St. Vincent Dials Up the Aggression on Strange Mercy

These days, women dominate what used to be the boys’ clubby rock scene. There is a strong scent of “girl power” predominant throughout the newest albums from kick-ass groups like Wild Flag and Warpaint. Björk, Lykke Li, and Katy B are the brains and brawn behind some of 2011’s boldest…

Landmine Marathon Featured on Brooklyn Vegan

Tipped off from a friend over at Waved Rumor, we were alerted today that prominent music blog Brooklyn Vegan featured Phoenix’s own Landmine Marathon as part of the blog’s CMJ coverage. Well, kinda. Landmine didn’t play as part of the official CMJ Music Marathon, but that didn’t stop Brooklyn Vegan…

Maria Taylor Playing for Free at Crescent Ballroom Tonight

Okay, so Crescent Ballroom has been open two full weeks, which is long enough for us to review five shows there, eat one of Chris Bianco’s burritos, and listen as all the “cool kids” started calling the place “Crescent.”Stateside and Crescent owner Charlie Levy has enjoyed the past two weeks,…

Merle Haggard and Kris Kristofferson Headed to Heard Museum

Two of classic country’s baddest bad-boys, Merle “Hag” Haggard and Kris “That Dude From the First Blade Movie” Kristofferson, are headed to Phoenix this week, and they are not performing at a typically “country” place like Toby Keith’s I Love this Bar & Grill. No, the digs will be classier,…

Seven More Alice Cooper Songs for His Grotesque Haunted Maze

Could there be any better Halloween gift than to wander around in Alice Cooper’s brain for an evening, watching him teeter on the edge of sanity, just about to fall off? Proooobably not. That’s why this year, Halloween Horror Nights 2011 at Universal Studios Hollywood will veer from its traditional…

Steve Weiss, What Are You Listening To?

Weiss is a fine art photographer with Candid Landscapes and executive director of No Festival Required Independent Cinema, a four-time Best Of Phoenix winner. Weiss will be doing film programming for Scottsdale Museum of Contemporary Art’s new SMoCA Lounge in November.When you put your key in the ignition and turn…

Wilco Is Coming to Tempe in January! Hooray!

In one of my favorite pieces he wrote at New Times, former music editor Martin Cizmar argued that Wilco, one of my favorite bands, was, for all intents and purposes, no different than Dave Matthew Band, a group I don’t like. (Anymore, at least. I was a pretty big fan…

The Jack Rollers Explain “Scars”

What’s better than a rock show and a costume party together under one roof? How about an ’80s slasher costume party benefiting pets of the homeless with The Jack Rollers. AZ Retro Rescue is hosting the fright night at The Rogue Bar in Scottsdale this Saturday, October 22. TJR are…

Authority Zero Is Turning Japanese

I really think so. It’s been a busy year for Mesa’s leading reggae/punk export, Authority Zero. The band is in the midst of a national tour that includes a date at Marquee Theatre on November 5, which will be a hometown sendoff of sorts before the band heads to Japan…

From Print: Blogs Teased in Our October 13 Issue

This week, New Times ran a list in our print publication highlighting some of the most interesting posts published at Up On The Sun over the past week. Here are links to those posts. What spooky songs are featured on the Holy Page Records Halloween compilation? What is Andrea Beesley-Brown…

JFA Celebrates 30 Years of Skate Punk

In 1981, Phoenix punk band J.F.A. (a.k.a. Jodie Foster’s Army) released the Blatant Localism EP on Placebo Records. Remarkably brief — the entire record clocks in at six minutes, 34 seconds — the record defined the burgeoning skate punk scene. Though not Phoenix’s first punk band, JFA introduced, with Blatant…

Ron Paul’s “Rock the Revolution” Tour Coming to Tempe

On the official Rock the Revolution site, presidential candidate Ron Paul says: “I always knew that if you were going to have a revolution, you needed two things. Young people, and music.” Well — looks like he has the music part locked down with Rock the Revolution Concert, scheduled to…