Pantera Tribute Act Cowboys N Hell On The Best Cover Bands in Phoenix

People either love or hate cover bands. Some think they are fantastic tributes, while others think they are blatant rip-offs. Personally, I love tribute bands. They give music fans a chance to hear songs live and celebrate a favorite band–and often it’s a band that’s disbanded, one you’ll never be…

Eight Must-Read Heavy Metal Books

Metalheads are some of the most devoted music fans on the planet. No–I mean we really love our music. Oh, you memorized Lady Gaga’s music video dance moves? Check out my Kreator Coma of Souls back piece, and meet my friend’s daughter, Sabbath. Later we’re going to karaoke to cover…

I Saw Fall Out Boy Live Right Before They Got Huge

I saw Fall Out Boy right before they got super popular and seemingly unavoidable–the last time they played the Marquee Theatre for an intentionally Intimate show. If my Google skills are correct, it was with New Found Glory at Marquee Theatre in 2007. What’s even stranger is that the band…

Matisyahu @ Maya Day and Nightclub

It’s only partially Matisyahu’s fault that all his interests conspired to make him the perfect poster to hang next to Bob Marley in your freshman dorm room. That is, lots of teenagers and young adults find meaning and truth in following Phish around and reconnecting with the family traditions and…

Jewel @ Wild Horse Pass

It’s been 10 years now since Jewel released 0304 and loosed the sell-out police on herself, trading in hyper-earnest folk for a dance-pop single in which she declared herself “a simple girl / in a high-tech digital world.” It was all knowing and wink-wink — at least theoretically — but…

The Boxer Rebellion @ Crescent Ballroom

Promises, the latest album from indie rockers The Boxer Rebellion, proves that you can give your fans what they want and still surprise them over the course of an album. How does the London-based band do it? It’s quite simple, really: It starts with the hook-filled, radio-ready synth rock single…

The Thermals @ Crescent Ballroom

Didn’t think apocalyptic chic could translate into an existential-blend blink-182? Think again. The Thermals swirl your Interpol with Ted Leo before throwing in a dash of humor to balance out the depressing despair of existence in the shadow of nuclear bombs, drone strikes, and rising sea levels. But if your…

Zeds Dead @ El Santo Cantina

[needle exchange] Dubstep might have exceeded its expiration date, if the statements by a few prominent EDM bigwigs are to be believed. Last month, influential dubstep early-adopter Skream mentioned in a UK tabloid that the once-groundbreaking genre has become meaningless and that “the movement is over,” essentially echoing like-minded statements…

Will Nine Inch Nails’ New Music Really Be F***ing Great?

It’s rare that musicians or other people in the public eye actually admit they’ve been lying–unless they’re found out, Tiger Woods-style–but Trent Reznor is excited about his own “betrayal” of Nine Inch Nails fans. I guess the lie is okay when the truth stuns and excites millions of fans, right?…

Punk Rock Bowling’s 20 Most Memorable Looks

While piecing together this list of photos from last week’s Punk Rock Bowling festival in Las Vegas, I tried to figure out how to approach it. “The hottest girls of Punk Rock Bowling” would be too easy. “The weirdos of Punk Rock Bowling” requires a bit more work, but the…

Scott Weiland @ Talking Stick Resort

If you want to know what former Stone Temple Pilots and Velvet Revolver frontman Scott Weiland is up to these days, don’t bother visiting his website. It’s almost three years out of date, the music is spotty, and the images go in and out. Serious rehabilitation work is needed. Hmmm…

While We’re Up Benefit @ Lawn Gnome Publishing

Zach Booher and his pop-punk band, While We’re Up, might have been on their way to the Van’s Warped Tour. The singer, along with his two bandmates, was following the tour in the summer of 2012 and playing shows in the same cities it hit. One night, on a freeway…

Michael Kiwanuka @ Desert Sky Pavilion

If you ever need a record cover to justify that adage about a picture being worth a thousand words, Michael Kiwanuka’s Home Again will do the trick. Kiwanuka’s 2012 full-length debut sports a stark close-up of its mastermind’s face draped in half-shadow and wearing a pensive expression. You can just…

Imagine Dragons @ Comerica Theatre

Imagine Dragons’ debut LP, Night Visions, begins with a guitar intro that might remind you a little of Bon Jovi’s “Wanted Dead or Alive.” Then it descends into a heavy, current-sounding verse anchored by the stuttery, wub-wubbing bass made famous by dubstep — or at least movie trailers with dubstep…

Tongue Tied’s Daft Punk Tribute Party @ Apollo’s Lounge

Didja get your mitts on Daft Punk’s new album, Random Access Memories, yet? If not, your slow ass is certainly in the minority, since damn near everyone’s streamed or pirat — er, bought a copy of the just-released 13-track gem birthed from the robotic loins of Thomas Bangalter and Guy-Manuel…