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 >>
Oh you don't own a TV? How brave. Seriously -- people love bragging about not watching TV, but they're missing out. Whether watching live, on Netflix, or on DVD, there's almost nothing as fun as zoning out in front of the TV. We're partial to music too (you might have guessed), so when we started ... More >>
Is there any better way to ring in the Christmas season than a Pitbull concert? His new album, Global Warming, is hitting shelves at the end of November, just in time for the holidays, no? If you're not sure what to ask Santa for this year, how about a few tickets for you and your friends to check ... More >>
Toro Y Moi Crescent Ballroom Monday, March 5, 2012 Chillwave/glo-fi/funk/[insert blogger-generated genre here] pioneers Toro Y Moi knows how to get people moving. At last year's South by Stateside Festival, the band played a short, delayed set thanks to Foster the People's lengthy set-up time. I ... More >>
Bon IverWelcome to another installment of Up on the Sun's 2011 Review. Over the next week, we'll be counting down our favorite songs, shows, national and local releases of 2011. This installment comes from Mike Escoto, who contributes to Up on the Sun and is one of the main perpetrators over ... More >>
Photos and video by Melissa Fossum Phantogram Crescent Ballroom Saturday, November 5 It's been a good year for Phantogram. This trip-hop duo played a bunch of festivals, including Coachella, where they attracted a crowd of over 10,000 people in spite of sharing a time slot with The Strokes. ... More >>
Want to know what new release discs and platters are moving across the Valley at local record stores? We've got you covered with another installment of What's Selling. Your friendly neighborhood record shop, Revolver Records, celebrates four years of buying, selling and trading LPs, CDs a ... More >>
Ade KassimErnest Greene of Washed OutWashed OutCrescent BallroomSaturday, October 15, 2011Exactly how much interaction that needs to occur between an artist and audience at a live show? "Chillwave" is generally associated with the idea of bedroom-created, computer pop, with the expectation being tha ... More >>
DJ Name: World Famous Rani "g."Real name: Rani GharfehGenres spun: House, global soul, afrobeat, ancestral soul, jazz, hip-hop, rap, R&B, funk, worldbeat, disco, indie dance, UK garage and whatever else feels right at the moment.Current residencies: Mabel's On Main on Friday and Saturday, Ret ... More >>
Just a few speed bumps and stop signs are hindering Apple from releasing its new cloud music service sooner rather than later, according to Prefix.The company has yet to conclude its negotiations with publishers. All that Apple has to left to figure out with the music publishers is how much they ... More >>
Crusher Sound System, Mr. Meeble & more. Sail Inn Saturday, April 30 You know, the old substance over style debate can get a little old. Isn't it possible to have both? It sure seemed like it watching Mr. Meeble on the outdoor stage at Next Fest at Sail Inn last night. The band was premieri ... More >>
Toro y MoiDid you know that a third of a year is called a tertile? Now you do!The first tertile of 2011 (great word, right?) comes to end at the close of this month, which seems like a good time to get caught up on the best songs from the first part of the year. Hey, it's never too early for a be ... More >>
It's a real shame that Mother Nature didn't see if fit to cooperate with Stateside Presents' plans for South By Stateside: Day 2, the annual Phoenix run off of indie-bands on their way to the West Coast from Austin's South by Southwest Festival. The nine band bill was divided pretty evenly betwee ... More >>
Toro Y Moi South by Stateside Day 2Sail InnMarch 21, 2011 Last week, roughly 35,000 music lovers, journalists and industry types made their way down to Austin for a week's worth of music and cheap booze. Fortunately for everyone who didn't get to go to SxSW, a handful of bands who performed the ... More >>
In the 24-hour news cycle, it can be difficult to keep up. We have the solution. Check back on Valley Fever every evening for highlights from each of New Times' blogs. Today's entries:
