There’s a rollicking charm to Blitzen Trapper’s blend of folk and classic rock that suggests a summer day. Perhaps it’s the bright, sunny ’60s melodies or the way guitars alternate between the crackle of country-fried distortion and jangling acoustics, vacillating between Neil Young and Jerry Garcia like a picnic featuring…
Each spring, thousands of music fans from all across North and South America load their cars with camping gear, illicit substances, and three days’ worth of clothes and head to Indio for the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival. It’s a yearly ritual that involves little showering, more than 100…
He may be armed with a laptop and sample pad, but don’t confuse what Chico Mann — the stage name of Marcos J. Garcia — does on stage for DJing. “I get mistaken for a DJ, and it’s like, ‘Wow, no, this is not DJ,'” Mann says. As a member…
As far as American cities go, Kansas City isn’t at the top of the list when it comes to violence, tunes, and scandal. But that wasn’t always the case, with the city’s music and organized crime worlds inextricably intertwined. Kansas City was a hotbed of jazz in the ’40s, acting…
Since 1999, Huntington Beach’s Avenged Sevenfold has been on a tear. Emerging from the Southern California metalcore scene, the band firmly established itself as a force in mainstream metal, with an eclectic style that draws as much from hair metal theatrics as it does hardcore breakdowns. The band’s five studio…
We’re sure that somewhere, there’s a Lord of the Rings fan — they like to be referred to as “Ringers,” mind you — who is totally comfortable with the opposite sex, doesn’t live in his mom’s basement, and doesn’t spend his days dreaming of Mordor and reciting poems about Tom…
Lindsey Buckingham was always the most punk of the soft-rockers. Never mind his following up Fleetwood Mac’s Rumours with the weird-as-hell Tusk, recording vocals in the bathroom and trying to get Talking Heads with a marching band on the title track; even his Fleetwood hits are models of stripped-down intensity…
Mainstream pop punk fizzled out as a commercial prospect when the Hot Topic demographic traded in their Hurley T-shirts and baggy shorts for guyliner and skinny jeans. But no one passed the memo on to New Found Glory, who have stayed true to the brash, poppy force that defined the…
Sam Groove is one technologically inclined cat. The 25-year-old DJ wields a laptop, iMac, Pioneer DJM-400 mixer, and various MIDI controllers, amps, and more than 10,000 MP3s at his disposal. When he steps up to the stage at Club Red, 2155 East University Drive in Tempe, during Red Light Disco…
Thursday 6 27th Avenue Bar: DJ Manage (Top 40) Afterlife: Thumpin’ Thursdays (various) AZ 88: Josh One (various) Blue Martini: Rewind Thursday with DJ Mendez (hip-hop, dance, Top 40) Bobby Q’s: DJ Deuce (hip-hop) BS West: Intravenous Thursdays (goth, industrial, electronic, ’80s) Capitol Sports Lounge: DJ JS3 (various) Carly’s Bistro:…
Disturbing Tha Peace/Def Jam recording artist Willy Northpole has been busy lately — dropping new tracks via his Twitter and Tumblr sites. Recent tracks include “George Kush” and “I’m Gucci,” and last week he released “Two Fresh Too Cool,” hinting at a seriously poppy direction. The track is a departure…
There were plenty of shenanigans at Martini Ranch on Sunday, October 2. Fans of hair metal rocked out to Metalhead while others danced in the packed Shaker Room to the sounds of DJ Dave “Wave.” We captured the fun in this week’s Club Candids slideshow…
Are you the kind of Korn fan that’s bummed out that the band’s new single, “Get Up” features Skrillex (of “macho-izing dubstep” and “Girls That Look Like Skrillex” fame) and abandons the band’s nü-metal sound in favor of…well…a kind of dubsteppy nü-metal sound? Fear not — Brian “Head” Welch, the…
New York’s experimental rock band Gang Gang Dance hits up the Valley tonight, headlining the Crescent Lounge during its inaugural week. Jamming on the band’s latest album Eye Contact is a mind-warping experience, and between all the loopy sound-scapes, abstract synth structures and aural embellishments, we found our thoughts wandering…
Well the Diamondbacks extended their postseason dreams with an 8-1 drubbing of the Milwaukee Brewers last night at Chase Field. After dropping the first two games in this best of five playoff series, the D’backs find themselves in quite the predicament knowing that they can’t lose another game if they…
Unknown Mortal Orchestra, What Laura Says, and St. Ranger Crescent Ballroom Tuesday, October 4, 2011 It’s official: Crescent Ballroom is open, and people are excited about it. Last night was…well, really, kind of perfect. The rain mostly cleared, leaving a strange…what’s the word? Non-heat? Less hot? Oh yeah– coolness –in…
As a kid, a lot of things creep you out that really shouldn’t. Shower drains, primarily, along with cryptic pictures of Jesus Christ and, of course, clowns (John Wayne Gacy, Jr. being the exception.) Certain bands seem to play on that irrational childhood fear, making their music a year-round Halloween-style creepfest…
Gear up to buy tickets to the performances of some really solid talent.311, Chris Cornell, The Chariot, and other artists will be bringing their shows to town soon.The rest of this week’s just announced shows after the jump…..
UPDATE: The show has been rescheduled for Friday, December, 9.Yesterday we brought the news that the ever-busy Maynard James Keenan was bringing his art-rock/comedy troupe Puscifer to Phoenix on Friday, December 9, with the venue TBA. Today, we can confirm that Puscifer is scheduled to perform at the place we…
Nothing is Wrong, the sophomore album from Los Angeles rock ‘n’ roll band Dawes, is an earnest effort. There are times you wonder if it’s too earnest, to forthcoming about its mellow, sun-drenched intentions. But the album works, charming right past your cynicism, with golden-hued tracks like the Band-recalling “Million…
There are tribute bands, and then there’s something like The Musical Box. The Canadian band doesn’t just pay tribute to Genesis, it painstakingly recreates specific periods of the prog rock band’s history, using vintage equipment, stage sets, and in the case of their Lamb Lies Down on Broadway tribute, actual…
If last night’s debut of the Crescent Ballroom is any indication, the new music and nightlife venue has a grand future ahead of it. A sold out crowd of more than 400 people were in attendance to break in the posh concert hall for its grand opening and there were…
