You excited for McDowell Mountain Music Fest yet? No? Not yet? Well, that’s about to change, kids, because no one in their right mind would want to miss The Flaming Lips Saturday set after seeing this amazing cover of Madonna’s “Borderline.”By the way, we’re doing our own little covers project…
So we here at Up on the Sun are here to make sure you, our dear readers, get the best of Valley culture and music. Ergo, since Scott “Bringing Out My Punk Side Tonight” MacIntyre happens to hail from our great state, we thought we’d check out his performance before…
From our sister paper in St. Louis comes a funny blog post about a Craigslist ad for a new indie rock club that’s requiring a mix CD with applications for bartender, barback, and doorman.mix cd should contain music in and around the neighborhood of indie rock/pop. the more unknown the…
Generally, I write positive reviews about bands that are good at what they do. I like a little bit of everything, so it’s not that hard for me to appreciate either a delicate ballad or ear-shredding thrash. Shit, I genuinely love the first Britney Spears record, and think Toby Keith…
Armed with subtle yet snarky British vocals and a staggering amount of originality, Britain’s Mica Levi has assembled an album that stands as one of 2009’s best so far. I know I have already deemed Reintegration Time by Edmonton’s Shout Out Out Out Out as my favorite of 2009 (and…
Actually, Scotty the Blue Bunny points out he’s not an easter bunny at all. He’s just your average 6-foot-plus-tall, bearded, 40-something dude in a sparkly blue spandex bunny suit who happens to be the guest star of this Thursday’s Easter Alternative at Cherry Lounge and Pit in Tempe. Check out…
From superstar writer Stephenie Meyer, the author of the Twilight phenomenon, to a virtual list of who’s who of Young Adult authors including J.S. Lewis, P.J. Haarasma, Chris Gall, Shannon Hale, Dean Lorey, Brandon Mull, James A. Owen, Janette Rallison, and Laini Taylor — all donated their time and prized…
Am I the only one who didn’t realize people were still listening to Incubus? The band’s been around 1991, and seemingly peaked in 1999 with the double platinum Make Yourself, but is somehow still has a #1 album, and is playing Jobing.com Arena. Go figure. So, I guess that’s a…
Wait! Before you check out all the content from our weekend coverage, grab a big cup of coffee and relax. It was a big weekend and as such, there’s a lot here. Take it in and enjoy it. Tempe Music Fest 2009 This weekend Tempe Music Fest 2009 united us…
It makes sense these days for some older acts to get out on tour and start playing some shows. Just looking at this past weekend in the Valley, we saw Springsteen, Lou Reed and Leonard Cohen all unravel some shows well in the twilight of their respective careers. Paul Frederic…
There are few artists in the same league as Leonard Cohen. Even Lou Reed has placed the poet and songwriter in the “highest and most influential echelon of songwriters.” There are few as respected as revered Cohen and yet he has been able to maintain an air of distance and…
“Have you ever been given meditation instructions at a concert before?” the emcee asked as the crowd sat down at Chandler Center for the Arts to witness a benefit concert by Velvet Underground legend Lou Reed, his wife, performance artist Laurie Anderson.We had not, but that quickly changed. It was…
This weekend Tempe Music Fest 2009 united us once again from scattered Valley citizenry to one cohesive force bent on rocking the hell out. This year Fergy and My Chemical Romance got traded in for straight ahead rock-‘n’-rollers Kid Rock and 3 Doors Down with a couple of All-American Rejects…
There’s one word that describes the Calexico concert at Heritage Square last night: Classy. From the tastefully-appointed stage, to the home-made tamales and high-end beer (Tecate and Four Peaks products only; no Bud) to the gorgeous textures of the band’s unique blend of Western and Tejano music and indie rock,…
Celebrity sightings, beautiful weather, an on-site Circle K and a stellar music roster were part of the fun Saturday for the Tempe Music Festival. Our annual fest brought out names such as Frankie Muniz from Malcolm in the Middle, who held hands with his girlfriend most of the afternoon backstage,…
The annual Country Thunder festival at the dusty Canyon Moon Ranch just outside of Florence is country music’s version of a cattle drive, where over four days some of the bigger names in country music are herded on stage to bleat their biggest hits, then lassoed off to make way…
Hey guys, still figuring out liveblogging possibilities from Tempe Music Fest, but if you wanna keep track of the happenings go to twitter.com/NewTimesKelly or (for another hour or so) me at twitter.com/martincizmar. Shiny Toy Guns, our web editor Jonathan McNamara’s personal Beatles, are currently on stage, and Little Stevie from…
I’ve spent the last year telling everyone who’ll listen that Country Thunder is the premier music festival in Arizona. Whether you like country music or not, you should recognize that compared with any other festival in the state Country Thunder’s acts are bigger, the crowd crazier, the part wilder. So…
I’ve never seen Modified Arts as packed as it was last night during Will Oldham’s performance as Bonnie Prince Billy. And it’s no surprise why. More than 60 people jammed into the downtown Phoenix music venue to watch the iconic and enigmatic indie folk hero’s long, powerful concert that lasted…
Maybe it was the bouncing beach balls that reminded me of my first concert experiences (seeing the Kokomo-era Beach Boys) or maybe it was the inclusion of a relatively obscure song by glam-punks D Generation (the band who headlined my first-ever club concert) in the before-set house music, but something about Bruce Springsteen’s show at Jobing.com Arena…
Fall Out Boy kicked off the first date of their Believers Never Die Tour Friday at Mesa Amiptheatre with a nearly 90-minute set that covered all the hits as well as highlights from their latest disc Folie A Deux. Chicago’s fantastic four, dressed sharply in suits, took the stage a…
The All-American Rejects held a super secret show Friday in a warehouse on the northeast corner of McClintock and Broadway. OK, it wasn’t a show as much as a jam session in preparation of Saturday’s Tempe Music Fest but it was pretty damn cool nonetheless. The jam session was so…
