Kreayshawn Marquee Theatre Saturday, November 19, 2011 I love Tempe for the most part. This city has lots of great restaurants and bars, but there are certain elements that drive me crazy. Thanks to a free Kreayshawn show and the big ASU/U of A game, most of the things I…
John Prine and Loudon Wainwright III Orpheum Theatre Saturday, November 19, 2011 Early yesterday afternoon, I found myself at Tempe Marketplace, wandering the parking lot dazed. Christmas music wafted through the air. With nearly a week left before Thanksgiving. Look, I get it, but I’m a traditionalist. Some people hate…
Mr. Meeble Crescent Ballroom Friday, November 18, 2011 Last night was Mr. Meeble’s homecoming after a two-month European tour that the group planned entirely on its own. The Crescent Ballroom gave Meeble a warm welcome, and judging by how many times frontman Devin Fleenor said, “It’s good to be back,”…
David HilkerHilker is the CEO of Fervor Records. When you put your key in the ignition and turn on the radio, what station would play right now? KWSS, of course. What’s the first album you bought? Miles Davis, Bitches Brew. What’s the first concert you saw? I’m dating myself here, but it…
DJentrification’s weekly Palace World Music night at Filmbar always features far out world music, but this weekend, it’s got another goal as well. “I have been to South East Asia and feel very lucky for all the good people I met, for the records I was able to dig, for…
With Occupy encampments being dispersed all across the country, protesters are getting antsy. In New York, protesters took on Wall Street and tried to jam the Union Square subway station. In Los Angeles, protesters blocked traffic. Today in Phoenix, Occupiers are celebrating Free Speech Friday, meeting at César Chávez Plaza…
The Hype Music project has added another Arizona rapper to its family. Mesa’s lyrical linguist Hannibal Leq has joined the MTV and Extreme Music partnership. The last time we saw Leq he was rocking the microphone alongside The New F-O’s MCs Pancho and Lifted in our exclusive video. As a…
Whether you love the progressive instrumentals or hate the screeching screams, The Devil Wears Prada is stepping up its game on as many levels as possible. Count ’em off: An ongoing cross-country tour with their most elaborate production yet; photos splashed across the covers of Alternative Press (who named them…
In less than a week, we’ll all be around the table, eating the things that will undoubtedly lead to a full-on food pregnancy with the people we love (or despise) the most. Lucky for you, you get to bring the real goods. While those in the kitchen are banging out some…
This month’s new releases are bound to please record collectors of all ages. Ambient rock, hip-hop, rap, tropical tunes, and arena pop-rock albums have been topping the charts as of late, and for good reason. We’ve rounded up five of this month’s records that are really worth checking out. The…
It’s another packed weekend in the Valley. Tonight, Sound Striker-Immortal Technique performs a benefit show at the Puente Office, and Mr. Meeble brings its crazy-as-hell laser show to Crescent Ballroom. On Saturday, you’ve got folk from Loudon Wainwright III and John Prine, and funky pop courtesy of Kreayshawn. And of…
Maynard James Keenan is a successful guy: he’s fronts two massive rock bands, Tool and A Perfect Circle, owns Merkin Vineyards and Caduceus Cellars in Jerome, Arizona, where he lives. Though ostensibly a “side-project,” Keenan’s band Puscifer seems to be increasingly be where Keenan’s hear lies. He’s released two full…
Nowhere Man And A Whiskey Girl The Crescent Ballroom November 16, 2011 Being a critic is a funny thing. Namely in that, you have to be critical. But there’s a fine line between, “looking to find fault or to judge with severity,” and “skillful judgment.” With enough practice, I hope…
Want to know what new release discs and platters are moving across the Valley at local record stores? We’ve got you covered with another installment of What’s Selling. Renowned for moving narcocorridos as quick as rounds through an AK-47, Las Korajudas Discoteca isn’t that much different from other Latin music…
Everlast is like Kid Rock for the indie set, a onetime rapper who’s embraced roots music and proved to be an evocative performer. His gruff baritone has been his calling card going back to his days in House of Pain, during which his admonition to “Jump Around” spoke to a…
Mark Sultan is an accomplished, unique songwriter, so it may seem wrong to reduce him to the more outrageous aspects of his persona. Unfortunately, we can’t help it. The man (who travels under such aliases as Von Needles and Blortz) wears both a turban and dashiki onstage; he has gone…
When did you first think Sting was a pompous twit? The love-me-I’m-tortured artistry of “King of Pain?” The way he sang “the bitter sting of tears” with a straight face on “Do They Know It’s Christmas?” The way he withheld new songs for a 1986 Police reunion, resulting only in…
Let’s face it. “Jamming” is little more than musician code for one great big circle jerk. Each player is just waiting for his solo, and that’s cool, because being at the center of the circle so totally rocks. But when a jam session turns into a “jam band,” it’s a…
Robert “Fun Bobby” Birmingham was a fixture behind the bar at Hollywood Alley for over a decade — a talkative, friendly dude with a serious musical yen for the bonkers rock music of Japanese rockers Melt Banana. He’s been booking the band for over 16 years — at places like…
Few things that were fresh and fly in 1993 are still cool these days, save for Snoop Dogg, Dr. Dre, and the Phoenix’s Furious Styles Crew. The local b-boy collective has stuck around for almost two decades now and isn’t slowing down. You can catch the FSC busting out with…
Road-worn, exhausted, wiped out. There’s no way of getting around it: Devin Fleenor, frontman of Phoenix-bred glitch-rock band Mr. Meeble, looks like shit. To be fair, there shouldn’t be anything glamorous about someone who, less than 48 hours ago, hopped off a plane from Europe, where his band has been…
First: A Scene from a Movie Setting: a bowling alley. WALTER SOBCHAK, a volatile Vietnam vet finally reaches his breaking point. (Well, one of many, many breaking points.) He pulls a gun on a competitor who’s quibbling over sporting minutiae. Technically, Walter’s correct in his claims, but he’s overreacted. Later,…
