Last year, when the folks at the NCAA decided to adopt a standardized start to the college baseball season, some thought that the teams in warm-weather climates – who would sometimes play up to 20 games before squads on the East Coast ever took the field – would lose a…

Wanna see something that’s the shit? You can, literally, when local DJ The S.H.I.T. performs during the weekly hip-hop MC showcase Gallery BLU re:DEF. The edition on Tuesday, February 17, will also feature a grip of funky purveyors of the wheels of steel, including Wildlife Refuge, DJ Refleckshin, DJ Emgee,…

Whether you’re a literature snob (“Oh, I only read McSweeney’s books, Chilean authors, or anything that City Lights in San Francisco recommends”), graphic-novel fan (“They are not called comic books anymore”), or connoisseur of supermarket-aisle reads (“So what if I like Dean Koontz? How many books have you written, buddy?”),…

If you recently competed in P.F. Chang’s Rock ’n’ Roll Arizona Marathon and Half-Marathon and would like to inflict more pain on yourself, feel free to so during the similarly titled IMS Arizona Marathon and Half-Marathon. This debut shindig is a Boston Marathon qualifying event, so if you’re eager to…

The P.F. Chang’s Marathon is a 26.2-mile run for sissies. What say you? Yep, even our creaky bodies could make it through at least part of it, thanks to all the urban distractions such as bands and cheering fans. But for a no-frills, rustic run through the natural desert wilderness,…

You don’t know bass improv until you’ve heard the sweet stylings of David Friesen. In the past two years, he’s been named one of the top 20 most influential jazz bass players of all time and inducted into the Oregon Music Hall of Fame. Friesen performs a duo concert with…

Since this is a piece about O Canada, we’ll try not to say “eh?” Uh, too late. Okay, while we’re at it, all Canadians live in igloos and eat blubber. Now that that’s out of the way, check out the 57th annual Great Canadian Picnic. Yes, there will be curling…

At times haunting and others saccharine, Los Angeles/Chicago-based singer/songwriter Anni Rossi is a one-woman orchestra. Armed with a killer set of pipes and a viola that she bows and plucks to perfection, her no-nonsense approach to her art reminds us of a less-sappy, more-headstrong version of Joanna Newsom. Rossi performs…

Think there’s an absence of Martin Luther King Day/Black History Month events in the Valley? Wrong you are, my friend. So far, there’s been a reenactment of Dr. King’s march on Washington; a locally produced play chronicling the life of Bessie Coleman, America’s first African-American female pilot; a freestyle music…

We apologize for being haters, but we’ll probably never forget when, years ago, the Arizona Diamondbacks announced that they were increasing ticket prices. Yeah, so what’s the big deal? Well, friends, they did so during fan-appreciation weekend. Golly, did we feel, uh, appreciated. As the years have passed, we’ve softened…

As the Phoenix Suns continue their season-making-or-breaking playoff push, the Sacramento Kings recently clinched something as well: our award for 2008-09 NBA masters of sucktitude. Along with the Washington Wizards, Memphis Grizzlies, and L.A. Clippers, the Kings have spent the entire season toiling in the league’s cellar. What makes Suckramento…

The UCLA Bruins are the three-time defending Pac-10 champeens in men’s basketball. Mike Montgomery’s Cal squad and its lights-out shooters have been on a tear. And the Arizona State Sun Devils, ranked in the Top 25 all season, have a chance of winning their first conference championship ever. However, there’s…

When members of Mr. Kline and the Wizards of Time broke it off in 2007 to pursue solo endeavors, the scene lost a kickass band. But then Michael Porter and Andy Hiller formed the new Wizards of Time, and instead of ripping off the initial incarnation, the two front men…

In 1939, before Capitol and Motown, some fine fellows named Alfred Lion, Max Margulis, and Francis Wolff started a little jazz label. Blue Note, as it was called, continues to crank out hits by unforgettable artists, ranging from Thelonious Monk and Clifford Brown to Madlib and Norah Jones. On Wednesday,…

A plea to the National Hockey League: Stop. Just stop now. Stop what, you ask? The blasted regular season. If you call it quits pronto, the Phoenix Coyotes will make the playoffs, something the team hasn’t accomplished since 2002. But once the ’yotes begin the second half of their season…

When you’re in late teens/early 20s-hood, you may start asking all sorts of super-spiritual questions, such as, “Who am I?” and “What is my true life’s purpose?” Then you find out that the answers to such inquiries ain’t so easy and give up trying. Instead, you get married, get preggers,…