The Phoenix Pride Festival is a blast, both for the LGBTQ community and its straight allies. Downtown Phoenix turns into a joyous display of rainbows and acceptance for one fun filled weekend — but the fun doesn’t stop there. In addition to Pride, there’s the Rainbows Festival, Arizona’s second largest…
Zombies get a bad wrap. Sure they’re undead, but they do have some redeeming qualities. After all, they only want you for your brains, unlike tvampires, who are all about looks. Sure, there isn’t exactly a storied history of zombie heroes, but that’s the fun of it. Bruce Campbell and…
John Williams performed with the Phoenix Symphony last Saturday for a once in a lifetime event. All of the proceeds benefited the Phoenix Symphony’s community outreach programs, and as of Saturday morning, Williams’ ticket sales have raised nearly $600,000. The concert was closed to the media, but Phoenix Symphony was…
Vampire Weekend Comerica Theatre Friday, September 27, 2013 Last night’s show was just about everything a Friday night show should be: Vampire Weekend was on point and performed a great selection of songs that didn’t neglect its debut album. The crowd was into it–if the majority of the seated area…
No Age returns to Phoenix tomorrow night in support of the band’s third full length album, An Object (fourth if you count compilation album Weirdo Rippers.) The band is all about reinvention, whether it’s singer/drummer Dean Spunt learning how to play his drums while recording the band’s first material, or…
Southern California in the 1980s was a crazy time and place for the region’s hardcord punk milieu. In his book on the topic, We Got Power! Hardcore Punk Scenes from 1980s Southern California, visual artist Cameron Jamie likens photographing punk shows to photographing a crime scene. The book plays out…
My flight landed in Phoenix late Monday night, and I’m still adjusting. It hasn’t fully sunk in yet that I just saw The Replacements and The Pixies back to back. The Broadways reunion really happened. Debbie Harry is super adorable in person. My feet are still throbbing, and I’m pretty…
Chicago Riot Fest, Day Three Humboldt Park Sunday, September 15, 2013 (View the full slideshow.) The third and final day of Riot Fest was all about The Replacements, rain, and reunions. The ‘Mats performed their second show after a 22-year break up Sunday, and it was everything a fan could…
Riot Fest Day Two Humboldt Park, Chicago Saturday, September 14 The Fall Out Boy craziness of the festival’s first day carried over to Blink-182’s set on Day 2. For about 15 minutes before the band took the stage, fans chanted the lyrics to songs like “What’s My Age Again,” “All…
Chicago Riot Fest Day One Humboldt Park Friday, September 13, 2013 This year’s Riot Fest features a great mix of reunions and some of Chicago’s finest punk bands. Heck, The Replacements and Broadways reunions were enough to get me on a plane from Phoenix. Whether the trip was worth it…
A band that repeats “you will always be a loser” toward the end of a five minute song may be a little discouraging, but the put downs are worth it. Titus Andronicus finishes its magnum opus “No Future Part Three: Escape From No Future” by singing “you will always be…
Most superstitions are pretty silly. Clumsy people are bound to break mirrors and thousands of people keep black cats as pets, yet some folks still get the willies on Friday the 13th. The date can occur up to three times a year, so what’s to fear? Hip dance night RAD…
A band that repeats the phrase “you will always be a loser” toward the end of a five-minute song may come off as misanthropic, but suffering through the put-downs pays off in the end. Titus Andronicus finishes its magnum opus “No Future Part Three: Escape from No Future” by singing…
Apollo’s Lounge is quickly becoming quite the Phoenix nightlife hotspot. The Hot Pink crew set up shop on Friday nights for RAD, and DJs Roya and Funkfinger take over on the first Saturday of every month for Tongue Tied. Apollo’s is a natural transition for Roya and Funkfinger after participating…
Tom Green is a weird guy. It’s been almost 15 years since “The Bum Bum Song” was prominently featured on MTV and the comedian televised his testicular cancer surgery. Since then, Green has kind of dropped off the radar, but his website reveals adventures in getting tattoos and hanging out…
Summer of 2013 can more or less be summed up with three songs–Robin Thicke’s “Blurred Lines,” Icona Pop’s “I Love It” and Lana Del Rey’s “Summertime Sadness.” All three tunes are a little grim–“Blurred Lines” can be interpreted as glorifying rape, Icona Pop has no problem with trashing her car,…
An event called Boob-a-Palooza is bound to turn some heads, because who doesn’t love boobs? Now that I’ve got your attention, you can learn more about The Rhythm Room’s third annual Boob-a-Palooza, an event that’s part fundraiser, and part rockin’ swing dance show. Check out what Mona Watkins, the Rhythm…
Taking two years off from live shows is a pretty ballsy move, but local synth rockers Genre took the time off to reinvent themselves. The band shrunk from a four piece to two guys (Zac Markey, guitars/vocals and Corey Gomez, keyboards and vocals) and a keyboard. Both musicians agree that…
Über-fans of Japanese pop culture have just the right mix of creativity and weirdness. Coming up with the perfect Zelda or Final Fantasy cosplay (a portmanteau of costume play) is pretty cool, but seeing folks wearing ears and tails can be strange. The sixth annual Saboten Con has a little…
Who needs “good clean fun” when you can get a little dirty? Such is the premise of Splat’s annual paint party. This rave spans three stages, each designated for paint, foam, and a “clean” zone. The bash boasts a laundry list of DJs that run the gamut from hardstyle to…
FYF Fest, Day Two Sunday, August 25, 2013 Los Angeles State Historic Park The 10th annual FYF Fest ended with My Bloody Valentine blowing out a monitor. While it was disappointing to hear the seminal shoegaze band’s wall of sound come and go, it seemed like an appropriate ending to…
Day 1 at Los Angeles’ FYF Fest was pretty hectic. Yeah Yeah Yeahs headlined, closing out the first night of the fest opposite of Death Grips. The action packed day also featured rare performances by The Breeders, FLAG, Thee Oh Sees, The Locust, and many more. The festival was divided…
