Nightlife

Phoenix Afrobeat Orchestra’s lead singer, Camille Sledge, pulls off one helluva job. She’s the vocalist and “leader of rituals” for the Valley band that’s most likely to make you think — and make you shake it. No small feat, and one that’s more awe-inducing still when a quick headcount reveals that the band she helms features a whopping 16 members. But commanding an audience’s attention with her voice kinda runs in the fam. You might’ve heard of Sister Sledge? Yeah, that essential Philly soul trio comprised her mom, Debbie, and aunts.

Named for the Isle of Man motorcycle race, Roadhouse is a fitting title for this motorcycle and regular cycle neighborhood dive bar in south Scottsdale. There’s a punk vibe inside the wood-paneled walls (one of them supporting a massive print of Brigitte Bardot) of the two-room hangout, and when owner Skoog and crew aren’t hosting live shows or DJs, the jukebox is usually on full blast. Packed with punk, rock, punk rock, and lots of outlaw country, you’ll typically hear jams from early AFI, NOFX, Hank III, The Pixies, Manic Hispanic, Agent Orange, Johnny Cash, and others. There are also quite a few punk and country compilations featuring everyone from Strung Out to Johnny Paycheck. You can also look forward to the high-end whiskey and craft beer at the bar, the custom-felt pool table, the shady smoking patio, and some of your new favorite bartenders and drinking buddies.

Who puts the “eff you” in fun? The Rock. And we don’t mean Dwayne Johnson. This Melrose Curve gay bar is a go-to for karaoke — and it’s no slouch when it comes to drag shows and dance parties, either. On Monday nights, however, karaoke queens take over the small dive. You might not encounter would-be pro pop stars on the mic, and that’s totally the point. Here, it’s about enthusiasm, vodka cocktails, and not necessarily about showing off your wannabe Christina Aguilera pipes. Nobody’s gonna be mad if you just so happen to belt out some flawless Whitney or Dolly. Same goes if you can’t quite carry a Britney tune.

Ryan Rousseau is a man of few words and a whole lotta records. When the longtime rocker isn’t fronting psych-punk outfit Destruction Unit (or one of his many other musical projects), chances are good you’ll find him out and spinning select vinyl oddities at Valley Bar or The Womack under the moniker DJ Gila Man. Expect stoned psychedelic grooves, outer-space trips, and assorted far-out sounds when Rousseau mans the ones and twos. In other words? The Gila Man will serve up out-there shit that’s probably playing nowhere else in town.

You might know Les Sias better as Les735 or simply DJ Les. Regardless, the Phoenix turntablist knows a thing or three about scratching. Sias showed off his mad spinning skills during the 2017 DMC Phoenix Regional DJ Battle at The Rebel Lounge. Let’s just say he wowed the crowd while going head-to-head with the Southwest’s most notable scratch kings, because Sias earned himself a spot at the DMC National DJ Battles, held in August at New York City’s Highline Ballroom. Les took his tables on the road, and the trip marked the Valley DJ’s second shot at competing at the national showdown, as he also competed back in 2013.

What is Elaine’s fake phone number? Which Seinfeld episode title is the only one to not start with “The?” If you could possibly know the answer to these questions, your place is Seinfeld Trivia at Valley Bar. This free, basement-based competition is known as The Trivia Night About Absolutely Nothing, and they are right. What is Jerry’s apartment number? You see? Team names are always fun, like “They’re Real and They’re Spectacular” and “Cherry Binaca,” and prizes include everything from big stickers of Kramer and George to muffin tops and Junior Mints. Seinfeld Trivia is hosted by Emily The Lewis, and music is often provided by DJ Shane Kennedy. Craft cans are often a dollar off, and there is but one major rule: no phones.

Leave it to Anwar Newton and Dan Thomson to turn something called Literally the Worst Show Ever into literally one of the most talked-about events in downtown. The local comedians teamed up back in 2015 to launch the underground variety show, and they’ve been more or less selling out tickets ever since. Almost every month, Newton and Thomson take the stage with a live band and four comics of their choosing. What follows is two hours of well-planned unpredictability and entertainment. Get your tickets fast and grab a seat early, because Literally the Worst Show Ever is currently one of best ways to spend a Friday night.

