Captain Squeegee Crescent Ballroom 1/29/14 If David Gilmour and Jerry Garcia linked up in Phoenix and decided to begin playing jazz music, it’s a safe bet that said collaboration would sound something like Captain Squeegee. The local atomic jazz-fusion act, still riding high following the release of their sophomore album,…
Local band Dirty Hairy is a bit of an anomaly. Led by frontman H. Shelton Valentine, a raspy-voiced punk rock dervish in the body of an aspiring Buddha, the band cranks out some of the most questionable covers you could imagine, along with a smattering of punk/metal hybrid originals. And…
Skinny Puppy Marquee Theatre 1/27/14 “Do you like Skinny Puppy?” It’s a question that was posed to me at a warehouse rave somewhere in the Midwest in the late ’90s by a fellow wearing combat boots, black BDU cutoffs, and long black dreads atop an otherwise shaved head. He had…
Many a moneymaker got shaken this past weekend, and not just at the various dance clubs dotting the Metro Phoenix night scene. A few off-the-chain and off-the-radar dance parties took place around downtown Phoenix, ranging from the rave-like affair The Underground at The Pressroom to the industrial-strength fun of Fallout.Shelter…
There’s going to be a war going on inside Club Red tomorrow night — and your cochlea may not survive the battle. The Tempe music venue will play host to representatives of some of the music world’s most heaviest and hardest music genres — including Portland’s Toxic Holocaust and Northern…
Want to get in a show this week? There are plenty of concerts and live gigs 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…
The Rebel Set, The Oakland Raiders, Freaks of Nature Rogue Bar 1/24/2014 There were a few lessons to be gleaned from The Rebel Set’s record release show at the Rogue Bar on Friday night. The sound guy, for example, learned in the middle of the second set, that one might…
Something especially insidious will be lurking just beneath downtown Phoenix after darkness falls weekend. But before you ask, it’s not a C.H.U.D., Balrog, or hellspawn. More like a slew of sinister subterranean creatures of a more fetishistic and rivethead bent. Specifically, we’re referring to the throng of pleather-clad freaks and…
Here’s the problem: I’d really like to open this Top 5 Must-See Phoenix Shows This Weekend with an animated GIF of Dick Van Dyke and his a cappella group just kind of dancing around and having a good time. But that’s on their official website, and not designated a press…
Phil Anselmo has been a pioneering metal vocalist ever since coming on board with Pantera in 1987. Since then, he’s contributed vocals to more than three dozen acts–most notably as the front man of Down and Superjoint Ritual–and has been involved in twice as many other projects, including voicing Satan…
Open Mic with Ryan Sims at Nabers in Chandler Tuesday night gave me so much more than what I was expecting, which I love when it comes to live music. I had the opportunity to listen to and really get to know some amazing local talent. There weren’t too many…
Nick Thorburn calls Islands’ fifth album, Ski Mask, a culmination and summation of everything the band has done. Since the band arrived with Return to the Sea (after the dissolution of The Unicorns), Islands has turned in stylistically varied albums, from explosively poppy to emotionally somber. “Ski Mask is everything…
Parquet Courts, Destruction Unit, Dogbreth Crescent Ballroom 1/20/2014 Those looking for the through line connecting Brooklyn-by-way-of-Texas post-punkers Parquet Courts to Dogbreth and Destruction Unit, the two Phoenix bands they shared the Crescent Ballroom stage with Monday night, might look to the impassioned yet cynical refrain of the Courts’ “Master of…
Talking to 3 Doors Down guitarist Chris Henderson you get the sense that he lives by the Keep It Simple, Stupid code of music life. When you are in a rock and roll band, you need to just enjoy the ride and not overthink things or worry about how long…
Oregon-based reggae five-piece Synrgy played Tempe’s Sail Inn on Friday night, along with locals Kush County and Vegas-based Lady Reiko and the Sin City Prophets. The entire show was played on the Sail Inn’s indoor stage, which generally would be a bad thing. (Even jovial Synrgy fron man Brian Zach…
The Freaks of Nature have It. Whether it is charisma, spunk, panache, chutzpah, or a mix of everything and more the Valley-based proto-punks are entertaining as hell. They play a fast-paced style of rock that is as easy to shake and shimmy to as it is to mosh. At their…
We’re just about three weeks into 2014 and it seems like the concert schedule has finally shaken off its post-holiday doldrums. Bands and musicians everywhere — especially those of the touring variety — have finally finished their month-long sabbaticals and returned to the grind of the road. And you, the…
So, how was your weekend? Perhaps you got all up in the club, got in as much revelry as possible, or got yourself into one of the big concerts going on around town. Then again, maybe you just sat around killing time before the big NFC or AFC championship games…
Yellowcard Nile Theater 1/18/14 Attending Yellowcard’s show on Saturday night at the Nile made me realize just how old I’m getting — and I was one of the youngest persons there. Along with a crowd of 20-somethings, 30-somethings, and a few teens, I was celebrating the tenth anniversary of Yellowcard’s…
Volcano Choir Crescent Ballroom 1/17/14 Volcano Choir gave Phoenix a bit of a treat last night — the first stop on the band’s short west coast tour. Their Crescent Ballroom concert on Friday night was sold out well ahead of time and could have very well been moved to a…
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…
Treasure Mammal is one of those bands that you have to see live to fully understand. Words can only go so far to describe the performance art, interpretive dance, and random nods to pop culture that make up a Treasure Mammal show. This is the type of band you want…
