Okay folks, start ‘yer engines: It’s looking to be a pretty good weekend for music in the Valley of the Sun. You’ve got a lot of choices to make. Do you want to take in the hippie-dippy good vibes of Citizen Cope? The anything goes, doom metal-to-psych punk Sundown Showdown…
Dengue Fever Crescent Ballroom Thursday, January 26 The setting was the Crescent Ballroom in Phoenix, but given the atmosphere and exotic sounds emanating from the stage, it may as well have been Cambodia circa mid-1970s. Eyes closed, it hardly mattered, Dengue Fever was in its element, and that element joined…
Ludachrist UK Thursday at School of Rock Thursday, January 26 The scene: Two dudes in plaid vests, decorative cross necklaces dangling from their necks. The song: “Jump,” by Kriss Kross, colliding with “Ass” by Big Sean, then samples of Nicki Minaj fading into AC/DC’s “Thunderstruck.” Boom. Their name recalls Dirty…
O.A.R. Marquee Theatre Wednesday, January 25 2012 O.A.R. kicked off their most recent tour with Tempe — and the buzzing crowd and multiple encores indicated that they picked a good place to start. As soon as the stage lit up, so did some trees — if you know what I…
Anthrax Marquee Theatre Tuesday, January 24 Everyone knows Anthrax played the Big Four in Indio, California, last year, of course. And as much as I hate to admit this out loud or on paper, I missed them, even though I was in Indio. See the full Anthrax slideshow here. They…
The members of electronic pop outfit Factories put themselves in a tight situation last year when they locked themselves in a shipping container in the middle of the summer. With a wall full of amps, flashing strobe lights, and of course a ton of balloons, the Tempe trio had themselves…
Starting a revolution of your own is a difficult task, but jam band O.A.R. (Of a Revolution) makes it look pretty easy. Of course, it’s harder than it seems. I spoke with drummer Chris Culos, in hopes of finding what lessons O.A.R. has learned in its transition from garage band…
Wilco Gammage Auditorium Saturday, January 21, 2012 Plenty of derisive things get said about Wilco being “dad rock.” You can’t get around the fact that songwriter Jeff Tweedy, bassist John Stirratt, drummer Glenn Kotche, guitarist Nels Cline, and multi-instrumentalists Pat Sansone and Mikael Jorgensen, are indeed pushing or well into…
Though it’s not quite as impressive (or unlikely) as the recent story of Peter Frampton’s long-missing-but-now-returned guitar, the story of how Tucsonian Brian Lopez reconnected with his favorite guitar is still a pretty cool one. “I received the guitar as a gift from a family friend. It meant a lot…
In this week’s issue, I interviewed Shawn Stern of Youth Brigade and Tony Brandenburg of The Adolescents to determine what has kept punk alive for all these years. Both musicians have obligations outside of their perspective bands, with Stern running BYO Records and preparing for Punk Rock Bowling and Brandenburg…
Estefex, Craft, Travelah, Sub D UK Thursdays at School Of Rock Thursday, January 19 School Of Rock? More like “School Of Bass.” Last night, the Mill Avenue club hosted a special experimental version of UK Thursdays featuring four local Drum and Bass artists from the Valley area. The music didn’t…
How is it that a band that hasn’t released a full-length album since 1996 continues to tour? “If we didn’t get new fans coming out, we’d probably would have quit awhile back because it would get really boring playing for just people our age because they’re not always as fun,”…
Did you know that you can find “sexified Jewish folk funk” right here in Arizona? It’s true. And you’ll be able to experience the groovy rhythms of this funky take on traditional Klezmer music when Flagstaff’s Jerusafunk stop by the Lost Leaf on Friday, January 20. We caught up with…
The Pistoleros, Ghetto Cowgirl and Dead Hot Workshop at Crescent Ballroom Vintage jangle rockers Dead Hot Workshop, The Pistoleros, and Ghetto Cowgirl brought back a little of Mill Avenue’s glory day sound to downtown Phoenix. Check out the slideshow. Wooden Indian, Spafford, Dry River Yacht Club, Sugar Thieves at Crescent…
Fitz and The Tantrums CityScape: Pre-race concert for the PF Chang’s Rock and Roll Marathon Friday, January 13 See the complete Fitz and the Tantrums slideshow. So much for drinking that Red Bull. All I needed for some real energy was Fitz and The Tantrums. Making their first appearance in…
Wooden Indian, Spafford, Dry River Yacht Club, Sugar Thieves Crescent Ballroom Friday, January 13 Ballrooms are traditionally designated for swanky soiree’s and formal dance receptions. Since it’s opening, Crescent Ballroom has played host to anything but traditional music ensembles and while it might be a tad shy of the opulence…
Friday the 13th is supposed to be unlucky, or at the very least, a little disturbing. Apparently the folks at the uber-hip Sticky Fingers dance party got the memo: tonight the crew of resident DJs host spastic noise-makers Melted Cassettes, described by the crew as being akin to “Aphex Twin,Skinny…
Cass McCombs and Frank Fairfield Crescent Ballroom Thursday, December 12 It’s a rough night when the opening act outshines the headliner. Maybe it’s just because this particular opening act was especially talented, but seeing rocker de melancholia Cass McCombs take the stage following old timey string multi-instrumentalist Frank Fairfield was…
Over the years, it’s been hard to peg Portland solo project turned electro-pop trio Starfucker as any one thing. Known for wearing women’s clothing during live performances, having song titles like “Biggie Smalls” and “Queen Latifah,” and changing their band name more times than they’ve changed their performance panties, it’s…
Packrat The Rogue Bar January 10, 2012 In the build-up to last night’s show at The Rogue Bar in Scottsdale, Phoenix rockers Packrat bragged that they had assembled some of the noisiest local groups in town. Three hours later, the ringing in my ears (despite using ear protection) gave some…
NOFX at The Marquee Theatre, 1/7/12 Fat Mike painted a grim picture of Arizona a couple weeks ago. He was convinced that nobody goes to shows in Phoenix anymore because it’s on its way to becoming the next Detroit. Sure, we’ve got our issues, but NOFX fans surprised everyone (myself…
If we’re being realistic, not every band that comes out of Phoenix is really worthy to be classified with what Emma Pew and crew do on a show-by-show basis. The lead singer of Black Carl and her four-piece backing band obliterated Crescent Ballroom last night as they celebrated the release The…
