If pre-electric Bob Dylan knocked up the Carter family and the offspring that followed were the ringleaders of a band of rebel Irish immigrant poets who lived in the Catskills and survived on red wine and petty theft, then you might be getting close to summarizing the nearly indefinable Felice…
When we last heard from the Bs, their future seemed uncertain. Cindy Wilson had left the band, and though the remaining trio’s Good Stuff album of 1992 wasn’t bad, it didn’t set off any sparks, either. Then Wilson rejoined the band to tour behind a greatest hits compilation and they…
Three years after dissolving Rocket from the Crypt and Hot Snakes nearly simultaneously, John “Speedo” Reis is back in the fold with a formidable new San Diego-based quartet called The Night Marchers. On the band’s debut CD, See You in Magic (released this week on Vagrant Records), Reis — collaborating…
Though twins Tegan and Sara Quinn grew up on punk, they’ve demonstrably honed their pop instincts and graduated from folk-tinged New Wave/pop-punk to something more sophisticated over the course of their four albums. Last year’s The Con consolidates the gains made on 2004’s critical breakthrough, So Jealous, with crafted, well-polished…
After more than 30 years of recording and touring, you’d think that these gentlemen would be jaded about making music, but listening to them perform, you realize that nothing could be further from the truth. The iconic group — often regarded by fans as “the Led Zeppelin of jazz” —…
At most DJ and dance nights going down around the Valley, chances are you’ll be shaking your moneymaker to the same genres of music week after endless week. That ain’t the case on Friday nights at Medizona, 4240 North Winfield Scott Plaza in Scottsdale, thanks to the efforts of the…
This 1987 album is widely regarded as the best album in the long discography of Napalm Death, a band that basically invented grindcore, combining elements of speed metal (barreling, crushing guitars) and death metal (growling, shrieking vocals) with blast beats. There are 28 tracks here, most of which clock in…
Geometry? History? Computer Science? Taking classes in those disciplines may be part of the college experience, but they’ve never been the fun part. Now, local hipsters have an educational alternative to the extracurricular activities of keg parties and co-ed car washes. Glendale Community College offers a class called MUC 110: Music Business and Marketing, and this semester’s class project is the launch of an indie record label called Versus Records.
Handlebar J in Scottsdale on Saturday, April 19th By: Lilia Menconi For more cowboy-girl action click here. Lately, we’ve been feeling like this town is tapped out. Every weekend, it’s the same faces, same get-ups, and same mornings of scattered memories and regrets. So we wallowed in our boredom by…
Cat Power fans who had tickets to the canceled show at Marquee Theatre on April 17 will get a second chance to see Chan Marshall and company perform. Stateside Presents has just announced that Cat Power has rescheduled for Tuesday, October 7, at the Marquee Theatre. Tickets for the April 17 show will be honored. Additional tickets are available for $24 at the Marquee box office, and at www.statesidepresents.com.
Yesterday, news of American Idol winner Jordin Sparks’ throat injury was all over the Internet, along with speculation that the 18 year-old Phoenix resident might never sing again. Initially, media were unable to reach Sparks, her family, or her management for comment, prompting fears that the injury was serious and possibly “career-threatening.”
Many people in P-town are transplants who’ve made the trek from elsewhere to try and build a better life here in the Valley of the Sun. Some people, like John W. Edwards, bring their booming indie businesses with them. This week, we’d like to give a Local Label Spotlight shout-out to Edwards’ Renaissance Records.
By Sarah Ventre Every third Friday of the month, Mesa-based Hollywood Alley turns their space into a place where art and music can come together with good food and cheap beer. Less upscale and underage than First Fridays downtown, Theonix Arts Showcase doesn’t follow the formula of taking an art…
Fans of industrial music – a.k.a. “rivetheads” – know that the best industrial events in the Valley are thrown by the local collective known as Sadisco*. Every month, Sadisco* throws a themed party at Homme Lounge, wherein the collective’s “house” DJs break out some wicked wax mashups. The event on Saturday, April 19 was dubbed the “Sadisco* Goes to Leary’s * Town: The S*uicide Cool-A©is Test!” on the flier, and the décor at Homme was fitting. The entrance was decked out in bamboo and fake foliage to resemble Jonestown, Guyana, where the mass suicides of Jim Jones’ cult took place on November 18, 1978. Inside, there were a couple life-size skeletons, centerpiece dishes filled with a hodge podge of bizarre items like rubber chickens and baby doll heads, and more stroboscopic effects than a vintage Pink Floyd show.
By Jonathan McNamara Have the promise of Venezuelan Dominican beats from this week’s Noise Boy caught your interest? Take a listen and a lesson from the Noise Boy himself in our latest downloadable music experience: . Keep on rockin’…
One sign of summer coming to the Valley (besides the ungodly, ever-present heat, of course) is the announcement of a wide variety of concerts. This week, a slew of shows spanning several genres were announced. Whatever your musical tastes, the city’s got your ticket.
Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio has inspired many things, but until recently, his impact on the local music scene seemed minimal. But now, at least two Valley bands are using the sheriff as a gimmick for their music — one has adopted and adapted his name, and another is using his image in violent effigy.
By: Megan Irwin MGMT Better than: Staying home and moping about Cat Power’s cancelled performance. I’ll be honest. I only went to the MGMT show last night because Cat Power didn’t wind up playing her show and because it was free. But I’m really glad I did. These guys are…
By: Megan Irwin Get well soon Chan! (photo by Steve Gullick) This space should be filled with a review of what I’m sure would have been one of the best shows to hit the Marquee Theater this year: Cat Power was set to perform with her new band the Dirty…
So Sunday is April 20, better known as “4-20,” an unofficial holiday for pot smokers everywhere. Of course Phoenix — a city in a state that sits between Mexico and California — will host its share of celebrations and shows. Even if you don’t smoke pot, there’s plenty of mellow music and groovin’ goodness to go around. Here are just a handful of the goings-on around town on April 20:
THURSDAY 17 Axis/Radius: DJ Sander Kleinenberg (various) Bar Smith: High School Happy Hour with DJs Mara, & Brazilia (’80s retro, old school) Blooze Bar: DJ El Dedo (rockabilly) Bunkhouse: DJ Doom (dance) Club Forbidden: Lips Thursdays with DJ Domenica, DJ Hill, & DJ MJ (various) Club Red: The Blunt Club with…
In comic books, one of the coolest things that can happen is when two great superheroes — like, say, Superman and the Flash or Spider-Man and the Incredible Hulk — join forces for a one-off adventure that, if executed properly, will be remembered by fanboys for years to come. Marvel…
