Well, it’s Friday. You know, I feel like there was some song that made a big splash this year about Friday…but…I can’t quite remember it. Must not have been that catchy. Your weekend is not doubt packed with holiday parties to attend, but in case you need a break from…
UPDATE: For more photos of Tennis, Miniature Tigers, and Gospel Claws click here.Let’s just put it out there: The first time I heard indie boy-girl buzz band Tennis, I absolutely hated them. For starters, I generally hate chick singers who don’t have anything spectacular to offer (though a few of my…
What can we say? We’re suckers for a good cause. Hoodlums Music’s Art Rocks! event is certainly a good one. The indie record store is teaming with Arts Council for Youth, Marcos de Niza High School, Kyrene Middle School, and the City of Tempe for the Saturday, December 10 gig,…
X set itself apart from its first-generation punk contemporaries with Exene Cervenka and John Doe’s dueling vocals and a serious dose of roots and rockabilly in its sound. X has a difficult and fascinating history. Cervenka and Doe started the band as a couple, got married, divorced, wrote a few…
Dream Theater at Ikeda at Mesa Arts Center Loyal fans talk about Dream Theater’s live show in hushed, reverential tones. I’d never experienced the band live before last night, but years of hearing fans rave about the prog-rock theatrics of the long-running group set my expectations high. Mesa Arts Center’s…
Dream Theater Ikeda Theater at Mesa Arts Center Sunday, December 4, 2011 Loyal fans talk about Dream Theater’s live show in hushed, reverential tones. I’d never experienced the band live before last night, but years of hearing fans rave about the prog-rock theatrics of the long-running group set my expectations…
Best Beach Wavves Coast House Fossils. There are plenty of “beachy” bands out there, and most of them combine 60’s pop melodies with boatloads of reverb. Tennis plays off the nautical theme — on in name, but in origin: the Colorado husband and wife team were initially inspired by a…
Iron & Wine Crescent Ballroom 12/2/11 How much saxophone is too much saxophone? You might want to ask the young lady who passed out during the extended dub-into-free jazz-psychedelic blues skronk of “Wolves (Song of the Shepherd’s Dog),” the fifth song played by Iron & Wine last night at Crescent…
Well, it’s December, which means you can’t avoid it any longer: it’s time to start Christmas shopping. That’s my plan at least, a desperate attempt to get it done sometime before, oh, December 23, as is my usual scramble. But there’s plenty of music going on, too. After you get…
Drip, drip, drop. There’s nothing quite as soothing as a nice little December shower to cool the senses. Unless of course if you throw in a nice hot cup of coffee and some acoustic musings by Tucson pop rockers, Steff Koeppen and the Articles. Koeppen along with a violinist from…
Rachael Yamagata with Mike Viola Crescent Ballroom Wednesday, November 30 I first heard Rachael Yamagata two years ago when she opened for folk/rock duo Swell Season at the Mesa Arts Center. She played for only 45 minutes that night, but made a lasting impression with her witty banter and heartfelt…
If you want to get noticed on the internet, cats are an easy way to do it. If you have any doubts, just watch this Catvertising video. Roar, a local pop/indie band got hip to the cat formula for its most recent music video, “I Can’t Handle Change.” Sporting a…
Busy giving thanks over your four-day weekend? Don’t worry, here’s what you missed at Up on the Sun: Sister Cities and Doctor Bones The Rogue Bar kicked off Saturday night with a charismatic and interactive performance by Doctor Bones followed by local charmers Sister Cities. Both bands were on point…
The Devil Wears Prada Marquee Theatre Monday, November 21, 2011 I found myself at The Devil Wears Prada show in large part due to my kid brother. He’s been high on openers Enter Shikari for a couple of years now and asked me to accompany him to the show. While…
Marks Sultan, The Wrong Ones, Andrew and His Feisty Felines, and The Cosmeticators Trunk Space Monday, November 21 Mark Sultan: Someone has offered me a Xanax and an enema tonight. Audience member: Welcome to Phoenix! Such was the tone last night at Mark Sultan’s Phoenix stop. He seemed perturbed at…
Morrissey Orpheum Theatre Sunday, November 20, 2011 Click here for more photos by Maria Vassett Morrissey has never been the kind of artist to shy away from what’s on his mind. Animal rights is a topic near and dear to the man’s heart, and while songs like “Meat Is Murder”…
Immortal Technique at the Puente Office Friday was a good night to fight the powers that be, especially if you were in Phoenix around 13th and Van Buren. In the wake of the Pearce recall, Puente Movement and Sound Strike hosted a neighborhood style Hip Hop show to celebrate and…
Kreayshawn Marquee Theatre Saturday, November 19, 2011 I love Tempe for the most part. This city has lots of great restaurants and bars, but there are certain elements that drive me crazy. Thanks to a free Kreayshawn show and the big ASU/U of A game, most of the things I…
John Prine and Loudon Wainwright III Orpheum Theatre Saturday, November 19, 2011 Early yesterday afternoon, I found myself at Tempe Marketplace, wandering the parking lot dazed. Christmas music wafted through the air. With nearly a week left before Thanksgiving. Look, I get it, but I’m a traditionalist. Some people hate…
Mr. Meeble Crescent Ballroom Friday, November 18, 2011 Last night was Mr. Meeble’s homecoming after a two-month European tour that the group planned entirely on its own. The Crescent Ballroom gave Meeble a warm welcome, and judging by how many times frontman Devin Fleenor said, “It’s good to be back,”…
DJentrification’s weekly Palace World Music night at Filmbar always features far out world music, but this weekend, it’s got another goal as well. “I have been to South East Asia and feel very lucky for all the good people I met, for the records I was able to dig, for…
The Hype Music project has added another Arizona rapper to its family. Mesa’s lyrical linguist Hannibal Leq has joined the MTV and Extreme Music partnership. The last time we saw Leq he was rocking the microphone alongside The New F-O’s MCs Pancho and Lifted in our exclusive video. As a…
