Norah Jones at Dodge Theatre: Hmmm… Just So-So

“This place is BIG,” said Norah Jones in a self-effacing way to the nearly packed house at Dodge Theatre. The way she delivered the statement made it sound like she wasn’t worthy of playing such a fancy concert hall. Turns out it was half-true. Wearing an electric-green dress and yellow…

Rewind Remix Replay: Live DJs at SMoCA

In case you’ve missed all the buzz about SMoCA’s current exhibit “Rewind Remix Replay,” it’s a look at the material culture of popular music, and how it’s changed over the years.How did we get from the record player to the iPod in just over four decades? This exhibit will show you…

Incoming: John Mayer, Cake, Asia, Scorpions, Slightly Stoopid

​Up on the Sun contributor/club guru Benjamin Leatherman couldn’t have said it better in regards to this week’s announcements “Shit week for announcements.”There is hope, however, in this meager group. That hope rests on the strong comedy lineup for The Valley, including the likes of D.L. Hughley, Jim Gaffigan, Jim…

Coachella from Behind a Lens

A seething, primal mass of humanity jockeys for position in front of the main stage as the Indio sun beats down on Coachella 2010. They have moved beyond the point of patience and civility. Their shattered minds have but one thought as they claw toward the front of the stage:…

The Love Me Nots in Europe: The Hilarious Google-Translated Version

How is The Love Me Nots tour of Europe going? Pretty well, at least according to the foreign language reviews we’re reading with the help of Google Translate.Now, honestly, it’s sorta hard to tell just how professional these particular foreigners are, given the kinda-sorta hamfisted way Google’s magical software spits…

The 6 Stages of Attempting to Enter Coachella

Let’s get one thing straight: If you were one of the 75,000 or so people who attempted to get into Coachella on Friday, you were frustrated. In fact, chances are you were probably also tired, hot and certainly waiting in a long line either in your car or on your…

Arctic Monkeys at Marquee Theatre

The blessing of Arizona’s spot at the proverbial Kiddie Table is the huge number of shows we get by bands looking for a layover, or a warm-up, on their way to Sunny California. In recent years we’ve even seen California-based bands like Metallica travel out to the desert to warm-up…

Yeasayer at Rhythm Room

I walked into the Rhythm Room on Thursday evening for the Yeasayer show and surveyed the crowd. Immediately, I saw signs of potential trouble: The joint was lousy with hipsters. There were three Ben Gibbard look-alikes within 10 feet of me, and between them, they’d consumed enough PBR to drown…

Vampire Weekend at Marquee Theatre

Vampire Weekend’s 19-song set at Marquee Theatre Tuesday was totally devoid of riffs or deviations from their studio versions — the crowd couldn’t have cared less.In fact, the crowd knew every vocal and instrumental cue so well that, had the band gone off-script at any point, they may not have…

The Temper Trap Head to Clubhouse Music Venue

It’s going to be a busy week for local music lovers. As we get closer to Coachella we can expect a slew of bands from all over to make a pit stop in The Valley before heading to Indio, CA. We’ve already had performances from day 2 headliners Muse as…

Coachella Set Times Announced, Festival Tickets Sold Out

[jump] Thom Yorke and the Atoms for Peace don’t have any recorded music to their name, so their open-ended set could evolve into something rather interesting. Enjoy playing to a very, very sparsely attended set, Yann Tiersen. This is why I love Coachella, though — being able to go from…

Owl City at Marquee Theatre: They’ve Got Songs About Bugs

Say what you will about will about Minnesota synth-pop outfit Owl City. None of it seems to bother Owl City vocalist and mastermind Adam Young or his fans. And man does this guy have fans. Most of whom showed up last night at the Marquee Theatre as Owl City played…