To wit: On Thursday, you can catch “Vanderpump Rules” star Tom Sandoval’s cover band at Tempe’s Marquee Theatre or tongue-in-cheek rockers Ween at The Van Buren. The following evening, Tony-winning actor and singer Mandy Patinkin brings his latest show to Mesa Arts Center and country music legend Roseanne Cash kicks off a two-night stint at the Musical Instrument Museum.
Also on tap this week: the Valentine’s Super Love Jam brings throwback R&B, funk, pop and hip-hop to Footprint Center, iconic rock en Español band El Tri plays The Van Buren and the Reverend Kristin Michael Hayter performs a stunning deconstruction of spiritual music at Crescent Ballroom.
Read on for details about these gigs and the rest of Phoenix's best concerts this week or check out our extensive music listings for even more upcoming shows around the Valley.
Ween
Thursday, Feb. 15The Van Buren, 401 W. Van Buren St.Drama might be easy, as the late Peter Bogdanovich once said, but comedy's hard. It’s something that any "serious" funny musician knows all too well. It takes a lot of musicianship and songwriting chops to parody pop music as well as Weird Al does. Frank Zappa loved singing about eating yellow snow and other juvenalia but had a level of craft and instrumental know-how that would put 95% of other musicians to shame. The same holds true for Gene and Dean Ween, the “brothers” behind the band who aren’t biological siblings, but rather mischievous pranksters, imps and scatological cut-ups of the highest order. They’re also musical geniuses. Consider 1997's “The Mollusk, a wildly ambitious concept album that swirled together prog-rock, psychedelia and sea shanties. It takes tremendous talent to commit to such a goofy bit, but the brothers Ween make it work. Three years earlier, 1994's “Chocolate and Cheese” showcases a mastery of style pastiches as the band effortlessly riffing on multiple genres while singing about ridiculous shit. Ween can play piss-takes of older styles better than actual bands from that time could play it straight. It takes hard work to make goofing off look this easy. 8 p.m., tickets are available through resellers. Ashley Naftule
Tom Sandoval and the Most Extras
Thursday, Feb. 15Marquee Theatre, 730 N. Mill Ave., TempeFans of the long-running reality TV show “Vanderpump Rules” are familiar with the scandalous and sometimes deplorable antics of model, restaurateur, actor, businessman and bartender Tom Sandoval. He’s also a vocalist, too, performing as a frontman for his namesake cover band. Backed by a lineup of musicians — including drummer Jason Bader, saxophone player Colin Deas, bassist Mia Davitt and lead guitarist Kevin Stiphen — he puts on a performance on the microphone that’s captivating in a trainwreck sort of way on covers of A-ha’s “Take On Me,” Journey’s “Separate Ways (Worlds Apart),” Billy Ocean’s “Caribbean Queen” and other pop-rock tunes. Why would you want to fork over upwards of 60 bucks to attend? As Sandoval himself puts it: “You can go there and listen to your favorite songs, have some drinks [and] sing at the top of your lungs.” With Millenial Summer and Desert Child; 7 p.m., $32.73-$60.98 via seetickets.us. Benjamin Leatherman
Foxing
Friday, Feb. 16The Nile Theater, 105 W. Main St., MesaEmo to ELO is one hell of a transition but Foxing pulled it off. The St. Louis indie rock band has charted an unpredictable course to get to 2021’s “Draw Down the Moon,” a journey that’s taken them through cold post-punk, instrumentally virtuosic math-rock and droning post-rock. A through-line through all these shifts, each one opening indie rock into larger and more expansive forms of sound, is Conor Murphy’s lyrics. The band’s emo DNA can be found in Murphy’s plaintive voice and searching angst-ridden lyrics. On 2018’s breakthrough album “Nearer My God,” Foxing fully embraces the power of synths. Their music has the cool neon sheen that you’d get from bands like M83, but Foxing’s weird song structures and grandiose themes put them closer to ’70s prog. They’re not going full Rush yet but the bones are there. “Draw Down the Moon” deepens this trajectory, the band piling on more synths and lusher production until they start hitting Electric Light Orchestra levels of excess. But like ELO, the boys from Foxing have an ear for a good hook and a winning melody. No matter how dense and elaborate the songs get, that punch-in-the-gut emo songwriting still knows how to hit its target. With The Hotelier and Glitterer; 7:30 p.m., $25/$30 via seetickets.us. Ashley Naftule
His name is Mandy Patinkin. He's old enough to be your father. Prepare to be entertained.
