Lane Dawson: Love Letters (1985)

Welcome of Obscuro, a new weekly feature where Up on the Sun dives deep into the world of vinyl oddities: private press jobs, major label cast-offs, and general thrift shop clutter that’s thus far escaped anyone’s attention. These LPs have been hiding out, collecting dust, until we come along, investigate,…

Roger Waters at US Airways Center Last Night

Roger Waters November 27, 2010 US Airways Center British rocker Roger Waters performed Pink Floyd’s album The Wall with style at the US Airways Center last night. It was, indeed, a “show,” as much a theatrical exercise as a musical one.Since it’s safe to say that at least most of…

The Summer Set at The Nile Theater Last Night

The Summer Set Nile Theater November 27, 2010 As someone who reviews concerts fairly regularly I try and keep an open mind with every show I see. Being objective is part of the job. In general, giving negative reviews isn’t a lot of fun because in my opinion every band,…

Why Nick Mason Rejected Pink Floyd Reunion

, according to Spinner.It’s not that Mason, Pink Floyd’s drummer, didn’t want to support Palestinian refugee children, but rather that he was displeased with the choice of venue that was made for the event. Pink Floyd members David Gilmour and Roger Waters ended up playing the Hoping For the Children of Palestine…

Owl & Penny: Fever Dreams

Album: Fever DreamsBasics: Ryan Osterman — the man behind both Sownbones and Owl & Penny — is one of the more talented players on the River Jones Music roster.Osterman’s folk-tinged indie rock smacks of one of his admitted favorite artists, Ryan Adams.There’s also a hint of Bright Eyes-era Conor Oberst…

Girl In A Coma – Blue Christmas

Song: Girl In A Coma, “Blue Christmas”Context: Congratulations, it’s officially the Holiday Season. Today is the first day I’ll listen to (or at least allow myself to enjoy) Christmas music. This cover of the Elvis staple “Blue Christmas,” by Texas group Girl In A Coma is the first new Christmas…

The Soundtrack to Your Holiday Strip Scan

Damn, TSA, buy a girl a drink first. The new full-body image scanners at airports this holiday season have already stressed and nervous travelers in a tizzy. Sure, nobody wants a bomb on their plane, but it hardly seems like a fair trade-off to have all your private bidniss displayed…

Matty B Will Blow Your Mind with His 7-Year-Old Raps

Get ready to feel like a major under-achiever.This 7-year-old kid is living thug life to the fullest, and he will absolutely blow you away with his “cover” of Kesha’s “We R Who We R” (Perez Hilton is even raving about it.)Matty B already has an entourage of little girls (see…

Leon Blue @ Tempe Center for the Arts

When you’re born with the name Leon Blue, it’s hard to imagine life taking you down any path other than that of a badass boogie-woogie blues pianist. Blue — real name, natch — has racked up plenty of high-profile work as a sideman, manning the keys for The Ike &…

Local Rapper Mr. Miranda Exercises His Right to Remain Old School

Dave Miranda might’ve been born 15 years too late. Ask the Phoenix rapper, who performs as Mr. Miranda, about his influences, and he speaks reverently about old-school hip-hop artists like Run-DMC, Gang Starr, Masta Ace, and Ice Cube. Even though Miranda was in grade school when those acts were at…

Roger Waters the Grownup Versus Syd Barrett the Kid

Roger Waters began playing in the earliest incarnation of Pink Floyd right around the time he turned 20 years old. At the time, the music was an innovative reflection of youth culture. It featured psychedelic, experimental sounds, prominent (often dissonant) guitar, and sweet vocal harmonies. We are reminded of this…

The Summer Set @ Nile Theater

Call them “hyper,” “sugary,” “bouncy,” or just “too stoked to function,” and The Summer Set will totally thank you for the compliments. The young Scottsdale five-piece pop band knows its fan base is full of teenage girls and knows how to cater to them. Yes, these guys wear bright colors…

Atreyu @ Marquee Theatre

Most of the audience that discovered the screamo-metalcore act Atreyu in 2003 (via MySpace, of course) has gone on to college, where their musical tastes have likely matured into more sensitive indie-rock types like Sufjan Stevens or Conor Oberst. Yet Atreyu is still chugging along. As David Wooderson famously said…

The Expendables @ Marquee Theatre

For years, I was a pretty big fan of the ska-punk — a genre that aimed to marry punk’s energy to ska’s rocksteady vibe — until, at one point in my late teens, I decided that I detested ska and ska-punk and tossed out all my previous feelings for the…

Seven Nights of DJs and Dancing

THURSDAY 25 27th Avenue Bar: R&B Thursdays (old-school R&B) Bobby Q’s: All-Star Thursdays Thanksgiving After Party with DJ Nino (hip-hop, Top 40) BS West: Intravenous Thursdays (goth, industrial, electronic, ’80s) Chasers: Red Monkey’s Work That Turkey with DJ Chris Flores, DJ Eddie Amador, DJ Pete Salaz, DJ Senbad, The House…

Club Forbidden Becomes Vagabond Ballroom

The changes to Scottsdale’s night scene just keep on coming. Earlier today, we brought word that tiki spot Drift Lounge was about to blink outta existence. And now, it appears as though another longtime spot is about to get a makeover and a new identity. Which spot are we referring…

Club Candids: Retox Sundays at Martini Ranch

Although the five-day Thanksgiving holiday technically doesn’t start until tonight, those in attendance at Martini Ranch’s Retox Sundays shindig this past weekend got a jump on the festivities. They drank down plenty of beer and booze, smoked flavorful shishas, danced to the sounds laid down by DJs, and witnessed the…