Is it just me, or has it been a crazy week? Between all the SXSW craziness (I’m not there, but the sheer amount of reading I’ve done from people who are feels staggering), the sorta-but-not-really surprise closure of The Clubhouse in Tempe, and trying to stay on top of everything…
Nick RalloSharon Van Etten, at the NPR showcase, was a stunner. Plus, there was a box accordionIf you’re familiar with chaos theory, which in its basic form is the attempt to find patterns in the random acts of shit on Earth, then you may understand the difficulty that comes with…
See also: Paul Collins and Peter Case on the First Time They Heard the Ramones and The State of Power Pop Peter Case and Paul Collins Rhythm Room Tuesday, March 13 “I’m playing on the streets everyday…I lose my voice, get sunburned, my fingers bleed, and I never make much…
See also: Breaking News: Clubhouse Music Venue Closes Down Love ’em or hate ’em, Apple commercials have power — just ask The Ting Tings. The British duo has a 2008 iPod commercial to thank for making them popular here in the States, after silhouettes on a colorful background boogied to…
The last time I saw Dread Zeppelin — the band that performs Led Zeppelin songs in a reggae style sung by a 300 pound Las Vegas Elvis impersonation — was at an all-day Reggae on the Rocks concert at Red Rocks Amphitheatre in Denver. This was in the early 1990s,…
Willie Nelson and Family Comerica Theatre Monday, March 12 See the full Willie Nelson slideshow here. It was a quarter after eight when the Red-Headed Stranger took the stage at Comerica Theatre last night. He hadn’t even played a note, but he crowd of retirees stood in applause beside younger…
Clubhouse Music Venue Owner Arrested Tempe Police Department dropped a major bombshell today when it announced the arrest of Eugenia L. Ruven, the owner of the Clubhouse Music Venue. As we reported earlier this afternoon, the 44-year-old (who also owns the adjacent Horse & Hound Sports Grill) was cited and…
Marco Torres”What I want from each and every one of you is a hard-target search of every gas station, residence, warehouse, farmhouse, henhouse, outhouse and doghouse in that area.” — Tommy Lee Jones, The Fugitive You don’t have to spend much time at South By Southwest to know that all…
Bill Frisell’s Beautiful Dreamers Compound Grill Saturday, March 10 Many are those who believe jazz is boring, a style of music favorable to older generations and featuring only stodgy musicians playing the same tired standards in uninspired fashion. To some degree, these beliefs do have merit. Then there’s Bill Frisell…
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,…
