Dirty Bourbon River Show a Prolific, Pint-Sized Brass Band

Dirty Bourbon River Show has been rocking out of New Orleans, Louisiana, with their brand of gypsy circus brass stylings for the past five or six years. In that time, they were able to assemble a cast of highly skilled players and multi-instrumentalists, made easier by the city’s high supply…

Amos Lee – Mesa Arts Center – 8/4/2014

It’s been six years since Phoenix has seen Amos Lee. With his Mountains of Sorrow, Rivers of Song album climbing the charts, it’s only fitting that he plays intimate shows across the country, and last night’s Mesa Arts show was intimacy paired with dark sunglasses and Americana flare. It was…

The Hold Steady – Crescent Ballroom – 8/4/14

Wow, what a show. The Hold Steady made a long overdue appearance at Crescent Ballroom last night on the Teeth Dreams tour, but mostly stuck to older material. The music was far from perfect, but that’s the beauty of going to a Hold Steady show…

Perserverence Key for Clap Your Hands Say Yeah

Clap Your Hands Say Yeah, led by singer-songwriter and Philadelphia native Alec Ounsworth, set the standard for being independent artists. In 2005, the band combined the guitarist’s unique vocals with a post-punk beat to critical acclaim on their self-titled debut. They were living proof that hard work and grassroots marketing…

Slash – Talking Stick Resort – 8/1/2014

Former Guns N’ Roses/Velvet Revolver axeman Slash brought plenty of nostalgia to Talking Stick Resort Friday night, visiting the Valley for a one-off date in the middle of his North American Tour with Aerosmith. The 49-year-old still looks almost identical to how he looked in the ’80s, still sporting his…

The Hold Steady Ready To Flex Their Touring Muscle

The changes that mark the Hold Steady’s new album are many. Starting out its second decade, the band added a new lead guitarist in Steve Selvidge. Singer Craig Finn left behind many of his signature lyrical elements. The band recorded with a new producer, Nick Raskulinecz (Foo Fighters, Deftones) in…

Lady Gaga – US Airways Center – 7/30/14 (VIDEO)

Lady Gaga brought her own version of the Electric Daisy Carnival to US Airways Center when her ArtRave: The Artpop Ball came through. The show featured neon ravewear and leg warmers, pacifier shots, glow-in-the-dark balloon backpacks, light-up squishy balls, and stuffed animals galore. It was the most colorful Gaga concert…

Tori Amos – Ikeda Theatre at Mesa Arts Center – 7/25/2014

Tori Amos, wearing leather pants underneath a long flowing dress, straddled herself on the piano bench in a position that would seem uncomfortable to anyone who played the 88 keys on a regular basis. She played “Parasol” from the 2005 album The Beekeeper with her right hand on a keyboard…

6 Best Concerts to See in Phoenix this Weekend

Instead of bitching about the weather, like we usually do here, let’s instead think of reasons why 113-degree temperatures are actually good. After all, if you live in Phoenix during the summer, the world is your sauna, am I right? And to think some folks like to be indoors when…

Sara Robinson and the Midnight Special – Crescent Ballroom – 7/18/2014

On July 13, Sara Robinson and the Midnight Special announced through their Facebook page that they would be splitting with their original lead guitarist and chief songwriter Brandon Croft. Furthermore, the band announced that following their headlining date at Crescent Ballroom last Friday the band would be taking a hiatus…

Jurassic 5 – Marquee Theatre – 7/19/2014

If having a packed house from start to finish is the benchmark for a great show, then Dilated Peoples and Jurassic 5 had a great one July 19. The Marquee Theatre was full of hip-hop heads throughout the evening, from M.C. Supernatural’s opening freestyles all the way through J5’s encore…

Mötley Crüe, Alice Cooper – Ak-Chin Pavilion – 7/19/2014

’80’s hair metal kings Mötley Crüe held very little back in the production department when their supposed final tour made its stop at Ak-Chin Pavilion on Saturday night to a sold out crowd. While there were enough pyro, flamethrowers, female dancers, and a lighting spectacle that would make a Nelson…

5 Best Concerts to See in Phoenix This Week

First, the binge. Inevitably, the come down. This past weekend was a veritable musical orgy, as a flood of touring and national bands came through Phoenix. This week, things are a little drier. Check out our five favorite shows happening this week, and browse our comprehensive concert listings for more…

Apache Lake Music Festival Announces 2014 Dates

Since it’s the worst part of the summer right now, spending more than a few hours at an outdoor music festival, let alone an entire day, isn’t something we’d recommend. However, when late October rolls around (and Arizona feels less like Satan’s grundle) whiling away an entire weekend in the…

7 Best Concerts to See This Weekend

In summertime, when we put together this list of best shows to see in Phoenix on any given weekend, we don’t have very many options. It can be slim pickings for live music around here when it hits triple digits. Not this week. There are more concerts than you could…