Nailing down Boris is no easy task. The Japanese band has released 19 albums in its 22-year career, all with varying material that shifts from doom metal, to prog rock, screamo to power pop, space to thrash–sometimes on the same album. That’s part of the band’s appeal, however, as the…
The one time I saw Des Ark, singer Aimée Argote broke the ice with the audience by suggesting they move closer. “We probably smell weird,” she said, “but this is a punk show, so you probably don’t mind.” Most of Des Ark’s music is marked by this kind of frankness,…
On July 13, Sara Robinson and the Midnight Special announced through their Facebook page that they would be splitting with their original lead guitarist and chief songwriter Brandon Croft. Furthermore, the band announced that following their headlining date at Crescent Ballroom last Friday the band would be taking a hiatus…
If having a packed house from start to finish is the benchmark for a great show, then Dilated Peoples and Jurassic 5 had a great one July 19. The Marquee Theatre was full of hip-hop heads throughout the evening, from M.C. Supernatural’s opening freestyles all the way through J5’s encore…
’80’s hair metal kings Mötley Crüe held very little back in the production department when their supposed final tour made its stop at Ak-Chin Pavilion on Saturday night to a sold out crowd. While there were enough pyro, flamethrowers, female dancers, and a lighting spectacle that would make a Nelson…
I put on The Ramones’ classic 1977 record Rocket To Russia recently in an attempt to join all of my Facebook friends in their collective sadness at the recent death of Tommy (Erdyli) Ramone. I used to love this record, but now, even though I wanted to feel some sense…
For Captain Squeegee’s last video off of their 2013 L.P To The Bardos, “Inevitable,” the atomic jazz fusion seven-piece tapped the amazing claymation skills of animator Johnny McHone. The resulting video was easily the most creative in town for the year 2013. As a follow up, Captain Squeegee may have…
First, the binge. Inevitably, the come down. This past weekend was a veritable musical orgy, as a flood of touring and national bands came through Phoenix. This week, things are a little drier. Check out our five favorite shows happening this week, and browse our comprehensive concert listings for more…
Since it’s the worst part of the summer right now, spending more than a few hours at an outdoor music festival, let alone an entire day, isn’t something we’d recommend. However, when late October rolls around (and Arizona feels less like Satan’s grundle) whiling away an entire weekend in the…
Jurassic 5 are alternative hip-hop pioneers. Their influence can be heard in the beats and verses of mainstream rap icons like OutKast all the way to local hip-hop groups like Phoenix’s own Drunken Immortals. Though the band has never once gone platinum and have only once gone gold, their reunion…
In summertime, when we put together this list of best shows to see in Phoenix on any given weekend, we don’t have very many options. It can be slim pickings for live music around here when it hits triple digits. Not this week. There are more concerts than you could…
They say that family is the strongest bond and, when it comes to 25-year-old ska-punk veterans Voodoo Glow Skulls, a band which contains three brothers, the proof is in the pudding. “The plus side is that family can communicate like no one else can usually; the downside is that there…
Concept albums are nothing new in the music world, but Within The Ruins is set to take it in a new direction — comic books. The metal band formed in the early ’00s and recently has been gaining momentum with the release of Invade in 2010 and and Elite in…
It’s that catchy song you’ve heard a million times on the radio or playing overhead while shopping at the mall. When someone asks you who sings it, your eyes roll up and you draw a huge blank. Before you go clamoring for the answer on your music app on your…
When Mesa’s Nile Theater first opened in 1924, it was a decadently decorated silent movie house. These days, what streams out of the theater is anything but quiet. The Nile Theater frequently hosts local and touring hardcore, punk and metal bands. Acts like Against Me!, Circle Takes the Square, and…
It’s almost that time of year to enjoy funnel cakes and ferris wheels again, as the Arizona State Fair approaches. The event is known for its games and attractions, but don’t look past the musical entertainment. The festival has started by releasing a few names that will be coming to…
No genre has combined these elements better than hard rock and heavy metal. From Kiss to Cannibal Corpse, lyrical subject matter alone often pushes the envelope, but when bands add elements of anti-authoritarianism and eroticism to their killer guitar solos, it’s hard for fans to look away. Influenced by everything…
Blag Dahlia (birth name: Paul Cafaro) of the Dwarves is looking for women to come to the band’s show tonight at Yucca Tap Room with the Queers, Masked Intruder, and the Atom Age buck-naked and ready for fun. He knows it gets hot in Phoenix, so “Why not be comfortable?”…
Alter-ego Chris Gaines on the left, original persona Garth Brooks on the right. By Jaime Lees Inspired by Garth Brooks’ recent announcement of his world tour, we thought we’d take a minute to look back on our favorite era of Garth-ness: the invention of Brooks’ alter-ego, Chris Gaines. Alter-egos help…
The guys in Phoenix rock band the Oxford Coma can’t stand that image is important to making it in the music business, that you often need a certain aesthetic for a specific demographic to achieve success, and that you might have to act in a way you’re not passionate about…
“For some, like Kiss, it is pure spectacle. Alice Cooper varies between psychodrama and pure theater. Iron Maiden’s Bruce Dickinson said he feels their performance is close to pantomime. Talking Heads did surreal theater. Lady Gaga does surreal shock. The Rolling Stones opted for large circus-like productions.” Arthur Brown For…
Ever wonder what kind of music aliens would play if they made a pit stop on Earth? Maybe dubstep? Droning metal machine music? Lady Gaga covers? Turns out, they’d probably be into a mix of surf rock and punk, as Alabama’s Man or Astro-Man? demonstrate. Claiming to be extraterrestrials that…
