Blake Shelton, The Band Perry and Neal McCoy Ak-Chin Pavilion 9/5/14 It’s the beginning of September, and it’s still more than 100 degrees after dark. Everyone within a seven-row radius is fanning themselves or buying water bottles to roll on themselves. All musicians, by the end of their sets, looked…
“Mexican rap at Herberger? How does one even begin to understand that?” exclaimed Phoenix resident Kimberley Corral upon seeing the electronic billboard outside the theater that read, “Bocafloja En Concierto.” This was a common reaction shared by a surprised audience that has always seen Herberger Theater Center as a setting…
Ding, dong, the witch is dead. (The witch is the heat, here; bear with me.) Supposedly. It might be September, but it’s still 106 degrees, but out-of-towners don’t know that. So with the turning over of the calendar comes a slew of great bands coming to Phoenix and a revitalization…
Your patience is about to be rewarded. Now that we’re quickly approaching the moment when all the you-know-what begins to fade, life will start getting back to normal in the Valley. And by normal, we mean must-see music events and gigs out the ying-yang. Over the coming weeks, show both…
When the lights went down, the screams inside Jobing.com Arena were ear-shattering. It wasn’t quite the level of Beatlemania, but it still caught me by surprise. Arena shows are known to be big with its lights, sounds, stage setup, etc. Sheeran entered the stage with just his guitar, and it…
Remember when labor unions actually added workers to their rolls? When it wasn’t considered “class warfare” for poor people to demand the government enact policies in their economic interests? Yeah, we don’t either. Our plans for Labor Day include a healthy dose of pool and beer, and here are some…
Experiencing Nickel Creek was almost perfect. So, before I go into what ruined the show for me, I’ll talk about all the things that worked so well. If there’s one thing we could all agree on it’s that Ikeda Theatre was a perfect match for Nickel Creek. Even Chris Thile…
We’ve checked out the calendar, and musically, it seems like summer is coming to end. Musically, at least. From here on out, there are a steady diet of great shows coming to town. Check out our picks below, and browse our comprehensive concert listings if you’d like more options…
Though not obvious, the connection is strong between punk and country music. Both genres can be rough around the edges, feature bad-boy frontmen, and contain songs about societal woes. Hank Williams III has turned his country music into a thrashing, moshing affair. Less outwardly abrasive, but no less fun, is…
By Keith Plocek This week, 68,000 revelers will descend on Nevada’s remote Black Rock Desert. (That is, assuming the rain lets up.) They will travel from Los Angeles, London, Melbourne, Mexico City, and places you’ve never heard of. They will take part in the temporary city that is Burning Man…
Has Tony Bennett ever played a bad show? It would be hard to find anyone who attended such a mediocre performance in the 50-plus years the man has been recording, let alone have it documented in print. Truthfully, it doesn’t seem possible. The 88-year-old legend came out dressed to the…
Keep going, y’all — the end of summer is almost here. And by that, we mean that the officially recognized transition into the season known as the fall will take place in less than a month’s time. Anyone who’s lived in the Valley longer than five minutes, however, knows that…
Locals shine this weekend. Wooden Indian, Playboy Manbaby, and Thin Bloods are all releasing albums, so there are plenty of ways to support local arts these next few days. We’ve sifted through the listings and selected five shows worthy of checking out this week. If you’d like to double-check our…
Your favorite band played for only an hour. Not an hour and 15 minutes. The big hand went around the clock just once. No further. The content of the show review below won’t matter to anyone who saw Interpol at the Marquee Theatre in Tempe in person. You left that…
Check out our picks for the best shows happening in Phoenix this week. Don’t forget the browse our comprehensive music listings if you’d like more options…
These days, The Burning of Rome frontman Adam Traub is a happy man. His band’s self-described “Jesus and Mary Chain doing a spaghetti Western” style is fully realized on the Burning of Rome’s new album, Year of the Ox (Surfdog Records), and in the last year, the band has shared…
Billy Joe Shaver slides out of his battered white Ford Econoline van with surprisingly agility for a man celebrating his 75th birthday tonight. There’s already a small crowd gathered around the outside of The Satellite in Los Angeles, an unlikely venue for such an act and such an evening, but…
Sure, the pickings are a little slim this weekend for live music. But there’s still some great stuff around town, so check out our selections if you need a little help choosing what to do. And if you want a more comprehensive list, be sure to visit our full concert…
While waiting for Paul McCartney to start his set Tuesday night at US Airways Center, I tried to think of living and performing musicians who are irrefutably rock legends (metal bands purposefully excluded). I came up with The Who, Chuck Berry, The Rolling Stones, The Eagles, Rush, and The Beach…
The old joke is to say one likes both types of music: country and Western. That’s not easy anymore. There still are two types, only now it’s run-of-the-mill, generic pop country, or cliché-free, from-the-heart-because-the-song-matters country. Texas singer-songwriter Bart Crow falls into the latter category. “I feel like I’ve got my…
When I got in the door to Funny World, I asked Space-Alien Donald how he was doing. “I have music,” he said. “So I’m happy.” And it turned out, it indeed was a good night for music. A great night actually, from a variety of weird backgrounds from all over…
Typically held in August, the D-Low show is a double-edged sword for many of us. It is both celebration and painful reminder wrapped in a tremendous rock ‘n’ roll show that Dana “D-Low” Wells, son (and stepson) of Gloria and Max Cavalera would have loved. For the uninitiated, Dana was…
