The folks at Cowtown Skateboards know how to throw a party — and if you don’t believe us simply go to the tape for proof — and they are throwing a pretty huge one at the Yucca Tap Room, which spills over into the fenced-off parking lot. The 11th Annual…
This poster by Nakatomi caused the kid behind me to say: “Dad, I want the giant squid poster. Now.” See also: The Worst Moments from SXSW 2012 By Nick Rallo Flatstock is a dangerous place to be with a credit card. This year, Flatstock 33 (presented by the American Poster…
It’s Spring Break 2012 time, suckahs! A time for all that overrated hanging out on a boat stuff, drinking until you’re blackout drunk and hooking up with pasty-wearing hard-bodied strangers. Even though MTV dropped their “music television” moniker, they are still synonymous with the college-aged holiday, bringing in celebrity hosts…
There are so many bands listed on this flier that have played at Long Wong’s since the start of last year that not all of them could even fit on the flier. Props to the bands of the Valley for making Long Wong’s such a happenin’ place!Get ready to devote…
Flogging Molly at Tempe Beach Park Owwwww… St. Patrick’s Day is the one day a year where we confuse the warm fuzzies we have for our fellow man for outright hostility. It’s also the one day a year we get to punish our bodies for being Irish. At least that’s…
Marianne Dissard and Nive Nielsen will be performing a free set at Stinkweeds tomorrow before heading over to the Crescent where they’ll be opening for Y La Bamba later in the evening. The all-ages warm-up show at the Phoenix record store starts with local folk singer Dylan Pratt and wraps…
You were a little flat at the end of your performance of “Happy Birthday” there, Wolf ViolinistThe last few days, Village Voice Media’s indefatigable music staff has been regaling you with stories of the best from SXSW 2012. In the midst of these discoveries, we’ve been culling another list: the…
If you’ve ever spent any time in the Up on the Sun comments section, you know it can be a weird place. We’ve had some pretty deplorable stuff in our Clubhouse comments — stuff that makes you sort of shake your head and wonder if all that crap people say…
Metalhead or not, everybody’s got a soft spot for at least one heavy act. Jim Carrey digs Cannibal Corpse; Cameron Diaz reportedly rocks out to Iron Maiden. The writers of the hit show Californication sneak it into scripts — all three of main character Hank Moody’s novels are named after…
When The Madera Strand prepared a Police set for Cover the Crescent, the band’s main obstacle was finding the right pitch. “[Sting] sings so high anyway, but I’m also an alto, so some of those notes were kind of hard to hit,” says vocalist d’Averill Demetrulias in reference to “Walking…
Released last year, Coming of Age is an appropriate title for Knesset’s first album, as the band is only now starting to step up locally. Pronounced KA-NESS-ET and named after the legislative branch of the Israeli government, these locals have played in the background of Phoenix since 2007. “[Originally] we…
See also: Treasure MammaL’s “The Real Talk Diaries: The Road to SXSW” Fort Stockton is one of those small towns that takes you completely by surprise with its personality as you drive through it. The kind of place that makes road trips special. We drive out of town and toward…
Kentucky alternative rockers Cage the Elephant are making a stop at the Marquee Theatre in April. The band is still pumping out singles from their latest release, Thank You, Happy Birthday, and will surely be performing many of them for the Tempe crowd.Cage the Elephant, Garbage, Hot Tuna and other…
Flogging Molly Tempe Beach Park Saturday, March 17, 2012 Owwwww… St. Patrick’s Day is the one day a year where we confuse the warm fuzzies we have for our fellow man for outright hostility. It’s also the one day a year we get to punish our bodies for being Irish…
Nick RalloJustin Townes Earle at Stubb’s BBQSo, we come to it: the end of all things. Four days of madness, Doritos, Skrillex and finally, St. Patrick’s Day. Before we bid SXSW 2012 farewell, allow us to share our favorite moments from SXSW day four. Later, we’ll let you know which…
The Ataris Yucca Tap Room Friday, March 16, 2012 Kris Roe’s had a few near-death experiences in Arizona, but he now calls the state home. The rest of the band relocated to Tempe in July and played its first official “local” show last night. Roe has played a couple solo…
Marco Torres50 Cent and Eminem at the Austin Music Hall. More photos below.If you’re familiar with chaos theory, which in its basic form is the attempt to find patterns in the random acts of shit on Earth, then you may understand the difficulty that comes with describing a full day…
Despite what his nom de guerre of Silent-J might portend, Jimmy Ng is rarely at a loss for words. Ask him his opinion on the current state of electronic dance music or what skills are necessary to succeed as a DJ these days and you’ll get an earful from the…
So, was last night’s Radiohead show hyped up to be like, the greatest thing, ever? I hate going concerts with any sort of expectations because I usually walk away disappointed. I’ve been a casual fan since I first heard “Fake Plastic Trees” in Clueless, which is pretty funny when you…
Welcome to the first episode of Up on the Sun’s new weekly podcast, Up on the Sun: The Podcast. In this week’s episode, we speak with Detroit MC and producer Black Milk about his collaborations with Danny Brown, and the “Detroit sound.” We also speak with Howe Gelb of Giant…
Caspa School of Rock Thursday, March 15, 2012 UK DJ Caspa likes to brag that he’s the “dopest ghost in town,” and while plenty of folks were across town checking out a couple of other pale, English gents, he proudly shredded speakers in downtown Tempe and lived up to his…
Photos Courtesy of SXSW Editor’s note: We’re happy to bring you a special guest post by Houston Press/Rocks Off blogger Craig Hlavaty, who’s hanging tough at SXSW. Bruce Springsteen’s Thursday started with a keynote speech in one of the big ballrooms at the Austin Convention Center, and ended with a…
