God bless video games. Besides sucking away countless hours we might’ve foolishly wasted on more productive exploits, the PlayStations and XBoxes of the world have permitted us and our friends to live out various Walter Mitty-like daydreams of being gun-running mobsters, skilled surgeons of Clooneyesque proportions, or (in the case…
The famed rock ‘n’ roll producer/engineer (Hendrix, Led Zeppelin, the Beatles, the Stones, KISS, David Bowie) discusses his career and tackles the old analog-versus-digital conundrum. Tue., April 8, 8 p.m., 2008…
Hang out with Amaré and some of his famous friends in this benefit for the Amaré Stoudemire Each 1 Teach 1 Foundation. A silent auction of wares including a limited-edition painting of Amaré, two courtside tickets for a Phoenix Suns home game, and signed memorabilia will take place following the…
“My toys have been described as Mexican Hello Kitty,” said artist Roy Wasson Valle in reference to his fledgling line of egg-shaped figures originally showcased in his “Yummy Things and Stupid Little Animals” show. Like other design toy artists, Wasson Valle is an “incidental” toy designer; creating them initially so that people at his shows “had something to bring home.”
No, really. There’s a ton of music happenings invading the valley this weekend. Kicking things off is Theonix Arts Showcase: Volume II on Friday. Expect performances from What Laura Says Thinks and Feels, and Rocketline, among others. Saturday starts-a-rockin’ with Tempe Music Festival. Local heroes the Gin Blossoms will be…
Tom, Dick, and Harry: Members of the Peter Hill fan club, rejoice! Your fave dog track director is not only at the helm of this Arizona première; he’s the star! Ray Cooney’s latest British farce has something to do with a better-than-middle-aged couple who’ve adopted a baby. The dame from…
I didn’t grow up crazy poor or drowning in gangsta crime, but life for me did start in a neighborhood that was far, far away from fancy. I’ll call it a wanna-be-barrio, near 13th Street and Buckeye. In 1974, my Nana Trinnie and Tata Chonito sold their little house on…
Do we need another look back at the rotten heart of the ’50s nuclear family? Ira Sachs thinks we do, and as one who can’t get enough of sweaty melodramas about rotting families, I’m with him in principle. Mind you, Sachs’ new movie is less about families than about cheating…
Ben Mezrich’s 2002 bestseller Bringing Down the House: The Inside Story of Six M.I.T. Students Who Took Vegas for Millions was a smart narrative about . . . well, you did see the subtitle, right? Mezrich more or less recounted a fantastic tale spun by an old acquaintance from Boston,…
Considering that the war in Iraq has proved to be Washington’s shot-by-shot remake of Vietnam, it’s only natural that Hollywood has followed suit, giving us a series of Iraq-themed films that can be set neatly alongside their Vietnam-era counterparts. Just as the initial wave of angry anti-Vietnam documentaries gave way…
As John Simon once said of Jeanne Moreau — cast in a virginal role — making Simon Pegg a fat guy is like casting Lassie as a vegetarian. Take Chris Elliott, subtract Don Knotts: the remainder is Pegg, the British actor-screenwriter who barely registered as an appetizer for Shaun of…
Who said first-person games need a second person? Developers seem to believe that their first-person games are required to include online modes. Blame it on the few narrow-minded gamers (and critics) who constantly hammer away with that boneheaded message. At best, it’s a strange logic of inheritance: Since the earliest…
If I have a quibble with Childsplay’s A Tale of Two Cities, it’s that it’s too smart for children. Kids tend not to notice the kind of subtle beauty that Dwayne Hartford has brought to his adaptation of the Charles Dickens classic; they aren’t built to appreciate the skill it…
The chic affair centers on the work of artists Yebin Choi (detail pictured), Joseph Metcalf, Ted VanCleve, David Lancaster, and Sierra Berry. Entertainment by DJs William Reed and Sean Ryan is planned, as are film and video offerings and a courtyard area set aside for local artists to show off…
The brain child of Portland improv comic Aaron Ross, this touring production features Ross as a throwback windbag of a talk-show host based on the real-life author of a motivational book Ross found at a thrift store. The show also features a house band named Thuggage and a requisite second…
Hall of Famer and retired Chicago Cubs great Ferguson Jenkins leads a number of his celebrity friends against the All-Stars, a team composed of media figures and community leaders. Proceeds benefit the Ferguson Jenkins Foundation and the Mesa HoHoKam Foundation. Fri., March 28, 7 p.m., 2008…
The sweetie-pie star of the Food Network show Quick Fix Meals With Robin Miller unveils her new book, which is titled (take a deep breath, ’cause, appropriately, it’s a real mouthful) Robin to the Rescue: Quick & Simple Ideas for Delicious Home Cooking, an Essential Guide for Getting Weeknight Meals…
The National Endowment for the Arts medalist/pianist highlights repetitions in the works of Debussy, Satie, Faure, and Messiaen in this concert held in conjunction with the “Masterpiece Replayed: Monet, Matisse and More” exhibit. Sat., March 29, 2 p.m., 2008…
You’d be one crazy mofo to miss this shindig. On Thursday, March 27, Djentrification, Johnny Dee, and One Peso share four turntables during this DJ potpourri. One Peso, who plans to leave Phoenix soon, will spin rarely-heard Jamaican music while the legendary Johnny Dee plays super rare songs from local…
The Arizona American Italian Club will be a heaven for record nerds when they host a Record Swap Meet. Sat., March 29, 9 a.m.-1 p.m., 2008…
How does a British girl of average attractiveness (whose first single was a White Stripes cover, by the way) rise to international fame? For then-16-year-old Joss Stone, worshiping Aretha Franklin and belting out soulful dirges like a Whitney Houston/Mariah Carey love child may have had something to do with it…
High school and hyperbole go hand in hand. In describing grades 9 through 12, most people declare them the “greatest years of my life!” or “four years of living hell!” Perhaps, that’s why it’s so hard – though dozens of filmmakers try each year — to depict high school on…
