Rihanna

Battleship: Because Every Generation Needs an Armageddon

Florence the Machine, Comerica Theatre, 4/20/12

Florence the Machine Friday, April 20, 2012 Comerica Theatre When I streamed the band's Coachella performance last weekend so I could get an idea of what to expect when they came to Phoenix, I thought, "She's great, but something about the performance is kind of weird." To hell with those thought ... More >>

Sushi Roku: Happy Hour Report Card

The Spot: Sushi Roku, 7277 E. Camelback Road, Scottsdale, AZ 85251. (480) 970-2121. www.sushiroku.com The Hours: 4 to 6:30 p.m. Daily The Details: Sushi Roku's new happy hour menu features eleven "Bites" - like the Sautéed Garlic Green Beans, Crispy Chicken, and Popcorn Rock Shrimp - arranged into ... More >>

Silent-J on EDM's Popularity, His Beat-Mixing Philosophy, Working With Miss Krystle, and How 300 Inspired His Tracks

​Despite what his nom de guerre of Silent-J might portend, Jimmy Ng is rarely at a loss for words. Ask him his opinion on the current state of electronic dance music or what skills are necessary to succeed as a DJ these days and you'll get an earful from the veteran producer and mixer jock. Such ... More >>

The Best of SXSW Music: Wednesday 3/14/2012

​If you're familiar with chaos theory, which in its basic form is the attempt to find patterns in the random acts of shit on Earth, then you may understand the difficulty that comes with describing a full day at SXSW. To break down the bright, scintillating chaos, Village Voice Media's roving musi ... More >>

Lucero's Brian Venable on Metallica Being Dead to Him, ATO Records, and Women & Work

Memphis rockers Lucero have a timeless quality, a lowdown, from-the-gut, blue-collar rock 'n' roll sound that could have been recorded any time since the late '60s (save for a few flashes of class of '77 punk strut). Timeless, but not timely, according to guitarist Brian Venable. After nearly a de ... More >>

Adele Won and Nicki Minaj Creeped; We Recap the Grammys

​If Adele could rap, she probably would have won that Grammy as well. Sunday night's Grammy Awards made for interesting viewing, with Adele's sweep, some amazing tributes, performances, and a downright weird and horrible showing from Nicki Minaj. Host LL Cool J opened up with a prayer for Whitne ... More >>

Blondie @ Foundry on First

​If Adele could rap, she probably would have won that Grammy as well. Sunday night's Grammy Awards made for interesting viewing, with Adele's sweep, some amazing tributes, performances, and a downright weird and horrible showing from Nicki Minaj. Host LL Cool J opened up with a prayer for Whitne ... More >>

Katy Perry at Comerica Theatre, 8/3/11 (VIDEO)

Maria Vassett​Katy PerryAugust 3, 2010 Comerica Theatre Katy Perry's latest concert is called the California Dreams tour, and by the diverse sights and sounds at her sold-out show last night at Comerica Theatre, the tour does seem like the wildest, sweetest, most colorful dream Perry could have co ... More >>

David Heartbreak Discusses Timbaland, Europe and the Origins of Moombahsoul

​​David Heartbreak is considered an innovator in the tropical bass dance genre, Moombahton. He is fresh off his self titled Heartbreak (EP) release and gearing up for his first European tour in September.He has been playing gigs in Europe for a while now and featured regularly on BBC's Radio 1.& ... More >>

Arizonaton: Local DJs Pickster and Melo Bring a New Latin Dance Sound to the Valley

​​David Heartbreak is considered an innovator in the tropical bass dance genre, Moombahton. He is fresh off his self titled Heartbreak (EP) release and gearing up for his first European tour in September.He has been playing gigs in Europe for a while now and featured regularly on BBC's Radio 1.& ... More >>

Scalpers Are Making Over $4 Million Per Month on Fake Tickets

It's nearly the start of the summer music festival season, which means scalpers are out to make all the dough they can get their hands on, according to Pollstar.Second-hand ticket retailer Viagogo has released information that scam artists that have been selling fake tickets are collective ... More >>

Dave Matthews Band Announces Multiple "Mini-Festivals"

​It turns out that Dave Matthews Band won't be taking the year off after all, according to Billboard.Tuesday afternoon the band made consecutive announcements about "mini-festivals" that they will be playing this summer via their Twitter (@davematthewsbnd). They tweeted, "DMB will host 4 3-day mus ... More >>

Ciara Would Be Happy to Break from Her Record Label

​Ciara is down for getting dropped by her record label, according to Billboard. The hip-hop star has shot down rumors that Jive Records has dropped her. However, she said that she wouldn't be opposed to the company doing so. Over the last two years she has experienced substantial artistic limita ... More >>

Record Exec Whines About Grammys In Full-Page NY Times Ad

Not pictured: Translation CEO Steve Stoute​It looks like there's a new entry for the brilliant Who Is Arcade Fire? tumblr. Unfortunately, this one is longer than 140 characters -- by about a full page in The New York Times. Steve Stoute -- CEO of marketing company Translation and a veter ... More >>

