Fabulous Thunderbirds Crescent Ballroom Friday, March 9, 2012 Last night, Crescent Ballroom officially was broken in. Forget the too-cool-for-school crowd. Once a bunch of ladies exiting middle age get drunk and dance at the front of the room, you no longer have the shiniest new venue in town. And, yeah,…
See also: Wanda Jackson on Jack White’s SNL Performance, Amy Winehouse, and Some Guy Named Elvis Wanda Jackson Compound Grill Friday, March 9, 2012 Wanda Jackson may be 74 years old, but one would hardly know it listening to her belt out classics from her long and storied career Friday…
The Green Lady Killers Hollywood Alley Friday, March 9 The only thing hotter than two badass rock ‘n’ roll chicks? Why, that would be three badass rock ‘n’ roll chicks. I think the packed crowd at Hollywood Alley in Mesa will vouch for me on this one. Los Angeles rockers…
Line-up changes and schedule conflicts over the last year and a half have slowed down Tempe blues rockers Quick Henry, but haven’t stopped them from rocking out at local watering holes on a near daily basis. At the helm of it all is vocalist/guitarist Kevin Redlich. Whether he’s pulling double…
Somewhere between the blurry gloss of shoegaze’s atmospheric drones and the crunchy riffs of post-hardcore inflected metal is San Francisco’s Deafheaven. Oft-cited as posterboys for the “hipster metal” set, the band’s Deathwish Inc. issued record Roads to Judah is pretty hard to deny, four (long) tracks that span the divide…
Miniature Tigers Crescent Ballroom Thursday, March 8 See the full Miniature Tigers slideshow here. I’m gonna go ahead and start with the general takeaway feeling from Thursday night’s lineup of four, under-the radar(ish) bands playing before an audience of Phoenix’s finest (and drunkest) indie music lovers . . . Takeaway…
See also: Laidback Luke on Remixing Madonna and EDM’s Mainstream Crossover Laidback Luke Wild Knight Thursday, March 8, 2012 As everyone sipped on gin n’ juice, Laidback Luke threw it down. Last night’s show was an interesting combination of EDM followers and a Scottsdale crowd. The difference was clear, too,…
Behold, sluts! You can now combine your love of live music with your desire to get the government to cover your floozy behavior. Just kidding. Sort of. On March 15, those of you who aren’t at Radiohead can visit Crescent Ballroom with Crash Coordinates, French Girls, Chicano Power Revival, Barefoot…
See also: Cameron Stallones of Sun Araw: Jamaica is “a Place of Infinite Music” Sun Araw, M. Geddes Gengras, Diva, Matthewdavid, and Marstepper Meat Market Garment Factory Wednesday, March 7, 2012 There’s a moment in “Night Gallery IV,” the fourth track on Sun Araw and Eternal Tapestry’s collaborative effort 2011…
If Miniature Tigers was ever to have an official “day” in Phoenix, it would be today. The band is playing two shows, one at Crescent Ballroom as part of the Modern Art Records Tour celebrating the release of Mia Pharaoh, and a free in-store performance at Stinkweeds at 5 p.m…
The life of a gigging band is pretty rough: Tempe-based alt-rockers Vinyl Station play eight gigs a week to make ends meet, populating Valley bars like the Rogue, Rosie McCaffery’s, and Kazimierz Wine Bar with their original tunes and alternative covers. On Sunday, March 25 the band is scheduled to…
In this week’s issue (on stands tomorrow and online later today) I spoke to Miniature Tigers frontman Charlie Brand about the new album, Mia Pharaoh. Call ’em a “Brooklyn band” if you must, but they’re showing Phoenix plenty of love: There’s that downtown mural, and they’re performing twice tomorrow, once…
See also: Sun Araw covers Teenage Fanclub’s Bandwagonesque at the Hard Rock Cafe in LA L.A.’s Sun Araw, the slow-rolling psych project of Cameron Stallones, is an ideal gateway into long-form music for those suspicious of epic jam territory. There is nary a Sun Araw tune shorter than six minutes,…
Gossip Girl fans looking to see Little J in action when Taylor Momsen and her band The Pretty Reckless come through town may not recognize the 18-year-old when she takes the stage at Martini Ranch this Saturday, March 10. The vibe will be more Courtney Love than CW fare, as Momsen is known to…
See also: Odd Future’s Most NSFW Videos See also: Odd Future Live at the Marquee Last year the hype machine was in full effect for the Los Angeles hip-hop collective Odd Future Wolf Gang Kill Them All, or just Odd Future for short. It seemed as if just about everywhere…
Toro Y Moi Crescent Ballroom Monday, March 5, 2012 Chillwave/glo-fi/funk/[insert blogger-generated genre here] pioneers Toro Y Moi knows how to get people moving. At last year’s South by Stateside Festival, the band played a short, delayed set thanks to Foster the People’s lengthy set-up time. I wasn’t there, so I…
Miniature Tigers’ brand new record, Dieyan Keytan, err, Mia Pharaoh, hits stores today, and in conjunction with the band’s complete takeover of Phoenix this week (see our sister blog Jackalope Ranch’s post about Joe Pagac’s advert-mural on Roosevelt Row, the band is performing a special acoustic gig at Stinkweeds this…
The second night of the two-day Arizona Porn Star Ball on Sunday evening had all the makings of a pimp hip-hop show: Strippers, half-naked freaks, adult film starlets, loads of talent, and a performance by one of the best rappers in the country in Kool Keith. All it needed was…
“Laidback” might fit the tone of Amsterdam-based Laidback Luke (born Lucas Cornelis van Scheppingen), but the tag might be doing a disservice to his work ethic: He’s worked with David Guetta, Diplo, Junior Sanchez, and more, and remixed pop acts like Black Eyed Peas, Katy Perry, Chris Brown, and the…
Recent Dark Lord Records (with distribution by Sony) signees Chemicals of Democracy are heading to Europe for Hammerfest, where they’ll be performing alongside Anthrax, Exodus, Skindred, and more. But the dudes aren’t leaving town without a bash. Tomorrow night they’ll be showing off songs from their new record, American Scream,…
Atlanta’s O’Brother may seem like a real life version of The Soggy Bottom Boys from O Brother, Where Art Thou? (just Google the band’s name), but name and hometown are the only things the band and film have in common. O’Brother uses three intricate guitars to play a combination of…
Korn and Sluggo Comerica Theatre Thursday, March 1 James Blake would’ve been in absolute hell watching Korn last night. The waifish English electronica producer, who’s loudly decried the overflowing machismo and thuggish aura of Americanized dubstep, would’ve seen his worst nightmare writ large and lit with high-tech spotlights. More than…
