Curious what’s going on around town this weekend? Need some suggestions as to how to rock, dance, or krump in the Valley of the Sun? Don’t fret: These are our Five Shows to See This Weekend. Friday, June 8: Action Bronson @ Club Red in Tempe Action Bronson, who hails…
See also: Nicholas Petricca of Walk the Moon Wants to Jam With Michael McDonald (Let’s Make It Happen)Walk the MoonRhythm RoomWednesday, June 6, 2012Walk the Moon have conquered kiddie rock, impressed the masses at Sasquatch, and they’ve got the song of the summer. They’re coming up quickly, and they can’t…
It can be tough to get into rockabilly or psychobilly because, let’s face it: a lot of the bands blend together. Yeah, upright bass and horror movies are cool, but watching a guy with a pompadour stand on top of his bass while singing about cars gets a little old…
It took bassist Rich Tokatyan and guitarist John J. Yohimbe of Phoenix outfit Dynamite the Liberator three years to see their vision of a rock ‘n’ roll band come to fruition. They searched high and low for potential suitors — musicians who could not only jive with their philosophy and…
La Llegadora and Grupo Poderozzo La Casa del Mariachi Tuesday, June 5, 2012 Arizona’s banda scene really knows how to party. Decked-out dudes and chicas filled the music hall side of La Casa Del Mariachi last night and danced their asses off. It didn’t matter to anyone that it was…
The men of TwinGiant aren’t asking for a lot. They want some beers, and they wanna turn the amps up (way up), and tell a cosmic yarn about “the space hobo,” a character they created when imagining a theme that would conceptually link the band’s songs. Huddled around a table…
Like nearly everyone in Phoenix, songwriter Stephen Steinbrink (you may recognize his project named French Quarter, as well) has a love/hate relationship with the city. It’s easy to love the pockets of true community, the DIY art spaces, punk rock house shows, and the affordable, delicious Mexican food, but the…
With one of the catchiest songs of the summertime, “Anna Sun” has launched Walk the Moon to the top spot on millions of playlists. Between a series of stops at music festivals, the band currently is making its way across the country on a headlining tour. Once they conquer the United States,…
See also: Santigold Discusses Bjork, MySpace, and The Death of MCA Santigold Crescent Ballroom Monday, June 4, 2012 Better Than: Every show I’ve been to this year. Seriously. It’s hard to imagine a show living up to as much hype as Santigold’s Phoenix debut. The show sold out well in…
Annual Douchebag Party at Smashboxx Being called a douchebag is usually a bad thing, but patrons of Smashboxx were encouraged to sport spray tans, sunglasses, and Ed Hardy swag in honor of the 3rd Annual Douchebag Party. There was an abundance of duckface and blow outs at the packed bar…
Best of Phoenix winners, Banda La Llegadora, charge a pretty penny for their services: Something to the tune of $600 per hour the last time we checked. The whopping fee fetches you a Mexican musical menagerie that really know how to carry a puro pinche parii. Lucky for you, the…
There’s no such thing as the sophomore slump for Santi White, who has once again charmed audiences with the genre-defying Master of My Make-Believe. The album includes collaborations with members of the Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Switch, Diplo, and David Sitek, as well as the infectiously catchy song “Disparate Youth.” Santigold’s…
fun. Ikeda Theater at Mesa Arts Center Thursday, May 31 See also: Nate Ruess Has Some fun. At Zia Records fun. frontman Nate Ruess wears his heart on his sleeve, and that’s why it’s so easy to get into his head. His lyrics — part stream of consciousness (“My friends…
I can’t even start writing this blog without thinking about what an utter hypocrite I am. When I was 12, I obsessed with the Backstreet Boys. I may or may not have wished my Nick Carter poster a good night as I went to sleep. I felt like their music…
Curious what’s going on around town this weekend? Need some suggestions as to how to rock, dance, or krump in the Valley of the Sun? Don’t fret: These are our Five Shows to See This Weekend. Friday, June 1: Frequency Fridays @ DWNTWN Fridays used to be one of the…
Gun Outfit and Broken Water Meat Market Garment Factory Wednesday, May 30 I will declare, without the slightest inkling of doubt or hesitance, that Olympia, Washington has the best independent music scene in the country right now. The major hipster metropoli (Brooklyn, San Francisco, Austin) all have loads of recognized…
San Pedro punkers Toys That Kill have been going strong since 1999, and they released their fourth album, Fambly 42 , earlier this month. The band maintained an impressive clip, releasing an album every few years, but there was a six-year wait this time around. That sort of thing happens…
Ladylike at Crescent Ballroom In this week’s music feature the men of Ladylike, the Tempe-based pop combo that packed Crescent Ballroom last night, discussed the difference between a live show and a recording, noting that limiting their approach in the studio in favor of their live setting only hampers both…
Nadia Ali Monarch Theatre Saturday, May, 26 Better than: dishing out hundreds of dollars to see Katy or Britney, only to find out there’s no room to dance. Thanks to Comicon, downtown was a great place to people watch last night. I spotted a rickshaw-driving Darth Vader, girls with cat…
Ladylike, Factories, Gospel Claws, Steff Koeppen and The Articles Crescent Ballroom Friday, May 25, 2012 See also: Ladylike Approaches ’70s Pop With Sharp Tools In this week’s music feature the men of Ladylike, the Tempe-based pop combo that packed Crescent Ballroom last night, discussed the difference between a live show…
When Ari Leopold moved to the Valley last year, he stumbled upon a burgeoning indie rock scene that couldn’t be ignored. Well, difficult for him to ignore, anyway. The Tempe rock scene he fell in love with isn’t exactly popular if you’re thinking mainstream success. You don’t see parents from…
Curious what’s going on around town this weekend? Need some suggestions as to how to rock, dance, or krump in the Valley of the Sun? Don’t fret: These are our Five Shows to See This Weekend. Friday, May 25, and Saturday, May 26: Lost Leaf Turns Five It’s been five…
