Thirteen hundred people packed the Orpheum Theatre in downtown Phoenix on October 21 to hear Richard Florida, author of the wildly successful book Rise of the Creative Class: And How It’s Transforming Work, Leisure and Everyday Life, share his recipe for building successful cities. In urban planning circles, Florida’s got…
Fri 10/31 The closing reception for Phoenix’s creepiest gallery show also happens to be one of the most eclectic Halloween parties around. On Friday, October 31, Alwun House hosts Monsters’ Ball, a night of revelry to send the “Monsters’ Menagerie” art exhibition back to the grave.Mixed-media works by the dozen…
10/30-11/2 They call it “the 14th Annual Arizona Classic Jazz Festival,” and by “classic,” they primarily mean Dixieland, ragtime and swing: the three faces of pre-World War II jazz that rocked your grandparents’ world.As Dick Knutson — a featured musician and husband of fest director Jeanne Knutson — puts it,…
Thursday, October 30 For their home opener, the Phoenix Suns take on the Cleveland Cavaliers, who lost to the Suns twice last season, but now, bedecked in new team colors and a new logo, boast the number-one draft pick, LeBron James. Tip-off time is 8:30 p.m. Thursday, October 30, at…
Sat 10/25 For all of you Peeping and would-be Peeping Toms, The Roosevelt Historic District is offering the perfect way to peep without getting slapped with jail time. TourFest, a guided tour of more than 20 houses, lofts and businesses, allows a rare view into buildings that date back to…
Something’s bubbling up from the performance arts underground — ¡Teatro Caliente!, an intercultural theater festival that makes its debut this weekend. It’s an idea that’s been brewing for a long time with Chris Danowski, artistic director of the event and alternative theater group Theater in My Basement. “Actually, it started…
Thursday, October 23Familiar with the mood-enhancing, color-changing wall behind the bar at SIX? Now the sleek Scottsdale lounge takes the transformation several steps further, with a refreshing new addition to Scottsdale nightlife: Mint. Every Thursday, SIX’s cozy decor is radically altered with all-white draperies, cabanas and sheer curtains illuminated by…
Thursday, October 16 While the gallery scene in Scottsdale covers all the bases of contemporary art, Western subject matter still has a mighty stronghold in “The West’s Most Western Town.” See the latest creative take on cowboy art from supporters of this all-American genre when The Scottsdale Gallery Association presents…
Eastern Youth’s music is so powerful that it doesn’t matter that the Tokyo band’s full-length American debut, What Can You See From Your Place, is sung entirely in Japanese. Language barriers haven’t stopped the likes of At the Drive-In, the Murder City Devils and No Knife from touring with the…
10/10-10/12 Joe Rogan thinks he’s funny, though you may not know it from his poker-faced persona as host of NBC’s Fear Factor. Rogan, who formerly appeared in the sitcom NewsRadio alongside Phil Hartman and Andy Dick, and is now a rookie host of The Man Show on Comedy Central, professes…
Thu 10/9 Between numerous guerrilla film projects, microcinema events and the Phoenix Film Festival (devoted to low-budget features and short films), Phoenix is becoming a haven for indie filmmaking. So this city has the perfect readership for the latest book by cult filmmaker Lloyd Kaufman, Make Your Own Damn Movie:…
Thursday, October 9 Now on the fourth leg of their gigantic U.S. tour, The Red Hot Chili Peppers rock Phoenix with The Flaming Lips and punk legend Mike Watt on Thursday, October 9. The superstar lineup clearly has a wild mix of styles, but one thing all the acts have…
Journalists take it for granted that they can reach professors on the phone for expert opinions. Universities even publish directories to make faculty members accessible to the media. But you can’t just call up Richard Florida, Heinz Professor of Regional Economic Development at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh. Ever since…
Sat 10/4 What is it, girl? Barktoberfest? Go fetch your costume! This Saturday, October 4, Friends for Life Animal Sanctuary presents its annual canine carnival and dog wash from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Cooley Park in Mesa. Gilbert police demonstrate how K-9 officers catch the bad guys, and…
Sun 10/5 “I think there’s somewhat of a hunger for things to do downtown,” says Don Hamill, event coordinator for the Rainbows Festival, downtown’s gay and lesbian street fair. As proof, Hamill cites the turnout for last year’s celebration, the first time Rainbows Festival was held. “The reality is, you…
Thursday, October 2 Steve Martin’s first full-length play, Picasso at the Lapin Agile, debuted off-Broadway to critical acclaim in 1995. Set in 1904 in a Parisian cafe, the humorous play tells the story of a hypothetical meeting between two 20th-century geniuses, Pablo Picasso and Albert Einstein, when they were both…
Sat 9/27 No time to cruise? No matter. Landlocked Arizonans can experience exotic island culture at this weekend’s Caribbean Multicultural Festival, which brings native music, food, dancers, storytellers, and arts and crafts to Heritage Square, 601 East Monroe. The Caribbean American Association of Arizona, in conjunction with the Children With…
Thursday, September 25 The Phoenix Symphony toasts its new season on Thursday, September 25, with champagne, a gala atmosphere and a rare appearance by the legendary pianist Van Cliburn, who hasn’t visited the Valley in nearly 30 years. Among other works, he performs Tchaikovsky’s Piano Concerto No. 1, the piece…
Thursday, September 18 You know the summer’s truly over when Scottsdale Center for the Arts launches its new season. Starting off the busy schedule is an appearance by writer John Edgar Wideman, whose lecture is part of the Solo Voices series, presented in conjunction with Arizona State University’s Center for…
Tursday, September 11 Two years ago, after the terrorist attacks on New York and near Washington, D.C., people truly started to wonder if it would ever be possible to laugh again. It took some time, but we completely regained our chuckling capacity — thank goodness. On Thursday, September 11, commemorate…
9/13-1/4 For as long as civilizations have existed, artists have shined a telling light on the social and political issues at play in their homelands. In Mexico, the folk artist has long filled the role of social commentator, documenting the struggle of a resilient people in overcoming adversity and achieving…
9/10-9/14 A librarian’s search takes him far beyond the card catalogue in Underneath the Lintel, the off-Broadway hit being co-produced by ASU West’s Department of Interdisciplinary Arts and Performance and the Valley’s new nonprofit iTheatre Collaborative. Hailed as “a wonderful metaphor for life’s meaning,” Glen Berger’s play tracks an obsessed…
