Eight months after he wowed a packed house at The Van Buren, the Grammy-nominated Def Jam rapper is heading back to Phoenix for another go. And he's bringing fellow hip-hop artists Kyle and NF along for the ride as openers.
Logic's Bobby Tarantino vs. Everybody tour comes to Ak-Chin Pavilion on Wednesday, July 25, and will feature sets from all three artists. It's one of the biggest concerts of the week, if not the entire summer, and (despite the antagonistic theme) should be nothing but “peace, love, and positivity” from Logic.
Other notable shows happening this week in the Valley include performances by southern rock/country trio The Cadillac Three, indie rock act Car Seat Headrest, experimental electronica artists Julianna Barwick and Mary Lattimore, and roots legends Dave Alvin and Jimmie Dale Gilmore.
You can also get a heaping helping of '80s nostalgia, check out the newest crop of American Idol contestants in concert, and sample the satirical and surreal punk of The Weirdos.
Details about each of these gigs can be found below. And for even more live music happening around the Valley this week, hit up Phoenix New Times' online concert calendar.
Streetlight Manifesto
Monday, July 23
Marquee Theatre in Tempe
New Jersey band Streetlight Manifesto is the whole package – all the raucous fun we've come to expect from Jersey without the orange tans and irritating accents. Yes, the seven-piece band plays ska punk, a genre that's something of an acquired taste, but they do it so flawlessly that even people who don't particularly care for the genre have to pay their respects. Streetlight combines half of Catch 22 and half of One Cool Guy, making up a roster of the top ska talent in Jersey. Tom Murphy
Julianna Barwick and Mary Lattimore
Monday, July 23
The Lunchbox
The daughter of a pastor and a hymnal signer, electronica artist Julianna Barwick channels warped spirituality with glimmering looped vocals so soothing you’d like to think they could cure world peace (if only). Will, her 2016 album, is composed of powerfully emotive compositions that transform space into a reverb-soaked ambient landscape.
Fellow electronica musician Mary Lattimore ditches her classical music upbringing to adopt distinct improvised harmonies fit for aristocracy with her 47-string Lyon & Healy. Her glittering plucked arpeggios venture from pretty textures into echoing, melancholic compositions.
Catch them both at The Lunchbox on Monday night. Local noise/electronica musician A0n will open. The show starts at 8 p.m. Admission is $10. Veronica Salinas
Dave Alvin and Jimmie Dale Gilmore
Monday, July 23
Musical Instrument Museum
Grammy-winning rock and folk guitarist-singer Dave Alvin and Grammy-nominated country strummer-warbler Jimmie Dale Gilmore grew up 1,100 miles apart and in different decades. So how is it that founding and former blues Blaster from California, Americana Alvin, and the Lubbock flatlander with Native American heritage, Gilmore, have a common ground?
It’s a funny thing that can happen when an unlikely duo has traversed separately the long and winding tour road from rebel-rousing roadhouse to regal rock halls. They crossed paths over the past three-plus decades time and again. Along the
Alvin and Gilmore’s jam sessions grew into an 11-city acoustic tour playing a name-that-song, play-that-song volley showcased at the Musical Instrument Museum last year. That mini-tour sparked the idea to record a 12-song album (10 classic covers and two originals) that is fittingly called Downey to
Destiny’s musical brothers prove themselves worthy American music historians with these cuts that they will reinterpret live on their six-month tour (including MIM again, on Monday, July 23). MIM performance highlights should be the Alvin-penned “Billy the Kid and Geronimo” and a unifying cover of The Youngbloods “Get Together,” which is relevant as much today as it was back in the late ’60s. Mark C. Horn
Car Seat Headrest
Tuesday, July 24
The Van Buren
Car Seat Headrest was the DIY dorm-room project of Will Toledo until his music was discovered by Matador Records last year; now, he and his songs are included on many year-end best-of lists. Toledo, who started recording at age 17, has 13 albums to his name, all of which are personal, complex, and full of a certain stripped-down charm.
He also tends to experiment with genres, mixing punk, psychedelia, and pop with excellence, which is most likely why he’s gotten as far as he has in such a short time. Car Seat Headrest may not be what you expect, but it is worthy of all the buzz — and a trip to The Van Buren this week. Isa Jones
Idol time.
American Idol Live! Photo (ABC-Eric McCandless) © 2018 American Broadcasting Companies, Inc. All rights reserved
American Idol Live!
Tuesday, July 24
Mesa Arts Center
Pull the plug on your television set – just for one night – and take a ride to downtown Mesa to see one of your favorite shows in person. American Idol is on the road and they’re stopping here so that you can see performances by Caleb, Catie, Gabby, Jurnee, Maddie, and Michael. To top off those lively acts, get treated to some music by the program’s Season Eight winner, Kris Allen.
