Rocky Votolato at Rhythm Room (Happy Birthday, Rocky!)

Rocky Votolato had a lot to celebrate last night at the Rhythm Room. To start with, the Seattle singer-songwriter just recently released his sixth album, True Devotion. Votolato’s latest record continues the folksy roots sound that his fans have become accustomed to. In addition to his latest album release, another…

Kirkwood Dellinger at Yucca Tap Room

It’d been almost two years since Kirkwood Dellinger released a record, an 8-song EP called Miniature Stallion. The title of that record is a reference to a man whose unfortunate demise came about as a result a colon punctured while having anal sex with a horse. A great title, to…

Love Me Nots at Desert Botanical Garden

​Dressed in mod 60s garb — men in black suits with skinny pants and ties, women in leggings and polka-dot dresses — equipped with classic-looking instruments and metal vintage microphones, The Love Me Nots look like extras from a spy movie. At first glance, they look like a benign lounge…

Mike Watt + The Missingmen Give a Punk Rock History Lesson

The answer to your question: Yes, Mike Watt and his new band, The Missingmen, reached back nearly 30 years to pull out of the musical vault a play a handful of songs by Minutemen, the band that secured Watt’s legend as one of the best bass players in punk rock…

A Storm of Light & Via Vengeance at the Underground

If New Times decided to create a new “Best of Phoenix” award for Most Subdued Crowd, the 100-plus folks in attendance at Saturday night’s A Storm of Light/Via Vengeance show at The Underground in Mesa would have to be in the running. Granted, it’s not as if ASOL’s sweeping post-rock…

Bon Jovi at Jobing.com Arena

Yes, you heard me right. Try to stifle your laughs — I’m prepapred for many — but I can’t possibly write this review without confessing that I’m truly a Jovaholic. Seriously, I named my maltipoo “Jovi” to pay homage to the New Jersey rockers. I’m just lucky enough that this…

Brendan Benson at Rhythm Room

Despite being best known by most as a member of The Raconteurs, Brendan Benson has not given up on his solo career.In 2009 Benson released his fourth LP My Old, Familiar Friend on ATO Records. While most of the songs on the album are about romantic woes you’d never really…

Mariah Carey and Ozzy Osbourne Over the Weekend

Mariah Carey at Dodge Theatre It’s pretty much accepted fact that pop musicians have to switch identities every album or two to stay ahead of the curve. Everybody does it — Justin Timberlake, P!nk, Madonna — with varying degrees of success…full story See: Mariah Carey’s Dodge Theatre performance in photos…

Mariah Carey at Dodge Theatre

It’s pretty much accepted fact that pop musicians have to switch identities every album or two to stay ahead of the curve. Everybody does it — Justin Timberlake, P!nk, Madonna — with varying degrees of success.Mariah Carey, who brought her Memoirs of an Imperfect Angel tour to Dodge Theatre Saturday…

Losers’ Ball at Sail Inn

It was ironically named The Losers’ Ball, but if you know anything about how people market stuff nowadays, you’d correctly guess that Sail Inn’s show had incredibly cool musicians playing for a bunch of incredibly cool people. That started right at the top of the bill, with North Carolina’s Dex…

Jack’s Mannequin at Marquee Theatre

It was clear who the star of the show was Saturday night at the Jack’s Mannequin concert at Marquee Theatre — Nate Ruess, formerly of local band The Format, currently with New York City-based fun. (possibly the worst band name ever.) Fun. lived up to its name, entertaining the sold-out young…

St. Vincent at Rhythm Room

Reviewers are supposed to be objective. By that standard, perhaps I’m not the best person to write about Thursday night’s St. Vincent show at the Rhythm Room. So, before you read on, in the interest of full disclosure, I’ll be honest with you: I’ve been a huge fan of Austin-based…

George Strait, Raves, and Modified Arts Over the Weekend

George Strait at Phoenix’s US Airways Center For a guy who hasn’t filled out a W2 in 30-plus years, George Strait sure can sing the working man’s music. Opening with “Twang,” the title track off his latest studio album — his twenty-sixth, if you can believe it — the “King…

George Strait at Phoenix’s US Airways Center

When I get off of work on Friday after working like a dog all week, I go to meet the boys for a cold one at a little joint up the street. They got a jukebox in the corner full of old country tunes, feed it five dollars worth of quarters…

Scott H. Biram at Rhythm Room

​I’m loathe to admit it, but I went into last night’s Scott H. Biram show at The Rhythm Room a bit skeptical, or worse, even a bit cynical.  Don’t get me wrong. I like the whole punk-blues-country-bluegrass thing as much as the next guy, but I tend to find the…

Polysics at Rhythm Room

Polysics bassist Fumi sits on the curb outside Rhythm Room chatting with the band’s photographer Tsukasa as drummer Yano stretches out. The show’s over, but she’s still wearing her orange flight suit with iconic “P” tacked onto the front and says she’s tired. After witnessing the explosive set Polysics laid…