by Adam Steininger Geeks love metal more than the computers on which they listen to it. They yearn for heavy metal forged by Orcs in the mountains of Mordor, smuggled halfway across the universe on Serenity, and then discovered by Silver Surfer while out scouting for delicious planets. These bands…
by Chris Parker Wild and free like much of what you’ll find in Vermont, Grace Potter and the Nocturnals have had the opportunity to grow on for four albums on Disney subsidiary Hollywood Records. They’ve never stood still, passing from rootsy jam to southern rock to the atmospheric dance-tinged modern…
Has there been any point in the last 50 years in which people weren’t convinced rock and roll needed saving? Fall Out Boy’s latest album isn’t a boast or a promise so much as the natural career path for rock stars who’ve become monstrously successful and lived to tell about…
Screw your case of the Mondays. Here’s something to do every day this week in and around Phoenix. “Repurposed” @ Tempe Public Library Tossing cans, bottles, paper, and cardboard in the recycling bin each week is awesome, but really, you’ve got nothing on Marco Albarran and Jose Benavides. These local…
By Jonathan Alvira Trinidad JamesCelebrity TheatreJune 8, 2013 Groupies, strippers and first-time stage dancers were “turnt” up all night with Mr. “All Gold Everything” himself. As I watched a blonde bombshell from the crowd get pulled on stage to shake her ass for the screaming fans, I came to a…
MC Magic has been writing a column for us for a few months now, but anyone who follows Arizona’s reigning slow-jam king on Twitter or Facebook knows that he’s into keeping in touch with his fans. With that in mind–and because Ann Landers and Dear Abby just don’t know you…
First Friday heats up June 7 with creative works going up all over the city. Here are our seven picks for shows not to miss this artful evening. What’s on your to-see list? See also: Phoenix to Launch Bike Share Program in December Five Must-See Movies in Metro Phoenix This…
Welcome to your weekend. Here’s how to spend it. Shaping Sound @ Chandler Center for the Arts As a young dancer Travis Wall dreamed of having a company of his own. Since those days, his work on So You Think You Can Dance and Dancing with the Stars has rocketed…
If you want to see the Refreshments, who haven’t played together as a band since 1998, now might be a good time to figure out whether you’re legally allowed to go to Mexico. I don’t mean to spoil this week’s Must-See Phoenix Shows This Weekend, but it might take you…
Here’s how I feel about Juggalos, the Insane Clown Posse’s hyper-devoted-fanbase-cum-culture: They definitely aren’t a gang, but if I were the FBI, I would probably pretend they were just so I could spend all day at work reading about them. ICP and their fans were out Flagstaff on Sunday, where…
Summer is the perfect time for cool hunting in Phoenix. The streets are empty, the days are long, the nights even longer — unless you know what to fill them with. Don’t worry, we’ve got plans for you. Keep cocktails weird and track down our food critic’s favorite ethnic eats…
By Eric Ruchensky CeremonyRhythm RoomJune 4, 2013 For indie-rock-loving dudes who required something harder-edged than the Generationals show at the Crescent on Tuesday night, Stateside brought four — two local, two touring — hardcore heavyweight bands to Phoenix’s premier juke joint, The Rhythm Room. Veteran locals Move Forward kicked off…
[We’re not sure a seemingly uncontroversial band has ever generated as much controversy as Mumford and Sons have in their brief stint as folky chart-toppers. To celebrate their show tonight at Desert Sky Pavilion, we looked for voices from both sides of the (surprisingly heated) Mumford & Sons debate to…
by Reyan Ali If you ever need a record cover to justify that cliché about a picture being worth a thousand words, Michael Kiwanuka’s Home Again does the trick. His 2012 debut full-length sports a stark closeup of its creator’s face draped in half-shadow and wearing a pensive expression. You…
If you’re looking for proof that yesterday’s indie sound is today’s mainstream sound, you could do worse than examining the record sales of Imagine Dragons and Mumford & Sons, two enormously successful rock acts that spend most of their time blurring what was already a pretty blurry line. If you’re…
Our intrepid Club Candids photographers began May covering Cinco de Mayo at the Spanish Fly and ended it on Mill Avenue, at the newly opened Gringo Star Street Bar. In between, they caught nightlife in the Valley in these photos:…
June is here (basically.) All across the Valley, people are glancing nervously at the sun, aware that at some point in the next month rising temperatures are going to force them into a kind of ersatz air-conditioning hibernation until sometime just after Christmas. Or maybe that’s just me. But hey:…
Taylor Swift sold out Jobing.com Arena in Glendale twice this week, which means–if we’re doing our math right–that she was able to get more than 25,000 Taylor Swift fans in, processed, and out for their Best Nights Ever in 48 hours. We couldn’t possibly hope to catch all of the…
When the kind of band I usually go see plays the same setlist over and over, I get a little indignant. If Taylor Swift plays the same setlist Wednesday night that she did Tuesday at Jobing.com Arena, I’ll forgive her–when the grand finale involves a ticker tape parade, a bunch…
by K.C. Libman Taylor Swift is far from just a female-only icon at this point. The erstwhile country star’s crossover appeal has placed her firmly inside the pop pantheon, and it’s more apparent than ever that Swift’s infectious sound is the definition of radio-ready. Show me a red-blooded American male…
Review and Photos by Jonathan Alvira Big K.R.I.T.Club Red, TempeMay 24, 2013 The dim-lit venue suddenly became bright and the crowd awoke as the so-called “underground king” stormed on stage. With his southern hospitality accenting his country slang, Big K.R.I.T. expressed genuine love to his fans the moment he ran…
Firemen are the real heroes. Or maybe teachers — I can never remember. In any case, there will be lots of superheroes in town this weekend for Phoenix Comicon. Some of them will even be local musicians. But if you’re looking for a break from the convention — or just…
