I spent the winter of 1994 through the summer of 1995 soaking myself in the Counting Crows album August and Everything After. I did lots of variations on the theme of playing it through, playing some part of it, and playing some part of a part of it over and…
THURSDAY 4 Bar Smith: Peppermint Lounge with DJ Brazilia, DJ Mara, & guests (electro, funk, ’80s) Bikini Lounge: DJ HFE (rockabilly, surf, jazz, classic country, indie, obscuro) Blooze Bar: DJ El Dedo (rockabilly) Bunkhouse: DJ Doom (dance) Cash Inn: DJ Sting (hip-hop, dance) Cherry Lounge: DJ M2 (hip-hop, Top 40) Club Forbidden:…
On a recent Monday night, I’m inside the downtown art collective The Firehouse, where The Complaniacs drummer Matt Spastic lives. The band is auditioning a new bass player in Spastic’s bedroom. A few Firehouse regulars poke their heads in, grab beers from the mini-fridge, and watch the bleached blond, tatted-up…
You might’ve seen DJ Dino (a.k.a. Denard Webb) rocking the decks with dirty electro tracks last weekend at the Lovestruck party in downtown Phoenix. Or perhaps you saw him when he was doing the same back in July at the Dark Knight, or at any of the dozens of other…
Roca Dolla is the godfather of Phoenix hip-hop. Formerly known as Iroc Beats, Roca’s been laying down lyrical flows and grinding it out in the local scene for the better part of two decades. His studio and record label, 5Fith Coast Records, has produced tracks for some of the Valley’s…
What was it Roger Daltrey sang on The Who’s “Won’t Get Fooled Again” — “meet the new boss, same as the old boss”? Maybe it’s the curse of remembering what rock music was like before 1977, but some of the latest by 31 Knots sounds like the stuff the first…
Oberst has the tendency to be heavy-handed with metaphor, often reading like a hipper, more literate version of a 16-year-old’s poetry journal. His newest effort, recorded in a rural Mexican locale dubbed Valle Místico, doesn’t shy away from that kind of grating poetic license. Here, though, his words are absorbed…
Today’s youngsters may have familiarized themselves with the Toadies’ “Possum Kingdom” through Guitar Hero II, but in the game’s multicolored dots and horrendously processed guitar tone, it’s hard to comprehend how foreign and chilling the Dallas band’s bass-driven post-grunge masterpiece sounded in its mid-’90s context. As part of a weirdo…
The Rocket Summer is Texas native Bryce Avary, who has played every instrument on each of his albums and sung with such frenzied energy on almost every song that he makes power pop actually seem dangerous. Imagine Ben Lee singing Christian rock while doped up on so much speed his…
Metallica’s next studio album, Death Magnetic, leaked onto the Internet yesterday, after a French retailer started selling copies of the album ten days before its scheduled release date of September 12.
By Lilia Menconi Silverio Blackout Party on Saturday, August 30th For more, take a look at our slideshow. And, yes, it happens to be muy caliente. So maybe we spent too much time in Spencer’s Gifts when we were 14-year-old mallrats, but we’ve always been suckers for black lights. Sure,…
Lohan’s blog has made headlines lately because — well, because it’s really written by Lindsay Lohan, but also because she 1) posted a tirade about her father, and 2) wrote a political blog that commented on Sarah Palin’s announcement that her unmarried 17 year-old daughter was pregnant.
By Benjamin Leatherman Hip-hop and R&B are king at Circles Records & Tapes, 800 North Central Avenue in Phoenix, as evidenced by the store’s top 10 best sellers for the week of August 25-31. Here’s what’s poppin: 1. The Game, L.A.X. (Geffen) 2. Immortal Technique, The 3rd World (Viper) 3…
This week’s review is the second release from local label Afro-Baile Records, an EP from U.K. collective Yaaba Funk.
By Jonathan McNamara We said goodbye to Summer (yeah right!) in style this weekend. Check out the plethora of summer themed parties. And just in case that isn’t enough, we’ve got a few shots from a Lucha Libre. Is there a better seasonal send off than a bunch of burly…
By Jonathan McNamara Friday: CopperCon That’s right, Phoenix. It’s time to get your geek on. Enjoy more science fiction and fantasy than you can shake your bantha stick at. Read more: “CopperCon 28” Saturday: AZ Bully Expo 2008 Saturday’s for the dogs. No, really. This Saturday, Pitbull Terriers will descend…
By Benjamin Leatherman The power was off, but the party was on at the Trunk Space. Better than: Watching Colorstore in the middle of a hurricane. “Holy shit! What the hell is going on outside!?!” This profanity-laced exclamation was uttered by yours truly at around 10 p.m. last night as…
By Benjamin Leatherman Labor Day weekend is upon us, which means three straight days and nights of potential partying before you’re required to return to the rat race on Tuesday. As such, this week’s edition of the weekend concert calendar includes what’s scheduled for Monday, September 1. As always, click…
Thomas Ian Nicholas: Saturday, August 30, at Cave Creek Coffee Company By Clay McNear Okay, I’m gonna throw a bunch of names at you and ask you to tell me the common denominator: Steven Seagal, Zooey Deschanel, John Corbett, Scott Baio, Kevin Bacon, Leif Garrett, Russell Crowe, Tony Danza, Jennifer…
The Metal Masters Tour rolled through the Valley last night, with a bill that boasted four titans of heavy metal: Testament, Motörhead, Heaven & Hell, and Judas Priest. Unfortunately, Testament hit the stage at 5:30 and I was stuck in traffic on the I-10 W until about 6. When I arrived at the venue, Motörhead had just started playing.
Here are a handful of shows that were just announced this week.
This week’s “Flier of the Week” is for a show tonight featuring O Pioneers!!! and Andrew Jackson Jihad. In case you don’t recognize him by now, the surly mug on the flier belongs to Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio. We particularly like the SS-style lightning bolts shooting out of his eyes.
