Leave your cynicism at the door for the totally unironically named Unlimited Enthusiasm Expo (subtitle: Camp Jump & Yell for Girls and Wizards). The package tour features three proudly nerdy bands from the Northeast who will not only pummel you with their indomitable spirit but will use it to beat…
By Jay Bennett I have declared it to be the “Summer of the Summer Rolls.” Not sure whom in the world of officialdom I must talk to in order to make my declaration recognized, so, dear readers of Budget Beat, it might end up being our little secret. But that’s…
By Jay Bennett Is there a restaurant you love so much that you’d go there four times a week? Me neither. I live four blocks from La Grande Orange and love its pizzas and salads like nobody’s business, but still, I eat them, like, twice a month, tops. The other…
University of Arizona and former St. Mary’s High School star Jerryd Bayless is one of the featured hoopsters in Beastie Boy Adam “MCA” Yauch’s new film, Gunnin’ for That #1 Spot. The documentary about 24 of the best high school players in the country coming together on a basketball court…
By Jay Bennett The missus and I were on our way to the Tom Waits show on Tuesday and needed something downtown that would be quick, inexpensive (those tix weren’t cheap), and reasonably healthful. I couldn’t imagine a big ol’ cheeseburger or chili verde burrito lodging in my gut as…
The ignominious tenure of the Bush Administration is limping toward its finale. That means it’s tell-all time. Already this spring, former White House press secretary Scott McClellan has controversially dished in What Happened, and now former U.S. Attorney for New Mexico David Iglesias gives us In Justice: Inside the Scandal…
By Jay Bennett A faithful Budget Beat reader recently steered me toward a place I’d never heard of called El Taco Tote. Like just about every living being, I love Mexican food, so I was excited about this discovery on Phoenix’s west side, on Camelback Road near 35th Avenue. Expecting…
By Jay Bennett Since moving to Phoenix three years ago, I’ve found that 16th Street is the strip to troll for great food, especially Mexican food — whether it’s the dirt-cheap burritos at Asadero, the wonderful Mexican sandwiches at Tortas El Güero, or the high-end stuff at Barrio Café. But…
By Jay Bennett Dropping big bucks on dinner is great, but how often do you really treat yourself to a classy meal? When you’re not eating at home (admit it: seems you hardly ever do that anymore), it’s all about finding the best eats for those few bills left in…
A hard-working rock ‘n’ roll band from Detroit, after nearly 15 years of recording and gigging all over the world, gets its best-known song placed in an Oscar-nominated movie last year. Breakthrough time, right? “We played a show in Arkansas — our first time in Arkansas,” says Ben Blackwell, a…
You say you’ve never been much of a joiner. Perhaps you’re waiting for the right club to join – the right movement to believe in. Perhaps you’re just motivationally challenged. Or perhaps you simply feel uncomfortable around other people unless you’re stoned. Well, do we have just the thing for…
Three years after dissolving Rocket from the Crypt and Hot Snakes nearly simultaneously, John “Speedo” Reis is back in the fold with a formidable new San Diego-based quartet called The Night Marchers. On the band’s debut CD, See You in Magic (released this week on Vagrant Records), Reis — collaborating…
Pity us Westerners. For all the culture and entertainment we export (and expect world markets to gobble up), we’re remarkably reluctant to recognize the appeal of artists who’ve touched audiences far bigger than our own. Case in point: Asha Bhosle, the Indian singer who is beloved throughout south Asia and…
Three years after dissolving Rocket from the Crypt and Hot Snakes nearly simultaneously, John “Speedo” Reis is back in the fold with a formidable new San Diego-based quartet called The Night Marchers. On the band’s debut CD, See You in Magic (released this week on Vagrant Records), Reis — collaborating…
Hollywood Rule No. 251: Any scene featuring a gospel choir is required to show enraptured members of the flock singing with arms raised to the heavens, clapping their hands and stomping their feet, perhaps even shedding tears of joy, as though the voices alone would lift them to meet Jesus…
Hollywood Rule No. 251: Any scene featuring a gospel choir is required to show enraptured members of the flock singing with arms raised to the heavens, clapping their hands and stomping their feet, perhaps even shedding tears of joy, as though the voices alone would lift them to meet Jesus…
Hollywood Rule No. 251: Any scene featuring a gospel choir is required to show enraptured members of the flock singing with arms raised to the heavens, clapping their hands and stomping their feet, perhaps even shedding tears of joy, as though the voices alone would lift them to meet Jesus…
Our flawless asphalt led the cyclists in the RideClean organization to schedule their Arizona State Championship Criterium in downtown Phoenix on Saturday, April 12. The daylong event will feature hundreds of amateur youth and adult riders pedaling in nearly 30 events. What does it take to enter? “It helps if…
Among the many wonderful things about the Maricopa County Fair is that it’s one of the few places where you can get religion at Madame Zelda’s Puppet Circus and then sit back for some light entertainment at the Gospel Throwdown. And as you might expect, there’s so much more to…
Who else thinks that Baxter the Bobcat needs to be neutered with extreme prejudice? Well, on Saturday, March 29, the Arizona Diamondbacks host the defending Mexican League champion Sultanes de Monterrey in a one-game exhibition at Chase Field, 401 East Jefferson Street. It’s an interesting match-up in and of itself,…
High school and hyperbole go hand in hand. In describing grades 9 through 12, most people declare them the “greatest years of my life!” or “four years of living hell!” Perhaps, that’s why it’s so hard – though dozens of filmmakers try each year — to depict high school on…
Back in the day, we had Life, Clue, Stay Alive, Connect Four, and, if feeling adventurous, Monopoly. We sure didn’t know of any competitive arena for our board-game time-killers. Today, Yu-Gi-Oh! — a trading-card meta-game based on a fictional competition that drives the plot of the popular Japanese anime series…
