Thursday 5 Afterlife: Throwback Thursdays (electronica, dance) Bobby Q’s: All-Star Thursdays with with DJ Phlava, MC Wolf Starr, DJ Dark Vader, & DJ Skoolboi (hip-hop, Top 40, R&B, reggae) Capitol Sports Lounge: DJ Danny Peru (old school, Latin, Top 40) Club Red: Soul Slinger, Wednesday, Bass, Jahmek, Doctor Doom, Ario…
Locally, The Earps are a familiar name, but the past couple years, have been something of a transition period for the “whateverbilly” band. Gigs have been somewhat sparse, and the group nearly disbanded after five committed years. “Everything we wanted to do we accomplished,” says guitarist/vocalist Kevin “Hotwheels” McGregor. “We…
Putting a song over 10 minutes long on your debut full-length is masturbatory. Putting three songs that nearly hit the 10-minute mark on the record? That simply doesn’t work, because listeners don’t need much excuse to roll their eyes and shrug as they head off in more fashionable direction. (See:…
La Mala Rodriguez may have runway-model looks, but she sounds more likely to break a heel off in your ass than strike a pose for you. The Spanish rapper is renowned in the Latin hip-hop scene for spitting rhymes with the smoothness of Ladybug Mecca and the ferocity of Ol’…
“Two thousand eleven was kind of like, you know, indie rap’s first big year,” Los Angeles rapper Open Mike Eagle told Up on the Sun in April. “The things that were seen more as interesting — especially in terms of coverage of rap music — were, like, acts that are…
Some music has a setting, a place that feels woven into its sound. For The Beach Boys, one of rock ‘n’ pop’s most enduring groups, the setting always has been California. But the Golden State makes for remarkably varied terrain, and while early singles like “409,” “Little Deuce Coupe,” and…
Mayer Hawthorne is a terrible, terrible rapper. Should you decide to hear “Haircut” drop a quick 16, be forewarned. But the man has pipes. The sharp-suited crooner showed a deep knowledge of black music — especially Stax and Motown soul — on last year’s How Do You Do, walking the…
Calling the Rockstar Energy Drink Mayhem Festival a mere concert is like calling the tour’s namesake beverage “kind of sticky.” The Mayhem Festival is more than just a selection of public performances by thrash titan favorites Slayer and Anthrax, legendary British speed-punks Motörhead, and Iowa’s heaviest export, Slipknot. It’s an…
William Fucking Reed is apparently hell-bent on monopolizing the weekends of the Valley’s hipster crowd. He’s already the straw that stirs the drink during the exceedingly popular Friday-night mainstay Sticky Fingers, which draws trendy types by the hundreds to Bar Smith. And starting this weekend, Reed is launching another debaucherous…
This week, New Times ran a list in our print publication highlighting some of the most interesting posts published at Up on the Sun over the past week. Here are links to those posts. How did Phoenix pop-rock band The Wiley One Celebrate UFO Day? What does heavy metal band…
Happy Independence Day, Up on the Sun readers. Check out our review of last night’s ’90s nostalgia-festival Summerland (featuring Gin Blossoms, Lit, Sugar Ray, Marcy’s Playground, and Everclear), then hit the pool, drink some cold American beers (or one of these), eat whatever the hell you want to eat, and…
Summerland Tour Featuring Everclear, Sugar Ray, Gin Blossoms, Marcy Playground, and Lit Tuesday, July 3, 2012 Comerica Theatre See also: Our full Summerland slideshow, featuring Gin Blossoms, Everclear, Lit, Marcy Playground, and Sugar Ray. See also: Should We Feel Bad About ’90s Nostalgia? See also: Our Throwback Thursday archives, feat…
See also: Pussycat Lounge in Scottsdale Closes Anyone brimming with dreams of bringing their killer nightclub concept to the ASU crowd now has a vacant spot in which to make it a reality: The website of Tempe lounge and dance joint Wasted Velvet, located just off Mill Avenue, announced that…
Man, was it ever boiling this past weekend, even during the nighttime hours. Despite the fact that the punishing sun was nowhere to be seen, the sweltering temps stuck around and forced clubgoers and nightlife commandos scene to don a couple of extra layers of body spray to counteract the…
We’ve all had dreams of growing up to be a spy at one point or another– whether we lived vicariously by playing GoldenEye 007 (for Nintendo 64, natch) or we wished Christopher Nolan really was directing the prequel to the James Bond series. Local surf/Americana rockers The Swamp Coolers cover…
Not that we’re opposed to reading, but once in a while we want a straightforward summary of why an album is worth a listen. We’re also interested in playlists with obscure artists we’ve never heard of. Plus, we appreciate some cool vinyl cover art when we see it. We do…
Mayer Hawthorne is a terrible, terrible rapper. Should you decide to hear “Haircut” drop a quick 16, be forewarned. But the man has pipes. The sharp-suited crooner showed a deep, well vetted knowledge of African-American music–most principally Stax and Motown soul–on last year’s How Do You Do (Universal Republic), walking…
See also: Bad Lucy Covers Bob Dylan Video may have killed the radio star, but Internet made the video star a viral monster. The fine folks at recording house, Studio At The Farm in Gilbert know this and have come up with a way to appeal to the inner voyeur…
See also: Slipknot’s Corey Taylor and Shawn M. Crahan Launch Production Company; Taylor Explains “I’m still waiting to write the ultimate song,” explains Slipknot frontman Corey Taylor, a bold statement for a musician who fronts two successful bands, appeals to a wide range of music fans, and, in the age…
See also: Al Jardine Would Much Rather Be a Beach Boy Than Go It Alone Al Jardine played standup bass on the very first Beach Boys single, “Surfin’,” and since then he’s been an integral part of the band’s sonic makeup, playing guitar and navigating complexities not often associated with…
See also: FBI Report Officially Classifies Juggalos a Hybrid Gang; Arizona Boasts “Strong Juggalo Presence” See also: Seven Awesome Things About the Gathering of the Juggalos Last week we examined what the term “selling out” means in 2012, and concluded that it’s hard for bands to make money off the…
For those that crank pop country radio out of their pick-ups, Darius Rucker is the breakthrough solo singer with a silky baritone and two chart-topping albums. For those that haven’t turned on a radio in ten years, Darius Rucker is perhaps more recognizable as the leader of 90’s pop-rock balladeers…