Eminem, Arcade Fire, Widespread Panic, The Black Keys Headlining Bonnaroo

Bonnaroo Music & Arts Festival​ Eminem, Arcade Fire, Widespread Panic, and The Black Keys will be headlining the Bonnaroo Music and Arts Festival for its 10th year, according to the Bonnaroo website.The good people who run Bonnaroo have put together a bomb-ass lineup. Other artists confir ... More >>

A Recap of the 2011 Grammy Awards: A Quick, Easy Guide to What Happened

Dan MacMedan, USA TodayNicki Minaj, doing what she does best: always trying to get attention.​The 2011 Grammy Awards kept things classy this year: There wasn't even a single mention of Ke$ha during the entire show!Good job, Grammy people! Thanks for taking out the trash this year. Aside from the l ... More >>

Lady Gaga Drops Single 'Born This Way'

​The time has come for Lady Gaga to resume control over your radio. Ms. Gaga dropped her brand new single "Born This Way" this morning, according to SPIN.The song "Born This Way" is the first track to be released from her upcoming LP of the same title, which will be available for the world to hear ... More >>

Activision To Discontinue Guitar Hero and DJ Hero

​The Guitar Hero franchise has officially been canceled by video gaming publisher Activision, according to Blabbermouth.The decline in the game's popularity was significant enough to make the company pull the plug. The DJ Hero franchise will also be coming to an end.Activision Publishing CEO Eric ... More >>

Singer/Assailant Chris Brown Added to Roster for Phoenix Celebrity Shootout

​Yesterday I kinda bagged on the "celebrities" committed to playing in this year's version of the annual Jack in the Box Celebrity Shootout at US Airways Center.Today organizers added another big name. The Good News: The name is big. REALLY big. Pretty much everyone who cares even a little about ... More >>

Latest Cake Album Hits No. 1, Sets Dubious Record In The Process

Robert McKnightCakeThis year sure has been a fickle beast thus far -- treacherous weather, Jared Lee Loughner and now a slumping music industry.Showroom Of Compassion, the latest album from venerable rock band Cake, took the top spot on the Billboard charts for the week ending on January 1 ... More >>

Taylor Swift to Headline Country Thunder 2011 in Arizona?

​Taylor Swift may be headlining the 2011 version of the Country Thunder music festival in Arizona.The event's organizers sent out a press releases today announcing the dates for the annual hootenanny: April 7-10, in Florence where the festival has been staged at Canyon Moon Ranch since outgrowing ... More >>

Eminem Recording New Tracks With Dr. Dre

​Eminem has confirmed he's recording with Dr. Dre again, according to MTV News.Marshall announced on Satellite Radio that he and Dre are brewing up something good, saying that he might rap over one of Dre's new beats.After one more single gets released from his latest album, Recovery, Eminem plans ... More >>

Bad News: Glee Inspires ASU Students to Start Show Choir at Local High School

​Sobering news from Arizona State University's newspaper today: ASU students are starting Glee-inspired clubs in several area schools.It's apparently not enough to watch the awful show, or to call yourself by the insufferable sobriquet "Gleek" anymore. Now, you've gotta actually inflict showtunes ... More >>

Ace of Base to Release a New Album, Even Though Nobody Saw That Coming

​Did anyone see the sign when it comes to the possibility of ever hearing a new Ace of Base album? Not I.Consequence of Sound reports that the Swedish pop group -- fondly remembered by all as a 90s ABBA -- will be releasing their latest studio album on September 24. Most of us forgot about Ace of ... More >>

Lady Gaga Isn't So Much a Phenomenon as a Prophecy Fulfilled

​Did anyone see the sign when it comes to the possibility of ever hearing a new Ace of Base album? Not I.Consequence of Sound reports that the Swedish pop group -- fondly remembered by all as a 90s ABBA -- will be releasing their latest studio album on September 24. Most of us forgot about Ace of ... More >>

Kesha at Marquee Theatre Last Night

Shawn AndersonKesha at Marquee Theatre​Kesha July 22, 2010 Marquee TheatreThe janitors at Marquee Theatre have quite the task ahead of them after Kesha's first concert in Arizona. The 23-year-old inspired the vast majority of women in the audience to slather on glitter (much of which ended up on t ... More >>

Drake's "Find Your Love" Reveals What's in His Heart

​Drake has player written all over him.The 23-year-old rapper's sexy as hell, he's good friends with lady lover Lil Wayne, and he's young and one of the brightest stars in the music industry today--the perfect formula for getting with as many ladies as he wants, whenever.But the second single off ... More >>

Glee Is Second Only to iTunes as Music Retail's Biggest Force

​Drake has player written all over him.The 23-year-old rapper's sexy as hell, he's good friends with lady lover Lil Wayne, and he's young and one of the brightest stars in the music industry today--the perfect formula for getting with as many ladies as he wants, whenever.But the second single off ... More >>

Music Retail’s Second Biggest Force

Fox’s Glee is Second Only To iTunes Nowadays

Britney Spears Better at "Telephone" than Lady Gaga?

