Toby KeithAugust 8, 2010Cricket Wireless AmpitheatreI have to admit I went to Toby Keith’s show at Cricket only partially to hear classics like “Should’ve Been A Cowboy” and “How Do You Like Me Now?!” Sure, it’s always nice to hear Toby belt out his Blue Collar anthems, and, yes, Toby…
If you’re going to play a festival, there’s a delicate balance to walk. Sure, you’re an artist enthusiastic to show off your careful crafted work to an appreciative audience, but while there are going to be some of your fans in attendance, there will be a ton of people who…
There are people who just don’t like music festivals. It won’t matter who’s on the bill or whether the show is in the middle of the desert or the center of a city; they’re just not interested in seeing bite-size sets crushed by an often bikini topped mob. Don’t get…
This is part of a series of reviews of bands who play weekly at local bars. The show: Ronnie Winters at Rosie McCaffrey’s. The look: Standard Irish pub. The smell: Residual from pub food consumed earlier in the evening. The taste: Thick, dark, beer. Three words/phrases to describe the night:…
Everyone likes Daft Punk (or at least claims to). At this point it’s considered socially unacceptable not to at least “respect” the duo’s music as being “influential” (this response was originally created by people who don’t like the Beatles but don’t want to argue about it for the next hour)…
Lady Gaga’s Monster Ball Tour at US Airways Center on 7/31/2010 There’s no doubt that Lady Gaga’s sold-out Phoenix show was the most hotly- anticipated concert on a lackluster summer schedule that’s been hard hit by the Great Recession and the Soundstrike. Actually, tickets to The Monster Ball Tour sold…
Hell yes the Lady Gaga show was crazy, but the after party at Crotch Rockitt with guest DJs Lady Starlight and Semi Precious Weapons was Monster Balls-to-the-walls. Peep our slideshow to see drinking, dancing, debauchery and outrageous club fashion at its Phoenix finest. Crotch Rockitt takes over Club Forbidden, 6820…
Lady GagaUS Airways CenterJuly 31, 2010There’s no doubt that Lady Gaga’s sold-out Phoenix show was the most hotly- anticipated concert on a lackluster summer schedule that’s been hard hit by the Great Recession and the Soundstrike.Actually, tickets to The Monster Ball Tour sold out months ago (sell-outs are usually a…
Landmine MarathonYucca Tap RoomJuly 31, 2010Fresh off a month-long U.S. tour, Landmine Marathon looked anything but tired last night at the Yucca Tap Room in Tempe. In their first ever gig at the Yucca, the band tore through a brief-yet-ferocious set that spanned all three of their albums and left…
T-Model FordThe Rhythm RoomJuly 29th, 2010There’s a scene in the 2003 documentary on the early Fat Possum Records roster, You See Me Laughin’: The Last of the Hill County Bluesmen, where James “T-Model” Ford recounts to director Mandy Stern about a when he was 11 and his father savagely beat…
Lyle LovettCelebrity TheatreJuly 28, 2010″It’s just like coming home for me, coming to Phoenix,” uttered Texas-bred country music legend Lyle Lovett last night. And with such good timing.As much you or I love Arizona, currently it’s in the kind of situation, both politically and culturally, that makes it sort of…
Scorpions Dodge Theatre July 27, 2010 If you’ve heard any of the Scorpions new material, you know that it’s pretty terrible. I don’t just mean, “Man, I really don’t like this.” I mean, terrible. Given that their old stuff is solid (and even maybe “great” to someone who enjoys hair…
This is part of a series of reviews of bands who play weekly at local bars. The show: Hair Raid at Whiskey River Saloon. The look: Honky tonk with a coat of Aqua Net. The smell: Sweet. The carpet was sticky and you could tell lots of drinks had been…
Barenaked Ladies and Kris Allen at Dodge Theatre Ed Robertson is probably the more talented of the two founding members of Barenaked Ladies. Creative input aside, Robertson is a master chameleon, both able to mimic the boisterous nerdiness of ex-frontman Steven Page and do all the little things Page could…
Barenaked Ladies Dodge Theatre July 25, 2010Ed Robertson is probably the more talented of the two founding members of Barenaked Ladies. Creative input aside, Robertson is a master chameleon, both able to mimic the boisterous nerdiness of ex-frontman Steven Page and do all the little things Page could never do,…
Kesha July 22, 2010 Marquee TheatreThe janitors at Marquee Theatre have quite the task ahead of them after Kesha’s first concert in Arizona. The 23-year-old inspired the vast majority of women in the audience to slather on glitter (much of which ended up on the Marquee floor), she shot out…
You should be proud, New Jersey. Your garden state is more than reality TV show guidos and guidettes, big hair, fist-pumping and GTL (gym, tan, laundry). You guys know how to rock. New Jersey has spawned legendary rock bands like Bon Jovi and Bruce Springsteen.Oh, and the Gaslight Anthem, heavily…
I’ve always made it a policy to not get down on old folks, particularly when it comes to not having the same energy or disposition as youngsters. I reminded myself that if I lived through my youth, I too one day would wind up “old.” I realized early on that…
Smashingsun Pumpkinups at Marquee Theatre on 7/17/2010 Anyway, I decided to stick around to see the next band, which, as luck would have it, turned out to be beloved 90s alt-rockers Smashing Pumpkins, on tour again and playing what seemed to be some b-sides from Gish. Pretty sweet, right?…full story…
This is part of a series of reviews of bands who play weekly at local bars. The show: Grateful Thursdays at 910 Live. The look: A strip club next to a U-Haul that has been taken over by hippies.The smell: Men’s cologne, da club, and patchouli.The taste: Clove cigarettes.Three words/phrases…
Weird story: So last night I went to Marquee Theatre to see standard-bearing folk-punk band Against Me!, who just put out their second-consecutive awesome album, White Crosses.Unfortunately, the ticket line was about 100 yards long, stretching from the front doors of the theater to the bus stop on Mill Avenue…
This is part of a series of reviews of bands who play weekly at local bars. The show: Badness at Char’s Has the Blues. The look: Small, old-school blues dive, lit by red Christmas lights. The smell: Wood and the street. The taste: Sweet. In an old, sweaty kind of…
