Our little slice of scorched Earth offers little in the way of refinement during the summer months. One lingering touch of erudition — that’s erudite lite — is Theater League’s Broadway musical series. Come about now, when our other options are pool parties or knuckleheaded movies, we like the notion…
Comedy on Tap, the what-used-to-be-only Wednesday weekly standup open mic at Hidden House, sounds the trumpets for its empire by adding every Thursday to its upcoming calendar, kicking off with an “All New Material Show.” (New jokes are the only requirement for the HH regulars, which includes Cristin Davis, Jonathan…
In these threadbare days of continued financial insolvency, local music fans are logically looking to stretch their concert-going dollar as far as possible. So chances are you’ll see plenty of cheapsk…er, thrifty types at this weekend’s Property Six show at Chasers in Scottsdale. The West Valley rap-rock band will feature…
We haven’t heard much from our pals Antique Scream since they moved to Seattle late last year. We featured them in a story that had one of my all-time favorite quotes from a local band in it: “We look like we suck.” They’re back in town this weekend to play…
The Hary Janos Suite by Kodaly and Scheherazade, Op. 35 by Rimsky-Korsakov will be the highlight of the season-ending afternoon concent from the CSO. Sun., May 10, 3 p.m., 2009…
Blues and classical are combined by the Chicago artist, who merges harmonicas and string quartets to create an entirely new musical art form. Sat., May 9, 8 p.m., 2009…
The vocal ensemble wraps up its 2008-2009 season with a performance of the wornderful works of Disney, including selections from The Lion King, Aladdin, Pinocchio, The Little Mermaid, and other films. Sun., May 10, 2 p.m., 2009…
Life’s been good to the DJ collective of Above & Beyond (a.k.a. Jonathan Grant, Paavo Siljamäki, and Tony McGuinness). Madonna reportedly is a big fan of the U.K.-based trance triumvirate and requested that they remix two of her singles (2001’s “What It Feels Like For a Girl” and 2003’s “Nobody…
It’s apparently in vogue to jump from Stray Cat Bar & Grill in Tempe to Jugheads. First it was DJ Johnny Volume and his bartending bud Tyler, who moved their popular BANNED night to the east Phoenix punk bar back in March. And now it’s Reflekshin’s turn to relocate. The…
Someone threw a dead fish at me at Madison Square Garden. It hit me square on top of the head, and my scalp smelled like mackerel for the rest of the night. This didn’t happen at the Madison Square Garden that’s currently at 118 North Seventh Avenue, which is actually…
It’s difficult for this longtime Trekkie to review J.J. Abrams’ relaunching of the U.S.S. Enterprise. It’s difficult to dispassionately dole out compliments and complaints per the job description. Because, yes, the professional critic understands: This is Paramount Pictures’ latest effort to jump-start a profitable but long-stalled franchise, to do for…
“Things,” as Dwight D. Eisenhower once observed, “are more like they are now than they have ever been before.” But why? Is something better possible? Could there be another way of looking at life — or movies? Ideas beam out from Astra Taylor’s engaging new philoso-doc Examined Life; the viewer…
Society has always been fascinated with the occult. Alchemy was once taught at Harvard. The Victorian era saw the rise of spiritualism and self-professed prophet Edgar Cayce. And today we have John Edwards, Sylvia Brown, and movies such as The Exorcism of Emily Rose and A Haunting in Connecticut, based…
The miserably single Lilia Menconi of a year ago would have had a lot to say about an art show called “The Trouble with Boys and Girls”. I’m inclined to assume that the under-sexed and over-exercised version of me would certainly have bored her readers with a five paragraph rant…
In 1990, Russell Howze saw graffiti on an apartment wall in Clemson, SC that was made with a stencil. Then, in 1995, he saw another stencil work on the wall of the Reischstag in Berlin. So he took a photo. He continued to spy stencil graffiti and kept snapping his…
While some of us race to the SSRIs for serenity, others of us have decided that taking up a craft for comfort and creative expression is the way to go. Actually, some of us, like me, for instance, do both for balance. Blame it on either early 60’s back-to-nature hippie…
Alright all you crafty people in town, this is what you’ve been waiting for…Faythe Levine of “Handmade Nation” fame is in Phoenix this weekend!I think it’s safe to say our nation’s love affair with mass production is coming to an end. Sure, we appreciate factory produced goods for all they’ve…
First off, I want to make sure you know that Black Theatre Troupe replaced their originally scheduled season closer, Three Sistahs, with a second run of Revenge of a King, which you really ought to catch if you haven’t already (it plays through Sunday, May 10). (Read Robrt L. Pela’s…
I’m a Phoenician so I get in my car and drive somewhere multiple times a day. And since I’ve been living here my whole life, it’s not often I have to think hard about navigating my driving path. Of course, that means I zone out.Before I know it, I’m knee…
The first in a summer series of flicks featuring live, uncensored sets by various up-and-coming comedians, Edition 1 features performances by Wali Collins, Roz, Vanessa Hollingshead, Modi, Erik Rivera, Mike Vecchione, Steve Rossi, and Joe Larson. Caroline Rhea (pictured) hosts. Tue., May 5, 7:30 p.m., 2009…
The first in a summer series of flicks featuring live, uncensored sets by various up-and-coming comedians, Edition 1 features performances by Wali Collins, Roz, Vanessa Hollingshead (pictured), Modi, Erik Rivera, Mike Vecchione, Steve Rossi, and Joe Larson. Caroline Rhea hosts. Tue., May 5, 7 p.m.; Fri., May 8, 10 p.m.;…
There’s a pretty cool tradition developing at ASU that’s not about frat-tastic athletics or drinking. Namely, the Undie Run, which features hundreds of postpubescent boys and girls running around in panties and tighty-whities to celebrate the end of spring classes. Last year, during Tempe’s inaugural version, a thousand participants ditched…
