Jonathan McNamara Chances are that if you wanted to see Duran Duran tonight at Dodge Theater, you’ve already got a ticket for that seat closest to the stage so that if you squint hard enough it’ll be almost like hearing “Rio” for the first time back in 1982. Please allow…
The Wiley family’s produced its share of local music talent. Sisters Marta and Cristiana were the cornerstone of estro-art rockers W.O.M.B., and now their brother, Sammy Wiley, has released his first CD as “The Wiley One.”
When I heard there was a KISS tribute band comprised of “little people,” I knew I couldn’t miss this show. I’d never seen anything like it before, and I’ll admit I was curious. Whenever a band has a gimmick that’s as awesome as being “Minikiss,” I immediately question their musical validity. I wanted to see if these little dudes could actually play their parts, as opposed to just looking like them.
This week was a like a rock-revival for concert announcements — acts that haven’t toured in forever are loading up the buses and making their way into the Valley. But as you’ll see, some newer, underground acts will be breaking in the stages here as well.
Avril Lavigne, scheduled to perform at Cricket Wireless Pavilion on Friday, May 2, is suffering from laryngitis and her concert has been canceled.
By Jonathan McNamara Sure the actual holiday is still four days off, but it’s never to soon for some Cinco de Mayo Celebration. Hard Rock Cafe is getting started tonight with performances from Latin hip-hop artists MC Magic and DJ Kane. For more on Cinco De Mayo events check out…
Local indie rock band Source Victoria [http://www.myspace.com.sourcevictoria] is offering its CD, the fast escape for free download on its Web site, www.sourcevictoria.net. The album, hailed as “a beautiful narcotic” by Phoenix New Times music writer Serene Dominic in his recent feature [http://phx-experimental.voicemediagroup.com/2008-01-17/music/phoenix-band-source-victoria-s-brew-of-distress-and-pleasure-just-may-have-created-a-new-genre-xanaxcore/] on the band, was produced by Chris Testa (Jimmy Eat World, Dixie Chicks) and has garnered accolades from such local superstars as Jim Adkins from Jimmy Eat World.
THURSDAY 1 Bar Smith: Peppermint Lounge with DJs Brazilia, & Mara (various) Blooze Bar: DJ El Dedo (rockabilly) Bunkhouse: DJ Doom (dance) Club Forbidden: DJ Domenica, DJ Hill, & DJ MJ (various) Club Red: The Blunt Club with Pickster One, DJ Element, Emerg McVay (hip-hop, breaks) Crown Room: Crush Thursdays with…
Given that the Breeders release records less often than February 29 appears on your kitchen calendar (this month’s Mountain Battles makes just four albums in the past 18 years), guitarist Kelley Deal may be better known for playing colleague and caretaker to her twin sister, Pixies bassist and Breeders leader…
On a recent First Friday, I dispensed with the art early to take in some music. But instead of the folk singers, experimental rock acts, and hip-hop I usually catch on Roosevelt Row during one of these chaotic art-walk nights, I was headed to hear the Grammy Award-winning Phoenix Bach…
[A fictional transcript of the 27th debate between presidential hopefuls Senator Barack Obama and Senator Hillary Clinton.] George Stephanopoulos, moderator: Before we get to some less pressing issues, such as Iraq, gas prices, and healthcare, I’d like to ask both of you a question that’s on most Americans’ minds these…
Bay Area rapper and Quannum Projects co-founder Lyrics Born, a.k.a. Tom Shimura, has a big, engaging personality, whether on wax — as with his new disc, Everywhere at Once — or on the phone. Noting that he reads most reviews of his albums, the personable LB was eager to give…
A recurring aspect of pop history is the “hit machine,” a moniker bestowed upon creative teams of producers, songwriters, and/or record labels known for a distinctive style and lots of hits. The Motown Sound, Phil Spector’s Wall of Sound, and Bacharach/David are iconic examples — Philly Soul is another. In…
Clinic’s path back to form after a half-hearted detour with Winchester Cathedral finds the Liverpool art rockers leaning constructively toward late ’60s alchemy even more than they did on 2007’s Visitations. Although the spastic riffs that curl ’round Do It!’s stompy garage ditties are as prominent as they were on…
A mix of blues, folk, and acoustic rock with fringes of jazz is what you hear on this new release by the duo of brothers Chris (from Medeski, Martin & Wood) and Oliver Wood, which follows up 2006’s Ways Not to Lose. Again under the production of John Medeski, the…
When Duran Duran made its U.S. splash in 1981, the heady excess and glitter of the era, along with the surging energy of MTV, made it difficult to tell whether or not the band would amount to a flash in the pan. Certainly, the pouffy-haired fivesome looked good and the…
John and Julian, Bob and Jakob, or Loudon and Rufus: The “like father, like son” adage in rock/pop music has always been a somewhat shaky proposition over the years. Liam Finn, son of Neil Finn (Crowded House) cuts a similar cloth in some songs, in which a few Lennon-driven melodies…
The hearts of local drum ‘n’ bass fanatics are thumping like some dope-ass Goldie track in anticipation of this weekend’s gig by the U.K.’s Micky Finn. Over the past two decades, the British beatmaster and producer (whose slogan states he’s been “mugging ya ears off since 1988”) helped pioneer and…
You want real “alternative” music? How about a CD titled Stories Told: Harmonized Peyote Songs? That’s the title of the new collection of authentic Native American folk songs from Grammy award-winner Verdell Primeaux with Terry Hanks. It’s one of several releases of indigenous music, folk dance, and pow-wow songs from Canyon Records, a local label that’s the focus of this week’s Local Label Spotlight.
Silver Martini & Wine in Phoenix on Saturday, April 26. By: Lilia Menconi For more sultry scenery click here. It’s been too long since we hit the downtown scene, and we were beginning to miss our old digs. So on Saturday, April 26, we strolled down Washington Street looking for…
The local garage rock babes of Bella have decided to reunite for one show, on Thursday, May 1, at The Rogue.
Twin sisters Tegan and Sara Quin spread their musical wings on their sixth (and latest) album, The Con, adding a bit more depth to their arrangements and increasing the potency of their New Wave/indie pop/freak-folk cocktail. But it’s their onstage banter that’s garnered them the most attention lately. It provided the angle for a recent story on the sisters by The Associated Press, and even Sara had to talk about how much she talks onstage at the duo’s gig in Tempe.
