We Came As Romans

Paradox: Metal has probably produced more legitimate sub-genre than any other branch of rock. Yet, for the most part, these offshoots have remained fairly true to the genres roots, especially visually: Grizzly looking dudes in black leather with long hair and playing brutal music. Then we have metalcore and bands…

Purple Reign at Talking Stick Resort Last Night

Purple Reign Talking Stick Resort January 8th, 2011 When it comes to most musical acts there really isn’t any substitution for the original. Prince, for example, is a one of a kind musician, but the tribute act Purple Reign is probably as close to the real thing as you can…

10 Indie Rock Christmas Songs for Your Holiday Season

The Holiday season can be a stressful time. While it’s meant to be the one time in the whole year that everyone is a little bit nicer and a little bit happier, certain things can make you just the opposite. If you’re anything like me, you’ve procrastinated all year long…

Alice Cooper’s Proof Is In the Pudding Compilation

Christmas came just a little bit early this year for Phoenix resident and original shock rocker Alice Cooper when it was announced that he would be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.But induction into the Rock Hall of Fame isn’t just something anybody can pick up at…

Alice Cooper’s A Taste of Christmas Pudding at Comerica Theatre Last Night

Alice Cooper’s A Taste of Christmas Pudding Comerica Theatre December 18th, 2010 In a lot of ways Alice Cooper’s yearly Christmas Pudding charity concert is like most families Christmas gatherings. Everybody gathers together in one spot and you have to sit through a lot of boring, awkward and downright uncomfortable moments in…

10 Steps to Becoming the Next Indie Buzz Band

So, it’s Saturday night and you are playing another show in front of an empty dive bar. You can’t figure out why your Linkin Park tribute band hasn’t become more successful. You’ve spent hours working on your bands MySpace page, you’ve worked hard to get your original stuff played on…

Yo Gabba Gabba! Live at Comerica Theatre Yesterday

​ Yo Gabba GabbaComerica Theatre in PhoenixSunday December 5, 2010As I mentioned in my interview with Yo Gabba Gabba! co-creator Christian Jacobs, I have seen every episode of the popular kids TV show Yo Gabba Gabba! a minimum of six times. You may think that number is an exaggeration but…

The Summer Set at The Nile Theater Last Night

The Summer Set Nile Theater November 27, 2010 As someone who reviews concerts fairly regularly I try and keep an open mind with every show I see. Being objective is part of the job. In general, giving negative reviews isn’t a lot of fun because in my opinion every band,…

The Roots and Miniature Tigers at American Junkie Last Night

The Roots & Miniature Tigers American Junkie November 20, 2010 Okay, let’s go ahead and get this out of the way first: In terms of who would win in a true, neutral-turf battle of the bands between The Roots and the Miniature Tigers, there is really little doubt that it…

The Roots Drummer Questlove Talks Soundclash and the Miniature Tigers

In terms of pitting two bands to face off against each other in a battle of the bands it seems like a pretty uneven match up between the well established funk hip-hop group The Roots and Brooklyn’s Miniature Tigers.Of course, both groups have their advantages and disadvantages. Miniature Tigers are…

Joanna Newsom at Orpheum Theatre Last Night

Joanna Newsom Orepheum Theatre 11/07/2010 If there is one word that best describes Joanna Newsom’s latest album, Have One On Me, it’s “ambitious.” Honestly, is there any other way to describe a triple album? In a lot of ways that ambition makes the record a tough listen. That’s not a…

Deerhunter at the Clubhouse on 11/3/2010

Deerhunter Clubhouse Music Venue November 3, 2010 Since releasing their fourth album in September, Atlanta band Deerhunter has earned some high praise from a few folks here at Up on the Sun. And with good reason. To put it simply, the band’s latest album, Halcyon Digest, is really, really good…

10 Album Covers That Have Been Banned [NSFW]

A few weeks ago Kanye West announced on his Twitter page that the original artwork for his upcoming album My Beautiful Twisted Dark Fantasy had been banned here in the US.Technically, the artwork wasn’t banned. Instead Kanye’s record label, strongly suggested that the album artwork be replaced for fear that…

Gorillaz at Comerica Theatre Last Night

Gorillaz Comerica Theatre 10/26/2010 Twelve years ago Damon Albarn and Jamie Hewlett decided to create a cartoon band. The concept was to separate celebrity from pop music. This was the perfect vehicle for someone like Albarn, who is probably best known as the front man for Brit pop legends Blur…

Pixies at the Mesa Amphitheatre Last Night

​Pixies September 24th, 2010 Mesa Amphitheater Back in June, when Up on the Sun music editor Martin Cizmar put up a blog post announcing that the Pixies would be playing an upcoming show at the Mesa Amphitheater there was one point in the post that I kept coming back to…

Biopic Ready

Over the years Hollywood has produced a lot of great biopics of famous musicians. You know the names: Ray, What’s Love Got to Do with it, Walk the Line, The Doors, etc. Some bright young Hollywood screenwriter ought to start working up a script treatment on Sharon Jones. Sure, Sharon…