It’s a tale of two cities. Phoenix’s lady ballers, the Phoenix Mercury, are near the top of the WNBA’s Western Conference while the New York Liberty are cellar dwelling in the East. Despite the seeming disparity, both squads are trying to shift out of middling showings so far this season…
Open since late April, the Musical Instrument Museum has already gained oodles of accolades from pleased locals as well as big-time nationals (legendary crooner and noted museum-goer Tony Bennett gave The MIM props as being better than New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art). In addition to its wondrous collection of…
Abraham Lincoln freed the slaves in 1863 and the union lived happily ever after.Not exactly. It took more than two years for the news to reach Texas and the quarter of a million black folks who lived there. One hundred and forty five years later, the Valley of the Sun…
Adults revisiting schoolyard-game glory is serious business. Forget the team names that are a little too clever for their own good — there are some ball-handling warriors who have poured blood, sweat, and tears into their climb to the top, including those ballers in the Great American Dodgeball Bash. The…
It used to be that people were demure about their partisan leanings. Now, folks proclaim their political preferences at the top of their lungs. Taking sides has even infected tween-literature pop sensation Twilight. Team Edward? Team Jacob? You can color us Team Too Old To Care, but we’ll still jam…
Turns out, size doesn’t matter. In fact, some may say that smaller is better. Computers used to take up entire rooms. Nowadays, our cell phones are a zillion times more powerful than those old clunkers. Anthology Poetry keeps in step and presents the Tiny Mesa Poetry Slam. The good folks…
Most comedians take a detour into kid-friendly work at some point. Filthy-mouthed Bob Saget cleaned it up for Full House and Eddie Murphy spent a few years in family-friendly purgatory with his Dr. Dolittle flicks. For Tommy Davidson, it was a spell with Disney’s The Proud Family. But don’t expect…
You might vie to have an entourage filled with stylish hangers-on with enough muscle for when the beef pops, but we roll with the eggheads, the nerds, and the know-it-alls. Why? Because nothing’s more glorious than dominating Live Trivia. To ensure total domination over opposing trivia teams, you gotta have…
We love to ride bikes. But Susan B. Anthony totally has us beat. Just check out this famous quote by the dollar-coin suffragist: “I think [bicycling] has done more to emancipate women than anything else in the world. It gives women a feeling of freedom and self-reliance.” Interesting. The Coalition…
Tatsuya Nakatani is more conjurer than percussionist. Rather than simply striking his drum set, gongs, or cymbals to get the sound you’d expect, he unlocks the surprising squeals, shimmers, and frequencies that traditional techniques might never uncover. Considering his penchant for improvising and incorporating bass bows and Tibetan singing bowls,…
It’s May sweeps again, so you know what that means: sensationalized local television news stories and season finales. Before a summer of reruns hit the airwaves, it’s also a good chance to give a fond seasonal farewell to the monthly stage show Grand Avenue Live! GAL! might not rank in…
We all multi-task, but few do it like Random. The Phoenix rapper (by way of Philly) balances being a middle-school teacher with rocking out-of-state shows alongside nerdcore icons like MC Frontalot. Born Raheem Jarbo, he took on the MegaRan moniker once he started spitting over instrumentals that drew from classic…
People are boring. Slap some felt around a pair of human hands and our interest is piqued. That’s why the adult-themed Spring Puppet Slam is bound to tickle our funny bone and fondle our minds. The handcrafted characters that will be brought to life before our eyes might be colorful…
We’re glad that most of the antagonistic talk between rappers featured in those Beef DVDs and countless web videos seem to be in remission. It’s idle chatter to hear some mix-tape, 16-bar spitter talk about going to war when you have a group like Sierra Leone’s Refugee All-Stars escaping real…
In general, we like to steer clear of weirdos with three names, not wanting to become a serial killer’s victim. In the case of William Benjamin Bensussen, we’ll make an exception. Under his nom de turntable, The Gaslamp Killer, he’s slayed tracks from behind the ones and twos. GLK lays…
Remember that iconic opening to The Andy Griffith Show — just a boy and his pa heading down to the fishin’ hole? Even though we’re a long way from Mayberry, we’ll be whistling that tune at the Spring Fishing Frenzy. Park rangers will help provide instruction on basic angling techniques…
Last January, writers Tom Flanigan and Ed Furman were dispatched to Phoenix by Second City, the venerable Chicago comedy theatre. While here, Flanigan and Furman hit up local haunts like Durant’s and mingled with Valley figures in search of the city’s legends, follies, and quirks. The result: The Second City…
In the 1975 Parliament jam “Chocolate City,” George Clinton rattles off a shortlist of bergs with majority African-American populations. Unsurprisingly, Phoenix doesn’t get a shout out – sadly, the same thing would happen if the P-funk master reimagined the tune in 2010 – but the George Washington Carver Museum and…
Everyone has a story: the dude asking for change tells us about his failed Motown group, the lady waiting in line speaks of a promising sports career cut short by an injury, and the limo driver in the dive bar fondly recounts touring the country as a child soprano. We…
There are some folks who instantly bust a move as soon as a jam comes on. Then, there are those who hug the wall in public but get their hip-shaking Beyonce on in the privacy of their living rooms. Both types are welcomed and encouraged to show up to the…
The Trunk Space, one of downtown Phoenix’s top art galleries and performance venues, celebrates its sixth anniversary this month. Ample toasts and huzzahs should be sent the spot’s way, especially considering the rough and tumble place that the local art scene can be. The Trunk Space cheers the artists that…
The Trunk Space, one of downtown Phoenix’s top art galleries and performance venues, celebrates its sixth anniversary this month. Ample toasts and huzzahs should be sent the spot’s way, especially considering the rough and tumble place that the local art scene can be. The Trunk Space cheers the artists that…
