Beck

Danger Mouse is arguably the most adventurous producer to tackle a Beck project since the Dust Brothers helped birth a 1996 baby called Odelay (the Dusters’ return for 2004’s Güero doesn’t count). The resulting sound is satisfyingly dense and intricate; the neo-surf of “Gamma Ray,” the delicate psychedelia of “Chemtrails,”…

Reggie and the Full Effect

Wild rumors are standard-issue for the intentionally enigmatic Reggie and the Full Effect. But if the latest Internet scuttlebutt is true, Last Stop: Crappy Town is Kansas City native James Dewees’ (meaning the entire band’s) final album before he goes full time as the keyboardist for My Chemical Romance. Such…

Journey

The members of Journey must be feeling the band’s name is more meaningful than ever these days. It’s unlikely any band has a comeback as thoroughly modern and convoluted as these AOR mainstays, pulled back into public consciousness by HBO and YouTube. Since the 1996 departure of lead singer Steve…

Totimoshi

Rich and famous bands into their 10th year and sixth album demonstrate a worldview tempered by easy women and shysters. Hard-working bands with a growing cult following, like the Bay Area trio Totimoshi, demonstrate a worldview tempered by . . . actual observation! Singer and guitarist Antonio Aguilar describes the…

ZZ Top

Rick Rubin already had been working for ZZ Top — the Houston trio recently enlisted Rubin to produce its next album — and now ZZ Top works for Rubin as well. Billboard reported that ZZ Top has signed a new record deal with Rubin’s American Recordings, an imprint distributed by…

Bill Frisell

When Coloradans talk about great musical artists with local roots, they seldom mention jazz guitarist Bill Frisell. Frankly, the omission is mystifying. Frisell has been releasing albums under his own name since 1984, and there’s not a single embarrassment in his extensive catalog, despite the variety of stylistic options he’s…

Lyle Lovett

While people have often picked on Lovett for his looks (they’re just jealous they didn’t have a brief marriage to Julia Roberts), you can’t really argue with Lovett’s merits as a performer — the man’s released 13 albums, won four Grammy Awards, and appeared in more than a dozen films…

Groove Candy’s big move

If you’re planning to head to The Door in Tempe to hang out at Groove Candy this coming Hump Day, a minor course correction is in order, yo. That’s because the crackalackin’ Wednesday-night hip-hop affair has flipped the script and moved northward to Lyte Lounge, 7419 East Indian Plaza in…

What’s Selling: East Side Records

By Benjamin Leatherman It always takes some dexterity to maneuver through the cramped aisles of the seemingly closet-sized East Side Records, 217 West University Drive in Tempe. But believe us, a little fancy footwork and extra is totally worth visiting the shop, since East Side’s got all the good shit,…

Niki’s Weekend Word: Local Music News Wrap

I’ll admit it: I didn’t do jack this weekend. There were some cool shows going on, but this past weekend was the first one in several months where I decided to just hang completely low for two days in a row. But the local music scene charged on, and I did keep an eye on my incoming e-mails. Hence, this week’s (and the first ever) local music news wrap!

Meet Star Wars‘ macho femme, Karen Traviss

Karen Traviss: 7 p.m. Monday, July 28, at Changing Hands Bookstore By Clay McNear George Lucas is the sort of hypersensitive, litigious billionaire who’d sue a vending company for stiffing him on a soda pop, so he’ll probably drag my ass to court for calling him sexist, but there it…

Romantasy Cabaret at The Sets

By Joseph Golfen The Sets in Tempe is not the first place that pops into my mind when I think of sexy, dancing girls. Usually when I think about this strip mall venue, I remember the story one of my friends told my about shattering his nose, via head butt,…

Concert Schedule for This Weekend

By Benjamin Leatherman The Ying Yang Twins are scheduled to perform at the Venue of Scottsdale on Saturday. Here’s our weekly list of all the major concerts and music shindigs that are scheduled to take place over the next 72 hours from tonight until Sunday. There’s a show for every…

A fake AC/DC and other bands we love that you’ll loathe

By Clay McNear Why are tribute bands so maligned? By definition, they lack original thought, but most make up for it with suicide-bomber zeal. Not to mention pride of craftsmanship. As someone who used to play “Smoke on the Water” and “We’re an American Band” in a shitty junior-high band,…

Less Than Jake at the Marquee

By Jonathan McNamara We wrote about them in last week’s New Times, now see them in action for yourself. Less Than Jake hit the Marquee with a pumping, rock fist along with veteran punk-rockers Goldfinger last night. Goldfinger gets the audience on stage for their finale. See more shots in…

Podcast & Local Label Spotlight: Tiny Panda Records

By Steve Jansen Art by Rachelle Arbellar I remember being 21 years old. Staying up really late. Sleeping. Swimming. That’s all I can remember. Miss Franberry is 21 right now, and though I’m unaware of her daily schedule, I do know that she goes to a ton of shows, plays…

Seven nights of DJs and dancing

THURSDAY 24 Armitage Bistro: RE:WINE’D with DJ Seduce (eclectic, downbeat, jazz, soul, house) Axis/Radius: Divine Ladies Night with MCB & DJ Devine (various) Bikini Lounge: DJ HFE (rockabilly, surf, jazz, classic country, indie, obscuro) Blooze Bar: DJ El Dedo (rockabilly) Bunkhouse: DJ Doom (dance) Cash Inn: DJ Sting (hip-hop, dance) Cherry Lounge:…