If sports bars are supposed to be large, dark rooms with wall-to-wall TV screens airing every game under the sun, and maybe a lengthy, Italian-themed menu of pizza, wings, subs, and beer, then Santisi Brothers in north central Phoenix knows how to satisfy. Set in the Bell Canyon Pavilions off Interstate 17, Santisi Brothers has more than 100 televisions and features the “Wide Wall of Sports” — meaning one wall alone has over 60 televisions (including 11 65-inch screens). This joint also runs every operation from fantasy football and paint nights to karaoke, poker, and a game room with pool tables and arcade cabinets. Of course, super-loud football games and fights are best paired with calzones, strombolis, and their famous garlic knots.

It’s safe to say pool halls were once a hazy place where cigarette-smoking players were only cautious about not getting ash on the table’s felt. That scene is part of a bygone era — in fact, if you ask us, there are far too few old-school pool halls in the Valley — except when it comes to the Hambone Sports Bar. This Mesa pool bar is technically a patio, so dress accordingly, and smoke ’em if you got ’em. Hambone doesn’t have as many tables or rules as a full-on hall, but it makes up for it in character. Marked by the classic neon sign featuring a bow-tied laughing pig and promising dancing and cocktails (don’t be fooled by the “grill” part of the sign, there isn’t a menu), Hambone is said to date back to 1958. It currently holds five or more pool tables and features a jukebox, an X-rated claw machine, dancing, darts, arcade games, and of course, drinking and smoking.

Founded by local pool businessman Thomas Lopez, Slope Records has an old-school punk sensibility. You won’t find modern indie rock or electronic pop — it’s strictly raw, aggressive punk. Lopez grew up here, in west Phoenix, and his love of punk flourished here. The label is home to some modern bands, including scuzzy rockers Scorpion Vs. Tarantula, the garage gospel of The Christian Family, and the post-skate punk of The Father Figures, but it’s big into the classic punk game, issuing records by Phoenix hardcore legend Exterminators, The Mighty Sphincter, and The Feederz, whose WWHD: What Would Hitler Do channels Trump-era paranoia via vintage punk rage.

The seminal shoegaze act Alison’s Halo was founded in Tempe by couple Adam and Catharine Cooper and Lynn Anderson. (Alison was the name of the band’s drum machine.) Though the group only released one 7-inch before moving on to other projects, a collection of Alison’s Halo’s recordings was released in 1998 and found tastemakers across the nation who’ve championed them as pioneers whom indie snobs oughta know. In 2017, Manufactured Recordings reissued that compilation, titled Eyedazzler, with a limited-edition CD, in digital form, and — for the first time ever — on vinyl. It’s a spacey, noisy must-have, snob status notwithstanding.

The drag scene in this town is anything but a drag, and Friday nights at Plazma in the Coronado district prove it. The rules to Celia Putty’s Freaky Friday are simple: There’s no cover if you order a cocktail, stay open-minded, and get ready to join a conga line at the end of the show. One of the Valley’s staple drag queens, Celia Putty has started the show at 9 p.m. on the Plazma stage for years, and it usually begins with opening acts from friends like local queens Egypt, Coco St James, and Devina Ross. Expect jokes, gowns, costumes, lip-syncing, dancing, a weird movie playing on the flat-screens in the background, and this being Celia Putty, a lot of props.

Ali Tomineek has no apologies. He made that clear on his 2016 mixtape I Ain’t Sorry. What the Arizona-born independent rapper does have? A cool 100,000 YouTube followers who keep tabs on the speed demon’s latest flows. He first found an audience while attending Peoria High School, rapping curse-free verses during the school’s video announcements. He’s taken that vibe worldwide to a massive audience (Tomineek says one of his videos hit a million views before it was hacked) he’s dubbed the 31 Squad. In May 2017, Tomineek released his debut full-length record, #FridayFlow, snagged a top spot on Billboard‘s Heatseekers Mountain chart, and made an appearance on local hip-hop radio haven The Beatlocker.

