Elton John

That Damn Show 2013: Bend Sinister Groks Classic Rock

On Saturday That Damn Show is back for 2013 at the Mesa Amphitheatre, featuring national acts like Bad Religion and local favorites like the Veragrooves. Check out the full schedule here and read on for a preview of Canada's own Bend Sinister. (Full disclosure: We're co-promoting this show with KUKQ ... More >>

5 Sweet Spots for Valentine Treats in Metro Phoenix

The Super Bowl is this Sunday, and for the anxious holiday planner that can really only mean one thing: Valentine's Day is right around the corner. Rather than half-assing it with some predictable drug store purchase of candy and a card, we suggest you show a little love to local business this yea ... More >>

David Cassidy On Hanging With John Lennon, The Partridge Family, and a Gun-Toting Phil Spector

"You know, I'm no different from everybody else, I start each day and end each night..." So spoke David Cassidy during a break in the Partridge Family's second hit single "Doesn't Somebody Want to be Wanted." But he is different. Different from you, who's never appeared working alongside Gary Busey ... More >>

Are Casino Concerts Guaranteed to Suck?

See also: You Ready for the State Fair? A Guide to the Veteran's Memorial Coliseum Schedule (feat. Adam Lambert, Weezer, Jane's Addiction, and More) See also: Joan Jett @ Talking Stick Resort I've always considered casino venues at the bottom of a musician's career, just above the state fair circ ... More >>

A Brief History of White Boy Soul

A Brief History of White Boy Soul

Mayer Hawthorne is a terrible, terrible rapper. Should you decide to hear "Haircut" drop a quick 16, be forewarned. But the man has pipes. The sharp-suited crooner showed a deep, well vetted knowledge of African-American music--most principally Stax and Motown soul--on last year's How Do You Do (Uni ... More >>

Tribute Band Haven Skye in Peoria Closes

If your weekend plans included journeying to Peoria check out a rock or pop tribute act at Skye, better head back to the drawing board. You certainly won't be heading to the venue. The proprietors of the West Valley supper club and lounge, which regularly hosted tribute bands and live music on week ... More >>

Mike James, What Are You Listening To?

Mike James The local comedian performs Thursday, June 7, at Jaxon's in Scottsdale. For more information, go here. When you put your key in the ignition and turn on the radio, what station would play right now? 97.3-FM -- 24/7 comedy. What's the first album you bought? Haha. I was 8-years-ol ... More >>

Cass McCombs Lets His Songs Do the Talking

Guns N' Roses at Comerica Theatre, 12/27/11

Guns N' Roses Comerica Theatre Tuesday, December 27 See also: Our complete Guns N' Roses and Sebastian Bach slideshow. Our interview with Guns N' Roses bassist Tommy Stinson. The line stretched around Comerica Theatre, and snaked all the way down Adams, placing us just across the street from t ... More >>

Cover the Crescent @ Crescent Ballroom

As the Stop Online Piracy Act Hits Capitol Hill, Five Artists That Speak Out Against File Sharing

Sigur Ros​Yesterday, we blogged about the ultra-famous musicians that support music piracy in the face of the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA), recently introduced to the House of Representatives, which aims to protect the copyright laws of music and other downloadable intellectual property. Web ... More >>

Five Movies Outshined By Their Soundtracks

​It's impossible to not hate almost everything about Twilight. The books changed what "vampire" means to an entire generation. Now, it's less about being an undead monster than it is about misunderstood hunks with sparkly pale skin. Then, the movies went on to solidify the idea that as long a ... More >>

Five Weird Collabortions That Rival Jack White and ICP Song

When the news broke last Wednesday that modern rock 'n' roll icon Jack White was pairing with the sticky, Faygo-coated Insane Clown Posse (ICP) for a "Mozart cover" called "Lech Mich Im Arsch," a simultaneous "wutttt?" was uttered by music fans across the globe. Surely Jack White is the type of dud ... More >>

Wrapping Up Ramadan in The Desert

Kholood Eid Sunset over the Valley.​ Editor's note: Kholood Eid filed this post on Friday, as her summer-long digital media fellowship drew to a close. Last week she took drove all over town, wrapped up classes, packed her dorm room and car, took countless photographs, completed the first ... More >>

Leon Russell

The Dude to Make an Album

​As everyone knows, The Dude was in the music business, briefly. As a roadie for Metallica during the Speed Of Sound tour. The band was, reportedly, a bunch of assholes.Now the Dude, using his professional alias Jeff Bridges, will record an album with Oscar and Grammy award winner T-Bone Burnett f ... More >>

Two Minutes of Lady Gaga's 'Judas' Leaks

Lady Gaga's new single "Judas" from her upcoming album Born This Way has leaked a two-minute preview​, according to Idolator."Judas" will be released on Tuesday, April 19 as Gaga's followup single to the track that shares a name with the album. The song clip sounds like a low-quality preview. ... More >>

Bill Campana, What Are You Listening To?

