For an indie-pop group, Georgie James has had a rapid ascent, and they deserve it. Former Q and Not U drummer John Davis put his head together with the band’s other primary member, fellow Washington, D.C., songwriter Laura Burhenn, in 2005. Before long, they were opening for Camera Obscura on…
I still have a headache from visiting R&R Stix in East Mesa. I usually wait a couple of days after I hit a bar to review it (mostly to rid myself of the hangover), but I can’t wait to get this place down on paper. I’m feeling like hell, my…
Live and Collective Soul: Placentas on the floor and a groove core as deep as the Grand Canyon.
Do I ever feel ambivalent about this show. I guess I’ll start off by saying that both headlining bands (Sic Alps and the Magik Markers) are hip/hyped lo-fi garage noise acts that appeal exclusively to narrow/open-minded electric guitar addicts such as myself and that I was favorably inclined toward them in the first place. Hand me their records and I’ll amuse myself for hours like a happy rottweiler with a fresh side of moose. Windy sighs would be heard from my cloistered cell and you’d marvel at the idiot strength of my patience for semi-inept noise/psych bashings. But put me in a room with them and let me see how pathetically simple their getup is and you might just crush my cynical, cynical spirit.
Spandex tights? Check. Can of Aqua Net? Got it. Copy of Ratt’s Invasion of Your Privacy on vinyl? You betcha. Sounds like you’re locked and loaded for this week’s edition of Future Shock, which focuses on the often-outrageous genre of heavy metal. From dank and dirty death rock to glass-shattering superstars who’re known for their screaming talents, we’ve put together a list of some of the “just announced” concerts from a multitude of metal acts that will be visiting the Valley in the upcoming months. So strap on your leather pants, knock back a few cans of Schlitz, and get ready to rock out with your cock out.
Thursday 18 Anderson’s Fifth Estate: MODE Thursdays with Sonique des Fleurs, Sol Martinez, & guests (deep house) Big Fish Pub: Chronik Frequency Thursdays with DJ Ladykilla, DJ Papi Cholo, DJ Spawn, Kyle Wise, AWOL, & Dmok (breaks, electro, hip-hop, drum ‘n’ bass, rock) Bikini Lounge: Sophisticated Boom Boom with DJ…
Mavis Staples may be 68 years old, but the righteous fire that distinguished so many of her rich, bottomless vocals during an extraordinary 50-plus-year career continues to burn brightly. When asked why the songs of struggle that make up We’ll Never Turn Back, her moving new CD, need to be…
There was a time, in the early ’90s, when there was no mosh pit I wouldn’t brave. I loved the sweat-drenched chaos, the primordial release of pent-up aggression, the feeling of being one with a motley mass of metalheads. I even took pride in my post-pit injuries. At one show,…
After taking a week off, we wanted to return to the scene with some class. So instead of slumming it with plastic cups and scummy restrooms, we decided to check out the Phoenix dig that’s known for a hot mess of $30K millionaires, the Merc Bar. On Friday, October 12,…
Until now, Elton John, Philip Norman’s 1992 unauthorized biography of the piano man, has stood as the definitive word (also updated in 2000 as Sir Elton: The Definitive Biography, for those who missed the point). That’s the tome where we first learned about “Elton’s little moments” — his frequent tantrums…
Were you one of the thousands of hopefuls who submitted demo tapes to BBC Radio 1 DJ John Peel? Perhaps he didn’t play it, let alone include it on his annual Festive 50 list. But consider this: Did you describe your music as “jazz”? Boast about your saxophone player? Profess…
This CD sounds like sitting in the back of a 1976 Dodge van, surrounded by blacklight posters, clouds of incense smoke, and stacks of 8-tracks. Musically, it’s like some time-warped orgy of Cream, Black Sabbath, and Electric Light Orchestra; lyrically, it’s all dragons, wizards, and cryptic cheesiness oozing over macabre…
Shelby James and the Crying Shames’ Cadillac Valentine is an often sprightly blend of ’90s rock, country, blues, driving bass and drums, and ’60s-esque guitar and vocal riffs. Drawing on influences far and wide, the lyrics quote songs by everyone from Pink Floyd to Oasis, and the melodies are reminiscent…
Magic is being hyped as Springsteen’s rocking return to his classic period, and that’s understandable: The album contains lotsa familiar musical totems, not to mention lyrics about driving a highway until the road turns black, and a diner on the edge of town (bet it’s dark there). But while Boss…
Konono No. 1 is from the Congo, and they make music unlike anything you’ve ever heard. Their music is based on the sound of the mingiedi, the Congolese thumb piano, also known as the kalimba and sanza. Band leader Mawangu Mingiedi moved to Kinshasa (Congo’s capital) in the ’70s and…
In his first appearance as a bandleader in New York in more than a decade, Santa Fe-based saxophonist and clarinetist Daniels played a four-day residence at The Iridium Jazz club, a well-known jazz spot best recognized for its regular Monday-night sessions with nonagenarian guitarist Les Paul. This two-disc package contains…
Frontman Matt Pond doesn’t care for the term “chamber pop,” and it’s a loose fit. His band’s sound is more Delgados than Belle & Sebastian, which is to say that though the quintet frequently uses strings for texture and its melancholy tone, there’s a sturdy indie rock undertone recalling Sebadoh,…
As one of the most prominent promoters of Hawaiian culture today, Keali’i Reichel (pronounced Key-ah-li-ee Ray-shell) takes an educational approach during his live concerts. “It’s a good mixture of hula, storytelling and music,” he says during a phone interview from his native Maui. Though he sings mostly in Hawaiian, he…
Cave Singers frontman/guitarist Pete Quirk doesn’t need a band, really. He’s got a vocal delivery so weathered and lived-in — thin as a middle-aged woman’s croak, almost, or a limited Perry Farrell — that it’d even be a devastating weapon sans instrumental accompaniment. His voice speaks woeful volumes and drips…
It’s almost impossible to believe Bobby Bare Jr. is the son of legendary countrypolitan crooner Bobby Bare. Bare Jr.’s tongue-in-cheek lyrics, dry vocals, and ’60s pop-infused melodies are in direct opposition to his father’s schmaltzy country fare. To be certain, there is the occasional pedal steel lick, but the younger…
Beware the Jabberwock, my son, not to mention the Jubjub bird, the sneaky Snark, or any of the other boojumed bizarrities that will surely journey Through the Looking Glass for Tis Brillig, on Saturday, October 20, at the Starlight Room, 16737 East Parkview Avenue, in Fountain Hills. Dubbed by organizers…
Rather than espouse the many virtues of Weird Al Yankovic’s live show, I’ve elected to let my inner child write a brief “review” of the spectacle and follow it up with an off-the-wall, exclusive interview I had with Weird Al a couple weeks before his Phoenix show.
