Change is in the air for the monthly freakfests held by Sadisco*, as the cadre of dance-music demons are switching things over to a biannual format after this weekend. (Don’t fret, party monsters, the dope DJ collective will still be presenting the annual Fight Club Sadisco* in January.) But before…
I respect the hell out of whoever books the concert series at the Arizona State Fair. Though I’m sure the something-for-everyone policy that steers the decision-making process must be a pain and likely leads to grumbling from nearly everyone, you’d have to be a seriously joyless indie snob not to…
Hating R&B is more or less the default setting for the critically inclined nowadays. I mean, who has anything nice to say about the genre? As one of our freelancers argued not too long ago, R&B appears to be at a point where its acronym should stand for “Rap and…
Don’t let the name Melt-Banana Lite fool you. Even if they tried to interpret Ella Fitzgerald standards or the latest ditty by Richard Marx, it would still be wrecked. The forever-touring Japanese noise-rock band, which last posted up in the Phoenix area in December 2007, will bring a slightly modified…
With his dangling white tresses, wispy white beard, stiff-rimmed white Stetson, and tailored, double-breasted white suit, music legend Leon Russell cuts a distinctly angelic figure. One can almost imagine him cast in another Here Comes Mr. Jordan/Heaven Can Wait remake, playing a honky-tonk cherub who dispatches the mistakenly deceased Robert…
I recently dug up the old recordings of my college band, The Hobo Kin, and gave it a listen. The entire thing was fuzzy and sounded as though it had been recorded in a closet, because parts of it were. If you listen closely, you can still hear the band…
We have nothing against the Dodge Theatre. We love the Dodge Theatre. But when it comes to jam bands like Widespread Panic, we prefer wide-open, outdoors-y venues that help us cope with the peyote buttons we probably just ate. Because, face it: The only way to enjoy Widespread Panic —…
A lot of rappers call themselves teachers, but few have self-applied the title as accurately as Raheem Jarbo. For Jarbo — a.k.a. Random or Mega Ran — it’s no holier-than-thou, conscience-rap boast. He teaches middle school English and social studies at Omega Academy in west Phoenix. At Omega, Jarbo puts…
If you’ve never read VICE MAGAZINE, you get an “F” on your Hipster 101 exam (it’s gonna take a ton of coke and American Apparel merchandise if you want to pass now). Starting as a punk zine in 1994, the New York City based highly-offensive-to-the-general-public magazine now publishes its print…
BY CRAIG OUTHIERThe definitive Phoenix-area Steely Dan show is, and always will be, the duo’s windswept performance at Cricket Pavilion in 2006. Not only did that show reunite the Dan with Michael McDonald, the blow-dried soul daddy whose paean to coke and Cuervo on “Hey Nineteen” remains the pimpest bit…
BY MIKE ESCOTO In preparation for Tuesday night’s concert at Modified Arts I spent a good chunk of my day listening to the latest album from Philadelphia singer/songwriter Kurt Vile. Although Vile (yes that is his real name) has released three solo albums in the past two years it wasn’t…
Stop me when this sounds like a Seinfeld episode: Our leading character, a music critic, decides to indulge an old vice on a Tuesday night, going out to see a foul-mouthed female electronica artist/rapper who amused him back in his college years. Upon arriving, he’s surprised by how many people…
If you’re looking for a hip-hoppin’ way to spend Halloween (and you’re too young for the bars), Jilly’s American Grill in Chandler is hosting an 18-and-older costume bash complete with the latest in hip-hop tunage.
We get a lot of weird books and CDs in the mail, but the 600+ page RightWing Bob: What The Liberal Media Doesn’t Want You To Know about Bob Dylan is near the top of the list. The book, the Bob-obsessed A.J. Weberman (and not by the blogger who runs…
It’s fitting that All In One, Bebel Gilberto’s new studio album, has been released by Verve Records. It’s the label that released Getz/Gilberto in 1964, still one of the best-selling jazz albums of all time and the one that launched Brazil’s sexy bossa nova sound to international acclaim with the…
Electric Mustache: Photos: Those Darlins and The Grates @ Modified Arts 10/25/09Idolator: Charlie Brown’s Rap Song: Just Slightly More Out Of Tune With The Times Than “Flashbeagle”Idolator: The Insane Clown Posse Are Laughing All The Way To The BankNME: Jarvis Cocker denies Pulp reunion claiming quote was ‘twisted’Pitchfork: Watch Ted…
[jump] Real Estate will be gracing the small, often aurally-challenged staged at Modified on Wednesday, November 25. For those keeping track, that is the day before Thanksgiving, a night notorious for heavy drinking due to either: a) having to spend the whole next day with extended family or b) the…
While I love Owl City’s music, the lyrics pain me because they’re so freaking wimpy.
[jump] As I mentioned in my preview of the concert from this week’s issue, the Guantanamo School of Medicine are the closest in both spirit and sound to that of the Dead Kennedys. Guitarist Ralph Sight and bassist Billy Gould seem to channel the spirits of East Bay Ray and…
Grace Perry of local death metal act Landmine Marathon is on the cover of this month’s Revolver to commemorate the mag’s annual “Hottest Chicks in Metal” list — which is sort of a Sports Illustrated swimsuit issue for the motorcycle jacket set. Perry, who shares the glossy spread with Halestorm’s…
Band: Broken Poets Record: Everything In Nature Basics: An indie duo that recently re-tooled their sound to emphasize Tom McDonald’s deep, brooding voice, the Poets have a the same vibe you’ll find in the slowest Death Cab for Cutie songs. Though they at times sound a lot like the standard…
Arizona music fans have certainly noticed a void in the scene of late. Tempe’s bluesy pop crew Gospel Claws have gone on a hiatus that will extend through the end of 2009.Previously, the band was anticipating the departure of drummer, Scott Hall, who felt that he did not have the…
