There are few rap songs as important to modern culture as Public Enemy’s “Fight the Power,” a rallying cry against African-American communities for their political indifference. Well, it’s been 20 years since frontman Chuck D helped scare the hell out of white America, and a black man now sits in…
THURSDAY 19 Bunkhouse: DJ Doom (dance) Cherry Lounge: Scandalous Thursday with DJ Juan Rocha (house, electronica) Club Red: The Blunt Club with Pickster Uno, DJ Element, & more (hip-hop) Copper State Tavern: Thursday Night Artist Spotlight (hip-hop) Rogue West: Vinyl Invasion with Maniac Moss (rock, garage, New Wave) FRIDAY 20…
Even witnessing it up-close and in person, the transformation is hard to believe. Grace Perry, a naturally pretty, soft-spoken 23-year-old college student and librarian, is about to turn into a monster. On a Thursday night in late January, the five members of Landmine Marathon are rehearsing at their small, unadorned…
Like it or not, DJ William Fucking Reed’s debaucherous weekly dancefest Shake! has been a Saturday-night institution for booty-shaking hepcats around P-town since launching in 2005. And after four years of rocking the Rogue Bar in Scottsdale, it’s still managing to survive and thrive amidst an ever-turbulent nightlife scene. One…
It’s said that “a Sunday well spent brings a week of content,” which is why for the past few years we’ve been spending the last night of our weekends tuned into local NPR station KJZZ (91.5 FM on your radio dial) for Bob Corritore’s program Those Lowdown Blues. Every week…
Perhaps you’ve heard of a band called Modest Mouse. They had a 2004 song, “Float On,” that quite possibly everyone in America and at least three other continents knew the lyrics to. Perhaps you’re also a fan of Morrissey and his band, The Smiths, which featured Johnny Marr on lead…
Lisa Hannigan has quickly become a hot commodity since breaking off from her collaboration with Damien Rice, especially in her native Ireland. The singer’s solo debut, Sea Sew, was recently released in the States and has been nominated for a Choice Music Prize, an award given to the best Irish…
Hellraisin’ runs in alt-country badass Hank Williams III’s family. His granddad, the patron saint of country music, was a serious drinker and drugger who checked out in the backseat of a Caddy on the way to a gig on New Year’s Eve 1953, and his daddy, who in his prime…
It’s apparently gonna be a big weekend for drum ‘n’ bass fans. In addition to the launch of the new Influx Friday monthly dance party over at Draw 10, a slew of local turntablists will be bringing the boom to Cajun restaurant Chez Monieux, 5004 South Price Road in Tempe,…
In this line of work, feeling a little old on the job is an occupational hazard. Still, few times have I felt more disconnected from the concertgoers around me than I did walking in during the last two songs by critically despised teeny-bopping post-hardcore act I Set My Friends on…
After a mass backlash from its users, Facebook is trying to make nice after the Consumerist posted an item stating that the social networking Web site owns everything its users upload, even after deleting their profiles. The site will revert back to its old terms of use, according to a…
Wait, what? The Hold Steady, beloved hipster bar band, sharing a stage with unrepentant frat-rock douches Dave Matthews Band? It’s happening in St. Louis, reports our sister paper, Riverfront Times. It’s too late to call Live Nation, and the listing for Dave at Cricket Wireless doesn’t say anything about The…
HogjawDevil in the Details(Self-released) As much as I generally prefer music that bears the stamp of the town that births it, there’s something to be said for a band that becomes so obsessed with another region’s music that they transform themselves, to the point they mimic it perfectly. The Love…
We fully admit to our jealousy of Mathew Ward. Not only does the Portland guitarist have an obscene amount of talent (which he’s demonstrated much over the past decade on seven separate full-length albums), Ward’s collaborated musically with such indie all-stars as Cat Power, Bright Eyes, and Yo La Tengo…
Attention all appreciators of fine art into making snarky comments when presented with “art” best suited for hotel bathrooms: Chow Bella has your number. “Art Burn” is a new series on Chow Bella that takes a look at various works of artistic expression hanging up in Valley eateries. This week’s…
After a horrible, seizure-inducing Hollywood Week, I was actually sort of excited to get this show on the road and hear the offerings of The Best Singers in All the Land, as decreed by the “experts.” I should have known better than to be optimistic. Have I learned nothing over…
We don’t normally run two pieces previewing acts from a single concert in our print edition, but last week I made an exception for Jessica Lea Mayfield and Annuals at Rhythm Room. After tonight’s show I’m definitely glad I did.As the headliner, Annuals, a six-piece indie act from North Carolina,…
When I blogged about the costuming blunders at the opening weekend of the Arizona Renaissance Festival last week, you were probably wondering where all the hot wenches were. Because, as we all know, that’s the real reason why so many guys flock to the ren faire. Not for the turkey…
Long-running nightspot The Buzz is transforming into Club Deep. But then again, maybe it isn’t. Confused? So am I. Some recent postings on Craigslist state that an east coast club promoter named Brian Speed has “taken over” the north Scottsdale danceteria (which was famous for its 18-and-over night). Help wanted…
As we come right smack into another Tuesday rife with new releases, I will choose to focus my energies on one particular release, N.A.S.A.’s The Spirit of Apollo. N.A.S.A. (North America/South America) is the collaboration between DJ Zegon (Ze Gonzales) and Squeak E. Clean (Sam Spiegel). Apollo has been hotly…
Or at least a sticker with their name on it did:”A bicycle with a sticker advertising a Florida punk-folk band forced the evacuation of a Memphis, Tennessee airport terminal late Monday afternoon, authorities said.A pilot alerted airport police when he saw a bike with a sticker that read “this bike…
So, since Joanna Pacitti’s American Idol audition back in Louisville, I haven’t made any secretabout the fact that her ass should’ve been sent packing long ago, especially after she forgot the words to her song during Hollywood Week. In my opinion, Pacitti has used up all of her singing lifelines…
