If you’ve never seen The Soup or have no grasp on what’s going on with celebs and reality television stars in Hollywood, you probably were a little lost at the Joel McHale show at Dodge Theatre last night. The E! host started off his New Year’s Eve stand-up act with…
For two weeks every December, the oldest FM radio station in the country, Columbia University’s WKCR, dedicates two continuous weeks to playing the sounds of J.S. Bach. Pretty rad, huh? Well, Phoenix has a live equivalent, the Arizona Bach Festival (formerly called American Bach). Beginning at 4 p.m. Sunday, January…
It’s the day after New Year’s Day. If you happen to be older than 25, you’re probably still hungover, so what you need is some great grub. No worries because all you have to do is indulge in the Sapna Cafe Brunch. The homely spot at 1301 Grand Avenue offers…
Yay, the New Year! Boo, the New Year’s hangover! Sorry for screaming at you with the exclamation points, especially if you’re reading this on New Year’s Day and your head is pounding from exterminating (rather than just celebrating) 2009’s end. But guess what? Solace can to be found with other…
Sometimes an artist cannot find words, so he must create a vocabulary through his art. Sixty miles east of Phoenix in the tiny mining/antiques town of Miami, Arizona, Ken Boe produces work like a true artist and philosopher by focusing on the discovery of the universe, both at hand and…
Unless you were dubbed the designated driver last night, there’s a good chance your New Year’s Day consists of a 20-count box of Alka-Seltzer tablets and a Snuggy. But as the old adage goes, there’s nothing like a 19th-century prostitute to liven up a still-hungover-from-Thursday Friday night. For that reason,…
We’ve seen some bizarre things on First Friday in Phoenix – fire-eaters, people dressed as Ghostbusters, some crazy half-naked chick sporting a bunch of red lipstick marks. We were guessing the last one was the result of a lost bet. Turns out it was a performance by local artist Kara…
The record-spinning, knob-twisting, and beat-juggling DJs of the Valley’s club scene can sometimes be quite the competitive lot. Every weekend the turntable titans of nights such as Solstice and the Shop attempt to drop the dopest tracks in an effort to encourage cash-spending urbanites aplenty to visit their swanky shindigs…
If idle hands are the devil’s tools, Allison Karow has nothing to worry about. As if getting her phalanges dirty while keeping Tempe bike co-operative Bike Saviours (which she help to found) going wasn’t enough, Karow manages to create in as many ways possible, evident by her solo exhibit. Karow’s…
Have you been smooch-less during New Year’s Eve past? Well, look no further than Scottsdale’s Ultimate Block Party. Because, once the clock hits midnight, there will be about 7,000 kisses to give out, and you should be able to score at least one. Hot. Just how ultimate will the shindig…
The Devils and Bruins take each other on in a Sunday matinee. Sun., Jan. 3, 2 p.m., 2010…
Photography has come a long way in the past twenty years. Film is practically obsolete, teens have better cameras than their parents, and, thanks to the magic of Photoshop, there’s no need to actually be in the same room when posing for a family portrait. Sigh. Local artist Corinne Geertsen…
People love rooting for an underdog, which is crap when you think about it. The Ivan Drago’s of the world work damn hard to get where they are; their reward is that their greatness automatically casts them as villains as soon as someone less talented shows up. Wanna root against…
The aggro folks that are talking junk on John Junker for picking the Boise State-Texas Christian match-up for the Tostitos Fiesta Bowl need to do something. Namely, get over it, yo, because it’s going to be an awesome game. Junker, the Fiesta Bowl executive director, could’ve selected a multi-loss team…
Have some rich friends living downtown? Well, this is the time to make them do you a favor so that you can view the Fort McDowell Fiesta Bowl Parade in person. Everybody should peep a parade live at least once, and you may watch for free from any legal spot…
Downtown Tempe’s annual New Year’s Eve blowout includes beer gardens, fireworks displays, street performers, and motocross-racer appearances. Thu., Dec. 31, 6 p.m.-1 a.m., 2009…
It rules when traditionally crap teams suddenly play all awesome, and there have been plenty of them this college-football season. Along with Temple and Idaho, habitual stink-up-the-joint clubs like the Iowa State Cyclones are going bowling, which is a super oddity. That sure means they’ll be super into playing the…
At a recent reading, author Sherman Alexie lamented his sons’ relationship to music. Gone are the days of waiting for physical albums to come out, waiting in line at Tower Records, peeling off the cellophane, and gathering ‘round the turntable in eager anticipation of the moment the needle hits virgin…
A lot of people think of action movies as a big ball of explosions and murder puns. When you boil them down, though, they are really just elaborate revenge fantasies. How that relates on a personal level is this: everyone’s been picked on by an a-hole; action movies allow us…
The late country and western legend Hank Williams is feted by Valley indie, blues, and Americana musicians, including Hans Olson, Jim Bachmann, Barefoot & Pregnant, Hashknife Outfit, Jack Shell, Shelby James, Jimmy Pines, Mark Zubia, Junction 10, and Chip Hanna. Sun., Jan. 3, 6 p.m., 2010…
The imaginative mind of Cornelius F. Van Stafrin III would certainly make for an interesting place to visit. It’s likely littered with as many eccentricities and curiosities as the experimental noise “songs” that the oddly-named artist creates. Made from objects and instruments as disparate as scrap metal and violins, his…
It’s a wonder that Sonic Youth manages to even release Sonic Youth records, given the flurry of activity that envelops Thurston Moore, Kim Gordon, Lee Ranaldo, Steve Shelley, and Mark Ibold outside of their work in the band. Their combined creative enterprises include books of poetry, ‘zines and record reviews,…
