Rachael Yamagata with Mike Viola Crescent Ballroom Wednesday, November 30 I first heard Rachael Yamagata two years ago when she opened for folk/rock duo Swell Season at the Mesa Arts Center. She played for only 45 minutes that night, but made a lasting impression with her witty banter and heartfelt…
What do Fugazi and The Grateful Dead have in common? The similarities go beyond diehard fans and a few experimental instrumental tracks. These Washington, D.C. post-hardcore juggernauts have joined the ranks of live-oriented acts like The Grateful Dead and Phish by sharing an archive of over 800 live recordings as…
The weather in Phoenix is finally starting to cool down. Lots of people have geared up by dusting off their jackets and/or uselessly wearing Ugg boots and scarves even though it’s really not cold enough for that crap. (Is it ever cold enough for Uggs?) ‘Tis the season to catch…
New York is a magical place for a lot of musicians. Frank Sinatra, Jay-Z, and U2 have all sung songs about The City That Never Sleeps, and joining the neverending roster is local folky pop band The Wiley One, with the band’s new track “Thank You New York.”The song was inspired…
We hate to generalize about festival attendance, but oh, well: Hipsters have Coachella, hippies have Bonnaroo, metal fans have the Big 4, and indie kids have South by Southwest. But what about pop music diehards? The kids? Well, cancel that road trip out to Jingle Ball or an iHeartRadio Music…
It must be frustrating, confining, and sad to be a teen star — rather, to have been a teen star. Your audience comes to adore you and fixes you in their minds just the way they love you, just the way you are. Or just the way you used to…
There’s mysterious, and then there’s mysterious as defined by Tom Waits, a songwriter who’s maintained an air of impenetrable mystique. In an interview with website Radical Wacko, Waits expressed a fondness for Tucson’s Bob Log III. “It’s just the loudest, strangest stuff you’ve ever heard,” Waits said of the motorcycle-and-jumpsuit…
People — maybe not the kind you want to associate with, but people nonetheless — will pay good money to be peed and shit upon, because, for them, it’s all about the way humiliation makes them feel, I dunno, giddy. On the other side of the uncomfortable spectrum, you have…
Phoenix songwriter Eddy Detroit walks slowly and talks fast. Both qualities are easy to account for. At 59, his body is worn from years of psychedelic experimentation, S&M sex, and a mix of what he describes as Karmic retribution and ailments passed down through his Lebanese heritage. But his mind…
There’s a rumor that East Coast electronica artist The Juan MacLean is reportedly more machine than man. Though it might just be shtick (or one of those kooky musician affectations), there is ample proof to support the idea that the 40-something is an automaton: album titles like Der Half-Machine and…
Plenty of bands have soldiered on after a drummer bails, but when that drummer is Mike Portnoy, widely regarded as one of the best drummers of all time, the move is quite dramatic. But progressive metal masters Dream Theater always have had a taste for musical theatrics. Songs run up…
In 1972, free jazz pioneer Sun Ra proclaimed, “Space is place,” in a bizarre sci-fi/blaxploitation film of the same name. Space remains the focus of intense interest for astronomers, astronauts, moviemakers, and UFO hunters, and it also serves as the latest inspiration for former Grateful Dead drummer Mickey Hart, who…
Thursday 1 Afterlife: Thumpin’ Thursdays (various) Bar Smith: Ladies Night with DJ Idenaty, DJ EC Rock, & DJ Oh-Jezus (various) Capitol Sports Lounge: DJ Danny Peru (old school, Latin, Top 40) Crescent Ballroom: Boomstick! with Poolside, Strobes, DJ Sean Watson, DJ Sophia Gunn, & DJ President Gator (various) Dollhouse Cocktail…
Don’t call it a come back: mythic Phoenix art-punk Eddy Detroit never went away, releasing a string of albums all throughout the ’80s, ’90s, and ’00s, but thanks to Ammit Records, the vinyl imprint of downtown music shop Revolver Records, he’s back in vinyl form. Eddy Detroit Meets the Sun…
This week, New Times ran a list in our print publication highlighting some of the most interesting posts published at Up On The Sun over the past week. Here are links to those posts. What songs are we excited to spin this holiday season? What Back to Black Friday vinyl…
Music can be a lot of things: powerful, divisive, heartbreaking, cathartic. When Manu Chao came to Phoenix in September, his music served a rare purpose: healing. Like it or hate it, The Sound Strike has linked the topics of immigration and music. The Sound Strike endorsed Chao’s appearance (it was…
Local fans of ’90s alt-rock hitmakers Bush are in for some heartbreak and disappointment. The band’s upcoming concert at Celebrity Theatre next Wednesday, which was part of X103.9’s “No Snow Holiday Show” series, has been cancelled.An e-mail that was sent out by Celebrity Theatre’s staff (and reposted on Bush’s official…
“I know hits when I hear them,” Miss DJ MJ says, hanging out in the New Times office. I believe her. She’s been on the air for 10 years, working as music director at Power 98.3. She recently left the station, but not before becoming the first female on-air mixer…
When The Dollyrots left Joan Jett’s Blackheart label earlier this year, they went to their fans to help raise money for the band’s fourth record of buzzy, catchy punk. The fans came through. The band set its Kickstarter goal at $7,500, but fans wound up pledging $33,124. “It blew us…
As finals wrap up and holidays consume every waking minute, some people still have work to do. That’s exactly what Stellacutta is doing: working on their debut album. Earlier this year, Michael Lopez broke down the Tempe rocker’s two-song self-titled EP in You Asked For It, and showed a lot…
Beware, West Coast festival lovers! The Coachella flier that has started circulating is a phony.Whoever made this flier is both ridiculous and awesome. This is one hell of a lineup but is typically “wishlist,” as these things tend to be. I’d really be pissed at Goldenvoice and other festival organizers…
The holidays are all about getting crap, right? Well, it’s also about giving crap and giving back. By shopping local, you can do a bit of both. But when chains like Guitar Center and online retailers like iTunes remain on top for musicians around the globe, you can choose to shop…