​ So, you're totally sick of Lady Gaga, and if you hear her version of "Telephone" one more time...Relax. Now you can still listen to what could be the catchiest pop song of 2010 without it coming from a Christina Aguilera-sound-a-like. That's right, Britney fans--Ms. Spears' version of the hit, w ... More >>

Kings of Leon: They May Suck, But They're Now Playing Arenas

Luke HolwerdaSaid in a thick Southern accent: "Aw yeah boys, we'z playing dem big houses now. Howzabout that, fellas? Yeeeeee Haaaaaaaaaaaw!"​A lot of people bag on Kings of Leon for being wanna-be arena rockers. Yet the "arena rock" tag was never literally true -- not in this country at least. Wh ... More >>

We're Starting to Like Chris Brown Again... Are You?

Don't judge us, but we're sort of digging Chris Brown's latest single, "Transform You."

Amy Winehouse Not Guilty, Jay-Z's Mayoral Campaign, Thom Yorke Writes for 'New Moon'

NME: Amy Winehouse found not guilty of assault NME: Jay-Z replaces Beastie Boys at All Points West Idolator: Jay-Z Enlists Kanye West And Rihanna For His Mayoral Campaign Idolator: Jordin Sparks Is Not Singing About Giving Head On Her New Record Pitchfork: Director: Thom Yorke Wrote New Song for New ... More >>

DJ Dossier: Brazilia

DJ Brazilia stands out from Phoenix's myriad mix-masters, knob-twisters, and record-spinners for a couple of reasons. Firstly, the 30-year old is one of a handful of she-jays currently working in the Valley's man-tastic dance scene; and secondly, she's the only DJ we're aware of claiming to have ... More >>

Nova M Deader than Bernie Mac? Sheldon Drobny's Mental Breakdown, and More on Randi Rhodes and 1190 AM's Implosion

from TheDailyGut.comDon't get mad at me, Drobny posted this himself once at HuffingtonPost.com.I was planning to save most of this for my Bird column this week, but the news is coming too fast and furious today not to follow up on my recent post concerning Randi Rhodes' disappearance from Nova M ra ... More >>

Hollywood Heartthrob: How a Lucky Break and a Lot of Cash Made the Band

from TheDailyGut.comDon't get mad at me, Drobny posted this himself once at HuffingtonPost.com.I was planning to save most of this for my Bird column this week, but the news is coming too fast and furious today not to follow up on my recent post concerning Randi Rhodes' disappearance from Nova M ra ... More >>

Concert of the Year Countdown: #1 Kanye West

Show: Kanye West's Glow In The Dark Tour at Jobing.com Arena on June 8 The year was only half over, but I knew this was the best show I'd see back in June. Of course, I never knew how many shows I'd be seeing, employed as feature writer at The East Valley Tribune at the time. Still, Kanye, Lupe, Ri ... More >>

Ready, Set, Go! It's Time To... Move My Lips and Pretend I'm Singing

So I've been getting raked over the coals by Tokio Hotel fans over the last few days because I wrote a blog pointing out that, well, it's kinda weird for teenage girls to be attracted to a guy who looks a lot like them. I asked why, I got a few thoughtful (and a lot of crazy) replies. Sample: YOU ... More >>

Phooson, Tokio Hotel, Wu Tang Clan and More Over the Weekend

How's everyone feeling after Phooson? Significantly rocked out? Did you get the chance to stop by First Friday before joining the legions of 15-year-old Fallout Boy fans? No? No worries, we've got you covered.  Phooson 2008 Check out our coverage of Katy Perry, Rihanna, Fallout Boy, Tokio Hotel, T ... More >>

Concert Calendar for This Weekend: Celine Dion, David Banner, The Hanson Brothers, Wu-Tang Clan, and more

DJ Deadmau5 is scheduled to spin tonight at Myst in Scottsdale. While we're sure most of you are gonna be heading out west to the Cricket Pavillion to check out tonight's mega-sized Phooson shindig, there's more than just that concert going on this weekend. Here's our weekly rundown of the weekend ... More >>

Haunted House Review: Final Destination III

DJ Deadmau5 is scheduled to spin tonight at Myst in Scottsdale. While we're sure most of you are gonna be heading out west to the Cricket Pavillion to check out tonight's mega-sized Phooson shindig, there's more than just that concert going on this weekend. Here's our weekly rundown of the weekend ... More >>

Springsteen at the Super Bowl? Ugh. Why Not Kanye?

DJ Deadmau5 is scheduled to spin tonight at Myst in Scottsdale. While we're sure most of you are gonna be heading out west to the Cricket Pavillion to check out tonight's mega-sized Phooson shindig, there's more than just that concert going on this weekend. Here's our weekly rundown of the weekend ... More >>

Desert Heat

America's idol and a hoops star keep Phoenix's mercury rising

Bluntabulosity

Hollywood Alley's thicker than super-chunky Skippy as the Crown City Rockers help celebrate Blunt Club's birthday