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Boys and Frogs Aren’t Afraid of the Close-Ups

There's no quicker way to alienate listeners than to be so pretentious as to describe a band as an "experience," "lifestyle," or "state of mind." Still, despite the groans the following statement may elicit, there's no way to get around it: Boys and Frogs is more than a band; it's...
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State of the Arts

More than 400 booths will line the Mill Avenue District, bordered by Rio Salado Parkway and University Drive, this weekend during the annual Tempe Fall Festival of the Arts. Artists from across the country will sell woodwork, photography, ceramics, wearable art, and more to thousands of visitors and holiday shoppers...
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Scottsdale and Tempe’s IN FLUX Coffee Talks for Prospective Artists

If you're looking to toss your creative hat (and ideas) into the second cycle IN FLUX, Tuesday's the time to ask questions. Scottsdale and Tempe IN FLUX Project Managers Kirstin Van Cleef and Maja Aurora will host a coffee talk about the public art projects that aim to activate empty storefronts along Scottsdale's...
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Call for Artists: Scottsdale and Tempe Public Art’s IN FLUX

Tempe's Mill Avenue and Scottsdale's Marshall Way have already strung and flipped the switches of their annual holiday bubble lights, but the two cities' public art programs have a different kind of street-side activation in mind. The second cycle of IN FLUX -- a program that commissions, promotes and enables the installation of...
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Club Candids: Funked Up at Long Wong’s

It's time for a revelation: The new Long Wong's in Tempe will never be the same as the old Long Wong's in Tempe. More than seven years after its untimely demise, the Mill Avenue landmark (which gave birth to some of the biggest bands in Valley history) still casts a...
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Community Art Studio Montage to Open on Mill Avenue

​Mill Avenue -- the one-time hot-spot turned depressing row of empty storefronts -- is about to get a jolt of creative energy. From the clever minds behind MADCAP Theaters, comes Montage, a community art studio that will house work (and workshops) by 18 local artists. The gallery's slated to open next...
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Ring in the New Year With These Five Local Shows

​A year full of excellent local shows has come and gone, and like years past, we're sad to see them go. We look forward to a fruitful future of local music in 2012. To ring in the New Year, a gracious amount of local bands have decided to play shows around...
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Our Favorite Spots for Nightly Local Music Around Town

With the impending arrival of Filter Magazine's Phoenix newsletter, it feels like a lot of eyes are on our music scene. Here's hoping Filter digs in and really investigates. I did so in April 2010, attempting the goal of going out to a different show every night for the entire...
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Wish List: Downtown Mesa

Despite the fact that Downtown Mesa took a major hit last month when two of its beloved businesses (Evermore Nevermore and The Royale) closed down, there's no need to think it's the beginning of the end for the area's recent resurgence. After all, Phoenix's Roosevelt Row has weathered the loss...
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Seven Favorite Spots to Catch a Movie in Phoenix

​Like us, you may be in mourning for the closing of The Royale in Mesa after only six months, but that doesn't mean there aren't still a number of local venues for viewing independent and art-house films at decent prices (like, say, free). Sure, you'll sometimes have to compromise on seating...
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Community Spirits

Thankfully, Tempe is free from 150-foot-tall marshmallow men and green ectoplasm blobs with bad manners. But there is something strange going on in the neighborhood, at least according to paranormal experts who will attempt to document the haunted happenings at Monti’s La Casa Vieja on Mill Avenue and Rio Salado...
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10 Favorite Boutiques for Holiday Shopping in Metro Phoenix

With the holidays in full swing (and our endless shopping lists in hand) we've wrangled this list of 10 boutiques in the Valley that will make any remaining gift-buying trips a breeze. 10. Poor Little Rich GirlWhat: Poor Little Rich Girl deals in lightly used, and usually pretty new, designer...
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What Makes the Ideal Music Venue in Phoenix?

​ Editor's Note: As we continue our observations of 2011, Up on the Sun contributor Christina Caldwell looks at the state of venues around town, and speculates about what the Phoenix music scene has and what it lacks. Answering "what makes a perfect music venue" is a tall order; here's...
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Memorable New Times Holiday Covers from the Past Decade

In honor of the holiday season, we decided to look back at the particularly memorable holiday covers of the past 10 years. It was pretty clear from reviewing the covers that holiday garland and the ubiquitous, feel-good "season for sharing" stories don't drive our art decisions. 5. Is Nothing Sacred?: Apparently Not in...
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Kelsey Strothers, What Are You Watching?

Local blogger Kelsey Strothers' current obsessions have a big influence on her television-viewing habits. Her passion for all-things-DIY has her watching hours of HGTV -- and she's not afraid to admit it. But don't let her reality TV ways fool you, she's also into food documentaries that focus on food (she works...