It’s that time of year again. After months of planning, research, and collecting the gems of our city, the Best of Phoenix 2013 issue has hit the stands. This year, we take a journey into Phoenix’s past to unearth the vintage beauty of our city…
by Jeff Moses MIlitant chicano / indigenous hip hop duo Shining Soul have been putting their gritty brand of rap out for more than three years, and they’ve got an impressive rep to show for it. Alex Soto and Franco Habre, also known as Liaison and Bronze Candidate, have opened…
I’m not here to tell you why or how you should watch your reality singing contests, so I’ll just offer this as a value-neutral option: If you’ve given up on the Cardinals already and are looking for another way to root for Arizona on NBC, this week’s set of auditions…
Caliente. Excitado. Divertido. Get to know these Spanish words, because they describe the type of experience you’ll have when you attend a Flamenco Por La Vida performance at the Crescent Ballroom every Saturday night. The talented flamenco troupe sings, dances and plays music to traditional Spanish flamenco melodies, charming crowds…
Title Fight, Balance and Composure, Cruel Hand, Slingshot DakotaNile Theater, MesaMonday, September 23 I hesitate to use the word “emo” because of its semantics. For a lot of people, it means a specific time and place — D.C. in the ’80s, the Midwest in the ’90s — and use of…
Phoenix MC Rashenal has been working on the business end of music for a while now, running his own label, Earsweat Records. His new single, “Cash Flow” — the first fruits of a couple years’ writing and recording — is no exception. He’ll likely take the lead on the press…
By Gavin Cleaver As I sit here at work my mind drifts from matters such as job responsibilities to more jovial pursuits such as murder, car theft, and the endless slaughter of pedestrians. One simple reason: Last week saw the release date of Grand Theft Auto V, the biggest videogame…
The band’s been around for only something like eight months, but already it’s been banned from Last Exit, kicked out of Pub Rock, and even 86’ed from a Laundromat. The bassist recently quit and now the group’s canceled all its upcoming gigs to focus on a new album, new videos,…
To musical purists, Los Angeles’ FIDLAR isn’t all that complicated. To the Urban Outfitters, vinyl-collecting teen set, FIDLAR could be seen as intimidating. To the dirty, denim-clad, skateboarding, chainsmoking neo-angst kids, FIDLAR is a voice. Acronymic for Fuck It Dog, Life’s A Risk, the band, in all aspects of their…
The nights in Phoenix are rapidly going from unbearable to beautiful, which is exactly why we’re suggesting you spend a couple of nights this week inside a stuffy venue where someone will be playing music under weird, artificial lights. Think about how nice it’ll be to walk out into the…
Zedd September 21, 2013 Madison Events Center With a hectic security system, oversized VIP section and timing being completely off, the music was the only thing that shined Saturday night. Taking the light rail to the show was an interesting start to the night, but hell, why not, right? Getting…
Al Jourgensen is 54 years old–a veteran in the metal scene–and has gone through more than most can fathom. He’s sold millions of albums and endured a decade of habitual drug abuse. He’s also been pronounced dead three times along the way, and has a ton of stories about roadie…
It’s going to be a particularly jam-packed Saturday for Danny Avila this weekend. The Spanish-born, electro-slinging DJ wunderkind will fly from Chicago (where he had a late-night show at the Palladium Nightclub last night) down to Texas to work a gig at the Breakaway Music Festival outside of Dallas before…
It’s been 18 months since the 2012 Super Bowl and now we’re talking about M.I.A’s middle finger again. Turns out, even though NBC and the FCC didn’t file charges against the English-Sri Lankan songwriter for flipping the bird and mouthing “I don’t give a shit,” the NFL has been in…
Attention local EDM junkies: If you’re planning to roll into tomorrow’s Sound Wave Block Party sometime around the late afternoon or the early evening, your asses are gonna miss out on a few cool things. Like, say, the “Bad Bitch Anthems” of she-jay Brazzabelle inside Maya Day and Nightclub, the…
No Age returns to Phoenix tomorrow night in support of the band’s third full length album, An Object (fourth if you count compilation album Weirdo Rippers.) The band is all about reinvention, whether it’s singer/drummer Dean Spunt learning how to play his drums while recording the band’s first material, or…
Two phrases that Franco Gagliano tends to say a lot nowadays are “I don’t want to offend anyone” and “I’m not gonna lie to you.” When Franco ruled supreme as owner of The Mason Jar, one of Phoenix’s longest-enduring rock clubs from the early ’80s into the early Aughts, you…
Multiple big EDM shows and a gig at the Mason Jar(!) await you in today’s Must-See Phoenix Shows This Weekend. That seems like enough for us, but if you’re looking for even more options, check out our complete, sortable concert calendar. We won’t be offended…
You might not have been the same kind of nerd as I was. You might, you lucky devil, not have even been a nerd at all. But if you’re wondering why a particular nerd subset is flying its goofy Legend of Zelda hats at half-mast today, wonder no more: Hiroshi…
Local bass-and-drums duo Scattered Melodies loves helping locals so much the project wrote a song called “Community Service” with collaborator Ruca. Appropriately they’ll be playing it with Ruca frontwoman Haley Griagaitis during their Back-to-School Book Drive this Saturday, September 21 at Gilbert’s Bergies Coffee Roast House. “The song was inspired…
We Got Power began life as a fanzine started by Dave Markey and Jordan Schwartz in the early ’80s as the hardcore punk scene was taking off in Southern California. The book features essays by many of the pioneers from that time who we now recognize as members of Black…
So we’ve all heard of the flirtatious game high school crushes with uncontrollable hormones play. If not, well it’s simple you asked a total of 21 questions to each other, it could be anything, but usually with their hormonal tensions it’s mainly questions like, “Do you think I’m hot?” Some…
