Subject: Phoenix (Arizona)

• Best of the Fests: Mondo music blowouts abound this weekend

  May 28, 2008

• Ear To The Street: Rick Ross and Flo-Rida at Celebrity Theatre

  July 31, 2008

• Quake, Rattle and Roll

  January 24, 1990

• A TREE GROWS IN PHOENIX

  November 4, 1992

• DOES THIS STORY RING A BELLQUAYLE MULLING R&G PUBLISHERSHIP, MUCKRAKER REPORTS

  December 16, 1992

• THE LOUD POETS SOCIETY

  A NEW GENERATION REVIVES THE BEAT ERA AND PHOENIX LITERARY LIFE THROUGH AN OLD FORM OF COMPETITION: THE POETRY SLAM

  March 2, 1994

• THE BAD NEWS BEARERS

  EVICTIONS, SUBPOENAS, REPOS--CONSTABLES SPEND THEIR LIVES GIVING PEOPLE GRIEF. NOW THESE HARBINGERS OF HEARTBREAK JUST MIGHT BE LOOKING AT THEIR OWN PINK SLIPS.

  January 26, 1995

• VARIOUS ITEMS IN THE MAIL

  May 18, 1995

• Kid Pics for the week

  March 14, 1996

• Night Train

  June 13, 1996

• Letters

  From the week of 11-09-2000

  November 9, 2000

• Best Cowboy Steak House

  The Horny Toad

  September 26, 2002

• BEST PUBLIC TENNIS COURTS

  Phoenix Tennis Center

  September 30, 2004

• Maryland Congressman Elijah Cummings "Troubled" by AIG Hiding of Name at Phoenix Conference; Calls for Hearings

  Congressman Elijah Cummings says he's "troubled" at the taxpayer-supported AIG's attempt to hide its name at a November conference in Phoenix, a smoking-gun detail first unveiled in this blog.The fact that AIG tried so blatantly to cover up its excesses receives prominent mention in a recent letter by the Democratic Congressman that calls for hearings into the insurance giant's use (or abuse) of billions in bailout funds.Cummings' letter makes it clear his anger is directly first and foremost a

  December 26, 2008

• Gray Development Sues CityNorth Developer for $100 Million; Hires Grand-an-Hour Attorney

                     VS. The Thomas J. Klutznick company recently found out that a planned $100 million subsidy from the city of Phoenix for the highly touted CityNorth project had been nixed by a judge. Now the company stands to lose another $100 million -- that's the skyscraper-sized judgment being sought by local apartment developer Bruce Gray in a lawsuit fil

  January 9, 2009

• Kinch Clinches SxSW Birth, Tour With Dear and the Headlights

  We've got a couple big pieces of news involving Kinch, who recorded what we said was the best album in Arizona last year. First comes news that they've been selected for SxSW, joining several other Phoenix bands at indie rock's biggest showcase. They've also got new tracks from their The Economic Chastisement EP posted here.Oh, and if all that weren't enough, we've learned from Psyko Steve that they'll be picked up for the the Dear And The Headlights tour Miniature Tigers dropped of to open for

  January 20, 2009

• Joe Arpaio Caves, Backs Off Dumbass Plan to Transport Inmates Via Light Rail

  Sheriff Joe: He puts the CON into "Con Rail."Has Sheriff Joe's well-oiled media machine finally blown up in his aged face? Will Lisa Allen have to revert to grooming dogs full instead of part time, and leave Arpaio's upkeep to another PR handler? Below is the latest press release from the MCSO, backing off the Sheriff's ludicrous "Con Rail" plan. Although our corrupt top cop is not averse to negative publicity, usually there's a little positive pub mixed into the batch. Not on this one. Joe's be

  January 29, 2009

• Anti-Joe Arpaio Action Scheduled for This February 28 in Phoenix

  Time to get pissed by this clown, and to march... Looks like February will be going out like a lion, with a massive anti-Joe protest scheduled for the 28th demanding the termination of Sheriff Joe Arpaio's 287(g) agreement. Some 70 activist groups will march by the Arizona ICE office, the Wells Fargo Tower, where the MCSO has its executive offices, and the Phoenix Federal Building, according to local human rights activist Sal Reza. I'll be there to observe as a sympathetic party. But to t

  February 12, 2009

• Take the Power Back: The Schedule for This Weekend's Anti-Arpaio Activities

  courtesy of lafronteratimes.comReady to rage against Arpaio? Boy, are you in luck.Below is the schedule for this weekend's anti-Arpaio/anti-287(g) activities just released by the National Day Laborer Organizing Network. Several high-ranking NDLON staff members have re-confirmed that Rage Against the Machine's Zack de la Rocha will attend Saturday's march, so be there and be there early. Word is Phoenix's anti-Hispanic nativist hillbillies will also show up as a counter-protest. They are truly a

