Wild Wild West Steampunk Convention at Old Tucson Studios If you're fond of time travel, tea parties, and imaginary 19th century-style technology, look no further than the Wild Wild West Steampunk Convention. It truly feels like you're transported to another time as soon as you lock your car and enter the living history western town. You better dress up, or you will be the one weirdo wearing street clothes. The third annual W3 Steampunk Convention is the largest in the country, featuring some of the subculture's biggest names in entertainment, including reappearances by Steam Powered Giraffe and Professor Elemental.
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This year's convention looks to be larger than ever thanks to the "air versus water" theme, set in an alternate reality of Tucson that was terraformed by giant sea creatures, giving us one more reason to frown on our neighbor to the south.
Grab your blasters and petticoats on Friday, March 7 and head to Old Tucson, 201 South Kinney Road in Tucson. All-ages tickets start at $37. Visit www.wwwc3.com for more information. -- Melissa Fossum
Dave Attell at Stand Up Live Night owls know him from his days on Comedy Central's Insomniac. Adult humorists see him as the host of Dave's Old Porn on Showtime. And Entertainment Weekly? Well, they know him as one of the "25 Funniest People in America."
Needless to say, comedian Dave Attell has made a name for himself. The New York-based comic has made his fair share of appearances on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, Late Night with Conan O'Brien, The Howard Stern Show, and The Daily Show with Jon Stewart. Now Attell takes his comedy to Stand Up Live, 50 West Jefferson Street. Showtimes are 7:30 and 10 p.m. on Friday, March 7, and 7 and 10 p.m. Saturday, March 8. Tickets are $30 with a two-drink minimum for these 21-and-over shows. For more information or to purchase tickets, visit www.standuplive.com or call 480-719-6100. -- Katie Johnson
Art Detour 26 Where to begin? That is the ultimate question when it comes to the annual free festival and self-guided tour that is Art Detour.
Now in its 26th year, the celebration of Phoenix's growing arts scene covers more than 100 stops, including galleries, pop-up shows, art spaces, cultural venues, and studios.
Lucky for attendees, there's a handy map available at all those participating locations as well as a double-decker bus that circulates through the Roosevelt Row and Grand Avenue districts, among other arty hubs in the area.
Your best bet? We'd recommend perusing the map in advance. It's available online at www.artlinkphoenix.com, along with more details. Pick and choose the spots and shows that sound coolest to you and have at 'em. If all else fails, prioritize your must-sees, improvise, and wear comfy shoes -- you've got a lot of ground to cover.
The event runs from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday and Sunday, March 8 and 9. -- Becky Bartkowski
Video Games Live at Orpheum Theatre The first three notes of the Super Mario Bros. theme song might be the most recognizable in the world. Seriously. Vocally ping out those three notes in a crowd and see if you aren't joined instantly in blooping out that sweet Goomba-stomping music. Video Games Live will give the soundtracks of button-mashing glory the rockstar treatment on March 8 and 9.
Video Games Live takes video game music of all eras out for a symphonic spin and matches it with the dazzling visual flurries that eight-bit games aspired to and that current titles have to spare. Fans can pre-game with a costume contest, a classic arcade competition, and a meet-and-greet with composer and VGL founder Tommy Tallarico.
Video Games Live powers up at 7:30 p.m. Saturday, at the Orpheum Theatre, 203 West Adams Street, with an additional performance at 3 p.m. Sunday. Tickets range from $15 to $200. For more information, visit www.videogameslive.com. -- Jose Gonzalez
Author Robert Edsel of The Monuments Men at Tempe Center for the Arts If George Clooney, John Goodman, Cate Blanchett, and Bill Murray all sign off on a movie that doesn't have Wes Anderson or the Coen Brothers attached to it, then it must be something special. We'll leave it up to you to decide how well the jaw-dropping cast of The Monuments Men did in recreating a little-known slice of history, but suffice it to say that the story alone merits all the attention that the film brings it.
And to ensure that the heroism of an unsung World War II platoon commissioned to reclaim stolen art from the Nazis lives on, one man has been working tirelessly. Author Robert Edsel, whose 2009 book The Monuments Men spawned the film, has continued to chronicle the Monu-Men with 2013's Saving Italy, and he'll be delighted to tell you about it when he visits the Tempe Center for the Arts, 700 West Rio Salado Parkway, at 5:30 p.m. Sunday, March 9. Tickets start at $15. Visit www.tempe.gov/TCA or call 480-350-2829 for details. -- Rob Kroehler
