See also: fIREHOSE’s Ed Crawford: “It Was Our Job. We Fuckin’ Showed Up Every Day.” fIREHOSE Crescent Ballroom Tuesday, April 17, 2012 I entered the Crescent Ballroom with a mix of anticipation and apprehension in my gut. Soon to be on stage was fIREHOSE, a band I frequented in the…
Soulive McDowell Mountain Music Festival at Compound GrillSunday, April 15 Groove is what you make of it, and Soulive makes plenty of groovin’ music. This trio from New York City–brothers Neal and Alan Evans, on Hammond B-3 organ and drums, respectively, and guitarist Eric Krasno–draw inspiration from mid-1960s soul jazz…
The Travelin’ McCourys featuring Keller Williams McDowell Mountain Music Festival at Compound GrillSunday, April 15This unexpected pairing of bluegrass royalty and one man band loop master looks from the outside to be an awkward marriage of convenience, with the McCourys ambling in for Williams’ latest whim of making a bluegrass record…
See also: A Look at the Creamy Radio Stage at McDowell Mountain Music Festival See also: Galactic’s Robert Mercurio on Carnivale Electricos See also: Ozomatli, Galactic, and More at McDowell Mountain Music Festival Dark Star Orchestra McDowell Mountain Music Festival at Compound Grill Saturday, April 14 A good part of…
Steel Pulse Marquee Theatre Wednesday, April 11 When a band has been around 37 years, it knows how to do things right. From tight musicianship to a dynamic stage show — plus a deep catalog of hits — Steel Pulse covered all the bases Wednesday night at the Marquee. The…
Red Rocker, former Van Halen vocalist, and Cabo Wabo tequila producer Sammy Hagar believes salt is a must when tasting tequila. “Salt opens up the tongue to the tequila’s sweetness,” he says. Don’t even think about shooting it. “Sip,” Hagar adds. “Let it linger on the tongue for full effect.”…
At an early ’90s Cocteau Twins concert in Denver, half-asleep and fully delirious, I drifted in and out of reality as strobe lights pulsed behind my eyelids, Elizabeth Fraser’s voice wafted about my head, and driving rhythms and reverb held me firmly entranced in a surreal world. This is my…
It’s always a questionable thing when a long-gone band suddenly reappears on the musical landscape. Too often the motive is obvious–money–and the performances laughable. Yet, there are those bands with the integrity to come back and do it right. More often than not, these are punk bands. (Remember how awesome…
See also: A Whirlwind Year Leaves Portugal. The Man’s Frontman Stress-free Portugal. The Man Crescent Ballroom Friday, April 6 When a band spends a considerable amount of time on the road, as Portugal. The Man has since the release of In the Mountain in the Cloud almost a year ago,…
Dick Dale Rhythm Room Thursday, April 5, 2012 Driving to the Dick Dale concert Thursday night at the Rhythm Room it seemed, in retrospect, fitting to have Little Barrie on the stereo cranking out the title track from his new album, King of the Waves. “You’re not gonna be saved,…
A hardcore mountain biker friend watched with us as dancers hurl themselves about in a video of Australian dance company Chunky Move’s Connected. “No way would I try that,” says the guy who hurls himself off rock ledges and navigates boulder fields on a bike. Yet the troupe has navigated…
Doesn’t it seem ironic that so many of these surprisingly popular adventure challenges and obstacle courses include large doses of mud, uh, in the desert? Natural hazards such as heat, sun, prickly things, poisonous creatures, rocky and unforgiving terrain all make sense given the environment. But mud in the desert…
John Gourley feels good. Tired, but really good. His band, Portugal. The Man, is chilling in El Paso following a rollercoaster ride of TV appearances, festival stops, a tour supporting the ultra-hot Black Keys, a jaunt to Alaska, a crusade across Europe, and a seemingly endless series of club dates…
Reggae certainly has changed since Steel Pulse began in the mid-1970s. Back then, roots reggae ruled the roost. Dancehall, lovers rock, and reggaton were distant visions; dub was spacing outside mainstream circles. With a blend of tightly knit song structures packing pop hooks and sociopolitical lyrics, Steel Pulse gradually took…
There’s no excuse for skipping out on a little exercise, especially when it comes in the form of a casual bike ride. Hosted by local two-wheeler purveyor State Bicycle Co., the weekly nighttime LOOPS AZ Ride provides just that opportunity. Participants roll along at a no-drop pace with a few…
It might look like an epic Chinese movie is being filmed at Tempe Town Lake this weekend, but actually the droves of boats will signal the ninth annual Dragon Boat Festival: two days of paddle racing in traditional 40-foot longboats ornately adorned stem and stern with dragon heads and tails…
The world’s a more exciting place on two wheels, and Arizona Bike Week intends to keep that ideal alive. Cyclefest kicks off 10 a.m. Wednesday, March 28, with a 230-mile benefit ride though scenic Northern Arizona. The day wraps with a tribute to local motorcycle legend Buddy Stubbs, followed by…
With four punk/ska punk bands performing — Buck-O-Nine, Voodoo Glowskulls, Goldfinger, and headliner Face to Face — plus local acts on a separate stage, a custom bike show, and an all-ages kid-friendly hangout, more than just barbeque will cook under the hot sun at Chandler’s third annual Great American Barbeque…
Reggae originated in Jamaica in the late 1960s — an integration of numerous musical styles dating back to 1930s swing bands. Over the years, new beats regularly had infiltrated the Jamaican music scene and been altered and adapted to prevalent styles. The R&B music drifting over the radio from Miami,…
You don’t have to be a stoner to appreciate the drug culture comedy of duo Cheech & Chong, but it certainly helps. “[It’s] such a win-win. Potheads will laugh at anything,” says Tommy Chong. “I’ve done the same joke twice and [the audience] laughed just as hard the second time.”…
Entering week three of the Cactus League schedule, irrelevant questions still overshadow what is actually taking place — the hitting, fielding and pitching practice for future starts hoping to make the big league roster, along with certified superstars, preparing for Opening Day, just three weeks hence. Still, we ask: Do…
The last time I saw Dread Zeppelin — the band that performs Led Zeppelin songs in a reggae style sung by a 300 pound Las Vegas Elvis impersonation — was at an all-day Reggae on the Rocks concert at Red Rocks Amphitheatre in Denver. This was in the early 1990s,…