Bob Nelson​Bill Campana The Valley poet has participated in poetry slams both locally and nationally and can be found at various events around the state. When you put your key in the ignition and turn on the radio, what station would play right now? It's hard to say. I change the station cons ... More >>

Phoenix Symphony Tapped to Back Cover Singer

San Francisco's symphony famously backed Metallica for a two-disc epic called S&M, redefining how many people look at metal in the process. The Phoenix Symphony will back Canadian Christian singer Jim Witter, who has made his living doing knockoffs of popular tours like the Elton John/Billy J ... More >>

Kitty Purry, Lou Dog, Snacks, Bubbles and More of Music's Greatest Pets

Snacks​Best Coast singer Bethany Cosentino has made a lot of her fans cat people.Her pet cat Snacks is almost as recognizable as the band (which plays Clubhouse Music Venue Saturday, January 22) itself. A picture of Snacks covers the drum kit, Cosentino gives Snacks a shout-out in the song "Goodby ... More >>

Six New Times Contributors Name Their Top 10 Records of 2010

Best Coast, Bad Religion, Exposé, and More in This Week's Issue

Best Coast's L.A. sound is as colorful as her L.A. home.​Bethany Cosentino, vocalist of the pop band Best Coast, says her band radiates lo-fi California warmth. Best Coast is perfecting the sounds of sunshine, and they're working with producer Bobb Bruno, king of the Los Angeles underground scene. ... More >>

Jack White to be First Musical Guest on 'Conan'

​Jack White will be the first musical guest on Conan when the show debuts on November 8 on TBS, according to Spinner.Conan O'Brien and White teamed up for the final performance on Late Night With Conan O'Brien as well, so while the collaboration is nothing new, it's still an exciting favorite to w ... More >>

Shawn Phillips Is Stranger Than Fiction

Meet Navy rescuer and true rock and roll Zelig

'American Idol' Live! at US Airways Center Last Night

Luke HolwerdaAmerican Idol Live​American Idol Live! August 12, 2010US Airways CenterFor Valley residents who always wanted to make it out to the American Idol studios but never did, last night at US Airways Center was their opportunity to see the top 10 contestants from 2010's season perform on th ... More >>

Leon Russell: The Legendary Sideman Is an Imposing Presence

Leon Russell

The Legendary Sideman Is an Imposing Presence

Why Iron Maiden Still Matter

Can You Guess Which Rolling Stone is Good in Bed?

Apparently their bed was on fire, with passion and love.​ Well, according to Ronnie Wood's ex-girlfriend, Celebrity Big Brother star Ekaterina Ivanova, it's him! The couple with a 41-year age gap is finito, and Ivanova claims she is totally over it. She also hints that her co-star "Basshunter" m ... More >>

Former Format Frontman's New Band, Fun, Starts Touring Tomorrow

That Format-size hole in the heart of Phoenix music fans is about to get a little healing. Fun, the new NYC-based project by The Format's Nate Ruess, with ex-Anathallo multi-instrumentalist Andrew Dost and Steel Train's Jack Antonoff, will embark on a 34-date tour with Manchester Orchestra tomorrow ... More >>

Bruce Springsteen Makes Everyone a Little Nostalgic at Jobing

Victor PalaganoSee more shots from the show in our Bruce Springsteen slide show. Maybe it was the bouncing beach balls that reminded me of my first concert experiences (seeing the Kokomo-era Beach Boys) or maybe it was the inclusion of a relatively obscure song by glam- ... More >>

Why You Have To Pay So Much for Good Seats

On March 11, the Wall Street Journal ran an article titled "Concert Tickets Get Set Aside, Marked Up by Artists, Managers" written by Ethan Smith. In it, Smith explains the practice of large promoters, Ticketmaster, and artists teaming up to take the best seats at concerts and then not selling them ... More >>

Dec. 4 In Blogs: Speed Cameras, Elton John, Billy Joel, Wineburgers, Roy Warden and More

We understand that in the 24-hour news cycle it can be difficult to keep up. Worry not! We have the solution. Check back on Valley Fever every evening for highlights from each of New Times' blogs. Today's entries: Valley Fever:Sources: Scottsdale Republic Going From Five to Four Days a Week; Edito ... More >>

David Sanborn

Here & Gone
(Decca Records)

American Idol: entertainment or evil?

The Cult of Baz

Local troupe brings the third dimension to Luhrmann masterwork

Jesus Christ Superstars

Choral group is bigger than Bono

Southbyscurvy: The Best of SxSW

Some Liked It Hot

Word Play

It’s easy, m’kay

The Friday Poll: Anna Nicole Smith, do you give a rat's ass?

Ben Folds

Supersunnyspeedgraphic: The LP
(Sony)

Tramps & Thieves

Spittin' Into the Wind
(self-released)

Pox Populi

Odds are against the few good bites

Big Cheese

Neil Hamburger gets toasted

Happy Endings

The Necronauts land smoothly with their latest release

BT

After spending years proclaiming, "I am not a DJ," trance-popster changes his tune

Famous and Tired

Pop stars complain about their jobs like everyone else. Here's what's happened when some of their gripes have actually made it to tape.

Good Old Oy

Twenty-eight years later, Randy Newman is still America's last great grumpy songwriter