By Benjamin Leatherman Slipknot and the metal misfits of the Rockstar Energy Drink Mayhem Festival take over Cricket Wireless Pavillion this afternoon. Here’s a rundown of all the major concerts and big-time gigs that will be going down around the Valley over the next 72 hours. Click links for ticket…
Usually, I like to post fliers for upcoming events in the “Flier of the Week” section. But this flier for a rave last weekend was just too good to pass up. Rock on with your clock on, Flava Flav!
2012: The Odyssey: 7 p.m. Friday and Saturday, July 18 and 19, and 2:30 p.m. Sunday, July 20, at East West Exchange By Clay McNear December 21, 2012. 12/21/12. The End Date. Whatever. While I’m sure I’ll have mixed feelings if the Apocalypse really does go down on the Winter…
By Steve Jansen The B-Side Players apparently aren’t digging some of our local jazz acts. The other night, I ran into Ted Sistrunk, who played bass for two of the four local bands on the New Times Summer of Sound: Jazz bill on Friday, July 11. (I was at The…
THURSDAY 17 Axis/Radius: Divine Ladies Night with MCB & DJ Devine (various) Blooze Bar: DJ El Dedo (rockabilly) Bunkhouse: DJ Doom (dance) Cash Inn: DJ Sting (hip-hop, dance) Cherry Lounge: Greed Thursdays (hip-hop, Top 40) Club Forbidden: Lips Thursdays with DJs Domenica, Hill, & MJ (various) Club Red: The Blunt Club with Pickster…
Mexican artists have recorded English-language songs for decades, but the opposite is rare. American musicians have historically treated Mexican music like they treat Mexicans, and when they do bother to cover a classic, they tend to sound absolutely awful. Here, we present our favorite American covers of Mexican songs, plus…
“The music industry,” declares Less than Jake drummer and lyricist Vinnie Fiorello, “is pointing toward bands becoming their own cottage industry. Which means bands being in charge of their own merch, distribution of records, and production of records.” Fiorello makes this claim of the power of independence with an assurance…
It’s a sweaty Wednesday and I’m running some errands after work when I find myself on the west side of Phoenix. I’m on autopilot, stuck in traffic, when I spot an oasis — a lighted sign that says nothing but “Cocktails” on an old, nondescript block building. I barely avoid…
If you have wanted to check out Phoenix-based Treasure Mammal, but aren’t ready for one of his longer efforts, listening to this 7-inch is the perfect way to ease yourself into his unique (if not slightly disturbed) sonic art. “Ain’t No Shame in My Game” features a sparse techno beat…
Phoenix metal band Fracture Point sounds like a mastodon stampede, but instead of directionless destruction, this beast intelligently winds its way through a well-constructed maze of down-tuned guitars, burly bass lines, screaming solos, and tricky timing changes. In the “sounds like” category, they’re akin to bands like Lamb of God…
When the members of Three 6 Mafia won a 2006 Best Song Oscar for “It’s Hard Out Here for a Pimp,” from Hustle & Flow, they reacted with so much exuberance that they made Cuba Gooding Jr.’s Jerry Maguire acceptance speech seem restrained by comparison — and even though the…
While parents have predictably freaked out over the social menace imposed by the blues, jazz, secular R&B, rock ‘n’ roll, heavy metal, rap, and techno, they never seemed to bat an eyelash over Steely Dan. In fact, they seemed to dig the band more than anyone. And it’s a testament…
Cute Is What We Aim For is likely the perfect 21st-century pop band. Almost purpose-built for short-attention-span marketing campaigns, the four gents in CIWWAF focus so heavily on pop sheen, hooks, and scenester touchstones that it’s often difficult to figure out just what the sum of the parts is. Then…
Like his dad Larry, singer-songwriter James McMurtry knows characters. But unlike his novelist father — who penned The Last Picture Show and Lonesome Dove, and wrote Brokeback Mountain’s screenplay — the guys and gals who populate James’ work don’t even bother looking for a way out. They’re already down for…
Even with Ozzfest gearing up for another go, metalheads would be hard pressed to find a better festival bill this summer than the Rockstar Energy Mayhem tour. Slipknot — Iowa’s favorite (and probably only) Grammy-winning metal band — headlines the melee, with a barrage of badass metallers in tow, including…
Summertime ain’t a dead time as far as the local rave scene is concerned. The particular all-hours party that we’re going to be swooping into will definitely be The Dark Knight, being put on by Silent Unspoken Entertainment on Saturday, July 19, in honor of that certain comic book flick…
Here’s the top 10 best-selling albums for Zia Record Exchange, 1940 West Chandler Boulevard in Chandler, for the week of July 7 to 13. 1. Beck, Modern Guilt (Geffen) 2. Lil Wayne, Tha Carter III (Universal) 3. The Maine, Can’t Stop Won’t Stop (Fearless) 4. Sigur Rós, Med Sud I…
This weekend marks the New Times Summer of Sound “experimental” show. The event, scheduled to take place Friday, July 18, at Papillons Too (formerly Cell Block) in Mesa, features local eclectic outfit Janis Joplin Crap N Vomit, along with three other great local bands and headliners Estradasphere Trio.
By Jonathan McNamara Last time we saw the Minibosses press start on their own brand of 8-bit Nintendo music, it was under the influence of several spirits at Yucca Tap Room’s Shotfest 2. It was good, but unmistakably degraded by a waterfall of alcoholic substances. Looking for a chance to…
By Lilia Menconi For more sweaty goodness, check the slideshow. Since Glam closed, we’ve been on a mission. We’ve got to find another place where people are sporting everything from jeans and Converse to designer dresses to wrestling masks. We dig dancing amid total chaos — it’s the only way…
If you’re a band from the Phoenix metro area and would like to have your CD reviewed here, please send it to me at:
This weekend was full of fun (and rain). Friday, July 11, the New Times Summer of Sound jazz show took place at the Brickhouse Theatre. I was not there for personal reasons (a close friend had a medical emergency in the family), but I heard the event was smooth and groovy. Props and thanks to all the local acts that played the show — Jazz Robot, Eric Rasmussen, Music for Bowlers, and Jiggle — and headlining act, the B-Side Players.
