It’s understandable if fans are apprehensive about seeing a George Clinton performance in the year 2010. After all, the man turns 69 years old this summer, and there’s a point where the line between “playful eccentricity” and “rampant senility” start to blur. Reports of fellow funk icon and frequent Clinton…
What makes these proto-grunge mainstays stand out from the crowd? Is it their low-and-slow sludge musicianship? Their glory days as the elder statesmen of the Northwest music scene? Lead singer/guitarist Buzz Osborne’s irrepressible Robin Lopez hairdo? Naw. It’s their dang Protestant work ethic. In the two-plus decades since their debut…
Under normal circumstances, Monday night isn’t exactly a big evening for DJs and dance events (look no further than scant amount of listings we’ve got for proof). Since it’s Memorial Day weekend, however, chances are good that y’all might be in the mood to party. DJ Steel’s weekly Manic Monday…
It seems most bands from Arizona can’t escape their desert roots. While Job for a Cowboy is a death-metal outfit of the hardcore variety, their name surely reflects their Glendale roots. The West Valley band has received national attention from Rolling Stone and the New York Times, which described Job…
Domo is quite possibly the most underrated band in Phoenix. Sadly, they don’t perform around town much, but they when do appear, it’s a treat. With their catchy, bouncy, spritely, and endearing songs, they combine both pop and punk sensibilities without veering into the dreaded and disgusting teeny-bop genre known…
Treats, the debut record by the Brooklyn boy-girl duo Sleigh Bells is one big sugar rush, a summertime explosion of electro pop that, by autumn, likely will reveal itself as just another guilty pleasure or, worse, just another indie band with more buzz than sting. The 11-song record is a…
The Vig in Arcadia has been a frequent card we’ve played when we’re deciding on a place to stop for a bite to eat and a tasty cocktail. So when we heard about the opening of the Vig Uptown, we were more than willing to check it out. The restaurant…
The kids who shop at Zia in Phoenix always manage to do a pretty good job of keeping on top of the latest hip hop and metal trends with a healthy dose of indie rock peppered in. This week is no exception. The Deftones top off their weekly charts, E-40…
Phoenix’s Lilith Fair concert was scrapped last week though the reason why still seems to be a mystery. Headliners The Go Go’s released a statement about the cancellation of the Phoenix Lilith Fair date announced Friday. The Arizona Republic has the press release, which sure seems like a cop out.”The…
Band: Ringo Jones Gang/Band, whichever one floats your boat.Title: The Vulture City Bank RobberyBasics: It appears I need to do a better job ascertaining the all important fact of You Asked For It — if a band is actually from Phoenix/Arizona. This week’s subjects, Ringo Jones Gang, is actually based…
The world is seriously so lucky to have Miley Cyrus as a role model for young girls.The popster recently released her latest single, “Can’t Be Tamed,” off her upcoming album of the same name, to be released June 22. From the song, we learn Cyrus goes “through guys like money,”…
If you’re the type to boycott circuses because of animal abuse or just think 10 clowns in one car is downright scary, here’s a big top event you can get behind: The Sunset Rider’s Rock and Roll Circus this Saturday, May 22 at The Sail Inn.The show won’t feature any…
Concept albums can be tricky. Get it just right and you’ll earn plenty of critical praise. Make it too complicated and your average listener may not get it. Of course, if you’re already in a successful band and you don’t want a forgettable record on your discography, your best bet…
The EDM impresarios and party promoters behind this weekend’s outdoor extravaganza The Big Event are charging anywhere from $25 to $65 for the privilege of attending (depending on when and where you buy admission). And believe us, it’s worth every damn penny. Described as the “Arizona’s largest dance music event,”…
The blues take a back seat on The Black Keys’ sixth record, Brothers, and the results are impressive. The two-man band from Akron, Ohio, has mostly dispensed with the dirty, garage-blues riffage that made them famous, turning to down-home glam before easing into a lonely soul vibe that finally gives…
Fart jokes. Nudity. Getting laid. Not getting laid. These were a few of the topics that often came up at Blink-182 shows and helped the band secure a place in the hearts of girls and boys everywhere. The “equal parts comedy and music” formula proved successful for the guys, helping…
Were these Tempe-based punkabilly legends simply whisked off the planet in 2005? Visit their flatheadaz.com Web site and you find nothing but dead links to six-year-old newspaper stories and a heartfelt plea from the band to help the victims of Hurricane Katrina. (Coldly, they overlook that tragic business in Chicago…
A hard-knock life? Eh, not so much. In stark contrast to so many of his fellow Brooklyn-born MCs, Talib Kweli was raised by two university-professor parents and spent part of his childhood in a posh Connecticut boarding school. As such, matters of Afrocentric conscience, not urban street survival, informed his…
Farewell tours often end up an ongoing tease, giving fans a “we gotta see them now because we’ll never ever get to see them ever, ever, again” sense of panic and finality, only to have the “extended” farewell tour roll through town again a year later. Kiss has been saying…
Sundays in Tempe can be kind of a drag, but with Southwest Psycho’s new endeavor at the Big Fish Pub, anyone whose musical interests include the suffix “billy” has a new Sunday spot to see live music and shake a tail-feather. Cruise the slideshow to see for yourself…
Welcome to FemPop, a weekly feature that examines a current popular song and its message to women–whether that’s empowering or demeaning, or both.Oh, Katy Perry.It’s probably to be expected that the hottest woman alive, as named by Maxim magazine, would have a titillating new single, too, and the pop songstress…
Title: Vacation LocationBasics: Did you know there was an Arizona Parrothead Club? Well, now you do. I am sure every state has one, and Arizona’s is led by Sam L. Rainwater. At first glance at this album screams Parrothead, and the music sure as hell didn’t disappoint. There’s not much…
