SAT 4/16 The spirit of Pat Tillman marches on — and runs and walks — on Saturday, April 16, when the inaugural “Pat’s Run” makes its way through the streets of Tempe, starting at 8 a.m. Already, nearly 3,000 participants from almost three dozen states across the country have registered…
4/15-4/17 Pompous palates get pleased every year at the Scottsdale Culinary Festival, as foodies from all over gather to indulge in some of the best dishes in the Southwest. But the beauteous buffet isn’t just for epicures, as the Scottsdale Civic Center, 7375 East Second Street, plays host to a…
U2 has gone from the band that mattered most to arguably the most irrelevant. There, I said it. But just because I threw myself on the proverbial cross and fessed up, I don’t expect you to go out and hawk your tickets to either of U2’s sold-out shows at Glendale…
THU 14 As cynical as we might be at times, we’ll refrain from tagging The Redwalls, who play the Big Fish Pub (1954 East University Drive in Tempe) on Thursday, April 14, as nothing more than a foursome of rip-off artists. Fact is, The Redwalls sure sound like the Brit-blues…
SAT 4/9 Wanna be in gay porn pronto, Tonto? Better show ’em your “Oh!” face on Saturday, April 9, at the Bunkhouse, 4428 North Seventh Avenue, where Will Clark, a gay porn “star” — none of the men at the Bunkhouse during a recent happy hour would admit to knowing…
If it’s any consolation to Kevin Bacon, the backers of the Phoenix Film Festival believe he’s worthy of recognition, even if the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences doesn’t. Bacon’s taken the Oscars snub — the Academy ignoring his leading-role performance in The Woodsman, one most critics said was…
THU 7 We’re amazed — and subsequently quite pleased — that the über-structured hierarchy of Arizona State University continues to keep the scattered and beautiful mind of Chris Danowski on its payroll as a theater professor. So we won’t be greedy and lobby for a raise for the guy, but…
4/1-4/10 A souvenir shop in Dearborn, Michigan, once sold a rubber stamp that read, “People are more violently opposed to fur than leather because it’s safer to harass rich women than motorcycle gangs.” Obviously, the quotation predates the modern motorcycle frenzy of the middle-aged. In the 1960s, riding a motorcycle…
Troy Glaus knows a thing or two about comebacks. After all, the new Arizona Diamondbacks third baseman was part of one of the greatest turnarounds in World Series history when he helped the Anaheim Angels (now the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim) avoid elimination during Game 6 of the 2002…
THU 31 Who knew it would take 25 self-proclaimed “idiots” to end an 86-year-old curse? Or that it would take almost eight years to get the Boston Red Sox to visit Bank One Ballpark? Anchored by former Arizona Diamondback and 2001 World Series co-MVP Curt Schilling, the world champs make…
THU 3/24 Arthur Edwards, the ex-Refreshments’ bassist turned novelist, provides a diversion for summer-scorned Phoenicians in his book Stuck Outside of Phoenix. With triple-digit temperatures quickly approaching our soon-to-be-burning hell, escape sounds like heaven on Earth. Sadly, though, engaged readers who participate in Edwards’ intricate plot will be taken far,…
SAT 3/26 How do you make a guy think about horses while watching nude cabaret? “Well, that’s not really the point,” says Janie Wiseman, a manager at Christie’s Cabaret, 44 North 32nd Street, which is hosting “Girls! Girls! Girls!”, a benefit for Wildhorse Ranch Rescue, on Saturday, March 26, starting…
SAT 3/26 Little girls love their fairy tales of Prince Charmings, glass slippers and magic wands. But Erin Smith wasn’t a typical little girl. When her elementary school teachers wanted her to read “Cinderella,” she read the “twisted” version from Roald Dahl’s Revolting Rhymes instead. Now 17, the senior at…
A Canadian lass once wrote a song that millions starving for a catchy melody thought was solid gold. But mostly, her ode to occasions she thought were ironic was really a tune about things that just kinda suck, plain and simple. So how’s this for irony? An artsy rock trio,…
THU 24 While it’s been said that Thomas Gibbons’ “provocative and fearless drama” Permanent Collection does a lot of preaching to the choir, we hear that these are the salad days for religious symbolism, anyway, so why not? The play, produced by the Arizona Theatre Company in its Southwest premi’re…
3/22-3/26 Mark Lundholm refers to himself as “a professional mistake-maker.” In 1988, he found himself in a halfway house after carjacking for fixes. The divorced father of two had gone from being a Catholic altar boy to a homeless addict and mental patient. He found some humor in it all,…
SAT 3/19 Slash and Scott Weiland (formerly of Guns n’ Roses and Stone Temple Pilots, respectively) might have mellowed a bit — a tad bit — since the days of their reckless youth. But the Speed Jam at Phoenix International Raceway, 7602 South 115th Avenue in Avondale, on Saturday, March…
THU 17 Believe it or not, we capitalist pigs get it right once in a while. For example: a little thing called electricity, the assembly line, and, uh, belly-dancing. True, belly-dancing was originally a gift from the Turks, but it took American innovation in the form of Hollywood know-how to…
3/10-1/1 In the late 19th century, the U.S. government implemented a policy of assimilation to deal with what it termed the country’s “Indian problem.” The goal was nothing less than erasing all outward traces of Indian culture, and the means was forcibly removing Native American children from their homes and…
THU 10 You’ve heard the joke about joining the Army, right? “Travel to exotic places, meet interesting people, and kill them.” Well, in James’ Journey to Jerusalem, which closes out the Phoenix Jewish Film Festival on Thursday, March 10, at the Harkins Camelview 5, 7001 East Highland in Scottsdale, our…
SAT 3/5 If your pooch’s flabby paunch is starting to rival your beer gut, it’s time to get that mutt some exercise. Take a hike with your canine companion on Saturday, March 5, when local no-kill animal organizations Paw Placement and For the Luv of Dogz, along with the Canine…
I’m pacing outside the Chicago Cubs clubhouse at their winter training facility, Fitch Park in Mesa, at about 8 a.m. Beyond the foyer is a gaggle of Chicago beat writers who cover baseball’s only remaining “cursed” team. You know, the middle-aged, flabby guys who look like they’ve never touched second…
