Calexico

Incoming: Blackstreet, Henry Rollins, Yelawolf, Brother Ali, and More

There's no diggity, no doubt that we're oddly delighted to hear that Blackstreet's hitting the road, and with Ginuwine, no less. These 90s R&B crooners are going to tear up the stage at the Celebrity Theatre with some of your favorite hits from around 15 years ago. Blackstreet's got us exc ... More >>

Incoming: Passion Pit, Pepper, Seether

Yesterday we ran a list of our most anticipated summer releases featuring, among others, Fiona Apple and Passion Pit. Lo and behold, Apple announced a tour date in Phoenix, and now, we can add Passion Pit to the list. The indie-pop combo is heading to the Marquee Theatre in Tempe on Tuesday, Septe ... More >>

Five Summer Releases We're Excited About

To our extreme delight, there are quite a few artists that are dropping new music this year for the first time in a long time. We've been waiting seemingly forever for No Doubt's next album. Thankfully a few other artists didn't leave us hanging for as long. We've selected five albums you definitel ... More >>

Three Things to Eat, Drink, and Bake This Weekend -- The Easter Edition

Happy Good Friday, Happy Easter, Happy Passover, or just plain ol' Happy Friday! For the first time in thirty years, my mother has decided not to cook Easter dinner for her family but instead she and my dad are going to Tucson to see their favorite band, Calexico. Damn her for being so awesome. Oh w ... More >>

NOFX, Black Carl, First Friday of the Year and More

Photo by Melissa FossumFat Mike (NOFX)​NOFX at The Marquee Theatre, 1/7/12 Photo by Melissa FossumNOFX at The Marquee Theatre​Fat Mike painted a grim picture of Arizona a couple weeks ago. He was convinced that nobody goes to shows in Phoenix anymore because it's on its way to becoming ... More >>

Five Holiday Gifts For Your Dad

​Alright, slacker. There's no more denying it: the holidays are here, and you need to get on that shopping list. Luckily, Up on the Sun has caught gift guide-fever, and over the course of this week we'll be offering you suggestions for the entire family. We're starting with dear old dad. Here ... More >>

Iron & Wine at Crescent Ballroom, 12/2/11

Jason P. Woodbury​Iron & Wine Crescent Ballroom 12/2/11 How much saxophone is too much saxophone? You might want to ask the young lady who passed out during the extended dub-into-free jazz-psychedelic blues skronk of "Wolves (Song of the Shepherd's Dog)," the fifth song played by Iron & Wine ... More >>

Iron and Wine @ Crescent Ballroom

What's Selling: Stinkweeds Top 10 Selling Albums of the Week

Steve Weiss, What Are You Listening To?

Anthony SandovalSteve Weiss​Steve Weiss Weiss is a fine art photographer with Candid Landscapes and executive director of No Festival Required Independent Cinema, a four-time Best Of Phoenix winner. Weiss will be doing film programming for Scottsdale Museum of Contemporary Art's new SMoCA Lounge i ... More >>

Iron & Wine's Sam Beam Scheduled to Bring His Extra Large Beard to The Mid-Size Crescent Ballroom

​We pretty much crowned Sam Beam, the songwriter who leads Iron & Wine, "King of Octobeard" last week (okay, he came in behind Zakk Wylde, but still). I know a lot of people who thought that Iron & Wine's last record, Kiss Each Other Clean, was too much of a departure from the wispy, fol ... More >>

Serge Gainsbourg: A Heroic Life and Seven More Music Flicks That Don't Suck

A scene from A Heroic Life​I didn't make it out to the French pop spectacular at FilmBar on Saturday night, but the pics posted on Facebook got me super-pumped to catch Serge Gainsbourg: A Heroic Life. Non-documentary or concert films are tough to pull off (those are, too) but when a movie ... More >>

Cake @ Mesa Amphitheatre

Stephen "Psyko Steve" Chilton, What Are You Listening To?

