Arts, Entertainment, and Media

Seven Nights of EDM, DJs, and Dancing

Man-Cat Breaks Up with Taylor Swift So That You Can Too

The Office Finale and Five More Signs Your Indie Music Is Getting Old

Season 2 of the American version of The Office is my favorite TV show ever, and because I am a glutton for punishment, I've been using tonight's series finale mostly as an excuse to understand how old I and my tastes (and the DVDs I watched all those Jim and Pam moments on over and over) are getting ... More >>

Backstreet Boys, ZZ Top, And More Announce Phoenix Shows

Earlier in May, Justin Timberlake announced he would be coming through Phoenix on his enormous solo tour, which set off a concert-excitement bomb the likes of which hadn't been seen since--well, since those Prince shows, I guess, even earlier in May. More recently, the Backstreet Boys announced they ... More >>

Should You Buy FYF Fest Tickets This Year?

My Bloody Valentine is headlining, of course you should buy FYF Fest tickets; this is a no brainer. Okay, the decision isn't necessarily that simple. Backing up: FYF Fest is a two-day festival that takes place in downtown Los Angeles, featuring a variety of indie, electronic, punk, and comedy acts. ... More >>

Local Wire: Cover The Crescent, Alice Bag, And More Valley Music

[The Valley is a big place, and it puts out more interesting music than we could ever hope to cover. Every week or so, Mike Bogumill will use this space to cover a little more of it. - Ed.] The goal of this column is to document, explore, and create awareness for interesting things happening in loc ... More >>

Four Peaks SunBru: A Can-tastic Gold Medal Winner

Beer: Sunbru Brewery: Four Peaks Brewing Co. Style: Kolsch ABV: 5.2 percent If you people are any part the beer geeks you claim to be, you'll journey outside your homes on Saturday, May 18, into the increasingly balmy summer air and over to the AmeriCAN Canned Craft Beer Festival. You'll get to lis ... More >>

Slayer's Jeff Hanneman and 8 Other Metallers Dead Before Their Time

Slayer guitarist Jeff Hanneman died of cirrhosis on May 2, the same day as the Golden Gods Awards. It was devastating that on a day meant to celebrate the lives of the best musicians in metal, one of those artists was taken from the world of music. It also came as a shock. In fact, by all accounts ... More >>

Flapper Flings

The Beach Boys (Kind Of) Are Coming to Flagstaff for Mother's Day

Until very recently, it was not necessary to point out that the Beach Boys who were on tour were not necessarily all of the surviving Beach Boys. Alas, we're spoiled: Last year's totally unexpected new album and tour brought the warring Beach Boys factions together for some extremely poignant (and o ... More >>

Golden Gods 2013: How Gene Simmons Gets Out Of Interviews And Other Black Carpet Tales

If you've been reading this whiskey-drenched, devil-horn-throwing column every week for more than a year, here's a little thank-you flashback to the beginning. In one of the first Metal Mondays installments, I talked about the Revolver Golden Gods Awards in Los Angeles--basically the heavy metal Gra ... More >>

Black Mountain's Stephen McBean Fronts a Lot of Bands, Is Influenced by Even More

Mushroomhead @ Marquee Theatre

Balanchine Act

Alkaline Trio - Marquee Theatre - 4/28/2013

Alkaline TrioMarquee Theatre, TempeSunday, April 28, 2013 I've got a big, fat fucking bone to pick with you, Alkaline Trio. In case you haven't heard, I'm sick and tired of waiting to hear "Radio." I wish you would have swapped some new songs for "Nose Over Tail," "Clavicle," and all of Goddamnit. ... More >>

Top Five Must-See Shows in Phoenix This Weekend

This weekend is Prince Eve. We understand that. But if you're unable or unwilling to part with the kind of money it takes to see Prince in something smaller than an arena, you can divert yourself with any of these coming attractions:

Beautiful Noise Returns with Shoegaze Acts Both Vintage and Fresh

Alkaline Trio @ Marquee Theatre

Paramore @ Comerica Theatre

An Infamous 2004 Scuffle Continues to Define Danny Marianino and Glenn Danzig

Beautiful Noise Returns to Mesa Amid a Shoegaze Revival

It was 1993 when Brandon Capps and a few like-minded friends started coordinating the first Beautiful Noise "shoegaze" festivals around Arizona. But 20 years ago, shoegaze wasn't a compliment. It was an insult, a pejorative tossed at the kind of guitarist who stared down at his pedals, waiting for t ... More >>

Black Sabbath to Play Phoenix August 30 on 2013 World Tour

Black Sabbath -- that is, Ozzy Osbourne, Tony Iommi, and Geezer Butler, for the moment -- have been teasing a summer tour of North America for weeks, and when they finally announced the full tour on Thursday it came with an August 30 performance in Phoenix, at US Airways Center. The tour celebrates ... More >>

Music Fests Like Coachella Drive Concert Sales to New Heights

Bad Religion Experiences a Punk Renaissance

Was Coachella 2013 Worth The Drive From Phoenix?

If you went to Coachella last weekend, you're probably still sunburned, dehydrated, and physically exhausted. Sleeping in your own bed is a glorious feeling after camping out or crashing on a friend's hotel room floor, but some aches and pains are bound to persist. Fortunately, if you had a good-en ... More >>

Why Talk More About Jay-Z's Cuba Trip Than Rick Ross's Date Rape Rap?

