Club Candids: Toxic Mondays at Zuma

As far as nightlife is concerned, Mondays are among the slowest nights of the week. Sure, most clubs won’t have a line and the bartenders are a bit more attentive, but it can be a little boring to see the same small group at your neighborhood watering hole. Fortunately, this…

The New York Dolls, Dancing Backward in High Heels

The New York Dolls’ new album, Dancing Backward in High Heels, comes out today, June 7. As one of the most influential acts in the punk and glam rock genres, the New York Dolls’ body of work mostly consists of gritty garage rock and glam punk songs — you know,…

Junior Boys: It’s All True

However, may I direct your attention towards Canadian electronic pop duo Junior Boys? Their latest album, It’s All True, is set to be released next Tuesday. A solid follow-up to 2009’s rather excellent Begone Dull Care, It’s All True finds Junior Boys producing yet more electronic pop-driven music, complete with…

Old 97’s @ Martini Ranch

Old 97’s should have hit it big in the late ’90s, when fellow alt-country bands like Whiskeytown were riding the No Depression wave to success. Over the course of their 18-year career, Old 97’s (named after a Johnny Cash cover) have toured consistently with the original lineup. And although they…

Kansas @ Celebrity Theatre

Kansas’ 1977 hit “Dust in the Wind” is a pretty serious song. Penned by guitarist Kerry Livgren, it’s straight out of the book of Ecclesiastes, a mournful, solemn existential statement that nothing lasts, no one lives forever, and at the end of the day, we aren’t much more than dirt…

Aceyalone @ Club Red

Over the years, Aceyalone (pronounced Ace-ee-alone) has released enough smart, meandering rhymes that his collection could have driven even the most dedicated hip-hop heads to boredom — maybe even himself, if his last two albums are any indication. After a sensible collaboration with RJD2 on the critically acclaimed Magnificent City…

CH3 @ Rips Ales & Cocktails

The official blog of old-school OC punk rockers CH3 might not be the first place you’d think to go to in search of a review of Glee. But don’t miss out; it’s well worth a read. Over the course of more than 1,200 words, a CH3 member band articulates a…

Delinquency @ Yucca Tap Room

You won’t catch Tim Neilson (a.k.a. Johnny Volume) loading up the latest remixes by The Twelves or fiddling with Serrato Scratch Live on a Macbook when performing during Delinquency. Nope, the 36-year-old keeps thing far more lo-fi during the biweekly punk night at Yucca Tap Room, 29 West Southern Avenue…

Club Candids: Memorial Day Mayhem at Pussycat Lounge

When the dreaded hour of 2 a.m. approaches at most Scottsdale joints, clubgoers start sucking down the last few gulps of their drinks and start shuffling towards the door. At Pussycat Lounge, however, that’s when the action really seems to get going. Maybe it’s because there’s only a few scant…

Givers: In Light

In anticipation of their debut album, In Light, being released next Tuesday, NPR Music has deemed Givers worthy of their Exclusive First Listen label, offering up a full album stream of their much-anticipated debut. Oh, did I mention Givers are playing Phoenix this Saturday?…

Flier of the Week: Mother Mother

Mother Mother will be sharing the stage at the Rogue Bar with the lovely local talents Super Stereo, Prague, and Sun Ghost.Here’s the full scoop: doors open for the 21-and-up gig at 8 p.m. on Friday, June 10. Tickets are $8 in advance and $10 at the door.Until the show begins,…

Flogging Molly’s The Speed of Darkness Comes Out Today

Irish-American Celtic punk band Flogging Molly release their fifth full-length studio album, The Speed of Darkness, today. Like Flogging Molly’s previous records, the new one’s full of furious fiddles laid over backdrops of supercharged punk guitar riffs and fast-paced beats. Unlike the band’s previous albums, all the songs on Speed…

Club Candids at American Junkie

New bars and clubs are constantly popping up in Scottsdale as of late. But no matter how hip and hype the latest sensation might be, we prefer coming back to old favorites like American Junkie. The sports bar-meets-danceteria is almost always a popular playground for drinking, dancing, and debauchery, as well…

John Vanderslice @ The Rhythm Room

On the surface, John Vanderslice seems like just another in a long line of melancholy singer-songwriters. Frankly, even if a slew of mopey indie-folk songs were his only contribution to the American music canon, he’d still be worthy of praise, just because he does that whole mopey indie-folk thing so…

Borgore @ Marquee Theatre

People who thought Matisyahu was unusual for being an American Hasidic Jewish reggae artist will really be thrown for a loop when they hear the music of Asaf Borger, a.k.a. Borgore. This mixmaster from Israel puts a new twist on dubstep, adding layers of hard drum ‘n’ bass and metal…

Toybox @ Phoenix Convention Center

You have to fish where the fish are. Maybe that’s why so many bands from Japan make their U.S. debuts playing anime and sci-fi conventions. Why slug it out like rookies when a built-in audience of squealing fan girls and manga-obsessed Pocky swallowers awaits? Toybox, the Valley’s only band whose…

The Pods @ The Trunk Space

The Pods make dirty, sexy music. The group incorporates a lot of styles on their new self-titled album, ranging from metal and grunge to pop. Guitarist/vocalist Dusty Rose describes the album as “spats of glitter and spats of grime,” while drummer Collin Burdette goes even further, claiming the album “cures…

Atomic Night @ Anderson’s Fifth Estate

Back in the day (read: the mid-1990s), one of the pimpest places to dance up a storm to goth, industrial, and alternative tracks was the old Atomic Café in Scottsdale, which has since become rock club Chasers. DJ Ricky D and Reverend Dale are reviving the spirit of the bygone…