by K.C. Libman Taylor Swift is far from just a female-only icon at this point. The erstwhile country star’s crossover appeal has placed her firmly inside the pop pantheon, and it’s more apparent than ever that Swift’s infectious sound is the definition of radio-ready. Show me a red-blooded American male…
Review and Photos by Jonathan Alvira Big K.R.I.T.Club Red, TempeMay 24, 2013 The dim-lit venue suddenly became bright and the crowd awoke as the so-called “underground king” stormed on stage. With his southern hospitality accenting his country slang, Big K.R.I.T. expressed genuine love to his fans the moment he ran…
Firemen are the real heroes. Or maybe teachers — I can never remember. In any case, there will be lots of superheroes in town this weekend for Phoenix Comicon. Some of them will even be local musicians. But if you’re looking for a break from the convention — or just…
by Rick Giordano Death has always been one of the most predominant themes in heavy metal music, taking a backseat maybe only to Satanism. Death, disease, murder and chaos have accompanied heavy riffs since Sabbath first began playing them back in ’68. This dark subject matter is part of what…
“It’s Friday somewhere” isn’t strictly true — I don’t think the International Date Line works that way — but if Jimmy Buffett were to write a song to that effect, and it made you feel better about going to see The Presets and Dragonette tonight at the Marquee, I think…
Los Dias de la Crescent 2013 was defined by what’s local — the music, the beer, the food, the fans. This year’s schedule looked like a tightened-up version of last year’s format — and it somehow found a way to bring “Stairway to Heaven” into a celebration of Arizona music…
America wants to be close to Jay-Z and Beyonce. Desperately close. Hashtag close. Because they are officially the last celebrities who have not turned their life together into a weekly show on Bravo, they’ve hoovered up the country’s remaining supply of Camelot-style mythos and gravitas. And because it’s 2013, the…
Earlier in May, Justin Timberlake announced he would be coming through Phoenix on his enormous solo tour, which set off a concert-excitement bomb the likes of which hadn’t been seen since — well, since those Prince shows, I guess, even earlier in May. More recently, the Backstreet Boys announced they’d…
Do not cross Miranda Lambert. You can go see her perform on Thursday at Desert Sky Pavilion, and you can listen to her music, you can probably even say you’re a big fan, and you can go buy a T-shirt. But crossing her does not seem to be a good…
Welcome to Ask Willie D, where the Geto Boys MC answers reader questions about matters, in his own words, “funny, serious or unpredictable.” Something on your mind? Ask Willie D! Photo courtesy of Peter BesteBURNED BY THE RELATIVE I LOANED MONEY Dear Willie D: I loaned my cousin $500 more…
By Chris Parker Syracuse’s Ra Ra Riot — set to play Du Hot Club De Bizarre Thursday night — began playing college parties, and before long they’d found a strange, intoxicating sweet spot between spiky Pixies-inflected post-punk and chamber pop that earned them comparisons to fellow emerging New Yorkers Vampire…
Welcome to Ask Willie D, where the Geto Boys MC answers reader questions about matters, in his own words, “funny, serious or unpredictable.” Something on your mind? Ask Willie D! Photo courtesy of Peter BesteREPULSED BY A CO-WORKER’S BAD BREATH Dear Willie D: I am a female working at the…
One of the bands you can see this week around Phoenix has a famous song called “A Praise Chorus.” Another of the bands you can see this week titled the first song of their first album “Penis.” See which one of those bands is Jimmy Eat World after the jump!…
Prince will not be playing anywhere this weekend. He’s surprised me before, but I’m willing to make the call now and just be wrong if he shows up at “Rock the Purple,” which is not what you think it is, probably. In his stead: Lydia comes home in support of…
By Caleb Haley Usually it happens this way in the music industry: A band comes together based on its talent and, eventually, drugs and alcohol get in the way, tour dates get canceled, and members go their separate ways into substance-abuse rehabilitation and counseling. Rock/hip-hop group Rehab took the opposite…
Normally we showcase five interesting shows in Phoenix each week in this space. This week, Prince is playing four shows. It is, therefore, with the public interest in mind that we condense all four of those shows down to one White-Dwarf-dense ball of concert-recommendation. That and more after the jump:…
This weekend is Prince Eve. We understand that. But if you’re unable or unwilling to part with the kind of money it takes to see Prince in something smaller than an arena, you can divert yourself with any of these coming attractions:…
Phoenix, we’re surrounded. This year, we set out on a mission to find emerging creatives around the city who could use some cash for their next big projects. Truth is, there are countless individuals who continue to shape Phoenix through their visual art, performing art, design, online, culinary, and craft…
On Saturday, more than 3,000 people attended That Damn Show, a full day of performances by rock and punk bands like Bad Religion, Tiger Army, and The Faint at Mesa Amphitheatre. But according to several attendees, the outdoor concert — which was co-promoted by New Times and local online alt-rock…
There isn’t a Coachella this weekend, so far as I can tell — neither a real Coachella nor The Real Coachella, which honestly seemed like a better time. That leaves us, globally, with a notable shortage of people listening to music in weird outfits and from strange campsites. These five…
This week’s New Times cover story examines the music industry’s only 21st-century success story: The incredible boom in live music in general and festivals in particular. Since you might still be in the throes of a Coachella hangover — or maybe you’re getting ready to camp out at That Damn…
Brian Smith, onetime member of Gentlemen Afterdark and Beat Angels (and onetime New Times staff writer) reminisces about his late great bandmate, Kevin Pate. My old band Gentlemen Afterdark once had a demo deal with A&M Records. We were very, very young, and living in L.A, and recording at A&M…
