The 11 Best Concerts in Phoenix This Week

Don’t put away your costumes just yet, folks. There are still some big Halloween bashes left to experience this week, including a few happening on the holiday itself featuring local and touring DJs in the mix.

If you’re all partied out and are ready to put costumes and candy in the rearview, the good news is that there are plenty of non-Halloween concerts and music events happening over the next several nights. Highlights include gigs by $uicideboy$, Oh Sees, Christina Aguilera, Wild Moccasins, and Darwin Deez.

Details about each of these shows can be found below in our list of the best shows happening in the Valley this weekend. And for even more live music happening around the Valley, hit up Phoenix New Times' online concert calendar.


$uicideboy$
Monday, October 29
The Van Buren
Updating the Southern horrorcore aesthetic of Three 6 Mafia for the era of peak trap, the New Orleans-raised duo of $lick $loth and Ruby da Cherry has racked up millions of plays on SoundCloud and Spotify and toured the world. These guys are insanely prolific; they’ve released half a dozen albums and a series of 20 EPs, all titled Kill Yourself, and their songs rarely pass the three-minute mark. “Paris,” with its slasher-flick synth melody and macabre lyrics, is as good a starting point as any for the group. Douglas Markowitz

Christina Aguilera
Monday, October 29
Comerica Theatre
Christina Aguilera, the talented songstress who is almost never not done up, appeared sans makeup on the March issue of Paste, proving she could go bald like Britney and still look like a Hollywood movie star. Not that a woman's success should be tied to her looks, but Aguilera is just #blessed in almost every way. She's not only a pop princess but also a TV star on The Voice and a UN ambassador for the World Food Programme. Catch this multifaceted talent when she brings her Liberation Tour to downtown Phoenix. Expect new songs and old favorites (like "Genie in a Bottle," "What a Girl Wants,” and "Beautiful"), as well as an opening set from Big Boi. Jesse Scott and Liz Tracy

Darwin Deez
Monday, October 29
Valley Bar
Darwin Deez is known for a catchy and unpredictable style in which indie rock meets electro-pop. With the release of his fourth full-length record, 10 Songs That Happened When You Left Me With My Stupid Heart, the Brooklyn-based artist has quietly put together nearly a decade's worth of interesting, thoughtful, and unusual music. In the case of his latest album, it explores the tumult of emotions from a breakup. “Well, there are some spiteful songs,” Deez says. “There’s some spite, for sure. But I like a little bit of spite in my songwriting. It’s good to sing some ... you don’t want saccharine, you know? You don’t want overly sweet. You want some bitterness mixed in so that it’s true to life. Catch Deez at Valley Bar on Monday night when his tour in support of the album brings him to downtown Phoenix. Fellow electronic indie pop artist Soren Bryce will open. The show starts at 8 p.m. Tickets are $10 in advance, $18 at the door. Ben Wiese

Rüfüs Du Sol
Tuesday, October 30
The Van Buren
The members of Rüfüs Du Sol have several reasons to be cheerful these days. In addition to performing on their current tour, which rolls through the Valley this month, Australian electronic trio is gearing up to release their third LP, Solace. A crucial part of Rüfüs Du Sol’s charm is the uplifting quality of the music. Since the release of the Australian electronic trio's first full-length album, Atlas, in 2014, they have forged ahead with a sound that’s as sweeping in emotion as in scope, enveloping listeners and concertgoers in immaculately produced soundscapes and dreamy vocals courtesy of guitarist Tyrone Lindqvist. Zach Schlein


Oh Sees
Tuesday, October 30
Crescent Ballroom
San Francisco psychedelic rock band Oh Sees released their latest album, Smote Reverser, last month on Castle Face Records, a label co-owned by the band’s primary songwriter John Dwyer. This marks the band’s 20th album since the project was founded in 1997. The band have been known as Thee Oh Sees since 2008, but shortened it last year to their current name. It’s the seventh moniker they’ve used while several iterations of band members have rotated around Dwyer. They’re now a quintet consisting of Dwyer, Tim Hellman, Dan Rincon, drummer Paul Quattrone from !!!, and keyboard player Tomas Dolas of Mr. Elevator and the Brain Hotel fame. The addition of a fifth member isn’t the only change the Oh Sees have undergone in the past year, as Smote Reverser features the band taking a journey into prog-metal territory. You’ll likely hear tracks from the album during their gig at the Crescent Ballroom this week. Ashley Harris
Wild Moccasins
Tuesday, October 30
The Rebel Lounge
Sometimes, a band can go away and never return even if they release something new. It's been four years since we heard a new album from Houston's Wild Moccasins. On their latest release, Look Together, the four-piece turns things up a notch by mixing synthpop and dream pop into their indie pop sound. They don't waste time in reminding us why those four years felt so long.

Opening with one of the already released singles "Boyish Wave," the band keeps things synth-infused while the spacey guitar dances atop the track. Zahira Gutierrez sings above it all like she's echoing notes from the vacuum of space. They follow with the groove-heavy sounds of "Temporary Vase," where Nicholas Cody's bass and Avery Davis' drums make a Latin-infused sound. Complete with Gutierrez' haunting vocals and Cody Swan's guitar noodling, the result is a deep and slower paced jam.

