Editor’s Note: As we continue our observations of 2011, Up on the Sun contributor Christina Caldwell looks at the state of venues around town, and speculates about what the Phoenix music scene has and what it lacks. Answering “what makes a perfect music venue” is a tall order; here’s…
The holidays are a magical time when we come together with family, have a falling out, and eventually throw eggnog in the face of the uncle of our choosing. Every person has their Christmas tradition, and for actress Patti Hannon, that tradition is to portray a ruler-liberal, socially-conservative Catholic nun…
Remember the ‘90s? Those were the days – back when a bro could have frosted hair and not look like a brosef, when women could show nothing but their midriff without looking like a gypsy hooker, alternative rock reigned supreme, and the term “indie” was mostly used to describe race…
Remember the ’90s? Those were the days — back when a bro could have frosted hair and not look like a brosef, when women could show nothing but their midriff without looking like a gypsy hooker, alternative rock reigned supreme, and the term “indie” was mostly used to describe race…
A year full of excellent local shows has come and gone, and like years past, we’re sad to see them go. We look forward to a fruitful future of local music in 2012. To ring in the New Year, a gracious amount of local bands have decided to play shows around…
Welcome to another installment of Up on the Sun’s 2011 Review. Over the next week, we’ll be counting down our favorite songs, shows, national and local releases of 2011. This installment comes from Christina Caldwell, who came on board as a major contributor to Up on the Sun this year…
Ke$ha is sort of awful, but not for the reasons you think. Yeah, her music is terrible. It’s fun music you don’t really need to think about. But it’s alleged that the songstress is smarter than people give her credit for. It’s rumored that she scored a 1500 on her…
The world has immortalized John Lennon, and for good reason.There’s no denying his talent, or how he used said talent to change the world. 31 years ago yesterday, the Liverpudlian (seriously, that’s the actual name for someone from Liverpool) was shot and killed. But like the rest of us, he…
Just four months after it opened, Tempe’s Venue 104 is closing its doors. The combination coffee house, art gallery, music venue and theater will finish out its final play, Tape by Stephen Belber, on December 17. A final musical blowout is currently in the works with locals Executives, Hometown Letdown…
Phoenicians have much to envy about winters on the East Coast. Pretty much all holiday imagery, from snow to pine trees, originates in colder climates. Hollywood would have you believe the holidays are about wool coats, fuzzy gloves, hot cocoa and frozen noses. The fact that we can wear little…
Have you ever watched The Wizard of Oz on mute with Pink Floyd’s Dark Side of the Moon playing in the background? Have you ever watched The Wizard of Oz on mute with Dark Side of the Moon in the background while on weed? The Wicked Witch of the West’s…
Chris Cornell has led the rock star life, though his Seattle childhood indicated that he’d wind up a programmer at Microsoft, not one of the biggest names in alternative music. The socially awkward pre-teen actually spent a solid two years listening only to The Beatles, being a loner, and avoiding…
If you were to base what you know about teenagers on the misunderstood, black-clad fans of As I Lay Dying, you might think that underneath every angst-y, tattoo-covered teen exists the soul of a good Christian kid. Not so. These fans are a special breed. They reappropriated the devilish look…
We here at Up On the Sun are a tad local-centric. We like it that way. We love our local bands and, when it comes to expanding our interests, typically American bands get the attention. But hey, you have to give credit where credit is due. There are plenty of…
At the end of the year, we like to take a look back and think about all the awesome shows we saw throughout the months. But for whatever reason, 2011 seemed to be a year of cancellations — and some pretty huge shows were canceled, at that. So here are the…
Bah! You know, Christmas is all about commercialism and stampeding people for the cheapest television. Just like Jesus wanted. While I always appreciate a good competition, I think this year… this year is a Festivus sort of year. The last thing we want to do is promote any official Festivus jingles,…
Thousands of independent record labels are started each year, some more successful than others. Over the past decade, as major label profits have declined thanks to file sharing and even legal downloading, independent labels have been searching for a new, more effective method to turn a profit. The Valley’s Mike Zimmerlich…
For the past year, Future Loves Past has been playing around town, rocking the Valley with their ’70s rock-meets-indie sound, but something was missing.They built up a solid fan base, but those fans couldn’t really hear the band outside of local shows. Now, with the release of their first EP,…
The holidays are all about getting crap, right? Well, it’s also about giving crap and giving back. By shopping local, you can do a bit of both. But when chains like Guitar Center and online retailers like iTunes remain on top for musicians around the globe, you can choose to shop…
With the impending arrival of Filter Magazine’s Phoenix newsletter, it feels like a lot of eyes are on our music scene. Here’s hoping Filter digs in and really investigates. I did so in April 2010, attempting the goal of going out to a different show every night for the entire…
After Thanksgiving comes and goes, it seems like just about everyone gets into the holiday spirit. Even the creepy, strange and misguided among us (which describes most of the lovely Up on the Sun staff, now that we think about it). We’re not sure what these artists were thinking when…
Holiday shows suck. At least the kind your mom is going to drag you to. You know the drill: some over-rated, over-the-hill songstress belting out every cliché Christmas song she can think of, including “All I Want for Christmas is My Two Front Teeth.” God, that song is just the…
