Top 5 Must-See Phoenix Shows This Week

Don’t worry: This man has not been harmed. He’s simply very intensely hopeful that you’ll come see his show. If you don’t–well, he could stop bleeding, or he could bleed even more. It’s hard to tease out his emotions. (View our complete concert calendar here.)…

Lock Up Your Moms: Train Is Headlining Liquid Sol

Look, your mom deserves to be happy. You get that and I get that. Dad’s been gone for a while, and all the kids are starting families of their own, and she’s certainly earned the chance to focus on herself for a change. But there’s something about Pat, her new…

Janelle Monáe – Marquee Theatre – 1/11/14 (PHOTOS)

It’s really a shame Janelle Monáe was ordered by doctors to postpone her November performance at the Crescent Ballroom late last year for “mandatory vocal rest.” If her performance would have been anything like the Saturday, January 11, concert at Marquee Theatre, it most certainly would have been on our…

Wooden Indian – Crescent Ballroom – 1/10/13

Rubber Brother Records is really cool — the cassettes, the amazing DIY shows, the sincere work with high-school-age musicians, and now a seamless transition from an epic underground festival to a sardine-can-tight all-ages show at Crescent Ballroom along with one of Phoenix’s premier acts, Wooden Indian. Like a lot of…

The Shivereens – Crescent Ballroom – 1/7/13

It feels as though about once a month the Crescent Ballroom puts on a free show that could make you think, “Are you sure we weren’t supposed to pay for this?” And January 7 was definitely one of those nights. The evening kicked off at 8 with D.G. Scherrer backed…

The Whisperlights’ Long Distance Relationship Is Over

After five years of fun and memorable shows, The Whisperlights are calling it quits. Like all veterans of long-distance relationships, the band members tried to make it work by getting together once a year or so and rekindling the magic, but they had the added problem of trying to get…

EyeHateGod Is More Than Just a Catchy Name

“I think there’s a big misconception of EyeHateGod,” says Jimmy Bower. “People see the name, think, maybe these guys are Satanists, maybe they’re just stupid.” I first heard EyeHateGod back in 1992 when In the Name of Suffering came out. Admittedly, I was as enthused by their name as much…

Top 5 Must-See Phoenix Shows This Week

Are you still writing 2013 on your checks? Are you still writing checks? If the first full week of the year has you a little jet-lagged, it might not seem like a good idea to go to a probably loud show that goes until probably very late at night. But…

Top 5 Must-See Phoenix Shows This Weekend

The post-holiday hangover is in full effect and it’s more than a little funky. We’re still finishing off the last of our Christmas leftover, trashing the remainder of the decorations and festive miscellanies, and trying to get our brainpans back into a normal schedule after all these mid-week holidays and…

PHX FMLY FEST – Downtown Phoenix – 12/27/13

For anyone who has ever made the claim that Phoenix has no music scene, I direct you to Robbie Pfeffer, Gage Olesen, and Rubber Brother Records. Since June, the partners have been running their successful cassette tape label and providing Phoenix with some of the most eclectic, community-based, do-it-yourself shows…

Top 5 Must-See Phoenix Shows This Weekend

Welcome to the holiday season nexus. Please turn in your seasonally appropriate pop songs. Please return to the city where you work. Please await further instructions. Do not think about New Year’s Eve. It’s not here yet and kind of a disappointment anyway. (View our complete concert calendar here.)…

Folk Rock Is Revived in “Live From Laurel Canyon”

Musical hotspots seem to circulate around the country. Hair metal was birthed along the Sunset Strip in late-1980s Los Angeles, but before those boys started teasing their hair and wearing makeup there was a counter-culture movement (mostly make-up free) that happened decades earlier and just a few miles further west…

1999 Is Back, And It’s Never Going To Die

By Nathan Smith These days, swing revivalists seem to have comfortably settled into their own niche in the music industry. Brian Setzer has cornered the market in playing swingin’ Christmas carols to grown folks; Big Bad Voodoo Daddy, out on its own Christmas tour all month, will play a post-Christmas…

Sister Lip – Long Wongs, Tempe – 12/23/2013

According to Sister Lip drummer Ariel Monet, the “Lippians” have been playing Long Wongs at the Firehouse every Monday for the past seven months. But even playing the venue once a week and competing with the day before Christmas Eve couldn’t stop Sister Lip from packing the room December 23…

Top 5 Must-See Phoenix Shows This Christmas Week

There’s a big, two-day hole cut into our concert schedule this week, on account of Jesus’ birthday (observed), but I’ll be damned if this weekly Phoenix-concert-listings feature goes dark on my (and Jesus’) watch. We may or may not get to five shows, but let’s give it a shot…