M.I.A.’s new record is slated for release this summer, and you can expect that it’ll be a bit different from Kala. She said that on her record she’ll be singing as well as rapping and that her inspirations were a little less conventional than usual. One song, “I’m Down Like Your…
Friday, I was at the W Scottsdale Hotel and Residences, chilling out in the lobby’s Living Room bar. The comfy atmosphere, complete with sofa-style seating and dark lighting, was complemented by the acoustic stylings of Bobby St. Vincent, a singer-songwriter-guitarist who performed original songs as well as several covers. To give…
Neil Hamburger has been referred to as “America’s Funnyman,” “the world’s ‘worst’ stand-up comedian,” and as having a sense of humor “drier than the Sahara.” Full of awkward moments, the anti-comedian alter ego of Gregg Turkington (who did, in fact, live in Tempe for some time) comes up with awful…
Is the somewhat sleepy burg of Chandler about to become the Nix’s next hotspot for nightspots? Probably not, but the city certainly has its share of after-dark establishments. Jilly’s pulls ’em in by the hundreds with urban nights every weekend, and the Airia Nightclub at the Wild Horse Pass Hotel…
“Grab your best underwear! No Pants AZ is coming!” This is the message emblazoned across the homepage of local urban prankster group Improv AZ by its organizer Jeff Moriarty announcing the impending arrival of the 2010 edition of the annual No Pants AZ Light Rail Ride this weekend. Just like…
air metal fans of the Valley, take note: The superstar-studded American Carnage Tour (which featured the ’80s triple-threat of Slayer, Megadeth, and Testatment) has been postponed indefinitely. The concert was scheduled to take place on January 23 at Dodge Theatre, but has been put on the shelf due to major…
Leonard Cohen Live at the Isle of Wight 1970 is not just some re-mastered re-issue. It ain’t no run-of-the-mill recording. This is the first time that Cohen’s entire performance at the historic festival has been released. Why is this exciting and noteworthy, you may ask? For several reasons. Firstly, Leonard Cohen…
In the wee hours of this morning/last night, Animal Collective posted the video for their track “Brothersport”at myanimalhome.net. The sneaky bastards have outdone themselves this time around, as the video is pretty out there — complete with day-glo eggs, mischievous children and creepy ’70s-era animation. Despite the band’s Merriweather Post…
I realize this may be a highly unpopular thing to say, but I think it’s time for the Kings of Leon to go on sabbatical. The Tennessee quartet and their overplayed songs have found just one more way to make being a hipster more obnoxious and, yes, more expensive. The…
Omaha indie rockers Cursive are winding their way through Tempe this spring, almost a year to the day since they last played The Valley. They will be playing with The Dear & Departed (aw, cute name!) and popular music band Alkaline Trio. This magical night of music will take place Tuesday,…
Welcome to “Nothing Not New,” a yearlong project in which New Times editorial operations manager Jay Bennett, a 40-year-old music fan and musician, will listen only to music released in 2010. Each Monday through Friday, he will listen to one new record (no best ofs, reissues, or concert recordings) and write about…
It’s been just over a month since the Ruby Room Lounge unexpectedly went teats up, and some of the monthly dance nights that were displaced by the closure are finding new life at various bars around the Valley.DJ Manchester recently launched a new Britpop/’80s/indie music night over at the Rogue…
Now everyone can be part of the “Paparazzi.” Fresh off news that Lady Gaga is losing money on her extravagant North American tour (which has so far reportedly overspent more than $3 million), the eccentric pop star has found a new way to reclaim some of her debt: by inking…
Evidently, this is the week for shocking celebrity engagements. Less than 48 hours ago, it was Russell Brand and Katy Perry. Now this. As Spin mentions, the news is a whole new kind of creepy. He’s said publicly that he fantasizes about smashing her skull in. In one of his…
We can officially look back at 2009 in the dust trail behind us. It’s over and done, and we are just finishing up contemplating what the year brought us. For the music crowd, that means a reflection of any and all recordings that made 2009 what it was. Music editor…
Welcome to “Nothing Not New,” a yearlong project in which New Times editorial operations manager Jay Bennett, a 40-year-old music fan and musician, will listen only to music released in 2010. Each Monday through Friday, he will listen to one new record (no best ofs, reissues, or concert recordings) and write about…
Victory! After a hugely successful run of American Idiot at the Berkeley Rep in California (the show sold out its eight weeks of performances), the musical inspired by Green Day’s album of the same name and directed by Spring Awakening’s Michael Mayer is really hitting the big time with a…
I’ve got no shortage of reasons to despise Watchout! Theres Ghosts, and perhaps it’s a mark of my growing pettiness that their music is pretty low on my list. Near the top of the list is the fact that they are willing to toss an exclamation mark after “watchout,” but…
Talentless poseurs? Hardly. In fact, these Vegas-based Prince and the Revolution impersonators are exquisite poseurs — a tribute band so meticulous and lovingly choreographed that they rated an appearance on Late Night with David Letterman, where effete sidekick/bandleader/dude Paul Shaffer deemed their performance “fabulous.” Unquestionably, the source of the band’s…
It makes sense that Stephen Lynch grew up to be America’s most unconventional young recording star. After all, when a guy’s father and mother are an ex-priest and ex-nun, respectively, it should surprise no one when he takes an enormous shit on convention. To clarify: Lynch is a musician who…
Though the electronic indie rockers have long since ditched the Valley of the Sun for the Big Apple (via the Lone Star State) local music fans still hold Lymbyc System in high regard. And they should, as the duo, comprising brothers Mike and Jared Bell, have collaborated with Her Space…
Back in the ’90s, Alabama-bred Auguste Arthur Bondy went by the name Scott Bondy, and he fronted a hard-charging alt-rock trio called Verbena. They sounded so much like Nirvana that Dave Grohl — who produced the band’s 1999 major label debut, Into the Pink — probably had such intense flashbacks…
