For a genre that never received much attention, even during its heyday, thrash metal is enjoying one of music history’s more unlikely renaissances. In the past few years, a slew of retro-thrash bands has emerged from the underground. With names like Municipal Waste, Toxic Holocaust, and Merciless Death, these bands…
If you find yourself asking who the Vivian Girls are, prepare to be answered on two fronts. In the literary/esoterica world, the Vivian Girls are heroines who lead a child slave rebellion in a 15,145-page fantasy written by janitor-turned-outsider-artist Henry Darger. In the music world, they’re still heroines, a three-piece…
It’s to be expected that many of us will be singing the blues on Wednesday, April 15, especially with it being the annual deadline to file your tax return with the Internal Revenue Service. Lord knows how much we’re gonna have to give up to Uncle Sam this year to…
The Texas artist specializes in recombining used-up objects into shiny new works with twisted meanings. He’ll show off some Phoenix-centric pieces during a “performance trunk show” held in conjunction with this weekend’s National Council on Education for the Ceramic Arts conference. Thu., April 9, 9-11 p.m., 2009…
Martin Scorsese may be presenting Matteo Garrone’s Gomorrah, but this corrosive, slapdash, grimly exciting exposé of organized crime in and around Naples comes on like Mean Streets cubed. Detailing daily life inside a criminal state, it’s a new sort of gangster film for America to ponder. Gomorrah takes its punning…
When I got home from the theater the other night, I immediately updated my Facebook page. I typed a note to the virtual community that read, “Two things: 1. Go see columbinus at Stray Cat Theatre; 2. Ron May is a genius.” This is a theater review, not a trendy…
A friend of mine swears that she read somewhere that David Mamet is really a chick. More widespread and credible, but much less fascinating, is the rumor that reclusive, pseudonymous Pulitzer-nominated playwright Jane Martin is actually director Jon Jory. In any case, MartinJory have collaborated successfully many times, and ever…
I’m not going to lie here…this whole idea could go really right…or really, really, really wrong.West Valley Art Museum is holding a photo contest for artsy pets. I can’t resist writing about it. Because it’s just kinda funny. And I’ve seen some stellar shows at WVAM, so I’m inclined to…
This geek blog all started with a trip to the movies to see A Haunting in Connecticut (which incidentally is a pretty decent paranormal flick, but “based on a true story” is really, really a stretch). I won’t bore you with all the details, but let’s just say that the…
Frank Goodyear, the director of the Heard Museum for the last 10 years, will retire at the end of the year. Goodyear’s tenure coincided with a period of expansion and growth at the Valley’s best-known museum, and he was appreciated for his fundraising skills. According to the news release below,…
You know I love art if I’m willing to blog about it from California, on the morn of a trip to Disneyland.God bless laptops and wireless internet, eh?And you’ll be relieved to know that this blog won’t require you to rush out tonight or change plans for your weekend. No,…
Hot dogs, cold beer, hot tunes and cool art – I can’t think of a better way to drift through a mellow April afternoon than eating grilled pups, chewing the fat with AZ artists and raising money for a future exhibition already in the works at ASU Art Museum. Martha…
If you’re not an outdoorsy type – if you hate exercise and dislike hiking or camping – this time of year is filled with regret. You look outside and realize how lovely the weather is, and then continue with your indoor activities.I don’t blame you. Even in the most comfortable…
I used to assume that there simply is no men’s dressing room at downtown Scottsdale’s Theater 4301 — it’s the stomping ground of such perennials as Menopause The Musical and Sister’s Christmas Catechism, as well as a cozy 2008 visit from Carrie Fisher and the upcoming Girls Night: The Musical. (So, not…
Infants and toddlers use every method of communication available, from burbles and cries to exaggerated gestures. But as a child learns to speak, the methods lose importance in favor of their newfound knowledge of ABCs. Artist Brian Boner became interested in human communication after his father passed away from a…
Set a mere two decades ago, Greg Mottola’s Adventureland seems as if it could be taking place on a distant planet, less for the leg warmers and knee socks clinging to lower extremities than for the legions of pre-Internet Luddites who gather, like the apes at the start of 2001,…
With the molded-rubber face of Savalas, the basso profundo of Stallone, and the name of an underdog gas alternative, Vin Diesel’s already-dubious ripped-tough-guy star has dimmed enough to warrant a return to the car-chase series that made him — and made him money. In the latest, notably slack Fast &…
I used to walk past row after row of these weird, pointy-roofed tract homes every day on my way to and from grade school. After I grew up and developed an interest in architecture, someone pointed out that those houses were designed by Ralph Haver. After which I noticed that…
The program includes Christopher Wheeldon’s Polyphonia, Olga Evreinoff’s Les Sylphides, and the Twyla Tharp-choreographed The Golden Section, set to music by David Byrne. Fri., April 3, 8 p.m.; Sat., April 4, 2 & 8 p.m.; Sun., April 5, 2 p.m., 2009…
Before the annual road rally sets off on its four-day, 1,000-mile journey through central Arizona, the send-off show at Tempe Diablo includes a public viewing of the competing autos as well as the Field of Dreams Car Show. Proceeds benefit Phoenix Art Museum. Sun., April 5, 8 a.m., 2009…
It’s a tough call: making entertainment from a story that draws on national tragedy and the death of many children. Yet with columbinus, playwrights Stephen Karam and PJ Paparelli have managed to create an enlightening analysis of the April 1999 massacre at Columbine High School in Jefferson County, Colorado. They’ve…
The actor/Blue Collar Comedy icon discusses his career, including his new short film, Cowboy Dreams, which is on the program at this year’s PFF. Sun., April 5, 5 p.m., 2009…