Let’s get to the point, shall we? The Darts fucking rock — and deliver on the promise to “make your head slam and your feet shake.” The garage-psych band of badass women have the albums to prove it. That’s two EPs, to be exact, and one LP. Nicole Laurenne (formerly of Love Me Nots and Motobunny), Michelle Balderrama (Brainspoon), Christina Nunez (Love Me Nots), and Rikki Styxx (Dollyrots) took the band’s noisy, sexy songs on tour for the summer — and through Europe. But the girls are back in town, and recently dropped Me.Ow, a full-length debut that was recorded by Bob Hoag and pressed on pink vinyl.

Hometown folk-punk heroes AJJ have been at it for years now. To celebrate a decade of the band’s seminal record, People Who Eat People Are the Luckiest People in the World, founding members Ben Gallaty and Sean Bonnette played not one, but five sold-out concerts at downtown DIY venue The Trunk Space. Besides a sweaty good time, the duo formerly known as Andrew Jackson Jihad played the album front to back — and tossed in requests from the audience, who knew every single word. A testament to both the venue and hardworking rockers (who tour relentlessly and are now signed to Asian Man Records), the packed shows are proof that people in Phoenix love their local bands. The feeling’s mutual.

The 2017 Arizona Music and Entertainment Hall of Fame induction ceremony was a star-studded event for fans of jangle-pop, grunge, and The Boss. Valley bands and musicians including The Gin Blossoms and Nils Lofgren (the guitarist and longtime Springsteen sideman) rocked the stage at Celebrity Theatre, which was also being welcomed into the hall of fame that late August night. But perhaps most notable was the reforming of Meat Puppets’ O.G. lineup: Cris and Curt Kirkwood, along with drummer Derrick Bostrom. It was the first time the three founding Puppets had performed together since New Year’s Eve in 1995. And it was fucking righteous.

When a dive bar gets a makeover, the neighborhood draws its collective breath. Will they still have darts? What’s going to happen to all that wood paneling? Can I still order three SoCo limes for a party of one without being judged? Luckily, the crew behind Dilly Dally’s remodel a couple of years ago made all the right moves. While slightly spiffier than it was in 2015, the Dillz has maintained that perfect blend of cheap beer, questionable music, and lights low enough for you to make some bad decisions. Diehards might lament the “Arcadiazation” of this pub, but we don’t mind the bar keeping up with its increasingly fancy neighbors in Gaslight Square, especially when that means a huge new window. Keep the cheap beer flowing.

Though this local hangout is hard to find behind a bustling Starbucks, the Swizzle Inn draws more than its fair share of customers. Weekend patrons and Thursday night stool-warmers are not hard to come by, but the real charm is found in the day-drinking crowd. It’s dark, of course, with the only light coming from the decorated atrium (there’s usually a holiday theme of whatever sort), and the occasional swinging open of the heavy front door. Pro tip: Come here during the holidays to see every square inch of this place covered in twinkle lights. Around since 1996, and previously the Starlight Lounge, the Swizz has daily specials, a pool table, plenty of seating, silly signs on the wall, a decent selection of ’80s and country on the jukebox, and more important in these kinds of places, clean bathrooms. And you can tell who’s in for the long haul when someone pays with plastic, because there’s a $10 card minimum.

Two bands loom large in recent New Times cover curse history. There’s The Format, the early-aughts indie rock project from Nate Ruess and Sam Means. That duo broke up in 2008, two years after they reclined smiling on the cover of this publication. And you’ve got Dear and the Headlights, who packed it in two years after their 2009 cover. Both acts hit the big time — and members of both have gone on to found new projects. Dig a little deeper into the ol’ memory bank and you might recall The Medic Droid, who broke up seven whole days after their cover. Will the curse continue? Well, we’d be the first to admit that it’s not the most consistent of hexes. But it’ll be worth checking in with Futuristic and Destruction Unit in a minute.

We’ve heard that wishing on a star is a surefire way to get what you want. But what star should you wish upon? Are there more prestigious stars with a higher success rate of granting wishes? Is that even a star to begin with, or are you wishing on a 747? Just to be safe, we recommend going to one of the Phoenix Astronomical Society’s free public star parties, an all-ages event where you can look to the night skies in the company of some knowledgeable amateur astronomers and your fellow star neophytes. Events are usually, but not always, held at Paradise Valley Community College’s Black Mountain Campus in far north Scottsdale, where the distance from the city lights helps you scan the heavens that much more effectively. You can bring your own telescope, or PSA members bring their own for the public to look through. Either way, you know you’ll have an excellent view of the sky — the better to choose a star to wish on.

