GWAR
Sunday, October 27Marquee Theatre in Tempe
The last song on GWAR’s most recent album, The Blood of Gods, is a cover of AC/DC’s “If You Want Blood (You Got It),” which could have also been the band’s slogan for the past three decades. There are insane amounts of fake blood that spew from the outrageous costumes of these barbaric intergalactic scumdogs, who claim to hail from deep in the ice of Antarctica.
Experience the madness for yourself when GWAR invade the Marquee Theatre on Sunday night. Sacred Reich, Toxic Holocaust, and Against the Grain will open the 7:30 p.m. show. Tickets are $22.50-$52.50. Jon Solomon
Bishop Briggs
Tuesday, October 29The Van Buren
Born in Britain but raised in Japan and Hong Kong, Bishop Briggs got an old-fashioned big break when she was discovered in a Los Angeles hole-in-the-wall. What follows is an undeniable success story. Her debut single, the folksy-guitar-meets-EDM "Wild Horses," garnered serious heat on Spotify, and her first album, 2018’s Church of Scars, hit No. 5 on Billboard’s rock and alternative charts. Opening slots for alt-J, Bleachers, and Kaleo would follow. A pop singer with serious singing chops and a fundamental understanding of hip-hop, acoustic folk, bass drops, and early 2010s synth-pop, Briggs makes music that defies obvious or easy categorization. We’re guessing that’s part of the plan. See her live at The Van Buren on Tuesday, October 29. Miya Folick and Jax Anderson will open the 8 p.m. gig. Admission is $27.50-$29.50. Elle Carroll
Hozier
Tuesday, October 29Comerica Theatre
You know the words: "Take me to church/I'll worship like a dog at the shrine of your lies." Deep stuff from a Hozier classic. After the 2013 single "Take Me to Church" propelled the Irish singer-songwriter to international fame, he's been touring up a storm and dropping new tunes, primarily in the form of EPs. His second LP, Wasteland, Baby!, was released earlier this year, so be sure to get familiar with it before his concert at Comerica Theater on Tuesday, October 29, which starts at 8 p.m. Freya Ridings opens. Tickets are $35-$59. Jesse Scott
Frank Turner
Tuesday, October 29Mesa Arts Center
Frank Turner doesn't hide his feelings — and that makes some people uncomfortable. Over the course of his prolific solo career, launched after a memorable stint as lead vocalist for the incendiary act Million Dead, Turner has established himself as a singer-songwriter with rare melodic gifts, an exuberant stage presence, and a willingness to speak his mind without trafficking in trendiness or hiding behind a fusillade of snark. These qualities have earned him a growing and enthusiastic following, despite (or perhaps because of) the doubts expressed by reviewers more accustomed to cynicism than sincerity. Turner will return to the Valley on Tuesday, October 29, for a performance at Mesa Arts Center. Kayleigh Goldsworthy opens the 7 p.m. inside the Ikeda Theater. Tickets are $39.50-$69.50. Michael Roberts
Lucy Dacus
Tuesday, October 29Crescent Ballroom
Most probably know Lucy Dacus best from her blockbuster (in indie terms) side-project boygenius. Consisting of only a single, self-titled EP released last year, the collaboration with Julien Baker and Phoebe Bridgers gained favor from critics and fans alike. But Dacus was already a formidable force as a soloist. When she debuted in 2015 with the song "I Don't Want to Be Funny Anymore," labels clamored to sign her. Eventually, she settled with Matador, which dropped her latest album, Historian, last year alongside the boygenius EP. She plays Crescent Ballroom on Tuesday, October 29, with Liza Anne and Sun June sharing the bill. Tickets are $17 for the 8 p.m. concert. Douglas Markowitz
Halloween & Oates
Wednesday, October 30Valley Bar
As you can probably guess from its name, this unique Halloween weekend affair will riff on the iconic pop-rock duo of Daryl Hall and John Oates. But from what the folks behind the event tell us, it will be unlike your typical theme party or tribute night.
Here’s the setup: Valley Bar will become Hall & Oates’ practice space in the midst of a rehearsal that’s being continuously interrupted by famous visitors, including David Bowie, Björk, and Prince. Local musicians will portray these “celebrities,” who will be dressed in costume and sing along as Hall & Oates cover their songs (Jerusafunk's Chris Del Favero, for example, plays David Bowie as the band performs “Ashes to Ashes,” for example).
“We'll be splitting the night into three acts, each complete with some light improv comedy, followed by five cover songs by the ensemble cast of local musicians,” says promoter Ark Calkins. “Think of it like a Peewee's Playhouse Halloween special combined with a local music scene celebration.” As we said, it’s going to be unique. There will also be a costume contest, a photo booth, DJs spinning between the acts at the party, which starts at 7 p.m. Benjamin Leatherman
Captured! By Robots
Thursday, October 31Yucca Tap Room
Hate to break it to you, fellow carbon-based lifeforms, but we’re slowly but surely being replaced by automatons. That creeping sense of existential dread you get watching those videos of AI-powered ’bots awkwardly walking is completely justified, considering it’s a harbinger of our impending obsolescence as machines learn to do our jobs better than we can. Heck, the demonic droids of Captured! By Robots have already proven they can rock harder than any human.
The grindcore act, which features audio automatons GTRBOT666 and DRMBOT0110, creates efficiently terrorizing and viciously unrelenting thrash rock featuring the torturous screams of their human slave/creator JBOT (a.k.a. musician Jay Vance) singing about mankind’s folly. Witness the robot revolution unfold on Halloween night at the Yucca Tap Room in Tempe when C!BR invades the local rock dive. The takeover begins at 8 p.m. and Predatory Instinct and Robocophole will open. Admission is free. Benjamin Leatherman
