Rasslin’ fans from around the Valley and across the nation are gonna descend on the Westgate City Center en masse tomorrow afternoon, as the Glendale shopping/nightlife Mecca is throwing an Andre the Giant-sized outdoor party that’s gonna be attended by a few superstars from World Wrestling Entertainment. The M.O. for…
I’ve said it before: With very few exceptions (well, really one exception, The Aggrolites) white reggae is a pox upon America. So, believe me, it’s not that I wanted to go see The Dirty Heads play last night’s Red Bull Soundclash at Marquee Theatre. But, since the other half of…
ASU’s student radio station The Blaze 1330 AM is currently in the midst of their annual Campus Crawl, the station’s fall concert series. The first featured local act, Kirkwood Dellinger, took to the stage north of ASU’s Memorial Union around lunch time Monday. Despite midday temperatures creeping to 90, a…
[jump] Here is yours truly’s own take on Melt-Banana/Melt-Banana Lite/Whatever the hell they need to call themselves: Japanese noise-rockers Melt-Banana made their name by shucking convention to the curb and recording loud, abrasive music employing heavy, screeching guitar riffs with experimental electronic music. That formula, while adored by their fans,…
BY SARAH VENTRE I have to admit, in a quiet, whispered voice, that I actually don’t like Halloween. Trust me, I’ve tried. I’ve had no traumatic experiences around the event, or anything that should conceivably prevent me from enjoying the holiday that everyone else so loves. Sure, there are qualities…
The Final Shake! at the Rogue After five long years of indie/rock/electro/etc. dance tunes, celebrity guest DJs and stylish drunks gyrating on the dance floor, Shake! finally let out its death rattle. Fortunately the old dame went out with a bang and not a whimper Saturday night, yielding an army…
After five long years of indie/rock/electro/etc. dance tunes, celebrity guest DJs and stylish drunks gyrating on the dance floor, Shake! finally let out its death rattle. Fortunately the old dame went out with a bang and not a whimper Saturday night, yielding an army of creatively-costumed partygoers intent on drinking,…
Phish + Halloween + Indio, California = Pumpkin carving contest. Phish takes the stage playing “Party Time” in Indio, California for their Festival 8. The reunited Vermont jam band is combining two of their biggest traditions, a massive festival and a Halloween concert that features the band playing another artist’s…
Notes on the show by photographer Victor J. Palagano III. I haven’t seen Rob Zombie live since I witnessed White Zombie back in the day (circa 1990) but that doesn’t mean I’m not familiar or that I’m not a fan. I have several Rob Zombie albums and “The Great America…
In my nearly five years here in Arizona, I have probably seen Tucson’s Golden Boots about 10-15 times. I’ve had the pleasure and fortune of playing with and booking shows for them; getting to know them a little bit in the process. However, at the Rhythm Room last night, Golden…
BY LINDSEY HOLDER Last night at the Rhythm Room, Dirty Projectors held our hands and led us on an auditory cross-country journey. Each song performed was like a different piece of scenery along the trip, with sometimes unpredictable tempo changes and vocals that varied from airy to jarring. The experimental…
BY CRAIG OUTHIERThe definitive Phoenix-area Steely Dan show is, and always will be, the duo’s windswept performance at Cricket Pavilion in 2006. Not only did that show reunite the Dan with Michael McDonald, the blow-dried soul daddy whose paean to coke and Cuervo on “Hey Nineteen” remains the pimpest bit…
BY MIKE ESCOTO In preparation for Tuesday night’s concert at Modified Arts I spent a good chunk of my day listening to the latest album from Philadelphia singer/songwriter Kurt Vile. Although Vile (yes that is his real name) has released three solo albums in the past two years it wasn’t…
Stop me when this sounds like a Seinfeld episode: Our leading character, a music critic, decides to indulge an old vice on a Tuesday night, going out to see a foul-mouthed female electronica artist/rapper who amused him back in his college years. Upon arriving, he’s surprised by how many people…
[jump] As I mentioned in my preview of the concert from this week’s issue, the Guantanamo School of Medicine are the closest in both spirit and sound to that of the Dead Kennedys. Guitarist Ralph Sight and bassist Billy Gould seem to channel the spirits of East Bay Ray and…
Local indie pop favorites Miniature Tigers (who are rumored to be moving out East soon) embark on a 2-month tour tomorrow across the country.
Although the Vivian Girls and Wavves don’t come from the same coasts, their melodic surf pop music and close ties to Brooklyn-based label Woodsist/ Fuck-it Tapes can easily clump them together. For Those Darlins however, it’s their nitty-gritty southern fried swing that makes them stand out in such a densely…
It’s probably too early to compile my top 10 albums of the year list for 2009, but I’ll go ahead and tip my hand on one that will almost definitely make it: Islands’ Vapors. I’ve had the Montreal indie band’s new record in and out of my car’s CD player…
It’s not often that a band garners encore-like chants from their fans before a show unless it’s an arena band such as Bon Jovi or U2. However, this was the scene at Mesa Ampitheatre Thursday 10 minutes before Brand New greeted the fairly packed house. The Long Island punk act took the stage…
“Tell me why people are willing to pay $60 to see an old fucking Irish punk band.” This was the mandate that was handed down by music editor Martin Cizmar when I mentioned my desire to review last night’s appearance by The Pogues at the Marquee Theatre in Tempe. As…
Digital Leather is the lovechild of Shawn Foree and, well, Shawn Foree. He is the creative force behind the band — injecting dirty synths, subdued guitars and crunchy drum machines into his grimy sound. This paragraph, taken from the band’s website, best sums up Digital Leather’s live sound:The live Digital…
Here are just a few of the scenes I witnessed last night at the Gogol Bordello concert at the Maruquee: Complete strangers linked arms like brothers and can-caned in a circle pit while avoiding incoming moshers. Lead singer Eugene Hutz at one point used not one but two microphones to…
