Our post-Thanksgiving-celebration repertoire usually goes like this: Meet up with tried-and-true friends, slam shots at the one neighborhood bar that’s open, then head for a late-night feast at Denny’s, all to purge those nasty things you wanted to yell at your in-laws when they, well, showed up for dinner. Thanks…
Thanksgiving has always been about kicking back with your family (however dysfunctional they may be) to break some bread and maybe crack a few skulls, to boot. But if you’re gonna be rocking the holiday solo (or can’t stomach another tumultuous T-Day with the nearest and dearest), you can always…
Dying Fetus is a band that we guaran-damn-tee will offend pretty much everyone under the sun. Whether it’s because of their horrific name, sociopolitical- and profanity-laced lyrics, chaingun-like death-metal sound, or frontman John Gallagher’s Cookie Monster vocals, it’s likely you’re gonna recoil in some fashion if you dare to catch…
Don’t break out the champagne just yet, Phoenix Suns fans. Though Nash, Amaré, Matrix, and the rest of the gang have been doing reasonably well at rocking the Pacific Division during the first few weeks of the 2007-2008 season, that doesn’t mean another trip to the NBA postseason is all…
In addition to being populated by dancing skeletons and severed heads, the artwork of Daniel Martin Diaz contains a surprisingly voodoo-esque appeal, imagery that reaches several centuries back and incorporates contemporary steampunk that could be classified as dreampunk. Inspired by Byzantine iconography, alchemical sketches, 16th-century anatomical engravings, votive offerings, and…
If your inner Cindy Lou Who is craving an electric parade, Santa’s arrival, fireworks, and a massive tree, then donate a can of food for parking and be in place for opening night of the annual APS Fantasy of Lights. The Mill Avenue District, a sparkly, sometimes-crazed wonderland from now…
Just like those idiot moths and mosquitoes that get fried by bug zappers, we often succumb to the bright and shiny. We regularly cook ourselves in pods lined with UV rods despite the fact that we live in one of the sunniest damn places on the planet. We’re addicted. So…
There’s always at least one old dude with a hot young chick at the club, grossing everyone out as they suck face by the bar. But we shouldn’t judge too harshly, because we’ve all been tempted by youth before. Just think of your friend’s younger sister who, even as a…
There’ve been a lot of plagiarizing rat bastards in music — folks like Miles Davis, Lauryn Hill, and D’Angelo — who either don’t pay songwriters and musicians for their services or who take credit for compositions so they can hoard the spotlight and the royalties. To this day, pianist, composer,…
Jesus was born, some other stuff happened, and we wound up with Sister, the feisty, habit-clad heroine of Late Nite Catechism, Late Nite Catechism II: Sometimes We Feel Guilty Because We Are Guilty, and, yes, Sister’s Christmas Catechism: The Mystery of the Magi’s Gold. “You get to know Sister more…
Man. It’s really happening. The Arizona State Sun Devils (9-1) are in prime position for their first-ever Bowl Championship Series berth. All that stands in their way — aside from the regular-season-concluding Territorial Cup — is a match-up against the USC Trojans (8-2), arguably the most successful college football team…
Someday, a raucous hardcore band from Scotland will unleash its sonic fury upon the unsuspecting ears of the world. That day is not today, which is okay, because we’ve all become comfortable with the enjoyably pop of bands hailing from Scottish hamlets like Glasgow (Belle & Sebastian, Franz Ferdinand). So…
Paintings by Xiao Shunzhi at Calvin Charles Gallery: After a few hours of viewing art, it sometimes feels as if I’ve rubbed my eyeballs with sandpaper. The visual wear makes everything blurry, and the only thing that brings focus back is seeing something truly excellent. Such was the case when…
The Princess Bride: 20th Anniversary Edition (MGM) As far as anniversary-edition DVDs go, The Princess Bride is crushingly disappointing: no Rob Reiner commentary track, no outtakes, no making-of doc, no nothing, save for a lousy game and a few short interviews with Robin Wright Penn, Mandy Patinkin, Christopher Guest, and…
Midway through the amiable children’s movie Mr. Magorium’s Wonder Emporium, there comes a speech that I’ll wager writer-director Zach Helm had been saving for future use ever since he discovered the Bard. As pop philosophy goes, it’s bracing stuff: Paraphrasing King Lear, Mr. Magorium (Dustin Hoffman), a 243-year-old “toy impresario”…
A doom-ridden pulp cabalist with a dark sense of purpose as well as humor, Richard Kelly shoots the moon with his rich, strange, and very funny sci-fi social satire, Southland Tales. Kelly’s debut, Donnie Darko, was the first post-millennial cult hit; his second feature, Southland Tales, achieved film maudit status…
Show of hands: Has anyone not heard of Guitar Hero at this point? You sir, in the back row clutching the Ratt cassette — you’re the only one? All right, pal, here’s your recap: Guitar Hero is the most popular music-based game ever made. It comes with a plastic guitar…
The Addams Family: The Complete Series (MGM) Amazing Grace (Fox) Annie Duke’s Texas Hold’em Supercourse (Big Vision) Berlin Alexanderplatz: The Criterion Collection (Criterion)Close Encounters of the Third Kind: 30th Anniversary Ultimate Edition (Sony) Gilmore Girls: The Complete Seventh Season (Warner Bros.) It’s a Wonderful Life: 2-Disc Collector’s Set (Paramount) Man…
Laura Spalding, 26, ditched her digs in Illinois to paint in the desert. Now, she’s a member of five15 gallery in downtown Phoenix and the preparator at Scottsdale Museum of Contemporary Art. For the past two years, Spalding’s life as a painter has been looking up — literally. She focuses…
Downtown’s been sprouting new buildings like a garden that grows new fall bounty. Right in the middle of this construction bumper crop is the Downtown Phoenix Public Market, which recently augmented its Saturday-morning hours with a new shopping night for you locavores (a.k.a. a person who exclusively eats food harvested…
Who’s got two arms twirling, two legs crisscrossing, eight wheels rolling, and hot funk flowing? That would be you at Soul Skate Roll & Bounce. The rolling freakout mates the thrills and spills of skating with spinning lights, disco balls, and a soundtrack heavy on the R&B and soul sounds…
I whine a lot about what a teardown town Phoenix is, about how buildings, no matter their significance, get knocked over all the time, taking with them what passes for “history” and “sense of place” around here. But there’s another Phoenix-centric trend that bears mentioning, one that almost offsets the…