Need a boy band
Logic
Wednesday, July 25
Ak-Chin Pavilion
Apparently, Sir Robert Bryson Hall II, a.k.a.
The Macklemore antidote hit the scene opening for the likes of Pitbull and Ludacris as they came through his home state of Maryland. His third mixtape, Young Sinatra: Undeniable, earned him his first national tour and made him a shoe-in for the 2013 XXL Freshman Class alongside Joey Bada$$, Action Bronson and Schoolboy Q. Three studio albums and two mixtapes later, and Logic is nearing the summit of the rap game. Hits such as “1-800-273-8255” and “Sucker for Pain,” helped ingratiate his complex lyricism with mainstream audiences while he kept the connoisseurs satisfied with straight rap bangers like “Dead Presidents III” and “44 More.” If you’ve haven’t already heard, let this be a wakeup call. Nicholas Bostick
The Weirdos
Wednesday, July 25
Pub Rock Live in Scottsdale
Like fellow genre pioneers The Ruts and The Slits, The Weirdos delighted in defying even what was socially mandated as constituting first-wave punk. Formed in 1976 and currently enjoying the latest in a string of sporadic reunions, this foursome shuns the gritty, often confrontational imagery of their East Coast and British punk peers in favor of a more colorful, satirical aesthetic.
The Weirdos' essentially garage-rock sonic signature is distinguished on tracks such as "Destroy All Music" and "We Got the Neutron Bomb" by unusually melodic guitars, absurdly exaggerated drum fills, sardonic hooks and songwriting that comfortably transcends three-chord tricks. Since they're both remembered and revered as West Coast punk godfathers, expect to encounter both young and old alike at their Pub Rock Live gig on Wednesday night. Paul Rogers
The Cadillac Three
Wednesday, July 25
Marquee Theatre in Tempe
Rip-roaring act The Cadillac Three is best known for bringing an element of redneck Southern rock to mainstream country. Authentically unapologetic, the trio isn’t into acts: What you see is what you get, and the ripped jeans, long hair, and thick drawls are real.
The Cadillac Three, composed of Jaren Johnston on lead guitar/vocals, Kelby Ray on lap steel, and Neil Mason on percussion, are all Nashville natives who first met in high school. They went on to play with a variety of bands, coming together a decade ago. They first toured under the name the Cadillac Black before switching to The Cadillac Three and forging their characteristic sound about five years ago. “The history shows on stage,” says Kelby Ray. “We have chemistry. No tracks, just us having a fun time. It’s the real deal. No faking it.”
Johnston’s combination of attitude-filled gritty vocals and all-out shredding leads the trio. The lap steel of Ray, playing through a bass amp, fills in the low
Retro Futura Tour featuring Belinda Carlisle
Wednesday, July 25
The Van Buren
The nostalgia tour has a simple and powerful anatomy. Take a few bands whose music is sealed in the amber of a vaguely memorable decade. Dig up a handful of earworm hits that we still, for some reason, know all of the words to. Stitch in a few charming, dated technological references and then shock the whole lot with a bolt of sentimental electricity. The nostalgia tour — it's alive!
The annual Retro Futura Tour checks all of these boxes. Each year, it crisscrosses the country offering a selection of '80s hitmakers, throwbacks, and one-hit wonders that dish out their most famous tunes and a heaping helping of nostalgia. This year, the tour stars Belinda Carlisle, who's armed with songs from both her stint with The Go-Go's and her solo career. New Wave refugees Modern English and Tony Lewis of The Outfield are providing support.
The tour hits The Van Buren on Wednesday night. Local classic hits station KOOL 94.5 has been co-branding the show as its annual “
Mourn
Thursday, July 26
Valley Bar
Mourn have finally added some new colors to their sonic palette. On the gentle and stirring “Orange” off their latest album, Sorpresa Familia, the band turns down their post-punk fury. A short song that blows by like a gentle breeze, it relies on chiming guitars and sweet voices cutting through a haze
After severing their tumultuous relationship with their label Sones, the band sounds lighter and freer on Sorpresa Familia. They can still sound as angry as PJ Harvey, but they’ve grown enough as songwriters to pull other colors out of their emotional Crayola box. While “Bye, Imbecile!” still has that trademark Mourn sharpness, album highlights like “Candle Man” beguile the listener with tambourines and haunting vocals that recall the Paisley Underground sounds of the '80s. Who knows? Maybe Mourn will drop acid and go full psych on their next LP. Ashley Naftule
