Miss Krystle has no problem holding her own on stage, thanks to operatic vocal chops and bright red hair that’s as fiery as her personality. But the former beauty pageant queen turned local YouTube sensation vows audience members will keep all eyes on her five-member backing band of local musicians…
It’s easy to wonder why some bands continue to perform at all. Just look at all the formerly larger-than-life acts now relegated to the casino circuit. Ratt isn’t part of the casino circuit, but they once were larger than life. Essentially defunct by 2000, Ratt re-emerged in 2010 with original…
Metal act Mushroomhead is rarely mentioned in the mainstream music media, and if it is mentioned, it’s usually because it’s being compared to Slipknot. Not that the comparisons don’t make sense — both bands are similar-sounding seven-piece groups in creepy masks. Except Mushroomhead has been around since 1993 (Slipknot was…
Eating Mexican food and getting drunk on tequila is so much more fun when there’s good music. And on this Cinco de Mayo, the Rhythm Room is the place to be if you’re 21 or older and want high-quality local tunes while you’re sipping margaritas. More than 10 Rhythm Room…
Sporting a scraggly beard, greasy hair covering his eyes, Vancouver’s Stephen McBean could almost be the last living member of a tribe of garage-rocking, psychedelic-stomping, hippie-prophet nomads who once wandered the woods. As the frontman of four bands, each steeped in different angles of the future and present, but especially…
The first thing most people heard from Rehab probably was its breakout single, “Bartender Song (Sittin’ at a Bar).” The grit in singer Danny Boone’s tattered voice had listeners singing along by the second verse. “It’s been a breadwinner for a lot of years,” says Boone. “It’s crazy, ’cause you…
As guitar maestro and frontman for Built to Spill, Doug Martsch has developed an instantly recognizable sound — soaring, layered guitars, pounding rhythm section, quirky lyrics — that often builds into a psychedelic frenzy. At least, that much characterized the band’s earlier output. For the band’s last two albums, You…
Thursday 2 Afterlife: Touch Thursdays with DJ Tsunami, DJ Michael Ryan, & DJ Matt Fox (Top 40, EDM) AZ/88: Black Out Thursdays with Josh 1 (soulful house, lounge) Barney’s Boathouse: Thirsty Thursdays with DJ Pulse (Top 40, rock, dance) Bikini Lounge: DJ Shane Kennedy (juke joint, R&B, French pop) Bobby…
Cool, dive-y live music venues in the West Valley are very few and far between. And there’s apparently one fewer as of this writing, as Donna Jean’s Libations over in Glendale has closed. Recent rumors of the bar’s recent demise led us to its Facebook page, where proprietor, um, Donna…
Prince and his backing band, 3rd Eye Girl performed a once-in-a-lifetime show at Marquee Theatre last night. Er, twice–I guess they’ll be coming back tonight. It was pretty fantastic, but don’t take my word for it. Here’s the Twittersphere’s review of Prince’s first night in Tempe: @seerock1023 Prince leaned back/down…
PrinceMarquee TheatreApril 30, 2013 His Royal Purpleness reigned supreme at Marquee Theatre last night, and like most of the people who saw him there, I’m still taking it all in. We just saw a legend perform at a mid-sized venue and we were close enough to actually see his face…
The enormous wave pool at Tempe’s Big Surf hosted more than just doggy paddles and belly flops during Wet Electric this past week. It was a giant twerkin, Harlem Shakin’ mass as local EDM fans raved, raged, and unleashed incalculable amounts of fist-pumps and ass-bumps in the shallow water while…
Rob Zombie is now a force to be reckoned with in the world of heavy metal and cinema, and his footing is only growing stronger. Starting with White Zombie and solo albums like Hellbilly Deluxe and Educated Horses and continuing with his decade as a film director and screenwriter, Rob…
[Ed. note: Before this week’s Prince-mania comes to a close after Wednesday night’s show at the Marquee Theatre, I asked Up on the Sun’s writers — hereafter The Revolution — to let me know exactly what they were looking for in a Prince concert. Chris24 Hassiotis came through with this…
The Monkees are coming through Mesa — it’s called “A Midsummer’s Night with The Monkees” — which should not surprise anybody who’s ever heard an Arizona stereotype. The show’s on August 9, at the Mesa Arts Center, and it will (for obvious reasons) not feature the Davy Jones, the group’s…
ParamoreComerica TheatreApril 29, 2013 After losing two founding members, Paramore made a show of their new self-confidence Monday night at Comerica Theatre, standing in front of a giant backdrop displaying nothing but three marks. It’s been almost three years since Paramore last hit up the Valley, but at their show…
Three years ago, Prince’s relationship status with the Internet could best be described as “It’s complicated.” “The Internet’s completely over,” he toldThe Daily Mirror, the UK newspaper which give away copies of his 20Ten album. (No, I haven’t heard it, either.) “I don’t see why I should give my new…
Dearly beloved, I have good news and bad news: The good news is that the potential length of Prince’s set-list is now no longer constrained by playing two shows per night when he visits the Marquee Theatre on Tuesday and Wednesday. The bad news is that that means he’ll only…
Alkaline TrioMarquee Theatre, TempeSunday, April 28, 2013 I’ve got a big, fat fucking bone to pick with you, Alkaline Trio. In case you haven’t heard, I’m sick and tired of waiting to hear “Radio.” I wish you would have swapped some new songs for “Nose Over Tail,” “Clavicle,” and all…
Normally we showcase five interesting shows in Phoenix each week in this space. This week, Prince is playing four shows. It is, therefore, with the public interest in mind that we condense all four of those shows down to one White-Dwarf-dense ball of concert-recommendation. That and more after the jump:…
Twitter #Music — the music-discovery service from the people who brought you #SomaliDirectionersLoveZayn-style declarations of collectivist fandom love — rolled out this week, and people are . . . not especially happy with it. A blunt summary of the problems with it was passed around among tech-liberal-arts-blog types over the…
On Saturday, I had the pleasure of returning to one of my favorite events of the year: the Mesa Super Show! Just when you think the lowriding lifestyle might be fading away, I am here to remind you that it is alive and well. The culture, the cars, the food,…
