Sometimes you see a press photo of a band and laugh. Is one guy staring artfully away from the others? Are they pressed against a brick wall? Are they all making the goofy face? Phoenix-based metal band Howitzer isn’t having any of that. Seriously — look at these guys. They…
The Sheepdogs, Black Joe Lewis and the Honeybears Crescent BallroomNovember 9, 2011 Until last night, I had never been to a show where the crowd enjoyed the opener more than the headliner. Way to go, Sheepdogs! The whole room chanted “Sheepdogs” when the band took to the stage, giving the…
Odd Future hates me. Okay, so not me specifically (at least I don’t think), but what I do: write about music. The group’s relationship with the media has been complicated. They wound of up on the cover of Billboard, them promptly trashed the magazine at a SxSW showcase gig. Nearly…
Okay, seriously. Here us out. This is not a list of bands containing black people (some do, some don’t), it’s a list of bands with “black” in their band names. I came up with the idea shortly after The Black Lips performed at The Rhythm Room, and waited for another…
M83 Crescent Ballroom Monday, November 7 “Epic” is a word that has come to be synonymous with the music of M83. Fans use it to describe the band’s live experience and frontman Anthony Gonzalez himself has used it to describe the double-album, Hurry Up, We’re Dreaming; the new release he’s…
While M83 was bringing “epic” sounds to Crescent Ballroom, a very different kind of epic was going down across town at The Rhythm Room. The Bo-Keys, seven pieces lead by Scott Bomar and featuring Stax/Hi Records players Archie “Hubby” Turner on keys, Howard Grimes on drums, and Ben Cauley (the…
Given the nature of the tribute band game, acts usually wow or disgust. There’s not much room for gray area. When it comes to the real legends and the emotional attachments fans have to their records, bands like Led Zeppelin, it’s go big or go home. For example, “Achilles Last…
As we reported a few weeks ago, Authority Zero is getting ready to head across the pond for a tour of Japan. “Japan has come about from a combination of two things: one, the four records we have released over there since 2001, and two, the promoters we work with…
Phantogram Crescent Ballroom Saturday, November 5 It’s been a good year for Phantogram. This trip-hop duo played a bunch of festivals, including Coachella, where they attracted a crowd of over 10,000 people in spite of sharing a time slot with The Strokes. Phantogram is currently touring in support of its…
LIGHTSNovember 5, 2011Nile TheaterWhen Canadian electro pop artist LIGHTS, the project name of Lights Valerie Poxleinter, came to the Nile Theater for a headlining show last year, it was clear the crowd loved her, but for all her talent in unifying her fans under one roof, it wasn’t clear that…
Youth Lagoon Crescent Ballroom Friday, November 4, 2011 Last night can be summed up in one word: poetic. Phoenix got some long overdue rain, ushering in eagerly awaited hoodie weather, and Youth Lagoon, the brainchild of Boise’s Trevor Powers, played its second show in Phoenix. Youth Lagoon released its debut…
You’ve got to be one bad, weirdo mofo for King Khan, leader of The Shrines, 1/2 of King Khan and BBQ show (before duo went bust), and about a thousand other obscure soul-funk-garage releases, to dedicate a whole song to you. But that’s exactly what’s going on with “Bob Log…
Peter Murphy and She Wants Revenge Marquee Theatre Thursday, November 3 Peter Murphy is a weird dude. Known as the “Godfather of Goth” for his work fronting Bauhaus, one of the pioneers of the genre. Murphy has released eight solo albums since Bauhaus broke up in 1983. He is a…
Local musician Dave Murrow is a man with the magic hat. One minute he puts it on, and in a rhythmic whirlwind of sound, he becomes Dfactor Dave, front man of power pop rock band Dfactor. Or he can use it to reach in and channel his inner John Lennon…
Phantogram is hitting the road in support of the follow up EP, or “mini-EP” as guitarist Josh Carter likes to call it, to the group’s dynamic debut LP, Eyelid Movies. Last year, this trip-hop group played a packed show at Rip’s Ales and Cocktails for Sticky Fingers. This time around,…
Nobunny, Mangled Men, JJCnV, and Andrew and his Feisty Felines Yucca Tap Room Wednesday, November 2, 2011 I think my favorite part of my recent JFA/skate punk oral history was Brian Brannon’s description of the early ’80s Phoenix punk scene: “It was good to have so many diverse bands like…
Reptar makes it look easy. Y’know, the whole “band” thing. The whole build a fanbase, tour, release albums… all that. But the way that the fast-rising dance-pop band’s career has evolved seems so by the book that it seems a little off. After all, didn’t the digital revolution mean that…
Das Racist Crescent Ballroom Tuesday, November 1, 2011 From the outside, last night’s Das Racist show seemed like a typical hip-hop show. The trappings were the same: a bunch of MCs on stage, a hypeman/woman, and a DJ — but on closer inspection, there was something unusually eccentric about Das…
Otoacoustic Emissions at St. Augustine’s Church in Tempe Monday, October 31, 2011 According to the Billboard Contemporary Christian Music charts, “Courageous,” by the Georgia-based band Casting Crowns, is the most popular Christian song in America. The song is a lot of things: vaguely arena rock, pitched somewhere between Coldplay and…
Now you and your kids can dance to social activist music as performed by 99% of the bands in the Phoenix area. Not really, but the music roster at The 99% Unityfest on November 5 is looking pretty full, packed with talent from rock, hip-hop, funk, indie, folk outfits and more…
Back in May, Lydia announced that they’d be coming back from hiatus… sort of. The Gilbert-formed band is returning as a shell of itself, with co-founder Leighton Antelman leading the effort. He and drummer Craig Taylor decided to bring the band back after nearly everyone else in the group quit last…
As a rocker and vocalist, Sonny Moore was passable at best. As his alter ego Skrillex, however, the dude’s an electronic music maestro and fifth-degree party instigator. Moore displayed said skills last night at the Marquee Theatre in Tempe with aplomb as he whipped a crowd of more than 1,000…