Having solved all of the country's economic problems, come to an agreement on DOMA, and figured out what to do about gun control, the American government finally has time to focus on what really matters: where richer-than-God superstars Jay-Z and Beyoncé spend their obscenely luxurious vacations. ... More >>

Great Arizona Picnic at the Scottsdale Culinary Festival: A Recap of Yesterday, and the Food Fest Continues Today

Follow the swarms of people and parking-less streets to the Scottsdale Civic Center Mall today, for the second and final day of the Great Arizona Picnic at the Scottsdale Culinary Festival. Featuring fare from more than 50 restaurants, the first day of the 'Great Arizona Picnic' took over the par ... More >>

Top Five Must-See Shows in Phoenix This Weekend: Merle Haggard, Modest Mouse, and More

Of all the things Merle Haggard and Sigur Rós have in common, this is perhaps the most important: They're both playing in Arizona on Friday. But that doesn't guarantee they'll end up in today's Top Five Must-See Shows in Phoenix This Weekend. Of course, if you're at Country Thunder this weekend, ... More >>

Run Boy Run Brings Frisky Young Bluegrass to Country Thunder Today, Rhythm Room on Sunday

Garrison Keillor knows about all the cool stuff way before the rest of us do -- we were in Tucson a couple of weeks ago, innocently catching a show at Plush that featured old friends of whom we're huge fans, and it turned out to be the release show for Run Boy Run's So Sang the Whippoorwill. Already ... More >>

Phoenix Art Museum's Latest Show Is Not What You Might Expect -- in a Good Way

Modest Mouse @ Crescent Ballroom

Backstroke

The Fright Side

The Best of Up on the Sun's Weekly Metal Column, Metal Mondays

Some of you may remember last March when a little column called Metal Mondays debuted via Up On The Sun, and immediately dove into the subjects matters of Pantera, strippers, Jack Daniels, and YouTube.

Phoenix Lifeguard-Diversity Program was "Mischaracterized" by City Employee, Says City

A week after being battered on the blogs for its lifeguard-diversity program, the city of Phoenix has responded by throwing one of its employees under the waterbus. Kelly Martinez, a recreation coordinator for Phoenix, "mischaracterized" the city program in a local National Public Radio report, say ... More >>

Coolin' Out Opens Hip-Hop Shop Along Downtown Phoenix's Roosevelt Row Tonight

A new outlet for hip-hop culture and turntablist gear will make its debut this evening along Roosevelt Row, just in time for this month's edition of First Friday. Coolin Out Hip-Hop Shop, a new brick-and-mortar boutique run by the local nightlife promoter and clothing company of the same name, is op ... More >>

Is Scottsdale's John Smith the Secret Love Child of Elvis Presley?

10 Star Wars Songs To Ease Your Rage Now That Disney's Killed LucasArts

Ever since Disney's acquisition of LucasFilms was announced, the prognosis by fans has been mixed. Three new Star Wars movies is good news, right? Sure, but what about yesterday's news that Disney has shut down LucasArts? Yeah, the future of the saga a long time ago in a galaxy far, far away is up ... More >>

Arizona's Lands on the Daily Show Yet Again, This Time for "Protecting Guns From People"

Yet again, the state of Arizona is the subject of one of Comedy Central's news programs, this time thanks to Tucson gun advocates who are "standing up for guns."This time, the Daily Show with Jon Stewart profiled the gun-worshipers who are protesting the gun-buyback programs in Tucson, as well as Re ... More >>

Crunk in Public

Jurassic 5's Cut Chemist and Nu-Mark Lend Support to Blunt Club's Benefit for Artist Jules Demetrius

Local urban artist Jules Demetrius has never seemed to want when it comes to the friend department. Amongst his multitude of acquaintances and comrades, the 43-year-old painter and graphic designer are a horde of local creative types from both the music and art world, as well as some famous names li ... More >>

10 Best Punk Bars in Phoenix

Phoenix has a long tradition of punk bars that serve up cheap beer and fast, aggressive (sometimes sloppy) punk rock. Some great venues have closed over the last few years, and while we dearly miss Jugheads and Rogue West, punk bars continue to thrive in the Valley of the Sun. Most are situated in u ... More >>

Top Five Must-See Shows in Phoenix This Weekend

Hey ya, the weekend is here. So get off the couch and get to some shows, Phoenix. Maybe these shows: Our Top Five Must-See Shows in Phoenix This Weekend.

Musical of Musicals (The Musical) Proves Everything Old Can Be New Again

Max Cavalera Brings Soulfly Home to Phoenix

Reclusive Neutral Milk Hotel Songwriter Steps Back into the Spotlight

Soulfly's Max Cavalera Discusses Extreme Groove (and His New Supergroup, Featuring Members of Mars Volta, Dillinger Escape Plan, Mastodon)

Max Cavalera of Soulfly is a very mellow speaker. His Brazilian accent is thick, and there's a lilting quality to the way he punctuates his sentences with phrases like "You know?" or "It's killer, man." He's buzzing about a lake house in unincorporated Phoenix, a second home in addition to his other ... More >>

Anthrax Gets Classic Rock with Anthems

You can't go wrong with a healthy dose of Anthrax in the morning. At least, that's what I thought as I listened to their new EP Anthems, released on Tuesday, March 19. Add that to the fact that these thrash metal legends are coming through town this Sunday on the Metal Alliance tour --alongside Ex ... More >>

Yasiin Bey AKA Mos Def, Celebrity Theatre, 3/21/13

Mos Def/Yasiin Bey @ Celebrity Theatre|3/21/13It's clear that Yasiin Bey A.K.A. Mos Def is one of the most likeable guys in hip-hop history. The 39-year-old rapper is most known for his critically acclaimed album Black on Both Sides, as well as his work with fellow New York emcee Talib Kweli, as the ... More >>

Property Wars' Doug Hopkins, What Are You Listening To?

Doug Hopkins Hopkins is the star of the Discovery Channel show, Property Wars. For more information, go here. When you put your key in the ignition and turn on the radio, what station would play right now? Definitely Howard Stern. If I am not listening to Stern, I'm usually listening to KTAR or s ... More >>