So are you a Tribute-John guy, or a Tribute-Paul guy? Or a Tribute-George guy, I guess?
This question and more answered in this week's list of five Phoenix-area shows this weekend.
Jimmy Eat World - Wickenburg Community Center, Wickenburg - 5/10/2013
"The longer that we are a band, I think, the longer that we will be playing music together," says Jimmy Eat World frontman Jim Adkins. "Because we appreciate the goals that we reach even more the longer it goes on."Now into their 20th year, the Mesa rockers are expressing their gratitude through a series of Arizona dates in places that haven't seen the boys since the Clinton administration, if ever.
"It's been about 15 years since we've played Yuma, and even longer since we've played Sierra Vista. We've never played in Casa Grande or Wickenburg," says Adkins. "We're really excited for it... I'm not sure what to expect, but it's a way to kind of say thanks to people that have commuted for hours to see us play."
Read More: Jimmy Eat World hits the sticks for their tour of Arizona.
"On our last album, Invented, we did these tours that were massive. We'd done them before, but this time it just felt different. It felt like 'Wow.' We really enjoyed and appreciated it," he says.
"Before, we were, 'Holy shit, it's crazy. All right, we have to go on now.' You know? It's like you protect yourself from feeling happy because you think at any moment it could go away, so you don't really appreciate it. Now suddenly we appreciate it more."
That's life, as they say. -- Chris Parker
1964 the Tribute - Celebrity Theatre - 5/10/2013
In 2013, we've reached the point where Beatles tribute bands should, given the time that's elapsed, have some of their own tribute bands by now. 1964 the Tribute -- that's their full name -- has been re-creating the British Invasion-era Beatles since 1984, which means they're now coming up on a decade older than the Beatles were during their first tribute show.And so far, at least, they've managed to avoid succumbing to tribute-infighting or the dastardly feminine wiles of tribute Yoko Ono. They owe some of their success to their single-mindedness, which is even more acute than you might think: 1964 the Tribute isn't just a Beatles tribute band, they're a Beatles-before-they-stopped-touring tribute band. That means you won't hear the Abbey Road medley or "A Day in the Life," but the lighter slate of hits means there's room in the set-list for, say, some Beatles for Sale deep cuts.
If you're a White Album partisan or a Sgt. Pepper's guy, you might have to look elsewhere for your fake-Beatles fix. But if you're looking for the touring Beatles -- up to and including the outfits and the accents -- and the portions of their discography that can be successfully re-created without tape loops and hard drugs, you're in luck.
Suicidal Tendencies - Marquee Theatre - 5/10/2013
For decades, punk and metal have been an outlet -- a means for fans and musicians to escape reality. For Suicidal Tendencies, that's changing. With the release of 13, the band's first album since 2000, singer Mike Muir is looking for listeners to embrace his realities.It has been 30 years since Suicidal Tendencies' self-titled debut. At the time, Muir was an angst-driven 20-year-old paving the way for skate punk alongside groups like Bad Religion and Big Boys. Suicidal Tendencies earned the group the respect of skateboarders everywhere as it churned out some of the best hardcore punk of the decade.
Their sound has changed as consistently as their lineup since. "A record should be more like a chapter of a book, and you can't just keep writing the same chapter over and over," says Muir. "It should be different, good or bad. If you hear a record and you feel like you heard the song before, that isn't good. Music should be a challenge.
Read More: Suicidal Tendencies' new album wants to give you a little kick in the ass.
"... We do it to motivate people, to . . . give [them] a little kick in the ass every once in a while, because we all need that." That message has always resonated with the fans. Since coming back to the scene, the band has received countless e-mails, ranging from kids who are seeing them for the first time to parents who saw them 25 years ago.
"I think sometimes we remind people not only why they love Suicidal, but also how much they actually love Suicidal," Muir says. "And it surprises them."
"In general, everyone forgets the strength that they have, and they need someone to remind them. We like to be able to remind those older fans that they can still do stuff that they meant to do in the past. It's good to see people progress in life, no matter how old they are."
Jamie Woolford - Last Exit Live - 5/11/2013
Saturday, erstwhile The Stereo frontman and current producer Jamie Woolford will play his first solo show--offline, at least--in support of his first solo album, this year's A Framed Life in Charming Light.And considering the other recent show flyer on his Twitter account looks like this --
They made me a flyer! twitter.com/woolford/statu...
— Jamie Woolford (@woolford) April 22, 2013
-- who knows when you'll get another chance?
With him: Phoenix duo Gomi (whose last EP was recorded and co-produced with Woolford) and Big Moxie.
AZ Brutalfest - Rocky Point Cantina - 5/11/2013
A set of snazzy, top-of-the-line earplugs is available for around 14 bucks at your local home improvement warehouse. That would be a sound investment to make before wading into the sinister, deafening abyss of vicious metal mayhem that will envelop Rocky Point Cantina on Saturday, May 11, during AZ Brutalfest.Such hearing protection may cost a smidge more than the event's listed ticket price of $10, but it'll help those in attendance endure eight straight hours of audio mercilessness from the 14 different bands from around Arizona and throughout the southwest scheduled to perform. After all, they wouldn't want to sacrifice their cochlea to the gods of deafness while partaking in this afternoon-long festival.
AZ Brutalfest features acts firmly within the realms of death metal and its tangentially related subgenres -- such as Colorado's Despise the Sun, New Mexico's Defleshment, and L.A. bands Servile and Rott -- as well as others like the thrashers of Phoenix's Unholy Monarch, the Tucson grindcore practitioners of Magguts, Southern Arizona-based "brutal death metal/tech death fusion" crew Genocaust, and the "slamming brutality" of Valley residents Fetal Disgorge.
Expect a sea of black T-shirts, undecipherable band logos, epic pits, and lotsa long hair being flung about. -- Benjamin Leatherman
