8/13-9/2For five years, Darci Johnson’s reZurrection Gallery has lent a touch of funk and spunk to the downtown Tempe scene. Now, like a phoenix bird in reverse, reZurrection’s doors are closing because of rising rent prices in the area. Johnson plans to take her furnishings and accessories online (at www.rezurrection.com),…

8/12-8/27What’s black, white and red all over? A penguin in a blender? A zebra with diaper rash? No, it’s a world-première drama presented by Is What It Is Productions at the Studio One Performing Arts Center, 4520 East Thomas. Black, White and Read All Over is a story that relates…

Luther “Luke” Campbell’s Web site bio claims that Campbell was the “riveting leader” of 2 Live Crew, the raunchy hip-hop trio that garnered national headlines for its sexually explicit 1989 album As Nasty As They Wanna Be. But Fresh Kid Ice (né Chris Wong Won) claims on his Web site…

THU 4 Swedish music exports never go out of style, whether we’re talking old-school staples like ABBA, or new-school buzz bands like the Jessica Fletchers. Another up-and-coming Swedish outfit, Blindside, will play the Abandon Video Benefit Show at the Clubhouse Music Venue, 1320 East Broadway Road in Tempe, on Thursday,…

8/5-8/7 Science-fiction conventions attract the city’s geeks and freaks faster than you can say “dungeon master.” The largest gaming convention in Arizona, HexaCon 15, runs the gaming gamut from old-school Dungeons & Dragons adventures to Pokémon and Harry Potter. For a mere $25, wage head-to-head cyber wars, purchase a used…

TUE 8/9Sammy Hagar’s career spans 30 years, including 10 years with Van Halen. “The Red Rocker’s” biggest solo hit, “I Can’t Drive 55,” was released in 1984, which begs the question: When is he going to update the lyrics to reflect current speed limits? “I changed the song,” Hagar tells…

For the three ladies at the helm of local image and styling consulting company Sophistikatz, the grand opening of the Sophistikatz Boutique on Friday, August 5, isn’t just a new notch in the Phoenix fashion scene: It’s a family affair. Business manager Muizzah “Mo” Carman, marketing director Iman Whitmore and…

THU 28Though he failed to cement his place in history as the first pop star in space, *NSYNC’s Lance Bass could always head down to the Challenger Space Center, 21170 North 83rd Avenue in Peoria, to see what he missed besides the Top 40 charts for the past three years…

THU 7/28The Rubber Robot that plays Emerald Lounge this week is not the band by the same name that wears horse-head masks and plays the theremin. Nor are they a soulless, automated device that looks and responds just like a human. “I kind of got Rubber Robot from — well,…

FRI 7/29Though you could make the argument that a majority of 21st-century kids (or adults, for that matter) couldn’t find Japan on an unlabeled map of the world, that doesn’t stop them from looking to the East for their animation. The popularity of anime, the Japanese form of animation influenced…

7/28-8/31While the action emanating from the local nine at the BOB this year has been roughly akin to watching paint dry, the up-and-coming rookies participating in the Arizona Summer League offer a unique alternative for baseball purists hoping to catch an early glimpse of tomorrow’s stars. There’s nowhere to go…

SUN 7/31Thank Salvador Dali for Blade Runner. That goes for Fight Club, Slaughterhouse-Five, The Truman Show, and even Total Recall, too. His name doesn’t pop up in the credits, but the most famous name in Surrealist art is credited with making the genre a profitable commodity in Hollywood, where Dali…

THU 21 You’ve probably met those condescending old farts who always say crap like, “I was doing this before you were born.” Wouldn’t it be great to say, “Yeah, well, I was doing this before I was born, too”? Ferret out your former incarnations on Thursday, July 21, when Glendale…

THU 7/21Bob Log III once described his music as “poo-party, tit-clapping, techno blues.” But the 35-year-old bluesbilly, who sings through an old telephone glued to the front of a motorcycle helmet, spouts “Mom” similes these days. “I’m just trying to sound like your mama calling up with some recipes for…

THU 7/21Once upon a time nearly a century ago, something known as burlesque became the variety show of choice in America. And while its musical revues and vaudevillian comedy were certainly a draw, the genre made its mint as the birthplace of the modern-day striptease. Fast forward to 2005, and…

THU 14 You pretend you’re joking around, trying to be funny by singing “The Greatest Love of All” at karaoke. But your friends can tell by the spirited way you grind out, “They can’t take away my dignity!” that you’re serious about this singing thing. So why not take a…

SAT 7/16Fans of lesbians, music, and Showtime’s The L-Word get a bite of the Big Apple on Saturday, July 16, when the cable series house band, Betty, takes the stage at Ain’t Nobody’s Bizness, 3031 East Indian School. The lovely ladies of Betty — siblings Amy and Elizabeth Ziff (cello…

SAT 7/16Dante got it wrong: There are actually 10 circles of hell, and local filmmaker Nicholas Holthaus has been there and back making Dante’s Arizona, which premières Saturday, July 16, at the Alwun House, 1204 East Roosevelt. “Four people have died during the making of this film, including my mother…

THU 7Tequila snobs understand why “silver” tequila from the blue agave cactus beats the hell out of that cheap “gold” tequila with the gimmick worm floating around the bottom of the bottle. We’re told that silver tequila has a more intense flavor, since all of its sugars come from the…

THU 6/30″Chunks of Fried Funk” might sound like a bad school cafeteria lunch, but techno-haters and hip-hop junkies love the mystery meat packed into this sonic casserole of electrobreaks, hip-hop, “nu skool,” funk and “ghetto stylez.” The weekly DJ night at Ichiban Sushi Bar, 1435 East University Drive in Tempe,…

THU 23 If you feel the need to unleash your inner diva, or if you just want a reason to wear that overpriced cocktail dress one more time, fret not — Scottsdale’s rolling out the red carpet just for you. On Thursday, June 23, Barcelona, 15440 Greenway-Hayden Loop in Scottsdale,…