After writing about a few bar and club closures over the past week (including Maloney’s in Tempe and Lyte Lounge in Scottsdale), it feels refreshing to dole out some news about some openings instead. It’s even better when it’s a previously-deceased nightspot that’s getting reincarnated with a new identity. Case…
Berkeley punk rockers Green Day will adapt their multi-platinum, Grammy-winning, catnip-for-angst-ridden tweens album American Idiot to the stage, just in time to open Berkeley Repertoire’s 2009/10 season. The musical will be the first for the vaunted Berkeley Rep’s new, swanky Roda Theatre, a fitting choice for Green Day, some of…
Celebrity Fight Night XV From the Red Carpet Michael Phelps, Forest Whitaker, Kurt Warner and more showed up to support Celebrity Fight Night which raised $6.6 million for charities such as the Muhammad Ali Parkinson Center on Saturday, March 28, 2009…see the shots *Sadisco: The SadisClones Prosthetic Army Falsies were…
In my five years of covering the local music scene for New Times, I’ve seen some pretty crazy things happen at the Trunk Space. I’ve witnessed lobster-handed ladies, full grown men dressed as diaper-clad babies, and even half-naked body modification artists piercing their supple flesh with gleaming steel hooks. But…
If you’re looking for a place to get your swerve on this weekend, we advise you to seek out the Golden Buddha. No, we’re not dispatching you on some spiritual journey to seek out enlightenment a la Siddhartha, but instead are urging you to head for the Chinese Cultural Center…
In 1994, when Billy Joel and Elton John first took the stage together in Philadelphia, it was quite a novelty. Two piano-playing singer-songwriters — who’ve each sold more than 100 million records on their own — together in concert! Wowza!Five tours and 15 years later, the newness is gone. Last…
As music editor Martin Cizmar mentioned in his post earlier today, the slate of concerts scheduled to go down from tonight until Sunday kinda pales in comparison to the overwhelming assortment of superstars who’ll be in town next weekend. But while this weekend’s line-up of major music and comedy events…
It wouldn’t be hard to argue that The Bronx are on a steady decline. When the band first played Phoenix, they were at the area’s biggest club-type venue, the Marquee. Then, last year, they played the much smaller Clubhouse. Last night, they were crammed into the tiny (but wonderful) Yucca…
After discovering that MxPx lead singer Mike Herrera was coming to Tempe’s Yucca Tap Room with his rockabilly/country side project Tumbledown, I knew I had to check it out for sheer curiosity alone. I’ve been an MxPx fan for years and have seen the band live on numerous occasions. And…
SxSW Wrap Up Whether you’re trying to put back together the memories you made after being hit by the speeding truck that was this weekend’s SxSW music festival or you’re a local who couldn’t make the trip, we’ve got all the slide shows and articles to catch up on what…
It’s no secret that we at Up on the Sun love local music. Hell, our music editor just made the journey to SxSW to make sure you get to read first-hand accounts of how Miniature Tigers, Kinch, Dear and the Headlights and several other Phoenix bands did in Austin, Texas…
Of all the Arizona bands at SxSW, no one had a higher profile than Dear and the Headlights. They played five shows over the course of the five-day festival, including headlining the I Heart AZ showcase and the same official showcase at Spiro’s that Miniature Tigers played.I caught up with…
[jump] FRIDAY, MARCH 20: The Anchor Tour With The Wedding, & more [Christian rock] 7 p.m., $12 (visit www.ticketforce.com) The Church at Arrowhead, 7902 W. Union Hills Dr., Glendale, 623-572-7902. BeatleMania Live! [tribute band] 7 p.m., $37-$40. (visit www.ticketmaster.com) Casino Arizona at Salt River, 524 N. 92nd St. (off Loop…
In some ways, Arizona’s first “official unofficial” showcase at SxSW wasn’t a big deal. Other cities, states, and countries have been doing it for years. Hell, Seattle’s party is even promoted by a flier in the high-value real estate of the official party envelope you pick up with your badge…
Greetings from the outskirts of Austin, Texas, where we’re holed up in a hotel after a long day of music at South by Southwest’s opening day. What happened? Well, a few Phoenix bands played their showcases, hopefully making an impression on tastemakers and industry types at this massive festival, which…
Beware the “Brides” of March Riding on the heels of December’s “Santarchy,” “The Brides of March,” is the latest whacky social gathering created by Arizona Cacophony Society, the same people responsible for the Idiotarod. Their goal: total inebriation while sporting dresses usually reserved only for days of matrimonial solidification…full story…
My name is Benjamin Leatherman and I’m a former Shizzaholic. Back in 2004, local music message board The Shizz was practically the center of my universe. I used to regularly check the site several times a day to catch up on the most recent gossip and goings-on of the downtown…
Heavily tattooed blues singer/songwriter Jake La Botz will perform twice this weekend – at West Phoenix’s Rogue West on Friday and Tempe’s Last Exit Bar & Grill on Saturday. The Friday show, kicking off somewhere around 9 p.m., will be a more intimate gathering with drink specials throughout the night…
For those of you who may not know, this coming Tuesday is St. Patrick’s Day – a day to revel in the sheer glory of Ireland and all that Irish culture has bestowed upon us. As I have also been told, St. Patrick’s Day is an excuse to get shitfaced…
[jump] THURSDAY, MARCH 12: Bob That Head Tour With Rascal Flatts, & Jessica Simpson [country/pop] 8 p.m., $40-$78.75 (visit www.ticketmaster.com) Cricket Wireless Pavilion, 2121 N. 83rd Ave., Phoenix, 602-254-7200. Neil Halstead With Courtney Marie Andrews [indie/folk] 8 p.m., $10-$12 (visit www.ticketweb.com) Rhythm Room, 1019 E. Indian School Rd., Phoenix, 602-265-4842…
By No Age standards, last night’s 45-minute show at Modified Arts was an epic. After all, the the Los Angeles-based noise-pop band’s last album, the critically-beloved Nouns, clocks in at only 28:17. Though it normally feels a little short for a headliner, even at a small club, 45 minutes was…
All week we’ve been sharing personal essays about Jimmy Eat World’s Clarity, online and in print. Sadly, I don’t have a Clarity story because I wasn’t in to the Mesa emo/pop act until my college paper got an advance copy of Bleed American, the follow-up to Clarity, in July 2001…
