My friend Ruth Beaumont often says, “If the play is boring, you can always just stare at the stage décor.” Unfortunately for me, the set for Stray Cat Theatre’s Abraham Lincoln’s Big Gay Dance Party was austere and simple; there wasn’t much to look at. Too bad. Because I was…
The brainiacs behind the scenes at Chandler’s Gangplank are a rather handy lot. Not only can the folks at the local technology-based collaborative space wield soldering guns or screwdrivers with aplomb, they also know how to handle a hockey stick. Every week, members gather on the rooftop of parking garage…
Lord Naritsugu (Gorô Inagaki) is a royal terror, and the court fears Caligula-like horrors should he come into his royal succession. Samurai Shinzaemon Shimada (Koji Yakusho) is secretly recruited to preclude this possibility with his sword, leading the title’s dirty baker’s dozen on a hit-job quest. Set in 1844, in…
Feeling lucky? Then hit up the tables at this North Scottsdale bar and restaurant during its weekly poker night and test your skills as a card sharp. Texas Hold’em games are played at seven different tables starting at 7 p.m. on Tuesday and for those lucky (or skilled) enough to…
Looks like Sundays in Phoenix are getting a little spicier. Local mixologists and favorite cocktail gurus Jason Asher and Casey Wallin are back behind the bar at Mabel’s on Main with a weekly event for all lovers of vintage drinks and funky vinyl records. Mabel’s kicks off its weekly Sunday…
Happy international Geek Pride Day. Live it up — you’ll have another 364 days to sew your Comicon costume, hack into your wannabe girlfriend’s Facebook account, code the latest forum on your video game blog, plot internet revenge, and pose counterpoints to all of the above arguments in a variety…
Alyssa Aragon may have an early start to the local street-, nightlife-, and event-photography game, but her skills behind the lens have been seasoned by years involved with the local hip hop scene.Aragon started taking photos three years ago for a friend’s custom car shop, Kreepin Kustumz, and caught the…
When New Times blogger Michelle Martinez and her partner, musician E.J. Rodriguez, are not watching movies, they’re talking about them.They’ve even been known to stop a movie to discuss it. Michelle: At times, 13 Assassins was so violent, I had to close my eyes. There are just some things you…
Elizabeth Rossi has a dream job a lot of fashion-forward females would die kill for: she’s a personal shopper at Barneys New York. And because she’s constantly pairing customers with outfits, shoppers with handbags, and Barneys regulars with the latest must-haves, she knows how to shop like a pro. Rossi…
Artist: Irma SanchezMedium: Mixed media illustration on Pantone paperI created this because Phoenix is a lot about the bird: Growth, Rebirth, Growth. It takes a special type of individual to live in the desert, and Love has a lotto do with rebirth, so … this is my way to honor…
Pamela Swynford De Beaufort is one bad-ass babe. As one of the many vampiric femme fatales who populate the fictional world of HBO’s True Blood, she can not only kick ass, but can do so in style. And much like her character, actress Kristin Bauer isn’t afraid to pull any punches.The…
For anyone who is a fan of cycling or just likes to ride a bike, getting to a pro race should be a top priority. The sights, sounds, sensations and access of the pro tour allow fans to get right into action, and best of all there’s no ticket price.Unfortunately,…
One new idea for every day in 2011. We’re talking big, small, local, international, in action and on the drawing board. Here’s today’s — what’s yours? Ever since he can remember, Matt Stevens has been drawing his shoes. Stevens is a big-time sneakerhead and a big-time designer in North Carolina,…
Since we checked in with Phoenix designer Eric Torres in January, he’s been busy mapping Rynaga. Rynaga is Torres’s world — a narrated, illustrated environment he’s created for fantastic creatures with real life stories (think Tolkien, Homer, and Lewis Carol with a more comic feel). The World of Rynaga Explorer’s…
Civic Space Park, home to Janet Echelman’s “Her Secret is Patience” (aka, the giant glowing net) in the heart of downtown Phoenix, is the silver medal recipient of the 2011 Rudy Bruner Award for Urban Excellence. The biennial prize was established in 1986 to honor exceptional urban places that transform…
Looking for something to do this week? “Night Owl” is a quick guide to special nights at bars and clubs around town. We’ll give you a few hints re: cover, dress code, music and atmosphere. Sundays mark Metalhead at Martini Ranch. Metalhead rocks out Sunday evening like a hurricane. The…
We’re on the lookout for 100 creative representations of Phoenix to count down to our Best of Phoenix issue. No scope or requirement on medium or size — we’ll include photography, painting, sculpture, video, installation, literary, and more. What do you see when you Imagine PHX?Artist: Dayvid LemMon Medium: Archival…
Spiderman, The Joker, Juggernaut, and the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. Is this a checklist of our favorite characters ever, or the lineup of the latest blockbuster crossover between Marvel and DC? Nope. It’s a sample of the sort of colorful comic book characters who will be adorning the beautiful badge…
Simple summer necklaces are a must. When you don’t want to wear much in the way of clothing because it’s damn hot, accessorizing really makes a difference. This little number is inspired by Anthropologie’s Merit Badge Necklace. Theirs is $88, but you can make your own for a couple of…
One new idea for every day in 2011. We’re talking big, small, local, international, in action and on the drawing board. Here’s today’s — what’s yours?What would the world look like as a village of 100 people? Toby Ng, a Korean designer applied boiled-down global statistics to 20 designs that…
The members of Dune Sea Garrison are shining up their stormtrooper armor, cosplay artists and steampunk fans are putting their final touches on their costumes, geeks are dreaming up questions to ask their heroes like Stan Lee and Leonard Nimoy, and comic book retailers are selecting which titles they’ll be…
On Friday night, Project Ethos made a stop on its nationwide tour in Scottsdale, promising to combine art, music and fashion on the Axis/Radius runway. The event, sponsored by Vitamin Water Zero, Frederick’s of Hollywood Swim, and Cardiwrap by Kymaro, transformed the Scottsdale club into an open-air art gallery and a…
