Choosing a music store is, for many people, akin to choosing a proctologist. You may really need what it has to offer, but you also know it is almost always going to be painful. Whether you are an aspiring newbie or a seasoned musician, the experience of visiting the retailers…
There are inherent advantages to being a jazz musician. Genre constraints are practically thrown out the window and almost anything is considered acceptable no matter how free, new-agey, rock-leaning, contemporary, ballady or bopping. As long as integrity to the art form remains, experimentation is rewarded. Guitarist Pat Metheny has been…
Editor’s Note: Shea Serrano is an award-winning music writer and goofball whose recent exploits include Bun B’s Rap Coloring and Activity Book, and writes this weekly column about his life and times. 3:20 p.m.: Today I am chaperoning our school’s Valentine’s Day dance. A line of about 100 kids is…
It’s 2014 and high time you got some new music into your playlist — seriously. And that’s doubly true when it comes local music, of which there’s an abundance in metro Phoenix. The Valley’s music scene is gifted with burgeoning bands and emerging artists who will be making waves and…
Admit it: You’ve always longed for a music video that, in sum, features shots of bananas, pineapples, and other fruit; an explosively gaudy color scheme; several bizarre green-screen backgrounds seen at a rapid-fire pace; a rap interlude; a saxophone solo; lyrics about French bread and oysters; and the phrase “motherfucking…
Scottsdale’s nightlife hotspot haven at the corner of Saddlebag Trail and Indian Plaza has been getting a bit hotter the past few weeks thanks to some new arrivals, including the recently opened Cake Nightclub. Located next door to the equally new Bottled Blond, the self-described “boutique nightclub” located in the…
Local blues lovers are sure to be raving about next month’s Blues Blast if the daylong festival is nearly as successful as last weekend’s Raise the Roof benefit at the Rhythm Room. The fundraiser, which took place on Valentine’s Day night at the popular CenPho music venue, earned somewhere in…
It’s 2014 and high time you got some new music into your playlist — seriously. And that’s doubly true when it comes local music, of which there’s an abundance in metro Phoenix. The Valley’s music scene is gifted with burgeoning bands and emerging artists who will be making waves and…
Imagine Dragons U.S. Airways Center 2/17/14 Alternative rock hitmakers Imagine Dragons came to US Airways Center in Phoenix last night and were greeted by a lively Arizona crowd. The concert opened with “Fallen” as a faux moon rose above the stage. Lead singer Dan Reynolds told the near-sellout US Airways…
While trance music may not have caught on as much in America as it has in other parts of the world, the trippy, uptempo electronic dance music genre still maintains a huge following here in the states. Tomorrow night, local trance fanatics will find sanctuary at INTL in Old Town…
It’s 2014 and high time you got some new music into your playlist — seriously. And that’s doubly true when it comes local music, of which there’s an abundance in metro Phoenix. The Valley’s music scene is gifted with burgeoning bands and emerging artists who will be making waves and…
Want to get in a show this week? There are plenty of concerts over the next five days around Metro Phoenix to choose from, as you can see for yourself by viewing our extensive online concert listings. And we’re fairly certain that there’s something for everyone, regardless of your particular…
A few weeks back, I wrote about the most metal moments at NAMM, but now I’d like to touch base on some of the amazing products at the one of the largest music trade shows in the world. Manufacturers seem to have found a way of creating affordable instruments that…
If you just happened to blow town on Friday in honor of the big three-day weekend, you sort of missed a lot, concert-wise. Suffice it to say, there were some epic shows over the past 72 hours or so, including wild performances by Panic! at the Disco at Marquee Theatre…
There are names you might expect to read in a review of Jess Williamson’s Native State: Karen Dalton, Joanna Newsome, Devendra Banhart. But Pitchfork’s Lindsay Zoladz struck mighty close to the source when she compared Williamson’s voice to that of a coyote. Though it was clearly intended as an accolade,…
Crush Music Festival Arizona Event Center 2/15/14 Like any good Valentine’s Day date, the crowd at Crush Music Festival on Saturday night was hot, wet, and ready for action. Young ravers, EDM fans, and party monsters packed themselves into a sold-out Arizona Event Center in Mesa for the sixth edition…
Fetish Revolution feat. The Genitorturers Marquee Theatre 2/15/14 Last night, society’s outcasts, kink-cravers, pleather-wearing thrillseekers, and those looking to enjoy some pleasures of the flesh dressed in their finest and freakiest fetishistic wear made their way to the Marquee Theatre in Tempe for the 10th annual Fetish Revolution. This is…
Augustines Crescent Ballroom 2/15/14 You should never mess with a band’s encore. If you do, it might lead to some unexpected consequences, like with what happened at the end of last night’s Augustines show at the end of last night’s Augustines show. As midnight approached at the Crescent Ballroom on…
The Linecutters Long Wong’s 2/14/14 Although its always hard to tell how far any new band will go — and even harder when said band comprises high school juniors — local punkers The Linecutters seem to have it. The Gilbert-based thrash trio have been around only since September, but they…
Panic! at the Disco Marquee Theatre 2/14/14 Brendon Urie probably never thought he’d be the only original member standing from his band Panic! at the Disco, but being the sole survivor didn’t seem to bother him while performing in front of a sold-out crowd at Tempe’s Marquee Theatre Friday night…
St. Valentine’s Day Massacre The Sail Inn 2/14/14 There is a stark contrast between the playing styles of Field Tripp’s Dan Allmond and Brandon Decker. To wit: Decker appears to be a driven perfectionist looking to squeeze every bit of soul out of each note, while Allmond seems content as…
The Lawrence Arms Pub Rock 2/14/14 It’s safe to say that I had a better Valentine’s Day than the majority of the Valley. Unlike most of you, I didn’t have to deal with either setting sky-high expectations for a beau or sulking about being single — I just got to…
