Wayne Rainey is at it again.The owner of Holgas and MonOrchid can easily be credited as a major mover in the downtown arts scene.And tonight he’s debuting his latest art space, Bokeh Gallery, in the MonOrchid building…
What a drag.After eight years of business, the posh furniture and home boutique, haus modern living, on Central Ave and Highland is closing Sunday.Needless to say, we’re big-time bummed here at New Times about the news. We may even be too depressed to hit the clearance sale that is going…
I really do love to poke around little boutiques for unique treasures. It’s gotten to a point where most of my accessories come from small-time designers who craft at home. These days, I’m actually embarrassed to admit it if I’m wearing a scarf or hat that I picked up at…
Michael Allen Engstrom probably didn’t sell his soul to the devil in order to create the oil paintings featured in his “CrossRoads BLUES” exhibit at @Central Gallery. However, just in case, we’re going to place him on the dark-side watch, just because the works in this show are so good…
If there’s a moral to David Barker’s Dodging Bullets, playing again (hurray!) at ASU for one night only (boo!), it probably has something to do with being careful what one wishes for. Barker meant to spend his 2004 sabbatical from ASU (where he teaches in the Theater Arts Department) developing…
You can hate Kanye West’s ego, but you can’t quibble with his influences. Recently, the much-maligned rapper and producer announced his return to the studio after his Taylor Swiftus interruptus-influenced hiatus. Noting the responsibility of artists to document the struggles of the times, he name checked Maya Angelou, Nina Simone,…
In a place where there’s not even a major street dedicated to the late, great civil rights movement leader, a pretty cool MLK Day tradition has developed over the years in downtown: the Martin Luther King Festival & Commemorative March. At 9 a.m. Monday, January 18, join other folks at…
Scampering 13.1 or 26.2 miles is never a breeze, but if you’re choosing to do so for the first time, the P.F. Chang’s Rock ‘n’ Roll Arizona Marathon and 1/2 Marathon is the way to go. Much like rocking headphones at the gym to distract your jelly-approaching legs from hours…
Have you heard of this guy named Luis Gutierrez? On the tip of your brain? That may be because New Times recently wrote a cover story on the guy (“Paint on a Happy Face,” Malia Politzer, December 31, 2009). With a resume that includes the Heard Museum, the Phoenix Art…
A frugal dyke would never buy herself a special weekend out of town, because everyone else comes first: her mother, workmates, children, and definitely her pushy girlfriend. But, dammit, when is it your turn, frugal? Drop it like it’s hot and get to zGirl Club for the Club Skirts Party…
We’ve got a new year, a new theatre company, and a new take on an epistolary chestnut. Arizona stage veteran Eric Schoen (formerly of Southwest Shakespeare Company and Arizona Jewish Theatre) created Class 6 Theatre, a company that produces intimate shows with small groups of local actors. C6T launches its…
These days, we live our lives online. Whenever we sit down to eat, we feel the need to Tweet. Checking out a new band is just a click away on MySpace. And the dreaded relationship status change on Facebook ends romances (so sad). Just when you thought social-media fiends were…
Back in the day, any skilled dirt-bike rider could take his or her Yamaha or Husqvarna out into the acres of pristine desert of Maricopa County and peel out, catch air, or tear through the arid wilderness all day long. Now look at this place, with its cookie-cutter homes flanked…
For most of us, New Year’s resolutions have to do with shedding cellulite. For Ali Vincent, former winner of The Biggest Loser and the first female to snag the $250,000 prize by losing 112 pounds, it’s been there, done that. This year, the Mesa native is setting her sights on…
It’s all in the marketing. We’re not that excited about some productions that claim to present authentic music from Africa and South America when all of the performing musicians are locals, but we were sold after reading about the Phoenix Symphony-presented Target World Music Festival, which features acts such as…
Keepin’ it real is integral for a folk artist, so big ups to Phoenix (by way of Las Vegas) singer-songwriter Jacob Smigel for realizing that nothin’s realer than the messages on an old answering machine. His new album, Hope This Passes the Secretary, weaves Smigel’s lo-fi, often minimalist indie folk…
Some things in the past are better left forgotten, like bell-bottoms, balloon boy, or that time you ran naked through a public park after pounding one too many tequila shots. However, according to newly appointed Modified Arts’ co-director Kim Larkin, history can be a source of inspiration. “I thought it…
In part of its ongoing First Friday shows, the Phoenix Center for the Arts’ debut show of 2010 is a juried exhibition entitled “Japanese Friendship Garden: Photography Exhibition” and features images taken by members and lovers of the garden (Ro Ho En), located at Margaret T. Hance Park over the…
Here’s a potentially fun idea: Find yourself a soccer mom or Dockers dad – maybe your own, or your neighbors down the street — and say to them, “I bet you’d like Between the Buried and Me since they’re named after that Counting Crows song ‘Ghost Train.’ You should check…
We like to think of ourselves as snarky writers here in the Night & Day section, but this writer is having a little difficulty taking that approach with this piece. Even at the highest height of this section’s hilarity, we don’t hold a candle to the comic genius of Kathy…
Say what you want about the Cold War, but it made sports a lot more interesting. Competitions like the Olympics became a fierce cultural battle. Until Al-Qaeda gets their beach-volleyball team into the Summer Games, we just won’t have that in the post-Cold War era. If you’re looking for a…
In an early nod to Black History Month, Black Theatre Troupe is presenting Jeff Stetson’s riveting Fathers and Other Strangers this week and next. Stetson’s story, about a Black everyman who struggles to stand as a worthwhile example for his son, details the legacy of a faceless victim of America’s…
