If it were 1987, Jason Aldean and Kelly Clarkson’s “Don’t You Wanna Stay” wouldn’t be a country-radio dominating hit; it would be a Bics-in-the-air hair-metal ballad, something Whitesnake or Cinderella would play near the end of the set to get all the girlies grooving. But it’s 2012, and the song,…
See also: Club Candids: Pattie’s First Avenue Lounge See also: Club Candids: Labor Day Retox at Martini RanchOtep Shamaya certainly has some powerful pipes and she ain’t afraid to use ’em. Just ask the mass of local music fans who were scorched by the 32-year-old lead screamer singer this past…
Fiona Apple and Blake Mills @ Mesa Arts Center|Tuesday, September 18Singer/songwriter Fiona Apple has a reputation. Her public struggles with fame and her label give the impression that a Fiona Apple performance could fall apart at any moment. But it never came close last night at Mesa Arts Center. Not…
Mac Demarco @ Trunk Space| Tuesday, September 18Seeing totally disparate genre blends in one night is cool, but it’s always nice to see a bill that is fully united under one auspice. I’m going to give last night’s Mac Demarco show an easy filing: The Joy of the Floor Tom…
Pretty Lights @ Comerica Theatre| Tuesday, September 18, 2012Damn, summer ended so quickly. It was gone within a blink of an eye. It was nice to be able to fit in one more Pretty Lights show. I last saw Derek Smith — the man behind the electro/soul sound of Pretty…
Phoenix rappers Mr. Miranda and Random a.k.a Mega Ran proved to be a formidable tandem when they teamed up to form the powerful hip-hop duo, Mirandom late last year. The two are currently working towards bringing new music regularly with weekly installments of Mirandom Mondays, and now fellow emcee Mighty…
Quasi-political folk band Andrew Jackson Jihad, a band that would be hard to take seriously, if not for the ballsy lyrical stylings displayed on songs like “American Tune” and “Joe Arpaio is a Punk,” is hitting The Crescent Ballroom Sunday, November 18. If you’ve never heard them (unlikely if you’re…
It’s a pretty good time to be The Gaslight Anthem. The band, which at times sounds like a nostalgic punk rock version of Bruce Springsteen, recently signed to a major label to release its forth full length album, Handwritten. After the band’s frontman, Brian Fallon dedicated some time to bluesy…
After four highly successful albums with Vanguard Records, singer-songwriter Mindy Smith took the bold and daring plunge into self-releasing her work, forming Giant Leap Records. Interestingly, Smith did not go off the handle and embrace genres unbecoming her trademark mix of folk and country, some with a rock and roll…
When most bands perform, they’ve had plenty of time to rehearse their set and get it down perfectly before getting on-stage. For the members of Judd, they won’t have any idea what lyrics or melody they’re singing until their show, and that’s how they like it…
See also: Turnt Up Thursdays and So Fly Fridays Take Over 27th Ave Bar & Grill See also: DJ John Blaze and PhoenixHipHop.net Team for New MixtapeLatinos in hip-hop is no new thing: Rappers like Mellow Man Ace, Kid Frost, Cypress Hill, and Arizona’s own MC Magic have been in…
If pressed to come up with the metal version of classical music’s “Big Three”, Brahms, Beethoven, and Bach, violinist Rachel Barton Pine, a performer who’s well versed in both styles, has got it covered. “You can’t leave off Sabbath, because they were the first metal band from which everything derived,…
For their third album, Symbolyst, post-rock band Lymbyc Systym has come full circle, beginning and ending in the Valley of the Sun. After a tour through their former hometown, brothers Michael and Jared Bell began working on their latest record in January 2010 and three days after its release this…
See also: Take Cover: Fate of the Galaxies Cover The Cure Robert Smith is a weird dude– his disheveled hair and smeared red lipstick make his appearance as recognizable as his vocal style. It was only natural for Tom Laman, vocalist of The Captives to include some theatrics in his…
See also: The Walkmen Can’t Be Beat on Heaven (Q&A with Hamilton Leithauser) See also: The Full Walkmen @ Crescent Ballroom SlideshowThe Walkmen @ Crescent Ballroom| Sunday, September 16, 2012The Walkmen have always sounded worn. “Sometimes I’m just happy I’m older,” singer Hamilton Leithauser belted on “We’ve Been Had,” from…
See also: The Most Anticipated Heavy Metal Releases of the Fall See also: The 10 Hottest Chicks in Metal See also: Six Desert Metal Bands You Need to Hear See also: A Closer Look at KUPD’s MILF Contest 2012There are few things in this world that have the ability to…
Once a week Up on the Sun features a new comic strip from punk rocker, cartoonist, and full-time dad Brad Dwyer. See the New Times print edition to check out the strip in glorious, inky newsprint each Thursday…
Arturo Sandoval @ Musical Instrument Museum| 9/14/12It took all of eight minutes for jazz trumpeter Arturo Sandoval to lead his band into a driving Latin jazz tempo, one that would remain for most of the evening. Following slow warm-up featuring Sandoval and his keyboardist gently feeling out their instruments, Sandoval,…
Yeah, yeah, yeah…we get it Mondays suck (we’ve read Garfield). But it means the start of a new week, which means a bunch of killer shows in and around Phoenix. And here are a few of the coolest, our top five must-see shows this week…
West Coast All-Stars feat. Snoop Dogg and Ice Cube @ Comerica Theatre | Friday, September 14, 2012″Can I take y’all back to 1994?” It’s a question that Ice Cube popped in the midst of his performance during last night’s West Coast All-Stars Tour stop at Comerica Theatre. The near-sellout crowd…
See also: Top Five Must-See Shows This Weekend In the comments section on the YouTube video for Krewella’s dubstep-heavy track “Killin’ It,” one clever wiseacre describes the Chicago-born electro-pop act as “2 Girls, One Drop.” It’s an unseemly bon mot, recalling one of the Interweb’s most infamously vile viral videos,…
Gary Copeland, courtesy of TorcheTorcheSee also: Packrat, Boyfrndz, and Feuding Fathers Help Make Math Rock Look Easy See also: Henry Rollins Won’t Tell You Who to Vote For (But He Really Thinks You Should Vote) See also: Keith Morris of OFF! On That Time The Band Got Arrested For Taking…
