Nobody Cares About Robin Thicke by Himself (Yet)

It could be the relatively short notice or the confusing name — I would not have pegged him as a jazz artist, personally — but it’s happening, universe: The Robin Thicke Controversy Machine is coming to Ahwatukee, as one of the headlining acts of the Arizona Jazz Festival. It may…

How Reality TV Killed One of the Valley’s Most Active Metal Clubs

First, you have to know that Spike TV still exists. Then you’ll have to take my word that one of its reality shows is a Kitchen Nightmares clone called Bar Rescue. Then you’ll have to know that Tempe’s Rocky Point Cantina (subsequently briefly known as Havana Cabana) is the bar…

Every State Fair Concert Is a Nostalgia Concert

I’m going to be totally honest with you, here: I love state fairs, but I’m mostly in it for the lemon shake-ups. That’s not to say I don’t enjoy the concerts–it’s just that I only enjoy them after I’ve eaten a lot of unconventionally fried food and then spun it…

Little Steven Brings the Rascals Back Together for the First Time

Lots of music fans have a cult-favorite band, and lots of those cult members certainly believe they’d spend 30 years of their life, on and off, trying to get them back together. E Street Band guitarist and Rascals fan Steven Van Zandt was part of an even smaller subset —…

10 Weird Things about Bar Rescue‘s Rocky Point Cantina Episode

You didn’t have to spend a lot of time at beleaguered metal bar Rocky Point Cantina to be interested in the way it went under. Thankfully, you don’t have to be a regular viewer of SpikeTV’s Bar Rescue, either. After looking set to fall off the schedule, Bar Rescue’s trip…

Keith Urban – Ak-Chin Pavilion – 9/29/13

Keith UrbanAk-Chin PavilionSunday, September 29 One way to reverse engineer the perfect American Idol judge would be to just go to concerts until you find a bunch of people who used to watch American Idol clapping and having a good time at one. I like to think that’s how they…

Why a Phoenix Label Is Diving Into the Music Video Business

Phoenix MC Rashenal has been working on the business end of music for a while now, running his own label, Earsweat Records. His new single, “Cash Flow” — the first fruits of a couple years’ writing and recording — is no exception. He’ll likely take the lead on the press…

Future Loves Past Celebrates Debut Album with Lushfest

Future Loves Past’s debut album, All The Luscious Plants gives “polish” a good name. That’s not the only musical jargon the Tempe natives rehabilitate on All The Luscious Plants, but it’s the first bit of it you’ll have to confront when you listen to it; this is an album that…

Future Loves Past Makes a Statement (and a Good Excuse to Party)

Future Loves Past’s debut album gives “polish” a good name. “Disco,” too. That’s not the only musical jargon the Tempe natives rehabilitate on All the Luscious Plants, but they’re the first ones you’ll have to confront when you listen to it. This is a polished, dance-y, slick — that’s another…

fun. – Comerica Theatre – 9/10/2013

fun. Comerica Theatre September 10, 2013 (Complete slideshow here) “We Are Young” may not have even been the second-unlikeliest No. 1 hit of 2012–here in 2013, though, at a safe remove from PSY and Gotye, it’s a little easier to appreciate just how weird it was. With rock in a…

The Features: “This Is The First Record Where Everything Lined Up”

Everything about The Features seems perfectly calibrated to sneak up on you. Their new album–self-titled–is packed with different ideas and sounds, but it’s not a debut; it’s their fourth full-length. They’re still building a national audience, but they’re not new to touring; they were attracting local buzz in their native…

A Brief Guide to The Format for Confirmed fun. Fans

Statistically speaking, you or some iTunes user you know has, ton-i-i-i-i-ight, confirmed that he and someone else are both young and then set the world on fire at least once in the last year. Last year fun., America’s least search-engine-optimizable band, had the biggest rock hit in three or four…

The Five Stages of Fun. Acceptance for Diehard Fans of The Format

Diehard fans of The Format had a lot of soul-searching to do when fun.–the band formed by erstwhile lead singer Nate Ruess–hit the mainstream with Some Nights. Some of it was about the music, and some of it was about the reaction: What are you supposed to do when somebody…