Concerts

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Like a good watch, beautiful machines require intricate movements and many parts to work right. Kan Wakan, the grandiose and dark pop act that’s fronted by vocalist Kristianne Bautista with composer Gueorgui Linev and guitarist Peter Potyondy at its production core, is such a finely tuned act. With a sound…

With age comes wisdom. Like the common sense notion that the best way to tackle an event as big and complex as tonight’s Viva PHX music festival is to have a plan, and a good one at that. And given the sheer number of bands and venues involved (more than…

Time can be unkind to indie’s progenitors. Bands either burn out or fade away, eclipsed by the newest trend with careers measured in years rather than decades. Pinback, the Southern California forerunner of both indie rock and the home recording movement, is an exception to such aging, keeping true to…

Some of the best things in life are misunderstood by most, and even better things are often worth waiting for. Such is the case for Los Angeles’ In the Valley Below, a duo consisting of vocalists/instrumentalists Jeffrey Jacob and Angela Gail, whose success with their thumping, melodic hit “Peaches” last…

It’s not an easy feat to strike a balance between seriousness and goofiness as successfully as Boston rock band Krill does. You title a song “Turd” or sell your second album as a USB drive stuck into a ball of mozzarella, and you’re inviting some derision. Krill, however, sidesteps all…

Dee Dee Penny, founder and frontwoman of Dum Dum Girls, is known for her shy disposition. She’s probably also tired of hearing about it in the press, but only one second into our phone call, it’s obvious how reserved, quiet, and thoughtful she is. The way she speaks is absolutely…

Dave Hause Rhythm Room Tuesday, March 4, 2014 “Don’t tell the Internet, but there is no Loved Ones.” Sorry, Dave, the secret’s out. Dave Hause, frontman of melodic punk band The Loved Ones, performed his first solo show in Arizona Tuesday night and stuck to his own material, save for…

Being labeled as a genre’s pioneer can be an exhausting role, sometimes allowing these once forward-thinking musicians an opportunity to rest on their laurels. For Blake Miller, the frontman and lynchpin to Los Angeles’ dance-punk act Moving Units, rest isn’t an option. Not just content with working under Moving Units’…

This Friday’s Viva PHX Music Festival, which takes over downtown Phoenix for a night, won’t just feature popular national bands tearing it up on 14 Valley stages. Included in the lineup of more than 70 musical acts are some of the most notable local bands to represent the Valley. As…

Music journalism is rife with writers quick to say that a band “defies all conventions” or “breaks the mold.” It’s rarely the case, but sometimes an act comes along that’s worthy of the sensational labels. YACHT, a dance-pop duo from Los Angeles via Portland, is the act in question, having…

Vertical Scratchers come with one helluva goddamn resume. John Schmersal is a former member of ’90s synthpunk luminaries Brainiac (and Enon and Crooks on Tape and a touring member of Caribou, but who’s keeping track?), and partner Christian Beaulieu has put in his time with Triclops! and Anywhere. Their debut…

Sometimes tension is a necessary tool in the creative process, and other routes must be taken reach a goal. Such is the case for Painted Palms, the San Francisco-based electro-pop act composed of cousins Reese Donohue and Christopher Prudhomme, whose late-night emailings of clips and samples has yielding something much…

Want to get in a show this week? There are plenty of concerts over the next five days around Metro Phoenix to choose from, as you can see for yourself by viewing our extensive online concert listings. And we’re fairly certain that there’s something for everyone, regardless of your particular…

Ramona Gonzalez is simply a musical paradox. Operating under the moniker Nite Jewel, the Echo Park-based musician weaves synth-driven pop that’s as much a product of the Casiotone era as it is ’90s R&B. Where one might expect instrumentation to be lo-fi, Gonzalez shines such production to a polish, layering…

The Ataris Pub Rock 2/28/14 Kris Roe is the perfect cannon fodder for a music reviewer looking to go harsh on a singer. His band is hardly relevant, his recent shows have been fairly lackluster, and he’s had his fair share of attitudinal problems. Saying his group, The Ataris, stunk…

While bands and musicians from all over the states will head to the Valley for next Friday’s Viva Phoenix music festival, none will travel as far as Honolulu-based rockers Kings of Spade. The five-piece band will be jetting from their island home to the mainland as a part of their…

Hear that? It’s the clock counting down the hours until your weekend begins and it’s nearing the magic moment known as quitting time. To help the time pass more quickly, you might consider what it is you’ll actually be doing during the next couple days and nights of work-free bliss…

Miley Cyrus US Airways Center 2/27/14 It was a pot — and pop — lover’s paradise at 21-year-old Miley Cyrus’ packed-house Bangerz tour stop Thursday night in Phoenix. Concertgoers walked in to see multi-colored balloons hanging from the ceiling and covering giant fixtures throughout US Airways Center. The smell of…

Lawrence and Mark Zubia are flat-out Arizona rock ‘n’ roll royalty. Simply put, it would be difficult to find a more accomplished set of musician brothers from around these parts, save for the Meat Puppets’ Cris and Curt Kirkwood. But one could make an argument that the Zubia siblings have…

The Ataris have always been Kris Roe’s baby. He is the singer, chief songwriter, and one constant member of the platinum-selling pop-punk band. An Indiana native, Roe has been fortunate enough to see music he wrote and performed go platinum in March 2003. For the 10-year anniversary of that platinum…

Madball Pub Rock 2/25/14 Upon entering the low-lit dungeon of Scottsdale’s Pub Rock Tuesday night, there was an immediate wall of aggro vibes smashing you in the face. More than understandable, considering the night’s entertainment was New York hardcore legends Madball. Formed in the late ’80s after a trend had…