Hanksgiving at Yucca Tap Room

Undoubtedly, one of the coolest things about the Yucca Tap Room is the community of people that congregates there. Starting last summer, a core group of musicians from that community began putting together special concerts as a tribute to some of their favorite musicians. Each designated night, the group picks…

Jeff Tweedy of Wilco at the Orpheum Theatre

I will not hope Wilco breaks up.I will not hope Wilco breaks up.I will not hope Wilco breaks up.I will not hope Wilco breaks up.I will not hope Wilco breaks up.Perhaps it’s pathetic that any music critic would have to re-affirm his interest in seeing his favorite band stay together…

Concert Review: Trunk Space Fest

Mercifully, it appears as though reports of downtown Phoenix art space and performance venue’s impending demise are prove to be mildly exaggerated, as co-owners JRC and Stephanie Carrico believe their establishment has been weathering a recent financial nightmare and will continue to exist in the coming months. And such a…

Kinch’s Christmas Party at Rhythm Room

The holiday season holds a special meaning for each of us. For most, the holidays are all about coming together with family and friends in celebration. For me the holidays have always been and always will be about the presents. As a music lover I got the best present I…

Tea Leaf Green Plays The Compound on New Year’s Eve

San Francisco’s Tea Leaf Green — a sort of neo-folkie indie rock outfit that recalls My Morning Jacket and a lot of 60s acts from their native city — will play burgeoning North Phoenix venue The Compound Grill on New Year’s Eve. I really dig their sound (mp3 below).If you…

Lady Gaga, Alice Cooper, Guy Fieri and Santarchy Over the Weekend

Alice Cooper’s Christmas Pudding Friday night was the ninth installment of Alice Cooper’s Christmas Pudding, though speaking in Christmas/culinary terms, it was really more of a fruitcake, with ingredients both numerous and diverse mingling to create a final product I would definitely try to re-gift. The differences between the acts…

Concert Review: Alice Cooper’s Christmas Pudding

By Lindsey HolderFriday night was the ninth installment of Alice Cooper’s Christmas Pudding, though speaking in Christmas/culinary terms, it was really more of a fruitcake, with ingredients both numerous and diverse mingling to create a final product I would definitely try to re-gift. The differences between the acts on stage…

Lady Gay Gay Takes Over Vegas

It was totally fitting to see Lady Gaga in Sin City this past weekend–the girl’s familiar with bad behavior, as she often opts to appear pantless and slings sex like it’s her job. And even though she screwed Phoenix over by skipping our city after her tour with Kanye West…

Concert Review: Sergio Mendoza y La Orkesta

So the feeling I get from seeing Tucson-based Latin big band Sergio Mendoza y La Orkesta, which came to the Rhythm Room Thursday night, isn’t caused by any deep understanding of the  super-swinging and hyper-stylized music’s context. No, I had the experience I imagine the majority of the half-seated, half-dancing mixed-age crowd did, which…

Jacob Smigel CD Release Party At The Trunk Space

Jacob Smigel is hosting a CD release party for his new album, Hope This Passes the Secretary on January 16 at The Trunk Space. The Las Vegas transplant. makes “warm thoughtful folk and found audio” and while the folk is good the found audio project is really the coolest part…

Outer Bounds of Sound 12/13 At Revolver Records

“The music in there is terrible,” says a customer to Revolver Records co-owner Steve Zimmerman, referring to the warbling tones of saxophonist Lol Coxhill  spinning on the turntable as doom-metal one man band Via Vengeance sets up.  The bands gathered to perform at the record store’s Sunday night experimental showcase…

Metric at Martini Ranch

Scarf-and-sweatered, I took my place at the very end of a very long line that wrapped around Martini Ranch and down Stetson Drive. For amusement, confused attendees waltzed up and down the line, asking with perplexity, “Is this the will call line?” I gathered that the majority of the Metric…

Jimmy Eat World Playing Modified Arts Tonight?

Electric Mustache is speculating that Mesa pop-punks Jimmy Eat World will make a special appearance at the soon-to-be totally-different Modified Arts tonight. After a cryptic message on the bands Twitter it’s looking more like the surprise is going to be Jimmy Eat World. This is the message posted on the…