iTunes is selling Sam Means’ excellent solo debut, the soundtrack for indie flick The Sinking of Santa Isabel, for only $1.99 through the end of the month.The former Format co-frontman (along with Nate Ruess, who now fronts fun.) did the record for a filmmaker friend and it’s mostly instrumental. It’s also…
I really wanted this column to be about the best local records of 2009 — that’s what I did last year around this time, putting bands like Kinch, Miniature Tigers, and The Loveblisters on the top of a very solid list of albums from 2008. Sadly, I couldn’t manage such…
We don’t normally cover tribute bands here at Up on the Sun, but from time to time there’s an act that’s so stellar it breaks through to capture our attention. Purple Reign, a Vegas-based show which comes to Casino Arizona this weekend, is such an an act. We’ve got a…
Maybe it’s the karaoke. Maybe it’s increasingly harsh DUI laws. Maybe it’s the fact that every douchebag hipster with a Mac and blogger buddies thinks he’s a DJ. Whatever the reason, it’s been a bad era for the rock club. Anyone who likes to listen to live music on a…
OK, by now you’ve perhaps read on our food blog that there’s a new Long Wong’s planned for Apache and McClintock. “Big Deal,” you may be thinking, “those wing joints are everywhere.”Not so fast. A close inspection of the zoning documents reveals that this Long Wong’s is planning to have…
Everyone’s favorite band of early 2008, Vampire Weekend, will play the the Marquee on April 13. As I said when the band last played here, for what ended up being “Take Your Kids to a Concert” night in September 2008, their new record is make-or-break for the once hotly tipped…
If you’ve lost your faith in love and music Oh, the end won’t be long Because if it’s gone for you, then I too may lose it And that would be wrong I’ve tried so hard to keep myself from falling Back into my bad old ways And it chars…
It’s been a slooow news week around the music-oriented blogosphere. In fact, several blogs, like our friends at Electric Mustache, have just taken the rest of the year off. We’re soldiering on and reading over some of the many funny and fascinating pieces on wheel chair-bound indie-folk scion Vic Chesnutt,…
This isn’t really the place to discuss global politics and/or the death penalty, but, for those of you following the case of Akmal Shaikh, the Briton (of Pakistani descent) who is scheduled to be executed for carrying a suitcase of heroin into China, it’ll probably be very interesting. Shaikh claims…
Miniature Tigers will hold a low-key goodbye show at Trunk Space tomorrow night. The band, which we’ve written about approximately eleventy billion times over the past two years, is moving to Brooklyn for reasons I won’t hazard a guess about. I’m sure I speak for everyone here at New Times…
I will not hope Wilco breaks up.I will not hope Wilco breaks up.I will not hope Wilco breaks up.I will not hope Wilco breaks up.I will not hope Wilco breaks up.Perhaps it’s pathetic that any music critic would have to re-affirm his interest in seeing his favorite band stay together…
We’re not doing a “Best Phoenix Concerts of 2009” list this year — what with the economy and all, ya know? — but if I did Dead Confederate’s set at The Marquee would get serious consideration for my top 10.As I said at the time:Dead Confederate, who sound a little…
What purpose would there be in an American version of X-Factor, the British talent competition that made headlines this week by losing a chart battle with Rage Against The Machine? You’ve got me. American Idol, the original American spin on Simon Cowell’s first show, Pop Idol, seems to be doing…
DJs William “Fudging” Reed and Sean Watson have a new shin-dig scheduled for Sundays on the rooftop of the Clarendon Hotel in downtown Phoenix. The weekly party is called Hot Fudge Sundaze and runs from 4 p.m. to 9 p.m. The event is free and open to the public –…
San Francisco’s Tea Leaf Green — a sort of neo-folkie indie rock outfit that recalls My Morning Jacket and a lot of 60s acts from their native city — will play burgeoning North Phoenix venue The Compound Grill on New Year’s Eve. I really dig their sound (mp3 below).If you…
I’ve mentioned seeing Frankie Muniz backstage at several large Phoenix-area music festivals before. It appears the former Malcom in the Middle child star, and Scottsdale resident, is taking his interest in music to the next level by joining local rock band You Hang Up…
By Lindsey HolderFriday night was the ninth installment of Alice Cooper’s Christmas Pudding, though speaking in Christmas/culinary terms, it was really more of a fruitcake, with ingredients both numerous and diverse mingling to create a final product I would definitely try to re-gift. The differences between the acts on stage…
Guitarist Dave Mason, a founding member of Traffic, comes to The Compound Grill in north Phoenix on Saturday, February 13. Mason penned the rock and roll anthem “Feelin’ Alright” which has been recorded by a number of artists, including the famous Joe Cocker version. Tickets here. We Just Disagree -…
It’s not even January yet, but Phoenix’s Desert Botanical Garden has announced dates and performers for its “Jazz in the Garden” series. Chef-prepared food and a bar with wine-by-the-bottle will be served, natch. The series, which also has a number of blues acts scheduled, will run Friday nights, starting at…
So the feeling I get from seeing Tucson-based Latin big band Sergio Mendoza y La Orkesta, which came to the Rhythm Room Thursday night, isn’t caused by any deep understanding of the super-swinging and hyper-stylized music’s context. No, I had the experience I imagine the majority of the half-seated, half-dancing mixed-age crowd did, which…
You thought Revolver Records’ Outer Bounds of Sound had the market cornered on experimental shit? Nope. The Rogue Bar continues their show announcement extravaganza with Mount Righteous, a 9-piece orchestral punk ensemble and choir from Texas, which will be playing the South Scottsdale dive on January 18. Check out the…
What’s the top selling digital download of the decade — and, thus unsurprisingly, also the top selling digital download of all time? If you guessed Flo Rida’s “Low” you’re smarter than I am. After bursting onto the scene in late 2007, Poe Boy/Atlantic recording artist Flo Rida has claimed a…
