Tranzylvania is dead, undead. The long-running goth night, started in 2004 at Club Palazzo, is getting its coffin lid nailed shut this Friday night, which our music blog, Up on The Sun announced in August. And while there is some speculation that it might rise again to haunt another…
Supporting the arts isn’t easy. It can be quite a costly pursuit. Even if our hearts and souls are tugged by some magnificent piece of art hanging on a gallery wall, often times prices can be so exorbinant that the only thing that art doesn’t tug out of us is…
Slideshows get a bad rap. Mention them to most people and the first things that comes to mind are crushingly boring business presentations or a relative’s relentlessly dull “what-we-did-on-our-vacation” click-and-drone talk. But in the right hands, the combination of static images and lengthy discourse can produce pleasing results. And aside…
Most people wouldn’t guess it, looking at my chubby physique, but I am a man who loves to dance. If there’s a scuzzy bar or club in some part of town hosting a dance night (preferably one without a cover), there’s a 70 percent chance that I’ll be popping in…
On August 25, Phoenix Theatre will be opening its mainstage season with a production of Michael Frayn’s Noises Off. In preparation for staging this three-act farcical play, the Phoenix Theatre crew spent the last five weeks building a three-ton set, built entirely in-house, from scratch.Noises Off is a farce (read: disastrous…
A NYC-based film festival created in 2003, the Rural Route Film Festival is an annual showcase for indie films that deal with rural folks and places. Their definition of “rural” runs the gamut from the Wild West and Canada to Siberia and the harsh deserts of Argentina. In 2008, the…
Some consider “amateur” to be a dirty word. I disagree. I’ve got nothing but respect for people who do something purely out of love, who don’t let their lack of training or skills get in the way of expressing their passion. One heartfelt work by an amateur is worth five…
I did some stand-up comedy once, and it was excruciating. It was at the Sweets And Beats Comedy Hour; I signed up for a slot at the open mic, went up to do my thing for five minutes, and it felt like an eternity. An eternity without laughs. From that…
As burlesque shows go, it’s hard to think of any other troupe in town that can give Scandalesque a run for its money in terms of sheer production value and professionalism. While they lack the ramshackle, fun community theater vibe that a group like Romantasy Cabaret has in spades, they…
While it often doesn’t get talked about, Phoenix does have a pretty busy comedy scene. With local standup comics lining up to perform at bar comedy nights every day of the week, and dozens of improv troupes doing their thing throughout the month, there are ample opportunities for Phoenicians to…
I’m one of those rare individuals that when someone recommends something to me, I actually pick it up. I like to know what the people around me are into, so when a friend of mine mentioned Laraine Herring’s “Ghost Swamp Blues”, I sought it out post-haste. Part of my haste…
I hate First Fridays. When I first started going a couple of years ago, I looked forward to them. I attended First Fridays religiously. I was eager to see what new exhibitions the galleries on Roosevelt would put up. It was a night of leisure and a chance to wander…
Unicorn Warpath: Violette Szabo & Jeff Cardello, demonstrating why you don’t bring Mom to college. I know that we all have cultural blind-spots and people resent having those spots pointed out, but I’m going to point anyway. If you think you’ve got your finger crazy-glued onto the pulse of Phoenix,…
No Festival Required has had many homes over the years, its screenings hosted by so many different venues that its director, Steve Weiss, often refers to it as “the floating crap game of cinema”. Over the past year, one of its reliable haunts has been the Phoenix Art Museum, where Weiss…
I had a lot of great nights out on the town last year, but for me the highlight of 2009 was being able to experience the first part of Theater In My Basement’s “o++o cycle” at Teatro Caliente. It was unlike anything I’ve ever seen in this town: sitting shoulder to…
I’m a sucker for omens. After getting a coffee from the Cafe Alamut in the back area of the Firehouse, sitting in a chair that felt like it would collapse underneath my considerable weight at any moment, I waited for the show to start. Firestage has an anything-goes spirit, which make…
At some point, you’ll have to lose that weight. All that fat bulging on your bookshelves, tucked away in your closets, or packed away in boxes. One day you’ll hear the floorboards in your home groan and beg for mercy under the crushing weight of your book hoard, and you’ll…
A banner week — for me, that’s defined as a week with not one but two burlesque shows in town — began very well last night as a troupe of burlesque artists from New York brought “Dangerous Curves Ahead: Burlesque On The Go-Go” to Phoenix.The show took place outside the…
I’ll be honest: the idea of being a parent sends chills down my spine. The thought of diapers and sippy cups and Dora The Explorer and some wobbly little human being calling me “Dad” fills my heart with mortal terror. But after spending a night wandering around the Great Arizona Puppet…
Most art spaces in this town feel like solid, real world places, built out of the stuff of waking life. Safe places where the art is caged on walls lik e docile zoo animals and can’t get close enough to take a swipe at your face. Walking into Deus Ex…
