Thu 5/20 Remember when the motorcycle was the ultimate symbol of outsider rebellion? Those who’ve grown up with a perception of the motorcycle as only slightly less threatening than the Toyota Corolla might be surprised to know that, once upon a time, bikes and those who rode them were actually…

5/13-6/25 Being the hard-core culture warriors we are, we’ve considered joining the annual pilgrimage of peculiars to Burning Man in Nevada. But roasting in 127 degrees at the late-August mecca of eccentricity is daunting. We’re down with the bohemian spirit, but not a killer case of heatstroke. We’re more than…

Sat 5/8 There is a place for those who yearn for blue-collar intellectualism, pale-skinned nymphs, and the melancholic moodiness of Morrissey. And it isn’t 6,000 miles across the Atlantic, thanks to “Trash!”, a new monthly event at The Clubhouse, 1320 East Broadway in Tempe. To kick off its homage to…

If you know Donato Giancola, you might find your likeness in the unlikeliest of places — immortalized on bookshelves or idolized by millions of geeks the world over. The renowned sci-fi and fantasy artist, a guest of honor at this weekend’s LepreCon 30, taps both friends and family members as…

4/29-5/23 When Icarus donned wings to reach the sun, the gods rewarded his boldness by throwing him back to earth. Varekai, the latest incarnation of the famed Cirque du Soleil, reveals what happens when he lands. The word “varekai” (ver•ay•’kie) means “wherever” in the language of the Gypsies. Based on…

Sat 5/1 In a battle for Valley skateboard supremacy, who’s shredding who this Saturday, May 1, when two of the state’s newer skate parks — in Chandler and Glendale — host their first contests? If you’re looking for humility, don’t ask CJ Cowie of Industrial Skate & Boards, co-sponsor of…

4/22-4/24 Don’t expect Jose Gonzalez to dismiss the unflattering perception of young improvisers like himself — that is, those melodramatic, overly extroverted speech and debate geeks whom Broadway will never acknowledge. “Oh, we’re all that and more!” proclaims Gonzalez, a 26-year-old member of local improv troupe Galapagos. “I sympathize with…

Fri 4/23 “I don’t want the audience to blink,” says Hodgie Jo, artistic director for Imation Dance Company, “not even once, throughout my show.” It’s a stiff mandate, but one he just might pull off. The debut performance of his modern jazz dance company, Footsteps, is an amalgam of Cirque…

Wed 4/21 “I prefer to write plays that fuck with the audience’s mind on the drive home afterwards,” says Chris Danowski, writer of ApoCalypso, Theater in My Basement’s latest surrealistic production. “I know when I see a play, I like to be bombarded with a lot of ideas, emotions and…

4/1-4/2 East and West, past and future . . . Desert Dance Theatre and New York’s H.T. Chen & Dancers prance across cultural and spatial divides in Looking Back, Dancing Forward. The bridge has largely been one of incorporation. Think modern dance peppered with hints of classical Chinese dance and…

Sun 2/29 Face it — the invite to Sunday’s 76th Academy Awards wasn’t lost in the mail. So instead of spending a king’s ransom on Vera Wang couture or an Armani tux in hopes of sneaking in, better go with Plan B. The Oscar Night America Gala at the Ritz-Carlton…

These aren’t your usual bunch of tossers. No, the muscular men and women who’ll descend on the Valley this weekend for the 40th Annual Highland Games won’t be heaving heavy objects just for the hell of it — they’ll be doing it for Gaelic guts ‘n’ glory, and maybe some…

Greasy food and cheesy tchotchkes are staples of almost any Valley festival. But the Rathayatra Parade and Festival in Tempe on Saturday, February 14, promises something a bit different — a chance to touch the ethereal plane. Such spiritual transcendence comes by way of pulling a towering, 20-foot-high, crimson-domed, garland-anointed…