Do you remember watching the the trailer for Machete during Grindhouse and thinking, “Man, it would be bad ass if that were a real movie?”Lucky for us, Machete did become a real movie. Let’s hope the same exact thing happens with the Black Keys’ Howlin’ For You, the new fake…
This week’s main music feature is a column I wrote in Austin, Texas after a week of South By Southwest craziness. It was a rough week for Arizona — the most attention anything related to our state got was a panel hosted by boycotters — but Meat Puppets frontman Curt…
Song: Meat Puppets, “Up On The Sun” Context: Have you ever heard the song this blog takes its name from? If not, here you go — it’s mentioned in this week’s music feature so this seems as good a time as any to remind everyone why Up On The Sun is…
Cut Copy are proud to announce their Grand Canyon State debut in Tempe, AZ @ The Marquee Theatre on Friday, August 12.Their Tempe show is preceded by a date at Spain’s Low Festival on July 22 — that means Cut Copy is actually going out of their way to come play Arizona…
U.S. fans of Japanese Music face one, ever-present obstacle in their quests to discover new J bands: They’re not here. Up on the Sun constantly monitors upcoming concerts from Japanese bands. In good years, that means three or four shows; not exactly a great variety of acts.No, the best bet…
You’ve never danced your ass off harder than you thought you ever could until you’ve been to a Girl Talk concert.Everyone at the Marquee Theatre was going nuts throughout Greg Gillis’ entire set. Gillis kept up with the crowd’s energy and nearly exceeded it as he kept the remixes coming.Read…
Girl TalkMarquee Theatre in TempeWednesday, March 23, 2011You know that moment at a Pixies show when the first wooooo-ewwww of “Where Is My Mind?” kicks in and the old grungers in the crowd go crazy? Or that instant where the tween girls with Miley Cyrus posters on their walls hear…
Title: The Great Give & TakeBasics: Originally from Alamogordo, New Mexico, Gilbert’s Fat Tree are billed as a rock/funk/jam band. Nowhere in there, however, is the descriptor “painfully white,” because that’s what I can’t help but hear when I listen to this album — a bunch of white dudes trying…
Take a walk on a warm, sunny day through any college apartment complex near Arizona State University that houses Caucasian stoners (read: every college apartment complex near Arizona State University) and you’re guaranteed to hear someone blasting reggae. Chances are, a few Rebelution songs will be scattered in that playlist…
As much as she tries to out-weird herself, Lady Gaga can’t exactly be called original. When the singer — most recently chastised for ripping off Madonna — comes through town for a second Phoenix date on her Monster Ball Tour, don’t expect many surprises. The tour that never stops has…
Tribute bands are a dime a dozen, but few are on the level of The Pink Floyd Experience, headlining a venue only a little smaller than the one Roger Waters himself played a few months ago. Playing the songs of the psychedelic prog-rock mega-group requires an advanced level of observation…
In the late ’80s, sexual objectification of women in music was primarily limited to hair-metal bands and gangsta rappers. In other words, it was a “guy thing” (even if some of those guys wore lipstick and mascara). So imagine everyone’s surprise when Lords of Acid vocalist Jade 4U opened the…
It’s a sunny Saturday afternoon, and a quintessentially South by Southwest scene is unfolding at a concert outside Austin’s Waterloo Records. Eager day drinkers clamor to get into a fenced-off parking lot in this recently re-developed section of the city’s main drag, where the old “Keep Austin Weird” mantra has…
Just like Charlie Sheen’s career, the residents of Fuse Fridays will never say die. They’ve endured both lineup changes and venue changes and are still coming back for more. Led by DJ Mara and Disko Da, the Fuse crew will make their re-debut on Friday, March 25, at their new…
In a recent interview with Cowbell Magazine, Mountain Goats songwriter John Darnielle says, “I grew up a geek, so I wasn’t good at sports. A lot of us maintain those biases, but those biases are silly. Sports are awesome.” Darnielle doesn’t appear on the new record by The Baseball Project,…
It’s been eight years since 100 people died in the Great White nightclub fire in Rhode Island. Not even through the first song of its set at The Station in West Warwick, the band was interrupted when pyrotechnics sparked a fire that caused a grisly stampede in which scores of…
THURSDAY 24 27th Avenue Bar: DJ Manage, & DJ Android (Top 40) AZ/88: Josh One (rare groove, urban funk) Bar Smith: Splash Thursday (reggae, dancehall, Top 40, house) Bikini Lounge: DJ Shane Kennedy (jazz, blues, country, R&B) Blue Martini: Rewind Thursday with DJ Mendez (retro) Bobby Q’s: All-Star Thursdays (hip-hop,…
Indie music’s new sweetheart Sharon Van Etten is making a big splash in the music scene. She’s been touring around the country endlessly, making awesome stops including this great performance she did for NPR’s Tiny Desk Concert series. Plus she’s been playing gigs internationally.We spoke to Sharon about her interesting connection to…
All of the Westgate bars were bursting with St. Patrick’s Day festivities, but McFadden’s Irish décor made it the place to be. The bar was packed all night as guests were entertained by live music, jello wrestling, a bikini judging contest, and green beer that flowed like water. Some of…
Song: Girl Talk, “Play Your Part (Pt. 1)”Context: Quick reminder that Girl Talk will be in Tempe at Marquee Theatre tonight. Should be a hell of a party. 01 Play Your Part (Pt. 1)…
Want a weird review of the new Strokes record?How about one that starts like this:”Everyone has those kinds of friends, those friends you grow estranged from during the course of life but still keep in touch. You’ll hear from them every year or so, maybe get a Facebook update…”Now imagine…
Title: Street of Dreams & Ghetto CafeBasics: Detroit sent us both a 2-song Street of Dreams CD single, if you will, as well as Ghetto Cafe, a 6-song album/EP. The former is from 2010, the latter 2009. Detroit has quite a history in Phoenix – a quick bio on Last.fm…
