Wicked Cool

If you’ve stepped into the trippy world of Scottsdale Museum of Contemporary Art’s current southwestNET: Melinda Bergman exhibit and been wicked inspired, here’s a chance to be wicked creative with the artist herself. Check out Melinda Bergman’s Free Drawing Workshop. Art supplies will be provided. Thu., Feb. 21, 6:30 p.m.,…

Rednecks from Space

Grease monkey with mesh back cap says, “Hey, dere. What kine of oil you be usin’, boi?” We say, “Uhhh . . . what?” Then we direct strange being from another planet and his/her red neck to the Checker Schuck’s Kragen Nationals Presented by Castrol. He/she is sure to love…

Beelzebabe

Call us shallow, but why are we attracted to the Memphis-based, down-home blues band Delta Highway? Because the cover art for the band’s latest album, The Devil Had a Woman, features a waaay-hot gal with a devil-horned shadow. We hope the hot-to-trot filly shows up with the Highway when the…

No Sweat

Wanna hear live salsa, merengue, and reggaeton without 1) waiting ’til 3 in the morning and 2) sweating your balls off at the club? Then check out Carnival: The Third Annual Dominican Festival. Numerous legit purveyors of the above-noted genres are scheduled to perform. Sat., Feb. 23, 11 a.m., 2008…

Get Jiggle Wit’ It

For a real taste of jazz in this town, à la NYC-style (the best style, btw), hit up the Lost Leaf any Sunday evening and marinate your ears in the sounds of local quartet Jiggle. The band — fronted by founder/bassist Ted Sistrunk and including hot-shot drummer Shaun Lowecki and…

Home Brew Away From Home

Here’s all you need to know about the six-race Winter Challenge: You can bring beer from home and drink in the stands! So pack that cooler with some canned Piss Light and Beer Shit Ice (no bottles allowed, you hooligans) and get ready for some racin’. Saturdays, 1 p.m.; Sun.,…

No Sissies Allowed

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 of the urban distractions such as bands and cheering fans. But for a no-frills, rustic run through the natural desert…

Civil Warrior

Sadly, the roster of revolutionaries from the civil rights era has dwindled significantly over the years. Huey P. Newton, Eldridge Cleaver, and Dave Dellinger, who once raised their fists to protest injustice during the country-changing 1960s, have left the planet. However, one of the movement’s pioneers who’s still going strong…

Let ‘Em Eat Cupcake

The Phoenix Suns seem to roll over whenever they take on the cupcakes of the NBA. The Atlanta Hawks on the road. The Miami Heat at freaking home. Two losses in Minneapolis to the bloody Timberwolves. All we can say is we hope the Suns don’t play possum when the…

The Early Nerd Catches the Worm

You’d think that since we plow through novels and nonfiction reads like nobody’s business, we would be wise to the best strategy for scoring big at the VNSA Book Sale. But no, even we can learn something at the annual festival for superduper literature nerds. For years, we’ve heard that…

Sultan of Strings

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…

Sultan of Strings

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…

Idiots

It’s fair to say that last year’s inaugural Phoenix Idiotarod was a success. No bodies were impaled or skulls busted open during the human-powered, urban shopping-cart race. But who knows what’ll happen when the dumb-a-thon returns to the pothole-heavy downtown streets? Is this a measure of success? Well, that’s up…

Symphony in DIY

For four months last year, the ASU Wind Symphony took suggestions for compositions from anyone with Internet access. The result is Wikivent: YouDesign, an hourlong potpourri that includes “Get Up!” by James Brown, new arrangements of Frank Zappa and Phish tunes, and In C by Terry Riley. Tue., Feb. 12,…

Symphony in DIY

For four months last year, the ASU Wind Symphony took suggestions for compositions from anyone with Internet access. The result is Wikivent: YouDesign, an hourlong potpourri that includes “Get Up!” by James Brown, new arrangements of Frank Zappa and Phish tunes, and In C by Terry Riley. Tue., Feb. 12,…

Phoenix Suns vs. New Orleans Hornets

Two teams with some of the NBA’s best records — the Phoenix Suns and the New Orleans Hornets — battle at U.S. Airways Center. Sat., Jan. 5, 7 p.m.; Wed., Feb. 6, 7 p.m., 2008…

Fun With Poison

Hmm, what does an event called Toxic Mondays imply? Stuffing your face with fake grub from the neighborhood fast-food joint? In Zuma Grill’s case, the shindig means that promoter Brian Durkee and bartender Wyatt Erwin get the place hoppin’ with ceiling-cracking DJ Circle and heavy pours of Stoli cocktails that…