Flier of the Week: Austin Gibbs at The Trunk Space

This eye-catching flier comes courtesy of Mesa indie musician Austin Gibbs, who plays this Friday, April 23 with a bunch of local bands at The Trunk Space in Phoenix. Not really sure what it means, but it definitely is eye-catching. The girl’s blue eyes are brought out even more by…

Daughtry

While many American Idol finalists go on to Z-list fame — anyone remember Nicki McKibbin, who graced the cast of VH1’s Celebrity Rehab? — former American Idol fourth-place finisher Chris Daughtry has proved his star isn’t in danger of falling anytime soon. Daughtry, who sold over 5 million copies of…

Critics, Love, and The Avett Brothers

At one point in their career, the North Carolina trio The Avett Brothers (brothers Scott and Seth Avett, along with Bob Crawford), were better suited to perform at an old fashioned hootenanny than at a classy place like Mesa Arts Center. But though the band started out playing old-timey bluegrass,…

The Sand Rubies Are Arizona’s Ultimate Bad Luck Story

The great “could have been” story is a tired tale in the music business. Anyone with more than a casual relationship with popular music can remember a band that should have been huge, likely an act similar to another act that did hit it big. Mine: Christian pop geniuses, the…

Kottonmouth Kings

Sometimes, the world just has a way of working out. Like how this year, April 20 happened to fall on a Tuesday — the day new albums are released — enabling Kottonmouth Kings to debut their latest full-length, Long Live the Kings, on 4/20. It’s only fitting for a group…

Seven Nights of DJs & Dancing

THURSDAY 22 27th Avenue Bar: Ladies Night with DJ Moy, & DJ Jared Paul (Top 40, hip-hop, Latin) Afterlife: Filthy Thursdays (dubstep, breakbeats) AZ88: Mr. P-Body & Friends (classic and old-school grooves) Bikini Lounge: DJ Shane Kennedy (jazz, blues, country, R&B, rarities) Bobby Q’s: All-Star Thursdays (hip-hop, Top 40) Bomberos:…

Cypress Hill

Far be it from me to deny these reefer-rap legends the freedom to reinvent themselves, but seriously: What’s the deal with Cypress Hill’s new album, Rise Up? From a cover-art standpoint, it looks like runoff from a Billy Bragg sample book — all played-out Bolshevik lithography and overdeveloped forearms. Not…

Megafaun

Megafaun. Mega-fun? Megaphone? Mega-fawn, as in a big gigantic deer? How are you supposed to pronounce the name of this band? I have no idea. But I do know this: It doesn’t matter. Whether you can pronounce it or not, you’re sure to have good time at this show —…

PCL Fridays

There’s just over five months until the Red Bull Thre3Style national finals go down in Denver, and Phoenix’s JR Phillips (a.k.a. D-JR) is probably gonna need all that time to perfect his turntable talents. The 26-year-old mixmaster bested six other P-town cats last month to earn a berth in the…

Zooey Deschanel and Three Other Jazz Singers Who Just Can’t Sing

Two types of jazz singing inspired this piece. First, the good: Norah Jones at Tempe’s Red River Opry (now the Marquee Theatre) in July 2002. At the time of this show, Come Away With Me, Jones’ jazz-ish debut, had yet to hit suburbia stereos en masse. However, after blow-me-away interpretations…

The First Global Musical Instrument Museum Opens in Phoenix

The Musical Instrument Museum — which debuts to the public this weekend and will showcase instruments from every single country in the world — is, honest to goodness, to die for. Seriously. Somebody perished in the act of instrument procuring. As you can imagine, stocking and displaying multiple instruments from…

Mickey’s Hangover Returning In June As Just The Hangover

Attention Scottsdale cougars, club goers, and other creatures of the night: Your after-hours options are about to improve, thanks to the impending return of an old friend.Less than a year after exiting the Old Town scene, late-night favorite Mickey’s Hangover is making a comeback, albeit with different proprietors, a whole…

Coachella from Behind a Lens

A seething, primal mass of humanity jockeys for position in front of the main stage as the Indio sun beats down on Coachella 2010. They have moved beyond the point of patience and civility. Their shattered minds have but one thought as they claw toward the front of the stage:…

An Open Letter To Coachella

​​Dear Goldenvoice, Promoter of the Coachella Valley Arts & Music Festival,My name is Michael Lopez, I am 26 years old and I have been attending your festival for the past five years. In those past five years, I have had some of the best music experiences in my life. In…

The Apples in Stereo: Travellers in Space and Time

Artist: The Apples in StereoTitle: Travellers in Space and TimeRelease date: April 20Label: SimianI’d remembered seeing The Apples in Stereo open for Luna at Chicago’s Metro in 1997 and was looking forward to hearing the band’s new record, Travellers in Space and Time. At that show, they played guitar-based, mid-tempo,…

Howl at the Moon Piano Bar Closed

It’s said that the average lifespan of a new business is around three years or so. Too bad Howl at the Moon didn’t even make it to one.The Scottsdale location for the national piano bar chain closed sometime in the past few days after only being open for about six…

Could Adam Ant Be Collaborating with a Gallagher Brother?

According to NME, Adam Ant has publicly stated that he’s made his first album in 15 years, and that you’ll be able to hear an ex-Oasis member on it.If you’re anything like me, and you were totally and completely devastated when you found out that Noel Gallagher had finally had…

More Coachella Madness in Photos

Just when you thought it was safe, we have three more Coachella 2010 slides shows courtesy of LA Weekly for you to take a gander at. Long live the ‘Chella. Top 25 Coachella Tattoos The 40 Most Memorable People at Coachella Coachella: Hippies or Hipsters?…

What’s Selling: Record Store Day Roundup

This week, looking at What’s Selling is a little different. That’s because Saturday was the long-anticipated Record Store Day, and hopefully you didn’t miss out.Not only did all of our favorite local record stores have live in-store performances, but they sold a ton of exclusive material only available one day…