SUN 2/6 You gotta be from the ‘hood, according to Steve Weiss, to understand Arizona’s — statehood, that is: February 12, 1912, the day the Grand Canyon State joined the Union. “Growing up in Arizona,” says the 48-year-old Valley native, “you knew when statehood was celebrated. You learned about the…
The Reverend Doctor Lady Bishop, “America’s Premier Voodoo Priestess,” wears both a crucifix and a Star of David around her neck. “Voodoo is like gumbo,” she says. “In gumbo, you have a little bit of everything.” Indeed. Bishop, a.k.a. JoAnn Jennings, uses every clairvoyant trick in the book, from tarot…
THU 1/27 Where have all the heroes gone? Sure, today’s pop culture heroes deserve some props. (Just how many bullets has 50 Cent taken and survived?) But for hard-core heroism, we must hark back to the 1800s, and people such as Harriet Tubman, who braved the severest of penalties –…
1/31-2/6 In years past, the FBR (formerly Phoenix) Open was best known for bringing a much-needed dose of fun to the often staid and stuffy world of professional golf. And while the frat-party mentality that once ruled the 16th hole may have mellowed (a bit), there is little doubt that…
What you see isn’t necessarily what you get in “Strangely Familiar: Design and Everyday Life,” opening at the Scottsdale Museum of Contemporary Art on Saturday, January 29. Rather than reflecting human experience and emotion in a concrete sense, the way paintings or sculptures do, the show is more like a…
SAT 1/29 Sometimes, the best way to reconnect with that estranged boyfriend or girlfriend is to pretend like you don’t know them. You know, arrive at the bar separately, talk like you’ve never met before, and then go home for the “make-up lovin’.” Cone Gallery, 1324 Grand Avenue, takes this…
FRI 1/28 So when, exactly, is local filmmaker Zachary Yoshioka going to get the fuck out of the Valley? Don’t get us wrong: The local film scene needs plenty of young talent if it hopes to amount to anything. But with 15 films and a few music videos under his…
If Ike Turner’s name only draws mental images of a man violently mashing cake into Tina Turner’s face, that’s a great example of the instant karma that has beset one of the greatest guitarists in the history of R&B. Everything you’ve heard about Ike Turner may be true, but you…
1/21-1/26 There’s nothing like having a J-O-B that requires you to clean the soiled sheets of others, carry a dozen hot plates on one forearm, or clean up fecal matter in front of the layaway department. And when that paycheck comes, hoo boy! You might have 10 bucks left after…
SAT 1/22 Despite all the funky new hangouts, art galleries and bistros, it seems downtown Phoenix is still — quite literally — a ghost town after dark. According to some, you can thank the venerable San Carlos Hotel, at 202 North Central, for being the apparent source of this spirit…
It would be easy to name off the big hip-hop hitters who participated in the production of Pokafase’s self-titled debut album for Artist Direct Records (including Warren G. and Kokane from the Doggystyle All-Stars) and let hype build from there. But the truth is, what makes Poka’s CD so good…
The roster reads like a list of things you wouldn’t want to relate to: Heroes Dead and Gone, Obskurity, Coercion, Lifeless Embrace, Kill the Last Hour, And the Hero Fails, Learn to Suffer, Men Shall Fall, Fate to Fall, and Desolate Demise. But really, death comes sooner or later, so…
It’s the third week of January. By now, if you’re like everyone else we know, you’ve broken your New Year’s resolution — popped that Vicodin, lost your gym membership card, hit the drive-through at Jack in the Box. We know a guy who resolved not to make any resolutions –…
SAT 1/15 Few poets and authors deserve a posthumous roasting more than Edgar Allan Poe. The Master of the Macabre, whose tales of woe and fright have haunted us for more than 150 years, will be “slammed” both literally and figuratively, again, on Saturday, January 15, at the fourth annual…
SUN 1/16 Very bad thoughts equal very bad health. Okay, so it’s not that simple, but you try boiling down the quirky indie film What the #$*! Do We Know!? to something rather elementary, Einstein! Still, Dr. Joe Dispenza, an Olympia, Washington-based chiropractor/author who makes a memorable appearance in the…
Tony Hawk talks as fast as he skates. When describing his “Boom Boom HuckJam Tour,” the legendary skateboarder races through an explanation of the tour’s title. “We use the term ‘hucking’ to refer to launching yourself in the air,” Hawk says. “And it’s not a competition. It’s more of a…
1/14 – 1/30 Some people say they’ll wear purple when they grow old. We say we’ll wear leopard print, poke the opposite sex in the buttocks with our canes, and meet at the retirement-home bench for daily arguments. That’s what Harold and Ben, the lead characters in the play A…
Many local bands rush to put out a CD as soon as they have enough material. Not Sistrum. The band’s debut CD, Ashes & Whispers, has been nine years in the making. Biding its time through several lineup changes and budget constraints, Sistrum continued to develop songs and tighten the…
WED 1/12 While the Blunt Club has been lighting up the Priceless Inn, 5014 South Price in Tempe, for almost three years, promoter Adam Dumper (a.k.a. Dumperfoo) is promising something decidedly dope on Thursday, January 6, when the third round of the “All B-Boys Armory Hip-Hop Invasion” goes down. Two…
Her career lasted eight years. Her legacy has lasted for more than 40. When Patsy Cline died in a plane crash in 1963, she’d released only three albums. Hundreds of reissues, compilations and tribute albums later, Cline’s become a cultural icon, a role she probably would have hated, according to…
You’d need a thousand tongues to taste every culture in New Orleans, and a four-CD boxed set with an 82-page, full-color book to appreciate the sundry musical styles meshing within the Big Easy. Doctors, Professors, Kings & Queens: The Big Ol’ Box of New Orleans contains more than five hours…
FRI 1/7 Sick of the slick, production-driven artwork that passes for hip in other galleries? Kathy Cone, artist and owner of the Cone Gallery, 1324 Grand Avenue, offers the sort of space where edgy art and music can flourish and provide an antidote to the cheesy Southwestern clichés you might…
