The Shizz Sequel

Sequels can be tricky to pull off. For every Terminator 2 and The Dark Knight, there are twice as many shitheaps like Caddyshack IIand The Two Jakes. This axiom also extends to music, which is cluttered beyond measure with ill-advised follow-ups: For example, Woodstock ’99 never should have existed. So, is Shizzfest 2 (which even has its own Hollywood-esque tagline, “This time it’s personal!”) doomed to fall short of its predecessor? Probably not, given that organizers Tony Poer and Donald Martinez are pulling out the stops for the all-day festival of local and visiting indie bands associated with Valley music/culture Web-board The Shizz (www.theshizz.org). “We thought the first one was a success and a lot of fun, and people were asking us to do another one,” says Poer, frontman for Emperors of Japan. “But we wanted to make it a more badass festival this time around.” And they have. Like any good Hollywood studio exec, they’re making the sequel even bigger than March’s Shizzfest, by adding a second venue and doubling the number of acts (more than 20 outfits spread out between the Trunk Space and the adjacent Sweets & Beats). Plenty of downtown Phoenix darlings are involved (including Peachcake, Snow Songs, World Class Thugs, and Andrew Jackson Jihad), as are some returning favorites, like the mostly intact Malaki and the mostly defunct After Any Accident. Out-of-town Shizz friends such as the gypsy spazzsters of Platypus Egg and L.A. indie electronica circuit benders Wizwars, will also visit.
Sat., Oct. 10, 5 p.m., 2009