Considering Frank Zappa’s vast catalog of music, I’m pretty sure I wasn’t the only person at Dodge Theatre Thursday night who was surprised when Zappa Plays Zappa’s set kicked off with a Van Halen cover. After a half-hour delay reportedly due to an exhaustive sound check, Dweezil Zappa took the…
The Venue of Scottsdale is gonna become a house of hyphy this Saturday, as the NoCal rap superstar E-40 (a.k.a. the “Ambassador of the Bay”) will take over the joint. We’re expecting plenty of slick rhymes from the “King of Slang,” as well as the myriad local hip-hop artists that…
Looking for something different to do on Sunday fun day? Check out Furio’s new Sunday option, which combines half-price bottles of wine and live music, similar to Phoenix’s The Vig. But where as The Vig gets their party started around three with a cover act featuring Gin Blossoms guitarist Scotty…
Shake! Fourth Year Anniversary at The Rogue William “Fucking” Reed with special guests The Rapture DJs brought the Rogue to the dance floor on Saturday, Feb. 21, 2009. Weekend Out: Dear and the Headlights, Matsuri and Rhythm Room We got artistic with Dear and the Headlights at the Heard Museum,…
Even to those of us who aren’t huge proponents of mainstream rap, The Game’s second album, Doctor’s Advocate, was hugely influential a few years back. Advocate was a note-perfect throwback to gangsta rap’s halcyon days of the early ’90s and quite possibly the best mainstream rap album since, well, pretty…
Now that the chill of winter is starting to subside (temps are supposed to get into the high 70s) you’ve got little excuse to stay cooped up inside your domicile this weekend. Why not book it to the ongoing Renaissance Festival, or perhaps take a splendid moonlight hike? Better yet,…
In this line of work, feeling a little old on the job is an occupational hazard. Still, few times have I felt more disconnected from the concertgoers around me than I did walking in during the last two songs by critically despised teeny-bopping post-hardcore act I Set My Friends on…
We don’t normally run two pieces previewing acts from a single concert in our print edition, but last week I made an exception for Jessica Lea Mayfield and Annuals at Rhythm Room. After tonight’s show I’m definitely glad I did.As the headliner, Annuals, a six-piece indie act from North Carolina,…
There’s a Janis Joplin tribute band playing in Phoenix, and as the late ’60s icon herself would say, “Get it while you can.”Phoenix resident Susan Ballard has been impersonating blues singer Janis Joplin since 1997, when she played her first tribute show at a club on 7th Avenue called Desert…
All-Star Weekend brought us many things. There was the Arizona Porn Star Ball, a Playboy party and of course that amazing game. Check out the highlights from the weekend. T.I., Juice and Pokafase at Celebrity Theatre 2009 NBA All-Star Game: Defense (For a Change), Jumpshots, and Forced Drama T.I. Proves…
It’s been an interesting career for Bankhead/Atlanta-based rapper T.I. He’s currently weathering the brunt of charges brought against him for illegally owning three unregistered firearms, a part of his life he was not shy to mention while onstage at the Celebrity Theatre on Sunday night. He’s not stupid and he…
After hearing Kinch’s new EP, The Economic Chastisement (review here), I was a little worried the boys were going soft on us. Chastisment is a solid CD, but it’s so much softer than their previous effort, the album Advances, it was hard for me to get as excited about it…
As our blogger Yvonne Zusel noted a couple days ago, there’s plenty of things to see and do in the Valley this weekend that have absolutely nothing to do with the hoopla surrounding the 2009 NBA All-Star Game. And here’s the proof to back up said statement: our regular weekly…
We gotta admit it: the 1st Annual Arizona Porn Star Ball wore us out.The feral festivities started at 9 p.m. and lasted well beyond last call. The list of special guests was longer than John Holmes’ tool, and included adult film stars Pharyn Sparxxx, Mya Lee, Taryn Thomas, Priya Rai,…
So, we don’t normally blog about shows outside the area, but our contributor Psyko Steve Chilton is putting a real dandy at SxSW in Austin next month. The “I Heart AZ” showcase features Dear and the Headlights, Miniature Tigers, What Laura Says, The Stiletto Formal, Kinch, Back Ted N-Ted and…
The last time Eagles of Death Metal were in town, their show was nearly unberable. Opening for The Hives at the Marquee, the band made their (now latest, then soon-to-be released) record Heart On sound so boring I almost gave up on them. “By the end, it was like watching…
First Friday: February 2009 Modified bikes, tasty drinks and The Love Me Nots had Phoenix’s streets covered in First Friday fans on February 6, 2009. See: shots direct from Phoenix in this First Friday Slide Show. ‘The Heart is a Drum Machine’ Draws Big, Loud Crowd For Premiere It’s not…
For those of you who tuned into the 51st annual Grammy Awards Sunday night, you were most likely treated to a lamely named performance of the “Rap Pack:” Jay-Z, Kanye West, T.I., and Lil’ Wayne. The four artists gave a dapper performance, no doubt flustering audiences of 40-year-olds in the Midwest…
Things are changing up just a bit for this edition of the weekend concert calendar. We’re going to start including Thursday in our weekly roundup, if for no other reason than there seems to be a number of big and boss shows that are happening on Thump Day. (Besides, Thursdays…
Will there be balling at Arizona’s 1st Annual Porn Star Ball? We can only hope. But one thing’s for sure — there will be boobs and booze aplenty (and some local hip-hop, too) at the February 11 hoedown (pun intended), set to steam up the windows at Babylon Showclub, 3613 East Van Buren.
Toronto punk rock outfit Fucked Up graced the stage Tuesday night at downtown Phoenix art gallery PHiX, bringing with them their subdued, docile tones and serene, lucid vocals. Good one, right? Yeah, I had you going — admit it. Fucked Up absolutely slayed the crowd on Tuesday, a respectable sized…
Katy Perry is hot! Well, she’s cute and she’s hot. This seemed to be the general consensus from the sold-out audience at Tempe’s Marquee Theatre on Tuesday. Perry, who wore a flashy gold dress and looked like she should be adorned on the top of a cake of some sort,…
