Saturday at McDowell Mountain Music Festival 2011

McDowell Mountain Music Festival, Day Two The Compound Grill Saturday, April 30, 2011 The idea of a music festival in a parking lot is a little disconcerting. Sure, Warped Tour can pull it off, but they have a main stage and grassy areas, and most importantly, they don’t share a…

Railroad Revival Tour in Tempe Last Night

Railroad Revival TourTrain tracks at S. Farmer Ave. and W. 5th St.Saturday, April 23, 2011Aside from some setup issues on this leg of the tour, the Railroad Revival tour is a truly great concept that, once the concert started, proved to be very well executed by all three bands that…

The Big 4 Festival at Empire Polo Grounds Last Night

​The Big 4 Festival (Metallica, Slayer, Megadeth and Anthrax) Empire Polo Grounds, Indio, California Saturday, April 23, 2011 It’s not an understatement to say that yesterday’s Big 4 Festival was an event nearly three decades in the making. Since the advent of thrash metal in the early 1980s, four bands…

Lupe Fiasco at Mesa Amphitheatre Last Night

hile using a band for a live hip hop show is no longer unorthodox — The Roots, Lil Wayne, Atmosphere have all done it — Lupe’s show was unique. The Roots jam. Atmosphere’s tour band jams. Lupe’s band rocked.

Lil Wayne at U.S. Airways Center Last Night

Lil Wayne US Airways Center, Phoenix Tuesday, April 19, 2011 Lil Wayne has entertained the idea of morphing from a rapper into a full-fledged rock star for a few years now. Why would one of the world’s most successful rappers want to learn to play guitar despite being mercilessly mocked…

An Open Letter to Coachella, 2011 Edition

Dear Coachella,Remember me? I wrote you a letter about this time last year to voice my concerns about you. I was worried that you’d gone off the rails, blatantly ignoring the ones who loved you the most in favor of a new group of peers who were ultimately leading you…

Coachella 2011 Friday Recap

Tollett and Goldenvoice were determined to make 2011 as different from 2010 as best they can. Their work, so far, is a marked improvement over last year…

The Black Keys at Mesa Amphitheatre Last Night

​The Black Keys with Cage The Elephant and Stone Foxes Mesa Amphitheatre Thursday April 14, 2011 The duo is dead. That fact hadn’t occurred to me until about ten songs into The Black Keys set at Mesa Ampitheatre last night when I realized the band had doubled in size after a few songs…

Arcade Fire at Comerica Theatre Last Night (+ Video)

Arcade FireComerica TheatreWednesday April 13, 2011Considering his band hasn’t played a Phoenix show in nearly seven years, Arcade Fire singer Win Butler seems to have a pretty good sense of the place.That connection goes deeper than a few localized references Butler slipped into last night’s show at Comerica Theatre in…

Toby Keith at Country Thunder Last Night

Toby KeithCountry Thunder 2011 at Canyon Moon Ranch in Florence, ArizonaSunday, April 10 If Woodstock ’94 holds the title for “Muddiest Music Festival, Like, Ever,” then Country Thunder 2011 out in Florence over the weekend has to go down as a solid runner up. Although the country fans in attendance…

Janet Jackson at Comerica Theatre Last Night

Janet Jackson Comerica Theatre April 8, 2011 It’s easy to forget how impressive a career Janet Jackson has had over the years. But when you come from one of America’s most dysfunctional families, it’s probably not hard to get lost in the shuffle. Especially when your siblings tend to grab…