I have some married friends who send out genius homemade holiday cards, so funny and meticulously planned I’m sure I’m not the only person who looks forward to getting one in the mail, wondering how they’ll outdo their previous creations. These two are obsessive collectors of various hard-to-find goodies –…
1. Hanna-McEuen, Hanna-McEuen (DreamWorks) As drab and unremarkable as mashed potatoes, Hanna-McEuen is a couple of lonesome, heartbroken cowboys who whip out every cliché in the cornball country songbook. These two cousins (both sons of members of the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band) sing about “making love ’til the morning light,”…
For several years back in the 1980s and ’90s, rock ‘n’ roll keyboard legend Al Kooper had a very cool Yuletide custom. Kooper was (and is) an avid collector of prank calls, celebrity (and some non-celebrity) bloopers, weird songs, hilarious answering-machine messages and studio banter, and each December, he would…
When asked about favorite Christmas, Hanukkah, or Kwanzaa memories, most people remember the good times. You know, the stuff they write songs about to get you in the holiday spirit — deck the halls, fa la la la la, and all that jazz. Now, ask a musician the same question…
Steve Sims, 38, doesn’t watch Taxicab Confessions — he never needs to. The former computer programmer turned cabdriver has already seen plenty of explicit and outrageous action in the back seats of the taxis he’s driven for Discount Cab over the past four years, especially on December 31. Lettin’ loose:…
While Alexandria Paveloff recently turned the magic, alcohol-friendly age of 21, don’t expect to see her wasted on New Year’s Eve. This diminutive customer-service representative already knows about the evils of alcohol, including getting thrown in the poky after drunkenly decking a dude several times her size. Breast-laid plans: On…
Kendon Victor, 41, will help start 2006 off with a bang, or several hundred of them. As head pyrotechnician for Tempe-based Fireworks Productions of Arizona, he’ll coordinate the launching of skyrockets in flight over both Scottsdale and Tempe’s block parties, as well as at various casinos and country clubs Valleywide…
Robert Birmingham (a.k.a. Fun Bobby), 38, towers over the Valley nightclub scene. This 6-foot-6 beer-busting beanstalk is one of the Valley’s “StarTenders” — or celebrity bartenders — famous for his mixology mastery, suds-slinging, and affable nature. He’s seen many an Auld Lang Syne during his 12 years behind the sticker-laden…
Special Events Restaurants Ain’t Nobody’s Bizness 3031 East Indian School Road www.aintnobodysbizness-az.com New Year’s Eve bash featuring drink specials, giveaways, champagne toast at midnight, and DJ Tsunami spinning hip-hop and dance hits. 8 p.m. to 2 a.m. No cover. Call 602-224-9977. Amsterdam 718 North Central Avenue www.amsterdambar.com New Year’s Eve…
Special Events Bars and Clubs Bada Boom Pasta Room 4151 North Marshall Way, Scottsdale www.badaboomaz.com “A Dinner to Remember” featuring beef tenderloin, Chilean sea bass, and plenty of Italian favorites. 4 p.m. to 2 a.m. Dinners start at $40. Call 480-214-2666. Barcelona Scottsdale 15440 Greenway-Hayden Loop, Scottsdale www.barcelonadining.com Executive chef…
Restaurants Bars and Clubs Canyon Raceway 9777 West Carefree Highway, Peoria Droppin’ the Ball rave and massive DJ event with five stages hosting more than 25 different turntablists spinning such genres as breakbeats, drum ‘n’ bass, trance, and more. The lineup includes Harmonius, Atomic Mage, Spy vs. Spy, Defcon 4,…
It’s time to welcome ’06 here in the PHX, but you’ve got no idea where to go. New Year’s Eve is (arguably) the biggest hootenanny of the whole Gregorian calendar, so you definitely don’t want to wind up stuck at home while your friends are out living their champagne wishes…
The Bird’s been keeping a beady eye on the competition of late — and not because it wants to learn how to bore its readers to death. No, this faux falcon has been flying over Cancer Corner, that downtown spot formerly known as Second Street and Van Buren, just outside…
Growing up on the Navajo reservation in northeastern Arizona, little boys play basketball, torture their younger sisters, and try to emulate their fathers. Everson played with dolls and wore his mother’s makeup. Not much has changed for Everson since elementary school. Two years ago, at 15, Everson got his own…
Serenity (Universal) Joss Whedon’s film version of his TV series Firefly came and went like a lightning bug in October; the predicted phenom stuck around the multiplex just long enough to lose millions. But like Firefly, which sold enough boxed sets to warrant a movie, Serenity’s bound to do well…
The myth of the Wild West has mutated over the past half-century. Where once we thrilled to the wholesome exploits of the Lone Ranger, now we wallow in the mesmerizing depravity of HBO’s Deadwood. Film geeks can argue about when it started to change, but by 1992’s Unforgiven, pop culture…
“Keeping Shadows: Photography From the Worcester Museum of Art” Photos lie. You knew that. What you probably didn’t know is that photos were lying more than a century before Photoshop became a verb. Photographers were mucking with their images way back in the 19th century when the medium was still…
You’re probably wanting to drain the lizard something fierce right now, brah, but try pinching things off. All of your beer buddies are here for a raucous, alcohol-fueled adventure at the weekly Bladder Buster Night, and they’d hate to see you piss it all away. For only $5 each (free…
George Miller keeps the good stuff in a jug behind the counter of his small, nine-month-old Carolina-style ‘cue joint, Restaurant 28, in a Glendale strip mall on the southeast corner of 51st Avenue and Olive. If you tell him you hail from the Old North State, he’ll let you sniff…
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Rhino’s lavish reissues bookend T. Rex’s most fully cooked work, polishing maestro Marc Bolan’s legacy for any Yanks who still think of this overseas superstar as a trashy novelty. Not that trash is beside the point: Bolan’s 1972 masterpiece, The Slider, is full of the kind of grubby teenage reverie…
Christmas comes early this year in a pair of intimate Stiletto Formal shows, and it doesn’t matter if you’ve been naughty or nice. In fact, the arty, sex rocker-hipsters of Stiletto probably prefer the former. The band members are fresh off a string of tours and a sweaty sold-out show…