  February 25, 2009

• Pete Wentz is in Phoenix and Giving Out Fall Out Boy Tickets on Twitter

  It looks like some of Fall Out Boy - bassist and band sound piece Pete Wentz - have arrived in the Valley early. Wentz has been twittering about being in Phoenix on his page (Pete Wentz), noting that baby Bronx is with him, which means wife Ashlee Simpson - whose uncle is owner of the Arizona-chain Blue Agave restaurants - is most likely in town, too. "Phoenix, AZ: Lots of ocean front property. Also, no ocean," he tweeted earlier today. The bass player and FOB song writer gave away some spe

  April 2, 2009

• Phoenix Man Sentenced to 10 Years for Passing Secrets to Potential Terrorists

  A former sailor and Phoenix UPS driver was sentenced to 10 years in a federal prison today for passing secrets to a Pakistan man who ran an Al-Qaeda recruitment Web site.Paul R. Hall, who has apparently changed his name to Hassan Abu-Jihaad, was arrested in Phoenix in 2007 and charged with terrorism- and espionage-related crimes. Hall/Abu-Jihaad was convicted a year ago, but in early March a judge dropped the terrorism charge, delaying his sentencing.Hall was a bona fide rat in the grain house -

  April 3, 2009

• "Marilyn Szabo: Selections From Travels"

  March 6, 2008

• Fifteen years after the Squaw Peak Pots debacle, the Phoenix art community rallies around a public-art project

  January 24, 2008

• Willy Northpole and the Phoenix hip-hop scene explode

  January 10, 2008

• Triple-Time Loser

  The Bird rips the Republic and throws the book at West Phoenix

  June 8, 2006

• ¡Viva La Danza!

  Phoenix sizzles with the latest dance music from Puerto Rico

  December 15, 2005

• Crying Shame

  Carl Gholson was a gifted sax player. He was also a paranoid schizophrenic. He became another victim of Phoenix’s scorching heat

  October 6, 2005

• Phoenix Has an Inferiority Complex

  Or maybe you do

  May 12, 2005

• California Schemin'

  The national press takes note as a major lawsuit is filed in the "Rent-a-Patient" scam

  March 31, 2005

• Border Boyz

  As narcocorridos - Mexican drug ballads - get nastier, the crowds in Phoenix get bigger and bigger

  April 17, 2003

• The Loner

  Emotionally fragile Texas legend Daniel Johnston ventures out into the wicked world

  February 21, 2002

• Lame Time, Last Year

  Reeking havoc, Phoenix style, in the 12 months the millennium forgot

  January 4, 2001

• Beijing Beauties

  Is Chinese 'Forbidden City' exhibition in tea leaves for Phoenix Art Museum?

  August 10, 2000

• Loop Sided

  Sloane McFarland's video paean to Homer and Joyce is excruciating, captivating

  April 20, 2000

• Phoenix or Busted

  The Valley is now the prime way station for ruthless smugglers engaged in the lucrative trafficking of human cargo -- illegal immigrants

  April 6, 2000

• Skipping to Re-election

  Three men and some babies, or how Phoenix is choosing its next mayor

  September 2, 1999

• The Terminator

  Trash-talking abortionist Dr. Brian Finkel has a message for pro-life zealots: "Kiss my ass."

  June 17, 1999

• Zine-ophobia

  May 4, 1994

• Green Day Announces Tour Dates (But Not Venues), Phoenix in August

  Green Day announced dates for their 21st Century Breakdown Tour this morning (full list on jump) but haven't said where they'll be playing in each city. They come to Phoenix on August 22. That could just be a hiccup -- bands do sometimes announce dates before venues if one or two are up in the air -- but I think in this case it might actually be that they're not sure where they're playing a lot of places. I don't think anyone quite knows what the appetite for Green Day will be considering they'

  April 20, 2009

• Jarrett Maupin II Responds to Quotes in Sheriff's Report; Says He Believes Sheriff's Office Racially Profiles

  Jarret Maupin II, in an impassioned phone call to New Times and in a comment posted today on our blog, now says that he "unequivocally" believes the Maricopa County Sheriff's Office commits racial profiling. Maupin claims his quotes to the contrary that turned up in a deputy's report were "completely taken out of context." Maupin denied that he supports the sheriff's actions against the immigrant community, though "I don't go far as to say he's a racist." "I absolutely feel, without any shado

