Ghostfest When you’re awake at 4 a.m., you’re better off having fun than lying there contemplating mortality. And so there’s Ghostfest, an annual tradition at The Torch Theatre, 4721 North Central Avenue. (Full disclosure: New Times contributor Jose Gonzalez runs Torch.) The performance marathon runs for 32 straight hours starting…
“Engangled” The candles from Standard Wax don’t just smell good; they look good, too. Samantha Thompson and Andrew King’s creations are meant to be art — a decision certainly influenced by King’s outside work as a contemporary painter and pastel artist. A collection of his recent pieces, “Entangled,” debuts this…
Yakuza Apocalypse Japanese filmmaker Takashi Miike’s latest movie Yakuza Apocalypse has been called “inspired lunacy.” This action thriller, packed with martial arts, supernatural beings, and lots of blood, should get you in the mood for Halloween, and it’s screening at FilmBar, 815 North Second Street, October 9 to 13. But…
When acclaimed author James Sallis tendered his resignation from his teaching post at Phoenix College at the end of September, he thought he’d leave his position, explain his decision to his students, and quietly spend his time at home getting to work on two new novels. Instead, the former creative…
Downtown Phoenix’s dining scene will get a little bigger when SoSoBa ramen restaurant opens this December. The location will be the second for the noodle shop and cocktail bar. The original SoSoba opened in Flagstaff last November. The experiment was a joint venture among Tyler Christensen, Joel Dry, and chef…
Repellent Fence It’s a truth that comes in many forms to the border areas between the United States and Mexico: If you can’t reach through the fence, reach over it. That same concept drives Postcommodity, a long-term social collaboration between artists and activists Raven Chacon, Cristobal Martinez, and Kade L…
Sophia Amoruso If BossyPants made you want to Lean In, maybe you should add #GIRLBOSS to your nightstand. And if you have no idea what we’re talking about, maybe you should spend more time at Changing Hands Bookstore, 300 West Camelback Road. That’s where Sophia Amoruso will be signing her…
“Sirens and Serpents” If “Sirens and Serpents: The Art of Tara Sharpe” had a rating, it would probably be “R,” for nudity and post-impressionist expressionism. {9} The Gallery, 1229 Grand Avenue, is hosting the exhibit on Friday, October 2, and the installation will feature hand-pulled block prints and works on…
Downtown Phoenix watering hole The Turf Irish Restaurant & Pub is re-branding itself as food-focused Chambers on First. With the new name and restaurant-oriented direction comes a new menu, expanded patio, and refurbished interior — though the Irish influence is still present without. Turf went through a mini-identity crisis, changing…
Heaven Can Wait Your spirit’s in limbo, and your body’s toast. Turns out you died by mistake, destiny-wise, and the admins need to send you back. So you occupy a murder victim’s body, but now you have to avoid people who want to kill you — well, kill him —…
Melissa Pritchard hasn’t been in her office for a while. It’s probably been months, maybe even a year or two. She tries to figure out exactly how long during the early moments of our interview as she settles into the small space in the English Department of Arizona State University…
“New Graduate Student Exhibition” Class is in session, and the graduate students at ASU’s Art School are busy as ever. How else could they present a gallery show a mere month after their first day? Working in media including paint, metal, fibers, and ceramics, 16 artists share their work in…
Park(ing) Day For a city steeped in commuter culture and bursting with blacktops, a day dedicated to transforming parking spaces into public places may seem a pipe dream. Yet every year people gather in metered spaces not to pay to park, but rather to create a different version. Park(ing) Day…
“Part of what I do comes with an apology,” says Bob Saget. Throughout the 1990s, Saget had a corner on the family-friendly, “America’s Dad” market courtesy of hit shows Full House and America’s Funniest Home Videos. When the light-hearted laughter ended, he found himself back on the stand-up circuit, bluer…
On the Third Friday of each September, metered car spaces across the globe are transformed into tiny personal parks inhabited by activists and spectators who, quite literally, just want somewhere green to sit. The Park(ing) Day project began in San Francisco in 2005 at Rebar, an art and design studio…
“Scientology’s Dirty Tricks: Then and Now” with Tony Ortega While it’s easy to make Scientology into a punchline, thanks to its celebrity followers and sci-fi roots, what shouldn’t be ignored is the church’s ability to draw in adherents and keep them in its clutches. Journalist Tony Ortega, formerly of New…
Gallery Talk: Ehren Tool and Garth JohnsonEhren Tool found ceramics as a creative outlet after serving as a marine in Operation Desert Storm. The veteran handcrafts cups covered in imagery referencing the effects of military service on veterans and the impact of war on societies. Serving as both social commentary…
“Cactus and Coral” It is a rare moment when one can see the world from someone else’s point of view. Through Each Others Eyes, promotes that concept via cultural exchange, placing photographers in unfamiliar settings to understand how they see things. With the “Cactus and Coral” exhibit, photographers from Australia…
Cumbia Dance Night Our Southwest city is no stranger to celebrations of salsa and flamenco dancing, and now Cumbia, hailing from Colombia’s costal region alongside the Caribbean Sea, is making a name for itself. DJs Nico and M.Rocka, the duo behind local group Clandestino, bring La Diabla from Tijuana and DJ…
Anwar Newton still remembers the feeling he had his first time on stage: embarrassment. “I wrote down some stuff beforehand, but you realize very quickly that what you think is funny is actually really dumb and boring,” he says. “I don’t even remember what I said. My brain just locked…
Kitchen Tours is Chow Bella’s on-going series in which we get up close and personal with the at-home chef’s most prized space. We’ll take a look at kitchens belonging to everyone from culinary giants and restaurant owners to everyday cooks and self-proclaimed foodies. Ditch the grocery list and forget the…
Aerial Silks Class When it comes to extracurricular activity, we figure that if Real Housewives in multiple cities can do it, the general public can, too. Which is just as good an excuse as any to try out Scorpius Dance Theatre’s aerial silks class. The company’s master of aerial arts,…
