In our opinion, parades don’t come around often enough. But when they do, there’s that entire cleanup of crap such as ticker tape and horseapples. So what to do if you want all of the fun and bluster, but none of the mess? If you’re Chicago composer Mark Messing, you…
Talking to New Times about Cousins of the Wize’s impending CD-release show, lead MC Michael “Magnum Pie” Bradford has a laid back steadiness in his voice that never wavers. That’s saying something, considering all the band has been through the past eleven years. “First off, it humbles you,” Bradford says…
The odes to self-love in pop culture are legion, ranging from Cyndi Lauper’s pouty-voiced paean “She Bop” to the Divinyls’ slinky “I Touch Myself.” NYC poet Jon Sands’ “Being Human Being” starts with self-inflicted lust, but swiftly traces its way to playfully affirming his love for humanity’s, well, humanness. The…
When we dig through the sea of records at thrift stores around town, there are some sure bets as to what we’ll find: a kids’-choir Christmas album, a Herb Alpert record, and some 78s, a medium that was ditched and dissed once LPs and 45s blew up. The Shack Shake…
Time to do some laundry. Groan, right? Rocky Yazzie of Phoenix experimental rockers Skinwalkers and Morgan Halas of The Lucky Sperms will gladly oblige anyone who thinks doing laundry is a drag. The twosome has assembled a motley crew of musicians, poets, and entertainers for The Laundromat Show on Sunday,…
For Bill Campana, being at a loss for words is rare. When he first set foot on a Valley slam-poetry stage, Campana’s goal was to “blow the place apart,” and the wordsmith’s booming voice has left audiences and venues reeling for the past 11 years. His vocal cords rival the…
There’s a sly smile that highlights Paisley Yankolovich’s face. It’s the kind of bemused calm of knowing that the Christian performance artist’s journey with Jesus is less a sunset-showered walk on the beach than an adrenaline-pumping roller coaster that invites people to hop on and throw up their hands at…
For the generation-spanning neighborhood that starts with Sesame Street and includes Avenue Q, puppets have always been a part of our lives. For Josh Cohen and Tamra Malaga, puppets aren’t only their neighbors but also their co-workers. The couple has performed all over North America and is currently moving from…
Whether name-checked by Kimya Dawson or cited by Alternative Press as the greatest folk singer of the 21st century, Paul Baribeau’s passion for spinning songs from joy and heartbreak is unmatched. A case in point is his “Ten Things,” in which the Michigan native earnestly implores listeners to make a…
Phoenicians leaving downtown face exodus-level gridlock on the freeways. The Light Rail Pirates invite folks to avoid the rush with the weekly Wednesday Night Workout. LRP uses an audience suggestion to create the entire show, serving up laughs and fun alongside the happy-hour drinks and appetizers. “It’s a matter of…
While Hurricane Katrina was wreaking havoc in New Orleans on August 29, 2005, President Bush was in Phoenix, posing for a photo-op, cake in hand, with birthday boy Senator John McCain. That lack of priority was only the beginning of the government’s failure. For filmmakers Ed Pincus and Lucia Small,…
Worthwhile road trips feature unique sights and sounds, from tourist-drawing dinosaurs to roadside diners stuck in the past. It’s rare that the road-trippers bring the sights and sounds with them. San Francisco-based performance-art troupe Double Vision trucks its combination of choreographed and improvised dance, video projections and animation, and live…
A bumper sticker proclaims, “Enjoy weekends? Thank unions!” Alas, don’t forget an extra tip of the hat for the extended Labor Day weekend, when Sway Events and the Clarendon Hotel spin summer’s sunset into the Splash Bash Labor Day Weekend Party. The Splash Bash pool pachanga lights the fuse on…
Fan or hater, you’ve kept tabs on Ryan Avery. If you weren’t already up on his exploits, then the New Times cover story piqued your interest (“Hi, My Name Is Ryan,” August 3, 2006, Benjamin Leatherman). Then you heard about Paul Eagleston and Stephen Rose’s documentary Hi My Name Is…
Before the medium ate the message, poet and rap precursor Gil Scott-Heron forewarned that the revolution would not be televised. When the tides turn, Immortal Technique will be there to provide color commentary between lobs of Molotov cocktails. The Peruvian-born, Harlem-raised fire-breather scorches tracks with scathing lyrical criticisms of the…
Growing up, passing clouds were a parade of endless characters and rocket ships were built from cardboard. Sarah Lowry, Madeline ffitch, and Donna Sellinger keep that spirit of imagination alive with their traveling theater group, The Missoula Oblongata. The three collaborate to script a play of seemingly outlandish ideas and…
Tired of building an empire in Grand Theft Auto and never having those riches materialize IRL? The Street Fighter II Video Game Challenge at Bookman’s Phoenix seeks to right that wrong. Purveyors of the classic ’90s head-to-head fighting game – in which a mysterious underworld boss and dictator organize a…
You shunned the road less traveled for the security of a day job. For years, the closest you got to partying like a rock star were the Shop Boyz crammed down your throat. You even gave in to cracking open your cell phone at shows rather than fishing around in…
Why are we so entranced by fire? Are we mere moths pulled to its heat and light? Is it the way lapping flames create themselves from the fiery consumption of all they touch, like sweet kisses from Shiva, the Hindu god of destruction? Or is seeing such a potentially dangerous…
The porta-potty is an unheralded savior. Using those plastic offices of sit-down business is weird, but who else has our backs at musical festivals and other big outdoor fiestas? Who keeps the portable toilets rocking, rolling, and ready for our rear-end refuse? Kenny, a mockumentary-style flick presented by the Phoenix…
New Kids on the Block recently announced their reunion, a new album, and an upcoming tour. There’s no telling what their true motivation is. Maybe it was the mounting mortgage payments or the allure of some sweet MILF love from ladies who were promise-ringed during their first go-round. In sharp…
If someone asks to have words with you in an alley, expect fisticuffs. However, John Lynn, the host of Words in the Alley: Feral Poetry, just wants to stoke your latent creative juices. You see, Lynn used to secretly write poems until local open mics coaxed him out of his…