Maria VassettStephen Chilton​Stephen "Psyko Steve" Chilton The Valley-based music promoter has more than 20 events he's producing, which may be found at www.psykosteve.com When you put your key in the ignition and turn on the radio, what station would play right now? When I am in the car, I ... More >>

Jackson Browne @ Comerica Theatre

Jackson Browne, Alice Cooper, Calexico, Keb' Mo, Dar Williams and More Playing Tucson Benefit

​A Tucson-based community group has a huge benefit show lined up in the wake of the Laughner shootings.Jackson Browne, Alice Cooper, David Crosby & Graham Nash, Sam Moore, Nils Lofgren, Keb' Mo', Jerry Riopelle, Dar Williams, Ozomatli, and Calexico are all signed up to play Tucson Convention C ... More >>

Calexico, "Ready To Start" (Arcade Fire cover)

​Song: Calexico, "Ready To Start" (Arcade Fire cover) Context: In honor of this crazy "new" band Arcade Fire apparently no one's every heard of (despite the fact that they had a #1 album on the Billboard chart last year) here's Arizona's own Calexico covering "Ready To Start" from an album even to ... More >>

From Print: Blogs Teased in Our 2/10 Issue

​This week, New Times ran a list in our print publication highlighting some of the most interesting posts published at Up On The Sun over the past week. Here are links to those posts... What was really behind the White Stripes breakup and where does Meg White go from here? Is Nicki Minaj the mo ... More >>

Watch Lisa Savidge's Trippy B&W B-Roll Video for "Appalachacha"

When I ran into the Lisa Savidge guys at the Calexico show Friday they said their new record, which they'll start handing out at a show next Thursday at the Rhythm Room ($10 gets you in and a copy of the record to take home) is more shoegaze-y than their previous effort.Well, they put out a video f ... More >>

Calexico, Super Bowl XLV, The Twelves, Interpol, The Bird's Nest, Dual Duel, Daniel Bernard, and First Friday Over the Weekend

​Calexico at Corona Ranch ​Someone at Corona Ranch realized it was after 11 p.m. Someone knew the band had been playing for damn-near two-hours. Someone wanted to punch their time-card and go home, not caring to hear a truly stellar Southwesternized version of "Tomorrow Never Knows," which y ... More >>

Dawn Jameson, Calexico, Interpol, Soundcheck and More In This Week's Issue

​In this week's big feature, Nicki Escudero looks at the burgeoning career of North Scottsdale crooner Dawn Jameson -- examining whether she's just another no-talent slutwave star along the lines of Ke$ha or if she's got talent to match her looks. Whether you agree she's got the goods or not (you ... More >>

Tucson: There's More to It Than Tragedy

Tucson: Isn't she a beaut?​For a long time (and possibly forever), Tucson is going to be synonymous with tragedy. That's a shame. You see, our neighbor to the south is much more than a place where six people lost their lives and Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords was severely injured. Arizona ... More >>

Mostly Bears to Play October 15 at Yucca Tap Room

​How much you enjoy Tucson's Mostly Bears depends on how high your tolerance for shirtless press photos, warbling falsetto vocals and anthemic indie-prog is. If the idea of Muse barn-storming with The Mars Volta sounds like something you could get down to, by all means, catch the band when they ta ... More >>

Painting by Cris Kirkwood, Signed Calexico and DeVotchKa Guitars, and More in Artists For Action Raffle

​Artists for Action, those plucky do-gooders counteracting Evil Mastermind Zach de la Rocha's attempts to make our state silent until SB 1070 is "repealed" (despite the fact that California's "eerily similar" Prop 187 was never repealed -- it just got stopped by a judge, the same way SB 1070 did) ... More >>

From Print: Blogs Teased in Our 9/2 Issue

​This week, New Times ran a list in our print publication highlighting some of the most interesting posts published at Up On The Sun over the past week. Here are links to those posts. • What are the 25 craziest things The Maine's singer has tweeted? • Why did Bob Dylan's "ticketless" show i ... More >>

Artists for Action Voter Registration Concert and Rally at Marquee Theatre Last Night

​Artists For Action featuring Calexico w/ Miniature Tigers, Sergio Mendoza Y La Orkesta, Big Son featuring Sam Means of The Format and Jeff and Chris of Reubens Accomplice, Sand Rubies, Salvador Duran, Kinch, and more...August 27, 2010Marquee Theatre About 1,500 people showed up at the Marquee T ... More >>

Artists for Action

Calexico, "Two Silver Trees"

​Song: Calexico, "Two Silver Trees" Context: Getting excited for the big Artists For Action show this weekend. Two Silver Trees

Calexico, Miniature Tigers Play Free SB 1070 Show for Voters ($30 for People Who Will Not Promise to Vote)

