By Niki D’Andrea
Here are a handful of shows that were just announced this week.
12th Annual D-Low Memorial Featuring Soulfly, Cavalera Conspiracy, Sacred Reich, Throwdown, Bury Your Dead, and Incite Thursday, August 7, 6 p.m. Marquee Theatre in Tempe $25 (www.luckymanonline.com)
Metal monster (and Phoenix resident) Max Cavalera revives his annual tribute show to his late stepson and best friend, Dana Wells, with a headbanging bill that includes three of Arizona’s finest metal acts (Soulfly and Cavalera Conspiracy, both projects of Max Cavalera, and the influential Sacred Reich), along with Orange County straight-edge metalheads Throwdown, hardcore Massachusetts quintet Bury Your Dead, and newer Phoenix thrash band Incite.
Random band detail: After leaving Sepultura and before forming Soulfly, Cavalera made a guest appearance on the Deftones song “Headup” (allegedly about Wells’ death), on the Deftones 1997 album Around the Fur.
Below: The video for Soulfy’s 2004 breakthrough song, “The Prophecy.”
Journey, and Cheap Trick Friday, October 3, 7:30 p.m. Cricket Wireless Pavilion $31-$131 (www.livenation.com)
No, Steve Perry is not touring with Journey. Phillipino Steve Perry look-alike Arnel Pineda has been Journey’s lead singer since 2007, when guitarist Neal Schon found footage of Pineda singing ‘80s songs on YouTube and asked him to front Journey. But before you decide not to buy a ticket in Perry’s unsurprising absence, remember two things: 1) Pineda has a similar range to Perry, even if watching him perform with the band looks like an episode of American Idol, and 2) Journey is sharing the bill with CHEAP TRICK. ‘Nuff said.
Random band fact: Journey has been eligible for induction into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame since 2000 (rules dictate eligibility begins 25 years after the release of an artist’s first record). But the only member of Journey inducted into the R&R Hall of Fame is former keyboardist Gregg Rolie, inducted as a member of Santana.
Below: Pineda and Journey perform “Separate Ways” on Ellen.
New Kids on the Block Monday, October 13, 8 p.m. Jobing.com Arena in Glendale $37.50-$77.50 (www.livenation.com)
Seriously, New Kids on the Block? They’re certainly not “new,” and they’re definitely not “kids” anymore, so why tour? Because there is money to be made, of course -- this time without the greedy fingers of boy band pioneer/producer Maurice Starr clutching the checkbooks. The band’s got a new album in the works (set for release in September), and has already received some radio spins for its first single, “Summertime.” The real question is: who’s going to see this show? Will the audience be full of older NKOTB fans looking for a nostalgia fix, or will the current tweener audience look at NKOTB’s tour as a chance to see the preeminent boy band that influenced their current favorites?
Random band fact: The last single NKOTB charted was “Dirty Dawg,” a hip-hop song that reached #66 on the Billboard Top 100 in 1994.
Below: Photo/video montage and full audio for NKOTB’s new single, “Summertime.”
Madeleine Peyroux Tuesday, March 31, 2009, 7:30 p.m. Scottsdale Civic Center Mall Amphitheatre $30-$38 (www.scottsdaleperformingarts.org)
Madeleine Peyroux’s molasses-rich voice has come a long way since her days as a busker on the streets on the Paris and an opening act for Sarah McLachlan. Peyroux’s pipes continue to receive comparisons to Billie Holiday’s winsome vocal style, but over the past 12 years, she’s proven herself to be a mysterious force in her own right, setting her voice to jazz standards and solemn original compositions, and shunning the spotlight (her six years busking in Paris happened after her Dreamland album was hailed as “the most exciting, involving vocal performance by a new singer this year” by Time magazine).
Random band fact: Madeleine Peyroux has a French name, is fluent in the French language, and spent many years living in Paris, but she was actually born in Athens, Georgia.
Below: Madeleine Peyroux’s video for “I’m All Right.”
Son, Ambulance With Coats and Villa, A Weather, and Colorstore Sunday, August 3, 7:30 p.m. Modified Arts $8-$9 (www.myspace.com/presidentgator)
Yet another Omaha, Nebraska band on Saddle Creek Records, alt. country/folk rockers Son, Ambulance went for “stream of consciousness” production on their latest album, Someone Else’s Déjà Vu (out July 8). The label boasts that “Collectively, the songs form a cohesive palette of subtle pop psychedelia encompassing myriad musical genres.”
Random band fact: Guest artist from Tilly and the Wall, and The Faint make appearances on the new Son, Ambulance album.
Below: A promo video for Phoenix band Colorstore, who’ll open for Son, Ambulance.
