7 Best Things to Do in Metro Phoenix This Week

New Times picks the best things to do in metro Phoenix from Monday, August 1, through Thursday, August 4. For more events, see our curated online calendar. 

Mahalo Mondays
We don’t live near the ocean, but that doesn’t mean we can’t enjoy some beach vibes in the middle of the desert this summer. Hula’s Modern Tiki, 4700 North Central Avenue, is a good place to start. While you sip on your Mai Tai, you’ll be supporting more than just a local business. For Mahalo Mondays during the month of August, 10 percent of all proceeds will be donated to Free Arts for Abused Children of Arizona. Enjoy your drink and feel good about giving back to the community.

Drop in to Hula’s on Monday, August 1, (or any Monday in August) from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. to participate in the Mahalo Mondays. For more information, call 602-265-8454. Katrina Montgomery

New Moon Meditation
They say the new moon is all about beginnings – why not seize the opportunity to try something new? Sutra Midtown, 2317 North Seventh Street, is hosting a New Moon Meditation guided by Rebecca Fritz. Tune in to the lunar frequency to find clarity and alignment for the coming moon cycle. Afterward, you can relax and enjoy $5 sangria in the lounge with fellow yogis or try a 10-minute stellar boost massage to retain the relaxation of the evening even after leaving the yoga studio.

The New Moon Meditation begins at 7:30 p.m. on Tuesday, August 2. Rates may vary based on studio membership. For more information, call 602-253-9525 or visit www.sutrastudios.com. Katrina Montgomery

Emo Night PHX
In 2016, it’s no longer hip to stand awkwardly — arms folded, head downcast — while “enjoying” a concert. But once upon a glorious time, that was exactly the response bands were looking to elicit. And hip it was. This anguish-laden ritual, occasionally involving swaying in approval to the sounds of teenage angst and gloom was known in the late 1990s as an “emo concert.” After all, if adolescence is mostly dissonance and anguish, why shouldn’t the music be? Nowadays, in a weird and ironic twist, a lot of 30-somethings nostalgically listen to emo as a means of fondly looking back on unhappier times. Stop by Rebel Lounge, 2303 East Indian School Road, for Emo Night PHX at 8 p.m. on Tuesday, August 2. Try not to look like you’re enjoying it too much. Cover is $5. Visit www.therebellounge.com or call 602-296-7013 for details. Rob Kroehler

Book Art Display: New Acquisitions
Maybe you know someone who hears the words “book” and “art” used in the same sentence and assumes there must be an exciting new offering in the adult coloring book market. Grab them pronto and head to Burton Barr Central Library, 1221 North Central Avenue.

Then introduce them to proper works of book art recently acquired for the Rare Book Room’s Artist Made Book Collection, currently exhibited in display cases on the library’s first floor. You can see them between 9 a.m. and 9 p.m. on Wednesday, August 3.

Featured works explore several themes, including immigration, the musicality of language, oceans, and the loss of the written word in the digital age. “Book Art Display: New Acquisitions” is free and continues through October 1. Visit www.phoenixpubliclibrary.org. Lynn Trimble

Matt Bellassai
Pop open the pinot — or unscrew it, no judgment — and get ready to w(h)ine along: “Internet Drunk” Matt Bellassai is coming to downtown Phoenix.

Bellassai is the former host of the BuzzFeed-produced comedic web series “Whine About It,” in which he poured himself a fishbowl-sized glass and bitched about everything from “Why LA is the Worst” to “Why Wearing Pants is the Worst.” Wine and whine — is there a more perfect pairing?

Now a People’s Choice Award winner, he’s branching out on his own, bringing “The Drunk & Alone Tour” to comedy clubs across the country, doing his jokey complaining and commentary from behind a microphone instead of at a desk.

The sass and side-eye start at 8 p.m. on Thursday, August 4, at Stand Up Live, 50 West Jefferson Street. Admission is $22, with a required two-drink minimum for the 18-and-over show. For tickets, call the box office at 480-719-6100 or click www.standuplive.com. Janessa Hilliard


Side Show School
You can go to school for anything these days. Prostitution school in Spain, witch school in Salem, side show school in Phoenix, Yes, as in circus side show school. There’s a school right here in town that will teach you how to hammer a nail into your face — don’t worry, just because you aren’t familiar with “human blockading” doesn’t make you a human blockhead. Glass eating, beds of nails, straitjacket escape … basically anything that sounds horrifying and/or excruciating is taught at Side Show School at House of Cirque, 2026 North 11th Street. Anyone 18 and over who’s looking to monetize their masochism, or at least bolster their repertoire of ghastly party tricks, would do well to attend at 7 p.m. on Thursday, August 4. Cost is $30. Visit www.houseofcirqueclasses.brownpapertickets.com or call 602-380-5455. Rob Kroehler

"Desertscapes"
You can spend hours at Pueblo Grande Museum, where the history and archaeology of 44th and Washington Streets (and related matters) are displayed on-site, which is trippy and excellent. But if your schedule is more accommodating of In-N-Out culture, consider visiting just one of the museum’s galleries, realigning your brain, heart, and soul in less than half an hour. “Desertscapes: Narrative Landscape Photography by Wayne Norton” could be the art quickie for you. Norton’s large-format monochrome prints juxtapose serene vistas and man-made intrusions within breathable space and formal composition. Both subjects mark time on a more leisurely scale than humans, hiding their fragility behind rocks, thorns, concrete, and steel.

The exhibition continues through Wednesday, August 31, at 4619 East Washington Street. Admission ranges from $3 to $6 and is free for children younger than 6. Call 602-495-0900 or visit www.phoenix.gov/parks. Thursday, August 4’s hours are 9 a.m. to 4:45 p.m. Julie Peterson