​Are you interested in seeing Calexico, Miniature Tigers, Sergio Mendoza Y La Orkesta, Big Son (featuring Sam Means of The Format and Jeff and Chris of Reubens Accomplice), Sand Rubies, Kinch, and more for free?Yes?Are you sure?OK, you can, and all you have to do is pledge to vote on November 2. T ... More >>

Chris Bianco is Deejaying Today

Just got the word that local celebrity Chris Bianco will be spinning tunes instead of pizza dough today. He's set to be a guest DJ on ASU's The Blaze 1330 AM today from 1 to 2 p.m. Ever talked music with Bianco? Dude's got great taste, actually -- I've run into him at a Calexico show, he clued me in ... More >>

Bonnaroo 2010 Lineup Announced: Dave Matthews Band, Kings of Leon, Weezer, Stevie Wonder and More

​Tennessee's Bonnaroo music festival has announced a full line-up for this June. No real surprises here: Dave Matthews Band, Kings of Leon, Stevie Wonder, Jay-Z, Weezer, and the Flaming Lips are the top of the pile.The Dead Weather, Phoenix, John Fogerty, Jimmy Cliff, Tenacious D, Zac Brown Band, ... More >>

Concert Review: Sergio Mendoza y La Orkesta

​I cannot claim to be an expert on -- or even a dedicated aficionado of -- Latin music. My Spanish skills, though purportedly honed by classes taken over three years in high school and another two semesters in college, are more suited to ordering food and drinks than following the dialog ... More >>

Outside Lands Festival Dubs Beasties, Pearl Jam Worthy Headliners

Pear Jam is set to rock it on out at this year's Outside Lands FestivalAs we all eagerly await the set times to be announced for this weekend's Coachella Valley Music & Arts Festival, San Francisco's Outside Lands Festival announced its initial lineup. The headliners for the second edition of th ... More >>

Tempe Music Festival, Country Thunder, Bruce Springsteen and (Way) More Over the Weekend

Wait! Before you check out all the content from our weekend coverage, grab a big cup of coffee and relax. It was a big weekend and as such, there's a lot here. Take it in and enjoy it.  Tempe Music Fest 2009 This weekend Tempe Music Fest 2009 united us once again from scattered Valley citizenry t ... More >>

Bonnie Prince Billy Awes at Modified Arts

Bonnie Prince Billy (a.k.a. Will Oldham) doing what he does best. I've never seen Modified Arts as packed as it was last night during Will Oldham's performance as Bonnie Prince Billy. And it's no surprise why. More than 60 people jammed into the downtown Phoenix music venue to watch the iconic and ... More >>

Country Thunder 2009: Where My 'Necks At?

Watch out, another twisters a-comin! Damn, how I wish we were in that there V.I.P tent!I've spent the last year telling everyone who'll listen that Country Thunder is the premier music festival in Arizona. Whether you like country music or not, you should recognize that compared with any other festi ... More >>

Just Announced: Mostly Bears, New Found Glory, Asylum Street Spankers

The lack of crossover between the Phoenix and Tucson scenes has always struck me as a little odd, not only because we're out here in the desert together, without another decent-size city within a five hour's drive of us, but because the music coming out of the scenes isn't all that different, really ... More >>

Okkervil River, Calexico, Damien Jurado, and Giant Sand Are Just Some Of What’s Selling At Stinkweeds Record Exchange

Ratatat

Classics
(XL)

Reubens Accomplice

It's not a dill spear, either

Walk This Way

Hot city nights, and a DJ contest

Iron & Wine/Calexico

Fusion menu

Three's Company

A trio of Phoenix bands make the scene at South By Southwest

Rum Pum Pum Pum

Valley sextet Rum Tenor gently rumbles through atmospheric songs that tell stories -- mostly without words

Best Club For Rock

Nita's Hideaway

Show Business

TV-3's NewShow is overhauled, and local music gets the boot

Roadhouse Blues

Demise of Tempe brewery and nightspot is the latest bit of bad news for the East Valley music scene

Pinetop Seven

Bringing Home the Last Great Strike (Self Help/Truckstop)

Back in the Zone

Retooled version of local music showcase returns to the FM dial

Best Club for Rock Music

Nita's Hideaway
1816 East Rio Salado Parkway, Tempe
480-966-7715