For Mike Doughty, revisiting songs he wrote in some cases more than 20 years ago felt like walking into a ghost town. The former frontman for Soul Coughing — the distinct 1990s alternative band he once described as “deep slacker jazz” — decided to record an album of reimagined old…
PHOENIX, AZ: 2 AMC. Some of the elders still remember the Beforetimes. They claim not to, especially to the guards, but I see it in their faces when they’re alone together. They remember life before Miley Cyrus came to Phoenix. When they’re alone — after work and before the Two…
There’s nothing like hearing the past, present, and future of heavy metal in one place. But that’s what will happen Thursday, November 7, at Tempe’s Marquee Theatre — a veritable buffet of heavy metal. There’s the “baby band” Huntress; torchbearers of the new wave of American metal Killswitch Engage and…
If there’s one constant to the rave scene — other than all the bright lights and booming beats — it’s kandie. No, not the sort of sugary confections that are sometimes sold by vendors and often munched on by hyperactive teens and post-adolescents at underground events. Instead, we’re referencing the…
Lita Ford is a bitch. Her words, not ours: She’s touting the title track of her new album, The Bitch Is Back . . . Live. “I heard [the original song] on the radio, and it just came tumbling down on me like a ton of bricks: ‘Hello! Please record…
Thursday 7 AZ/88: Black Out Thursdays with Josh 1 (soulful house, lounge) Barney’s Boathouse: Thirsty Thursdays with DJ Pulse (Top 40, rock) Bar Smith: Thursday Ladies Night with DJ AL3, & DJ NERD (hip-hop, Latin, EDM) Bikini Lounge: DJ Shane Kennedy (juke joint, R&B, French pop) Bobby Q’s: All Star…
Lita Ford is a bitch. Her words, not ours: She’s touting the title track of her new album, The Bitch Is Back . . . Live. “I heard [the original version] on the radio and it just came tumbling down on me like a ton of bricks: ‘Hello! Please record…
Clairy Browne and The Bangin RackettesCrescent BallroomWednesday, November 5, 2013 Clairy Browne and The Bangin Rackettes visited Downtown Phoenix’s Crescent Ballroom last night and they were a bonafied Rhythm and Blues snoozer. The entire performance was devoid of anything that even remotely resembled soul. The Melbourne based nine piece just…
By Tom Reardon What would the Valley do without Tyler King and Kim Larowe? For those of you who aren’t in the know, the two of them have been bringing excellent punk and metal shows to the Phoenix area since the ’90s and on Thursday, November 7, not only have…
[Editor’s Note: In his column Serrano Time, award-winning writer and goofball Shea Serrano writes about his life and times (and Katy Perry’s “Roar.”] History: Katy Perry was born in 1984, except back then people called her “Katy Hudson” because that’s her real name. In 2001, she was like, “You know…
Krimson Chord has been rocking the Valley with their Southwest blues for more than a decade now, playing regular gigs at Pappy’s Bar in Phoenix and Coyote Alley in Surprise. This is no fly-by-night group; they won the Arizona Blues Challenge in 2010 and competed in the International Blues Challenge…
Killswitch Engage has gone through some major changes during the past few years. Since 2000 the Massachusetts’ metal act has put out six studio albums, sold more than four million albums in the U.S. alone, and is known as one of the defining bands for the New Wave of American…
If your knowledge of Capcom-sidescroller-influenced pop doesn’t extend outside the Arizona borders–and why should it, given the presence of Mega Ran and the Minibosses?–you’ll be forgiven for not knowing there are enough Mega-Man-fans-slash-musicians out there to put together a 25th-anniversary tribute album. But there are, and the aforementioned Mega Ran…
Bill Callahan picks his words carefully. If one thing defines his recent work — pastoral, grooving, and far removed from his noisier days recording under the name Smog — it’s the way he selects his words. “The only words I’ve said today are beer and thank you,” he croons on…
Since 1983, California-bred Testament has evolved into one of the biggest names in thrash metal. If you were a metal fan in the past three decades, chances are such albums as 1987’s The Legacy, 1992’s The Ritual and 2008’s The Formation of Damnation. And of course, the band’s most recent…
Another Tempe music venue has gone down for the count as Stray Cat Bar & Grill — a venue for numerous local rock, punk, and hip-hop shows over the past decade — quietly closed over the weekend. The announcement of the bar’s closing came as a surprise to some patrons…
Few bands merit having the wall of talent that is Phoenix’s Haymarket Squares open for them at Crescent Ballroom. But Reverend Peyton’s Big Damn Band is one that did when they brought their twangy, country, bluesy sound through downtown Phoenix Sunday night. “The Rev,” Breezy Peyton, and Ben “Big Bird”…
If you’re listening to Christmas music already and you don’t live or work inside a Macy’s, I believe very strongly that you’re doing something wrong. Nevertheless, it is not in the spirit of Christmas (music) for me to shun you until the day after Thanksgiving, when I literally transform into…
There’s a lot to love about Huntress, and it’s not just because frontwoman Jill Janus is gorgeous, bad-ass and intelligent. The band’s debut album Spell Eater, recorded and produced by Chris Rakestraw, earned stellar reviews. The musicians–Janus, guitarist Blake Meahl, bassist Ian Alden, and drummer Carl Wierzbicky–thrive on heavy riffs…
Dolly Parton is not interested in reinventing herself. At a time when a lot of her peers are at least interested in saying they’re looking to shake things up and start over, Dolly Parton–who just announced a Comerica Theatre show on January 28–was excited to tell us about all the…
Some Kanye West shows have been canceled and/or postponed, and I admit that this is only news in the way “Dog Bites Man Really, Really Hard” is news. Buying a ticket to a Kanye West show is a little like preordering Chinese Democracy in 2000: You’re pretty sure you’re going…
“Halloween is like drama club… on crack.” That was Dumper Foo, the Blunt Club’s resident live artist. Foo, a local celeb in his own right, came in sporting a Bob Ross afro, a paint pallet at the ready for his homage to the happy tree afficianado, Bob Floss. The Blunt…
