So lovely. So talented. So appallingly young. Can there be any doubt that Taylor Swift was sent to Earth to make the planet’s collective over-20 population feel like a bunch of aging fuck-ups? Though more than a year shy of her first legal white-wine spritzer, the ethereal pop goddess has…
Are you “down with the clown?” Which is to say, are you the slightest bit interested in watching five sugar-crazed Midwesterners don face paint and rap about ax murder? If so, there’s a really strong chance that this Insane Clown Posse-fronted horrorcore supergroup is already figuring prominently in your weekend…
Back when I used to write for another Valley weekly that shall remain nameless, we used to play a game called “Nickelback Or . . . ?” The object was to determine what concerts, if any, could possibly be worse than a Nickelback show. One of the only rules of the game was…
Two things about The Thermals: The Portland, Oregon indie-punk band made its first album, 2003’s More Parts Per Million, for approximately $6 (they recorded it at home on six $1 cassettes) and it was released virtually as-is by Sub Pop; and before forming the group, Thermals principals Hutch Harris and…
Ho-hum. Another week, another militant vegan band comes to town. If you didn’t get your fill (pun intended) at last week’s Earth Crisis show, the lovable “veganarchists” in Propagandhi are stopping in Tempe this weekend to spread the gospel of iodine deficiency to the masses. For a band that professes…
J.D. Stooks says it best himself on his MySpace: “I play slow sad bastard music.”For all intents and purposes he does, though there’s an occasional buoyancy to Stooks new record, Women & Gold that’ll appeal to most fans of acoustic folk-rock, even the ones who prefer the more upbeat offering…
Well, it happened. Cheap Thrills is going weekly.Much to the rejoice of Valley scenesters, there’s now a weekly spot to head to for strong drinks, dancing, loud music and general debauchery. Black Forest Mill restaurant-turned-dance club is the prefect venue for this kind of night. They’ve got a big dance…
The Dollyrots are this week’s Flier of the Week partly because this is one of the better offerings in a weak field, and partly because their latest record, which came out in 2007, is called Because I’m Awesome, which is also the name of the best song on said album…
Like major-league closers, modern-rock musicians tend to specialize in the high hard stuff. Still, that doesn’t mean fans of the genre reject any and all softer sounds — and that’s where Kevin Devine comes in. A generation ago, Devine, who has local boys Miniature Tigers on tour with him, wouldn’t…
When two of the biggest and most influential alt-rock bands of all time tour together, it’s hard to find much to complain about. Indeed, the only negative we can come up with about Nine Inch Nails touring with a newly reunited Jane’s Addiction is the unfortunate “NIN/JA” moniker they’ve slapped…
Over the course of three albums, Kings of Leon have worn their undigested influences on their rangy, sleeveless arms. Sure, this is partly born of a supremely unambitious approach, but the result is a rare, uncomplicated rock pleasure. 2005’s Aha Shake Heartbreak has endured several years into the blog era,…
Certain bands have a vibe that makes you just know they’d be fun guys to grab a beer and a burger with. Then there’s Earth Crisis. A fun day with this Syracuse, New York-based metalcore quintet seems more likely to include pouring blood on unsuspecting fur coat wearers, strapping yourself…
What do Styx and REO Speedwagon have in common besides the obvious cheese factor, being aging rock musicians, and sharing the stage at Dodge Theatre this weekend? The ’70s and ’80s power rockers have seven tracks featured on the Rock Band Music Store catalog for the wildly popular video game…
It’s apparently been en vogue lately to jump from Stray Cat Bar & Grill in Tempe to Jugheads. The first to flee was DJ Johnny Volume, who moved his popular BANNED night to the east Phoenix punk bar in March. And now it looks as though DJ Refkekshin’s made the…
A Few Random DrunksWorld Famous County Wide(Self released)If you ask me, there’s too many alt-country acts doing the Old 97s thing, and not nearly enough doing the Drive-By Truckers thing. Now, granted, I prefer the former to the latter, but unless you’ve got Rhett Miller’s worn-denim vocals — and few…
We’ve always been big believers in this town. Even when our friends moved away and all the stragglers constantly proclaimed that “Phoenix sucks, man!”, we’ve always loved it here.And, on Friday, May 8th, as we laid on the grassy hill at the Downtown Civic Space Park, listening to local bands…
We haven’t heard much from our pals Antique Scream since they moved to Seattle shortly after we featured them in a story that had one of my all-time favorite quotes from a local band in it: “We look like we suck.”They’re back in town this weekend to play a special…
Despite a moment in the sun, screamo increasingly appears a failed experiment without the undying appeal of chocolate in your peanut butter. Blending hardcore aggression with emo’s pop impulse didn’t produce a juggernaut with heart, but a conflicted creature unable to satisfy either impulse. Recent arrivals Polar Bear Club attempt…
Like moonlight on a starless night, The Silent Years project across a crisp, endless expanse both starkly beautiful and with a rich, engaging brightness. The Detroit quintet indulge plenty of textured atmospheres but aren’t as shambolic as their dream-pop antecedents. Keyboards paint in broad shimmering strokes, and frontman Josh Epstein’s…
It’s not hard to figure out what kind of music New Orleans’ Zydepunks play. Their name gives it away: a mixture of zydeco, punk, Cajun music, and Eastern European styles. It’s an overwhelming mixture to comprehend, but it makes perfect sense that a band with such a wide range of…
The early ’90s were ripe for the taking, musically. People were tired of the Sunset Strip’s hair-metal scene. Alternative rock — particularly grunge — ushered in the slow death of hair bands, giving record labels a new genre to fawn over. Although not from Seattle, Stone Temple Pilots reached massive…
Life’s been good to the DJ collective of Above & Beyond (a.k.a. Jonathan Grant, Paavo Siljamäki, and Tony McGuinness). Madonna reportedly is a big fan of the U.K.-based trance triumvirate and requested that they remix two of her singles (2001’s “What It Feels Like For a Girl” and 2003’s “Nobody…
