Being that we’re neck-deep in the Indie-Rock Reunion Era, I’m shocked that singer-songwriter Natalie Merchant hasn’t yet gotten back together with 10,000 Maniacs – the New York band she rose to fame with beginning nearly 30 years ago, then departed in 1993 to launch her solo career, and which has…
“In the Mood” brings WWII-era fashions to Phoenix. Read the full review here. Wednesdays-Sundays. Starts: April 3. Continues through Aug. 15, 2010…
Here’s another instance in which an opposing player is the only reason to watch the Arizona Diamondbacks these days. In this case, it’s Mike Leake, the ex-Arizona State University standout who’s been tearing it up for the surprisingly successful Cincinnati Reds. At press time, the hard-throwing righty, who won his…
Insolently awesome since 1999, the intermittently revived instrumental jazz/rock quartet Garage a Trois consists of the hair-raising saxophonist Skerik, whiplash keyboardist Marco Benevento, Galactic drummer Stanton Moore, and vibraphone-whacking percussionist Mike Dillon. They recently released Power Patriot is a brutal yet meticulously deranged blast of raw, jazz-rock power. Tue., Aug…
Sammy Wiley of The Wiley One might be the closest thing to Jack Johnson the Valley has. The laid-back dude (you can spot him by his endless collection of hats) promotes organic dining, rides a bicycle and has songs with such sticky-sweet titles such as, “Gotta Lotta Love.” And his…
If you’ve played with blues legend Taj Mahal, gigged with oft-out-there trombonist Roswell Rudd, added sounds to Björk’s Volta, and collaborated on a Grammy-winning recording with Ali Farka Touré, that pretty much qualifies you as a big freaking deal. That’s the brief history of Malian kora player Toumani Diabaté, who…
Well, oy vey!, opa!, and oh my gosh!, here’s a world-music collective that plays an enchanting blend of Gypsy music (two of the five members of Fishtank Ensemble actually traveled across Europe in a caravan as Croque Mule) and other exotic styles, including klezmer, polka, punk, flamenco, classical, and rock…
Weeks after the Tempe Town Lake dam burst, locals still bitched about the fishy smell. Boo-hoo. Remember Hurricane Katrina? See photos of Katrina’s aftermath and read poems based on twelve survivor interviews at “When the Water Came: Evacuees of Hurricane Katrina.” The show is based on the book by photographer…
How about something mellow to ease that transition to the work week? During the first and third Sunday evenings of each month, we suggest you hit HomeBase: The Poets’ Poetry Set. Sign-up for spoken-word and musical performers starts at 6 p.m. for the 7 o’clock open-mic set. Or just listen…
At the turn of the 20th century, high fashion was considered an art form — thanks to the likes of Parisian couturiers Paul Poiret and Jeanne Paquin, who translated artistic trends such as Orientalism into wearable designs. Today, whether fashion is an art form is debatable. In Sally Potter’s mystery…
Edgar Wright’s Scott Pilgrim vs. the World is every bit as faithful to its source material (Bryan Lee O’Malley’s six-volume series about a 22-year-old go-nowhere man-boy fending off his new girlfriend’s seven evil exes) as Zack Snyder’s Watchmen was to his (Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons’ brooding comic-hero deconstruction). Both…
“If the money’s right, we don’t care where the job is.” So explains the leader of hired-gun task force The Expendables, Barney Ross (Sylvester Stallone). This credo lands Ross and his team in the Gulf of Aden as our story begins. Somali pirates staging a videotaped decapitation are pinned down…
“No Damn Trespassing, Beware of Mule!” warns the hand-carved sign posted near the high-country cabin of Tennessee recluse Felix Bush (Robert Duvall), whose abrupt decision to re-engage with the larger world propels Get Low, an imperfect but rewarding new film. It is 1938, and Felix, who’s been in a self-imposed…
You’ve lived in Phoenix for so long that you still jump when you see one of the long, silver light-rail cars coming toward you in traffic. You’ve had rainbow sunsets and prairie dogs and Ladmo, but you’ve never had real public transportation before — certainly not the kind that comes…
Neal Pollack will admit he had no intention of practicing yoga or exercising at all for that matter. But after writing his second book and realizing the fate of his punk rock band, Neal Pollack Invasion, he knew it was time for change. Little did he know he’d find change…
We’ve seen this wheatpaste up in a few spots downtown … this latest one up on the corner of Seventh and Pierce streets, where the 7th Street Cafe sign used to be (picture after the jump)…
If you’ve been within a 5-foot radius of this writer at any time over the last nine months, you’ve certainly overheard me blabbing (nonstop — I’m even annoying myself) about my upcoming wedding.Naturally, I’ve banked hours of google image searches, bridal blog reading, and thumb-throughs of every wedding mag the…
Here’s a scenario where art changed a life. Two years ago, Alan Fitzgerald attended an Art Intersection/One Revolving Door workshop in the small Italian village of Vitiana. The program, founded by Phoenix-based artists Julie Hampton, Carol Panaro-Smith, and others, was one of Fitzgerald’s first hands-on experiences with art during a…
Urban legend has it that The Wizards of Time current jam pad in Tempe has been used by at least four other bands and that one of those bands, Princess Ladyfriend, used to rock out on the roof, much to the delight of their neighbors. The truth may never out,…
It’s hard to say what remnants of metropolitan Phoenix will remain a thousand years from now, but it’s easy to see remnants of what was in the Valley a thousand years ago. There are numerous prehistoric petroglyphs carved into the rocks across the sprawling, 1600-plus acre South Mountain Park.These petroglyphs…
44: Ted DeckerTed Decker will be the first to tell you: “I have been called a good guy and an asshole, generous, self-focused, a non-conformist, an innovator, an entrepreneur, a team leader, someone who doesn’t work or play well with others, smart, a dumb-ass, a potentially perfect board member if…
This time, we’re talking about the good kind of “shady” in downtown Phoenix The National Endowment for the Arts granted $25,000 to The Phoenix Office of Cultural Affairs a few weeks ago to help cover the design costs of Gimme Shelter, a public art project in hopes of creating more…
