5 Best Concerts to See in Phoenix This Week

First, the binge. Inevitably, the come down.

This past weekend was a veritable musical orgy, as a flood of touring and national bands came through Phoenix. This week, things are a little drier. Check out our five favorite shows happening this week, and browse our comprehensive concert listings for more options.

The Neighbourhood, Danny Brown, White Arrows - Monday, July 21 - Marquee Theatre

It's that catchy song you've heard a million times on the radio or while walking through the mall. When someone asks you who sings it, your eyes roll up and you draw a blank. Before you go digging for the answer on your phone's music app, the song "Sweater Weather" is by the Neighbourhood (sometimes known as the NBHD). That sexy single, which effortlessly combines rap, R&B, and rock, originated on the 2012 EP I'm Sorry . . . and perfectly captures the vibe of the sun-soaked shores of Los Angeles the band calls home. The quintet, which opened for Imagine Dragons last year, is now touring worldwide in support of its debut 2013 full-length album, I Love You, which elaborates on the promise of their chart-topping song. The group utilizes a black and white motif for its videos and album covers, and the theme provided the inspiration for its recently released mixtape titled "#000000 & #FFFFFF" (web designers will immediately get the joke). The four experimental songs showcase the band's hip-hop leanings and allows an edgier outlet that doesn't necessarily fit into their radio-friendly mold. --Jason Keil

Man or Astro-Man?, Sally Ford, Wray, Christopher Norby - Monday, July 21 - Crescent Ballroom

Ever wonder what kind of music aliens would play if they made a pit stop on Earth? Maybe dubstep? Droning metal machine music? Lady Gaga covers?

Turns out, they'd probably be into a mix of surf rock and punk, as Alabama's Man or Astro-Man? demonstrate. Claiming to be extraterrestrials that took the form of college students, MOAM? mind-meld Dick Dale with Kraftwerk with a little Devo thrown in for good measure.

During the '90s, MOAM? was one prolific rock group. Between 1993 and 2001, they released eight LPs, two EPs, and a huge stack of 7-inch singles. Their latest album, Defcon 5...4...3...2...1, broke a nearly decade-long hiatus, hopefully hinting at another seemingly endless supply of bizarro albums. --Troy Farah

Clairy Browne and the Bangin Rackettes - Tuesday, July 21 - Crescent Ballroom

I don't understand plenty about Australia--Vegemite, the platypus' existence as a non-mythical creature, etc.--but what I truly don't get is how everyone in Melbourne could've kept Clairy Browne and the Bangin' Rackettes all to themselves since Baby Caught The Bus came out the first time around in 2011, leaving those of us in the States without the potent swinging/snarling/gut-wrenchingly heartbroken/euphorically party-anthemic elixir they effortlessly pour down our thirsty throats. Thankfully, change is afoot, as Baby Caught The Bus saw its official U.S. debut on Vanguard Records last year. That spring, Clairy and the other eight Bangin' Rackettes "traveled the breadth of the country" as Browne puts it, embarking on a 30-day tour after a rabble-rousing slew of shows at South by Southwest. They hit the small club circuit, walloping unsuspecting patrons with lyrics wrought with calculating emotional warfare and an untouchable live show that walks a delicate tightrope between total fucking chaos and a vivacious, exquisitely choreographed production. One can argue that the neo-soul sounds of Clairy Browne and the Bangin' Rackettes are at best familiar and worst unoriginal -- Winehouse, Duffy and Adele have all revived the Motown sound and redefined soul music already, right? -- but for Browne, brutal honesty onstage and off is what keeps her and the Bangin' Rackettes from merely resuscitating the brassy confidence and bleeding-heart confessions of the glory days of soul. --Hilary Hughes

The Go-Gos - Tuesday, July 22 - Talking Stick Resort Go-Gos founder Belinda Carlisle was so enraged with SB 1070 in 2010 that she took to Facebook, demanding that the organizers of Lilith Fair, the tour with which her band was touring at the time, "move the phoenix date in protest of the new immigration law in ARIZONA. the gogo's [sic] condemn the law and want the date moved." Strong words -- stronger, perhaps, than the singer's convictions? While that date ended up getting cancelled, no one ever stated that the cause was the abhorrent immigration law. (The band's lips were sealed, it appeared.) That didn't stop The Go-Gos from playing Talking Stick Resort last year, and they will return once more this year, leading us to conclude that all is forgiven between the Go-Gos and the Grand Canyon State, despite the fact that significant parts of the law remain in place. --David Accomazzo

Slightly Stoopid, Cypress Hill, Stephen Marley - Thursday, July 24 - Mesa Amphitheatre

Asked what it's like to follow in the footsteps of his famous father, Bob Marley, a man who comes as close to deification as our popular culture will allow, Stephen replies with only a sentence fragment: "Rastaman vibration positive."

That response could be taken a couple of ways. Maybe by quoting one of his father's songs, he's showing reverence for the man. Or maybe he's annoyed about being asked a question he will never escape, no matter his own accomplishments. And during Stephen Marley's multidecade career, there have been many proud achievements, which will be on display at Mesa Amphitheatre Thursday. --David Rolland

Bay Area native Lyrics Born (real name: Tom Shimura) brings his uniquely free and easy, yet lyrically (no pun intended) deep brand of hip hop to the Crescent Ballroom on Thursday, July 24. The former college DJ who cut his teeth trading ideas, riffs, and rhymes with some of the best names in underground hip hop (DJ Shadow, Lateef the Truthspeaker) has made quite a name for himself over the past decade. The socially conscious rapper is funding his newest album, Real People, in collaboration with OXFAM America and Indiegogo.com. Up to 10 percent of what is donated to fund the record will go directly to OXFAM America which will distribute the collected funds to New Orleans charities fighting hunger, poverty, and the aftermath of Hurricanes Katrina, Rita, and the British Petroleum oil spill. In 2005, Lyrics Born collaborated with Phoenix's favorite DJ, Z-Trip, on the excellent track, "The Get Down" from Z-Trip's album, Shifting Gears. Fans of Spearhead, Del the Funky Homosapien, and Canada's Dream Warriors will dig this show. --Tom Reardon

Find any show in Metro Phoenix via our extensive online concert calendar.

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