Yucca Tap Room has been scheduling live music since the Hu family (notice it’s Hu’s Yucca Tap Room on the sign out front) started hosting bands in 1989. The classic wood-paneled walls of the Yucca’s original music room create the perfect setting for local and touring punk acts, as many a punk fan would most likely be drinking there anyway. The Tempe dive bar and grill has welcomed some well-known bands to its short stage in 2017, including Michigan ska giants Mustard Plug, the Boston-based Big D & The Kids Table, Zeke, and San Diego’s The Bombpops. Of course, local bands like The Venomous Pinks, The Rebel Set, and the psychobilly-leaning Creepsville 666 also fill up a Yucca flier. The classic Tempe music venue also hosts the annual Ska Prom, SkaFest, and the 666th Annual Punk Rock Halloween Bash.

FORM 2017 wasn’t a perfect festival. Check-in on Friday was bumpy. Wait times to get from a parking lot to the experimental northern Arizona arts community of Arcosanti were out of control. And, of course, it was hella hot. But by the time everyone settled in on Friday evening, all the earlier drama blew away with the breeze. Solange took the stage in head-to-toe red for a headlining set in the amphitheater. The R&B singer led her band through new classics from her masterful record A Seat at the Table and delved back into her early catalog for weirdo art pop and bizarro soul. With a minimal stage setup, postmodern dance routines, and a crystalline voice, she presented the perfect antidote to 2017’s hideousness, singing about blackness and beauty, pride, sorrow, and joy.

Alberto Ríos describes the moment when he learned that the band U2 was sharing one of his poems during their current tour as “thrilling and out of the blue.” So out of the blue, in fact, that Arizona’s first poet laureate learned of this from his son, whose friend had gone to see the band. The friend recognized Ríos’ words on a giant screen — from “The Border: A Double Sonnet” — before the band took the stage. The 28-line poem begins:

The border is a line that birds cannot see.

The border is a beautiful piece of paper folded carelessly in half.

The border is where flint first met steel, starting a century of fires.

The poem is lovely and so is the music of U2. We think it’s the perfect mashup, and we’re glad Ríos does, too.

Leave it to metal singer and longtime restaurant industry pro Grace Perry to give us the pitch-perfect downtown dive. It was love at first sight when the former frontwoman of Landmine Marathon threw open the doors to the wood-paneled 50-person hangout, complete with cozy booths, a stuffed javelina, cheap beer, and the vintage arcade shooter Revolution-X. (Mhm, that’s the Aerosmith game.) Our favorite part, though? It’s the jukebox, stocked with Perry’s picks ranging from early-aughts boy bands and Big Star to Andrew W.K. and, yeah, a little Landmine Marathon.

Charlie Levy did it again. In August, the longtime Phoenix concert promoter behind Stateside Presents teamed up with Live Nation to open his third downtown concert venue, The Van Buren. An impeccably designed 1,800-person music hall, the spot opened with a sold-out set from Cold War Kids and has a lineup of must-see concerts in the coming months. Located in a revamped auto dealership, the venue has multiple bars, a mezzanine for a bird’s-eye view, and tiles worthy of the #ihavethisthingwithfloors Insta tag. More impressive than the gorgeous cement walkway in the lobby? The super-friendly staff and security crew, who are easily the nicest metal detector-wielding bag-searchers we’ve ever encountered. Period.

DIY, BYOB, BAMF — pick the acronym you like best. They all apply to The Lunchbox, an itty-bitty venue just off Calle 16. Dannie Levie founded the spot in October 2016 as a sort of one-stop shop for local and touring bands. It’s a print shop by day, offering screen-printing, graphic design, and cassette duplication, among other services. And on select evenings, the 100-capacity music venue hosts bands like The Darts, A Giant Dog, and Slow Moses. What it lacks in space, it makes up for in perks for the artists. All performances are recorded, filmed, and photographed — and the media are turned over to the bands post-show.

