By John Dickerson Suburbanites unite. Grab your iPods, and sport your American Apparel/Urban Outfitter goodies, because Ben Folds is coming to town. Yes it’s true. And anyone who was ever anyone will be there on at Gammage in Tempe on Tuesday. Would you believe Ben Folds turned 42 this year?…
By Jonathan McNamara Star Wars invades MS Walk on the Wild Side Costumed storm troopers direct from Star Wars’ joined forces with the Ghostbusters in a charity walk to find a cure for MS on Saturday, November 8, 2008. Concert Review: Elf Power and Vic Chesnutt at Modified on Nov…
By Jonathan McNamara “When you go to a free show, you get what you pay for,” lead singer Tony Sly mumbled to a frenzied crowd of half-drunk punk enthusiasts at Yucca Tap Room, “a band that’s been drinking since five.” Sly was honest on all counts, but he neglected to…
By Jonathan McNamara It started with a montage of clips from every bit of her career. She hated on Jerry Seinfeld. She assured Marcellus Wallus that she would testify in court for him. She antagonized Brooke Shields before finally taking her place among these personalities as the star of her…
See more Elf Power shots in our slideshow. By Martin Cizmar There’s a shortage of music for the contented. Not the ecstatically happy or the introspective, mind you, but for those who are simply satisfied with life for a moment. That’s why it was such a joy to see Elf…
The Fell City Shouts are scheduled to perform tonight at the The Lost Leaf. Tonight’s the monthly First Friday art walk in downtown Phoenix, and — as always — we’ve put together a list of some of the musical and performers who’ll be doing their thing along Grand Avenue and…
By Martin Cizmar The Yucca Tap Room’s no cover policy has always served me well, usually by getting a bunch of cheap friends to see a cool local band without bitching about their $5. Occasionally, though, things really get interesting, as a national act comes in to play a free…
By Martin Cizmar
A few show announcements fans of alt-country are going to like this week, led by Cottonwood’s Junior Brown and California’s Limbeck.
By Benjamin Leatherman The Dirty Heads are scheduled to perform tonight at the Clubhouse Music Venue in Tempe. It’s been three days since President-elect Barack Obama made his historic ascension to the White House and we’re certain man of you still feel like celebrating (well, at least 44 percent of…
This week’s flier of the week is for a show that’s slightly out of town, but sounds really cool. As Chris Hansen Orf told you in this week’s paper, Mountain Mojo III is a hippie shindig up in Jerome, where Tempe’s Mojo Farmer play once a year. They’re also joined by Mossy Rocks, The Breadwinners, Bargrass Revival, Joy World Entertainment Co., The Overtones, and Nacho Jesus, so grab a tent and a lighter and head on up.
By Benjamin Leatherman The beat-spitting boys of Silver Medallion: Oren J. (left) and Carnegie. Oren J. and Carnegie have seen their fair share of excess going down in Scottsdale. Whether its chicas and dudes getting it on in the darkened corners of nightclubs or big ballas rolling around in their…
A Yuma deputy prosecutor and Lil Wayne’s co-counsel confirmed for New Times today that the rap star was present for a court hearing in his drug possession case, despite Internet rumors that he had died.
Say you are a “winter visitor” to Arizona, sitting in your Buick at a stoplight in east Mesa, listening to Sean Hannity on your factory-installed radio. There you are, enjoying your retirement, when you notice the car in front of you has a “Fuck Strange Young Things” sticker in the…
With the release of his 1987 sophomore album, Surfing with the Alien, Joe Satriani effectively established himself as a guitar icon. Aside from his obvious command of proficiency and flashy technique, Satriani was able to rise above the niche visibility of the guitar-shredder ghetto on the strength of the lyricism…
It’s not often that a local band gets national recognition. It’s also not often that a local band has a song featured in a movie released internationally. Yet that’s exactly what Tramps and Thieves has done, all in about four months. In June, the group that guitarist/vocalist Emmett DeGuvera refers…
THURSDAY 6 Bikini Lounge: DJ HFE (rockabilly, surf, jazz, classic country, indie, obscuro) Blooze Bar: DJ El Dedo (rockabilly) Bunkhouse: DJ Doom (dance) Cherry Lounge: DJ M2 (hip-hop, Top 40) Club Red: The Blunt Club with Pickster Uno, DJ Element, Emerg McVay, Ultra Black, & Xian 1 (hip-hop, dubstep) J-Heads:…
Back in the day (read: a few years ago), it would’ve been unwise to give Pete Didonato any lip when he was working the mixers. Chances are the fierce-looking former bouncer might’ve answered back with his fists. “My temper got the best of me back then and people usually got…
Chicago’s The Sea and Cake continues to refine its unique bossa nova-tinged blue-eyed-soul dream-pop with Car Alarm. Though there are few surprises, it’s a consistently captivating throughout. The opener “Aerial” and the title song charge from the speakers like outtakes from the Flamin’ Groovies’ Shake Some Action. A solid beat,…
Those who’ve heard the first two Eagles of Death Metal albums predominantly fall into two camps: either fully onboard with the tongue-in-cheek bluesy rock and offbeat shenanigans of frontman Jesse “Boots Electric” Hughes and Josh “Baby Duck” Homme, or left cold by their ’70s-rock homage and accompanying antics, like those…
Some artists emerge fully formed from the gate; others have to wait and see how their talents evolve. For some years now, Larkin Grimm, a singer/guitarist raised mostly in Appalachian Georgia who now roams about the country, has worked somewhere between those two descriptions: a compelling musician who has yet…
Fourteen years into a largely unheralded career, Elf Power is still at it, even if the band has never made the big time. In fact, it never came close. Led by frontman Andrew Rieger, this indie-rock band has been the odd man out in some buzz-worthy scenes. Despite its association…
When it comes to avant-garde rock bands, there are usually two distinct routes: noisy cathartic (Sonic Youth, Dead C) and dissonant/drone-y ominous (Spiritualized, This Heat). Then there are the bands that go to a third extreme, exuding a smug “Gosh, aren’t we just so zany and quirky?” attitude. Few bands…
