Incoming: Lil Wayne, Daughtry, Cherry Poppin Daddies

Last time Lil Wayne came to town he was two hours late to the stage, causing a chain reaction of show-stalling shenanigans that involved the opener, T-Pain, coming back on stage wearing pajamas and a scarf to dance in a futile effort to quell the crowd. None of it worked…

Deer Tick Tonight At Modified Arts

We already told you a lot about Deer Tick in this week’s paper, and we’ll tell you a little more tomorrow, after tonight’s show at Modified Arts but in the meantime we just wanted to give you a little reminder: DEER TICK IS TONIGHT.In case you’re too lazy to click…

Could Jay-Z Replace Michael Jackson?

Jay-Z’s claim to being “The Best Rapper Alive” is delivered so flippantly it’s almost filler anymore. Certainly, there was a time after 2003’s The Black Album dropped that it’d have been indisputable to any serious fan of hip-hop music, but, in the years since, it’s become such a droning constant that…

Obama on Michael Jackson, New Bloc Party Video, Kanye Directs Video

Idolator: What Have You Done With Your CD Library? (If You’ve Done Anything With It?) NME: Obama: ‘I grew up on Michael Jackson’s music’ NME: Watch Bloc Party’s new video now – exclusive Pitchfork: Jesu + Isis = Greymachine Rolling Stone: Michael Jackson’s Neverland: What Should Happen to the Superstar’s…

Flier of the Week: We Shot The Moon

Stateside Presents has really been on a hot streak, poster-wise, of late. Their Deer Tick flier has caught my eye a few times, as has this one for last Monday’s Men show at Rhythm Room. This flier for We Shot The Moon was good enough to make me look up…

Courtney Marie Andrews Offers Free Mp3 From New Album

Local folk standout Courtney Marie Andrews has made a song from her new album — which will be availible July 31. “The Buffalo and the Bird” is one of a few songs I really like on her sophomore effort, Painters Hand and Seventh Son, so be sure to check it…

You Asked For It: Serious Side Effects

Serious Side EffectsMay Include:(self-released)Grade: DDemonstrating even a small affinity for a band as roundly despised as Limp Bizkit takes some balls. Sure, Fred and the boys sold a gazillion records, but even the unhippest guy in the Valley — I picture him as baggy-jeaned dude inking Chinese letter tattoos at…

Jens Lekman Has Swine Flu

Jens Lekman, a Swedish indie pop singer-songwriter who writes sugary ballads about pretending to be the lover of a lesbian friend to fool her conservative father, playing bingo in the countryside and accidently chopping his finger off while trying cut up an avocado (they’re all amazing songs, I swear!) has…

John Vanderslice Hugs It Out At Modified

By Heather Hoch About two years ago, John Vanderslice made a promise to a Phoenix audience that he would return to Modified Arts again. Though you couldn’t blame anyone who wanted to avoid Phoenix this time of you, Vanderslice delivered, while supporting his newest release Romanian Names, making his Sunday show at…

A-Trak Coming To Club Red

I’ll be real with ya: I don’t often get excited about a DJ coming through town especially since Girl Talk (a) never comes through town and (b) is supposedly not a DJ.A-Trak is a different story. Since he’s Kanye’s tour DJ, you may well have seen him before. If you…

What Laura Says Does Daytrotter

What Laura Says has become the latest Phoenix band to get some love from influential blog series Daytrotter (check it out here). The band played “Dot Dot Dot,” “What’s Done Right,” I Suppose” and “Waves,” which are all available for download. The series also recently hosted Dear and the Headlights,…

The Maine Jump To Warner Brothers

Tempe pop-rockers The Maine have jumped from Fearless Records (a pretty decent label in it’s own right) to Warner, one of The Big Four, reports Absolute Punk and elbo.ws.The band already had pretty legit distribution, but they’re now making an even bigger push, re-releasing their 2008 debut, Cant’ Stop, Won’t…

Michael Jackson Death Coverage Galore (And A Few Other Things)

NME:  Authorities release Michael Jackson 911 call Pitchfork: MGMT to Open for Paul McCartney Rolling Stone: U2’s “Spider-Man” Musical to Star Evan Rachel Wood, Alan Cumming So Much Silence: Incoming: Sunny Day Real Estate (!), Oct. 9 Spin: Michael Jackson’s Legacy: Neither Black Nor White NME: Lisa Marie Presley: ‘Michael…

Flier of the Week: Sole Function

If you dig Black Carl, you’re likely to enjoy Tempe’s Sole Function, a funky soul band that made this week’s eyeball-blasting Flier of the Week for their show at Sail Inn. Actually, this very polished band also saves us the trouble of describing their sound in excruciating detail by helpfully…

How Dear and the Headlights Became the Most Important Band in Arizona

It’s mid-afternoon at The Tiniest Bar in Texas, and Dear and the Headlights have just finished playing the fourth and final show they’re cramming into four days at South by Southwest, a music industry circle jerk that’s a make-or-break week for up-and-coming bands. Onstage, bearded singer Ian Metzger draws the…