Concerts

Jet Life
-noun
smoking weed and rapping about it.

Railroad Revival Tour in Tempe There might be no grouping of more high-spirited entertainers than the three groups that took the stage yesterday evening in Tempe. Throughout the night, each band invited members of other bands to join them for collaborations for a few songs. Marcus Mumford was invited to…

Railroad Revival TourTrain tracks at S. Farmer Ave. and W. 5th St.Saturday, April 23, 2011Aside from some setup issues on this leg of the tour, the Railroad Revival tour is a truly great concept that, once the concert started, proved to be very well executed by all three bands that…

​The Big 4 Festival (Metallica, Slayer, Megadeth and Anthrax) Empire Polo Grounds, Indio, California Saturday, April 23, 2011 It’s not an understatement to say that yesterday’s Big 4 Festival was an event nearly three decades in the making. Since the advent of thrash metal in the early 1980s, four bands…

hile using a band for a live hip hop show is no longer unorthodox — The Roots, Lil Wayne, Atmosphere have all done it — Lupe’s show was unique. The Roots jam. Atmosphere’s tour band jams. Lupe’s band rocked.

Lil Wayne US Airways Center, Phoenix Tuesday, April 19, 2011 Lil Wayne has entertained the idea of morphing from a rapper into a full-fledged rock star for a few years now. Why would one of the world’s most successful rappers want to learn to play guitar despite being mercilessly mocked…

Fake Problems doesn’t have many problems, real or imagined. Instead of worrying, they focus on having a good time and touring often. Singer/guitarist Chris Farren taught the band how to play Bobby Darin’s “Dream Lover” while lounging poolside before opening for Lucero in Phoenix a couple months ago.The band is…

Dear Coachella,Remember me? I wrote you a letter about this time last year to voice my concerns about you. I was worried that you’d gone off the rails, blatantly ignoring the ones who loved you the most in favor of a new group of peers who were ultimately leading you…

This time around, it’s all about the music…

Tollett and Goldenvoice were determined to make 2011 as different from 2010 as best they can. Their work, so far, is a marked improvement over last year…

The Jeff Dahl Band is gearing up for its first gig in three years tonight.Dahl is back in town from Hawaii to celebrate drummer Russ Covner’s 50th birthday with a one-off gig at Hollywood Alley. Bassist Jason Smith made the trek back from Kentucky and guitarist Frank Labor is on…

​The Black Keys with Cage The Elephant and Stone Foxes Mesa Amphitheatre Thursday April 14, 2011 The duo is dead. That fact hadn’t occurred to me until about ten songs into The Black Keys set at Mesa Ampitheatre last night when I realized the band had doubled in size after a few songs…

Arcade FireComerica TheatreWednesday April 13, 2011Considering his band hasn’t played a Phoenix show in nearly seven years, Arcade Fire singer Win Butler seems to have a pretty good sense of the place.That connection goes deeper than a few localized references Butler slipped into last night’s show at Comerica Theatre in…

This week’s issue of Phoenix New Times features a preview of Motown Memories, a revue show currently playing at Scottsdale’s Talking Stick Resort that features American Idol alum and Valley native David Hernandez. Check out more from the interview with Hernandez, plus videos from the show, below.New Times: Catch us…

Toby KeithCountry Thunder 2011 at Canyon Moon Ranch in Florence, ArizonaSunday, April 10 If Woodstock ’94 holds the title for “Muddiest Music Festival, Like, Ever,” then Country Thunder 2011 out in Florence over the weekend has to go down as a solid runner up. Although the country fans in attendance…

Janet Jackson Comerica Theatre April 8, 2011 It’s easy to forget how impressive a career Janet Jackson has had over the years. But when you come from one of America’s most dysfunctional families, it’s probably not hard to get lost in the shuffle. Especially when your siblings tend to grab…

As a crowd numbering more than 1,100 watched on, M2 had his hands full to say the least. While large digital screens flashed his logo (based off the old school Phoenix Suns logo) and a countdown clock ticked off his allotted 15 minutes, M2’s hands flew and fluttered across turntables, mixers,…

Jocks chugging beer bongs, snorting lines of cocaine, and hazing nerds on stage — welcome to the magic that is a Broloaf show. The Scottsdale punk band that has been entertaining the Valley with wild on-stage antics for the past three years and will do so again when they open…

Boasting a collection of over 8,000 45’s, you never know exactly what Sir Smeezy, AKA DJ Smite is going to bring out for his Hot Plate night ever first Tuesday at The Lost Leaf. The man’s vast collection spans genres from funk, salsa, punk and gospel, and all are fair…

Akron/FamilyRhythm RoomMonday April 4, 2011Akron/Family is not from Akron, Ohio.I just wanted to clear that up right up top since I am, in fact, from Akron, Ohio while the proggy/jammy/folky/experimental indie band that awed a crowd at Rhythm Room is from Brooklyn/Portland/an energy vortex near the North American continental pole…

Pinky Tuscadero’s WhiteKnuckle AssFuckYucca Tap RoomSaturday, April 2, 2011There are two schools of thought when it comes to band reunion shows:1. “Man, they’re time is past. They broke up and should stay that way.”2. “Awesome. They’re coming back to fuck shit up one more time. Righteous.”Given a choice betwixt these…

Wolfgang Gartner Marquee Theatre April 2, 2011 Wolfgang Gartner (a.k.a. Joey Youngman) took an interest to electronic music at an early age. Gartner taught himself how to DJ by making remixes with a recorder and tape deck when he was only 12 years old. In 2007, he began producing house…