Whether you like it or not, winter visitors are on their way to the Valley en masse, if they haven't touched down already. Some we can tolerate, others we despise. A good example of the former is German rockabilly foursome The Booze Bombs.
Consisting of a quartet of bombastic Berliners, the group has made it a regular habit to visit the Valley around this time of year, staging performances at numerous local rock clubs for Phoenix's hepcat brigade.
The Booze Bombs annual Arizona experience goes down this weekend, as they'll setting up shop a such venues as the Rhythm Room and the Dirty Dogg in Scottsdale.
Read on for full details, as well as our weekly rundown of killers events that will cost you $10 or less.
ASU Guest Artist Series at Katzin Concert Hall (Thursday):
Violinist Marjorie Bagley and pianist James Douglass will stage a free performance in conjunction with the university's Herberger Institute for Design and the Arts. 7:30 p.m., free. (40 E. Gammage Pkwy., Tempe)
Field Trip at The Rogue Bar (Friday):
"[This] four-piece band says they included everything from folk to country to alternative rock on their new 12-song disc, which they produced themselves and will release it tomorrow night with a show at The Rogue Bar in Scottsdale. The album has been a long time, coming since the band has been playing around the Valley for the past four years with various line-ups. Now the guys say they want to release a second album before the year is even over." 8 p.m., $5. (423 N. Scottsdale Rd., Scottsdale) -- Nicki Escudero
The Booze Bombs at Various Locations (Friday-Sunday):
Bust out with the pomade and leopard-print clothing, as Das Fatherland's favorite rockabilly act is scheduled to appear on Friday at The Blooze Bar (12014 N. 32nd St.), followed by a gig at the Rhythm Room (1019 E. Indian School Rd.) on Saturday, and a Sunday performance at the Dirty Dogg (10409 N. Scottsdale Rd., Scottsdale). Times and admission prices vary, but their gigs probably won't run more than a five spot.
Whiskey Six at Martini Ranch (Friday):
"You can't release an EP called Love, Sex, and American Excess without having some goodies for people to take home. Local rock band Whiskey Six doesn't disappoint. At their show this Friday at Martini Ranch in Scottsdale, the band commemorates the release of their new disc with raffle prizes, but people who buy tickets will also be helping a good cause--the Arizona Music and Entertainment Hall of Fame." 7:30 p.m., $6. (7295 E. Stetson Dr., Scottsdale) -- Nicki Escudero
Wovenhand at Sail Inn (Friday):
"It's been two years since Wovenhand released Ten Stones. But it might as well have been an eternity. Since that last batch of songs, frontman David Eugene Edwards has cast a net across time and space and snared The Threshingfloor, an album that severs the band's already tenuous tether to influences like the Bad Seeds and encompasses a trance-like, almost rapturous dronescape..." (read more) 8:30 p.m., $10. -- Jason Heller
Strange Young Things at Yucca Tap Room (Friday):
"It can really suck to have to work on your birthday. But when your job is playing rock music for the masses, it's actually pretty fun. This Friday, singer Corey Gloden celebrates the big 3-0 with a show with his band Strange Young Things at Yucca Tap in Tempe. They've got support from the usual suspects, many of Phoenix's busiest bands: Black Carl, Dry River Yacht Club, and Tramps and Thieves." 9 p.m., free (29 W. Southern Ave., Tempe) - Nicki Escudero
The Father Figures at Rips (Saturday):
"The opening track of Lesson Number One, the debut album from non-ironically named Phoenix trio The Father Figures, announces to listeners that this band has no intention to "re-create the scene." That's a relief to those who've followed the exploits of the band's members for the better part of two (or more) decades and witnessed the blood-on-the-floor roots of the Valley punk scene..." (read more) 8 p.m., $5. (3045 N. 16th St.) -- Jay Bennett
The Handsome Family at Rhythm Room (Sunday):
"Brett and Rennie Sparks formed The Handsome Family in 1993 with then-drummer Mike Werner. The average length of any given marriage is only 11 years, and most married couples don't record albums or go on tour together. Such situations have to be rife with argument territory and yet they are still together. So they must be perfectly sane humans that just 'get' each other and just 'get' how to be normal well-adjusted down-home alt-country folk, right? Nope, Brett is a loonball. Ahem, excuse me, he was diagnosed with bipolar disorder back in the mid-'90s after an 'emotional breakdown.' I can only assume someone prescribed him some meds and sent them on their merry way. The meds must be working, too, because it has been nothing but great music ever since." 8 p.m., $10. (1019 E. Indian School Rd.) -- Shawn Anderson
No Age at Trunk Space (Sunday):
"Turning 25 this year, Sub Pop is still managing to sign relevant indie acts. One such band is noisy duo No Age, whose second album, Everything in Between, was 13th on Pitchfork's best of 2010 list. Like Abe Vigoda, they came up playing at noted all-ages downtown L.A. venue The Smell. (Unlike in Phoenix, all-ages venues in L.A. are something of a novelty.)" 8 p.m., $8-$10. (1506 Grand Ave.) -- Albert Ching
Reggae Sundays at Avalon (Sunday):
The force is strong with DJ Dark Vader's weekly irie extravaganza, where he and special guests spin dancehall, soca, and the titular Jamaican-born genre. Low-cost alcohol options include $2.50 you-call-its for ladies and $3 Heineken and Red Stripe until 11 p.m. Dress to impress rules apply. 9 p.m., $5 before 11. (7707 E. McDowell Rd. Scottsdale)