I was trying to describe the excellent new album by The Men, Open Your Heart, to a friend the other day. “It’s sort of post-punky, with some elements of alt-country, but there’s also this hardcore element,” I stammered. I realized I was kind of being kind of an idiot: Open…
Marco Torres”What I want from each and every one of you is a hard-target search of every gas station, residence, warehouse, farmhouse, henhouse, outhouse and doghouse in that area.” — Tommy Lee Jones, The Fugitive You don’t have to spend much time at South By Southwest to know that all…
Bill Frisell’s Beautiful Dreamers Compound Grill Saturday, March 10 Many are those who believe jazz is boring, a style of music favorable to older generations and featuring only stodgy musicians playing the same tired standards in uninspired fashion. To some degree, these beliefs do have merit. Then there’s Bill Frisell…
Country songs don’t come much more iconic than Hank Williams’ “Your Cheatin’ Heart” . It’s been covered countless times by musicians of all genres. Some, like Elvis Presley and Ray Charles do the song justice, while others butcher it — I’m looking at you, LeAnn Rimes. It’s always a challenge…
NOTE: This blog has been updated since its original publication. In the original version, it was erroneously reported that alleged shooter Jahnkay Summons was a member of the hip-hop group R.G.B/Fed Up. In fact, it was his cousin who is in the group. We apologize for the error. Shots rang…
Fabulous Thunderbirds Crescent Ballroom Friday, March 9, 2012 Last night, Crescent Ballroom officially was broken in. Forget the too-cool-for-school crowd. Once a bunch of ladies exiting middle age get drunk and dance at the front of the room, you no longer have the shiniest new venue in town. And, yeah,…
See also: Wanda Jackson on Jack White’s SNL Performance, Amy Winehouse, and Some Guy Named Elvis Wanda Jackson Compound Grill Friday, March 9, 2012 Wanda Jackson may be 74 years old, but one would hardly know it listening to her belt out classics from her long and storied career Friday…
The Green Lady Killers Hollywood Alley Friday, March 9 The only thing hotter than two badass rock ‘n’ roll chicks? Why, that would be three badass rock ‘n’ roll chicks. I think the packed crowd at Hollywood Alley in Mesa will vouch for me on this one. Los Angeles rockers…
Tempe Police Department dropped a major bombshell today when it announced the arrest of Eugenia L. Ruven, the owner of the Clubhouse Music Venue. As we reported earlier this afternoon, the 44-year-old (who also owns the adjacent Horse & Hound Sports Grill) was cited and released by Tempe cops for…
Word broke this aftenoon that officers from the Tempe Police Department have arrested the owner of the Clubhouse Music Venue in the wake of last week’s gang-related shooting at the venue. Eugenia Ruven, the owner of both the Clubhouse and the adjacent Horse & Hound bar, was cited for a…
Mark “Ellery” Leech isn’t your ordinary DJ. He doesn’t have a clever moniker (merely his middle name), doesn’t spend hours searching Beatport for bomb-ass tracks, and tends to approach his mixes different than most. While you can find him working at such trendy spots as Bar Smith on Wednesdays or…
Line-up changes and schedule conflicts over the last year and a half have slowed down Tempe blues rockers Quick Henry, but haven’t stopped them from rocking out at local watering holes on a near daily basis. At the helm of it all is vocalist/guitarist Kevin Redlich. Whether he’s pulling double…
Somewhere between the blurry gloss of shoegaze’s atmospheric drones and the crunchy riffs of post-hardcore inflected metal is San Francisco’s Deafheaven. Oft-cited as posterboys for the “hipster metal” set, the band’s Deathwish Inc. issued record Roads to Judah is pretty hard to deny, four (long) tracks that span the divide…
Directors Alex Hammond and Ian Markiewicz got a lot more than they bargained for when Matador Records and Jay Reatard — the nom de punk of Memphis songwriter Jay Lindsey– approached them about filming a short electronic press kit for his album 2009 album Watch Me Fall. Originally intended as…
Miniature Tigers Crescent Ballroom Thursday, March 8 See the full Miniature Tigers slideshow here. I’m gonna go ahead and start with the general takeaway feeling from Thursday night’s lineup of four, under-the radar(ish) bands playing before an audience of Phoenix’s finest (and drunkest) indie music lovers . . . Takeaway…
See also: Laidback Luke on Remixing Madonna and EDM’s Mainstream Crossover Laidback Luke Wild Knight Thursday, March 8, 2012 As everyone sipped on gin n’ juice, Laidback Luke threw it down. Last night’s show was an interesting combination of EDM followers and a Scottsdale crowd. The difference was clear, too,…
Behold, sluts! You can now combine your love of live music with your desire to get the government to cover your floozy behavior. Just kidding. Sort of. On March 15, those of you who aren’t at Radiohead can visit Crescent Ballroom with Crash Coordinates, French Girls, Chicano Power Revival, Barefoot…
Danielle Kamela Kamela is one of the FOX Sports Arizona Girls. Check them out on Facebook here. When you put your key in the ignition and turn on the radio, what station would play right now? 102.5 KNIX-FM. I love cruising around Arizona with my windows down listening to some…
The gang-related shooting outside of the Clubhouse in Tempe last Friday continues to make waves in the local music scene as venue management has announced the cancellations of this weekend’s performances by NYC hip-hop duo Mobb Deep and Boston rap trio The Dean’s List.California-based hip-hop promoter Sean Healy Presents, who…
Okay T-Birds fans, you’ve only got one day left to enter to win a pair of a passes and an exclusive meet-and-greet for tomorrow night’s tour stop, when the Texas blues-rock band plays the Crescent Ballroom. To win tickets and a chance to rap with original founder Kim Wilson and…
See also: Cameron Stallones of Sun Araw: Jamaica is “a Place of Infinite Music” Sun Araw, M. Geddes Gengras, Diva, Matthewdavid, and Marstepper Meat Market Garment Factory Wednesday, March 7, 2012 There’s a moment in “Night Gallery IV,” the fourth track on Sun Araw and Eternal Tapestry’s collaborative effort 2011…
If Miniature Tigers was ever to have an official “day” in Phoenix, it would be today. The band is playing two shows, one at Crescent Ballroom as part of the Modern Art Records Tour celebrating the release of Mia Pharaoh, and a free in-store performance at Stinkweeds at 5 p.m…
