Even the briefest essay about Rosanne Cash requires a list of her reckonable accomplishments: the 11 number one singles, the Grammy award, and always, always her royal musical lineage. But if being Johnny Cash’s daughter got her foot in Music City’s door, and while all those hits kept her on…
The liner notes to Batter the Drag’s self-released debut EP, unfathomable depths, give an ominous first impression. There are no song lyrics, no names or faces of musicians — really, no real notes to speak of, aside from a list of people thanked by the band, a spare, black-and-white splatter…
Fans of lightweight post-dinner entertainment will appreciate Always . . . Patsy Cline, a slightly better than average amusement that’s playing at Theater 4301. The venue, one of Scottsdale Center for the Arts’ satellite theaters, isn’t particularly easy to find; parking is a small-scale nightmare; and a single, sluggish elevator…
Rebecca Hardcastle isn’t from outer space. But she might be from a different dimension, one that transcends time and space and most college curriculums. We can thank our lucky stars that Hardcastle has landed at Scottsdale Community College, which now offers her Extraterrestrial Reality course as part of its Continuing…
On the morning of January 6, veteran prosecutor Cindi Nannetti received two visitors in her fifth-floor offices at the Maricopa County Attorney’s Office. There, the longtime chief of the agency’s nationally respected sex-crimes unit learned from Phil MacDonnell and Sally Wells, top aides to new County Attorney Andrew Peyton Thomas,…
The new year has done nothing to alter the idiotic behavior of too many of our local elected leaders. But before we descend into the abyss, how about this wonderful weather? Forget about all the negative adjectives used to describe the threatening storms pummeling the Valley. I’m rejoicing with every…
Well, the holidays are over; you’ve gotten all the gifts you’re going to get until your birthday, or, if you’re lucky, until you get your tax return back this spring. But if the feds do give you some scrilla back, and you’re the sort who buys concert tickets regularly, don’t…
1/14 – 1/30 Some people say they’ll wear purple when they grow old. We say we’ll wear leopard print, poke the opposite sex in the buttocks with our canes, and meet at the retirement-home bench for daily arguments. That’s what Harold and Ben, the lead characters in the play A…
SAT 1/15 Doctor’s orders: You’re to exercise more in 2005! Running is a good option. But frankly, jogging alone looks painfully boring. Perhaps your ideal workout is something more akin to frat-house activities: frequent “beverage” breaks, drinking games, and singing some bawdy songs. If so, you should join the Phoenix…
Nobody messes with Samuel L. Jackson — at least not at the movies. He’s Shaft reinvented, the coolest cop on the street. He’s Mace Windu, the only swashbuckler in the Star Wars galaxy who gets to swing a purple light saber. Best of all, he’s Jules Winnfield, the ultra-hip hit…
Paul Weitz, with brother Chris, co-wrote and co-directed 2002’s adaptation of Nick Hornby’s novel About a Boy, in which a cocky grown man (Hugh Grant) learned how to actually act like a grown man by observing a gawky young boy (Nicholas Hoult) who was nearly abandoned by his suicidal mother…
The flyaway pages of the calendar bring us to 2005, midway point where some exciting new music has got to emerge to atone for this decade’s stagnant first half. You can take heart that the appearance of Kongos on our local scene is a sign of things finally getting interesting…
Many local bands rush to put out a CD as soon as they have enough material. Not Sistrum. The band’s debut CD, Ashes & Whispers, has been nine years in the making. Biding its time through several lineup changes and budget constraints, Sistrum continued to develop songs and tighten the…
Recently back from a six-month tour, brothers Mike and Jared Bell of the Lymbyc Systym display their intense musical relationship via jaw-dropping keyboard and percussion performances. Their sound blends electric jazz with elements of electronica and indie rock, and winds up being unique with strong beats and impressive grooves. The…
In the beginning, when Laci Peterson was just another missing person and Scott Peterson only a husband under suspicion, Kathy Monkman wanted nothing to do with the case. Didnt want to watch the endless coverage on cable TV; didnt want to chat about it online. Of all the court watchers…
THU 13 One night with DJ Lady Tribe, a.k.a. “The Sexiest DJ on Earth,” most certainly isn’t enough. But that’s all you get on Thursday, January 13, when the notorious L.A. graffiti artist turned legit model/DJ headlines Latin Ladies’ Night at the Hard Rock Cafe, 3 South Second Street, with…
Thursday 13 Acme Bar & Grill: DJR (all genres) Acme Roadhouse: College Night with DJ J. Alan (Top 40) Ain’t Nobody’s Bizness: DJ Tsunami (Top 40, hip-hop) Anderson’s Fifth Estate: Piranha Room/Area 51 with DJ Jeremy (industrial/goth, electroclash) Axis/Radius: Ladies’ Night with DJ MCB & Josh Royal (all genres) AZ…
Nowheresvilles have always produced more than their fair share of good bands. The alchemy that breeds inspiration from frustration works overtime when the only place open late is Circle K. But while most bands wish themselves out of the dust of their home turf, Throw Rag frolics in it. On…
Black Flag was once accused of being neo-Nazis, and so were the Ramones. But when NYC hardcore pioneers Agnostic Front came along, maybe the alarm-ringers couldn’t be blamed for perceiving racism in the lefty world of punk. After all, the cover of 1984’s Victim in Pain is an archival photo…
I welcomed in the new year with a shudder and a sigh, because 2005 is the year that Neil Simon’s Barefoot in the Park will return to Broadway. As if that weren’t enough, we have, right now in lovely Phoenix, two productions of this hoary old comedy playing concurrently, which…
Hip-Hop Brouhaha The proper use of the N-word: Great article on the hip-hop war in town (“‘Nigga,’ Please,” Joe Watson, December 23), but let me make a considerable point or two. Isn’t it funny when scumballs from that world collide? I used to be into the whole culture and its…
Sitting in the dark-orange, Dr. No-like bar at Scottsdale’s Stingray Sushi, drinking a tall glass of Kirin draft and watching the promising Phoenix Suns get spanked by San Antonio recently, it occurred to me that I probably feel the same way toward Stingray Sushi as I do toward our basketball…
