To borrow an overused but otherwise well-suited sports trope, Rufus Wainwright prefers to “leave everything on the field.” Or in the recording studio, as the case may be. Known for his wrenching reveries, plainspoken torch songs, and operatic ballads of confession, the 36-year-old singer-songwriter is not one for holding back…
Kelly Clarkson is pissed. After she took creative control on My December, her label decided that shipping a million copies and hitting number two on the Billboard charts wasn’t quite good enough. Then they forced her back into the studio with the poppiest songwriters they could find. To make it…
Since The Format went on hiatus a few years ago, the once unconquerable Peoria duo — Nate Ruess and Sam Means — have gone their separate ways. Means, who still pops up at the occasional local show, recently released his soundtrack to The Sinking of Santa Isabel, an indie comedy…
Old hardcore rockers don’t die — they just learn to play “This Land is Your Land.” At least, that seems to be the operating principle behind this newly annual roots-rock hootenanny. Only Chuck Ragan of Hot Water Music is back from the last year’s maiden Revival Tour, but the format…
It’s been nearly eight years since The Used released their self-titled debut, which put them on the rock music map and helped create the screamo genre. The disc spawned four catchy singles: “The Taste of Ink,” “A Box Full of Sharp Objects,” “Buried Myself Alive,” and “Blue and Yellow.” And…
Frontman? Frontman?! This proggy instrumental-metal outfit doesn’t need no stinking frontman. On Geneva, their third full-length album, the Chicago-based trio proves fully capable of creating scintillating song narratives simply by shredding their asses off. From guitarist Mike Sullivan’s ominous, beast-summoning strikes on “Fathom” to the empty-desert bleakness of Brian Cook’s…
As if making an appearance on MTV’s The Hills and taking the female stars on a date wasn’t impressive enough, The White Tie Affair vocalist Chris Wallace floored us with his acoustic rendition of Lady Gaga’s “Paparazzi” on the band’s Web site. Okay, so the whole Hills thing was a…
THURSDAY 5 AZ/88: Mark 5 (rare groove, trip-hop, house) Bobby Q’s: All-Star Thursdays (reggae, hip-hop) Bomberos: Rani G., dk.stricker, & more (lounge, house) Bunkhouse: DJ Doom (dance) Club Red: Furious Styles Crew 16th anniversary with Pickster One, DJ M2, DJ Element, DJ Melo, & more (hip-hop) Drinx: Roc Thursdays with…
Some sad news from Tucson: Solar Culture, the venerable gallery/venue that has a lot in common with Phoenix’s soon-to-be-vastly-different Modified Arts, is on the auction block. The guy who runs it, artist Steven Eye, is apparently not the obvious winner. From Tucson Weekly. There are dark clouds gathering over Solar…
Band: A House Divided, a Phoenix-based four-piece alt-rock band that sounds like the recently re-united Creed. Record: A House Divided EP Basics: I suspect being compared to Creed will be seen as damning A House Divided with faint praise — and I sorta mean it to — but this band…
When I talked to Laci Lester a couple months back she warned me more cool concerts were coming to The Downtown Civic Space (aka Jellyfish Park). Now, we’re getting something pretty cool as The Fair Trade Store, City of Phoenix, and Arizona State University Downtown Campus, bring “The Civic Space…
ASU’s student radio station The Blaze 1330 AM is currently in the midst of their annual Campus Crawl, the station’s fall concert series. The first featured local act, Kirkwood Dellinger, took to the stage north of ASU’s Memorial Union around lunch time Monday. Despite midday temperatures creeping to 90, a…
Mid-November appears to be a great time to stage a concert in an Old Town. The Big Pour will have Everclear (also known as “My Favorite Band of Sophomore Year of High School”), in Scottsdale and Old Town Cottonwood (near Sedona) has three mellowish shows planned for people who don’t…
[jump] Here is yours truly’s own take on Melt-Banana/Melt-Banana Lite/Whatever the hell they need to call themselves: Japanese noise-rockers Melt-Banana made their name by shucking convention to the curb and recording loud, abrasive music employing heavy, screeching guitar riffs with experimental electronic music. That formula, while adored by their fans,…
Vocalist/guitarist Masaki Murashita of Phoenix metal band Hemoptysis has a new toy to show off. He’s recently been sponsored by Jackson Guitars and received a limited-edition EMG-X King V, which he’ll be showing off at upcoming shows, including a November 21 gig at Mardi Gras in Scottsdale.
Electric Mustache: mp3: Passion Pit Remix Max Tundra “Which Song”Everyone’s Blog Posts: All Nov. Events @ The Trunk Space: K Recs, Sound Art, Local break-neck rock, Label show cases, punkersIdolator: Aqua Warn Against The Dangers Of Color-Coordinating Your Dinner Parties’ MenusNME: Black Sabbath’s Tony Iommi ‘feeling great’ after stem-cell treatment…
Can we ever get enough of Halloween?We obviously don’t think so. And while New Times has certainly posted our fair share of Halloween slideshows, we can’t deny Club Candids the right.Yucca Tap Room has long proven to be one of our favorite places to hit on Halloween night and we…
[jump] Here she is:”I’m Your Daddy” is pretty standard fare, even for a band like Weezer. Rivers Cuomo loves to gallivant around these days, and why not? He hasn’t aged a bit since the Buddy Holly video. This video/collaboration is what it is, as deep as that may sound. Kenny G…
Hear some new music by indie experimental band Everything I’ve Never Seen, then take it home with you when they play Chyro Arts Saturday, November 7. The band releases their new 7-song, self-titled EP and gives out free copies to fans.
BY SARAH VENTRE I have to admit, in a quiet, whispered voice, that I actually don’t like Halloween. Trust me, I’ve tried. I’ve had no traumatic experiences around the event, or anything that should conceivably prevent me from enjoying the holiday that everyone else so loves. Sure, there are qualities…
Did you miss Phish’s festival in Indio, California last weekend but just really, really want to be at a show where everyone is high? You’re in luck, as 311 comes to The Marquee on Dec. 10. If smack is more your speed there’s also a Sublime cover band coming through…
