Phoenix, your weekend’s planned. A Steady Rain @ Playhouse on the Park When Actors Theatre’s financial challenges pre-empted its season last winter, the arts community was discouraged indeed. But the troupe’s swimming on with a return to regular production: A Steady Rain, a take on the buddy-cop genre in which,…
Coffee: Elixir of the gods — or at least the sleep-deprived. Here in the Valley, there are plenty of places to get a fix of fresh-brewed coffee. But if you’re looking for a particularly satisfying jolt of caffeine we’ve narrowed down the options in this year’s Best of Phoenix® edition…
By Nick Keppler It’s a Tuesday night and I am sitting on a yoga mat in the back of a former grocery store in Pittsburgh, spreading my legs as far as they can go. I reflexively turn to see how the woman next to me is managing her dragonfly pose…
TLC/Courtesy of VH1[Editor’s Note: In his new column, award-winning goofball Shea Serrano writes about his life and times. Better put on your shoes because your socks are about to be blown off.] On Monday night I watched a movie about TLC, the most important all-girl rap group of all-time. It…
By Reyan Ali Pop music has long enjoyed — and idolized — partying, but over the last half-decade, songs about partying have grown increasingly hollow and obligated. Bangers like Katy Perry’s “Last Friday Night (T.G.I.F.)” and Ke$ha’s “Take It Off” are hymns of unadulterated debauchery, placing life-validating faith in boozing,…
Here’s photographic evidence of another awesome weekend in Phoenix. Did we take your picture? ASU Homecoming Celebrations in Tempe, 10/19/13 Arizona State University held its annual Homecoming on Saturday, October 19, in Tempe with multiple celebrations taking place on campus and along Mill Avenue before the ASU football team (5-2)…
From nightlife hangs to enticing exhibitions, your weekday plans are here. “Women Who Rock” @ Musical Instrument Museum Does Taylor Swift rock? That’s the consensus, as several items from the pop star, from clothing to handwritten lyrics, are part of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame’s “Women Who Rock:…
Important concert-going note: Until Friday, at the earliest, it is still at least a little weird to go to a show–whether it’s on this list or not–in a Halloween costume. We’re just trying to help. (View our complete concert calendar here.)…
From devilish dance performances to the darkest dark humor, your weekend plans are here. A Vampire Tale @ Phoenix Theatre’s Little Theatre This season Scorpius Dance Theater choreographer Lisa Starry will bring her popular Halloween-themed performance to the stage for the tenth time. Starry’s A Vampire Tale combines contemporary dance…
Not all happy hours are created equal. In this year’s Best of Phoenix® issue, we scoured the Valley to find the best places to grab a drink and a bite after a long day. Here’s a look at the seven best places to enjoy happy hour in Metro Phoenix…
Photo by Jaap BuitendijkChiwetel Ejiofor in 12 Years a Slave.On this week’s Voice Film Club podcast, Village Voice film editor Alan Scherstuhl and L.A. Weekly film critic Amy Nicholson disagree on Steve McQueen’s 12 Years a Slave — a beautifully shot film, contrasting the all-too-visible evil of mankind…
It seems like one has closed every month, lately–Hollywood Alley, Martini Ranch, Rocky Point Cantina–but the Valley is still blessed with enough music venues to make selecting some for each year’s Best of Phoenix a little nerve-wracking. In any case, we did it. Here are the music venues that picked…
From must-see art exhibitions to theater and outdoorsy endeavors, here are Jackalope Ranch’s top picks for things to do in and around Phoenix this week. “Georgia O’Keeffe in New Mexico: Architecture, Katsinam, and the Land” @ Heard Museum The brightly painted flowers and daring landscapes of American modernist artist Georgia…
For the second time in a row there’s a state fair show among these top five Phoenix shows this week. Please take it as read that its status as a Must See Show is partially but not entirely dependent on buying your favorite fair food in an enormous basket or…
Phoenix, your weekend is planned. Hannibal Buress @ Stand Up Live Hannibal Buress is a one-man-army of comedy; he’s hitting you from nearly every possible angle. Less than a month after visiting with Oddball Comedy & Curiosity Festival, the prolific stand-up comic returns with his own Rural Legend tour Friday,…
Arizona State Fair concerts aren’t like most concerts–and this isn’t even about the average age of the performers involved. They’re different because you can go to them almost by accident. Exhausted your fried food budget? Unwilling or unable to win your sweetheart a gigantic, unlicensed Angry Bird by shooting a…
It’s not easy competing with the fair. For one thing, it has a built-in audience; you can go to a fair concert on a whim, having gone there first to watch a team of expert divers or pig racing or whatever it is people do here in Arizona (I’m extrapolating…
© 2013 – Troublemaker StudiosTrejo in Machete Kills.In this week’s Voice Film Club podcast, our critics discuss Captain Phillips and Machete Kills, both out on Friday, October 11…
By Stan Bindell At this year’s Arizona Blues Showdown, Paul Cruize Blues Crew Band won in the band category and Juke Joint won in the solo/duo category. Winning means that these two bands will represent Arizona during the International Blues Challenge in Memphis, from January 21 through 25. More than…
By Catherine Downes With Depeche Mode on tour, we thought it’d be fun to dig through our heaping, and incredibly disorganized, collection of “vintage” press photos. Last time we rummaged through these stacks, we found some sweet Jesus and Mary Chain pics (score!) So for our entertainment, and hopefully yours,…
Best of Phoenix A’fare 2013 at Arizona Biltmore Phoenix joined us last night in celebrating the very Best of Phoenix at our annual Best of Phoenix A’fare. This year, the Arizona Biltmore’s Frank Lloyd Wright Ballroom provided the perfect location to honor vintage Phoenix. Some 30 restaurants from all over…
Phoenix, your week is planned. “Learn to Draw” Series @ Gangplank HQ Growing up, everyone enjoyed putting pencil or pen to paper to turn doodles into masterworks aimed for gallery walls or, at least, the refrigerator door. The world might have squeezed out your artistic aptitude, but you can get…
