Damn you, Ben Gibbard, you’re fucking up indie rock. Not by virtue of anything you’ve done yourself, mind you. Death Cab for Cutie is fantastic, The Postal Service’s lone album is one of the best of the decade. The problem, which I’m far from the first to recognize but can’t…
The official Web site for the band Kiss has re-printed my review of the band’s show Tuesday night at Jobing.com Arena in Glendale. That’s not a big deal; bands do it all the time. What is a little shady, however, is the way they edited it.Turns out they removed anything remotely negative about…
Even if you’re not a fan of Maynard James Keenan’s two main projects, Tool and A Perfect Circle — and I generally am not — you’ve gotta admit the guy has good taste in comedy. He helped popularize Bill Hicks by bringing the late comic along on Lollapalooza, he’s done…
I’m definitely on the record with my thoughts about Tool’s lame-ass stage “show” but honestly I’m pretty excited to see Maynard James Keenan’s new side project Puscifer at The Orpheum Thursday. Why? Well, this video should help explain, as should the article we ran in this week’s paper, which explains…
The scene: June 28, 1996. Detroit, Michigan. For the first time, in 13 years, Kiss is playing its first show in makeup with the original lineup of Gene Simmons, Paul Stanley, Ace Frehley, and Peter Criss. It’s nearly midnight at the now-defunct Tiger Stadium, and despicable opening acts Alice in…
J. Tillman is perhaps best known as being the drummer of Seattle based folk-rock group Fleet Foxes. A fact that regional concert promoter Stateside Presents was probably banking on to bring in an audience to Modified Arts on Monday night. But to identify J. Tillman only as the drummer from…
Sunday afternoon, Modified filled to capacity for River Jones Music Label’s Final Folk Fest. Seventeen bands and solo artists played to eager audiences, mainly sitting pretzel-legged on the rickety floorboards, hot beverage in hand, while wintery winds sauntered through the old house. This ain’t your grandma’s Woody Guthrie. This is…
Club Candids: The Final Party Foul at Homme Lounge For the last four years, Homme Lounge has hosted dance nights for every music scene from hip hip to industrial to indie rock; but its most consistently crowded affair for the last year and a half has been its Party Foul…
Real Estate’s self-titled record snagged one of those coveted Best New Music tags stuck to their debut full-length, an homage to The Shins if depressed and dropping lysergic, with Fruit Bats-style naturalist trimmings. Certainly the press helped, but, after some distinct uncertainty about the band’s impending arrive, Real Estate turned…
Phoenix Art & Soul While music-minded patrons shopped for deals on used CDs and audio equipment at the Used Beats Swapmeet, more than fifty artists set to work painting New Times stands with their own artistic visions. See them up close and personal at Local Breeze next First Friday. In…
Laughing Gas – Neon Indian…
Phoenix experimental band Treasure Mammal proves two hours of driving doesn’t mean the Arizona scene needs to be split. The indie group joins forces with neighbors-to-the-north, Flagstaff’s Feel Free, on a untitled 7″ record, which will be available at a free show Saturday, Dec. 5 at the Lost Leaf. You can…
Concert announcements are starting to filter in for The Rogue, the Scottsdale night spot that formerly hosted the beloved hipster dance night Shake! (for about a half decade, if you can believe it) but is now moving in to live-action rock shows.San Fran electro pop act Ana Sia (listen to one of…
Quick recap of some news we broke in this week’s New Times music newsletter (sign up here): The Cover Up is playing its last show tonight.The melodic hardcore band was signed to Modern Art Records, which maintains an office in Phoenix but which has seen its owner and production guru…
It was exciting to hear one of the Valley’s catchiest bands, Violet Wild, is playing a show this Friday, November 20 at Club Red, opening for Days of the New. But after taking a look at the flyer for the show, it’s flabbergasting how many freakin’ bands are on one…
By Lindsey Holder I’m not sure how many bands I saw last night. …maybe three-ish? The ticket said The Swell Season, but the show was more like The Swell Season, Glen Hansard, The Frames, and a combination of the three. I figured it would be fairly straightforward, with songs from…
For Phoenix rock band Year of the Moth, being in a band isn’t about getting signed to a label and becoming Nickelback-scale famous. It’s all about playing music the group members stand behind, and that’s what the band attributes to the support they’ve felt in the local scene. “For the…
San Diego psychedelic hard rockers Earthless join their thrash metal Tee Pee Records labelmates Iron Age, and Georgia sludge metal act Baroness for a show at The Clubhouse on Saturday December 5. Should be one hard rocking show, as you can hear from the Mp3s below. Tickets here.Bullhead’s Psalm -…
The ultra-eclectic Fifth Street in downtown Phoenix got even more coloful than usual as a flock of funky types gathered for freaktastic fete of epic proportions this past weekend.. First Friday? Nah, that ain’t for another couple weeks. It was the Phoenix Annual Parade of the Arts, a pulchitrudinous procession…
Apart from a markedly talented five band bill, the first night of the last Modifest brought Modified Arts owner Kimber Lanning to the event’s forefront. After Treasure Mammal completed an invigorating set, Lanning stepped toward the stage and addressed the crowd. “Music is my number one passion,” Lanning said, while…
Concert Review: Everclear at The Big Pour It’s a well-established fact that the mark of a truly brilliant pop song is its ability to stand the test of time, captivating new generations or, at the very least, remaining meaningful to it’s intended audience over a lifetime. As an admitted Gen…
The kids in The Summer Set are barely legal, yet the pop rock band is one of the most prominent repping for the Valley music scene right now. “It’s pretty crazy that I graduated high school, and 48 hours later we were touring and haven’t really stopped,” says singer Brian…