Mesa Arts Center
Mandy Patinkin
Friday, Feb. 16Mesa Arts Center, 1 E. Main St., MesaMandy Patinkin is more than just an actor; he’s a full-fledged renaissance man. Best known for roles in films like “The Princess Bride” and such television shows as “Criminal Minds” and “Homeland,” the Juliard-educated artist is also a talented singer, storyteller, social activist, recording artist and Broadway regular. See for yourself when the Tony Award-winner brings his latest touring show, “Being Alive” to the Mesa Arts Center. The 105-minute-long performance — which takes its title from one of the songs of Stephen Sondheim’s musical “Company” — features some of Patinkin’s favorite Broadway and American classic, including tunes by Irving Berlin, Cole Porter and Harry Chapin. Between numbers, he’ll also serve up anecdotes and tales from growing up on the south side of Chicago. 8 p.m., $45-$90 via mesaartscenter.com. Benjamin Leatherman
The Expendables
Friday, Feb. 16Crescent Ballroom, 308 N. Second Ave.The music performed by Northern California-born band The Expendables fall into any number of categories, including reggae, surf rock and ska-punk. The foursome of vocalist/guitarist Geoff Weers, lead guitarist Raul Bianchi, bassist Ryan DeMars and drummer Adam Patterson have managed to find the sweet spot between these genres during their band’s 27-year history, crafting tunes that offer Upsetters-style grooves, flirtations with surf-style reverb and the manic energy of third-wave ska-punk. The Expendables also infuse a sense of humor and whimsy into songs, as well as plenty of catchy hooks. (And, yes, like most reggae-rock bands, there’s a bit of a frat boy vibe to their music, but its generally kept at a minimum.) Since forming in 1997, The Expendables have released eight studio albums, including last year’s “Pleasure Point,” and will roll into Crescent Ballroom on Friday night with NorCal reggae act Pacific Roots. 8 p.m., $24-$100 via ticketweb.com. Benjamin Leatherman
Rosanne Cash
Friday, Feb. 16 and Saturday, Feb. 17Musical Instrument Museum, 4725 E. Mayo Blvd.Even the briefest essay about Rosanne Cash requires a list of her reckonable accomplishments: the 11 number-one singles, the Grammy award and always, always her royal musical lineage. But if being Johnny Cash's daughter got her foot in Music City's door, and while all those hits kept her on Columbia Records' roster for many years, it was her wider contribution to country music — the urbane, deeply personal poetry that transcends the twangy he-done-me-wrong songs that typify Nashville — with which she's made her mark. Which isn't to say we don't love Cash's 21 Top 40 country hits. "Seven Year Ache" is the smartest musical memory to linger from pop radio's lamentable early '80s romance with country music, and her version of John Hiatt's "Runaway Train" was a high point in both their careers. But it's fair to say that, ever since 1979's “Right or Wrong,” she's made gloomily sophisticated music fashionable in a way that Laura Nyro never could; helped reshape what country music sounds like; and has upheld the singer-songwriter tradition in a world overrun with Shanias and Faiths and Carries. For that, and for all the hits, and the gorgeous ruminations wedged between them, we're deeply grateful. With John Leventhal; 7:30 p.m., tickets are available through resellers. Robrt Pela
El Tri