Flogging Molly will play a green-themed show at Tempe Town Lake today.Top o' the mornin' to ya! It's Ireland's national holiday, and this year it's a splendid day to spend in church, praying to ol' Patrick, the mighty saint who cured our isle of snakes ages ago. What's that, you plan to take off ... More >>
As spring slowly materializes and bands switch gears from their winter hibernation to the festival circuit, more and more new releases are hitting store shelves. With them brings the prospect of that killer new song, one that makes you play it over and over in the hopes of either getting it out o ... More >>
Toro Y Moi - Underneath The PineChaz Bundick -- otherwise known as Toro Y Moi -- made quite a name for himself with his 2010 debut album Causers Of This. That particular album was to be the first of two released in 2010 -- one was to be a more electronic offering, the other with more live instrum ... More >>
Toad The Wet Sprocket - bastion of the 1990sClubs editor Benjamin Leatherman describes this week's just announced shows thusly: "huge fucking week."Things are so fucking huge that Martin Cizmar went ahead and already announced the Janet Jackson show slated for this April -- yet there are still pl ... More >>
Jaein LeeChicago indie rockers Smith WesternsLet me be the first to say that the initial slate of just announced shows for 2011 is quite a dandy.It's the little moments like this that give hope that 2011 will be a much better year than 2010, and bringing home the hope is Chiacgo trio Smith Wester ... More >>
Stone Cold Gear2011 - the year of the rockIt's tough to get back to work on this first Monday of the new year. The prospect of another year of the daily grind is daunting, but I'm here to tell you that it doesn't have to be. No -- there are plenty of things to look forward to in 2011, fresh new musi ... More >>
We've nearly got another year in the books, and with a great year came a great collection of fabulous music videos from musicians representing a wide variety of genres. So we're counting them down, in the far-too-usual fashion.The best part of this year end list?Kanye West is not #1.Crazy, I know ... More >>
Jordan BlackmonChaz Bundick, better known as Toro Y MoiWhile December is a time usually reserved for the hordes of formulaic top ten lists, it is also a time for looking ahead to next year's most anticipated releases. South Carolina wiz-kid Chaz Bundick -- better known as Toro Y Moi -- has one ... More >>
In the 24-hour news cycle, it can be difficult to keep up. We have the solution. Check back on Valley Fever every evening for highlights from each of New Times' blogs. Today's entries:
Artist: The 88Title: The 88 Release date: September 28 Label: Rocket ScienceWhat do you do if you're a band like The 88? You're top-flight songwriters and musicians, you get your songs placed in all kinds of big-name TV shows and high-profile TV commercials, you tour the country opening ... More >>
Artist: Warpaint Title: The Fool Release date: October 25 Label: Rough Trade The musical path taken by L.A. foursome Warpaint is well trodden -- but this kind of ultra-moody, sort of experimental, Joy Division-indebted music is usually plied by men. But Warpaint is a quartet of women, and in ... More >>
Artist: Screaming Females Title: Castle Talk Release date: September 14 Label: Don Giovanni Back in the day, I'd hate to miss a good show (I'm still not happy that my parents wouldn't let me drive to Kalamazoo one Monday night to see Scratch Acid and Big Black play, ditto the time I couldn't ... More >>
Artist: Kings of LeonTitle: Come Around SundownRelease date: October 19Label: RCAI think it's funny that people are getting all bent out of shape over the supposed "selling out" of Kings of Leon, saying their new record sucks worse than that sucky one that sold a bajillion copies a few years ago. ... More >>
Artist: GrindermanTitle: Grinderman 2Release date: September 14Label: Anti-Most of the indie rock I've heard this year (well over 200 records and counting, with 11 weeks to go in this series) is really pretty toothless. Even the harder-rocking stuff, with its big drums or wall-of-sound guitars or ... More >>
Holy crap, only five-plus months left of Nothing Not New. I gotta get to a lot more new(-ish) releases. Let's roll . . .Cowboy Junkies -- Remnin Park: Who knew these dour Canadians were even still around? Remnin Park is a concept album inspired the Timmins' family month-long sojourn to China. Out ... More >>
