Perihelion Arts in downtown Phoenix is a little dark this month.Step into the “Pain Killers” show by Japanese-born, Tempe resident Yuko Yabuki, and you’ll see paintings and drawings depicting dying men and women, spooky bats, and a severed head against a spider-web background. However disturbing the images, there’s no denying…
When you think of pop music, it’s probably not Adam and the Ants, Devo, or even the King of Pop that comes to mind. With so many soulless record-label monkeys watering it down today (sorry, Miley), it’s easy to forget that pop music actually extends far beyond what’s playing at…
True, Lords’ music caters to the perpetually pissed-off teen (for example, the group’s latest album is dubbed Fuck All Y’all Motherfuckers). But that doesn’t mean folks in their 20s, who have been conditioned to suppress their anger, can’t enjoy the music — especially after the band recently said during an…
Open since late April, the Musical Instrument Museum has already gained oodles of accolades from pleased locals as well as big-time nationals (legendary crooner and noted museum-goer Tony Bennett gave The MIM props as being better than New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art). In addition to its wondrous collection of…
Say “cover band” and people imagine a Rick Springfield look-a-like lead singer onstage with mediocre musicians who all regret the fact that they “never made it.” Pathetic. Cover band Bad Sneakers breaks this stereotype to pieces. The band features three vocalists and anywhere from seven to ten (and sometimes more)…
It’s disappointing that folks around here aren’t connected with the city’s redneck roots. Honestly, what happened to all of the cowboy hats, big-ass belt buckles, and cowboys towing their Border Collies around town in the beds of their pickup trucks? Though you might not find a complete invasion of real…
Five years have passed since this darkwave dance duo released their self-titled debut album, smashing the official Guinness World Record for “Most Comparisons to Joy Division Inspired by Any Band Not Called Interpol.” Backed by the formidable Geffen publicity machine, singer/guitarist Justin Warfield and composer/multi-instrumentalist Adam Bravin enjoyed some well-deserved…
Ever since the ‘70s, Béla Fleck has been obsessed with the banjo. (He introduced its twangy sound into jazz, pop, classical, and world music.) His passion for the instrument has snagged him 20 Grammy nominations in more distinct categories than any other recording artist in the history of the award…
Whisky Master Tom Turner and Master Chef Tony host an evening filled with appetizers, cigars, and, of course, some fine whisky. It all goes down smooth in the private Upstairs Lounge. Tue., June 29, 6:30 p.m., 2010…
With a dramatic, added-time goal in their final first round game, the USA has qualified for the knockout stages of the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa. The team’s next match, versus Ghana kicks off at 11:30 a.m. Saturday. Please see our World Cup Soccer Bars Directory for great…
Blitzen Trapper rose to prominence in 2007 with the release of their third record, Wild Mountain Nation, and signing with Sub Pop. Since then, the band has put out a new album every year, thus constantly remaining a focus of the media’s attention. Their latest effort, Destroyer of the Void,…
Opening with a close-up of the crow’s feet around its subject’s eyes and expanding to reveal her Botox-frozen upper lip, the documentary-portrait Joan Rivers: A Piece of Work celebrates Saint Joan the Resilient, Showbiz Survivor. Ricki Stern and Annie Sundberg dogged the indomitable stand-up comic throughout the course of her…
Paisley Yankolovich is a Valley institution. Not every city boasts a profoundly Christian, indie-electro-industrial glam-pop performance artist whose growly twang infuses audiences with the joy and love of a Gospel-filled hypo to the sternum. A little cross-dressing and a ministry of unconditional acceptance complete the unique and ever-shifting Magic Eye…
‘Tis the season here in the Valley. Even die-hard Phoenicians flee from summer’s suffocating heat to anywhere remotely cooler. And, as sure as the thermometer will register 100 degrees, many Valley museums and galleries, scrounging for funding and patrons in even the best of economic times, dust off and recycle…
“Everyone thinks they know Joan Rivers. And they do. They know part of her persona and her performances, but they don’t know Joan Rivers.” Filmmaker Ricki Stern is talking about the documentary she co-directed with Annie Sundberg called Joan Rivers: A Piece of Work, a frank look at the cracks…
You know and love Jason Bourne as an implacable killing machine. But what if he were a mouthy asshole instead? That’s the provocative question posed by James Mangold’s Knight and Day, which casts Tom Cruise as a Bourne wanna-be who seriously can’t shut up. As Roy Miller, an agent gone…
Craig Citizen (yes, that’s his real name) is a local DJ and promoter responsible for scenester dance nights like Faux Show, Party Foul, and Ransom. We hate to think where the local nightlife would be without him.Certainly it would be less fashionable. The man has an eye for vintage and…
The west Valley might not have the biggest nightlife scene, but it is home to the biggest baby possibly ever seen from a freeway.That’s right — there’s a gigantic cardboard baby in Goodyear. He stands almost 20 feet tall and perpetually looks down at a cardboard tractor. He’s been sitting…
…intrigue or infuriate you. For the FrICTION film project, director Cullen Hoback has taken a real-life couple and written a script for them. The script? Well, the story has a student come between the couple and, that’s right, cause some friction. The film is composed of scenes shot for…
Cyndi Coon and Jeremy Briddell, local artists and teachers, moved to Phoenix from the Midwest in 1997, and they are never going back. “We love it here,” says Cyndi. “There’s so much here for us community-wise and I like that it’s a big small town.” Read more and see the…
Last Friday, a Scottsdale Museum of Contemporary Art (SMoCA) employee fielded a call from an Arizona-based artist inquiring about the museum’s new education program with a $10,000 budget. The artist had been called by a man who identified himself as a SMoCA representative and wanted to arrange a private studio…
Aaron Abbott is a photographer and photo instructor at Arcadia High School. He utilizes a documentary approach to convey stories about class distinctions. Outside of photography, Aaron love travel, zombies, sneaking into abandoned buildings and dinosaurs. …
