Leon Russell at The Rhythm Room on 7/6/10

“In all the times he’s played here, I think he’s said maybe three words to me,” Bob Corritore, proprietor of the Rhythm Room mused last night about Leon Russell, who literally rolled into the Phoenix blues bar last night (Russell piloted a Rascal Scooter off the tour bus) to deliver…

Cheap Trick at Talking Stick Resort on 7/3/10

Cheap Trick in a casino ballroom: Better than at a zoo, but not as good as at the fair. I’ve seen these dinosaurs about eight times since 1992, in all sorts of venues (including, yes, the Milwaukee Zoo), and Saturday night’s venue, Talking Stick Resort, was pretty terrible. I was hoping…

“Shawn Anderson Unplugged” Celebrates Local Music Photog’s Work

Shawn Anderson has quickly become one of the best concert photographers in town.So it’s totally fitting that Anderson, who shoots concert photos for local music blog Electric Mustache — and, full disclosure, sometimes for us — gets the gallery treatment tonight. The show is 7-10 p.m. at SuTRA Midtown Yoga…

Shapiro at Yucca Tap Room on 7/29/2010

The plan was to write a good old fashioned concert review of Shapiro’s show at Yucca Tap Room last night.But sometimes promoters have babies — congrats to Ami Johnson and Matthew Reveles by the way — and can’t make all the normal arrangements for a touring act coming through on…

Blitzen Trapper at The Clubhouse on 6/28/10

It’s been my experience that many times fans of a particular band tend to have a propensity to take after the band that they love. Whether it’s their general attitude, the way they dress, the way fans (particularly male fans) subconsciously copy the hairstyle of the lead singer, or even…

Damien Jurado at The Rhythm Room on 6/28/10

“Feeling the west coast pull. One week left of tour,” Damien Jurado wearily tweeted on the 27th, and pulling into the Rhythm Room’s parking lot, I witnessed the singer/songwriter sprawled out on the hot pavement behind his van — a clear sign that the road was taking its toll.But despite…

Stan Sorenson Trio at Sacred Grounds

This is part of a series of reviews of bands who play weekly at local bars. The show: Stan Sorenson Trio at Sacred Grounds in Scottsdale. The look: Your standard church social hall. The smell: Coffee. If my olfactory sense serves me correctly, a dark roast. The taste: Church cookies…

Erykah Badu at Marquee Theatre on 6/23/2010

On paper having Erykah Badu and Janelle Monáe on the same tour is an interesting pairing. On the one hand you have Badu, the experienced neo-soul songstress who has been making hits since the late ’90s. On the other hand you have Monáe, the up and comer who has managed…

Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeroes at Clubhouse Music Venue

“This place is crazy,” the tour manager tells me on the phone, and, indeed, the Clubhouse in Tempe is crazy-packed for Tuesday’s sold-out performance by Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeroes. Before the opening act – Dawes, a folk-rock foursome that reminds me strongly, and pleasantly, of Wilco – finishes…

Vans Warped Tour’s 10 Biggest Douchebags

  To some, the Vans Warped Tour is heaven — dozens of pop, rock and punk bands on multiple stages and tons of young, scantily clad people reveling in the sweaty, fun mess of dancing and moshing. And to others, Warped Tour is hell. Besides the 100-plus degree heat, there…

Running From Bears at Lost Leaf

This is part of a series of reviews of bands who play weekly at local bars. The show: Running From Bears at the Lost Leaf. The look: Like an New York jazz club underground, but with more space and above ground. The smell: Light perspiration and aluminum. The taste: Savory,…

Cake at Marquee Theatre: The Magic is Really Prolonged

When “alternative rock” radio debuted in the early ’90s — displacing stations spinning hard rock, classic rock, hair metal, or ’80s college rock — it seemed to be a format designed to evolve. At least to a middle-school me, who imagined it to be fresh, vital, and destined to change…

GBH at The Clubhouse

British hardcore punk rockers GBH name stands for “grievous bodily harm”. While attendance at any punk show poses some threat of injury, what with mosh pits, angry teens, spiked belts, and extreme mohawks, the risk at last night’s GBH show was a little higher.Locals Casket Life and Glass Heroes opened…