Vial of Sound @ Crescent Ballroom, 4/13/2013 Obviously, I was not at Coachella. But I don’t get what the big deal about it is, so I didn’t care. Besides, something great happens when a bunch of local talent comes together. Sure, music scenes have their pitfalls, their petty grudges, the…
Credit: Marco TorresAs we mentioned earlier, the bros are freaking bringing it this year! Sure, we all know about the women who wear just about nothing, but the guys are getting exceedingly creative, particularly when it comes to their funny T-shirts. So it’s time to give the men some props…
Oliver ScherilloNew OrderNew Order While over at the main stage, the bulk of the Coachella crowd was enduring Phoenix with the hope that Daft Punk would come out — they instead got R. Kelly — a smaller but perhaps more enthusiastic crowd got a first-rate greatest hits set from New…
Timothy NorrisThis dude’s actually drug free. But he still knows his rightsHate to say it, but some of you at Coachella are going to be approached by police officers assuming you have drugs. Well, you just may, but guess what? You still have rights, man. See also: Everything You Need…
Garrison Keillor knows about all the cool stuff way before the rest of us do — we were in Tucson a couple of weeks ago, innocently catching a show at Plush that featured old friends of whom we’re huge fans, and it turned out to be the release show for…
Of all the things Merle Haggard and Sigur Rós have in common, this is perhaps the most important: They’re both playing in Arizona on Friday. But that doesn’t guarantee they’ll end up in today’s Top Five Must-See Shows in Phoenix This Weekend. Of course, if you’re at Country Thunder this…
Arizona’s leg of Country Thunder 2013 begins Thursday in Florence, and if you haven’t decided whether to go already, you have some ticket-buying decisions to make in a hurry. It’s with that in mind that we at Up on the Sun are providing the following public service: a complete schedule…
Credit: Nanette Gonzales “Love Is Strange”By Katie Bain Ladies travel site Misstravel.com recently named named Coachella the number one music festival at which to go on a first date. For so many reasons, this is a terrible idea. Issue number one is that unless you have a day-pass scenario worked…
Phoenix! It’s our top five must-see shows this week…
Black Lips, Destruction Unit, Andrew Jackson Jihad @ Marquee Theatre|4/6/13I do this thing with movies where if it’s a director I like, I refuse to view trailers, read interviews or any news whatsoever related to the film until I’ve seen it in theaters. I did this with No Country for…
Aaron Carter is the younger brother of Backstreet Boy Nick Carter, and he sang some songs in the early 2000s that were fairly big hits: “Crush on You,” “I Want Candy,” “That’s How I Beat Shaq.” Then, you know, he sorta wasn’t super-famous. But there’s a twist to the story…
Hey ya, the weekend is here. So get off the couch and go dancing, Phoenix. Maybe these shows: Our Top Five Must-See Shows in Phoenix This Weekend…
It’s become a tradition around here. Every week, on Monday — the worst of all days — we bring you our Top Five Must-See Shows in Phoenix this week. You know, to help make it all bearable. Dig in, kiddos…
Mindless Self Indulgence @ Marquee Theatre|3/29/13Mindless Self Indulgence is truly an enigma, an exception to the rule, or “ten thousand spoons when all you need is a knife.” The band’s so original that you can’t place a tag on them or put them in a genre. The band paid a…
Jeff Mangum @ Crescent Ballroom|3/28/13Okay, so it’s announced that Jeff Mangum is coming to town and he has two shows the same night. That means I have to choose. Which one? Which one! Will he play the same songs twice? If so, the second half is bound to suck, right,…
Hey ya, the weekend is here. So get off the couch and get to some shows, Phoenix. Maybe these shows: Our Top Five Must-See Shows in Phoenix This Weekend…
Are you still sleeping off the hangover you picked up at the 10th annual McDowell Mountain Music Festival? In case you somehow missed it, MMMF 2013 brought some great acts to Phoenix. We’re still tapping our feet every time we hear a song by The Roots or The Shins, and…
Hank Williams III (Hank 3 to those in the know) says Dale Watson is one of his favorite artists — a tried-and-true country artist — and goes so far to shout him out to audiences at virtually every concert. This appeal is easy to understand: Watson is a throwback to…
Billy Bragg @ Crescent Ballroom|3/26/13For his first-ever Phoenix show, Billy Bragg gave his all, of all of his sides — the young punk firebrand, the activist, the lover, the Woody Guthrie acolyte, the folk malcontent, and the Bard of Barking hawking his new album. Though the new record, Tooth &…
Attendees of last weekend’s McDowell Mountain Music Festival at Margaret T. Hance Park found plenty of ways to feel the music during all three days of the event, including those folks of crunchier, groovier, and dread-headed bent. Over the past decade, the springtime concert festival has been a popular destination…
This weekend, McDowell Mountain Music Festival celebrated its 10-year anniversary in style, at a new primo location of Margret T. Hance Park, with good beer from Deschutes, and with awesome bands like The Shins, The Roots, Balkan Beat Box, Les Claypool, and more. You can catch up on our reviews,…
Anthrax @ Marquee Theatre|3/24/13There are few things more exciting than being present for the start of a legendary thrash band’s tour, when they are fresh, energetic, and have a brand-new set list. Metalheads in Tempe had that glorious opportunity Sunday night, when the Metal Alliance Tour came through town on…