For a spell in 2016, The Trunk Space was kinda homeless. After leaving its longtime spot on Grand Avenue (and having its iconic Luster Kaboom mural painted over), the Valley’s premier DIY art space occasionally programmed concerts at The Newton. But it just wasn’t the same as the lovably dumpy spot where bands like AJJ cut their teeth. Cut to last fall, and Steph Carrico and company shared great news: T-Space would once again have a permanent base for up-and-coming indie musicians at the Grace Lutheran Church. The extra-heartwarming part? Kaboom’s green geek-beast mural was re-created as an indoor painting behind the stage. Just like home.

We can’t name a downtown music venue that has inspired so much change — and so quickly — as Crescent Ballroom. Since Stateside Presents founder Charlie Levy opened the spot in 2011, the Valley’s music scene hasn’t been the same. A constant hub of activity, the 550-capacity club hosts live music every night, serves up burritos and cocktails, and just happens to be a great place to catch a concert, whether an up-and-coming local band is releasing a fresh record or your indie faves are rolling through town. A place where there’s always something to do? We didn’t have that before Crescent, and we’re so thankful Levy and company carved out such a space.

Yes, this is the best extra-large music venue in town, but it’s so much more than that. It’s also al fresco. There’s something unforgettable about stretching out on a lawn during an outdoor concert. Call it phantom Coachella syndrome, but Ak-Chin Pavilion perfectly satisfies that summery quest for a place to sit cross-legged with a really big beer while bands play through a breeze. The sprawling venue can hold 20,000 people — 8,000 under its roof and the other 12,000 on the grassy hillside. In 2017, the west Phoenix venue formerly named for Cricket, Desert Sky, and Blockbuster has hosted Jimmy Eat World, Dead & Co., and Future. Pretty great reasons for taking it outside.

A neighborhood bar by day, often a music venue by night, Time Out Lounge caps the end of the Huntington Square Shopping Center plaza in central Tempe. A local hangout under the same ownership since 1988, Time Out hosts comedy and DJ nights, but loudest of all are the nights promised by the many colorful flyers decorating the walls and flat surfaces of most of the bar. Bands range in genre from metal to punk to indie to jam and back again, and don’t worry, there isn’t a seat in the house where you won’t hear every single note. Local outfits fill up multi-slot evenings like Night of the AZ Punks and the Ghost Mother tape release show, while touring acts might ask you where to grab something to eat while hanging out in front. Covers don’t usually go above $5, though most bands just ask for a donation and for you to have a good time.

Of course, you can count on the Rebel Lounge marquee to let you know what bands are playing this week and when the next Emo Night PHX is going down, but the Rebel crew likes to go above and beyond, providing plenty of drive-time chuckles, too. Whether noting how happy the staff is the 2016 presidential election is almost over (to be fair, that was when we all figured the outcome would be different) or posting bad Yelp reviews for all Indian School Road motorists to see, the staff at the Rebel are as good at crafting messages as they are at throwing great rock shows.

First, let’s state the fact that The Rebel Lounge used to be The Mason Jar. Around since 1979, The Mason Jar saw bands like Green Day, Rage Against the Machine, Nirvana, Tool, and Guns N’ Roses in the ’80s and ’90s. Its last days were spent hosting turn-of-the-century punk and hardcore bands on its small stage — so much so that proprietors had to grease the rafters to keep onlookers from getting a pair of dingy Vans to the face when kids would grab on and swing around during harder sets. Now, as The Rebel Lounge, this familiar space hosts a multitude of touring and local acts under the eye of promoter Stephen Chilton of Psyko Steve Presents. Since the space’s 2015 rebirth, Phoenix showgoers have seen national and local acts like Chicano Batman, The Maine, Saddles, Venom Inc., Fall of Troy, and more.

As if there could be any question: Bob Corritore’s Rhythm Room remains the Valley’s best blues joint. Open since 1991, Corritore’s spot plays host to local and touring acts, but it really shines when it comes to its owner’s genre of choice. The renowned harmonica player — and host of KJZZ’s Those Low Down Blues — performs at his club pretty regularly, and makes sure the concert calendar’s stocked with notable players from across the country. What it lacks in modern updates, it makes up for in live music. Where else in the Valley could you catch Carvin Jones, The Sugar Thieves, Sistahs Too, and Marshall Crenshaw?