Sunday, Feb. 18The Van Buren, 401 W. Van Buren St.Referred to by friends and critics alike as Mexico’s Rolling Stones, the raunchy and prolific El Tri are elder statesmen in the rock en Español scene. Fronted by Alex Lora, El Tri’s sound encompasses blues-rock, psychedelia, acoustic music, and hard rock. The group started as a spinoff group from Three Souls In My Mind, who made waves in Mexico City’s scene with their covers of American rock and blues songs. Part of what distinguishes El Tri from many of their contemporaries is the wide-ranging sweep of their lyrics. Lora often takes requests from fans for song subjects, spinning their requests into original compositions about prostitutes, taxi drivers, the Pope, and the World Cup (among other varied subjects). Critical of the government and a committed leftist, Lora infuses his pop-influenced music with a revolutionary edge. This populist quality of Lora’s music is one of the reasons why El Tri have managed to stay relevant for so long, but it’s the quality of the songs and the band’s intensely rhythmic and dynamic playing that have helped them go the distance. 8 p.m., $65 via livenation.com. Ashley Naftule
Mega 104.3 Valentine’s Super Love Jam
Sunday, Feb. 18Footprint Center, 201 E. Jefferson St.Legendary record producer and radio host Art Laboe may have died in 2022, but his annual Valentine's Super Love Jam tour showcasing throwback R&B, funk, pop and hip-hop artists is still carrying on. This year’s edition, which swings into downtown Phoenix’s Footprint Center on Feb. 18, features performances by Motown favorites The Isley Brothers, ‘70s hitmakers Atlantic Starr and funk/soul vocal duo Peaches and Herb, as well as R&B acts like GQ, All-4-One and The Delfonics. It’s the perfect gig for fans of old-school sounds or anyone who didn’t give their S.O. a proper Valentine’s Day experience and is hoping to escape the doghouse. 7:30 p.m., $49-$100 via ticketmaster.com. Benjamin Leatherman
The Reverend Kristin Michael Hayter
Monday, Feb. 19Crescent Ballroom, 308 N. Second Ave. Lingua Ignota is dead, long live Lingua Ignota. Kristin Hayter has retired her old stage name but hasn’t turned her back on her uncompromising, unsparing attitude toward making music. An alt-diva whose widening road opened by blood-spitting forebearers like Jarboe and Diamanda Galas, Hayter’s expressive voice wails and pierces us with its harsh beauty. Religious themes and imagery have coursed through her work, which makes her sudden stylistic shift on last year’s “Saved!” slightly less shocking. But only slightly: the good Reverend Hayter has pulled a head-spinning 180 with this eerie collection of devotionals. Crafting original songs alongside traditional Christian songs, gospel, blues and bluegrass, Hayter sings a deconstruction of American spiritual music that sounds like it was made by ghosts. The gnarled, four-track production gives it a vintage feel — the songs sound like they were rescued from some thrift store’s dusty shelves. While Hayter mostly sings in a more restrained register than she did as Ingota, she invests a lot of intensity in these songs, sounding ragged and desperate. Far from a scholarly or arch performance art pursuit, this experiment in old-timey music is as expressive and personal as it gets. With Meet the Sun; 8 p.m., $25-$35 via ticketweb.com. Ashley Naftule
Beartooth
Tuesday, Feb. 20The Van Buren, 401 W. Van Buren St.“Today’s the day I stop fucking around and be the better me,” Beartooth’s Caleb Shomo sings on “The Better Me,” one of the highlights of 2023’s “The Surface.” The fifth album by the Ohio-born metalcore band, it finds them digging deeper into pop songwriting, crafting tunes with crystal clear hooks and smooth melodies that offset Beartooth’s crunchy riffs. The band’s tight interplay is surprising when you consider how they started as a Shomo solo project, with the singer and multi-instrumentalist playing all the parts on his songs before band turned into a quartet. As a group, Beartooth click, playing a style of melodic hardcore that’s leavened with pop punk and creating a kind of best of both worlds where you get the mosh pit vibes with mash-note lyrics. Far from being heavy, they sound positively buoyant on “The Surface.” With The Plot in You, Invent Animate and Sleep Theory; 6:30 p.m., tickets are available through resellers. Ashley Naftule
