Other choices for metro Phoenix concertgoers this week include folk artist Odie Leigh, gothy art pop performer Melanie Martinez, DJ/producer Seven Lions, and metal band Otep.
Read on for complete details about these gigs or check out Phoenix New Times’ music listings for more shows happening around town from Monday, June 12, to Thursday, June 15.
Otep
Monday, June 12The Nile Theater, 105 West Main Street, MesaIn a genre of music where being a black sheep is a point of pride, Otep Shamaya stands out. Gifted with a powerful voice, Otep has carved an impressive place for herself in the world of heavy music. No mean feat, considering she's an outspoken liberal, lesbian, and vegan. When so many of her contemporaries make a big deal about meat-eating, machismo, and gun-touting politics, Otep's left-of-center status as a queer artist makes her the odd woman out. But it's that outsider status that's helped her forge a connection with audiences that metal bands typically don't court: women and queer audiences. It's paid off for the singer and her group for more than two decades. Releasing a string of thunderously loud yet melodically appealing albums (including a few that have charted on Billboard), they’ve built up a devoted following. Otep’s interpretations of modern-day pop artists have also been winners: a 2016 cover of Lorde's "Royals" became a radio hit and a recent cover of Billie Eilish’s “You Should See Me in a Crown” was praised by Metal Injection and Revolver Magazine. Otep’s latest tour comes to Mesa’s Nile Theater this week. With Inimical Drive, Crow Eater, and Attic Burial; 7 p.m., $20 via seetickets.us. Ashley Naftule
Melanie Martinez
Monday, June 12Arizona Financial Theatre, 400 West Washington StreetSimultaneously cutesy, crass, and dark, Melanie Martinez’s music feels like walking through a haunted dollhouse. Every sound and every lyric in her songs seem calculated to walk the thin line between “everything’s fine” and “something’s wrong.” Her musical aesthetic is a deliberately paper-thin veneer through which you can see hints of deep darkness. Martinez and her bi-colored hair burst into the national consciousness in 2012 when she sang a cover of Britney Spears’ “Toxic” on acoustic guitar on “The Voice.” She didn’t win, but she familiarized America with her style. Her debut album, “Crybaby,” stretched infantilized gothdom to 16 songs with titles like “Play Date,” “Sippy Cup,” “Alphabet Boy,” and “Carousel.” On this year’s “Portals,” Martinez utilizes themes of the afterlife and rebirth, albeit in her own quirky style, with the hereafter being envisioned as an ethereal and creepy realm filled with gothy sprites that transform her into an otherworldly, masked creature. In other words, it's quite on-brand for the artist. 7:30 p.m., tickets are available on the secondary market. David Accomazzo
Erykah Badu and Yasiin Bey
Tuesday, June 13Desert Diamond Arena, 9400 West Maryland Avenue, GlendaleIt's harder to find two more perfect walking, talking avatars of neo-soul than Erykah Badu and Yasiin Bey. The pair rose to prominence around the same time, garnering acclaim and adoration for their conscious lyrics, innovative sounds, and iconoclastic personalities. The rapper Bey and singer Badu share a similar quiet confidence: there's a subtle swagger in everything they say, the supreme nonchalance of people who know their mastery of rhymes and melodies are beyond question. Bey (who got his start under the name Mos Def) turned heads as one-half of Black Star with Talib Kweli before his solo album “Black on Both Sides” planted him so firmly on the pop-cultural landscape he'd later turn up in “The Italian Job” and cut up on TV as a recurring player on “The Chappelle Show.” As for Badu, she found a way to take the commanding presence and deep soulfulness of Billie Holiday and update it for the hip-hop era. Her warm, funky take on R&B incorporated jazz, soul, and electronica into a beguiling and heady brew. Both have plenty of classics on lock for audiences coming to Desert Diamond Arena to see them shine. 7:30 p.m., $79.95-$129.95 via ticketmaster.com. Ashley Naftule
Blink-182
Wednesday, June 14Footprint Center, 201 East Jefferson StreetFans of Blink-182 rejoice. The pop-punk legends are performing and recording with their original lineup of vocalist and guitarist Tom DeLonge, bassist and vocalist Mark Hoppus, and drummer Travis Barker. They’re currently touring with DeLonge for the first time since 2014 and will visit 27 different countries over the next year so. As you’d expect, the tour is steeped in nostalgia and features a set list of more than two dozen songs, ranging from their biggest hits (including “All the Small Things,” “Dammit,” and “Adam’s Song”) to various deep cuts from their discography (“Family Reunion,” “Reckless Abandon,” “Aliens Exist”). There’s also new material in the mix, like their most recent single, “Edging,” which dropped last fall. Both the track and Blink-182’s world tour have gotten great reviews, as critics have lauded the band’s “innate chemistry” and high-energy performances where they “[bound] around the stage, feeling — and acting — like kids again.” If you’d like to experience the magic, don’t sweat the inflated ticket prices or bother asking “What’s my age again?” and just go and have a good time. With Turnstile; 7:30 p.m., tickets are available on the secondary market. Benjamin Leatherman
Odie Leigh
Wednesday, June 14Valley Bar, 130 North Central AvenueEverything old is new again. Odie Leigh’s music draws from the folk tradition but she puts a spin on it that’s decidedly contemporary. The guitars twang and strum, humming with reverent tradition, but her voice is lively and modern. It’s been said that some actors can’t do historical films because they have the face of someone who knows what an iPhone is; Odie Leigh has that kind of voice. She sings in the theatrical, rambling spirit of someone who’s born in a post-Andy Warhol world where you’re always “on,” where the panopticon of social media is always watching. Considering that her career started as a bet between friends to see who could go viral first, the modernity of her sound shouldn’t come as a surprise. But what makes Leigh’s lilting and moving folk music so interesting is how she threads elements of country, blues, and classic folk into it to create a rustic and timeless bed for her to spin out her reveries about modern life. She’s young but sings with a voice steeped in rich history. 7:30 p.m., $16/$18 via ticketweb.com. Ashley Naftule
Seven Lions
Wednesday, June 14Arizona Financial Theatre, 400 West Washington StreetJeff Montalvo — better known as DJ, producer, and instrumentalist Seven Lions — has been in the electronic dance music game for 13 years now. He’s been nothing if not prolific, as his intricate and imaginative mixes of melodic dubstep, electro-house, bass music, and trance have been featured on soundtracks, multiple compilations, and the sound systems of nightclubs everywhere. He’s released more than 40 different singles, dozens of remixes, and 15 different EPs. Despite his voluminous output, it wasn’t until last year that Montalvo put out a full-length studio album, the 12-track effort “Beyond the Veil.” It features collaborations with the likes of GG Magree, Vancouver Sleep Clinic, and onetime Phoenix resident Mija, as well as Montalvo’s penchant for evocative vocals, intoxicating melodies, and plenty of bass. Tracks from the album are likely to be featured in his mixes when he stages his latest Valley gig on Wednesday night in downtown Phoenix. With Andrew Bayer, Gem & Tauri, and OBLVYN; 7 p.m., $28.75-$59.50 via livenation.com. Benjamin Leatherman
