Maybe it’s because I don’t listen to a lot of it in my off hours – that time when I want only the sweet, sweet voice of Karen Carpenter to sooth me over AM radio – but I’m constantly surprised by the depth and quality of the Phoenix metal scene…
Around the New Times office we’re really loving The Blaze’s Guest DJ week (which I participated in yesterday). ASU’s student radio station does this once a year, pulling in people like Murph from So Much Silence, Jim Adkins of Jimmy Eat World and, right now, our man Steve Chilton.But, seriously…
The finale of Jimmy Eat World’s Clarity x 10 tour at the Marquee will see digital release next week. Distributed through jimmyeatworld.com, the release will feature the front-to-back live performance of the wildly influential 1999 album Clarity along with two bonus tracks (“What I Would Say To You Now,” “No…
Sorry for not giving you earlier notice, but ASU’s student radio station, The Blaze, is hosting their annual Guest DJ week this week, featuring everyone from Jimmy Eat World frontman Jim Adkins, to Miniature Tigers to… me.You actually already missed Adkins, who spun this morning, but you can still tune…
Is it just me, or is anyone else feeling a little over-Boomered lately? Maybe it’s that Billy Joel concert I saw last night, or maybe it’s the “review” I just read in that other paper, written by someone who’s probably a little too young to be a Boomer, but sure…
In 1994, when Billy Joel and Elton John first took the stage together in Philadelphia, it was quite a novelty. Two piano-playing singer-songwriters — who’ve each sold more than 100 million records on their own — together in concert! Wowza!Five tours and 15 years later, the newness is gone. Last…
There’s not a ton of live music in town this weekend — especially compared to next weekend’s musical bonanza of Country Thunder/Tempe Music Fest/Springsteen/Bonnie Prince Billy/Calexico/Leonard Cohen — so this week’s flier is for a dance night. Not just any Dance night though, as Benjamin Leatherman wrote in this week’s…
Rarely does a death metal act succeed in spooking a seasoned critic like me, but I have to say there was truly something unsettling about Iwatchedherdie’s The Ill Effects of Hope. Midway through the seven-song disc I just felt vaguely disturbed by the imagery, the haunting keyboards, the crushing guitars,…
In some ways, Arizona’s first “official unofficial” showcase at South by Southwest last week wasn’t a big deal. Other cities, states, and countries have been showing off at the massive music festival in Austin, Texas, for years. Hell, Canada’s barbecue was so hopping I couldn’t get in even though I…
Festival season is officially upon us — with Country Thunder and Tempe Music Festival next weekend, and McDowell Mountain Music Fest later in April — and we’ve got one more to add to your calender. Clean Slate Celebration in Glendale April 11 is a benefit for Murray Grey Foundation, which…
It wouldn’t be hard to argue that The Bronx are on a steady decline. When the band first played Phoenix, they were at the area’s biggest club-type venue, the Marquee. Then, last year, they played the much smaller Clubhouse. Last night, they were crammed into the tiny (but wonderful) Yucca…
One of the things I love best about Bright Eyes (and yes, I unapologetically love Bright Eyes) is the way the band mingles so many rootsy sounds in songs that end up being totally contemporary. It’s for that reason, and not just Matthew Reveles’ vulnerable, emotive vocals, that I compare…
A lot of big indie shows — but not big, big shows — in last week’s concert announcements. Lucero, Black Joe Lewis and the Honeybears are coming to Rythm Room in May, as are Margot & the Nuclear So and So’s. St. Vincent plays Modified on Sunday, May 31, which…
We’ve got some very sad news for you this Monday: The Loveblisters are very likely breaking up. No announcement on their MySpace, but we got an e-mail from their former manager, Jack Maverik, saying their upcoming show at Last Exit will be their, umm, last exit, and confirmed the news…
Right now I’m writing up a column on last week’s I Heart AZ party, a SxSW showcase our blog contributor Steve Chilton threw last week in Austin, which was definitely the highlight of my week at the festival. Radio works faster than us print folks though, so I figured I’d…
Of all the Arizona bands at SxSW, no one had a higher profile than Dear and the Headlights. They played five shows over the course of the five-day festival, including headlining the I Heart AZ showcase and the same official showcase at Spiro’s that Miniature Tigers played.I caught up with…
In some ways, Arizona’s first “official unofficial” showcase at SxSW wasn’t a big deal. Other cities, states, and countries have been doing it for years. Hell, Seattle’s party is even promoted by a flier in the high-value real estate of the official party envelope you pick up with your badge…
Greetings from the outskirts of Austin, Texas, where we’re holed up in a hotel after a long day of music at South by Southwest’s opening day. What happened? Well, a few Phoenix bands played their showcases, hopefully making an impression on tastemakers and industry types at this massive festival, which…
As I wrote back when I reviewed their album The Narrator for You Asked for it, I’ve always been a fan of Evan Brightly’s aesthetic. The group, which functions more like an art collective than a traditional band, does some cool stuff. Not sure who designed this poster for their…
Not so long ago, Mill Avenue was the center of the universe for local bands trying to break into the music industry. Almost every band signed out of the Tempe scene in the ’90s made it via the conventional route, cutting their teeth in the nightclubs along the strip, winning…
There was a time when hearing a boyish and manicured voice like Conner Cecil’s alongside a willowy pedal steel wasn’t uncommon in country music. That time is long gone, though, and hearing Conner — a Globe native whose voice matches his cherubic face — on his debut EP, Conner, is…
Not too many acts have as streaky a career as Nine Inch Nails. One tour they’re playing the Marquee, the next they’re headlining at Cricket Wireless Pavilion with Jane’s Addiction, as they will in May. The bands are joined by Tom Morello’s new band Street Sweeper. That show is just…
