The Best Things to Do in Metro Phoenix This Weekend

After a long work week, sometimes you just need to laugh. This week get your comedy fill with former Daily Show correspondent Aasif Mandvi and at the stand-up comedy show Goof Bawlz. For more things to do, visit Phoenix New Times' calendar.

Aasif Mandvi
The title of Aasif Mandvi’s latest Phoenix appearance makes his intentions clear: The audience will be witness to the comedian’s creative process as he refines his routine. Dubbed Come See How The Sausage Is Made, the actor, author, and former Daily Show correspondent will share how he gets his material to the award-winning level audiences have laughed at for years. See the comedian run his material through the meat grinder at 7:30 and 10 p.m. on Friday, August 3, at Stand Up Live, 50 West Jefferson Street with additional shows on Saturday, August 4. Tickets are $25 with a two-drink minimum. For more information, visit the Stand Up Live website. Jason Keil

Friday Night Live
It might be called “Historic” Grand Avenue, but that doesn’t mean the diagonal strip near downtown Phoenix is living in the past. See what we mean, as ThirdSpace, 1028 Grand Avenue, presents its latest Friday Night Live lineup, starting at 9 p.m. on Friday, August 3, and running until 2 a.m. on Saturday. It’s all about hip-hop, including a steady stream of free live performance, along with live art. The lineup includes DJs PsychoPat and Les 735 (AOTA), plus Sikeadelic Poise, Vitality MC, Gouda Black, Lil Willie Animal, and more.

The MF Doom dedication set kicks off at 11:25 p.m. Visit the ThirdSpace website. Lynn Trimble

Mark-Making Robots
Vacuums have been around since 1901, but you don’t have to be a neat freak to enjoy one. Turns out, the roving Roomba Robot version can do a lot more than comb your carpets for pet hair. It’s a pretty good painter, too. Artist Bobby Zokaites will show you how it’s done during a free workshop called Mark-Making Robots, happening from noon to 2 p.m. on Saturday, August 4, at The Gallery at Tempe Center for the Arts, 700 West Rio Salado Parkway. While you’re there, you can whip up your own mark-making machine and check out Zokaites’ robot-assisted artworks in an art show called “Draw: The Art of Curiosity and Innovation.” Visit the Tempe Center for the Arts website. Lynn Trimble

Arizona Diamondbacks vs. San Francisco Giants
Imagine instead of costumed characters, the Diamondbacks Legends Race was run with the team’s flesh-and-blood legends: Randy Johnson, Luis Gonzalez, Matt Williams, and Mark Grace. There might be a lot of flesh and blood left on the ground, but it might be possible to run such a race on Saturday, August 4, when the Arizona Diamondbacks honor their 20th anniversary team before their game against the San Francisco Giants.

Johnson, Gonzalez, and Williams are all part of the honor squad, and Grace works for the team’s broadcast network, but don’t expect them to put on their track shoes anytime soon. There will, however be an alumni game at 2:30 p.m. before the start of the regular game at 5:10 p.m. The first 20,000 fans will receive a complimentary 20th-anniversary team T-shirt. Tickets start at $19. Visit the D-backs website. Stuart Warner

Stateside Sweet 16 Birthday Bash
The company that brought us Valley Bar, Crescent Ballroom, and The Van Buren is turning 16 on Saturday, August 4. So it’s time to party at the Stateside Sweet 16 Birthday Bash. DJs Sean Watson, A Claire Slattery and Stoneypie will start the night off by spinning dance tracks from MGMT, The Weeknd, the xx, Passion Pit, and Childish Gambino. This will be followed by a live performance from the band Poolside. Now, we know what you’re thinking: Will there be cake? Duh. Carnival games? It’s a given.

Admission for the 21-and-up event is $10 in advance and $15 on the day of the show. To purchase tickets, head to the Ticketweb website. Lindsay Roberts

Kingdom Hearts Orchestra World Tour
Even if you are nerdy enough to own every iteration of the Kingdom Hearts video game and its soundtrack, you may want to buy your tickets for the Kingdom Hearts Orchestra World Tour, like, right now. Original soundtrack composer Yoko Shimomura will be headed to Symphony Hall, 75 North Second Street, at 8 p.m. on Saturday, August 4. A full orchestra will be playing fan favorites such as “Dearly Beloved” and “Simple and Clean.”

