Happy opening day, Phoenix!Yes, today is the start of the baseball season. The real start, not the start they’ll be celebrating in the upper Midwest next month, the one that requires parkas. It’ll be 80 degrees and sunny across the Valley as the first pitch of the year will be…
Rarely does a death metal act succeed in spooking a seasoned critic like me, but I have to say there was truly something unsettling about Iwatchedherdie.’s The Ill Effects of Hope. Midway through the seven-song disc I just felt vaguely disturbed by the imagery, the haunting keyboards, the crushing guitars,…
There’s something about a man in a skirt that just says “sexy.” I’m not talking about transvestites or transsexuals or cross-dressers or whatever, but totally masculine dudes who have the balls to wear what’s traditionally considered a feminine piece of clothing — at least, in this part of the world…
A couple of years ago, my friends and I attempted to start a Dilettante Society, where each week one of us would pick an activity of topics we had some talent in or some knowledge about and teach the other members of the group. It never took off because, well,…
It all started on Saturday Night Live in December 2005. Midway through a so-so episode of the New York institution, we were treated to a digital short featuring Chris Parnell and Andy Samberg. The premise was simple enough: two white guys rapping about their Sunday, cupcakes, and The Chronicles of…
Shake! Fourth Year Anniversary at The Rogue William “Fucking” Reed with special guests The Rapture DJs brought the Rogue to the dance floor on Saturday, Feb. 21, 2009. Weekend Out: Dear and the Headlights, Matsuri and Rhythm Room We got artistic with Dear and the Headlights at the Heard Museum,…
Today marks an important day in the vibrant history of hip-hop music. 10 years ago, Philadelphia hip-hop pioneers The Roots released their breakthrough album, Things Fall Apart. Bolstered by the strength of the irresistible single “You Got Me,” featuring the vocals of Erykah Badu,Things Fall Apart became The Roots’ most…
The British lower class has been all over the news of late thanks to that 13-year-old kid, Alfie, who apparently knocked up his girlfriend. The music blog at our sister paper in Orange County has a link to a funny video about the hot “donk” trend hitting clubs full of…
Yes, that’s right, Jimmy Eat World’s masterpiece Clarity came out on February 23, 1999. We’re writing a lot more about the record in advance of their sold-out show at the Marquee on March 7, but I wanted to mark the date. Anyone have any memories about the first time they…
On Friday, February 20th, we felt it was high time we head to Hanny’s (for best results, check the slideshow). It’s only been the most talked about downtown bar since, well, before it even opened. Geez, what’s our problem, anyway? Get on it already!If we had to pick one word…
Even to those of us who aren’t huge proponents of mainstream rap, The Game’s second album, Doctor’s Advocate, was hugely influential a few years back. Advocate was a note-perfect throwback to gangsta rap’s halcyon days of the early ’90s and quite possibly the best mainstream rap album since, well, pretty…
Today Dan Gibson, a Phoenix-based contributor to Idolator, e-mailed me about two shows we haven’t mentioned here yet, but which are definitely worth telling you about.Leonard Cohen is coming to Dodge Theatre on April 5 (presale tickets Tuesday) and Depeche Mode is coming. We didn’t get the Depeche Mode press…
Rarely will you find me at a Scottsdale dance club on a Saturday night — if you’re looking for an Up on the Sun contributor, keep your eyes peeled for Kelly Wilson — but, if you do, there’s a very high probability it will be at The Rogue for “Sir”…
It’s one thing to have a musical career that’s lasted more than a quarter-century. Impressive? Sure. Noteworthy? Not really — plenty of popular artists have pulled it off by this point. It’s quite another thing to have a musical career of comparative anonymity that lasts more than a quarter-century. When,…
Well, that was fast! The day after Mike Meyer’s feature on them ran in our print edition, local death metal band Landmine Marathon have announced they’ve signed with Prosthetic Records, home to critically lauded (by death-metal standards) acts such as Lamb of God, Gojira, and All That Remains. They’re also…
So if you’ve been reading our news blog, Valley Fever, you probably came across a link to a story about a Tuscon punk band called The Awful Truth who’s pissed off the entire town by using a photo of a slain city policeman on the cover of their record, Kill…
Old-timey prog-rockers Yes have canceled the rest of their “In The Present Tour,” including the show scheduled for Wednesday at Dodge Theatre. Bassist Chris Squire, the only member of the band to appear on every album, underwent surgery on his leg on February 11, and says his doctor told him…
It was announced this week that SXSW will be getting yet another addition to its already fruitful lineup: Tinted Windows. The band consists of Taylor Hanson (Hanson, duh), James Iha (Smashing Pumpkins), Bun E. Carlos (Cheap Trick) and Adam Schlesinger (Fountains of Wayne). It’s an eclectic group, that’s for sure,…
So after sitting through two hours of complete pap Tuesday night as American Idol’s first group of 12 attempted to stay on key long enough to get halfway-decent remarks from the judges, you’d think we’d deserve a break, right? In the Land of the Sea-douche, however, there is no rest…
The Edge 103.9 appears to have finally gotten a clue. For the past two months I’ve berated the local alt-rock station for its habit of booking aging ’90s throwbacks like Marcy Playground and Sponge to headline the Third Thursday concert series in Scottsdale (sample my vitriol here and here) instead…
Now that the chill of winter is starting to subside (temps are supposed to get into the high 70s) you’ve got little excuse to stay cooped up inside your domicile this weekend. Why not book it to the ongoing Renaissance Festival, or perhaps take a splendid moonlight hike? Better yet,…
The Game’s reckless, bizarre, whiny tendencies make him a wholly unique hip-hop character. Though the Compton native is among the handful of rap stars who still have platinum potential, he’s no gangsta superhero like collaborator-turned-foe 50 Cent, and he’s no drug-addled weirdo savant like Lil Wayne. His flow is much…