Debit-card users beware: Roman’s Oasis is a cash-only country bar in the deep West Valley with enough activity to keep you there all night — or day. You can easily spot this honky-tonk thanks to the tractors, large rooster, and wagon wheels on full display in the bar’s front area along the road. Inside Roman’s Oasis — named for the Alabaman-turned-Arizonan who established the joint in 1988, which was followed by the opening of Roman’s County Line in 1991 — you’ll find a full kitchen, two dance floors, shuffleboard, license plates, country music memorabilia, and plenty of bar space. It’s all lit by the multitude of neon beer signs, and there is often an event calendar full of dance lessons, off-track betting, card games, darts, and live country music.

The overriding rule in Scottsdale’s nightlife district is to go as all-out and over-the-top as possible, as evidenced by the bright lights, enormous dance floors, and blaring soundtracks. So it’s remarkable when a place like Ellure Lounge comes along and trumps the competition with its subtlety, style, and sophistication. The Stetson Drive lounge and dance club, which opened in January, offers a posh atmosphere featuring leather and suede seating, mahogany floors, candlelit tables, and walls adorned with crushed velvet. A floor-to-ceiling waterfall greets patrons near the front door, and a color-changing LED wall behind the bar offers tasteful mood lighting. Ellure’s seasonal drink menu features martinis and other high-end cocktails made with desert botanicals and locally sourced ingredients. And the DJs behind the mixers tend to spin more house music, funk, and rock instead of the latest club bangers. There’s even a private entrance in the back for VIPs and big spenders eager to avoid the crowds. Put simply, there’s a definite allure to Ellure.

Not long ago, a small group of creative types from Tempe formed a group called Mutiny Phoenix, and started hosting dance nights on the regular. One of these monthly get-togethers was the Riot! Women’s Dance Night — held the first Saturday of the month from May 2016 to June 2017 at the Palo Verde Lounge (they usually moved the pool table). Sadly, that night’s over. But as Mutiny Phoenix, the anti-authoritarian social event organizers continue to host female-focused nights like Spellbound at The Bikini Lounge, with features rotating DJs, jams by everyone from Missing Persons to M.I.A. to No Doubt to The Knife, and whatever you want up at the bar. We have high hopes for the group’s next move. Entry is free, though often the group encourages donations to LGBTQ organizations.

New kid on the block Club VOLT hit the scene in April and hasn’t let up since. The bar’s grand opening featured RuPaul’s Drag Race queen Shea Coulee. Since then, the club’s hosted a slew of other RuGirls, including season nine’s thinking queen herself, Sasha Velour. While the touring entertainment’s lovely, we’re totally partial to the regular programming. Go-go boys rule the roost on Saturday nights, Fridays feature the 4some Revue, and you can’t go wrong with Dollar Drink Thursdays. Premium well cocktails and domestic drafts for a buck? Oh girl, we are there.

Everyone’s favorite Park Central Mall hangout also happens to be the Valley’s best gay bar. Kobalt makes the grade for two main reasons: killer karaoke nights and even better happy hour specials. But what keeps locals returning to this CenPho hot spot is the community vibe. Service is great, and the staff is friendly. And these folks know how to host events. Whether it’s show tunes on Saturdays, all-day happy hour on Fridays, or drag bingo on Mondays, Kobalt has you covered every night of the week. And we certainly aren’t mad about the free popcorn and condoms.

Kinda gay. Kinda goth. Kinda sounds like the perfect combo, no? That’s the vibe you’ll find at Stacy’s @ Melrose, a central Phoenix staple of the LGBTQ community. As the name indicates, the bar is located on the Melrose Curve, a stretch of Seventh Avenue that’s long been known for being gay- and lesbian-friendly. And Stacy’s has fit right in since opening in 2013. Inside the bar, which you might mistake for a church at first glance, patrons can expect tasty cocktails, craft beer, evenings dedicated to music trivia bingo and house music, and the long-running Sour Times dark indie night on Wednesdays, when drinks are two for one.