Kelly Clarkson may have slept on his phenomenal Kaleidoscope Dream, but that didn’t stop Los Angeles-based crooner Miguel from having one hell of a 2012. He tops our list of must-see shows this weekend in Phoenix, stopping by the historic Celebrity Theatre to showcase sultry jams like “Adorn.” We can’t…
Rakim @ Celebrity Theatre|2/20/13The word “legend” is something that shouldn’t be tossed around lightly, especially when it applies to hip-hop. During hip-hop’s 30-year run, we have seen numerous careers rise and fall. Hell, some artists have straight up vanished from existence. Many would argue that hip-hop is the most unforgiving…
In 1983, an unknown songwriter named Edwin Bankston decided that if no labels were interested in putting out his record — a nine-song country-boogie album called Over There…and Over Here, credited to “The Red Rippers” — he was going to put it out himself. Featuring stream-of-consciousness lyrics, psychedelic lead guitar,…
It’s been a hot minute since Portland-based indie rock stalwarts Modest Mouse put a record out (the band’s latest EP, No One’s First and You’re Next came out in freaking 2009). Songwriter Isaac Brock insists new material is coming (but you know, he named his record label Glacial Pace), but…
The xx @ Rialto Theatre|2/17/13The rivalry between Phoenix and Tucson is well-documented, but I’m not about to talk crap: The Old Pueblo’s Rialto Theatre is a gorgeous, well-organized venue, and it was a perfect place to watch as The xx closed out its current tour. Last night’s show sold out…
It took local singer-songwriter Dylan Pratt two years to pen his new album, Beg For Fire, but on the cusp of his record release show, he can look back at that time fondly. Tonight, Pratt will celebrate with a showcase at Crescent Ballroom along with Jon Rauhouse, Some Magical Animal,…
The weekend is over, and it’s back to the grind. You sit there despondent at your desk, visions of a wild weekend replaying your head, scenes from A Good Day to Die Hard — which you caught a sick matinee showing of — bouncing around your cranium. How can you…
No doubt the landscape of modern music has become considerably beardier over the last few years. When it comes to indie and rock these days, if you don’t have a beard, you’re not authentic. (Lumineers, it’s the only thing standing in your way!) When you’re cultivating your own face mitten…
Awesome ‘ish alert: Drake and Riff Raff are collaborating. Yeah, totally. Along the same lines: It’s the weekend, and all sorts of great shows are scheduled for Phoenix. We’ve gone ahead and rounded ’em up for you, including a broken-hearted industrial party at the Rogue, a night of experimental music…
While Mother Nature continues to wreak havoc on our thermostats, most people are bundling up and keeping indoors during the chilly season. Everyone except California-based reggae rockers Rebelution that is. The Santa Barbara-natives are ditching the warm embrace of their sandy sunny digs to embark on another wintertime road trip…
Pink @ US Airways Center|1/23/13 Oh, what fun it is to be the opening city for a two-month-long tour. Pink got to work out the kinks of her The Truth About Love Tour when she played in Phoenix last night to kick-off her love-themed show. “I’m so glad we got…
Jackson Browne @ The Orpheum Theatre|2/13/13Back in 1975 Olivia Newton John lyrically asked the question “Have you ever been mellow?” Such a question would never be posed to Jackson Browne. The singer/songwriter has to be the mellowest rock star on the planet…
Terror @ The Underground|2/12/13 H2O and Terror are in the midst of a co-headlining tour that made its way to The Underground last night, until H2O canceled the show a few hours before doors opened. We reached out to Mantooth and Bridge Nine records to find out why H2O canceled…
Mesa’s reggae/punk outfit Authority Zero has come a long way over the course of its nearly two-decade career. The band quickly moved up from intimate (often free) local shows to playing Warped Tour and, eventually, touring the world. Authority Zero is now a household name in the local scene, an…
Eric Bibb and Habib Koité @ Musical Instrument Museum|2/11/13The distance between Memphis, Tennessee, and Bamako, Mali, West Africa, is geographically large, but last night that distance in musical terms was no more than the three feet separating Eric Bibb and Habib Koité on the Musical Instrument Museum stage…
For every up there’s a down. It’s like reading the awesome news that Elton John plays on the new Queens of the Stone Age record the same day you read Christina Applegate is leaving NBC’s Up All Night.. Bummer! So here’s the bad news: It’s Monday, which is the worst…
Steve Aoki @ Axis Radius|2/9/13If you don’t believe in Jesus, alright, but Asian Jesus is real. Steve Aoki, record producer, DJ, and founder Dim Mak Records, graced Scottsdale’s Axis/Radius with his presence last night, spreading his music to all and making one amazing mission trip to land more followers and…
It’s finally the weekend, and you’re ready to cut loose, aren’t you? You’re ready to toss a few back and really party. Us too. There’s a lot of chatter on the message boards re: rumors that Disney’s upcoming stand-alone Star Wars films will concern the adventures of Yoda, Boba Fett,…
NES in the West Tour with Mega Ran and The Writer’s Guild @ Trunk Space | 2/6/13Local rapper Mega Ran a.k.a Random completed the Phoenix stop of his latest tour at the Trunk Space and made it a point to drive home the old saying: “You’re only as strong as…
The Who @ Jobing.com Arena|2/6/13If anything stoked the fears that this Who go-round was going to be another case of living legends living off their legends and treading the floorboards only to show off their diminished firepower, it might have been this announcement, which went up on the big screens…
Australian pop-rockers, Atlas Genius, may be in over their hot little Aussie heads. Fairly new to the American-music scene, it hasn’t taken long for their talents to reach the right ears and create a whole lot of buzz in the alt/indie-sphere. With their debut album, When It Was Now, on…
Murs, The Insects, Fashawn, Prof @ Club Red|2/5/13It looks like it’s that time of the year again, as Murs gathers a select group of rappers to embark on a nationwise tour leading up to his annual “Paid Dues” festival in March. The endeavor this year, aptly titled “The Road to…
