Four Reasons Lollapalooza Needs EDM

Photo by Erik HessSee also: Lollapalooza Suspended, Resumed After Dangerous Weather Conditions See also: 10 Things Your Lollapalooza Outfit Says About You By Ian Traas With every year that passes, it feels like electronic dance music gains a bigger foothold in the summer festival circuit, and the climb in popularity…

Bears of Manitou @ Martini Ranch

It hasn’t taken long for Kickstarter to seem as played out as a months-old Internet meme (I can haz money, plz?). But the fact remains, the crowd-funding service is all the rage with indie musicians trying to raise capital. For the average price of a record, you can secure your…

Daughters of Fission @ Martini Ranch

The Daughters of Fission are a band in search of an identity. A web search offers mostly misleading information and even features former bassists who doubled on “assorted mumblings” and “screams.” “There’s a lot of information out there that’s outdated,” says drummer and lead vocalist Jason Prichard. “We’re trying to…

Bringing It Together Like Pangea @ Trunk Space

The idea of Los Angeles and Phoenix performers uniting for a split LP of collaborative love may sound pleasant, but the results are hardly harmonious. Noise bands saddle up alongside experimental synth pop, and interpreters of video-game rock jam alongside glum folkies. There’s not one smooth transition here, but that’s…

Agalloch @ Rhythm Room

Portland folk-metal conjurers Agalloch are among the best of a growing sect of earthy, naturalistic metal bands. The band’s 2010 full-length marathon, Marrow of the Spirit, is an hour-long journey that intertwines black-metal caterwaul with acoustic guitar flourishes, low-end piano stabs, and sublime cello arrangements. This approach is similar to…

Swim Social @ The Saguaro

If you ever need to get hold of Al Page on a Saturday afternoon, forget about trying to dial up the dope DJ and club promoter. The ringtone probably will get lost in the sweet sounds of whatever funk and soul blend he’s brewing up at that particular moment of…

Club Candids: The Tavern on Mill

During hot summer days, Mill Avenue is easy to navigate- you can easily find an unoccupied meter on Mill, and the lines in bars and restaurants aren’t too long thanks to ASU students going home between semesters. The same cannot be said for weekend summer nights, as certain Mill hotspots…

Download: Space Alien Donald’s “Robot Rap” from New L.A./Phoenix Comp

See also: Space-Alien Donald (aka “The World’s Oldest Gay Canadian Rapper”) Opens New Venue Called Funny World See also: Treasure Mammal’s Checkognize Is Seriously Funny See also: Treasure Mammal’s SXSW Real Talk Diaries Ladies and gentlemen, meet Phoenix’s ambassador to Los Angeles on Kingdom Mammalia’s new L.A./Phoenix compilation Bringing it…

DJ John Blaze and PhoenixHipHop.net Team for New Mixtape

See also: The Writer’s Guild Release Song in Response to Dark Knight Rises Shooting in Colorado Local music website PhoenixHipHop.net has been an advocate of the Valley’s hip-hop scene since its inception in 2009. Sticking to its promise to “help continue the growth of the Phoenix area’s hip-hop scene by…

Six Desert Metal Bands You Need to Hear

See also: Monday Monday: Is Heavy Metal Really The Devil’s Music? The desert is the perfect place for heavy metal to spawn: desolate, hot, seemingly devoid of life, save for the plants and critters that spit poison or are encased in thorny flesh. Yet Valley of the Sun’s healthy metal…

Oasis Affair @ W Scottsdale Hotel

While swank swimming soirees have dominated the summertime scene (as usual), none have been as posh or pimp as the pool parties happening at the W Scottsdale Hotel. The ultra-upscale auberge, located at 7277 East Camelback Road in Scottsdale, has welcomed in a young and stylish crowd to all manner…

S*PUNK! @ Chasers

The party monsters of local DJ collective Sadisco* aren’t shy about their utter devotion to industrial music. They’re slaves to the cacophonous grind of relentless electronically driven mayhem, brutal guitar hooks, and dystopian lyrics about dark lords and demons that only bands like Nachtmahr, Unter Null, and Fractured Transmission can…

The Mynabirds @ Crescent Ballroom

Imagine Nancy Sinatra’s “These Boots Are Made for Walkin'” as a political rallying cry instead of a sultry kiss-off, and you have an idea behind The Mynabirds’ “Generals.” The title track on the band’s second LP is a call to action so catchy in its delivery, and yet so vague…

Relient K @ Marquee Theatre/mewithoutYou @ Crescent Ballroom

It’s not easy being a “Christian band,” especially when you don’t fit in the easy-to-categorize box, which is the case for Relient K and mewithoutYou, playing the Marquee and Crescent Ballroom this week, respectively. From the beginning, both bands had no trouble attracting fans outside the youth group circuit, with…

Elzhi @ Chasers

If you’re looking for a hip-hop role model, Nas is a pretty good one. Detroit MC Elzhi (real name: Jason Powers) borrowed the title for his breakthrough mixtape, Elmatic, from Nas’ classic 1994 Illmatic. Elzhi knows his stuff and, borrowed title aside, is more than capable of standing on his…

Club Candids: Foreplay Fridays at Flight Lounge

Scottsdale’s shimmering nightlife district tends to become saturated with a maelstrom of vibrant colors, flashing lights, and blaring sound after the sun goes down. Each illuminated establishment attempts to outdo the another by attracting toned-and-tanned clientele with flashy facades and the promise of exciting nighttime adventure. Well, except for Flight…

Is Heavy Metal Really The Devil’s Music?

See also: Rob Zombie and Marilyn Manson to Headline KUPD’s Desert Uprising See also: Megadeth’s Dave Ellefson: “Why I’m Trying to Become a Pastor” Last week, I found myself in an awkward conversation with douchebag with a popped collar and frosted tips. He asked me if I worshipped “the Devil,”…

Kongos on the Cutting Room Floor

See also: Kongos are Huge in South Africa. Is Phoenix Next? See also: The Serene Dominic Show: Kongos Tear it Up Back and forth banter that didn’t find its way in this week’s New Times article on Kongos finds its way to you now, courtesy of Up On the Sun…