the crew sell the joint out again? Will…
In this week’s issue, we take a look at the rise of Phoenix rapper Mouse Powell. He’s new on the scene, only releasing his debut full-length Where It’s Cloudy late last November, but he’s quickly made a mark on the scene. This weekend he brings his laidback, jazzy sound to…
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 happens when a good show is ruined by asshole audiences? Who is playing New Times’…
Even if you don’t go, it’s fun to read people’s bitchy reactions to each year’s Coachella lineup. Said lineup could feature a resurrected John Lennon, Kurt Cobain, Ian Curtis, and Keith Moon jamming Leadbelly covers on the main stage and, still, someone would complain. (“It’s not as good as last…