The catchy sounds of another released track, "Longtime Listener," pick the pace back up. Swan's guitar here is where the magic lies, offering up a pedal soaked sound. The vocals remind you of shoegaze bands that were never as catchy, while the bridge offers more depth than the band has shown in the past. This continues on "Missing You (the Most)" where the band return to their New Wave past, though with more synthwave tones. Easily their strongest release to date, Look Together offers up plenty of danceable tracks that should make anyone a fan. David Garrick

In Flames
Tuesday, October 30
Marquee Theatre in Tempe
It’s been 28 years since Swedish metal band In Flames formed out of the ashes of death-metal troupe Ceremonial Oath, the brainchild of ex-guitarist Jesper Strömblad. In the years that have passed since then, the group has put out 12 studio albums and three EPs. Meanwhile, band members have come and gone, or, in the case of Björn Gelottem, switched from drums to lead guitar.

This is no flash-in-the-pan story, a far cry from an overnight success. In Flames is the very definition of the hard-working rock band, determination flowing abundantly, “Never say die” tattooed onto its collective soul. The band doesn’t have the larger appeal to cross over to a mainstream audience. Its longevity will see it tagged with a “cult hero” status, but there’s nothing wrong with that. The band will just keep plugging away, opening for the likes of Avenged Sevenfold and Disturbed in Europe, and getting billed halfway through the day at festivals throughout the world. In other words, In Flames has carved out a steady career, complete with a hardcore fan base that isn't likely to go away in a hurry. Brett Callwood

Sean Watson’s Costume Ball
Wednesday, October 31
Crescent Ballroom
Local DJ and party promoter Sean Watson has one hard and fast rule for his annual masquerade ball at the Crescent Ballroom – costumes are absolutely, positively mandatory if you want to attend. “Costumes are totally required,” says Watson of the event, which takes place on Wednesday, October 31, at the downtown Phoenix venue.

Also, your costume had better be on point, considering the event tends to offer some of the coolest and most clever get-ups seen around town each Halloween. (In other words, don’t expect to get away with cutting holes in your bedsheets or other such nonsense.) As you’d expect, there’s a costume contest for prizes.

This year’s ball features the Day of the Dead-inspired theme “The Elegant Skeleton” and will feature two stages of performances from artists and acts like Violin Girl, NYC’s Jackal Jyve, DJ Blossom, Gerry Gonza, Krug One, Djentrification, and Alejandro Solis and the Tropical Demons. Things get going at 7 p.m. and presale admission is $10. Benjamin Leatherman

Tech N9ne
Wednesday, October 31
Marquee Theatre
Independent hip-hop artist Tech N9ne has carved a niche for himself. He's a demigod for his outlying cult of fans known as Technicians, not at all dissimilar to Insane Clown Posse’s dedicated horde of Juggalos. Known for his rapid-fire flow and embracing of the weird, he’s racked up more than 2 million album sales in his 27-year career that features 20 albums.

Technicians love the music, but it is Tech N9ne’s relentless touring schedule that has earned his fans’ dedication. Typically averaging more than 100 concerts a year, he constantly delivers the goods and performs with a theatrical fervor that puts him among the best live rap acts in the game. Those tireless efforts earned Tech N9ne a spot on Forbes’ Cash Kings list four years in a row, which ranks the top-earning hip-hop acts in the country and backs up his claim that his record label Strange Music is one the most successful independent label in the country. He’s currently in the midst of the Independent Grind Tour, which will swing through the Marquee Theatre in Tempe on Halloween night with such artists as Dizzy Wright, Krizz Kaliko, and Futuristic sharing the bill. Mikel Galicia

MarchFourth
Thursday, November 1
Crescent Ballroom
What started in Portland, Oregon, as a Fat Tuesday party back in 2003 has evolved into a must-see national act. MarchFourth’s high-energy and rousing sounds bring to light the deepest grooves of funk, swing, rock, and jazz, and their style pulls from an array of influences, like Sgt. Pepper leading a freaky Cirque du Soleil performance from the bandstand or European Gypsy camps stumbling upon the rhythms of Brazilian jungle tribes.

Concertgoers at Crescent Ballroom may not know what they are getting themselves into, but after attending this weekend’s show, there’s a good chance that MarchFourth will be on your list of live favorites. Maybe it’s the five-piece percussion corps using harnesses made from bicycle parts, the seven-part brass section that includes trombone, trumpet, and saxophone, or the 20 musicians and performers donning mismatched marching band uniforms — including crowd-surfing stiltwalkers, or the fire dancers. Yes, fire dancers. Get thee to this show. Lauren Farrah

The Selecter
Thursday, November 1
Valley Bar
The Selecter's first run was short-lived – they formed in 1979 and disbanded in 1981 – but in that time, they recorded enough solid tunes to be a seminal force in 2-tone ska. Musically, The Selecter seamlessly bridged complicated emotions, a point best illustrated on "Bombscare" (from sophomore album Celebrate the Bullet) when drum rolls lead into dark, dubby interludes that augment the fear in Pauline Black's voice. The beat picks up as that fear turns to anger. The title track from their debut album, Too Much Pressure, channels ska into the musical equivalent of a boiling point. Liz Ohanesian