The Yuletide season is traditionally primetime for boozy gatherings celebrating hideous cold weather wear. But look, dammit, we don’t have much time left to make the most of what passes for winter here. Sure, as it warms up, we could have shindigs featuring unsightly tank tops or repulsive flip-flops but,…

Todd Glass isn’t a household name, but he’s been garnering laughs and respect from comedy fans and fellow comedians for over three decades. Norm Mcdonald called him a “comic’s comics comic” in advance of his 2014 best selling book, The Todd Glass Situation, and the Philly-born funnyman does indeed deliver,…

You love having the inside track on the latest shindigs. If previewing new talent aligns as one of your things, ASU Dance Presents: Emerging Artists II on Sunday, February 1, is a sequel that should appeal to the cool-chaser in you.Just because these performances are fresh out of the oven…

Dying in 2003 at the relatively young age of 34 from seemingly self-inflicted stab wounds to the heart (a coroner ruled the cause of death as undetermined rather than suicide), singer-songwriter Elliot Smith left behind grieving fans, a treasure trove of unrealeased songs, and more questions than answers. In Heaven…

Peter Hutton might be the best filmmaker that even your movie buff friends haven’t heard of. The lauded film artist holds court at Phoenix Art Museum for a screening of his 2007 film At Sea and for a conversation and Q&A on Wednesday, January 28.The enormous container ship that Hutton…

The smartphone games that keep you entertained while in line at the grocery store, whether Angry Birds, Trivia Crack, or Candy Crush, took countless hours to cook up. You can do more than just peek behind the scenes of game creation — even if you have no experience, you can…

You resolved to travel more in 2015, but that doesn’t mean you should give in to wanderlust right away. You can take the small step of living vicariously through traveling poet, Steve Roggenbuck, whose words have had him criss-cross the globe and who’ll swing by the Valley on Friday, January…

Zuul, the evil demon in possession of Dana Barrett, spent most of his presence in Ghostbusters waiting for Vince Clortho. Turns out, the fiendish ghoul could have just bought a ticket to 2 Pianos, 4 Hands to encounter some keymasters. Canadian playwrights Ted Dykstra and Richard Greenblatt penned the tale…

You’ve held tight to most of your resolutions but how about that pledge to spend more of your dollars locally? The homegrown Arizona Wrestling Federation is offering top notch sports entertainment with its big events such as New Dawn on Saturday, January 17.The latest outing for the fledgling wrestling fed…

One of the best things about Arizona is that we have a ton of kickass women who’ve led the way in arts, politics, and business (especially in independent ventures and startups). “What It Means To Be American: Women of the West” on Wednesday, January 14, explores the reasons behind the emergence…

It’s not quite midseason but the Phoenix Suns seem to have hit the blahs characteristic of the middle of the season, going on a six-game skid at press time. They’ll try to avoid the inevitable when the Toronto Raptors, currently at the top of the Eastern Conference, visit on Sunday,…

Common lore holds that the first few days of a new year sets the tone for the rest of the year. With that in mind, you’d have to be a total kwyjibo to not catch Nerd Night’s Simpson Trivia on Saturday, January 3.If your real-life memories have mostly been replaced…

If you’re freaked out that we’re midway through the second decade of the third millenium, the Rockabilly-themed edition of the Heard Museum’s monthly Native + You event on Friday, January 2, might be the blast from the past you need to ease into 2015.The shindig will include the Native ladies…

Nothing against Johnny Depp — the guy seems pretty cool — but when we heard that there was a remake of the classic 1971 Willy Wonka & The Chocolate Factory, we knew we’d never go see it. If it’s not Gene Wilder as the eccentric titular figure, we’re not interested…

It’s finally chilly enough to get a good fire going and to spin some yarns with some good friends. The spooky kids of the Theater 13 film collective want to bring the fun indoors by screening episodes of the classic Nickelodeon series Are You Afraid of The Dark? on Friday,…

Never shall a bar argument over who did what song or who starred in which movie go unanswered now that we have smartphones with access to Wikipedia. The WikiMedia Show is there to answer all your questions, including the ones you didn’t know you had, on Thursday, December 18.Aaron Hopkins-Johnson…

There’s nothing sadder than a Star Wars stormtrooper melting inside his armor. Phoenix Comicon unveils its newest event, Fan Fest, this Friday, December 12, during cosplay-friendly weather.In addition to cooler temps, Fan Fest is a boon for comic book and pop culture geeks who can’t wait for Comicon in May…

If you’ve ever had the haunting feeling that a parallel universe was just outside of your reach, you might identify with Danny, the young protagonist of the new young adult sci-fi thriller Now That You’re Here. Danny, a teen graf artist, is wise to the streets but suddenly awakens in…

Bashing SNL is beyond trite. The late-night staple should be lauded for the continuous stream of comedians it brings into the limelight. Case in point: Dana Carvey. If the funnyman had only been Garth, hetero-life-mate to Wayne, he’d be golden. But the guy’s triple-platinum for original characters like The Church…

Of the standup comics who started in the early 1960s, struck stardom in the late ‘60s and ‘70s, and had a hit sitcom in the ‘80s, we always knew that we could count on mild-mannered Bob Newhart to not be an awful creep. The 85-year-old accountant-turned-comic still hits the road…

In the summer, the lightless hours of the night are abuzz with activity in Phoenix and surrounding areas, the cover of night shielding all from the harshness of the sun. Valley artist Alexandra Bowers reverentially explores the desert rituals of the dark in her show “Before Dawn,” which opens Monday.Bowers…

In a world where even Superman can kick the bucket, longevity is to be celebrated.All About Books & Comics, which has garnered nationwide props in the comics industry, rocks its 33rd anniversary this Saturday, November 29. Since 1981, All About owners Alan and Marsha Giroux have weathered the late ‘80s…