Jenny Lewis at The Marquee: Not Quite Convincing Jenny Lewis is certainly an entertainer. “From Los Angeles, with love, here’s Jenny Lewis,” the announcer belted Vegas-style as she took the stage at the Marquee on Saturday night, and Ms. Lewis wasted no time making her indie-diva status abundantly clear. As…
Jenny Lewis is certainly an entertainer. “From Los Angeles, with love, here’s Jenny Lewis,” the announcer belted Vegas-style as she took the stage at the Marquee on Saturday night, and Ms. Lewis wasted no time making her indie-diva status abundantly clear. As her ace-card backing band cranked out solid seventies-folk…
At The Scream The Prayer Tour, there’s no better way to express your love for the lord than to yell loudly at people about how Jesus Christ died for your sins. Jesus Christ. I’m not kidding.It’s Always Darkest Before The…..
Given that yesterday was the day the world said goodbye to Michael Jackson with a glitzy, arena-sized sendoff, it shouldn’t have been surprising to see Beyonce dedicate a song to the late King of Pop at last night’s U.S. Airways Center show. And, with emotions running high, it also shouldn’t…
Hoodlums Music, at 6434 S. McClintock in Tempe, will be screening RiP! a remix manifesto for free Wednesday evening at 8 p.m. Here’s a bit from the movie’s promotional materials:In RiP: A remix manifesto, Web activist and filmmaker Brett Gaylor explores issues of copyright in the information age, mashing up the…
Despite sweltering heat and scarce air conditioning, about 160 folks crammed into Phoenix’s Modified Arts last night to watch the much-hyped Deer Tick as they rolled into town in their converted school bus to support their new record, Born on Flag Day. The boys, lead by singer/songwriter John McCauley, plowed…
Could Jay-Z Replace Michael Jackson? Jay-Z’s claim to being “The Best Rapper Alive” is delivered so flippantly it’s almost filler anymore. Certainly, there was a time after 2003’s The Black Album dropped that it’d have been indisputable to any serious fan of hip-hop music, but, in the years since, it’s…
We already told you a lot about Deer Tick in this week’s paper, and we’ll tell you a little more tomorrow, after tonight’s show at Modified Arts but in the meantime we just wanted to give you a little reminder: DEER TICK IS TONIGHT.In case you’re too lazy to click…
The last time I went out to The Marquee Theatre, The Offspring made themselves at home amongst the sweaty, aging punk audience. Friday night’s performance by The Joey Arroyo Band at this very same venue can be described in two words that The Offspring show could not: civil and desolate…
Jay-Z’s claim to being “The Best Rapper Alive” is delivered so flippantly it’s almost filler anymore. Certainly, there was a time after 2003’s The Black Album dropped that it’d have been indisputable to any serious fan of hip-hop music, but, in the years since, it’s become such a droning constant that…
Sometimes a show falls through the cracks that deserves more coverage in the ‘Nix. It’s no one’s fault in particular — it can be a tough task to be on top of every single noteworthy show that comes to The Valley. Such is the case for this Friday night as…
Until yesterday, I used to loathe the Warped Tour. Not because of the bands or music, mind you, but rather because of some bad experiences I’d had while attending the annual summertime mega-tour. When the Warped Tour first came to Phoenix in July 1996, I’d spent every last dime I…
By Heather Hoch About two years ago, John Vanderslice made a promise to a Phoenix audience that he would return to Modified Arts again. Though you couldn’t blame anyone who wanted to avoid Phoenix this time of you, Vanderslice delivered, while supporting his newest release Romanian Names, making his Sunday show at…
Epic Super Hero Battle at Scottsdale Fashion Square Improv AZ and AZ Cacophony hatched a sinister plan for last weekend: assemble a cast of violent villains and honorable heroes and have them duke it out at Scottsdale Fashion Square. The result will come to be known as the “Epic Super…
Clapton began his career with the bluesy stylings of The Yardbirds and then segued into John Mayall’s Blues Breakers. In his days with Cream, he slid headfirst into psychedelic rock and later even touched on reggae. To Winwood’s credit, he led a similar trek, dabbling in the blue-eyed soul of…
This Friday, The Firehouse, one of downtown Phoenix’s finer collective art spaces, is hosting one such benefit show. It is being put on by Rusty Spoke Community Bicycle Initiative and the Phoenix chapter of Food Not Bombs and it features Haunted Cologne, Andrew Jackson Jihad, The Haymarket Squares, Kirkwood Dellinger and…
If you’re worried Ida Maria is the next in a long line of indie princesses to go “pop” the first time some douchey A&R guy suggests it might be a prudent career move, fear not. As she showed last night in Scottsdale, although “I Like You So Much Better When…
Rose Johnson’s Memorial at Icehouse in Downtown Phoenix There was no dirth of Rose Johnson-created (and inspired) art at the memorial celebration held in honor of the artist on Saturday night, June 20th, 2009 at the Icehouse downtown. Hundreds of people showed up to pay their respects to one of…
When I think of folk music, I think of older, fogey-er guys and gals who strum slowly and sing about wild horses and flowers . . . But the Phoenix Annual Summer Folk Festival at Modified Arts, presented Thursday by River Jones Music, made folk cool again.For a Thursday afternoon…
It’s been five years since Loretta Lynn’s Grammy-winning collaboration with Jack White but it seemed even longer at last night’s Celebrity Theatre show, where the Van Lear Rose era seemed long forgotten. Sure, a few curious hipsters made their way down to the show, but, for the most part it…
By all definitions, Viva Voce are a Portland band. They feature at least one member with a beard, and while no one was wearing flannel, it felt like they were one load of laundry away from reaching that point. It is easy to bunch together Portland music as being simple…
I feel like it’d be a little cheesy to write a real “review” of a show I helped book but, suffice to say, our first Summer of Sound showcases kicked some ass Saturday night. In addition to our annual effort to spotlight the best local bands of five genres, we’re…
