Comedian Charlie Murphy will forever be remembered as the man whose “Charlie Murphy’s True Hollywood Stories” sketch on Chappelle’s Show colored the world with that immortal catchphrase, “I’m Rick James, bitch!” It seemed damn near impossible, back in 2004, to avoid hearing one of your co-workers or friends spout the…
They’ve done it to American history, the Bard, the Bible, and classic literature, and now the “bad boys of abridgement” in Reduced Shakespeare Company have distilled Tinseltown to its basest (and, one assumes, most amusing) elements. In Completely Hollywood (abridged), RSC’s Austin Tichenor and his henchmen skewer 175 of American…
The Suns host Antawn Jamison (pictured) and the lowly Wizards, who are in a heated battle with Memphis, Sacramento, and the L.A. Clippers for the No. 1 pick in the draft. Sat., March 21, 7 p.m., 2009…
Perhaps terms like “living legend” get thrown around a little too frequently in the music world, but it’s hard to argue with Etta James’ resume. She’s a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award winner, a member of the Rock ‘n’ Roll Hall of Fame and has a star on the Hollywood Walk…
The concert film was shot at Toronto’s Molson Amphitheater, and also features performances by Buckcherry, Trapt, Sixx A.M., and Papa Roach captured during the Crüe Fest 1 tour. Thu., March 19, 8 p.m., 2009…
When members of Mr. Kline and the Wizards of Time broke it off in 2007 to pursue solo endeavors, the scene lost a kickass band. But then Michael Porter and Andy Hiller formed the new Wizards of Time, and instead of ripping off the initial incarnation, the two front men…
Local punks Johnny Volume and Tyler King are making like The Jeffersons. More specifically, they’re taking their long-running punk rock weekly, BANNED, and “movin’ on up” to Jugheads starting on Thursday, March 19. The night debuted in late 2006 at Stray Cat Bar & Grill as “BANNED in Tempe,” where…
Second annual exhibit of sick, twisted, and just plain weird variations on the Mexican anthropomorphic craft fave. Fri., March 20, 6-9 p.m.; Fri., April 17, 6-9 p.m., 2009…
Well, gosh darn it, this bit of news came across my desk today.The Kitchenette, a teeny photography gallery tucked away on Roosevelt Row (just east of five15 arts) is closing its doors after five years. The often unnoticed gallery has been a steady, reliable source for finding local photographers and…
Get ready to read the shortest blog ever…Well, waddya know? The net to Janet Echelman’s public art sculpture “Her Secret Is Patience” is going up today!You can watch it happen live here. Also, read writer Kathleen Vanesian’s article about the sculpture here.Fun!…
Over the years, I’ve seen several excellent productions by Arizona Jewish Theatre Company. Their current show, a world première called Parted Waters, is not very good, and, sadly, it’s a bad time to hit audiences with a mediocre play. Like many other arts entities, AJTC is struggling with the effects…
According to the Phoenix Office of Arts and Culture website, crews were set to complete the Janet Echelman public artwork sculpture, in the Downtown Civic Space by the end of last week.This monumental sculpture (formerly referred to as, “Sky Bloom” but recently named by Echelman as “Her Secret is Patience”)…
Woo-hoo! Today is St. Patrick’s Day — one of the best excuses to wear green, go out and drink lots of (green) beer, get hammered (and feel green). Or, if you’re a geek, stay home and feed your current WOW: Wrath of the Lich King addiction while noshing a green…
Jane Fonda, Alice Cooper, Susan Sarandon and other stars have signed parasols that will be sold next month as a fundraiser for Queen Creek conjoined twins who share a heart. The OneHeart Umbrella Campaign is being chaired by old-school celeb Debbie Reynolds, one of the stars of the 1952 musical, Singin’ in the Rain. It’s the…
So all of us arty weirdos have probably been to a poetry reading or poetry slam at least once.Ask anyone who knows me…bad poetry being read aloud in an overly-dramatic-high-school-thespian way is my personal hell. Anytime I’ve seen an amateur poetry reading, I either leave immediately or get completely soused…
When I’m driving alone in my car, I do really weird things.No, nothing like that, you perv.I practice telling stories. It’s not on purpose or anything, but, I’ll be thinking about my destination; who will be there, what the conversation will be like and how I’m going to win them…
“That was the most offensive display of sexualized violence I have ever seen,” one wilting fellow in need of a camphor hankie was overheard saying in the elevator. Such blanching is the reaction Last House on the Left is trolling for, but I doubt it will be typical. Permissibility has…
I kept thinking about John Lennon as I watched Actors Theatre of Phoenix’s Rabbit Hole the other night. Specifically, about how Paul McCartney was widely quoted as having said simply, “What a drag!” upon learning that his friend and former collaborator had died. I was mindful of this because that…
There’s a particular word in Irish slang that perfectly sums up the spirit behind St. Patrick’s Day: craic. Pronounced “crack,” it usually signifies that boisterous good times are afoot, thanks to a merry mix of alcohol, music, and maybe even some debauchery. So it goes without saying that the craic…
Actor Rapp, who originated the role of Mark Cohen in the original Broadway production of Rent, reprised it in the film, and continues to portray Cohen in the traveling production currently playing at Gammage Auditorium, signs his book Without You: A Memoir of Love, Loss, and the Musical Rent. Wed.,…
The fest features live entertainment by The Knockabouts, GTR, and Insomniacs, vendors including Guinness, a beer garden, games, a Family Fun Zone, and more. Tue., March 17, 4-11 p.m., 2009…
Rent — Jonathan Larson’s rock-operatic update of Puccini’s La Bohème — has always cut across the grain of American theater. First, it’s an update of La Bohème, and (true) opera and Broadway generally don’t play well together. Second, its plot about an AIDS-ravaged bohemian arts commune always seemed a little…
