Mos Def/Yasiin Bey @ Celebrity Theatre|3/21/13It’s clear that Yasiin Bey (a.k.a. Mos Def) is one of the most likable guys in hip-hop history. The 39-year-old rapper is most known for his critically acclaimed album Black on Both Sides, as well as his work with fellow New York MC Talib Kweli…
If the flu virus is a filament-filled spiky sphere, I wonder what the electronic synth bug looks like. By the sounds of things, Charles Barth of two-man group Saddles is the latest in a long line of musicians to be infected by the bug. His recently released single, “The Original”…
Who’s excited for the Instagram pictures Questlove is going to post of Phoenix this weekend? I sure am. The Roots will be in town on Saturday, March 23, to play as part of McDowell Mountain Music Festival, plus, Questo will be dropping a DJ set at Bar Smith afterward. That’s…
You can’t go wrong with a healthy dose of Anthrax in the morning. At least, that’s what I thought as I listened to their new EP Anthems, released on Tuesday, March 19. Add that to the fact that these thrash metal legends are coming through town this Sunday on the…
Justin Timberlake’s reunion with music is causing some weird flashbacks and leaving a miserable taste in my mouth. His new album is the pinnacle of mediocrity and exemplifies all that can go wrong when commercialism meets music. “Suit and Tie” makes me want to burn a stack of Esquire magazines…
Update: Tickets are now available from Luckyman Online. Each night will feature two shows from Prince, an early and late show, and tickets are available for $277. Folks, the time has come to purify yourself in the waters of Lake Minnetonka. Or, uh, Tempe Tempe Lake.* Because Prince is coming…
Tiger Army has replaced Against Me! on New Times/KUKQ’s recently revived That Damn Show music festival at Mesa Amphitheatre, which includes Bad Religion, Awolnation, The Faint, and more. The news of Against Me! leaving the festival isn’t too surprising, as the band canceled its spring tour with Bad Religion. See…
The record store gods giveth and they taketh away. Over the past six months or so, they’ve imparted another iteration of Eastside Records in Tempe, a mega-sized Zia Records on Camelback, as well as the equally quaint Record Room in Scottsdale, while claiming beloved East Valley shops like Rockzone and…
Pick up a copy of this week’s issue of New Times, and you’ll learn all about Haley Grigaitis, frontwoman for the feel-good, reggae-infused local band Ruca. Though she and her band are climbing the music ranks now, having played the TMI Radio Showcase at South by Southwest last week, she…
Once again, it’s a sort of apprenticeship with Woody Guthrie that’s drawn Billy Bragg into a new realm. Thirty years since his debut, the seven-song Life’s a Riot with Spy Vs Spy, Bragg is back with a new album, Tooth & Nail, out this week on Cooking Vinyl. Bragg calls…
“I’m a writer, not a rapper,” Masta Killa brags on “R U Listening,” one of the standout songs from his latest, Selling My Soul. It’s a tricky distinction to make, of course, but Killa has a solid case. Though none of his fellow Wu-Tang Clan brethren are lyrical slouches, Killa…
A lot has changed for Flyleaf since we first heard Lacey Sturm’s throat-shredding bellows on the band’s breakout hit, “I’m So Sick,” in 2005. The most notable is that she no longer is the band’s singer, having stepped down in October, a week before the band’s latest album, New Horizons,…
Like Ziggy Stardust before him, Mos Def knows the value of a good stage trick, some moniker-based sleight of hand. His decision to shelve “Mos Def” in 2011 in favor of “Yasiin Bey” struck some as a puzzling move, but it makes sense. Mos Def is as much an actor…
Early last week, Kevin Pate — a valued member of the Phoenix music community — was fighting for his life in a hospital in Yuma, where he was serving a six-year jail sentence for DUI and violating parole. Misinformation was spreading across online social networks that he’d passed away, but,…
Haley Grigaitis was in the closet. Literally, in the closet. The 17-year-old hung heavy coats around her, ensuring she was shrouded in pure darkness and any sound she made would go unheard. Even though she grew up with music-freak Deadheads for parents, she didn’t want them to hear her sing…
Typically, there are four things your average electronic dance music aficionado wants out of a rave experience: top-shelf DJs; music that’s loud, fast, and hard; sufficient room for dancing; and plenty of bodies to grind against. This weekend’s Bubble Bobble 5 will offer all those things in abundance, plus a…
Of all the stupid things we do with our phones, Instagram might be the worst. Not only has the app falsely convinced us all we’re professional photographers, but it’s done something even worse: It’s encouraged our worst vainglorious tendencies. No one is Amaro-toning his or her real life. There are…
Thursday 21 Afterlife: Touch Thursdays with DJ Tsunami, DJ Michael Ryan, & DJ Matt Fox (Top 40, EDM) AZ/88: Black Out Thursdays with Josh 1 (soulful house, lounge) Bikini Lounge: DJ Shane Kennedy (juke joint, R&B, French pop) Bobby Q’s: Black and Green Party with DJ Freshmaker, DJ Phlava, DJ…
Hate is a strong word, but as a music critic, my musical beliefs and ideals have been forged over many years of writing about, reviewing, and listening to music. I know what I like, what I can tolerate, and what I’d just as soon leave behind forever. Country artist Kenny…
Merchandise, Body of Light, Audacity, Nü Sensae, Wet Hair @ Meat Market Garment Factory|3/19/13Rampage Fest concluded its two-day run with an after-party that featured a lineup that stacked solidly against that of the actual festival. It was a diverse mixture of bands, which although initially proved overwhelming, became a strong…
Joe Ely @ Rhythm Room|3/19/13Surprisingly, there were only two cowboy shirts in Rhythm Room last night, that paltry number growing to three once Joe Ely took the stage. Strange for an artist with deep West Texas country roots, but it only serves to highlight Ely’s musical appeal that crosses genre…
Yep, you read that headline correctly. Punk legends Black Flag are making their way to Club Red on Thursday, July 11. It isn’t the classic lineup, though, and some fans may be disappointed by the lack of Keith Morris, Dez Cadena, Robo, and/or Henry Rollins. Greg Ginn, the band’s only…