  June 17, 2009

• Open Casting in PHX for Next Food Network Star

  The Food Network has certainly found its fair share of TV fodder from Valley restaurants; will it find a future TV personality here, too? Maybe so -- the popular reality series The Next Food Network Star is coming to town July 8 for an open casting for its 2010 season. "We are looking for people who are full of life, passionate about cooking, and knowledgeable about food to meet us in person at our open casting call," says casting assistant Nivale Lightfoot. "Please help us spread the w

  June 22, 2009

• Beyond The Now: You Asked For It

  Beyond The NowSubject to Change (Self-released) Grade: CIt's hard to believe, but tomorrow marks the 10th anniversary of Woodstock 1999. Though organizers have done everything they can to protect the Woodstock brand since, distancing themselves from the fiery debacle in Rome, New York, if you ask me the event was a smashing success, as it really did accomplish the ambitious goal of defining a generation. Like it's two predecessors -- the hippie fest of '69 and the grunge showcase of '94 --

  July 22, 2009

• Bob Dylan Cancels Phoenix Concert Due To "Excessive Heat"

  ​Breaking news: Phoenix, Arizona gets rather warm during the summer months.Is this a good reason to avoid scheduling an outdoor concert at a minor league ballpark in suburban Glendale for mid-August? Probably. But, if such a concert a concert is scheduled -- as Bob Dylan did, by planning to play the Camelback Ranch park the White Sox and Dodgers use as a Spring Training facility Tuesday -- you should probably go through with it instead of issuing a last minute cancelation citing the "ex

  August 9, 2009

• The Love Me Nots Set Album Release Date, Plan Tour

  ​The top act in Phoenix's garage rock scene, The Love Me Nots, has set a September 18 release date for their new record, Upsidedown Insideout, which they recorded at Mesa's Flying Blanket Recordings with the legendary Detroit-based producer Jim Diamond. (You can read my interview with Diamond, done while he was working on the record, here.)The band, which now includes local uber-producer Bob Hoag, will debut material from the new record on tour and at several local shows, beginning with an Aug

  August 17, 2009

• Arthur Frommer's Correct To Be Disturbed by Arizona: Ernie Hancock and Chris B. Are Two Reasons Why

  as seen on Freedom's Phoenix The sort of racist filth they find amusing over at Ernie Hancock's Freedom's Phoenix (see below) According to local news reports, Arizona's office of tourism is all worked up about Arthur Frommer's blog comments regarding Arizona wackos carrying AR-15s outside events where the President of the United States is speaking. This is part of what Frommer had to say: "For myself, without yet suggesting that others follow me in an open boycott, I will not personally t

  August 21, 2009

• Green Day Brings Classic Rock Feel To U.S. Airways Show

  Luke HolwerdaGreen Day's Billy Joe Armstrong on stage at U.S. Airways Center in Phoenix.​Depending on who you ask, there's something either: a) vaguelyorb) obviously and irredeemably pathetic about a 37-year-old man in skinny black jeans. So, yes, Green Day singer Billy Joe Armstrong immediatly looked a little silly strutting on stage at U.S. Airways Center as the piano-driven opening of "21st Century Breakdown," the title track to his band's latest record, played over the PA. It's forgivabl

  August 23, 2009

• Puscifer Sets Tour Dates, Plays Phoenix December 3 and 4

  ​Arizona-dwelling Tool frontman Maynard James Keenan's side project, Puscifier, has announced fall tour dates, including two shows at Phoenix's stunning Orpheum Theatre. The show, which actually allows you to see Maynard, unlike Tool's concerts, where he stands on the back of the stage, has been explained as, "a performance art spectacle equal parts comedy cabaret show, guerrilla theater, lysergic animation sequences, Krautrock-inspired metallic jams and leering lunacy of various stripes."Soun

  September 1, 2009

• Mini T's Add More Dates to Fall Tour

  Phoenix(ish) band Miniature Tigers have added more dates to their fall tour. The Charlie Brand-fronted outfit rumored to be moving to New York will be touring with fun., fronted by Phoenix expat Nate Ruess, as well as Say Anything, New Zealand's Ruby Suns and the Dodos.Full list of tour dates, including shows at The Marquee and Modified Arts, on the jump. The band's video for "Cannibal Queen" is above.

  September 9, 2009

• Night of the Living Dread

  September 24, 2009

• Check Into the Motel for the Dead at the Icehouse on Dia de los Muertos

  In the past 20 years or so, Americans of all ethnicities throughout the country -- especially here in the Southwest -- have been making a big deal of Dia de los Muertos, the Mexican Day of the Dead celebration that spans several days and just happens to coincide with All Souls and All Saints Days (November 1 and 2) in the Catholic liturgical calendar. Leave it to those eminently creative Mexicans to concoct fabulous, regionally unique traditions that meld pre-Columbian rituals honoring t

  October 19, 2009