About the worst thing that can occur when a band leader decides to undertake a solo tour is unthinkingly defaulting into the dreaded singer-songwriter mode. Let’s see: acoustic guitar, stool, and microphone. In a word: boring. Sure, there are a few examples of doing it right. Think Eddie Vedder with…
For some local bands, making it to weekly rehearsals and playing a show a month is a difficult task. For A Life of Science, full-length albums, comic books, and fanboy convention meet-and-greets are all in a day’s work. And now the electronic rock band is embarking on its biggest endeavor…
Drew Alexander thought he had it made. At only 19, the local electronic-tinged pop singer/songwriter and keyboardist, fresh out of high school, had secured a major-label record deal with Geffen Records. The Los Angeles suits snatched him up after hearing three tracks and seeing a few pictures of his tousled…
Fridays used to be one of the pimpest nights of the week at Central Avenue danceteria DWNTWN, even dating back its days as Crowbar more than a decade ago. The crowds were huge, the DJs were top-notch, and the beats were hot. Then proprietors pulled the plug on Fridays, preferring…
Thursday 31 16th Street Bar & Grill: Kickback Thursdays with DJ Cedric Ceballos (hip-hop, classics, neo-soul, reggae, R&B, Top 40, old school) Azucar Cuban Lounge: Latin Night with DJ Los & DJ Yoshi (cumbia, reggaeton, bachata, rock en Español, old school, funk) Bar Smith: Double Vision Thursday with DJ Kyko,…
The year 1977 had a slew of watershed moments for both science fiction and pop culture as a whole. In theatres across the country, George Lucas’ bombastic space opera flick Star Wars was blowing up like the Death Star and changing the cinematic landscape. Every child who was lucky enough…
By Chris Kornelis Sasquatch! went down this past weekend in George, Washington, and our good friends at Seattle Weekly’s Reverb blog were on hand to take it all in. Test your knowledge of the 2012 edition of the festival in this multiple-choice trivia test. For clues, check out Seattle Weekly’s…
See also: We Hate Los Angeles A couple of weeks ago we showed Valley hockey fans some support with a “We Hate Los Angeles” themed blog post as the Coyotes prepared to face off against the L.A. Kings for the NHL Western Conference championship. It was a chance to not…
See also: Phoenix Artist Makes Smiths Comic, And You Can Help See also: Unite and Take Over 2: More Stories Inspired By the Songs of The Smiths Shawn Demumbrum of SpazDog Comics likes comics. And he likes music. While the two are hardly exclusive, it’s hard to think of someone…
Metric, who sound like a poppier, gentler version of the Yeah Yeah Yeahs, are dropping a new album, Synthetica, on June 12. They’ll be hitting up the Marquee Theatre in support of the record, but it’s likely that they’ll perform old hits such as “Help I’m Alive” and “Gimme Sympathy” as…
San Pedro punkers Toys That Kill have been going strong since 1999, and they released their fourth album, Fambly 42 , earlier this month. The band maintained an impressive clip, releasing an album every few years, but there was a six-year wait this time around. That sort of thing happens…
Local folksters Bears of Manitou have been covering Damien Rice since the band first formed. “He [Gabe Williams] said that he’d been practicing ‘Volcano,’ and I love that song so much,” says guitar/guitarist/pianist Maria Sais de Sicilia. “It was just crazy, the first time we played it. It felt so…
A taste of São Paolo is en route to Phoenix. That doesn’t mean a new churrascaria is opening up soon, unfortunately, but Brazil’s Curumin will be serving up a fresh blend of samba-infused funk and groovy electronic beats when he and fellow-Brazilian Céu come to town. The half Spanish, half…
Editor’s note: We normally run Metal Mondays on, well, Monday, but took yesterday off in honor of Memorial Day. So please enjoy today’s “Metal Monday” column, by our resident rock ‘n’ roll lady Lauren Wise, one day later than usual. Groupies have always fascinated me. They look like supermodels, wear…
By Reyan Ali Finding a young, lesser-known band in the pages of Rolling Stone is not a noteworthy event. However, seeing a review of Ceremony’s new record, Zoo, in the magazine recently still constitutes one of those I-can-believe-it’s-happening-but-I-still-can’t-believe-it moments because Ceremony are not the kind of up-and-coming group Rolling Stone…
See also: Vixens and Sexy Super-heroine Nerdettes of Phoenix Comicon 2012 Once a year, the nerds unite and take over. Phoenix Comicon can be exhausting (there are only so many back issues and vintage clamshells you can look over), but it’s worth the effort for the people-watching alone. Wonder if…
If this flyer doesn’t put you in a happier mood, we don’t know what will. This soothing watercolor painting was taken from the cover of Donavon Frankenreiter’s new album Start Livin’, which drops today.Frankenreiter is a longtime friend of Jack Johnson, the most mellow man in America, so he performs…
Hey, friends, we’re taking it easy today in honor of Memorial Day. Enjoy our weekend wrap-up and our favorite May party shots (you write the caption). We’ll be back in full force tomorrow. Enjoy your day and try and reflect a little on what exactly earned us the day off…
Ladylike at Crescent Ballroom In this week’s music feature the men of Ladylike, the Tempe-based pop combo that packed Crescent Ballroom last night, discussed the difference between a live show and a recording, noting that limiting their approach in the studio in favor of their live setting only hampers both…
It’s that time of the month: the time when we sift through all the party photos we’ve taken in the past few weeks to create our favorite party photos of the month slideshow. To change it up we thought we’d give you, our loyal readers, a chance to put on…
Nadia Ali Monarch Theatre Saturday, May, 26 Better than: dishing out hundreds of dollars to see Katy or Britney, only to find out there’s no room to dance. Thanks to Comicon, downtown was a great place to people watch last night. I spotted a rickshaw-driving Darth Vader, girls with cat…
Ladylike, Factories, Gospel Claws, Steff Koeppen and The Articles Crescent Ballroom Friday, May 25, 2012 See also: Ladylike Approaches ’70s Pop With Sharp Tools In this week’s music feature the men of Ladylike, the Tempe-based pop combo that packed Crescent Ballroom last night, discussed the difference between a live show…