Artist: Authority ZeroTitle: Stories of SurvivalRelease date: June 22Label: Suburban NoizeI have a friend who's a native Phoenician and longtime fixture in the Valley punk scene, both as fan and musician. He loves West Coast punk, thinks Southern California spawned the best of the best punk, espe ... More >>
Dum Dum GirlsToday marks the halfway point of Nothing Not New. That means I've listen to nearly 140 records in their entirety in the first six months of 2010. Just another 140 or so to go before I can retreat to the familiarity of my record collection.To recognize the occasion, the Up on the Sun ... More >>
Artist: FoalsTitle: Total Life ForeverRelease date: June 22Label: Sub PopThough I disagree with a commenter on one of my posts this week (Shawn from excellent local music blog Electric Mustache) about the merits of electro-punk Sleigh Bells, I agree with him that S.B. are a band that you either l ... More >>
Artist: Tom Petty and the HeartbreakersTitle: MojoRelease date: June 15Label: RepriseHow many of you have acts that you'd never call yourself a fan of, would never buy one of their records, or pay money to see in concert, yet recognize that the acts have been around for so long and written songs ... More >>
Let's clear off the desk, shall we?Stereo Total: Baby Ouh! -- This band on the Kill Rock Stars label is a multi-lingual new-New Wave boy-girl band with songs sung in English, German, and French. It's quirky with a capital "Q" and not nearly as charming as it thinks it is. Still, most songs are un ... More >>
"What the fuck is chillwave?????" Bethany Cosentino of Best Coast tweeted back in April, when MTVU blogger Lindsay Hood described her band as "chillwave," after dismissing genres like "lo-fi," "glo-fi" and "Gorillavsbearcore" in her blurb advancing the video for the band's single "When I'm Wi ... More >>
It's been a pretty big past two weeks for indie rock: Hold Steady, New Pornographers, Flying Lotus, The National, The Dead Weather. That's a lot of heavy-hitters. Meanwhile, some lower-profile stuff has been piling up on my desk, so it's time to give you a rundown of the other stuff I've been lis ... More >>
Artist: Male BondingTitle: Nothing HurtsRelease date: May 11Label: Sub PopRemember all the buzz about Wavves last year? I thought they were just okay. Hopefully, their next record (slated for release this year) will be better. In the meantime, I'll be listening to the new record by Male Bonding, ... More >>
Artist: Flying LotusTitle: CosmogrammaRelease date: May 3Label: Warp RecordsA while back, a reader posted a comment on one of my Nothing Not New posts asking why I continued to listen to electronic/laptop music even though I don't care for it all that much.Well, first of all, in the spirit of the ... More >>
In the 24-hour news cycle, it can be difficult to keep up. We have the solution. Check back on Valley Fever every evening for highlights from each of New Times' blogs. Today's entries: Feathered Bastard: Linda Ronstadt Returns, Joe Arpaio Hunts Hispanics, and ACLU Announces Plans to Sue O ... More >>
Today seemed like it would never come, yet it has finally arrived -- Swim, the latest full-length from experimental/electronic outfit Caribou, is finally in stores. The album marks a departure for the brains behind Caribou, Dan Snaith, from the Polaris Prize-winning Andorra. With S ... More >>
Tucson: Plenty of room at the Inn for indie bands headed to SXSW. Sorry, Phoenix is all full up!Dear residents of the Phoenix metropolitan area,I hope you enjoyed Cizmarch Madness, Rampage Fest, or the two-hour series premiere of Minute To Win It this weekend.While I'm sure those of you who made ... More >>
2010 brings with it the hope of a new, much better decade chock full of impressive albumsSome of you may or may not have noticed that the 2000s, or aughts for the cool kids, was a pretty crappy decade. That sentiment is becoming more and more prevalent as we inch toward a brand new decade, and B ... More >>
Find everything you're looking for in your city
Find the best happy hour deals in your city
Get today's exclusive deals at savings of anywhere from 50-90%
Check out the hottest list of places and things to do around your city
