In this age of illegal wiretapping and 9/11 conspiracy theories, it’s a wonder that Beth Ames Swartz admits she hides subliminal messages in her art. No worries; this isn’t They Live, so there won’t be any commands to “obey” or “marry and reproduce.” The colorful paintings in the Paradise Valley…
The long-lived troupe — which is celebrating its 20th anniversary this season — pays tribute to a trio of 20th-century giants: Martha Graham, Igor Stravinsky, and Pablo Picasso. Thu., Feb. 26, 7:30 p.m.; Fri., Feb. 27, 7:30 p.m.; Sat., Feb. 28, 7:30 p.m.; Sun., March 1, 2 p.m., 2009…
Grant Hill (pictured) and the Suns host new Raptors (and former Suns) Shawn Marion and Marcus Banks, who were recently shipped from South Beach to the Great White North in a Toronto-Miami trade for Jermaine O’Neal and Jamario Moon. Fri., Feb. 27, 7 p.m., 2009…
The great dance troupe performs a program of works that includes Festa Barocca, Blues Suite, Suite Otis, and Revelations. Sat., Feb. 28, 8 p.m.; Sun., March 1, 3 p.m., 2009…
In today’s music world, Esperanza Spalding is an enigma. For one, the 24-year-old musical prodigy plays upright bass, quite the rarity for the male-dominated instrument. The Portland, Oregon-raised, Berklee-schooled instrumentalist/composer/vocalist also sings while playing, and who can you name that does the same? But wait, there’s more. Spalding doles out…
Rage Against the Machine’s Zach de la Rocha (pictured) will join this march to protest the alleged “human rights violations” of Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio toward migrants and Latinos. Sat., Feb. 28, 9 a.m., 2009…
Lawrence Golan leads the Phoenix Symphony Orchestra as it takes audiences on an nusical trip around the world. Such exotic-sounding works as Rimsky-Korsakov’s Scheherazade and Tchaikovsky’s Arabian Dance from The Nutcracker will be performed. Sun., March 1, 2 p.m., 2009…
Chris Martinez may be the best local rapper you’ve never heard of — but not for much longer. The 22-year-old producer and MC, who records under the name KonGeror (or, more recently, just K.), has called Arizona home since his family moved to the Valley from El Paso, Texas, nearly…
If you’ve been wondering why all the cool obscure vinyl from places like Eastside Records and Tracks in Wax has disappeared lately, chances are these platters have found their way into the collection Djentrification. Don’t worry, they ain’t hoarding all the wacky wax from you charlatans (à la Jack Black…
On a sweltering Friday night in mid-July, an experimental punk band called Janis Joplin Crap N Vomit takes the stage at Club Red in Tempe, looking like a trio of misfit superheroes. Singer and guitarist Dana Stern dons a sailor’s cap and a red, white, and blue face mask that…
Hyphy sure has faded quite a bit in popularity over the past couple years. The rambunctious and uptempo Bay Area hip-hop subgenre, which helped introduce “ghost riddin’ the whip” into the national consciousness, blew up massively in 2006 thanks in part to E-40 and his Lil’ John-produced hit single “Tell…
I live in fear of a few things: That Frank Rich will retire. That the writers of Lost will add yet another character to the show. That someone will notice that Town and Country Shopping Center looks about the same as it always has, and set about screwing it up…
I got this job because I met my editor, Amy Silverman, and she pressured me to write an art review.I tried to squirm out of it and never really gave her a straight answer. Then, one day, she just walked up to me and said, “Okay, ready for your first…
courtesy of GAPT Oh, wheel of fortune: The king and the miller’s daughter meet cute in Rumpelstiltskin. Something’s terribly wrong when some of our own local professionals, the puppeteers of Great Arizona Puppet Theater, get passed over every year at Oscar time. What’s that? They aren’t in films? Well, okay…
If you’re a native Phoenician, you may see the Heard museum’s permanent collection as a total snooz-fest. Thank the public school curriculum for drilling us with annual field trips to the Heard during elementary school for that. You can only mash corn in a stone bowl so many times until…
I won’t even pretend to understand exactly what artist Karolina Sussland is doing in “Goodness…in Progress,” a one-day-only showing of Sussland’s latest artistic foray mounted on Saturday at Figarelli Galleries Back Room in Scottsdale’s Cattletrack artists’ compound. In fact, I am so mathematically challenged that I usually start drooling and…
I’ve blogged enough about all the things going on tonight. And, since I assume my readers follow my every suggestion, I’ll give you something to do tomorrow as well…OBEY! I have to admit, after this and this, I’ve become a bit of a fan of the fashion gallery at Phoenix…
Tempe Little Theatre was founded nearly 40 years ago (full disclosure: I’ve worked with them in three of those four decades, as a performer, an elected officer, a director who was paid a small stipend, and one who wasn’t). Their bylaws-mandated preference to eschew a traditional community-based fundraising board of…
There’s a fine line between hunter and prey. Though nature clearly assigns roles within the food chain, one small change in the status quo and Fluffy the Rottweiler may take a chunk out of his owner, or a trained wildlife expert gets a stingray barb through the heart. These changing…
Fanboys is meant for the dude who’s content to simply stare at an Imperial stormtrooper’s empty helmet for 90 minutes. It’s for the two childhood friends who parted ways back in junior high over a dispute about whether Captain James T. Kirk could kick Han Solo’s ass. And it’s for…
Compare and contrast Laurent Cantet’s terrific The Class with any of the following schoolroom chestnuts — Mr. Holland’s Opus, Dangerous Minds, or To Sir, With Love. Note the structural similarities: misbehaving students, an educator who wants them to succeed, and big thoughts about the classroom as urban microcosm. Discuss the…
The Big Three (Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce, Ray Allen) and the rest of the reigning world champs pit their topnotch D against the once-again running-and-gunning Suns. Sun., Feb. 22, 12:30 p.m., 2009…