Tickets start at $49 via the Phoenix Ticketforce website. For more information or to invite friends, visit the Facebook event page. Lindsay Roberts

“Stripped Cabaret: Un-Censored, Un-Hinged, Un-Derwear”
As the cliche goes, if public speaking makes you nervous, you should imagine the audience naked. “Stripped Cabaret: Un-Censored, Un-Hinged, Un-Derwear” flips that tired notion on its head. Some of Phoenix’s best performers, including Phoenix Theatre actors Toby Yatso and Trisha Ditsworth, will perform showstoppers in their skivvies, including numbers from the musicals The Book of Mormon and Kinky Boots. Proceeds from the performance will go to benefit the Valley’s newest theater company, Blk Box Phx. Strip it all away at 7:30 and 10:30 p.m. on Saturday, August 4, at Playhouse On The Park, 1850 North Central Avenue. Tickets are $25-$40.

For more information, visit the Stripped Cabaret website. Jason Keil

Prowl and Play: Magical Midsummer Dream
Most of the Phoenix Zoo’s magic comes from the variety of creatures that call the place home. At Prowl and Play: Magical Midsummer Dream, it’s the humans who will be providing the weirdness and wizardry. This mythical, mystical after-hours party is your chance to frolic with fairies as you get your mind twisted by a magician and illusionist. There’s also games, live music, waterslides and a DJ. Aspiring sorcerers can hear Professor Fyrberg from the School of Wizardry drop some knowledge.

The esoteric soiree takes place from 5:30 to 8:30 p.m. on Saturday, August 4, at the Phoenix Zoo, 455 North Galvin Parkway. Admission is $10, and free for kids 2 and younger. Call 602-286-3800 or visit phoenixzoo.org. Amy Young

Led Zeppelin Evening
Sure, Led Zeppelin may have broken up decades ago after the death of its legendary drummer, John Bonham. But their legacy remains, scratched into the desks of high school stoners everywhere, and in Jason Bonham, son of John. He’s bringing his Led Zeppelin Evening to the Valley this week, featuring epic covers of the band’s biggest hits, with all the lights, sounds, and atmospheric visual effects that ’70s audiences never would’ve dreamed of. And as the pièce de résistance, Jason performs the epic drum solo from “Moby Dick” (off Led Zeppelin II) side-by-side with a video of his dad. Who needs a hologram?

It all starts at 8 p.m. on Saturday, August 4, at the Talking Stick Resort Ballroom, 9800 East Talking Stick Way, Scottsdale. Tickets are $30 to $50 via Ticketmaster. For more info, visit the Talking Stick Resort website. Douglas Markowitz

“Sympathetic Vibrations”
There were good vibes aplenty as Eye Lounge, 419 East Roosevelt Street, opened its newest art show during Third Friday in July. But no worries if you didn’t make it to the gallery that night, because the “Sympathetic Vibrations” exhibit is still open, and you can take a good look from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Sunday, August 5. It’s a two-person show featuring mixed-media works by Tess Mosko Scherer and sculptures by David L. Bradley.

Mosko Scherer was inspired by Jungian psychology, and Bradley by his travels through war-torn regions. Taken together, they prompt reflection on the human condition, from both an individual and collective perspective. The exhibit continues through Sunday, August 12. Visit the Eye Lounge website. Lynn Trimble

Goof Bawlz
Promoter Bobby Johnson loves stand-up comedy. One problem to him, though? Lots of local comics don’t get to stand up long enough. He created the Goof Bawlz comedy show to “give current AZ comics who are funny and have a reasonable following a solid 7 to 10 minutes on the mic.” Former Arizona residents qualify, too, like this month’s headliner, Billy O’Connor. An NYC firefighter and 9/11 first responder prior to his move to Phoenix, he’s recently adopted a California address. He returns for a visit to inspire yuks along with eight other funny folks at 7:30 p.m. on Sunday, August 5, at Stand Up Live, 50 West Jefferson Street. Admission is $15 for 18 and older.

Attendance requires a two-drink minimum. Call 480-719-6100 or check out the Stand Up Live website. Amy Young