It’s good to have a mission. Some people save kittens, other people build dwellings for the homeless. Then there’s private investigator Doris Delaney, the main character of Dial “S” for Stripper, who works to protect the floozies of run-down Butts’ Cabaret. In the Artists’ Theatre Project production, written by local…
Listening to Cuba-born, New York-based musician Voltaire may evoke a night aboard an 18th-century frigate, complete with freely flowing wine and bawdy, drunken sing-alongs. For others, his music, with its organic instrumentation (clarinet, trumpet, accordion, cello), might call to mind a dark Berlin cabaret, full of gothic theatricality – sorta…
Local favorites Andrew Jackson Jihad once asked on their album, Candy Cigarettes & Cap Guns, “Why doesn’t Mirah come to Phoenix?!” The singer-songwriter (born Mirah Yom Tov Zeitlyn) has spent the past decade with the pacific northwest indie fortress, K Records. Whether over the backing of her own acoustic guitar…
In The Internet Writing Journal, American author Kris Saknussemm outlines his “Five Tips to Avoiding Total Disaster as a Novelist.” We like numbers 1 and 5: “Burn your notebooks and clear your head” and “Ignore all reasonable sounding advice like ‘write about what you know,’ ‘read as much as you…
Oh, how we pity the sons and daughters of famous musicians. The lavish parties. The trust funds. The saccharine-kid-pop careers spawned on the coattails of achy-breaky, one-hit-wonder dads. From Carnie “Yo-Yo Diet” Wilson to ’90s Latin-pop hottie Enrique Iglesias, these famous kids are always sucking up, er, getting sucked into…
Folks take sooo much for granted when it comes to modern-day still photography. All digital shutterbugs gotta do is frame their shot, release the shutter, and look at a screen to decide whether or not to retake. So easy and low-stress. But where’s the fun in that instant-gratification crap? Imagine…
Imagine you’re famous for being an insensitive, lazy, exploitive jerk. Some contemporary artists find themselves in that very position — their works earn favor because of talent and insight, but critics yap about “offense” and “misogyny” and “crappy technique,” forgetting that every great artist was once a rule-breaker, dissed in…
The D-Backs opening season homestand continues with three games against Albert Pujols (pictured) and the powerful St. Louis Cardinals. Mon., April 13, 6:40 p.m.; Tue., April 14, 6:40 p.m.; Wed., April 15, 12:40 p.m., 2009…
We always try to make the most of the last days of summer for one reason: Hating the heat makes you old. We’re positive that the day we stop squeezing the last juicy bits out of the season will be promptly followed by the day we start chasing kids off…
The nightlife series showcases a different Dale Chihuly sculpture and Chihuly-inspired cocktail weekly. This week’s featured sculpture: Blue Marlins. Cocktail: Fish Out of Water. Entertainment: Strange Young Things (pictured). Thu., April 9, 5:30-8 p.m., 2009…
Chase Field’s fine if you don’t mind feeling like the metal sphere in a pinball machine, but if open-air ball’s your thing, Packard Stadium’s the only place to be now that Cactus League’s kaput. And it doesn’t hurt that ASU Baseball is kickin’ the crap out of the rest of…
The artist/theological humorist showcases his performance piece — in which he “toasts community, traditional forms and sacrifice in the midst of Passover and the Holy Week” — in conjunction with SMoCA’s “Seriously Funny” exhibit. Thu., April 9, 7:45 p.m., 2009…
This poolside luau features Cruzan Rum cocktails, island entertainment, and Polynesian grub from nearby Trader Vic’s. Wed., April 15, 7-10 p.m., 2009…
Smartly, the folks behind the SCF have hitched their wagon to the hottest nightspot stars around town, and it don’t get much hipper than the Shade lounge at the W, where you can sip on bubbly whilst supping on Asian cuisine provided by Sushi Roku. Yum. Yum. Yum. Tue., April…
The monumental, 2,000-square-foot hand-crocheted project replicates the world’s coral reefs in an effort to save them. Presented by the Institute for Figuring. Sat., April 11, 2-4 p.m., 2009…
The traveling political statement was designed by artist Jeremy Deller to “broaden the dialogues about Iraq.” It consists of Deller and three other men (including a former translator for the British Embassy in Baghdad and an Iraqi War vet) toodling around the country in an RV and towing a car…
The second drinking-and-not-driving blowout from RPMS (“Responsible Partying Made Simple”) features drink specials at selected bars and restaurants dotting the Metro Light Rail line, including Four Peaks Brewery, Draw 10, Majerle’s, ROC Bar, Zuma Grill, George & Dragon, and Doc’s Place. Participation requires a T-shirt, which costs $10; they’re available…
The country’s top tuner cars compete, and DJ Tranzit and other emcees perform. Also planned: a show of exotic autos, an autocross, and a go-go dancing contest. Sat., April 11, 5 p.m.-1 a.m., 2009…
The four-mile loop hike starts at the Beverly Canyon trailhead near Baseline Road and 46th Street. Registration is required. Sat., April 11, 6-8:30 p.m., 2009…
The oddest of Alfred Hitchcock’s major works (unless you count the one in which a bunch of run-of-the-mill birds turn bloodthirsty) stars James Stewart as a scared-of-heights former detective who has the hots for a younger woman who’s not all she appears to be (Kim Novak in dual roles). The…
Living with an addict destroys you. Either you shut down emotionally to weather the shitstorms or you erupt like Vesuvius because someone has relegated you to secondary status, behind the drug of choice. An addict only has to keep falling and the world sympathizes with his co-dependency. But how about…
“Punk rock, comedy, and politics” can be a great combination — look at NOFX. But when a local band declares in its self-penned biography that it’s playing with these elements, I get a little nervous. The new album by Tempe punk rockers VW Trainwreck, Dramaturgy, is exactly why. With a…
