It’s probably an oddity that Columbus, Ohio had a reputation for producing quality country music for so long, but that’s what spawning Dwight Yoakam does for you. But whatever country cred the giant-Applebee’s-of-a-city had through Yoakam was quickly squandered in 2004 when Rascal Flatts’ “Mayberry” undid it all as quickly…
I rode the light rail for the first time last night, from downtown Phoenix to downtown Tempe and back again. For my money (which is to say, free, because I have a student pass that allows me to ride public transit to my hearts content) it was a most excellent…
Almost every local venue has been going through a long post-holiday slump, booking-wise. Not Trunk Space. The Jewel of Grand Avenue has been staging a ton of shows lately, including the Back Ted N-Ted concert we shot earlier this week and the concert promoted by this cool flier, local folkie…
You’d think the good people of Scottsdale suffered enough during the reign of Dirty Scottsdale, when any drunken night in an Old Town club could lead to online humiliation, but they’ve been targeted again.No, Nik Ritchie is still basically ignoring his roots, and posting stuff about British soccer players instead…
Brand new to the internet this week is the latest effort from DJ Minty Fresh Beats, otherwise known as 22-year old New Yorker Max Tannone. Tannone has harnessed the eternal power of Jay-Z’s The Black Album for his own evil-doing, choosing Radiohead as his partner in crime in creating this…
Video may have killed the radio star, but video could also nab one Valley resident a free trip to this year’s Grammy Awards at the STAPLES Center in Los Angeles.
Ministry of Love is scheduled to perform Friday at PHiX Gallery. There’s something of an indie/alt-rock bent to this weekend’s slate of concerts, as numerous shoegazers, mop-toppers, and other shabby chic types will be performing around these parts sometime in the next 72 hours. For instance, Friday features Minuiature Tigers…
Drive your rocket-powered Chevy Impala down to this east Phoenix bar for a drink.We’re barely a week into 2009, but I’ve already found a winner for the “Coolest New Name for a Bar” award: It’s “Darwin’s Waiting Room,” the moniker that was recently bestowed upon the watering hole formerly known…
These are tough economic times, what with a recession driven by the housing crash and skyrocketing unemployment. It’s damn near impossible in such a climate to splurge on our hobbies and passions. Who can afford New Kids on the Block tickets or iPods jam-packed with soundtrack-baiting Killers tracks when some…
THURSDAY 8 Axis/Radius: Ladies Night with DJ MCB (hip-hop, Top 40, rock) Blooze Bar: DJ El Dedo (rockabilly) Bunkhouse: DJ Doom (dance) Club Red: The Blunt Club with Pickster Uno, DJ Element, Emerg McVay, & more (hip-hop) Crabby Don’s: DJ Johnny Knuckles (mash-ups, Top 40, ’80s) J-Heads: Thursday Night Artist…
A couple of years ago, The Loveblisters arguably were the hottest band in Arizona. They played out nearly every week — often several shows a week — and they still drew, which isn’t easy. Their 2005 record, Silver White Sunlight, was beloved locally and labeled “one of the finest slabs…
One Thursday last spring, Ted Myers was stuck in a cubicle, trying to figure out his future. He’d graduated from ASU with a degree in communications the year before, and got a job selling ads for a local newspaper (coincidentally, the one you’re reading), where he dressed business casual and…
One basic characteristic of Bollywood films is the fact that actors generally do not use their own singing voices during the musical numbers — that task goes to playback singers like Asha Bhosle, who has participated in almost 1,000 such flicks during the past six decades. In the meantime, she…
Kieran Hebden is an electronica performer better known as Four Tet; drummer Steve Reid is a veteran of 1960s and ’70s R&B and free jazz scenes. They initially seem like an unlikely pairing, but not when one considers the cross-pollination between jazz, electronica, and indie-rock scenes over the past couple…
For a band not too far removed from high school, you’d think Ministry of Love might have paid more attention in English class. In George Orwell’s 1984, the Ministry of Love was the building where Winston Smith was interrogated, tortured, and brainwashed. Not exactly the epitome of “love.” Considering the…
Before embarking on a national tour with Valley darlings Dear and The Headlights — one that ends with a swanky SxSW showcase — Phoenix’s own Miniature Tigers will hone their craft at Modified Arts. A spot at SxSW seems like the natural progression for the band, fresh off their performance…
Ladies and gentleman, start your SoCal punk and rap-rock engines. Orange County punk rockers (hed) p.e. are kicking off their 2009 tour in Tempe a day after their new album, New World Orphans, hits the shelves. Now, I know what you’re thinking: “What does the ‘p.e.’ stand for?” Perhaps it’s…
We sincerely hope the walls of the Draw 10 Lounge, 5444 East Washington Street, are earthquake-proof because they definitely will be shaking, thanks to all the bass-heavy beats that will be blasted Saturday, January 10, during Jumpdown Sessions Vol. II. A throbbing selection of dubstep, jungle, and other booming genres…
Da REAList is not Plies’ meditation on Platonic realism; it’s mostly just demonstrably false braggadocio and sentimental hooey. The main problem with this record is that a July Hip Hop DX report showed that despite Plies’ claims to be a lifelong thug, he’s actually been arrested only twice — fairly…
Heading into their full-length debut with a full head of steam — thanks in part to a series of infectious singles — British four-piece Late of the Pier crashes the party, ready to unleash an unflinching electronic sound upon the masses. Most of the album consists of bizarre sounds that…
Hot Chip’s “Ready For The Floor” is my favorite song of the moment, so I was interested to learn that the band’s next project, an EP with Robert Wyatt and Geese is scheduled to come out on Jan. 27. If you want it, though, you’re gonna have to go in…
The Jury may still be out on whether Merriweather Post Pavilion is the best album of 2009, but the band has best album art of the year, or the past few years for that matter, locked up in some people’s eyes, including mine.As Domino Records gets ready to release the…
