Oddio Expression

Fri 8/6 This is not your typical shake-ya-ass music: “Open your eyes, see eye to eye with me/Righteous lives, that’s how we try to be/No disguise, this isn’t Halloween . . .” And with that, Oddio Audwell isn’t trying to make mamasitas move in slow motion this Friday, August 6,…

Hex on Us

7/30-8/1 Don’t hate the players — hate the game. Back in the day, all we needed was Mountain Dew, a few Snickers bars, Super Nintendo, and for our parents to leave us undisturbed for 72 hours. Nowadays, we need a full-blown gaming conference. And for what? So we can puss…

Waiting to Exhale

Oppressed smokers of the Valley, cheer up: Dave Attell feels your pain. Whether surviving a smoking ban or forking over a fiver to satisfy a nic fit, the 39-year-old comedian, who lights up the Tempe Improv this weekend, is familiar with the trials and tribulations of tobacco use. “In New…

Rhythm and Rhyme

Wed 7/28 What Zephryn Conte does with a beat is easily defined: anything she wants. To be more precise, Conte, who’s “somewhere between 40 and ageless,” uses her omnipotent rhythmic abilities to channel dance, song and rhyme into one performance — the Zephryn Conte Jazz/Poetry Experience, on Wednesday, July 28,…

Thrilling Me

Sun 7/25 So much for the pity. The only splash Lollapalooza 2004 made was in the toilet, but The Thrills bounced back instantly from the cancellation, booking a big U.S. tour with fellow Lolla-gaggers and U.K. rockers Gomez. Such good fortune hounds the Dublin band — get a load of…

Wheel Watchers

Sat 7/17 Now that he’s pimped his own ride, Robert Aguilar will be rollin’ with his homies from Mystical Car Club to the first Car & Music Show at Audio Express, 6710 West Camelback, on Saturday, July 17. After touring his custom 2000 Chevy Silverado (pictured) to 25 car shows…

Conversation All-Stars

The crossover has always been the mega-event in the comic book kingdom. Fanatics easily spout off titles like Aliens vs. Predator or 1978’s Superman vs. Muhammad Ali (wait — we thought Ali was Superman). But the latest coupling from the realm of superheroes and supervillains doesn’t feature limited-edition, varied-ink chromium…

Off the Cuffs

7/16-7/18 John DiResta’s got a new catchphrase he hopes will grab the nation by the balls: “How’s your cock?” asks the portly comedian and former NYPD flatfoot. So far, response has been mixed. “You’re the second person I’ve asked, seriously. The first one was my wife. She just said, ‘Fine…

Shots in the Dark

Sat 7/10 Alcohol and night golfing — it’s a winning combination. Leave it to the geniuses at the Papago Brewing Company to dream up the best pairing since hops joined forces with barley. Wannabe golf pros can get lit to the gills before heading out to slice and drive at…

Pablo’s Honey

Sun 7/11 Say the name Pablo Neruda to the average Joe, and you’ll probably get blank stares in return (or, at best, a slight dawn of recognition). He’s heard Neruda mentioned somewhere, maybe on that rerun of The Simpsons. It’s a shame, since “the Picasso of poetry” penned a few…

Slick Willy

7/2-8/6 Since we were mere babes, we’ve tentatively unwrapped each chocolate bar, hoping that famed golden ticket was inside. Alas, we’ve been left only with empty pockets and stern lectures from our dentist. Regardless, we’ll enjoy reliving our cavity-filled childhood at the production of Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory,…

“POW” Wows

7/1-7/31 The folks at downtown’s Trunk Space Gallery are mining comic value — in the most literal sense. A portion of proceeds from “POW! Comic Book & Sequential Art” — a monthlong exhibition and sale opening Friday, July 2 — benefits the ACTOR Comic Fund, a nonprofit aiding comic book…

Hung Fury

6/24-7/9 Local artist Karen Fiorito knows she’s on someone’s — or some government agency’s — list. The question, though, isn’t which one, but, rather, how many? “That’s what my friends have told me,” the recent ASU fine arts grad says, laughing, as she hovers around downtown’s Studio LoDo. “According to…

Snakes Alive

Black and teal confetti litters the floor of America West Arena as the Arizona Rattlers are mobbed by the press, having just outlasted the Colorado Crush, 45-41, in the semifinals of the Arena Football League playoffs. After an afternoon-long war of attrition, you’d expect the boys to retreat to the…

Excite Bikes

Nate Adams blasts the engine of his Yamaha YZ 250 motorbike to nearly 10,000 RPMs, assaulting spectators with a machine-gun-like staccato and fresh dirt, which explodes from underneath his tires. He launches himself into a death-defying back flip, wraps his legs around his arms above the handlebars in midair, and…

Draggin’ Tale

Sat 6/12 An old Sesame Street ditty (“One of these things is not like the others . . .”) will prove useful this Saturday, June 12, when Hamburger Mary’s hosts the AIDS Walk Arizona Launch party at 5111 North Seventh Street. The myriad events at the fund raiser include Chelle’s…

Cowboy Junkies

Fri 6/11 If genetic soda jerks made a milk shake of Allen Ginsberg’s, Baxter Black’s and George Carlin’s DNA, they’d get JL Reed — beatnik, cowboy, social critic — who appears from 8 to 10 p.m. Friday, June 11, at the Trunk Space, a First Friday stop on Grand Avenue’s…

Ballethoo

6/3-6/6 George Balanchine once opined, “In my ballets, woman is first. . . . They are not equal to men: They are better.” Well, the old Russki would be proud, as Ballet Arizona’s celebration of the legendary choreographer’s 100th birthday spotlights women — one woman, to be exact: Yen-Li Chen-Zhang…

Monster Mash

6/4-6/6 Attention mortals: Steer clear of Chandler this weekend, as the suburb will be overrun by vampires, werewolves and similar hellspawn . . . at least in the minds of the perverse playmakers at Tinhare 2004. Put away the pitchforks and hang up on Buffy and Willow, because the gathering…

Let’er Drip

Fri 5/28 “We have acrylics, oils, photography from color [to] black and white,” says Jessica Jordan, manager and part-owner of Tempe’s Wet Paint Art Supply & Gallery. “Basically, if it comes through my door, I’ll put it on my wall.” Wet Paint is the ultimate transvestite. By day, it’s an…

War Paint

Zac Barnholdt isn’t shy about his favorite pastime. “It’s really fun shooting people,” he says. “It’s very exciting, with the adrenaline rush and all. I mean, there’s nothing better than hunting humans.” Don’t worry — the soft-spoken Phoenix resident (it’s always the quiet ones) won’t be rolling through your neighborhood…

Tenacious Dee

Diana Taurasi stands flush with victory in the Phoenix Mercury locker room, fielding softball questions from local sports journos quizzing her on her golf game and how she’s dealing with the triple-digit temps. Finally, they pop the question that’s been dogging the six-foot phenom since she was the first pick…